The Whirlwind Romance of Will and Lulu

Posted on February 9, 2026 by ahcadmin

Louisa’s mad,
And I am glad,
And I know how to please her!

A bottle of wine
To make her fine
And her handsome beau to squeeze her!

So taunted the children on the sidewalk by the home of Louisa Frederici, in the Old Frenchtown community of St. Louis, Missouri, in the spring of 1865. Her suitor, William F. Cody, a young private of the US Army, had come to court her favor.1

The two had been introduced only a few days before by Louisa’s cousin, William McDonald.  The particular circumstances of their first meeting is now in the realm of legend, whereby Will McDonald played a practical joke on his cousin when he found she had nodded off while reading a magazine, perched upon a chair.  Discovering  her chair being pulled out from under her, Louisa managed to whirl about and furiously slap her jokester on the face, only to then realize she had assaulted a stranger rather than her prankster cousin! Despite her cousin’s laughter, he managed to formally introduce Private William Cody to Louisa, only to have him respond:

“I believe—I believe Miss Frederici and I have met before.”

“Where?” I [Louisa] innocently asked.

“In battle,” came the answer, and I flounced out of the room.2

Louisa later recounted her first impression of William Cody, that he was about the most handsome man she had ever seen. She must have been immediately infatuated with him, as she then devised a plan by the three of them to play an additional joke on another of her suitors, Louis Reiber, who had arranged to visit her that very afternoon. She and Cody were to play that they had known one another for a long time, and she began calling him “Will” as a familiar name. When Reiber arrived, he found the three of them acting like old friends, with Will and Louisa seeming quite close. At some point the “joke” went so far as to represent that Louisa was Will Cody’s fiancée. Eventually Reiber departed in exasperation.

Louisa Frederici Cody later in life in 1881. Portrait by Mosher Studios, Chicago. P.69.0795. Courtesy McCracken Research Library, Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

Cody returned several times. His pet name for her was Lulu, or sometimes just Lou. She kept a love poem from him, after he had spied her out on a walk, her face covered in veils to avoid sunburn:

The blazing sun of brilliant day
        May veil the light of stars above,
But no amount of heavy veils
        Can e’er deceive the eyes of love.

William F. Cody, in his own autobiography, later stated that while he was a soldier in 1865 he had met Louisa Frederici while stationed briefly in St. Louis. After his discharge at close of the Civil War later that year, he returned to St. Louis on a mission: “…to capture the heart of Miss Frederici, whom I now adored above any other young lady I had ever seen.” Louisa had been raised in a comfortable economic class, attended a Catholic convent for schooling, and was skilled in sewing. She was fully prepared to be a traditional housewife and mother. That she was at least two years older than William Cody did not seem to bother her.

On March 6, 1866, the two were wed at her father’s home. A mere hour after their wedding, the newlyweds embarked on a steamboat on the Missouri River, headed to Kansas. Cody’s reputation as an abolitionist Kansas jay-hawker in the early years of the Civil War caught up with him almost immediately, leading his new bride to wonder just how dangerous her new husband might actually be. At one riverboat landing there was a scuffle and gunshot, which caused Louisa to faint into her husband’s arms. Yet that did not seem to dampen their ardor, as their daughter Arta was born nine months later in December.4

William F. Cody with his wife Lousia and their daughter Arta, c. 1875. P.69.0239. Courtesy McCracken Research Library, Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

Lulu very quickly learned that life on the frontier West was not what she had prepared for, and that her new husband did not have the kind of regular employment folks in Old Frenchtown were accustomed to. Eventually, William F. Cody found personal and economic success as Buffalo Bill—scout, hunter, and showman extraordinaire. But Louisa did not shine on the world stage, being much more comfortable in her own home raising her family and managing her household and, eventually, ranches and other properties in both Nebraska and Wyoming.

She did try to adapt to the West, and her husband taught her to shoot and how to ride. Perhaps her greatest effort was when she described her own buffalo hunt in Kansas, just days after Buffalo Bill’s much heralded hunting contest against William Comstock:

I gave the word to Brigham [Cody’s experienced buffalo hunting horse] and while Arta, strapped to my lap, laughed and gurgled and clapped her little hands, we galloped forward. One great, heavy humped buffalo had moved out a few yards from the rest of the stragglers, and Will waved an arm to me to indicate that this was the one I should shoot down. I turned Brigham toward him, and the chase began…. Only a few rods separated us, and I raised my revolver as though to fire. But Will anxiously waved me down.

“Closer!” I could not hear the word, but I could see his lips as he framed it. Even old Brigham seemed to understand that I was about to make a mistake, for he suddenly plunged forward with a new speed, cutting the distance between the speeding bison and me. Soon the distance was cut in two. Now to a third. Again I raised my revolver, and this time Will did not object. There was a puff of smoke, the booming of the heavy gun, and then— Then, with a thrill I never again shall know, I saw the buffalo stumble, stagger a second, and fall headlong….5

Alas, the early charm of their courtship and marriage did not long survive the wear and tear of everyday frontier life in the West, nor of extended separations necessitated by a life of worldwide showmanship. Both Will and Lulu later wrote their biographies, not as simple memoirs, but as carefully constructed public images designed to immortalize what they wished to be their own best qualities. Accepted as such, their stories rank among the early legendary tales of the West.6

Contributed by Nathan E. Bender, Research Assistant, McCracken Research Library, Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Co-published with WyoHistory.org, where this post will appear on February 13, 2026.

Sources:

  1. Louisa Frederici Cody and Courtney Ryley Cooper, Memories of Buffalo Bill by His Wife (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1919), 31. See also Louisa Frederici Cody, Courtney Ryley Cooper, and Sherry L. Smith, Memories of Buffalo Bill (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2025), 18.
  2. Cody and Cooper, Memories of Buffalo Bill, 3-4.
  3. Cody and Cooper, Memories of Buffalo Bill, 12.
  4. William F. Cody and Frank Christianson, The Life of Hon. William F. Cody, Known As Buffalo Bill (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2011), 161-65, 175; Cody and Cooper, Memories of Buffalo Bill, 40-41.
  5. Cody and Cooper, Memories of Buffalo Bill, 142-143.
  6. See, for example, comments by Louis S. Warren, Buffalo Bill’s America: William Cody and the Wild West Show (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), 80-81.

Posted in American West, Biography and profiles, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The American Heritage Center Provides Original Image for the State’s New Rodeo License Plate

Posted on February 2, 2026 by ahcadmin

One of the most iconic rodeo photographs ever taken is now featured on Wyoming’s new rodeo specialty license plate. The scene depicted on the license plate comes from an original image by Burt C. Buffum, whose collection of photographs and other documents is preserved at the American Heritage Center, the archive of the University of Wyoming.

A Cowboy, a Horse, and a Photographer Come Together to Create a Lasting Moment

The cowboy was Guy Holt; the horse’s name was Steamboat; and the photographer was Burt C. Buffum. They came together for one brief but lasting moment that led to an iconic scene captured on film more than a century ago. Buffum titled the image “Guy Holt Pulling Leather on Steamboat.”1

That spectacular moment occurred at the Albany County Fairgrounds in Laramie on the afternoon of September 23, 1903 (the fairgrounds later became the site of the Washington Park neighborhood). Guy Holt was the reigning world champion in bronc riding. A few weeks earlier, he rode Young Steamboat, the younger half-brother of Steamboat, to capture the title at Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Photograph of Guy Holt on Steamboat taken by B.C. Buffum at the Albany County Fairgrounds on September 23, 1903. Box 35, B. C. Buffum papers, Coll. No. 400055, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

On that late fall afternoon in Laramie, University of Wyoming Professor Burt Buffum wanted to capture the action in the arena on his large-format camera. An agriculture professor and horticulturist by training, he considered himself an amateur photographer, though to operate a large-format camera and develop glass plate negatives in the early 1900s hardly could have been considered an amateur hobby. Taking photographs, developing glass plate negatives, and creating photographic prints required tremendous skill and time.

