American Heritage Center (AHC) #AlwaysArchiving

Finding Nigeria in Indigenous American Archives

Posted on November 17, 2025 by ahcadmin

When I first opened the lid of the gray archival box at the American Heritage Center, I was both exhilarated and apprehensive, the kind of feeling you get when you encounter something that is both fragile and alive.

In it, buried under files thick with history, is a picture that takes my breath away. It translated into an image of Arapaho boys at a mission school in the late 19th century. At first glance, it appeared one of those black-and-white photographs you flip through quickly in history books—clamped buttons on stiff collars, stiff postures, a missionary and a priest to one side, their power cordoned off. But the longer I looked at it, the weightier the image appeared. I observed boys whose eyes alternated between obedience and defiance, children trapped in a world not their own. That was when I realized that the archives weren’t just piles of paper. They were voices, waiting for someone to listen.

Photograph of boys at the first mission school on the reservation, ca. 1890. Dr. John Roberts (seated at far right) and Rev. Sherman Coolidge (standing at far left). John Roberts papers, Coll. No. 37, Box 3, Folder 3, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Arriving from Nigeria

I came from Nigeria to Wyoming to study for a master’s in American Studies. I grew up in Nigeria, and this resonates well with our history, the influence of colonial legacies on our education. Most of Nigerian schools spoke English— not my grandparents’ indigenous languages. Our history books seemed as if they had been written from an outsider’s perspective—by people who believed they understood our history better than we did. School was supposed to be free, but it often meant learning someone else’s idea of who we were.

That background made me deeply curious about Native American history and education in the United States. What role had colonization played in shaping Indigenous schooling here? How had Native communities resisted? Could those archival records—the letters, the photographs, the missionary diaries, the linguistic notes—present a more complete picture than the one most Americans learn in their classrooms?

When I encountered the John Roberts Papers and Zdeněk Salzmann’s Arapaho linguistic collection at the AHC, my sense of connection was of a different kind. The contexts were different—Nigeria in West Africa and Indigenous communities in the American West—but the themes felt all too familiar: Cultures under attack and languages pushed to the margins as foreign ideas were forced onto the hearts of children, who were squeezed into an educational mold meant to erase them.

Reading Missionary Diaries

The diaries of Reverend John Roberts, who worked among the Arapaho people, were particularly striking. They carried the confidence of a man who believed in his mission—that Native children could be “civilized” through Christian schooling. I initially found the tone irksome. It reflected the colonial mindset of the time that considered cultural difference something to snuff out.

But as I read more carefully, I noticed something else. I noticed some cracks in the narrative. While Roberts wrote about discipline, conversion and instruction, he was also inadvertently penning persistence and survival among the people. What he encountered as challenges to his work, I saw as glimmers of agency—tough reminders that the Indigenous identity could not so easily be wiped away.

Encountering a Language in Fragments

Salzmann’s linguistic research on the Arapaho language showed another side of the story. Box after box contained vocabulary flashcards, phonetic transcriptions, and grammatical outlines. Where the diaries often spoke of loss, these notes felt like seeds. They represented a determined effort to preserve and pass on a language at risk.

Looking at those materials, I thought about Yoruba, my own language. In Nigeria, many young people grow up speaking only English in schools. Local languages fade when they are not supported in classrooms. Salzmann’s notes reminded me that language is more than a tool for communication — it is memory, worldview, and identity.

Building Lesson Plans

Using these sets, I created lesson plans for high school teachers. I had a simple goal: to bring archival materials out of boxes and into classrooms where they could inspire curiosity, empathy, and critical thinking.

The AHC doesn’t yet have a dedicated curriculum program—there simply aren’t enough staff for that—but my lesson plans will soon be available to teachers through Brie Blasi, who oversees the Center’s Education and Outreach Department. I hope the plans will help students do more than just memorize dates but instead encourage inquiry. For instance, students could compare a Native student’s letter with a missionary’s diary entry and look for differences in perspective. Or they can research Salzmann’s language charts and oral histories and consider what it means to lose (or save) a language.

The idea is not to tell students what to think, but to have them grapple with the complexities of the past. That kind of active engagement can transform how history feels: no longer distant or abstract, but deeply human.

