Were any Arizona Rangers involved in gunfights in Mexico? Jonathan Smith Rodenberg, Germany Ranger Jeff Kidder was when he took on some Mexican...
Remembering Jeb Rosebrook
On August 31, 2018, my father Jeb Rosebrook—author, screenwriter and long-time contributor and friend to True West—died at home in Scottsdale with...
All the World’s a Stage
Jack Langrishe was an actor and comedian in the Old West. He set up a theater in Deadwood, DT which also served as a church and hosted the trial of...
History of Jeans
Jeans were America’s first working clothes, then symbols of disobedience only to become fashion items. Their history is long and colorful. The...
What Goes Around, Comes Around
Robert Martin led a double life. In Arizona and New Mexico territories, he was known as an honest and important rancher. In Mexico, he (and pal...
A Noose and a Scoop
A hanging tree. A blacksmith’s shop. A gold field. A Studebaker. An ice cream saloon. This story was almost lost forever. It would have been if the...
The Oatman Party was near Arizona’s Painted Rock Petroglyph Site when they were Massacred in 1851. Could that have been a Factor in the Attack?
The Oatman party was near Arizona’s Painted Rock Petroglyph site when they were massacred in 1851. Could that have been a factor in the attack? Al...
Too Tough to Die!
We get a kick out of those who talk about the Western myth. What myth? The frontier was as real as a sawed-off shotgun and wilder than anyone could...
Riding Shotgun Across the West
In 2019, 170 years after the commencement of the Gold Rush, Wells Fargo remains an icon of growth and development of the American West. Established...
Belt Loops
There seems to be some confusion as to when belt loops first came into use. The hot summer of 1893 drove men to give up their braces and opt for...
What History Has Taught Me: John Farkis
John Farkis was born in Allen Park, Michigan, downriver from Detroit. After earning a business degree at Eastern Michigan University in 1972, he...
A Strange Choice
George Bravin became a Cochise County (AZ) lawman in 1894, when he was 36. He quickly garnered respect—although his choice of deputies was a bit...