One hundred fifty years ago today - May 20, 1873 -- denim pants got a makeover and became blue jeans. On that date, San Francisco dry goods merchant and philanthropist Levi Strauss, and Reno, Nevada tailor Jacob Davis were granted patent number 139,121 for an "Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings." Davis had started making denim pants … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Blue Jeans!
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Sally Rand’s…Nude Ranch
Yes, you read that correctly. "Nude Ranch." In the 1930s, as the dude ranch got more popular with vacationers and started showing up in movies and books, one entertainer took the concept and gave it some sex appeal. Her name was Sally Rand. Born Helen Beck in Missouri in 1904, she got interested in dance … Continue reading Sally Rand’s…Nude Ranch
On The Trail With Levi Strauss in Panama
On March 14, 1853, Levi Strauss walked off the Pacific Mail steamship Isthmus and onto a wharf in the city of San Francisco, which would be home for the rest of his life. He then started up his wholesale dry goods company, called simply Levi Strauss, which was the West coast branch of the family … Continue reading On The Trail With Levi Strauss in Panama
The Case of the Desert Rat
Ninety years ago, on March 1, 1933, Erle Stanley Gardner published the first Perry Mason novel, The Case of the Velvet Claws. Gardner was an attorney living in Ventura, California, and though this was his first full-length book, he had been writing stories for the pulp magazines since the early 1920s. Born in Massachusetts in … Continue reading The Case of the Desert Rat
From the Collection: Postcards
As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I have over 100 pieces of dude ranch memorabilia in a collection I started about 10 years ago. Some of my favorite pieces are the postcards, because they are all so different and present very different messages about dude ranching. The card pictured above is the oldest … Continue reading From the Collection: Postcards
Gary Cooper: Dude Rancher
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
Dude Ranch New Year’s Resolutions: 1940
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
Dude Food Ideas for the Holidays
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
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
Tumblereads: A New Twist on the Old West 