Classroom posters showing Arapaho language numbers and color words. Photo: Katie Klingsporn/WyoFile.

A Personal Journey

For me, this project has always been more than just academic. It was personal.

As I combed through the archives, I was vexed by the specter of Nigeria—of children like me who had grown up learning in a foreign language, of grandparents whose stories had never made it onto the pages of textbooks, and of the ways in which colonization continues to haunt our classrooms. The similarities we identified in the American West both broke and fulfilled our hearts. It reminded me that the fight to protect culture and to remember is not something that happens exclusively in one place.

And I also thought about what it means to be a visitor to these archives. As a Nigerian citizen, I am not an interlocutor of Indigenous histories in the United States. But that distance gave me perspective. I saw echoes across histories separated by oceans, and I could bring a sense of both humility and fellowship to these materials. In a way, working in the archives felt like a bridge between two worlds—a search for resonance between Nigeria and Native America.

Phonetic and orthographic chart of the Arapaho language from the Zdeněk Salzmann Arapaho Indian Research papers, Coll. No. 8203, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Why Archives Matter

Before working on this project, I viewed the archives as dusty, behind-closed-doors repositories meant for academics. Now I see them differently. Archives are not neutral; they bear on memory, identity and justice. They carry the weight of colonial silences and the force of Indigenous persistence. When we open these boxes—when we also listen deeply—they can even transform the way we think of the pain of the past and the possibilities of the future.

Getting archives into classrooms amplifies that effect. It teaches students that history is not just what textbooks tell us It’s not some abstract thing they only see from a distance; it is something upon which they can lay their hands, feel and raise questions about said mess. They find that a photograph, letter or vocabulary card can tell powerful stories that complicate the simpler narratives they might have heard in their youths. Most important, they develop empathy because archives aren’t just about dates and events, they are about people.

Carrying Stories Forward

I cannot forget that photograph of the Arapaho boys. Their faces are a reminder that history is not just the past; it’s the choices we make about whose voices we elevate and which stories we bring with us and which we provide for the next generation to remember.

Around the world—in Nigeria, in Native American communities, and beyond—education has served as both a space of loss and a mode of resistance. Archives help us confront those histories honestly. They remind us that preservation is an act of care, and that teaching can be a form of justice.

Archives are not simply repositories of the past. They are bridges. And as I learned in my time at the American Heritage Center, we have a responsibility to cross them.

Post contributed by Joseph Egungbemi, graduate student in UW’s American Studies program and Summer 2025 American Heritage Center intern.

Posted in Colonial Studies, Cross-Cultural Analysis, Indigenous Peoples, International Perspectives, Student projects, Uncategorized | Tagged Arapaho, Colonial education, Cultural identity, Cultural resistance, Indigenous education, International studies, Language preservation, Missionary schools, Nigeria, Reverend John Roberts, Yoruba language, Zdeněk Salzmann | 1 Comment

Letters Home from Vietnam – One Pilot’s Story

Posted on November 10, 2025 by lwaggen2

This Veterans Day, which is November 11th, marks the end of the 50^th Anniversary Commemoration of the Vietnam War. The thirteen-year commemoration period was launched in 2012 by President Barack Obama to honor Vietnam veterans and their families.

Almost 2.7 million servicemen and women served over the course of the nearly 20-year-long conflict in Vietnam. One of those men was Leslie Herman Klahn Jr. He served as an Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam from August 1967 through July 1968. Among his papers are letters he wrote to his parents in Colorado, first from Army bases in the U.S. where he was in training, and later from Vietnam.

Leslie Herman Klahn Jr. (or simply “Jr” as he signed off on his letters) was both a devoted son and dependable correspondent. His father had served in the National Guard during World War II, so it is perhaps not surprising that Klahn Jr. joined the ROTC at the University of Wyoming. It was a brave decision, as the U.S. involvement in the war with Vietnam was already underway.

By July 1966 Klahn was headed to basic training at the Army’s Fort Polk in Louisiana. After graduating from basic training, where he was awarded a trophy for marksmanship, Klahn received his orders to flight school at Fort Wolters in Texas. He began in October 1966. Klahn described flight school as “real tough,” writing home:

I haven’t given up, and I am studying all the time – you just don’t know how much I want to prove to myself, you and Janice [his girlfriend] that I can succeed at something. If I fail I just don’t know what I’d do!