Portrait of Burt C. Buffum photographed on February 25, 1898. Box 17A, Aven Nelson papers, Coll. No. 400013, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Soon after arriving at the University of Wyoming in 1891, Buffum took an interest in photography and set up a darkroom in the corner of his office on campus where he could develop negatives and produce photographic prints.2 His primary interest in photography was for agricultural field work as part of his position at UW, which included visiting the experiment stations across the state and meeting with farmers to inspect crops. Buffum was instrumental in creating a camera club on campus in 1897 for university students and employees.3

University of Wyoming’s Camera Club on the step of Old Main, October 21, 1897. Box 12, B. C. Buffum papers, Coll. No. 400055, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Holt and Steamboat both entered the rodeo scene just after the turn of the century. They were recent arrivals to the growing sport. Guy Holt was born on December 5, 1883, on a ranch outside  Cheyenne. He worked at several cattle operations in the Cheyenne area and quickly earned recognition as a top rodeo cowboy. In 1903, he was working on a ranch at Hecla west of Cheyenne.

Steamboat was foaled on the Frank Foss Ranch near Chugwater in 1896. Foss sold a group of horses that included Steamboat to the Swan Cattle Company. Steamboat’s eventual owner, John Coble, began entering the horse in rodeo competitions. Coble is steeped in frontier history. As a rancher in the Iron Mountain area northwest of Cheyenne, Coble used the services of stock detective Tom Horn. Legend has it that Coble also shot a painting of a cattle scene with his .45 revolver at the Cheyenne Club, a private social club for cattlemen, in 1895. The painting survived and is displayed in the Wyoming State Capitol where the bullet hole is visible in the lower left corner of the painting. Coble eventually operated a ranch north of Laramie near Bosler when he purchased Steamboat.

On September 23, 1903, Steamboat, Guy Holt, and Burt Buffum descended on the rodeo grounds for the annual Albany County and Inter-Mountain Fair. A reporter from the Laramie Boomerang described Steamboat as looking “fat and saucy.”4 Steamboat’s unique bucking style that day was described as one that did “…not rise far from the ground, in as much as he twists every time when in the air, and gives a jerk that few horses ever learn.”5 As for Holt, “He lost his right stirrup the second jump” and had to contend with a problematic saddle.6 Though Holt still held on for a spectacular ride, the saddle no doubt affected his overall performance. When the scores of the rides were tallied, Guy Holt had earned a respectable second place.

Holt’s popularity in the rodeo circuit led him to being named the state’s most popular cowboy in 1905.7 Eventually, Holt moved to Sublette County where he operated a ranch near Pinedale. He passed away in Jackson on June 26, 1946. In 2014, Holt was honored again when he was inducted into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class.

When the Holt family learned about their ancestor appearing on the new license plate, they were thrilled. Robert Holt, the great grandson of Guy, said of his great grandfather’s appearance on the new rodeo plate, “It is very cool that they [WYDOT] used the actual original Buffum image on the plate…Our family is thrilled to see both horse and rider honored in this way.”8

New license plate issued by the State of Wyoming in January 2026. Image courtesy Wyoming Department of Transportation.

Steamboat became part of the C. B. Irwin Show and traveled around the nation performing in front of crowds, making him one of the most famous bucking horses in the nation. He continued bucking until 1914, when he died in Cheyenne on October 14. In 1975, Steamboat was honored as the first bucking horse to be inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.9

For the state to have a rodeo license plate made sense to Wyoming Senator Brian Boner of Douglas. The scene depicted on the plate recognizes rodeo as Wyoming’s official sport while also creating a revenue source for the rodeo teams across the state (UW along with most of the community colleges have a rodeo team). Boner sponsored legislation to approve the new plate during the 2025 legislative session.

After the bill was approved authorizing the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) to issue the new plate, the effort began to design the plate. The final image and design was selected in July by a committee that included representatives from Laramie County Community College, University of Wyoming Media Relations and the UW Rodeo Team, a member of the public, and a representative from law enforcement (to approve design for readability).10 The plate was released on January 2, 2026.

The image that Buffum took of Holt riding Steamboat has an element that few other rodeo scenes have—one that shows the Western prairie rising to meet rugged foothills. It is the entire scene with horse and rider framed in a classic Western landscape that sets the image apart. The landscape format of the image with the horse and rider positioned to the left instead of being centered, is ideal for use on a rectangular license plate. No doubt this was a factor WYDOT considered when selecting images.

Buffum’s image also served as the basis for the university’s use of a bucking bronco logo on an athletic uniform. The horse and rider first appeared on a baseball uniform in the spring of 1920. The idea came from UW alum and former athlete E. Deane Hunton, who returned to UW to become a professor of commerce. He was familiar with the image and worked with the Athletic Department to place the image on the uniform. Hunton traced a modified version of Buffum’s image that eventually was used on the uniform. Hunton may also have been the inspiration for the bucking horse and rider that appears on the Wyoming license plate.

University of Wyoming Baseball Team, 1920 (detail from panoramic photograph). E. Deane Hunton (wearing a suit), head of the Commerce Department and business manager, stands next to coach and athletic director John Corbett (far left). Hunton was a 1911 UW graduate who served as class president, played football and basketball, and was secretary of the athletic association. Box 517, Ludwig & Svenson Studio Photographs, Coll. No. 167, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

According to a newspaper article, as the year 1936 approached, Hunton wanted to recognize the University of Wyoming’s 50th anniversary and contacted Secretary of State Lester Hunt to pitch the idea. What better way to commemorate the milestone than to include the logo on the state’s license plate. Though many rodeo images would have been consulted for the artist’s final rendering, Buffum’s image of Guy Holt on Steamboat no doubt was one that artist Allen True would have referenced.11

In addition to appearing on athletic uniforms, the theme for the University of Wyoming’s 1923-1924 WYO yearbook was based on Buffum’s photograph. The image appears on the cover of the yearbook as well as on numerous pages throughout the yearbook. The tribute that appears in the WYO perhaps sums up best why the State of Wyoming has issued a license plate featuring a bucking horse and cowboy. The foreword includes the following passage:

It is the aim of the 1924 “WYO” to incorporate and perpetuate our most valuable heritage – the tradition of the cowboy. As the frontier and the open range become things of the past, the cowboy becomes more and more of a memory, but it is the memory which we should cherish, which will mean more to each succeeding generation.

Buffum left the university in 1908 but not before capturing another popular image of a horse and rider. Several months before he photographed Guy Holt on Steamboat, he also took an image of President Theodore Roosevelt. The president was in Laramie on May 30, 1903. After delivering an address on campus, Roosevelt joined a group on horseback and rode east over the hills to Cheyenne. Buffum captured the president and group in the hills between Laramie and Cheyenne.

President Theodore Roosevelt (center, with glasses) in a photograph taken by B.C. Buffum during his famous 65-mile horseback ride from Laramie to Cheyenne. On May 30, 1903, Roosevelt made the journey, changing horses four times, and riding with Wyoming prominent citizens. Box 5, B. C. Buffum papers, Coll. No. 400055, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Buffum, who grew up in Buffum Canyon near Fort Collins, Colorado, eventually started his own company to patent grains, first in Worland and later in Denver. He passed away on March 25, 1944. Around the time of his death, his original glass plate negatives were donated to the American Heritage Center. Many of them have been scanned and are available for viewing on the AHC’s digital website.

Post contributed by University of Wyoming Archivist John Waggener.

Sources:

  1. Eduma Buffum Boyne, unpublished biography of Burt Buffum, June 1964, B. C. Buffum Papers, box 1, folder 1, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, Laramie.
  2. Ibid.
  3. “University,” Laramie Boomerang, May 25, 1897, 2.
  4. “Champion Holt Dethroned,” Laramie Boomerang, September 24, 1903, 1.
  5. Ibid.
  6. Ibid.
  7. “Guy Holt the High Man,” Wyoming Tribune (Cheyenne), September 5, 1905, 1.
  8. Robert Holt, email message to author, January 15, 2026.
  9. “Hall of Fame Will Honor Steamboat,” United Press International, Laramie Daily Boomerang, December 10, 1975, 2 (also published in other newspapers).
  10. Wyoming Department of Transportation, email message to author, January 14, 2026.
  11. Details on E. Deane Hunton’s logo design for UW Baseball and Wyoming license plates: Branding Iron (University of Wyoming), January 17, 1946, 2, corroborated by author’s research.

