One day in 1937, in the bar of Tucson’s Santa Rita Hotel, the cowboy-actor Tom Mix gave seven-year-old Joe Brown a pair of buckskin chaps with...
Jim Leavy, Gunfighter
Jim Leavy was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1842. His name was often misspelled Levy and this has led some to believe he was Jewish. He came to America...
A Mapmaker’s Tragic End
In March 1853, Congress appropriated funding for four surveys of potential railroad routes throughout the American West. The surveys constitute one...
A Babe on the Battlefield
The horrified woman ran with all her heart through chaotic, thunderous reports of carbines, rifles and pistols that were dwarfed only by the din...
A Western Dynasty: Winchester
Firearms enthusiasts know of Winchester’s role in the development of the repeating rifle, yet few have knowledge of the personal dealings involved...
Let’s Hang This “Damned Nuisance”
History tells us that in the Old West, the rope was an instrument of both justice and injustice—sometimes they hanged the right guy for the right...
The Magnificent Robert Vaughn, 1932-2016
Actor Robert Vaughn has died Friday, November 11th at the age of 83. Born in New York City on November 22, 1932, Vaughn enjoyed a lengthy career in...
Through Yavapai-Apache Eyes
New Year's Day on January 1 is normally celebrated as the start of a new year, a day off from work and a day to eat black eyed peas for good luck....
One fascinating and Formidable Pioneer Woman
When she died in 1926, the Tombstone Epitaph wrote: “Mrs. Hughes was one of the few pioneer women in the territory who left a lasting impression...
Navajo Women Helped the War Effort, Too
While young Navajo men were away, secretly helping win the war as Code Talkers with their unbreakable code, hundreds of Navajo Women also did their...
Saying Goodbye to an American Hero
By now, most know the fabulous story of the Navajo Code Talkers—young Navajo men who joined the Marines during World War II and were sent to the...
The Women on the Mother Road
It was John Steinbeck who first named Route 66 the “Mother Road”--all 2,400 miles of it from Chicago to Los Angeles. But it was thousands of...