At the end of October, he mailed his parents this postcard, showing a helicopter staging field. He wrote on the back, “This is what I will fly – I hope.”

Postcard showing and OH-23 “Raven” hovering among the hundreds of helicopters at the US Army Primary Helicopter School at Fort Wolters, Texas. Box 1, L.H. Klahn Jr. papers, Collection No. 11676, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

But Klahn wrestled with nerves and self-doubt. On October 22, 1966, he wrote:

I just can’t see myself flying that damn thing. But I am really looking forward to it. We’ll start flying a week from Monday, and I am getting nervous right now.

After weeks of arduous training, Klahn’s skill as a pilot grew. He was preparing for combat in Vietnam. Yet, even as a student, flying was not without risks. Three of his classmates were killed in a midair collision and two more died when their helicopter’s engine failed. Accidents at the training field were not uncommon.

Photograph of a Hughes TH-55A helicopter used for at the US Army Primary Helicopter School at Fort Wolters, Texas. Box 1, L.H. Klahn Jr. papers.

Having seen fatal crashes firsthand, and forced to grapple with his own mortality, Klahn and his girlfriend Jan decided to get married after he graduated from flight school. He wrote to his parents, “I guess you don’t approve, but we want to be together that short time than nothing at all – that is if something happens to me in V.C. [Viet Cong] country.”

By August of 1967, Klahn had arrived in Cam Ranh Bay. He wrote, “Well I am in Vietnam – it sure doesn’t seem like it – it’s so peaceful here.”

Map of Southeast Asia, showing Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Box 3, L.H. Klahn Jr. papers.

The peace didn’t last though. His orders were to join the 1^st Cavalry Division. He was assigned to Company A of the 227^th Aviation Regiment, Helicopter Battalion. At first, he flew supply runs with an instructor pilot but before long he was flying in combat missions.

First page of a letter from L.H. Klahn Jr. to his parents, August 25, 1967. Box 1, L.H. Klahn Jr. papers.

Klahn had encounters with the Viet Cong from the air and in one memorable incident early in his deployment, on the ground. He wrote:

I guess your son is some kind of hero – I didn’t fly today, so I went to a lot of shops, took a lot of pictures and bought a grass mat for my area. Well, walking back I got lost, and ended up on one of the side streets. I stopped to take a picture of a Budha [sic] temple when I noticed this guy sitting in his yard eating as fast as he could. He wore the typical black pajamas and had a rifle sitting beside him. Like a fool I started walking toward him, he started running – I ran around the house and he ran almost into me – we just stood there looking at each other – then I motioned with my pistol for him to drop his rifle – and he did. I then took him to the MP’s [Military Police] – and he turned out to be a VC [Viet Cong]. I just got thru talking to the major, and he said he would put me in for some medal. That’s the last time I’ll do something like that – next time he’ll probably start shooting.

Klahn learned to endure sniper fire. He flew combat troops into landing zones. He marveled at the way in which everyday life for many of the Vietnamese continued, despite the war raging on. And he wrote, “I like what I am doing, and it’s doing some good.”

By September of 1967, Klahn was already anticipating a springtime R&R trip to Hawaii to meet up with his wife, Jan. He flew on missions further north, writing, “I understand that the VC have a battalion headquarters and hospital up here [near Song Mao], but we can never find it.” The Army supplied Klahn with a carton of cigarettes a week and an unlimited supply of candy, but it was salty snacks from home that he missed the most. So, his parents sent him Wheat Thins and Cheez-Its.

On October 5, 1967, Klahn wrote:

We are getting ready to move…all indications are that we will move to the area around the DMZ zone. We have been told that we can only take 3 bags. We had a bad accident here today, 3 people were killed, and one was burned badly. Both pilots were killed – they both lived in the same tent as I do and were close friends. Only one was married. They were returning from a CA [combat assault] in a flight of 5 – they were the 4^th A/C [aircraft] – they were landing when they went out of control – due to a mechanical failure in the flight controls and crashed. It started to burn, but since they were low on fuel it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but all were burned. It really hits home when something like this happens, we all expect being shot at, and possibly hit, but when the A/C just fall apart it just isn’t fair.