Posted in Photography, Uncategorized, University of Wyoming history, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

125 Years of Yokohama Development

Posted on January 26, 2026 by ahcadmin

Yokohama is a historic seaport of the Kanto region of Japan, historically serving as a port city for receiving foreign visitors and dignitaries. While today the city’s fame pales in comparison to its neighbor, Tokyo, Yokohama was many visitors’ first glimpse of Japan. 

The Sallie Sharpe Collection at the American Heritage Center contains the travel journal of Ms. Sharpe’s visit to Japan in 1900. She landed in the city of Yokohama in late April, staying at the famed Grand Hotel Yokohama under a welcoming canopy of cherry blossoms. In her brief time there, she captured two pictures of the port city, photographing the harbor and the bund immediately in front of the Grand Hotel.

Renowned as the Grand Hotel and its city were, the harbor meets a humble, rocky beach, filled with diligent workers on small, wooden boats scattered on the water. The photograph of the bund, although damaged along the right side, shows a line of workers pulling goods with carts along a paved road underneath power lines. 

My visit to Yokohama occurred on May 5th, 2025, 125 years following Ms. Sharpe’s visit to the city. Although I was dedicated to recreating Ms. Sharpe’s photos exactly, the one-and-a-quarter centuries between our visits saw the area’s total redevelopment. Ms. Sharpe’s Grand Hotel was demolished in the Great Kanto Earthquake 23 years after her visit, being rebuilt as the Hotel New Grand in 1927.

Although completely redeveloped, I decided to travel to the equivalent areas of those pictured and take photos of the city in their modern state, 125 years later. 

The harbor, as pictured, is no longer a rocky shore, but is covered with extensive metal and concrete docks built out to accommodate colossal ships. An industrial city as ever, smokestacks and factories are still visible across the harbor as they once were at the turn of the 20th century. 

In place of the Yokohama bund is Yamashita Park, built on the waterfront and bustling with visitors. Although intending to capture the waterfront and the bund’s modern likeness, the background of the photo is filled with towering hotels and a Ferris wheel. 

Despite its development and being overshadowed by cities like Tokyo, the Yokohama Harbor visited by Ms. Sharpe bears a likeness to the one of today. With hotels to accommodate countless travelers and public parks bustling with diverse crowds of visitors, the harbor retains the welcoming spirit that it has met Ms. Sharpe and countless other visitors with for centuries.

Visit the American Heritage Center to see Sallie Sharpe’s journal for a view of turn-of-the-century Asia through the eyes of an American traveler!

Post contributed by Reference Department Archives Aide Briar Telkamp.

Posted in Collections Highlights, International Perspectives, Photography, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Excavating Fear: The Emotional History of the American West

Posted on January 19, 2026 by ahcadmin

“PRAY FOR ME. I AM ALONE.”

When Reverend Cyrus Byington penned these words in all capital letters from Indian Territory in 1841, he captured something often overlooked in the grand narrative of American westward expansion: terror. Surrounded by strangers, listening to prairie wolves howl outside his mission station, Byington feared not just for his physical safety, but for his sanity and his soul.

Reverend Cyrus Byington, Presbyterian missionary who worked among the Choctaw people for nearly 50 years, translating their language to English in Mississippi and later in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Image from Choctaw Language Dictionary, 1800s, public domain.

In June 2025, Abby Gibson spent a month at the American Heritage Center as the 2024 George A. Rentschler Fellow, searching for more voices like Byington’s—voices that spoke of dread rather than destiny when they looked West. Her dissertation, “Fearful Land: Managing Terror in the American West, 1820–1920,” challenges the conventional story of westward expansion by asking: what if fear, not hope, was central to how Americans experienced the West?

Beyond Manifest Destiny

We’ve all heard the triumphant narrative of Manifest Destiny—the idea that Americans were destined to spread across the continent. But this story, Gibson argues, obscures a darker emotional reality. Many Americans viewed the West as a landscape that inspired terror, brought on madness, and provided refuge for sinners and deviants. By bringing insights from the history of emotions to Western history for the first time, Gibson is working to recover the felt dimensions of this historic process.

Her dissertation explores how the United States didn’t just materially conquer the West’s peoples, land, and resources—it also had to emotionally conquer a settler nation’s fears about both itself and this place. When did the West finally “feel” like it belonged within the territorial and emotional boundaries of the United States? How did terrifying western landscapes eventually feel like home to American colonizers?

Finding Fear in the Archives

At the AHC, Gibson focused on materials related to the Indian Wars in the northern plains and the deserts of the Southwest during the second half of the nineteenth century, particularly the Black Hills War of 1876–1877 and the Apache Wars of 1872–1873. These regions—Dakota Territory and Arizona Territory—were what she calls “fearful hotspots” in the post-Civil War West because of the severity of Indigenous resistance to American expansion in these sites.

Two collections particularly stood out. Oliver Perry Hanna’s 1926 reminiscence provides extensive documentation of emotional context from the Indian Wars. Hanna, who volunteered for civilian expeditions in Wyoming and Montana territories hoping to gain experience “fighting Indians” like his favorite dime novel characters, offers brutal descriptions of fear used as a weapon of war. He recalls how expedition leaders deliberately sought “to create a fear and awe among the Indians” by desecrating Lakota burial scaffolds—dismembering and scattering their dead to disrupt their journey to the next life. In turn, Hanna describes how the Lakotas responded with a steady sonic barrage of drums and singing that unnerved and destabilized the emotional equilibrium of the expedition’s men.

Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876), chromolithograph by Kurz & Allison, 1889. Over 260 U.S. soldiers were killed in this battle. Oliver Perry Hanna, who fought at the Little Bighorn, later wrote about fear as a deliberate weapon used by both sides during the Indian Wars. Image from Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Equally revealing were U.S. Army physician Henry R. Porter’s morose letters home from Arizona Territory during General George Crook’s 1872 campaigns against Yavapais and Chiricahua Apaches in the Tonto Basin. Porter hated Arizona, expressing anxiety that the longer he stayed, the more likely he was to, in his words, “become some sort of maniac.” He even worried—perhaps metaphorically—that as his skin darkened under the Arizona sun, he was somehow becoming less white. Porter’s letters confirmed white anxieties about existing in the West in more visceral language than Gibson had encountered in other archives.

Henry Rinaldo Porter, Assistant Surgeon with the 7th Cavalry, circa 1875. In addition to the Crook’s 1872 Apache campaign, Porter also served at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. Photograph by David Francis Barry. Image from Denver Public Library.

The Emotional Apparatus of Empire

These materials are helping Gibson flesh out her dissertation’s fifth and final chapter, which examines what she calls the “emotional apparatus of American empire.” Fear functioned not only as something settlers experienced, but as a deliberate weapon of conquest. At the same time, she is interested in how Indigenous peoples and others targeted by the settler colonial project managed and survived the terrors at the heart of westward expansion.

One function of fear that emerges clearly from these materials is how settler and state interpretations of Indigenous people’s fear racialized them as “childlike” and in turn justified their extermination and removal in the eyes of expansionists. Hanna, for instance, chalks up Native resistance to expansion as “vengeance brewing in the hearts of these Indians”—a deliberate attempt to obscure the political and territorial logic of that resistance by interpreting it as merely emotional.

Moving Forward

The Rentschler Fellowship was her last residential research fellowship of her doctorate, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Before arriving in Laramie, she was anxious about having enough material for her final chapter. Now she has both rich sources and a clearer sense of direction. She notes that she is deeply grateful for this opportunity and for the kindness and generous assistance from the AHC Reference staff—particularly Jess LaBozetta, Mary Beth Brown, Vicki Glantz, and Ginny Kilander.

