The Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech is planning the Red Steagall Institute to honor the country music artist and cowboy poet. Jim Bret Campbell, the center's executive director, said organizers are seeking donations to break ground next summer.
Campbell said Steagall grew up in the Panhandle and became a music producer and singer in Los Angeles. He said Steagall was well known on the rodeo circuit during the 1970s and early 1980s, and has focused on cowboy poetry and music for the last 40 years. Steagall also hosted the radio show "Cowboy Corner" and the television show "Somewhere West of Wall Street."
Campbell said the institute would share Western life with the community in a hands-on way, including arts such as bit and spur making, boot and leather working, and poetry and songwriting. Plans include a cooking area with a chuck wagon, a full boot and saddle shop, a recording studio and an open space for painting, sculpture, poetry and songwriting. Country artists Cody Johnson and Reba McEntire are helping spread the word about the institute.