By mid-October, Klahn wrote, “I sure do enjoy flying…even though the strain etc is starting to wear me out.” Days off were few and far between. Klahn had flown forty days with just a single day’s break. He noted that further north:

[T]hey are getting shot at a little more than we are, but they have a policy that when they receive fire they shoot up the whole village, the people are starting to learn that it’s not safe to shoot at one – that’s the case down here. Here’s why – if you get shot at, in 10 to 15 min. we can … air lift troops to the area … plus the gun ship are there by [the] time we are, so Charlie [a colloquial term for the Viet Cong] doesn’t have much time to get away.

December found Klahn in another close call with the Viet Cong. He described it to his parents:

We have been having all kinds of action lately – most of the LZ’s [landing zones] that we have been going into have been hot. Before we went in we had an air strike, and artillery prep, then then gun ships went it, then us – but the VC being dug in as good as they were, it didn’t do much – the first ship got in, so did the second, the third got half its troops off, then the VC shot down #2, he was hit so bad that he was losing all his fuel so he flew it back in to the LZ, because there just wasn’t any other place to go because of trees – the third ship got hit real bad on the way out – I was the 4^th ship, but we never did land in the LZ hence we didn’t get shot. I sure feel lucky because I would have been on that second ship, but the AC [Aircraft Commander] wanted to fly with a new guy to give him so training, so I was #4 – hence I didn’t have to spend the night on the ground with the VC.

The end of December 1967 brought a 24-hour Christmas Day truce and a turkey dinner for the troops. But Klahn still flew his normal missions writing, “without a calendar it would be just another day in Vietnam.” When Klahn wasn’t flying, he was busy writing all kinds of reports as the company safety officer. And he was also building a hooch [colloquial for a rudimentary house] for himself. In one of his letters home, he drew a sketch and wrote:

Looks like we’ll be here a while, so we have started to improve our housing…We had a good floor and it had sand bags around it – so all we had to do is put our tent over it. Then we built an addition on to it, so it makes all kinds of room for two people. It looks something like this.

Page of a letter from L.H. Klahn Jr. to his parents showing his plan for a new house, January 28, 1968. Box 2, L.H. Klahn Jr. papers.

By February, Klahn had been moved northwest of the town of Hue. He wrote:

It is called Camp Evans. It doesn’t have an air field, but one is to be completed soon. The fighting is very heavy but the NVA [North Vietnamese Army] have been taking heavy casualties. If we can ever get decent weather we’ll be more effective. At the present time we have been flying with 200ft ceilings – and the NVA have taken advantage of it. The city of Hue was considered the most beautiful city in the country – it had the countries [sic] university – had canals with tree lined gardens along all the streets, etc. Well, it has had at least 1/3 destroyed, and when the weather breaks we’ll be making assaults on it. Plus air strikes are planned, so as to level the city…Camp Evans has been mortared almost every night and the heart does jump when they start landing.

As the month closed, Klahn voiced some frustration to his parents, writing:

[E]verything has been the usual army way – the weather is terrible (150’ ceiling), the NVA shoot at you all the time, and they still haven’t given our R&R…We have had quite a few A/C [aircraft] shot – plus about 1/3 damage due to our about nightly mortar attacks…The fighting is typical WWII & Korean wars tactics. They have their positions, and we ours. The fighting is heavy and constant … all we do is fly log and med evac… besides being scared a few times I am fine.

Map showing Camp Evans, Hue and Phan Thiet, Vietnam sent by L.H. Klahn Jr. to his parents, March 2, 1968. Box 2, L.H. Klahn Jr. papers.

In March 1968, Klahn’s long awaited R&R finally came through. But the return to the war required some adjustment. Still, he remained optimistic, writing:

Well, I am back fighting the war – but with only 4 months to go time should pass rather quickly…There’s no way to describe the trip – it was really enjoyable and a welcome relief from this place. But coming back…was really a let down as you can imagine.