As for what comes next: this work will appear first in Gibson’s dissertation, but she hopes to publish a journal article from it and eventually turn the dissertation into a book. Because the history of the American West isn’t just about where Americans went and the continent they claimed—it’s also about what they felt, what they feared, and how they learned to call a once-terrifying landscape home.

Post contributed AHC Archivist Leslie Waggener in cooperation with Abby Gibson, 2024 George A. Rentschler Fellow and PhD candidate in U.S. History at the University of Southern California.

Posted in American Heritage Center, Research grants, Uncategorized, Western history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Walter J. Levy and the 1953 Iranian Oil Crisis: How an Oil Economist Shaped a Global Turning Point

Posted on January 12, 2026 by ahcadmin

The 1953 Iranian oil crisis is often remembered for its political intrigue and Cold War implications. Yet one of the most influential figures shaping Western thinking about the crisis was not a statesman or intelligence officer, but a petroleum economist: Walter J. Levy. His analysis of the global oil industry was integral to how the United States and Great Britain handled the crisis. His papers, housed at the American Heritage Center, are a treasure trove of knowledge in the political, economic, and social interests of the United States in the Middle East.

Walter J Levy, photographed for the Journal of Petroleum Technology. October 1952. Box 3, Folder 3, Walter J. Levy papers, Coll. No. 08428, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Who Was Walter J. Levy?

Walter J. Levy (1911-1997) was one of the twentieth century’s most respected oil economists. He was born in Hamburg to middle class Orthodox Jewish parents, Moses and Betty Levy. He studied law and economics at Kiel University in northern Germany, receiving his doctorate in law in 1933.

That same year, the shifting political environment of Germany would reach a sinister turning point when Adolf Hitler ascended to the chancellorship of the country. Along with the Nazi seizure of power came the persecution of Germany’s Jewish population. Levy, fearing for his life and ability to work, went into exile in Great Britain. His sisters survived the Holocaust. His father, however, died in 1938 after several years of being prohibited to practice law. His mother was deported and murdered in the Auschwitz death camp in 1942.

In Britain, he worked as a petroleum journalist, gaining acclaim and trust from both the petroleum industry and government officials who turned to him for his expertise. This success in Britain was short lived. In 1939 he was interred for being an “enemy alien” due to his German citizenship.

He became a refugee once again, heading to the United States. Here, he built a career as a journalist and government advisor on global petroleum trends. In 1946, Levy founded his own consulting firm, Walter J. Levy & Associates, which became influential across Europe and the Middle East. His analyses were valued for their clarity and ability to translate complex global economic dynamics into practical guidance for policymakers.

By the early 1950s, Levy had earned a reputation for unmatched expertise on oil economics; expertise that carried significant power during a moment when oil had become an essential part of postwar recovery and Cold War strategy.

Iranian Oil Crisis

Commemorative medal marking Naser al-Din Shah Qajar’s 1873 visit to London. Naser al-Din’s visit was the start of Anglo-Persian relations, as he was the first Iranian monarch to visit England. Box 2, Sir John Cadman papers, Coll. No. 04247, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

The Iranian oil nationalization crisis emerged from decades of frustration over British dominance of Iran’s oil industry through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (previously the Anglo-Persian Oil Company). The company was founded in 1909, and went through several concessions over its existence, but one constant remained: British shareholders held onto a significant share of the profits, while Iran only held onto just a fraction of the company’s profits. AIOC was staffed largely by Iranian workers, who felt shafted that their work was creating such a massive profit for foreign shareholders while their communities did not get to share in the wealth. Enter: National Front.

Mohammad Mossadegh, a veteran parliamentarian, anti-monarchy activist, and leader of the pro-democracy National Front political party, became Prime Minister of Iran in 1951. He won with a campaign centered on reclaiming control of Iran’s natural resources.

A constitutionalist and staunch advocate of Iranian sovereignty, Mossadegh viewed nationalization as not only an economic policy, but a moral and political imperative. Under his leadership, Iranian Parliament (Majlis) approved the nationalization of Iranian oil, asserting Iran’s right to manage its own wealth while sending the rest of the world into panic at the implications.

Levy’s Perspective on the Iranian Crisis

In response to the nationalization vote and Mossadegh’s leadership, Britain imposed a sweeping embargo, Iran’s oil exports collapsed, and diplomatic negotiations stalled. At this moment, Levy’s expertise became particularly valuable. His papers at the AHC feature several documents about the nationalization crisis in Iran, from speeches given to oil industry conferences to analysis documents given to the British and American governments on how to move forward with the crisis. The crisis, in his view, was not so much about Iran as an individual case of oil nationalization but rather the implication that any foreign country with resources could disrupt a global industry.

The Oil Forum February 1954. Box 4, Folder 1, Walter J. Levy papers, Coll. No. 08428, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Levy’s core argument was that the Iranian crisis was not an isolated political dispute but a structural challenge to the global oil system. If Iran succeeded in nationalizing a major foreign-owned oil operation without compromise, other oil-producing nations might follow suit, weakening the multinational framework that coordinated supply and investment.

This was not only economically vulnerable for western nations, but had major military and hard-power implications. Oil was central to NATO’s military readiness, and Levy worried that disruptions in Middle Eastern supply would directly affect Western security. This security was so crucial in the aftermath of a world war that saw entire nations turned to rubble, and the Cold War with the Soviet Union had leaders worried that it may happen again.

Levy was also concerned for Iran, a nation that he did not believe had the military power, economy, or infrastructure to sustain oil manufacturing in this way. He worried that Iran, in taking ownership of its own oil operations, was going to cripple themselves to maintain it.

Levy’s work was essential to helping governments and industries understand the depth of the crisis. In July 1951, Levy accompanied negotiators to a meeting with Mossadegh in Tehran, though no concession was achieved.

Program for the Middle East Institute’s 1953 meeting about the crisis, where Levy delivered potential solutions with Iranian, British and American Leaders. Box 3, Folder 9, Walter J. Levy papers, Coll. No. 08428, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Operation Ajax

In response to the crisis, the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Britain’s Secret Intelligence Agency (MI6) approved a plan to overthrow Mossadegh. Britain viewed Mossadegh’s leadership to be an economic threat, while the United States was worried that Mossadegh’s leadership could open the door to Soviet leadership.

The operation (which they called “Operation Ajax”) involved covert propaganda campaigns, political manipulation, and the bribing of Iranian officials and citizens to undermine Mossadegh’s leadership. Initial attempts failed; the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, refused to remove the Prime Minister as he supported nationalization. But the propaganda campaign was working. Iranians were outraged, taking to the streets en masse – some in support of the Shah’s leadership, and others in opposition to Mossadegh (though, historians debate the authenticity of these protests, with some believing that the protests were part of the broader operation).

Mossadegh, fearing civil unrest, issued a decree to dissolve Parliament, effectively stripping the Shah of his powers, and giving himself power to rule. This act proved devastating for his leadership. The Shah issued a declaration replacing Mossadegh with General Fazlollah Zahedi, a loyalist and a favorite of the United States and the U.K.

The Shah fled the country temporarily, and in his absence, a power struggle between Mossadegh and Zahedi unfolded. Ultimately, Mossadegh was deposed, arrested, and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to life in house arrest, under which he remained until his death in 1967. The United States denied all involvement with the operation until 2013, when the CIA released declassified documents.

Mohammad Mossadegh leaving court during his military tribunal. November 8, 1953. The Associated Press. (accessed through Wikimedia Commons).

The Legacy of Iran’s Oil Nationalization Crisis

The Iranian oil nationalization crisis left a complex legacy. For the West, it reinforced the idea that global energy security required tightly coordinated multinational management. For Iran, the crisis became a symbol of the struggle for sovereignty, a struggle frustrated by foreign intervention. The memory of 1953 shaped Iranian politics for generations and contributed to the anti-Western sentiment that culminated in the 1979 revolution.

