TV series featuring Cottonwood Ranch, Don Rowlison to premiere on Smoky Hills PBS
Smoky Hills PBS
"Cottonwood Connections," a new history-focused documentary series, will premiere on Smoky Hills PBS on Sunday, May 15, at 6:00 PM.
"Cottonwood Connections" expands on the documentary film The Legacy of Cottonwood Ranch, which recently aired on PBS stations across Kansas. The series utilizes the story of the Cottonwood Ranch Historic Site to take a deeper dive into various historical topics related to the Great Plains region, such as building with stone, real-life cowboys, the pre-historic past and the role of mail order in settling the Great Plains.
The new series is hosted by Don Rowlison and presented by The Friends of Cottonwood Ranch, an organization that supports the work of the historic site and has the mission of encouraging historical education about the plains.
“When the documentary film was wrapping up, we discussed that there was still a lot of history to share,” said Ed Lowry, director and producer of the series. “As a historic site that was a settlement home, Cottonwood Ranch can serve as a springboard to talk about so many things. And at the heart of all of that is Don Rowlison.”
Rowlison is an archeologist who specialized in studying the pre-historic people of the plains. In 1985, he became site curator for the Cottonwood Ranch Historic Site and devoted himself to studying all the various issues that impacted people settling the region in the late 1800s. Additionally, Don is, himself, a cowboy and was even inducted to the Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2008 as a historian.
“Don’s vast knowledge and experience, his decades of studying and educating about the area, not to mention his engaging personality and character, all combine to make a compelling host for a documentary series like this,” Lowry said. “I also appreciate that Don loves to learn more himself and is happy to bring others into the conversation.”
Guests in the early episodes include professors, archeologists, museum curators, and a historical re-enactor.
The series will also be made available as an educational resource on the Cottonwood Ranch web site at www.cottonwoodranchks.com following their televised airing.
Episodes of "Cottonwood Connections" will air on Smoky Hills PBS at 6:00 PM on Sundays, then re-air the following Saturday, also at 6:00.
The first six episodes of the series will include:
Building with Stone (May 15 and 21)
Life of the Cowboys (May 22 and 28)
Archeology (May 29 and June 4)
The Clothes People Wore (June 5 and 11)
Discovering the Pre-Historic Past (June 12 and 18)
The Role of Mail Order in Settling the Plains (June 19 and 25)