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Category Archives: Western history
Joseph S. Palen: Cheyenne Frontier Days Chronicler
If you’re interested in the history of Cheyenne Frontier Days (CFD), a great place to start is the J. S. Palen papers at the American Heritage Center. Born in 1912 in Salina, Kansas, Palen became fascinated with cowboy culture at … Continue reading
The Good Kind of Desert Dust
If you’ve spent any time driving through Wyoming, you’ve probably seen huge herds of wild horses on the roadside. These beautiful animals are an icon of the American West, and Frank “Wild Horse” Robbins spent his whole life working with … Continue reading
65 Years Ago: Ellis Armstrong and America’s Interstate Highway System
Described as the largest public works project in the history of the world, the monumental Federal-Aid Highway Act that finally made possible the building of a planned super highway system was signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on June 29, … Continue reading
Opening Chutes and Closets – Gay Rodeo
The chute flies open and out comes a bucking bronc, with a rugged cowboy astraddle, trying their best to stay mounted – this iconic image is associated with rodeos across the West. And since 1975, a similar scene has played … Continue reading
The Mail Must Go Through!
A rider and his horse thunder into view over the desert horizon, barreling towards the way-station where water and a fresh horse await. As the rider leaps off his horse and onto another, his mail bag swinging from his hand, … Continue reading
Cheyenne Women of the Ku Klux Klan
In 1924 Denver residents Laurena H. Senter, Metta L. Gremmels, and Dr. Esther B. Hunt incorporated a chapter of the Women of the Ku Klux Klan in Colorado. Senter was a pillar of the Denver KKK community as well as … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized, Western history, women's history, Wyoming history
Tagged Ku Klux Klan, Women of the Ku Klux Klan
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Amigos de la Comunidad of Torrington, Wyoming
In box 9 of the Lawrence Cardoso papers housed at the American Heritage Center is a booklet dating to the mid-1970s titled “Amigos de la Comunidad.” I was leafing through that particular box searching for something totally unrelated. But the … Continue reading
Men of Mystery: Tom Horn, William A. Pinkerton, and Frank Canton
Tom Horn’s enduring reputation rests on the moment in 1903 when he was hanged in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for the murder of fourteen-year-old Willie Nickell. It was, in some ways, an ironic end, for Horn was not an “outlaw” like Jesse James … Continue reading
Posted in outlaws, Uncategorized, Western history, Wyoming history
Tagged Assassins, John Tregoning, Pinkerton Detective Agency
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The Searchlight Club: Elevating Cheyenne’s African American Women
August 26 marks the date in 1920 when American women were enfranchised equally with their male counterparts. Nonetheless, African American women continued facing barriers to voting for decades, as well as negative stereotypes, harassment, and unequal access to jobs, housing, … Continue reading