ARCADIA – Cowboy Jack Abernathy was a bit of a local legend in Oklahoma Territory, and for a good reason. Abernathy could catch wolves with his bare hands. Author Ron J. Jackson Jr. will visit the Arcadia Round Barn on Saturday, May 20, to tell the story of the wolf hunt that President Theodore Roosevelt organized after hearing about Abernathy’s unique talent.

“President Roosevelt initially passed if off as a tall tale,” said Jackson, who lives in Rocky in western Oklahoma and is a regular contributor to Wild West magazine. “A friend insisted the stories were true, and Roosevelt organized a private wolf hunt near the town of Frederick in the Big Pasture, a 480,000-acre reserve of open prairie.”

Comanche Chief Quanah Parker was among those invited to join the 1905 hunting party, “and Abernathy didn’t disappoint,” Jackson said.

Jackson will present the free program at 1 p.m. in the loft of the Round Barn, which was built in 1898 and restored by volunteer carpenters before opening in 1992 as a nonprofit historical museum. Donations will be accepted for the ongoing maintenance of the barn, which is owned and operated by the Arcadia Historical and Preservation Society.

Jackson is an award-winning journalist who has been writing professionally for 38 years. He is the author of numerous books, including “Joe, the Slave Who Became an Alamo Legend,” winner of the Award of Merit for nonfiction from The Philosophical Society of Texas; “Bebes and the Bear: Gene Stallings, Coach Bryant and Their 1968 Cotton Bowl Showdown,” and” Fight to the Finish: Gentleman Jim Corbett, Joe Choynski, and the Fight that Launched Boxing’s Modern Era.”

A California native, Jackson began a sports writing career at age 18 and switched to the news desk shortly after joining The Oklahoman in 1996. He has been a freelance writer for the past 13 years.    

Jackson’s passion for American Western history took root when he signed his first book contract at age 27 to pen “Alamo Legacy: Alamo Descendants Remember the Alamo,” a 1997 release that led to other literary adventures from the Mississippi River to the historic haunts of San Francisco.

For Wild West magazine, Jackson has brought to life stories on such Western icons as Geronimo, Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle and Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer. He is a member of the Western Writers of America and has served as a consultant for History Channel.

Jackson’s presentation will follow a free concert by the Round Barn Ramblers, an acoustic Americana band led by Joe Baxter that performs at the barn every Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more information about live music and other programming, go to the Arcadia Round Barn website and Facebook page.