This week on Help From My Friends Friday, I’m pleased to introduce Rosemarie Szostak writing as Rose Johnson. Rosemarie and I met years ago in our online mystery critique group and I remember her historical mystery like it was yesterday. Who would have guessed she’d move on to celebrity status and become a sheep shearer to the stars? You have to watch these videos! Actually, she’s pretty darn amazing! See if you don’t agree! ~ Donnell
Rosemarie Szostak shearing using the Girl-type method
Hi! My name is Rosemarie Szostak, I am 5’ 4” and weigh 130 and can throw a 300 pound sheep. I am a professional sheepshearer in the state of Georgia. Go figure. Been doing this for 35 years. Oh, but wait, this has been my ‘side gig’, I hold a PhD in chemistry from UCLA and am a retired chemistry professor from Georgia Tech. After 9/11 I left academics and did my patriotic duty for the next five years by going to Washington DC to work for the most well-known secret organization of the Defense Department. If I told you what I did, I would have to kill you ?. Recently, I’ve been spending my ‘free time’ (bwahahaha) writing historical mysteries and supernatural suspense under the pen name Rose Johnson.
You may have watched how the Australians shear sheep on the Nat Geo channel. This big heavily muscled yet wiry Aussie would grab a sheep, flip it over on its back, place it between his legs and go at it. Three minutes later, there is a naked sheep released to join its companions and a fleece at the shearers feet that looks like a shearling jacket that has been unzipped and fallen to the floor. Yup, that is the ‘accepted’ method of shearing a sheep. In fact, that is how I was trained in 1987 when I took a weekend course offered at the University of Georgia taught by Charlie Swain, the world’s most prominent sheepshearer who held the record for the fastest shearing, 55 seconds and 55 strokes of his clippers.
I was not his best student. Number 1, I was a girl (yes times have changed but this was 1987), and Number 2, even though I prided myself to be an aerobics queen at the time, my upper body strength was severely lacking. After all I was a girl.
Cutting to the chase here—I thought to myself “self, there must be a better way for a girl to shear a sheep.” It actually didn’t take a rocket scientist to come up with the solution (only a girl). I examined each of the steps it took to shear a sheep, broke them down, analyzed them, and put together a protocol that would do the same thing the Aussie shearers did but it did a) not stress my back, b) not require superior upper body strength, c) still got the fleece off in one piece in 3 minutes. I call this the G-type method of shearing (ie Girl-type method). I have been using this method ever since. The only caveat is that I do require one helper to stabilize the sheep while I shear it.
So for the last 35 years I have been having a blast, before retirement, shearing just on weekends but now I shear almost every day during a season that lasts from February to late June, unless it is raining. I shear from North Florida, the entire state of Georgia, parts of Alabama and Tennessee and do venture into South Carolina. I specialize in heritage flocks, not commercial flocks so I shear as few as one sheep per farm to as many as 25. Most commercial shearers won’t touch flocks of less than 20 but I love shearing rare breeds.
I have also been a sheep shearer to the stars. Back in the 1980s I sheared Kenny Rogers sheep (when he had a farm in Georgia). Georgia has been the new hotbed for the movie industry.
I’ve been to farms to shear sheep that have been used in movies, TV shows and have met 1) the Aflac Duck, 2) shepherd who engineered Antman’s helmet (for the Marvel ‘Antman and Wasp’ movie), 3) …this is my favorite…I shear Kevin, the firebreathing goat who is the star of the Georgia Lottery commercials. You seriously have to watch TV in Georgia to know of Kevin. He is truly a household name here. Here is a video showing the method I developed to shear sheep.
Some of my stupid jokes when I’m shearing sheep:
I shear on my knees without kneepads because I am Catholic and am accustomed to kneeling on wooden kneelers.
- Q: What is my favorite sheep? A: The last one!
- Q: Do you count how many sheep you sheared? A: Why? If I did, I would fall asleep.
So, with that, you have heard the musing of a woman sheepshearer who loves what she does and her path to where she is now.
About the Author: Rose Johnson (pen name of Rosemarie Szostak) took the path less traveled when she was in college, and majored in science. She has now stepped off that path after a long and successful international career as an academic and a researcher. When Rose is not writing mysteries and exploring the history of the Deep South, she shears heritage flocks of sheep across the south and she, her husband, and her cadaver dogs help law enforcement find closure for families with missing loved ones. They live in a historic (post-Civil War) cotton plantation house on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, and manage a flock of sheep whose bloodlines have been in her husband’s family since the 1800s. Her three passions are 1) science, 2) sheep shearing, 3) when there is time…continuing to write historical mysteries and suspense. Her first two books include “Enemy Fire” a historical mystery set in 1917 in Atlanta covering the US entry into WW1 and the second time Atlanta burned to the ground. Her second book, the first in a series of historical supernatural suspense is set in south Georgia using a cadaver dog to navigate the web of Voodoo and death.
