The Daily Inter Lake

Somewhere in the hilly stretches between Niarada and Hot Springs, Cheri Lawson's first book was born.

Today, "Chip the Buffalo," her children's book based on a true story, is getting noticed at the Montana Festival of the Book and across the Flathead Indian Reservation.

The Hot Springs author will present her inaugural work at the book festival in Missoula at 11 a.m. Sept. 30.

Then on Oct. 7 Lawson comes to Kalispell, where she will sign books at Border's from 1 to 3 p.m.

"Chip the Buffalo" is the story of an orphan buffalo raised at the Lonepine Country Store, owned and operated by Lawson's dad, Bud Bras. A friend of Bras found the orphaned calf, the offspring of a wild cow and, remarkably enough, still alive.

To give it a chance at survival, he brought it to Bras' cattle farm and asked his friend if he could raise the calf. Lawson said her dad answered, "Sure, I'll take a buffalo. It'll make things interesting around here."

Bras took it to the country store in Lonepine, where he could put it in a pen and keep an eye on it throughout the day. Not only did Chip survive, she thrived.

She also found a place in Bras' heart big enough that he sold off his cattle and started his own buffalo herd on the ranch. Today, Chip has come full circle. She's still running with Bras' herd and has given birth to a calf of her own.

"Chip the Buffalo" is Lawson's story of the adventures of Chip and how the buffalo calf shaped the lives of those around her. It's also a Montana ranching story, Lawson said, packed with facts about Montana and illustrated with photographs directly from her dad's ranch and his buffalo herd.

Lawson said the book targets ages 5-10, but older children and adults will enjoy the high-quality photographs and information.

It's Lawson's first foray into writing. She grew up on the family ranch, married and raised three children of her own, and for 10 years commuted 86 miles a day to her job with a power utility company. Weary of the drive, she looked for a new direction.

"They say, write about something you know, so I went from there," Lawson said. "I had fun writing it. I learned a lot myself about buffalo."

On Sept. 15, she presented a workshop on the book to a group of Flathead Reservation school teachers gathered in Polson for professional development. The room was packed, she said, as the educators learned about the book and heard a Hot Springs teacher's suggestions on how to use it as a tool in the classroom.

The book is self-published, through Pine Orchard Publishing of Moscow, Idaho. It's available locally at Snappy Sport Senter in Kalispell, Merry Gems in Bigfork, and Page by Page and Gift Gallery in Polson.