'North of the Platte' is author's third book

McCOOK, Neb. — Retired McCook Junior High reading and spelling teacher Bryan Jones has published his third book, naming it “North of the Platte, South of the Niobrara: A Little Further into the Nebraska Sand Hills.”

“North of the Platte” is Bryan’s exploration of the people and places of the one-of-a-kind grassy, mystical heartland of Nebraska.

Publisher Stephen F. Austin State University Press, of Nacogdoches, Texas, describes Bryan’s book: “The product of 70,000 miles and 370 interviews, North of the Platte traces the histories of legendary Sand Hills ranches belonging to the Sandoz and McMurtrey families and reviews the accomplishments of UNL researchers who’ve spent their careers solving the mysteries of the Sand Hills.”

Nebraska poet J.V. Brummels, author of Frontpew@paradise and operator of Lightning Creek Cattle Company at Wayne, Neb., calls Bryan’s latest book “great storytelling.”

Duane Gudgel of Plains Trading Company Booksellers in Valentine, writes, “While focusing on McMurtreys, Sandoz, Purdums, Kimes, Wards and other residents, Bryan rounds up the whole neighborhood. He’s found the people who love these Hills and lets them talk. Even Bryan’s geologists and hydrologists reveal an enthusiasm for this region … “

Mike Farrell, a documentary film director, an assistant professor at UN-L and a fellow Sand Hills writer, is impressed that Bryan “coerced the shy, modest Sand Hills into revealing itself. Through extended sit-down kitchen visits with reluctant Sand Hillers, bad weather canoe trips on sandy-bottomed rivers, Memorial Day services at remote churches, old-fashioned bull fry brandings, the challenges of passing vast ranch holdings down through families that resemble the stuff of Greek tragedies, sudden death under the hooves of ornery rodeo livestock, the return of the bison at the hands of Ted Turner (who bought the legendary McMurtrey Ranch for $9.6 million in 2007) and all the rest … “

In March 2009, in the crash of a small airplane, Bryan paid dearly for the bird’s eye view he wanted of the hills and ranches he was writing about. He suffered a couple broken ribs, a torn muscle on his sternum, a bruised liver and an assortment of bumps and bruises when a Super Cub plane piloted by Sand Hills conservationist Jim Van Winkle of Wood Lake went down shortly after taking off from Van Winkle’s ranch landing strip. While Jim’s injuries — a broken leg, a broken arm and a massive concussion — were more extensive than Bryan’s, both men recovered. Bryan — and his wife, Kathy — vowed he would never go up in a small plane again. Several days after the crash, Bryan answered a reporter’s question about the likelihood of him flying again: “Never. I hate to be a coward, but ... the ground just came up too fast. It was just too much of a shock ... to auger into the ground like that.”

More information on “North of the Platte,” released in August, can be found on the website bryanjoneswriter.com. It is available on the website as well as from booksellers and Stephen F. Austin State University Press, at sfasu.edu/sfapress.

About the author

Author Bryan Jones was born in Nebraska, growing up in Central City, Neligh, Chappell, Geneva and Columbus. Bryan received his B. A. from Roosevelt University in Chicago and attended graduate school at the University of New Orleans, University of Nebraska at Kearney and Middlebury College, Vermont, Bread Loaf School of English.

Jones taught school for three decades, including 20 years teaching at McCook Junior High. He operated a beef stocker-feeder operation in South Central Nebraska for 11 years.

Bryan previously published “The Farming Game” and “Mark Twain Made Me Do It & Other Plains Adventures.” He lives somewhere in the central Colorado Rockies with his wife Kathy, two loyal dogs and a mangy cat.