Fifty years ago, director Sam Peckinpah’s controversial Major Dundee, starring Charlton Heston and Richard Harris was floundering at the box office....
“One Riot, One Ranger”
Texas Ranger Captain Bill McDonald is famous for the line, “One riot, one Ranger.” But like so many notable quotes, it’s probably more folklore...
Hell Paso
Everyone knew that John Wesley Hardin was one of the deadliest gunfighters in all the West. Which is why, late in the evening of August 19, 1895,...
Hygiene in the Old West
Just how good were the “good ol days?” Folks on the western frontier led a hardscrabble life. They were wan with fever, gaunt, scrawny and peaked....
Dan Tipton’s Grave
Dan Tipton knew a moment of fame, riding with Wyatt Earp on the so-called Vendetta Ride, hunting down the killers of Morgan Earp. Later on, he met...
The Most Detested Day on the Frontier
Was laundry day! Sometimes it was Mondays, but more than not, Wednesdays. First, women had to make the lye soap; then they had to haul water,...
When Johnny Came Marching Home Again
When the veterans came home from the battlefields and their postings far from home 150 years ago, the toll of the war was felt from the hamlets of...
Hanging Windmill
Back in 1879, folks in Las Vegas, New Mexico found a new use for the windmill in the town plaza. And why not—the well had gone dry a couple of...
Arbuckle’s Coffee
Long before Matt Dillon, Chester and Miss Kitty wrapped their hands around a warm cup, coffee was a staple on the frontier. In 1849 while surveying...
Dancing at the Sheridan Inn
On May, 15, 2015, fifty years after the last guest stayed at the Historic Sheridan Inn of Sheridan, Wyoming, the famous hotel will reopen for guests...
The First Ronstadt Superstar
It wasn't Linda Ronstadt, although the Tucson, Arizona singer was a superstar until her retirement in 2011—11 Grammy Awards, 3 American Music...
The Birth of an Outlaw
Ever since 1952, when Bob Mullin and Phil Rasch found the marriage record of William Antrim and the Kid’s mother, Catherine McCarty, the truth about...