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
Dude Stories for Presidents Day
I came across only a couple of presidential names when I was doing the research about the West for my new book American Dude Ranch. If you've read any Chief Executive histories, you've probably figured out by now that Theodore Roosevelt is at the top of that short list. In 1883 he was an author, … Continue reading Dude Stories for Presidents Day
Elizabeth Smith: A Black Entrepreneur in Arizona
February is Black History Month, and I have a little-known story for you from the history of the West. Over the last few years historians have been thinking and writing about Black history in new and exciting ways. A lot of the focus has been on the South, but there is also a rich African-American past … Continue reading Elizabeth Smith: A Black Entrepreneur in Arizona
“Hoosier Tires of Yoga and Wants His Dude Ranch Back.”
You know, some stories just write themselves. That was the headline in the Indianapolis News on November 26, 1947, which I found doing some random dude ranch research the other day. Naturally, I had to investigate, and if you think today's celebrity culture is weird, just wait. Alva LaSalle "Beau" Kitselman, Jr. was the heir … Continue reading “Hoosier Tires of Yoga and Wants His Dude Ranch Back.”
The Cowboy Singer Who Wasn’t A Cowboy
Folks of a certain age in the United States will remember the Death Valley Days TV show of the 1950s. But before Ronald Reagan, Robert Taylor, and Dale Robertson hosted the long-running series, Death Valley Days was a popular radio program. It debuted in September of 1930 and featured a singer called The Lonesome Cowboy, … Continue reading The Cowboy Singer Who Wasn’t A Cowboy
Tumblereads: A New Twist on the Old West 