Yet the nationalization movement also inspired a global wave of resource sovereignty. By the 1960s and 1970s, many oil-producing nations asserted greater control over their industries, exactly the trend Levy had feared but later analyzed with characteristic nuance.

Map identifying the web of players in Middle Eastern Oil. Box 3, Folder 3, Walter J. Levy papers, Coll. No. 08428, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

A Quiet Architect of Energy History

Walter J. Levy remains a lesser-known figure to the public, but his analyses profoundly shaped Western approaches to the Iranian crisis and the structure of the postwar oil order. Understanding 1953 through his lens reveals how expert knowledge, circulating in reports and briefings rather than headlines, can influence major geopolitical decisions and leave lasting marks on global history.

Post contributed by AHC Archives Aide Rhiannon Skye McLean

To learn more about Mossadegh, Levy, or the Iranian oil crisis, check out the Ottensen District Archive, Stephen Kinzer’s book All the Shah’s Men, and The Mossadegh Project.

Posted in International relations, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Legacy 101: How Wyoming Remembers Nellie Tayloe Ross

Posted on January 3, 2026 by ahcadmin

On December 20, 1977, The Wyoming Eagle marked Nellie Tayloe Ross’ death with a simple but powerful headline: “Nellie Tayloe Ross Dies at 101.” Beneath it, the paper summarized her lifetime of public service and listed her achievements as first woman governor in the United States, first woman director of the U.S. Mint, former vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, lecturer, and campaigner.

In a single opening sentence, the paper captured the scope of Ross’ career and underscored the national significance of a woman who began her public life in Wyoming and carried it onto a national stage.

The Wyoming Eagle December 20, 1977. Box 12, Folder 12, Nellie Tayloe Ross papers, Collection No. 00948, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

January 5, 2025, marks 101 years since Nellie Tayloe Ross took the oath of office as Wyoming’s and the nation’s first woman governor. This post explores how Wyoming remembers and honors Ross and her lasting legacy.

First some background:

After the sudden death of Wyoming Governor William Bradford Ross, voters elected his wife, Nellie Tayloe Ross, governor in a special election. When she took the oath of office on January 5, 1925, Ross became the first woman to serve as governor of a United States state.

While she didn’t win re-election in 1926, she remained active in the Democratic Party, later serving as the Democratic National Committee vice-chair and director of the DNC Women’s Division, two positions that brought her national attention once again.

In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed Nellie Tayloe Ross as the first female director of the U.S. Mint, a position she held until 1953. To this day, she is still the longest serving director of the U.S. Mint.

Now, the legacy:

In Wyoming, Nellie Tayloe Ross is remembered in ways that extend beyond a single story or historical marker. Her legacy appears in both ordinary settings and formal commemorations, reflecting her continued presence in the state’s sense of itself and its long-standing identification as the Equality State. When Wyoming recalls its history of political firsts for women, Ross is frequently included, remembered as a figure whose public career began locally and reached national significance.

Ross’ presence is embedded in Wyoming’s physical landscape through buildings, monuments, and public art. At the University of Wyoming, Ross Hall was constructed in 1959 and opened the following year as a women’s dormitory, a naming choice intended to honor a woman whose public service had broken national barriers.

Although Ross did not attend the university, her connection to the campus is grounded in historical circumstance. In 1924, her husband, Governor William Bradford Ross, became ill while speaking in Old Main, an event that directly preceded his death and the special election that brought his wife into office.

  • Ross at construction of Ross Hall with UW President George Duke Humphrey. AHC Photo Files.
  • Ross at dedication of Ross Hall. AHC Photo Files.
  • Relief of Ross in Ross Hall. AHC Photo Files.

She later acknowledged the significance of the honor in a 1960 letter to University of Wyoming President Clifford P. Hansen, writing that the news that one of the new buildings would bear her name stirred in her “sentiments beyond [her] power of expression.” A brass plaque inside the building further marks Ross Hall as a site of remembrance.

  • Letter from Ross to Cliff Hansen dated September 27, 1960, found in her papers.

Public art also plays a role in sustaining Ross’ visibility. Bronze sculptures in downtown Cheyenne place her likeness in the civic landscape of the state capital. The sculpture titled Her Honor the Governor stands directly in front of the Historic Wyoming Governor’s Mansion, and Nellie Tayloe Ross stands down the block from the Wyoming Capitol, both placements appear intentional and visually associate Ross with executive authority. Rather than functioning only as ceremonial markers, these works are encountered in everyday settings, allowing her legacy to remain present through routine use of public space.

  • Ross statues in Cheyenne. Photo credit: Kail Moede, 2025.

Ross’ memory is also sustained through tradition. The Wyoming Democratic Party’s Nellie Tayloe Ross Award and Banquet, which date back to at least 1984, were established only a few years after her death in 1977. The timing reflects an early effort to formalize her contributions into an ongoing act of remembrance. Presented at selected moments rather than continuously, the award preserves Ross’ memory by recognizing women whose service reflects commitment to public life. Anniversaries, particularly milestone years, similarly return Ross to public attention and provide occasions for reflection.

An important part of Ross’ legacy in Wyoming is also shaped by how her papers came to the American Heritage Center. During the late 1950s, Ross received multiple requests from institutions interested in acquiring her personal and professional records, including the Library of Congress, Radcliffe College, and the Wyoming State Historical and Archives Building, now the Wyoming State Archives. These inquiries reflected growing recognition of the historical value of her career and the significance of her role in national and state politics.

  • Ross to Gene Gressley, January 13, 1958 from AHC correspondence files.

Ross ultimately chose to place her papers with the University of Wyoming, transferring them to what would become the American Heritage Center in either 1959 or 1960. Rather than dispersing her materials among national repositories, Ross anchored her legacy in Wyoming, where they could support research, interpretation, and public engagement over time.

The Nellie Tayloe Ross papers include correspondence, speeches, and other materials created and collected by Ross during her long career in public service. These preserved records provide insight not only into her political achievements but also into her working life and decision-making over several decades. Ross’ choice to place her papers at the University of Wyoming reflects an understanding of legacy as something actively shaped, ensuring that future generations would have access to the documentary record of her life and work.

Interpretation and preservation further shape how Ross is remembered. Through a series of blog posts published over time, the American Heritage Center has revisited different aspects of Ross’ life and career, drawing from her papers to highlight different facets of her work. By returning to her story more than once, the AHC avoids presenting a single, fixed narrative.

More than a century after she took the oath of office, Nellie Tayloe Ross remains a figure Wyoming returns to at meaningful moments. Her memory is sustained through continued reference and reinterpretation, shaped by where her name appears and how her story is told. Taken together, these acts of remembrance offer a kind of legacy lesson, showing how Wyoming teaches its history not all at once, but through repetition, place, and practice.

Be on the lookout for a Nellie Tayloe Ross exhibit, coming to the American Heritage Center April 2026!

Post contributed by AHC Historian Kail Moede.

Please see the following resources for more information on Nellie Tayloe Ross:

American Heritage Center blog posts:

 WyoHistory.org article:

Posted in Biography and profiles, Political history, Uncategorized, women's history, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What I Learned Digitizing 100-Year-Old Negatives

Posted on December 29, 2025 by ahcadmin

The American Heritage Center offers internships for University of Wyoming students in various areas. One example is the opportunity to work with Grace Derby, the Center’s Photography Lab Supervisor. Students learn procedures for preserving historic photographic materials. Here, Gabby Castro shares her experience in the lab.

During my internship at the American Heritage Center photography lab, I spent the semester learning how to digitize different types of photographic negatives. My goal was to understand how different tools affect the final image, and which methods work best for fragile historical negatives. I found the process fun and rewarding, like solving a visual puzzle where every detail matters.

I worked with three systems: An Epson V800 flatbed scanner, a Fujifilm digital camera, and a large-format Linhof Kardan E 4×5 camera with a Better Light Super 8K-HS digital scanning back, which is a specialized high resolution scanner.

