At any moment, Minnesota native John J. “Jack” Koblas was likely to break out into an animated talk about baseball, Science Fiction, Horror or...
Top Five Koblas Reads
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Johnny D. Boggs
Remembering the Dakota War in Minnesota
Are you here to see the Dakota War exhibit?” a male worker at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul asks me. It takes a moment before I can...
Grapes vs. Rhubarbs?
I am supposed to be interviewing Andy Sponseller at Ten Spoon Winery in Missoula, Montana, but he had to make an emergency trip up north. The...
How the West Was Won
"We sincerely believe that all who see How the West Was Won, will agree that, the motion picture medium has attained its highest level of artistic...
Surviving in Tucson…
I haven’t seen this many people on a college campus since I was making my way around the University of Texas in Austin for a Bruce Springsteen...
With Blood in Their Eyes
On February 10, 1918, brothers John and Tom Power, their father and a hired hand named Sisson engaged in—sorry O.K. Corral fans—the bloodiest...
Almost Getting Killed…
Dutch Oven Wally Roberts is trying to kill me. If there’s a cowboy event or trail ride in West Texas or New Mexico, chances are you’ll find Roberts...
Looking for the Shawnee Trail
What was it John Wayne said in Red River? “Ten miles a day will be good. Fifteen will be luck.” Sounds just about right. I’m inching my way toward...
Hanging Your Hat in Colorado’s Historic Hotels
Sure, you can find historic hotels across the West, but I don’t know if any state offers a better selection than Colorado. Don’t believe me? Well,...
A Dickens Christmas
Bah, humbug. The high sheriffs of this rag twisted my arm to write about Victorian Christmas celebrations out West. I’m no Scrooge, but I live in...
The West Out East
For all of you poor suckers not fortunate to live west of Independence, Missouri, or who find yourself in the crowded, humid East, fear not. You can...
The West’s Most Provocative Artist
Standing outside Due West Gallery, Thom Ross is packing iron. Good thing Wyatt Earp and Pat Garrett aren’t in Santa Fe, New Mexico, or they’d be...