Dude ranching's first decades were seat-of-the-pants operations. Individual ranches did their own thing or heard about something that worked at another place a few mountain ranges away and gave that a try. In 1926, a group of Montana and Wyoming ranchers got together and founded the Dude Ranchers' Association, to organize the growing list of … Continue reading Dude ranches go to school

The 140-year history of dude ranching has a few famous "firsts" and one of them was the O.T.O., the first dude ranch opened in Montana. It doesn't just have a fascinating history -- the ranch itself is history, because it closed decades ago and since the 1990s has been managed by the dedicated staff of … Continue reading Theodore Roosevelt, Calamity Jane, and Montana’s First Dude Ranch

I'm a westerner and I write about the West and its history, but I hope you'll indulge me as I tell a family tale about how another region formed my life and my writing. As a historian, I know that regional heritage isn’t just one, monolithic story. Even Hollywood knows this. In the movie Night … Continue reading Looking South: A Personal Story

I don't know about you, but when I think about the West I often think about food. This topic came up a lot when I was doing research on the history of dude ranching. (For more info see my previous post titled, "For Your Holiday Table: Cowboy in a Sack"). Before the portable camp stove, … Continue reading Nothing Better than Biscuits

Newspaper headline writers are a clever bunch, and whoever wrote the one printed below in July of 1935 deserves a prize. I discovered this headline and its accompanying article in the research for my book, American Dude Ranch. Actor Bela Lugosi had finished filming something called Murder by Television that summer (an intriguing movie title … Continue reading “Vampire to Retire to Dude Ranch”