To compare them, I digitized 8×10 sheet film negatives and 5×7 wet plate glass negatives from the Clark H. Getts and Osa Johnson Papers. Osa Johnson, along with her first husband Martin Johnson, was an early 20th-century explorer and filmmaker whose work documented wildlife and Indigenous communities in Africa. These negatives are fragile, full of detail, and historically important, perfect for understanding what each digitization method can (and can’t) do.

Image showing Martin and Osa Johnson with local assistants during the 1920s.

The wet plate negatives are heavy glass objects with uneven emulsion (the light-sensitive coating on a negative) and distinctive surface marks that are important to preserve. The 8×10 sheet film negatives are fragile, reflective, and difficult to keep flat.

When I started, I had to restore the large-format camera and digital scanning back, which hadn’t been used for a long time. Fortunately, the manuals were available, but the information online on how to use the software was very limited, so I had to experiment with cables, software, lighting, and the Better Light scanning back until everything finally worked. It took time, but once the system was operational, I didn’t have any further problems during the scanning process.

Once everything was ready, I began digitizing with all three systems.

  • 8×10 negative digitized
  • 5×7 negative digitized

The digital camera was much faster. Each 8×10 negative was photographed in four parts, and each wet plate negative in nine to achieve better quality and greater detail in each image. Taking the photographs went quickly but merging them in Photoshop took time: around 15 minutes for each film negative and about 25 minutes for each wet plate. The results were clean and high contrast, but the camera struggled with capturing the more subtle details in the glass plates.

The large-format camera with the Better Light scanning back produced an interesting quality. This system scans the image line by line, which means it’s slower, but the details and tonal smoothness are impressive. Tonal smoothness refers to the gradual transitions between light and dark areas. For both film and wet plates, I divided each negative into four sections. Each section took around 6 minutes to scan, so the whole negative took about 24 minutes, plus around 18 minutes to merge the final image. Even though the workflow was slower than the digital camera, the results were sharper, more consistent, and more faithful to the original materials.

Using the Epson V800 scanner, I had to scan each 8×10 sheet film negative in two separate sections and then merge them in Photoshop. Each scan took about 20 minutes, and merging the pieces took another 25 minutes. The 5×7 wet plate negatives were faster because of their size. I scanned in a single pass, and each plate took about 20 minutes. While the scanner produced high-resolution files, it struggled with large-sized negatives, transparency, and the fragility of these materials.

After comparing the outcomes, the differences were clear. The scanner was easier but introduced reflections and softness, especially with the glass plates. The digital camera was the fastest, but it lost subtle detail and struggled with transparency. The large-format system with a digital scanning back took the longest to set up, but once it was working, it consistently produced the most accurate and detailed images. It was also the only method that preserved the physical character of the negatives without many modifications, including the edges and emulsion visual variations of the wet plates.

  • Digital Camera
  • Large Format
  • Flatbed Scanner
  • Digital Camera
  • Large Format
  • Flatbed Scanner

This project taught me that there isn’t one perfect digitization method for large-format negatives. Each tool has its strengths. The large-format camera is ideal for high detail images. The digital camera is great for quick access copies or large batches, it also allows printing on a large scale. And the flatbed scanner works well for smaller materials that fit comfortably on the scanner glass.

Additionally, this internship helped me understand the technical and creative decisions behind digitization and how those choices impact the way these materials are preserved and shared. It also helped me grow as a photographer, pushing me to notice details I never would have thought about before. Working with these materials made me appreciate the care needed to protect them.

Posted in behind the scenes, Interns' projects, Preservation, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”: The Enduring Appeal of a Holiday Hit

Posted on December 22, 2025 by ahcadmin

As we enter the holiday season, it’s nearly impossible to escape the sounds of holiday standards warbling through PA systems and speakers wherever you go. Holiday music is an incredibly lucrative industry with a wide-ranging and enduring appeal, and many recording artists release albums of Christmas music—which often feature the same tunes that have been in rotation for decades. Perhaps one of the most famous of these songs is “White Christmas,” the melancholy standard written by Irving Berlin.

Writing a Classic

Born to a Jewish family in the Russian Empire, Irving Berlin—born Israel Isidore Beilin—immigrated to New York city in 1893 at the age of five. After spending his teenage years performing as a singer in saloons across the traditionally working-class Lower East Side of Manhattan, Berlin got his first job as a staff lyricist with a prominent Tin Pan Alley music publisher, the Ted Snyder Company. From there, Berlin established himself as one of the most prolific songwriters of the 20th century.

Berlin played no small part in the development of the pantheon of music that comprises The Great American Songbook—though “White Christmas” is arguably one of his most widely-known and well-loved songs. Berlin authored the tune for the 1942 release of Holiday Inn, starring Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby.

Music score for Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” Box #15A. Nathan Van Cleave papers, Coll. 3053, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

“White Christmas” and World War II

The first public performance of “White Christmas” was on the set of the NBC radio show Kraft Music Hall on December 25, 1941. Sung by host Bing Crosby with the backing of the John Scott Trotter Orchestra, this performance came just weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, the song did not enjoy immediate commercial success.

It was not until Decca Records released the single of the tune in May of 1942 as a part of the promotion for the film release of Holiday Inn did the song begin to gain traction on the air. As the United Status became more entrenched in World War II, the melancholic, pensive tune began to rise in popularity even more. “White Christmas” first topped the charts at the end of 1942. Soon, requests for Bing Crosby’s recording of the nostalgia-seeped song—which reflects on holidays spent in the near-distant past—became one of the most-requested songs ever on the Armed Forces Network.

The song’s success was almost inseparable from the holidays during wartime. In December of 1942, department store Neiman-Marcus decorated their Christmas tree with a theme titled “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” Featuring over $10,000 worth of war bonds and stamps, the tree was “fashioned entirely of non-priority materials,” and both the tree and its associated event were held for the benefit of the Army and Navy.

A 1942 Newsweek article reports that the song enjoyed meteoric success in Britain as well, stating that “Sheet music here and in Britan have touched a million. For a song to reach the top over there at the same time it reaches its height here, incidentally, is most unusual.” The tune remained pervasive throughout the wartime years during the holiday season.

Cinematic Release of White Christmas

In 1954, Paramount Pictures released the motion picture film, White Christmas, sharing a name with Berlin’s song. The film was a technical spectacle for the time, featuring song and dance numbers shot in Paramount’s brand-new VistaVision technology.

November 1954 cover of Sunday Pictorial Review for the promotion of the cinematic release of White Christmas.  Box #44. Jacques Kapralik papers, Coll. 4064, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

The film features Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye playing the parts of a famous Broadway singing duo Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, who initially met while serving in the 151st Division during World War II. Through a series of comedic misadventures, the two find themselves on a northbound train to Vermont with a hopeful sister act, the Haynes Sisters, played by Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen. Upon their arrival in Vermont, they discover that their beloved former general, General Waverly, is running a ski lodge at risk of closure.

Cast photo of Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Ellen, and Danny Kaye from the set of White Christmas.  Box #5. Robert Emmett Dolan papers, Coll. 6436, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

The closing number of the film features the song “White Christmas” at a Christmas Eve concert orchestrated by Crosby’s Bob Wallace for the benefit of General Waverley.

Panoramic shots of the inn show veterans of the 151st Division in uniform paying tribute to their general. Even 13 years after its first performance just days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the film echoes the same themes that led to the initial popularity of “White Christmas” in mid-century culture.

A Season Standard

While “White Christmas” rose to the top of the charts more than 80 years ago, its appeal to audiences has endured over time. Crosby’s 1942 recording of the tune would prove to become the best-selling single of all time, and the recording was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in 2002 as part of their National Recording Registry. This song, widely enjoyed by generations of people across the world with a history deeply tied to wartime, remains a favorite today.

Whatever you may be celebrating this holiday season, the staff at the American Heritage Center wishes that all your days be merry and bright.

Post contributed by AHC Audiovisual Archivist Jessica LaBozetta.

