A native of San Francisco, California, John Boessenecker graduated from San Francisco State University with a history degree in 1975. After serving...
What History Has Taught Me: John Boessenecker
read more
Departments
Cochise, Cowboys and Cavalry
The first thing you notice about Willcox, Arizona, is the wine. Wineries. Wine-tasting rooms. Wine festivals. Wine has practically taken over this...
The Black Father of Fort Worth
A black kid with a shining smile suddenly appeared in Colorado City, Texas, in 1886, hoping to make two bits a pop as a bootblack for blacking a...
Doc Gets Hammered
October 10, 1880 Two well-known sports, John Tyler and John Henry “Doc” Holliday, exchange harsh words while gambling in the Oriental Saloon. His...
Kingsville, Texas
No Hollywood writer could invent the life of Richard King. He was born in New York in 1824 into an Irish family so poor that, at age 9, he...
What’s the History of Yuma, Arizona?
What’s the history of Yuma, Arizona? Scott Gastineau Prescott Valley, Arizona Louis J.F. Jaeger arrived at the storied Yuma Crossing in July 1850,...
Tombstone 25—A Western Classic’s Reunion
It’s not often that a movie becomes a cult classic almost immediately after its release, but such was the case with the 1993 motion picture...
Norman Rockwell’s Duke
In 1973, John Wayne sat inside Norman Rockwell’s studio in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, so the artist could paint a portrait of the actor. The...
Raised from the Dead
Looting, wildfires, pollution, vandalism, time, the elements—Western ghost towns have lots of enemies. Thankfully, they’ve also got friends like...
How did Old West Pioneers Acquire Honorific Titles?
How did Old West pioneers acquire honorific titles? Daniel Scuiry Berkeley, California An honorific is defined as a title that conveys esteem or...
A Thirst for Destruction
Carrie Amelia Moore, born in Kentucky on November 25, 1846, grew into a crusader who chopped her way to legend as Carrie Nation. In 1867, Carrie...
The Boss Drink
Pioneers were sipping ice cream soda waters as early as the 1860s, but ice cream sodas wouldn’t come along until the next decade. Ice cream soda...