On April 14, 1968, Klahn wrote:

The main reason for this letter is to inform you that I received a slight wound and didn’t want you to worry when you get a notice from the Army that I have been wounded. I was on a night hunter mission and we put our foot into somewhere that it shouldn’t have been. We were shot down, and in the process I received light shrapnel wounds to the left leg. But it’s ok – I’ll be flying in a few days and looks like I’ll get that purple heart along with another DFC [Distinguished Flying Cross] that I have been put in for, for last night’s extravaganza.

The month of May brought more problems for Klahn. He was hospitalized, first at the 95^th Evac Hospital at Da Nang and then the 6^th Convalescent Center at Cam Ranh Bay. After some confusion about the diagnosis, it was determined that he had a bad case of mononucleosis. He wrote:

I don’t feel too bad now – but up at Evans I thought I would die. There was a span of 8 days where I didn’t eat a thing … In any case I only have 70 some days left in country – and I will not fly again over here if I have anything to do with it.

After 30 days convalescing, Klahn returned to the war. And by June 22, 1968, he was back in the pilot’s seat “due to the fact that I got bored stiff.” Then came good news – Klahn was being promoted to Chief Warrant Officer 2. By July, his passion for flying was superseded by his desire to return home to Colorado. Upon learning of his discharge date, Klahn, with his sense of humor still intact, sent this tongue-in-cheek letter to his parents.

Letter from L.H. Klahn Jr. to his parents announcing his discharge, July 1968. Box 2, L.H. Klahn Jr. papers.

On August 7, 1968, Klahn returned to Colorado, having flown a total of 909 hours in Vietnam. He had served valiantly and survived despite the odds. This Veterans Day, we remember Klahn and the millions more who were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, fighting heroically to uphold American ideals far from home. You can read L.H. Klahn Jr.’s letters to his parents at the American Heritage Center or access the digitized letters here.

Post contributed by AHC Writer Kathryn Billington

Posted in military history, Uncategorized, Veterans history, Vietnam War | Tagged 1st Cavalry Division, 227th Aviation Regiment, Army aviation, Army helicopter pilots, Cam Ranh Bay, Camp Evans, combat missions, Fort Wolters, helicopter warfare, Hue, L.H. Klahn Jr., military correspondence, University of Wyoming ROTC, Veterans Day, Vietnam War, Vietnam War 50th Anniversary, wartime letters | Leave a comment

The Work of Respect: Student Interns Lead Indigenous Collection Review

Posted on November 3, 2025 by lwaggen2

This month is Native American Heritage month, and this year, the American Heritage Center has chosen to highlight two student interns currently working on an internship project with us. Georgie Moss and Darwin St. Clair are working with the Native American collections to assist in the ethical stewardship of our collections related to Native and Indigenous communities.

Left to right: Georgie Moss and Darwin St. Clair.

These two interns are affiliated with the Native American Education, Research, & Cultural Center (NAERCC) at the University of Wyoming. They’re focusing on collections associated with primarily the Northern Arapaho, Eastern Shoshone, and Crow nations to help the AHC begin to identify, evaluate, and develop protocols for engaging tribal communities in discussions about the future stewardship of these collections.

The goals of the internship include providing the students with archival research skills and archival handling and evaluation experience. In return, these students aim to help us begin to better understand our Native American collections, their relationships to tribal nations, and help us begin to plan how to steward these collections moving forward.

This semester Georgie and Darwin began looking through some of the AHC’s collections that center around or contain Native American material. They have looked at the Demitri B. Shimkin papers, the John Roberts papers, and have just begun reviewing the Emily Hill and Dorothy Tappy Ghost Dance Audio collection. They examined the material within these collections and began to make observations on the content.

Arapaho to English translations in Box 1, Folder 14 of the John Roberts papers at the American Heritage Center.

Darwin is a senior in UW’s Education program. He’ll be student teaching in the spring, and wants to teach math once he graduates. He was surprised at some of the material in the AHC’s holdings, and that anyone can come look at the breadth of resources available here. He noticed that, although the Shimkin papers has many interviews with tribal members, there were no names for half of the people interviewed. He’s been working to contact the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer to see if they have some of the place names he has come across on maps, or anything on the reservation. Darwin is enjoying the internship and the AHC is certainly benefitting from his work and knowledge.

