On August 4, 1928, Helena, Montana newspaper The Independent-Record ran a story with the heading, "Gary Cooper Promotes Dude Ranch for Hollywood Stars." A series of dude ranches was being planned to bridge Yellowstone and Glacier national parks. Not only that, the ranches were expected to draw movie stars from Hollywood. One of those stars … Continue reading Gary Cooper: Dude Rancher

From time to time, I will introduce you to some of the fascinating women I encountered in my research into the history of dude ranching. Today, you'll meet Peggy Thayer, one of my favorite gals. Peggy was born in Philadelphia in 1898. The Thayers were wealthy and ran in the highest social circles; her father, … Continue reading Peggy Thayer: Society Dudine and Bronco Buster

As we say goodbye to 2022, here's a look at a list of New Year's resolutions from the dude ranching world. The Dude Ranchers' Association was founded in 1926 to help ranches increase their business and keep up with tourism trends. In 1931 the DRA started publishing a magazine for its members, called The Dude … Continue reading Dude Ranch New Year’s Resolutions: 1940

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

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