Arthur, Wayne "Cinch"

Websites:  https://peacerivermuseum.blogspot.com/2016/09/saddle-up-with-cinch.html
Origin: Princeton - Kamloops, British Columbia - Sundre - Peace River, Alberta, 🇨🇦
Biography:

Arthur has lived in Peace River for the last 32 years but fondly recollects living in Mountain View County. He said he he was inspired to write his recently released book largely after being encouraged by friends and family to compile a multitude of stories he had already written for his grandchildren.

“Sundre's in beautiful country, and great people — lots of wonderful people,” Wayne “Cinch” Arthur told the Gazette during a phone interview last week.

“In many ways I wish I'd never left the place.”

His book, Saddle Up With Cinch, was the culmination of more than 15 years' worth of stories he wrote along the way but that he had never largely anticipated publishing for the general public.

“When you get older, you can't remember things the way you used to, so I wanted to get the details down before they were gone,” he said, adding, “I just enjoyed writing them down and reading them to my grandkids.”

Storytelling seemed like a natural extension for the 79-year-old, whose varied background includes musician and entertainer with a number of records. As friends and family became aware of his growing number of short stories and memoirs, Arthur started receiving encouragement to compile them into a comprehensive book.

Arthur was a longtime resident of the Sundre area and he also helped establish Pioneer Lodge southwest of Sundre. His new book includes many stories from the '50s, '60s 'and '70s when he taught school in Sundre and later became an instructor at Olds College. During his time in the area, he lived close to Pioneer Lodge, which he remained heavily involved with.

“Some of the stories you'll read in the book are concerning the early days of the ranch,” he said.

He was also passionate about composing poetry, being a rodeo announcer, cowboy and horseman as well as spending time outdoors hunting, fishing and even rafting on the Red Deer River.

“I have a lot of interests,” he said.

So many that he often found himself running in several directions at once, and mainly only through support and encouragement from family and friends did he ever seem to see anything through to its conclusion, he said.

Living in Mountain View County offered him the opportunity to experience many adventures, some of which he shares in the book. However, his memoirs are not all directly linked to the county.

“I nearly got killed a couple of times,” he said.

When he was 18, Arthur was working in forestry in B.C. when a felled tree came down on top of him, miraculously leaving him not only unharmed but also essentially unscratched.

“The guy who dropped the tree thought he had killed me,” he said, adding the co-worker ended up having to take a couple of days off to recover from the shock.

“He thought he saw a ghost when I emerged from under the tree!”

Completing his compilation of short stories “felt pretty good,” and Arthur expressed gratitude for the supportive push from close friends and family who inspired him to finish.

“I had a lot of help — without that help I wouldn't have done it.”

For about 10 years, he lived on a modest 50-acre farm near Sundre not far from Pioneer Lodge.

“We had a beautiful view of the valley,” he said.

The outdoorsman, author, cowboy, poet, musician — jack of many trades — was never drawn to the city. The only times he spent any amount of time in one was as a student.

“I never did live in the city — I'm off the grid,” he told the Gazette, adding his small quarter section property near Peace River runs on solar power.

He relocated up north for what was expected to be a temporary period, but ended up eventually becoming a manager for 10 large government grazing reserves, retiring 17 years ago.

“We came here for two years — that was 32 years ago,” he said.

Copies of Saddle Up With Cinch are available at Pioneer Lodge, Arthur said.

The launch of the book took place at the Bergen Missionary Church on Sunday, Sept. 25, when Arthur performed songs he wrote and also read a number of selected stories from the book.

Married for 57 years to Anne Arthur — née Jesson — who he grew up with in Kamloops, the couple had four daughters that were raised in Sundre and have all since in turn also married. Wayne is the proud grandfather of eight grandchildren.

“We have lots of family connections in Sundre,” he said.

When asked whether he would like to add anything, Arthur said he wanted to extend his salutations and well wishes “to all the good folks in Mountain View County.”
-The Albertan