A Cowboy’s Life Is Good Enough for Them

There were lots of questions about the Cookes, the cows and the colonel last month when fans of Texas Ranch House turned out to meet Shaun Terhune and Anders Heintz, two regular-guys-turned-ranch-hands in the latest PBS living history series. Hosted under the banner of PBS 45 & 49’s History Circle, the two men talked with fans of the series at Peaberry’s Café and Bakery in Canfield and Barnes & Noble in Akron.

Shaun and Anders shared stories of a wonderful, if not grueling, experience on the open range last summer. They ranched, roped, rode and passed nights under the stars and in their haciendas as they experienced life in the real West of the American cowboy, circa 1867.

What was it like working in 110-degree heat rustling 200 cows on 47,000 Texas acres with 15 strangers? Hot, exhausting, stressful … and incredible. The ranch hands formed a tight bond over the course of the experiment and were sorry when the summer adventure came to an end. Both men expressed a keen interest in returning to Texas to live ranch lives.

Fans of the series were curious about how the participants trained for the project (two weeks of cowboy school); what the Cookes were really like (mixed reviews); how the food was (Anders can no longer enjoy beans and Shaun turned out to be an excellent cook); and how intrusive the production team was through the process (1,800 hours of film and they only intervened a few times, mostly for the safety of the group).

Our thanks to all the fans who came out to meet the ranch hands, and to Peaberry’s and Barnes & Noble for their generous hospitality in hosting our events.