Steve Friesen
Steve Friesen: I worked from 1976 to 2017 in the museum field, serving the last 22 years as director of the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave. I wrote my first freelance article in 1969 and have been writing everything from articles and book chapters to exhibit labels and grant proposals ever since. My first book A Modest Mennonite Home was published in 1990. Since then I have authored Buffalo Bill: Scout, Showman, Visionary, published in 2010 and Lakota Performers in Europe, published in 2017. I am taking advantage of "sheltering at home" to work more intensively on my next book.
No Twitter or Instagram for me, just email or landline. I used a cell phone for years with my job and am now enjoying being cell phone free.
Favorite non-reading activity?
I am a foodie. I enjoy cooking…and eating.
Is your go to comfort food sweet or savory? Is it something you make yourself? Does food inspire your writing?
My comfort foods are primarily savory. One of my favorites is something my mother made and is extremely easy. Aren't most comfort foods that way? It uses leftover chicken or turkey, cut up and heated in cream of chicken soup with a bit of milk. The chunky gravy is then ladled over mashed potatoes. A good way to use Thanksgiving leftovers. I am a historian and am particularly interested in food history. The book I am currently writing is entitled "Galloping Gourmet: Eating and Drinking with Buffalo Bill."
Do you collect anything? If so, what, why, and for how long?
In keeping with my non-reading activity, although it involves reading, I collect cookbooks. I started in the early 1990s and have several hundred of them. I could have many more but am pretty selective, focusing on specific topics. Since I am a Mennonite, I am particularly interested in Mennonite foods.
What piece of clothing tells the most interesting story about your life?
I got my first western snap shirt in the late 1990s and have acquired around 20 of them, all rather fancifully embroidered. I always wore them to special events, at speaking engagements, and when otherwise representing the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave. I still wear them when I do lectures or go to western events. I guess they became my trademark; when I retired from the museum in 2017, one potential applicant for the position asked if wearing a western snap shirt was a job requirement.
Is there a genre of music that influences your writing/thinking? Do you listen to music while you write?
I always used to listen to music while writing, usually rock and roll. Now I do it less frequently while writing and, when I do, often listen to symphonic music. My favorite composers are from the romantic period, 1850 to the early 1900s. A Tchaikovsky, Grieg, or Dvorak piece will make my heart soar. Rock and roll when I drive though, always.
