Larry Callies ambles through the Black Cowboy Museum in downtown Rosenberg, southwest of Houston, sporting his straw Stetson and a pair of worn work boots. The founder and CEO of the museum, he’s spinning stories in his compelling, though perennially strained, voice. He leads visitors young and old—from Texas and across the globe—through this 900-square-foot space, which is tucked into a commercial strip center and chock-full of badges, boots, guns, and photos of Black cowboys riding bulls, roping calves, and busting broncos.
Over the decades, Callies has worked as a cowboy, singer, and postman. Born in the sleepy railroad town of Wharton, he began early, learning to rope and helping his father break horses on a local ranch. Later, he performed country music for about two decades with his Bronco Band before losing his voice to a neurological condition called vocal dysphonia.