Sources:

  • Allen, E. (2014). Trending: A White Christmas. The Library of Congress. https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2014/11/trending-a-white-christmas/
  • ‌Marling, K. A. (2000). Merry Christmas!: Celebrating America’s Greatest Holiday. Harvard University Press.
  • Neiman-Marcus Christmas Tree Decorated With $10,000 In War Bonds And Stamps: “I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas,” Theme Of 1942 Gift Promenade For Benefit Of Army And Navy Camps. (1942). Women’s Wear Daily, 65(115), 3-3, 6.
  • Snowed Under. (1942, Dec 28). Newsweek, 20, 74-75.
Posted in Collections Highlights, Holidays, Music History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

AHC and Grand Encampment Museum Unite to Share Lora Webb Nichols’s Remarkable Wyoming Archive

Posted on December 15, 2025 by ahcadmin

Lora Webb Nichols (1883-1962) was a prolific diarist and photographer who lived most of her life in southcentral Wyoming. She accumulated more than 24,000 negatives, representing the many shades of life in the frontier mining town of Encampment. Today, the American Heritage Center is the home to the Lora Webb Nichols Papers, a collection of transcripts, photographs, and negatives depicting Wyoming, California, and the Rocky Mountain region.

Lora Webb Nichols (then Oldman) sitting under a rock shelf with the description “There’s room here for 2, dear.” Box 4, Photo #2031, Lora Webb Nichols Papers, Collection Number 1005, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

“This collection is an endless source for interpreting Wyoming during [Nichols’s] time frame,” said Nancy F. Anderson, a close friend of the Nichols family and author of Lora Webb Nichols: Homesteader’s Daughter, Miner’s Bride. “Endless. Sixty-five years of diary, almost 24,000 images. There are diaries, letters, objects. The collection is absolutely breathtaking.”

A Penchant for Capture

Nichols was born in Boulder, Colorado, the youngest child of Horace and Sylvia Wilson Nichols. In 1884 her family moved from Boulder to a homestead in Encampment. In 1893 the Nichols family moved back to Colorado, where her father worked at the state penitentiary. In 1897, just as Lora began keeping a diary, the Nichols family returned to Encampment. She lived there until 1935 when she relocated to Stockton, California. She returned to Encampment a final time in 1956.

As a 13-year old, Nichols began recording entries in her diary, which she would continue to do over the course of her life. According to Anderson, Nichols also wrote down “innumerable poems, sayings and excerpts from longer works which were to guide her improvement.” As a youth it was clear Nichols had a penchant for capturing the domestic, social, and economic elements of everyday life.

A copper miner named Bert Oldman began courting Nichols in 1899, and she received from him her first Kodak camera; Nichols married Oldman in 1900 and they had two children. Her father also gifted her a developing kit for Christmas. At 16-years old, Nichols started taking her own photographs and developing her own negatives and prints. In 1905 Nichols built a darkroom to work as a photographer and photo finisher for hire. The first photographs Nichols took were of family, friends, and animals including her mother, her pony Nibbs, and her cat Yankee.

Lora Oldman, Maggie Nichols, and Jennie Ashley riding Nibbs, Lora’s pony, on September 23, 1901. Box 3, Photo #128, Lora Webb Nichols Papers, Collection Number 1005, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Nichols’s photography work coincided with a copper boom in the Sierra Madre Mountains. From 1897 to 1900, the town of Encampment grew to 3,000 people, many of whom sought their fortune in copper mining. Inhabitants built 13 hotels and saloons; a smelt with the capacity to process 100-tons of copper per day; and a 16-mile long tramway that carried up to 840 buckets of copper, each with up to 700 pounds of ore, from the mountain mines to the smelt.

Mining companies, prospectors, and ranchers recognized Nichols as one of the few skilled photographers in town and hired her to document their work. In addition to photographing family and friends doing daily chores like cooking, cleaning, shoveling snow, and stacking wood, Nichols started snapping shots of ore mining camps, processing facilities, infrastructure projects, and industrial landscapes.

Photography helped supplement Nichols’s income but it wasn’t her only job. After divorcing Oldman in 1910, Nichols married her cousin Guy Nichols in 1914; they had four children. A few years after the birth of her son Dick in 1921, Nichols began publishing and editing the Encampment Echo from 1925 to 1930. In addition, Nichols worked in the post office, owned and ran a local eatery called the Sugar Bowl, and cooked at the A Bar A ranch. She also operated her own photography studio, Rocky Mountain Studio, where she shot and developed her own photos and developed other peoples’ work. When the Civilian Conservation Corps arrived in 1933 to run camps in Medicine Bow National Forest, Nichols documented crew members and processed film they took, some of which she reprinted and sold as postcards.

In 1935, Nichols moved to California for health reasons but kept on taking photographs. Guy Nichols remained in Encampment where he died in 1955. Nichols retired in 1956 and settled back in Encampment, which would be her home until her death in 1962.

According to Anderson, “during the last six or seven years of Lora’s life, she usually carried at least two cameras with her everywhere she went.”

Baling Wire and Capable Women

When Nichols passed, the Grand Encampment Museum recovered her diary, memoir manuscript, and negatives. Anderson, a longtime Grand Encampment Museum volunteer, helped preserve the Nichols collection in the 1990s by storing negatives in a freezer. Ezra Nichols, Nichols’s son, also lent Anderson some financial support for the project. In 2014, Anderson approached John Waggener, the university archivist and historian at the University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center, about long-term care of the collection. This started a process of transferring thousands of negatives and transcribed pages to the AHC. In 2015, Nichols’s negatives were officially donated to the American Heritage Center and made publicly accessible online.

Lora’s second husband, Guy Nichols (right), with Hank Beecher, mining in a tunnel at Two Toms Claim on January 22, 1911. Box 4, Photo #1213, Lora Webb Nichols Papers, Collection Number 1005, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

In 2017, the Wyoming State Historical Records Advisory Board awarded the Grand Encampment Museum an almost $2,500 grant to begin transcribing Nichols’s diaries, scrapbooks, and manuscript. The original written documents remain at the Grand Encampment Museum.

Today, the Lora Webb Nichols collection at the American Heritage Center contains transcripts of her diaries (1897-1907), her unfinished manuscript, “I Remember” (ca. 1962, covering events from 1859-1905), and thousands of images of life in Wyoming, California, and the upper North Platte River valley. It’s a collection of more than 22 boxes and 471 GB of material. Nancy Anderson and her husband Victor digitized more than 21,000 images from the collection and created descriptions for each of the images. AHC archivists then worked on transferring all of the digital images and made them accessible online.

Anderson recalled that one of Nichols’s favorite sayings was “All that holds Wyoming together is baling wire and capable women.” When it comes to local history, for Nichols and Anderson it seems to be true.

Post contributed by AHC Assistant Teacher Nick DeLuca.

Posted in Collections Highlights, Photography, Uncategorized, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Carroll Baker – More Than a Sex Symbol of the Silver Screen

Posted on December 8, 2025 by ahcadmin

With her large blue eyes and lithe figure, Carroll Baker was a Hollywood sensation. Papers of the day described her as “a little like Marilyn Monroe, a little like Jean Harlow, and altogether a platinum blonde.” She earned millions from her appearances in dozens of movies. Directors, including George Stevens and John Ford, praised her skill as an actress. Yet behind the glamour was a determined artist who fought to be seen for her talent rather than her looks.

Carroll Baker strikes a glamorous pose disembarking from a train in France.
Carroll Baker strikes a glamorous pose disembarking from a train in France. Box 8, Carroll Baker papers, Collection No. 5474, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Baker came from humble beginnings. She was born in Pennsylvania coal country in 1931. Her childhood was unsettled. The family moved often while her father tried to make a living as a traveling salesman. Her parents fought and eventually divorced. Movie theaters offered a welcome form of escape. As a young girl, Baker idolized Shirley Temple and tried out for school plays but never won a role.

Baker left home at seventeen to pursue a career as a dancer. Before long she was an assistant to The Great Volta, a touring magician. At eighteen she married a New York furrier and real estate mogul 34 years her senior. The marriage lasted eight months and Baker traveled to Mexico to get a divorce. The brief marriage left Baker wiser and more independent—ready to chase her dream on her own terms.