Georgie is a sophomore in the Secondary Education program within UW’s Environment & Natural Resources department. Outside the classroom, she enjoys sewing, beading, photography, and spending time outdoors. Her love of learning new things drew her to this internship opportunity. A highlight for Georgie was discovering the language material written in cursive throughout the collections. She found the interviews and language records particularly compelling as she and Darwin spent about two months working through the Shimkin papers.

The American Heritage Center is eager to learn from these two students as they chart a path forward for stewarding these collections. Both students have begun to develop ideas regarding types of collection material we should steward more carefully, especially regarding content related to the Sun Dance. They’ll produce an end-of-semester report recommending which materials may require limited access and which should become priorities for enhanced stewardship practices.

The project’s end goal is the formation of a working group to advise on community participation and collection stewardship with the tribal nations. This group will provide recommendations for how the AHC can engage with these communities in the care and decision-making involved in stewarding these collections. Eventually the working group will assist us with recommendations for a standing advisory board or other group to work with both the AHC and tribal nations. This advisory board would provide guidelines and procedures for the Center to follow when using, collecting, or otherwise caring for Native American collection materials.

Moving forward with this internship and these long-term goals, the AHC hopes to build and strengthen ties with tribal communities, honoring their deep history in Wyoming through respectful care of these collections.

We thank Georgie and Darwin for stepping up to help us take these first steps and look forward to the continued collaboration with both the NAERCC and the tribal communities.

Post contributed by AHC Processing Archivist Brittany Heye.

Posted in Interns' projects, Native American Heritage Month, Native American history, Uncategorized | Tagged American Heritage Center, archival education, archival internship, Community Engagement, Crow Nation, cultural sensitivity, Darwin St. Clair, Demitri B. Shimkin papers, Eastern Shoshone, ethical stewardship, Georgie Moss, Indigenous collections, John Roberts papers, NAERCC, Native American Education, Northern Arapaho, tribal consultation, University of Wyoming | Leave a comment

After “Psycho”: Robert Bloch in the 1960s

Posted on October 27, 2025 by lwaggen2

Last Halloween, we introduced the recently processed papers of author Robert Bloch, best known as the author of the novel Psycho (1959), which was adapted in 1960 by Alfred Hitchcock into the legendary film of the same name. In that blog post, we explored materials in the Bloch papers related to both Bloch’s novel and Hitchcock’s film. In the decade that followed, Bloch was extremely prolific, writing novels, short stories, and scripts for movies and episodes of television series. Now we will explore some of the materials in the collection representing that work.

Novels

During the 1960s, Bloch published no less than six novels, as well as an anthology of two novellas (Ladies’ Day / This Crowded Earth). Among those novels are two that Bloch discussed in some detail in his autobiography, Once Around the Bloch (1993).

The Star Stalker (1968) – Bloch originally titled this novel “Colossal,” which he described as “a saga of silent-screen Hollywood during the twenties which ended with the advent of sound.” Explaining the delay in getting this book published, Bloch stated in his autobiography:

The nostalgia boom wasn’t ‘in,’ film historians were just beginning to probe the past, and biographies of stars and directors had yet to attain best-seller status. In the end, it took a dozen years for the book to reach print in paperback. Even then, the publishers disguised its contents by changing my title to ‘The Star Stalker,’ with a deliberately misleading blurb and cover art to match.

“Although a carbon, this is the original manuscript of the novel published as The Star Stalker by Pyramid in 1968. The first copy was lost. I then revised this version – shortening it and adding various episodes, but all is based on this copy.” – Robert Bloch. Box 247, Bloch papers.

The Todd Dossier (1969) – As Bloch explained in his note accompanying the copy of the novel in his papers:

This is the novel I wrote and which Dell (Delacorte is their hardcover branch) put out in hardcover (which was not specified in our contract) and then issued under the name of Collier Young, who had a screenplay written by John [Gregoty] Dunne and his wife [Joan Didion] – from which I made the novelization. The film wasn’t made – and none of us got credit except the man who wasn’t responsible! Again, my contract didn’t specify that my name would appear as the author – but who would expect otherwise? Very Odd!

