Fretting is something most of us try to avoid. Kirk Ratajesak, of Seattle, Washington, on the other hand, has made fretting his life’s work. But...
Kirk Ratajesak
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Articles
Placing Blame
Just after dawn on November 29, 1864, elements of the First and Third Colorado Regiments commanded by Col. John M. Chivington attacked a peaceful...
All This Way for the Short Ride
So, you’ve never heard of Tom Russell? Join the club. Songwriters, unlike performers, are often unknown. Tom Russell is a cult figure around the...
Custer Battlefield Museum
After his victory at Washita, a buckskin-clad Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer felt undaunted in his role of frontier Indian fighter. The Seventh...
Did Davy Really Die?
March 6, 1836 Did He Go Down Swinging or Surrendering? Just after midnight, Gen. Santa Anna orders his 2,064 troops to move toward their assault...
Following the Hawks
For years, novelist Win Blevins honed his storytelling skills by creating characters and events in Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park for his youngest son...
Bird’s-eye View of 19th-century Mining
If a miner wrote back East of his adventures, he may have sealed his message inside a pictorial lettersheet depicting a bird’s-eye view of the...
Dirty Digs
After recalling a sod house he’d seen at one of the stage stations between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Carson City, Nevada, in 1861, Mark Twain wrote...
Spittin’ Against the Wind
In the 1830s, Davy Crockett opened a window aboard a train, which was a serious taboo because sparks from the smokestack could blow inside and cause...
Is it true that you can fire multiple shots from a percussion cap pistol if you don’t grease the lead when you load it into the cylinder?
Is it true that you can fire multiple shots from a percussion cap pistol if you don’t grease the lead when you load it into the cylinder? David...
Do any of the guns used in the gunfight near the O.K. Corral exist? If so, where are they?
Do any of the guns used in the gunfight near the O.K. Corral exist? If so, where are they? K. Harding Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Wyatt Earp expert...
Did any Old West ranchers ever try to raise buffalo with their cattle?
Did any Old West ranchers ever try to raise buffalo with their cattle? Paul Gordon St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada Legendary Texas cattleman Charles...