On her return to New York City, she decided to pursue a career as an actress. She auditioned for the Actors Studio, determined to study method acting. There she met Jack Garfein, whom she married in 1955. Garfein was a stage and film director, who had come to the United States as a teenaged orphan, having been the only member of his Czechoslovak-Jewish family to survive Nazi concentration camps. Newlyweds Garfein and Baker were poor but happy, living in a one room New York City apartment and eating canned spaghetti for dinner.

Baker’s ascent to Hollywood stardom began when she was cast as Elizabeth Taylor’s and Rock Hudson’s daughter in the 1956 film Giant. Warner Brothers was so impressed with her performance that they signed her to a seven-year contract. That led her to the leading role in the 1956 film Baby Doll based on two one-act plays written by Tennessee Williams.

Baby Doll was a violent and disturbing film. Baker played the title character, Baby Doll, a nineteen-year-old girl who, though married, sleeps in a crib, sucks her thumb, and plays with dolls. It garnered Baker an Oscar nomination, but it was also given a condemned rating by the Catholic National Legion of Decency. They called the movie “salacious” and full of “carnal suggestiveness.”

In this scene from Baby Doll, Carroll Baker runs to find her on-screen husband.
In this scene from Baby Doll, Carroll Baker runs to find her on-screen husband. Box 32, Carroll Baker papers, Collection No. 5474, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

In New York, partly because of the notoriety, Baby Doll was a box office sellout. But in Memphis and Atlanta the movie was banned. Baker was appalled that her part “caused so much hoopla.” She hid from photographers, who badgered her to pose sucking her thumb. She dyed her hair black and began wearing dark clothes to make herself inconspicuous. Meanwhile, critics called her a female James Dean and touted her as the star discovery of the year.

Warner Brothers proceeded to offer her parts that were reminiscent of Baby Doll, but Baker didn’t want to be typecast, so she took out a loan and bought out her studio contract for $250,000. After the success of Baby Doll, Baker was careful about which directors she worked with. She held out for scripts with artistic merit. Following Baby Doll, Baker appeared in The Big Country and in a Clark Gable comedy But Not for Me. It was a particularly sweet success as Baker had long admired Clark Gable.

Baker traveled to Europe on vacation in 1960. While she was there, an Italian photographer asked her to pose in a bikini. Baker demurred – she was a professional actress, not a sex symbol. But the photographer was persistent. Baker ended up on the front cover of magazines across Italy. The experience led her to conclude that, like Sophia Loren, she could be a serious actress with sex appeal.

Then in 1961, she and husband Garfein teamed up on Something Wild. It was another film with dark themes. Garfein wrote the script and directed. Baker played a girl living alone in a New York slum. The movie opens with a brutal sexual assault. Critics called it “a complex exploration of the physical and emotional effects of trauma.” Baker prepared for her role by renting a tiny room in a boarding house and hiring on as a salesgirl in a dime store. The film received critical reviews in the U.S. but was better received in Europe.

Carroll Baker and Jack Garfein on the set of Something Wild.
Carroll Baker and Jack Garfein on the set of Something Wild. Box 36, Carroll Baker papers, Collection No. 5474, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Garfein and Baker’s collaboration wasn’t limited to film. They also had two children, Blanche and Herschel.

Carroll Baker, Jack Garfein, and their children Blanche and Herschel pose for a photo outside their Beverly Hills home.
Carroll Baker, Jack Garfein, and their children Blanche and Herschel pose for a photo outside their Beverly Hills home, 1965. Box 46, Carroll Baker papers, Collection No. 5474, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

In 1962 Baker was cast in the Broadway show Come On Strong but the production flopped. A review described Baker: “A slender blond beauty with a springtime freshness of a true romantic heroine, she can whip a comic line across the stage like a hand grenade, make love with ardor and grace, turn abruptly without a false move from one mood to the next, make you love her, hate her and, time and again, weep for her. What an extraordinary talent!”

Then came How the West Was Won, an epic Western with a star-studded cast. Baker played the role of pioneer Eve Prescott Rawlings and proved herself, once again, a worthy actress. For the 1964 film The Carpetbaggers, Baker played the sultry Rina Marlowe, loosely based on the actress Jean Harlow. The press called it “the most daring and sexy film ever to come out of Hollywood!” Garfein was pragmatic about Baker’s on-screen romances saying, “As long as she acts well, I like it.” Baker said she “enjoyed filming love scenes – letting her instincts go.”

George Peppard, playing Jonas Cord, Jr, and Carroll Baker, playing Rina Marlowe, in a publicity photo for the film The Carpetbaggers, 1963.
George Peppard, playing Jonas Cord, Jr, and Carroll Baker, playing Rina Marlowe, in a publicity photo for the film The Carpetbaggers, 1963. Box 46, Carroll Baker papers, Collection No. 5474, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Also in 1964, Baker traveled to Kenya to film Mister Moses. Her face was frequently splashed across the cover of popular magazines like Life and Look. That same year she appeared in Cheyenne Autumn, the last Western directed by John Ford. In what was another departure from her bombshell roles, Baker played a Quaker school teacher.

Carroll Baker at the international Press Premiere of the film Cheyenne Autumn at the Lincoln Theater in Cheyenne, Wyoming, 1964.
Carroll Baker at the international Press Premiere of the film Cheyenne Autumn at the Lincoln Theater in Cheyenne, Wyoming, 1964. Box 10, Carroll Baker papers, Collection No. 5474, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Baker spoke of working terribly hard, saying “the kind of excitement we try to create for a motion picture, the way we go out of our way to make personal appearances, is a lot harder for us that it is for the men; first of all because we have a very short career span, and secondly because it takes us hours longer to get ready, fix our hair, makeup and so forth.” But Baker also wrote, “I have most of the blessings that eluded Marilyn Monroe and Jean Harlow – children, a good husband, a secure home – and now I am financially secure, too.”

In 1965, Baker was cast in the role of Jean Harlow in a biopic titled Harlow. By then, reviewers were calling Baker the “sex queen of the Sixties.” In an interview, Garfein said, “Carroll is cast most successfully as a sinner or a saint. There’s this thing about her – a combination of purity and beauty and yet of corruption…She’s beautiful, seductive and sexy.” Baker, for her part said, “The world is preoccupied with sex, and I guess I’m part of my time…I’m interested in playing the modern woman who has become so liberated she has given way to all sorts of passions and desires. If a script calls for nudity, if it seems to be an inherent part of the character that I’m playing, then why shouldn’t it be done that way?”

By 1966, Baker had become an internationally renowned actress, having starred in 15 films. She traveled to Vietnam with Bob Hope’s Christmas USO troupe to entertain American troops.

Carroll Baker talks with a wounded soldier in Vietnam.
Carroll Baker talks with a wounded soldier in Vietnam. Box 12, Carroll Baker papers, Collection No. 5474, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Back in California, tensions with her studio were mounting. Amid a legal dispute over her contract with Paramount, Baker moved to Italy with her children. She separated from Garfein in 1964, and they divorced in 1969.

Baker returned to the U.S. after acting in a series of Italian films in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the 1980s, she turned her attention to writing, publishing three books, including Baby Doll: An Autobiography. And, defying the odds, she continued to act. Her 1990s television credits include roles in Tales from the Crypt and Murder, She Wrote. She also appeared in films like Kindergarten Cop with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dalva with Farah Fawcett and The Game with Michael Douglas. Baker formally retired in 2003, having spent nearly fifty years acting on stage and on screens both large and small.

Carroll Baker’s career reflects both the glamour and the grit of Hollywood’s golden age. From her humble beginnings to her transformation into an international star, she defied the industry’s attempts to confine her to a single image. Baker was never just the blonde bombshell on the marquee; she was a woman of depth and conviction who brought courage and vulnerability to every role she played. Through talent, resilience, and an unyielding sense of self, Baker proved that she was far more than a sex symbol—she was a complex artist whose performances continue to captivate audiences decades later.

Post contributed by AHC Writer Kathryn Billington.

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