When I was researching my book American Dude Ranch, I loved reading about the food that dude ranchers served their guests. It was hilarious to find stories about people eating chili for the first time, or advice on how to serve cottage cheese ten different ways during World War II because cooks had to get … Continue reading Dude Food Ideas for the Holidays
Author: Lynn Downey
From the Collection: Advertising
When I give talks about my book American Dude Ranch I mention that I started collecting dude ranch memorabilia about 10 years ago, and that I now have more than 100 items (not that I'm obsessed or anything). I thought it might be fun to showcase some of these items here, and I'll start with … Continue reading From the Collection: Advertising
Dude ranches go to school
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
Theodore Roosevelt, Calamity Jane, and Montana’s First Dude Ranch
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
Looking South: A Personal Story
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
Nothing Better than Biscuits
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
Much Excitement at the Saloon
At the end of August 1909, the regulars at Evarts & Schwanbeck’s saloon in Wickenburg, Arizona were enjoying a few refreshing beverages. Someone ordered a brand of whisky that wasn’t on the shelf, so bartender Al Evarts reached for a drawer where he remembered putting a bottle of the special stuff. He pulled it open … Continue reading Much Excitement at the Saloon
“Vampire to Retire to Dude Ranch”
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”
Bad Dudes on the Ranch
When I started researching the history of dude ranching, I came across quite a few stories about crime and lawlessness. This really isn't surprising, because the dude ranch is the perfect location for mystery and shadowy behavior: an isolated location, usually in the remote West, with strangers thrown together, living for a few weeks in … Continue reading Bad Dudes on the Ranch
The Mystery Writer and the First Dude Rancher
Journalist and author Mary Roberts Rinehart was working in her Pittsburg office in the early summer of 1915 when a man she’d never seen before knocked on the door. He was middle-aged and tanned, with a cheerful, open face. His name was Howard Eaton, and although he was also a Pittsburg native, he now lived … Continue reading The Mystery Writer and the First Dude Rancher