More novels by Bloch found in his papers.
“This was my first screenplay from a story treatment by Blake Edwards and Owen Crump, who produced it. I was asked to novelize it, and did. Note comments on Hollywood.” – Robert Bloch ‘66
“A strange novel which I hope to do one day as a film” – Robert Bloch
“A novel with a sympathetic and innocent young hero, for a change. Nobody quite believed I wrote it.” – Robert Bloch ‘66
“First publication of Ladies Day anywhere – plus first book publication of my short science fiction novel – This Crowded Earth – written before the ‘population explosion’ was a popular menace” – Robert Bloch

Film

During the decade, Bloch wrote scripts for six theatrical feature films. Among those films were Strait-Jacket (1964), a thriller directed by William Castle and starring Joan Crawford that has retrospectively come to be known as part of the “psycho-biddy” or “hagsploitation” sub-genre. Bloch’s papers include multiple items related to this project: two drafts of his script, call sheets and other documents produced during the making of the film, and several posters advertising the film, including one from Australia and one from Belgium. Also included among these materials are two drawings of sets (a house and a railroad depot) for the film by production designer Boris Leven.

“This is a copy of the final version of Strait Jacket. Stayed with me through casting, rehearsal, shooting and post-production. It includes the actual shooting schedule which follows script. This shows how the film was broken down for production.” – Robert Bloch. Box 251, Bloch papers.

Set designs by Boris Leven for Strait-Jacket. Box 360, Bloch papers.
“Design for ‘Straitjacket’ set by Boris Leven, Academy Award-winning set designer working on my film through production, as I did. I was given the opportunity to study various phases of production techniques – of which set design was one.” – Robert Bloch
“Design for ‘Straitjacket’ set by Boris Levin. During the filming I was constantly amazed at how this ingenious man (who designed ‘West Side Story’ among other films) would create, as in this instance, a realistic railroad depot and environs by using a few sheets of cardboard and proper lighting.” – Robert Bloch

Bloch also wrote the script for another Castle-directed thriller, The Night Walker. As he explained in Once Around the Bloch:

An Australian housewife had sent [director William Castle] an unsolicited screenplay. Storyline, characters, dialogue and setting were all impossible to consider, but Bill was interested in what remained. The basic concept was the dilemma faced by a person who could no longer clearly differentiate between dream and reality.

Included in the collection are a draft of Bloch’s script and Belgian poster promoting the film. Also included is the novelization of the film, which was written by Michael Avallone, using the pseudonym “Sidney Stuart.” (The collection also contains numerous letters written from Avallone to Bloch.)

“I did an original screenplay, which was for The Night Walker (Universal, 1964) and it was novelized, with my permission, by Michael Avalonne [sic], under a pseudonym. Note that I wrote an introduction for this volume.” – Robert Bloch. Box 351, Bloch papers.

Items from The Deadly Bees, a 1967 British horror film based on H.F. Heard’s 1941 novel A Taste for Honey. The original screenplay was by Robert Bloch but was rewritten by Anthony Marriott. Box 249, Bloch papers.

The Psychopath (also known as Schizo) is a 1966 British horror film written by Robert Bloch. It was an Amicus production. Box 251, Bloch papers.
“A writer may approach his screen-play for a certain regard for restraint and good taste – then the advertising department gets in on the act and – see what happens!” Robert Bloch ‘66

“Adapted by me from four of my published short stories – Enoch, Terror over Hollywood, Mr. Steinway, and The Man Who Collected Poe. This is the ‘release script,’ based on the time-study of the edited final print of the film itself. I do not approve, nor am I responsible, for the ‘non-camera’ gore added by the people who made the picture – or for the introduction of a cat into Enoch!” – Robert Bloch. Box 251, Bloch papers.
German adaptation of the film Torture Garden.film
“Three cheers for our side!” – Robert Bloch

The Skull was a 1965 British film based on the short story “The Skull of the Marquis de Sade” by Robert Bloch. Box 365, Bloch papers.
The film was produced by Amicus Productions and released and promoted in the U.S. by Paramount Pictures.

