Lyal Corliss: 81 and still shoeing horses

From: Japhet Weeks
Length: 04:20

In Northern California's Humboldt County, one octogenarian just won't quit working. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Lyal Corliss: 81 and still shoeing horses
From: Japhet Weeks

Lyal_-_09_small Lyal Corliss is 81. And he still travels along 300 miles of the California and Oregon coast in his Ford truck shoeing horses . This piece follows him on an average day at work. We hear from one of his clients and from the county brand inspector. Both of them agree that Lyal is one of a kind and a reminder of better times in this rural corner of California, where the agriculture and ranching industries are in decline.

Piece Description

Lyal Corliss is 81. And he still travels along 300 miles of the California and Oregon coast in his Ford truck shoeing horses . This piece follows him on an average day at work. We hear from one of his clients and from the county brand inspector. Both of them agree that Lyal is one of a kind and a reminder of better times in this rural corner of California, where the agriculture and ranching industries are in decline.

Transcript

The Old Chisholm Trail (song, Gene Autry)
I'm up in the mornin' before daylight,
And before I sleep the moon shines bright.
Come a ti yi yippee, come a ti yi yea,
Come a ti yi yippee, come a ti yi yea.
Ambient: Lyal Corliss opening a gate and getting horse. Sound of horse hooves on concrete.
LYAL CORLISS: Ok Buckaroo (talking to horse).
LYAL CORLISS: I've been run over, bit, kicked. One horse bit me on the ear and I said, “Hey, do you know what that ear's worth?” He said, “No I don't, but I'm sure sorry.” And I said, “That ear is worth the same amount of money that Holyfield's ear was worth when Tyson bit it.”
The Old Chisholm Trail (song)
My feets in the stirrups and my rope by my side,
Show me a horse that I can't ride.
Come a ti yi yippee, come a ti yi yea,
Come a ti yi yippee, come a ti yi yea.
LYAL CORLISS: I'm Lyal Corliss. I shoe horses. And I've been a cowboy most of my life....
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