SINGING WIND RANCH BOOKSTORE

THE SINGING WIND BY SAM NEGRI

A working cattle ranch is not a typical location for a literary event, but the Singing Wind Ranch of Winifred Bundy and the late Robert Bundy is remarkably different from other cattle operations. Two rooms of the ranch house also constitute the Singing Wind Bookshop.

The shop is not necessarily a literary salon-the Bundy cows and horses and chickens are too omnipresent-yet book autographing parties have been held there for many Arizona writers, including Lawrence Clark Powell, Sister Bourne, C. L. Sonnichsen, Byrd Baylor, and the late Don Schellie.

Singing Wind Ranch is three miles north of Interstate Route 10's exit 304, which is Ocotillo Road. Ocotillo changes to dirt before it reaches the turnoff for the ranch, and after the turnoff there is another halfmile on a narrower dirt road to the cattleguard and entrance. It is clear that visitors to the Singing Wind Bookshop are not motivated by a need for convenience.

"I have customers who come by horse; kids walk out from Benson; sometimes a tour group will arrive by bus, and I get mail orders from all over the world," Mrs. Bundy said.

She is an unusual cowpoke. She has a degree in English and history and advanced degrees in history and library science. A small woman with striking blue eyes and a complexion nearly the color of copper, she is as comfortable discussing the elements of style of various authors as she is employing a rope and branding iron.

Author Powell (When Water Flows and others), Mrs. Bundy's mentor at the University of Arizona School of Library Science, encouraged her to open her bookstore when she graduated in 1979. It was a happy solution to a nagging problem: she wanted to deal with books and writers, but she did not want to leave the ranch.

RANCH BOOKSTORE lume storehouse of great booksfar off the beaten path.

The bookstore, which started as two metal shelves in an alcove between the living room and kitchen, was launched with "dog money." She explained: "We were taking care of two two big German shepherds for some people who had gone to England.... They were monstrous animals. The people were gone for more than six months. The dogs chased our horse, Cindy, all over the place, until one day-I knew it was going to happen -ol' Cindy kicked one of their eyes out.

"Well, when these people came back, we charged them for the food and some of our veterinary bills, and it came to about $600. That's how I started my bookshop."

Gradually the two shelves of books were expanded to two rooms that now contain nearly 100,000 volumes.

Mrs. Bundy is particularly interested in books dealing with the Southwest and American Indians, but she also deals in rare and out-of-print books and new works that may not be found easily in ordinary stores.

"I'm also kind of an extension service for libraries," she said. "Libraries miss a lot because they just don't have the time to go through everything-for example, books published by small presses, places where there are only a few of something printed. I go out on a limb and buy some of these things, and some turn out to be very, very good, and some are pretty bad.

"In addition to the Indian and Southwest books, I also keep a full line of books on printing and bookmaking, and I go in-depth on certain authors - for example, I carry all of the works of John McPhee. I also carry a lot of books on minorities and Africans and blacks, and we probably have the biggest collection in this category of any place outside Los Angeles-and I know what I'm talking about when I say that."

She interrupted the conversation to check on a batch of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. Mrs. Bundy also is an indefatigable gardener and cook. Recently, fifty-six children from Sierra Vista schools, winners of creative writing awards, were taken to Singing Wind Bookshop to meet author Frances Gillmor, a retired English professor and folklorist at the University of Arizona. Dr. Gillmor, a spellbinding storyteller, filled the children with vivid tales of the Southwest. Mrs. Bundy filled them with other things: "a huge sheet cake, three platters of cookies, and lemonade."