WE’RE celebrating the works of Canada’s very own Harold F. Cruickshank this month. Mr. Cruickshank launched his career writing stories based loosely on his war experiences. As tastes turned from straight out battle field stories to air war stories, Cruickshank shifted his setting from the trenches to the cockpit. After the Second World War, taste again shifted toward westerns, Cruickshank was right there cranking them out for magazines like 10 Story Western Magazine, Western Short Stories, Texas Rangers, Dime Western, Popular Western, Thrilling Western, New Western Magazine, Wild West Weekly, North-West Romances, Thrilling Ranch Stories, Big Book Western, Rodeo Romances, .44 Western, West, Exciting Western, and Range Riders Western!
Cruickshank wrote 35 stories chronicling the trials and tribulations of Dal and Mary Baldwin carving out their piece of the Wild West in Sun-Bear Valley, Wyoming. Cruickshank was born in Wales and emigrated to Alberta with his father and brother in 1905, establishing a homestead when they settled near Barrhead. Ill health would drive him off the farm when he returned and into Edmonton where he worked for the education department and wrote in his spare time. Cruickshank drew on those years on the farm for his Pioneer Folk stories for Range Riders Western.
Here are the first two in the series:
First we have “Wild King Savagery” from the Spring of 1945 issue in which Dal and his wife find the ideal place to start their life in the wilds of Sun Bear Valley. A perfect spot with everything they could want including the most magnificent wild stallion Dal had ever seen—and a half-breed horse thief who wants to catch it.
Dal Baldwin and His Young Wife Face Bitter Hardships as They Strive to Carve a Home for Themselves Out of the Wilderness!
Cruickshank followed this up with “Challenge of the Wilds” from the Summer issue. Dal and Mary try to get everything in order at their homestead before winter comes when tragedy strikes!
Dal and Mary Baldwin Face Disaster When Their Horse Dies and Their Traps Are Robbed—but Their Courage Lives on!
A listing of Harold F Cruickshank’s PIONEER FOLK stories.
title |
magazine |
date |
vol |
no |
|
1945 |
Wild King Savagery |
Range Riders Western |
Spr |
13 |
1 |
Challenge of the Wilds |
Range Riders Western |
Sum |
13 |
2 |
Spring Borning |
Range Riders Western |
Fal |
13 |
3 |
Red Harvest |
Range Riders Western |
Dec |
14 |
1 |
|
1946 |
Terror Neighbors |
Range Riders Western |
Feb |
14 |
2 |
Wilderness Justice |
Range Riders Western |
Apr |
14 |
3 |
Squatter’s Law |
Range Riders Western |
Jun |
15 |
1 |
Wild Hoof Warfare |
Range Riders Western |
Aug |
15 |
2 |
The Valley Beyond |
Range Riders Western |
Nov |
15 |
3 |
|
1947 |
Stampede Conquest |
Range Riders Western |
Jan |
16 |
1 |
Frontier Courage |
Range Riders Western |
Mar |
16 |
2 |
Wild King Savagery |
Range Riders Western |
May |
16 |
3 |
Death Loops a Widelooper |
Range Riders Western |
Jul |
17 |
1 |
Satan Tugs the Jerkline |
Range Riders Western |
Sep |
17 |
2 |
Hell and High Water |
Range Riders Western |
Nov |
17 |
3 |
|
1948 |
Good Neighbor Gunfire |
Range Riders Western |
Jan |
18 |
1 |
Frontier Timber Wolves |
Range Riders Western |
Mar |
18 |
2 |
The Devil’s Eye |
Range Riders Western |
May |
18 |
3 |
Courage in the Craglands |
Range Riders Western |
Jul |
19 |
1 |
Death Rides the Freight Trail |
Range Riders Western |
Sep |
19 |
2 |
Satan Dabs a Wide Loop |
Range Riders Western |
Nov |
19 |
3 |
|
1949 |
Drum Thunder |
Range Riders Western |
Jan |
20 |
1 |
Showdown |
Range Riders Western |
Mar |
20 |
2 |
Satan’s a Bad Neighbor |
Range Riders Western |
May |
20 |
3 |
Wild Hoof Battle Loot |
Range Riders Western |
Jul |
21 |
1 |
Satan’s Shroud of Death |
Range Riders Western |
Sep |
21 |
2 |
Tough Test |
Range Riders Western |
Nov |
21 |
3 |
|
1950 |
According to Colt |
Range Riders Western |
Mar |
22 |
2 |
Rescue |
Range Riders Western |
May |
22 |
3 |
The Scars of Victory |
Range Riders Western |
Aug |
23 |
1 |
Backfire |
Range Riders Western |
Oct |
23 |
2 |
Cupid Packs a Gun |
Range Riders Western |
Dec |
23 |
3 |
|
1951 |
Buckaroo Bridge Gang |
Range Riders Western |
Feb |
24 |
1 |
Dauntless the Pioneer |
Range Riders Western |
Apr |
24 |
2 |
|
1952 |
Phantom Hoofbeats |
Range Riders Western |
Jan |
25 |
3 |