Cowboys have regained their popularity with the comeback of Woody in Disney-Pixar's "Toy Story 3."
You might think the term "cowboy" originated with the men who helped settle the Western United States as hired hands who herded cows on horseback. But the term dates back much further than the mid 1800s when the cowboy tradition was established in the Southwestern United States.
The term could go back to medieval Ireland, but the American cowboy has roots that can be traced back to Spain and the earliest European settlers who came to the Americas.
During the American Revolution, the term was used to describe a supporter of the British Crown who would plunder cattle from the colonial settlers who supported independence from Britain.
For more than 20 years, thousands of men called cowboys drove millions of longhorn cattle from Texas to the new transcontinental railroads. Payment was a dollar a day and food.
Eventually, the cowboy became a legend that represents all the American West and the considerable skills needed to do his job are displayed in contests called rodeos.
During a rodeo, contestants, some of the most impressive athletes in any sport, compete in events such as bull riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling and bronco riding.
To honor cowboys the world over, I made a Sunset Cowboy hanging with instructions I found at www.busybeekidscrafts.com/Sunset-Cowboys.html. You will need to download the template of the cowboy silhouette from the site.
Supplies you will need:
Cowboy template
Coffee filter
Red and yellow food coloring
4 tablespoons of water
Small containers
Wax Paper or plastic bag
Dropper or straw
10 ¾-inch paper plate
Glue
Scissors
Place your coffee filter onto a piece of wax paper or plastic bag.
Fill two containers with two tablespoons of water each, mix 10 drops of yellow food coloring in one container and 10 drops of red food coloring in the other.
Spread your coffee filter out and use a straw or eye dropper to drop some yellow and then some red all over your coffee filter. When the yellow and red run into each other it will create a beautiful orange. Place your coffee filter outside in the sun, or in a sunny window to dry.
Cut out your cowboys from the template.
Once the filter is dry, glue your cowboys onto your sunset. The edges will hang over the coffee filter, so trim off the excess.
Glue your picture into a paper plate to frame it. If you want to hang it, just punch two holes on either side of the plate and tie on some string.
(c) 2010, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).