Donnell Ann Bell
Donnell Ann Bell gave up her nonfiction career in newspapers and magazines because she was obsessed with the idea she could write a mystery or thriller. An award-winning author, Until Dead, a Cold Case Suspense, is book two in a series, following Black Pearl, which was both a Colorado Book Award and Arizona/New Mexico Book Award finalist. Donnell’s cold case series follow her standalone novels, Buried Agendas, Betrayed, Deadly Recall and the Past Came Hunting, all of which have been Amazon bestsellers. Currently she’s working on book three of her cold case series. www.donnellannbell.com
Rosemarie, I’ve always been a fan. Consider me now a SUPERFAN, and I never want to arm wrestle you. So impressive, and the videos are terrific. Thank you for joining me today!!
Rosemarie, I laughed out loud at your jokes about sheep shearing. What an incredible life you’ve lived. Yowza! Excited to read one of your books.
Rosemarie, I loved this post and thanks so much for sharing this part of your life story. I was raised on cattle ranches and learned to do lots of things the girl way over the years. I’m very impressed by not only your sheepshearing style but also your clever writing. So nice to meet you through Donnell’s blog. Thank you as well, Donnell!
Margaret, I couldn’t resist when Rosemarie told me she sheered sheep. I’ve been looking forward to this blog for a long time!
Margaret, I’ve read ALL your books and love them and, of course, provided very positive feedback. Am waiting for the next in your series.
Oh, thank you so much, Rosemarie. I’m thrilled that you’ve read the books and so glad that you enjoyed them. And your feedback is much appreciated!!
What a terrific blog! You have led quite the life, Rosemarie. Thank you for sharing. I had to laugh when I plugged your name in on Amazon and the title that popped up was Molecular Sieves: Principles of Synthesis and Identification. While I was tempted 😉 I opted to download Enemy Fire instead. I love WWI books and look forward to reading your novel.
Barb, thank you, replying because Rosemarie is… what else… sheering sheep. You will love Enemy Fire. Nailbiter 😉
Hehehe! This is why I write my mysteries using a pen name. I have an extensive publication list from my academic career. Johnson is actually my married name. I never changed it because a) Johnson is too hard to spell! 😉 and b) I had an over 20-year career as a scientist with three technical books and over 100 technical publications before I got married so changing my name didn’t make sense.
And I though dog groomers had a rough job… Best of luck to you and thank you for your patriotism.
Dog groomers get paid better. I charge $5/sheep but, of course, I can shear 15 sheep in an hour. But the advantage I have is that I don’t have to deal with the dog owners, only shepherds who are just relieved that they found someone to shear their sheep and would do anything to keep me happy.
Rosemarie, something just hit me. You said you sheered from Florida, Georgia, etc. and you focus on rare breeds. Does that mean you spend your time traveling or do ranchers (is that right?) bring their sheep to you?
I go to them. We have our farm near Atlanta and a house near the Florida line so that covers most of the areas. I use both as staging. For some of the flocks, the shepherds let me stay in their guest cottages and use their places as staging for farther out clients. So basically, I don’t travel more than 2 1/2 hrs to shear any one flock. And I do charge for travel.
sheared, sheared, sheared. I really know the difference 🙂
What a fun read. Thanks for sharing (and shearing), Rosemarie. So many women have a job and then a fun job. Your books sound intriguing.
Wow! What a fascinating story. I love it! And good on you, sheep shearing girl! 😀
P.S. I might have to write a short story about a sheep shearing girl one day. I hope you don’t mind, Rosemarie. 🙂
I’ll bet she’d be flattered, Francelia, and she might even help you with research 😉
Go for it! Will help answer any questions that you have.
Rosemarie, I’m a city kid, but I so enjoyed your story. The only shearing I’ve seen was like you said in the movies. The one thing I believe is do a job you enjoy doing. Doing work you don’t like is so stressful and grinds on your soul. Thanks for proving my point and thanks for sharing your job.
I love reading posts from people with different types of vocations.
Rosemarie, what a wonderful, wooly life! Love reading about it. And thanks, Donnell, for passing it along.
Sandy
Hello Rosemarie. Nice to see you switched gears. Please contact me. Its about pyrs.