Television

During the 1960s, Bloch wrote scripts for episodes of numerous television series, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Lock Up, Thriller, I Spy, Run for Your Life, and The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. He also wrote the scripts for three episodes of the original Star Trek series – “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” (season 1, episode 7, 1966), “Catspaw” (season 2, episode 7, 1967), and “Wolf in the Fold” (season 2, episode 14, 1967).

The latter is of particular interest because it incorporates his concept of Jack the Ripper, from his story “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper,” which was first published in the July 1943 issue of the pulp magazine Weird Tales. As Bloch explained in his autobiography, this episode was the “result of Dorothy Fontana’s suggestion that I launch my old friend Jack the Ripper into orbit. She provided considerable assistance in the final draft.” The collection contains Bloch’s outline for the episode and multiple drafts of his script. Included with these materials is a note from Bloch expressing his dissatisfaction with the development of the episode.

“Another horrible example teleplay development of Wolf in the Fold showing how 1967 network and studio executives arbitrarily call the tune – and, in this instance, then proceed to change their own directions when they see what they suggest will not work. You might call this a lesson in how not to write a teleplay.” – Robert Bloch
“One over – all problem – a lack of action. This may be partially substituted for by a strong indictment of Scott as the probable killer, + his subsequent jeopardy.” – Robert Bloch. Box 253, Bloch papers.

What the Archive Reveals

The materials from the 1960s in the Robert Bloch papers reveal an author at the height of his creative powers, successfully navigating multiple media in the wake of Psycho’s phenomenal success. From novels that struggled to find their audience to successful collaborations with William Castle, from television scripts for iconic series like Star Trek to the frustrations of uncredited work, these documents capture both the triumphs and challenges of a working writer in Hollywood’s golden age of horror and suspense.

Researchers interested in the evolution of horror and thriller genres, the business of adaptation and novelization, or the intersection of literature and visual media will find rich material for study in Bloch papers. The collection offers not just the finished products of a prolific career, but the drafts, correspondence, and production materials that illuminate the creative process behind some of the era’s most memorable entertainment.

Happy Halloween!

Post contributed by AHC Processing Archivist and resident film expert Roger Simon.

Posted in Adaptations, American Literature, Authors, Biography and profiles, Film History, Hollywood history, Horror, Uncategorized | Tagged 1960s, Alfred Hitchcock, Boris Leven, Horror fiction, Novelization, Psycho, Robert Bloch, Screenwriting, Star Trek, Strait-Jacket, The Night Walker, William Castle, Wolf in the Fold | Leave a comment

Big News: We’re Launching an Education and Outreach Department!

Posted on October 20, 2025 by lwaggen2

We have some really exciting news to share—the American Heritage Center is creating a new Education and Outreach Department.

If you’ve been following along with us, you know we’ve always been about more than just preserving collections. We want people to actually use them, learn from them, and find their own connections to the past. This new department makes that official.

Brigida “Brie” Blasi, 2024. Photo American Heritage Center.

Brie Blasi is heading up the department. If you’ve visited the AHC in the last five years, especially with a school group or for one of our programs, you’ve probably already met her. She’s been our Public History Educator, and she’s been doing a lot of this work already—now she’ll have a whole department behind her to offer even more support.

“The AHC has so many treasures to share,” Brie said. “This new department gives us the chance to welcome more students, teachers, and community members into the world of archives and to show how history speaks to our everyday lives.”

Pretty much everything the Center does is to engage with the community—teaching university classes, hosting school field trips, putting on exhibits, giving lectures—now falls under one umbrella. The idea is to make it easier to connect people with our collections, whether you’re a researcher diving deep into a topic or a curious visitor who just wandered in.

We’ve already hit the ground running with two new exhibits:

“The West is Waiting” looks at how railroads advertised the American West back in the day. Think bold promises and romantic imagery designed to get people to pack up and head west.
“Life Between the Rails” is based on oral histories exploring the history of the Union Pacific Railroad from an employees’ perspective. Real people telling their stories about working on and living near the railroads.

Both will be up through March 6, 2026. After that, we’re planning something special for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Our collections cover everything from Wyoming history to the energy industry, journalism, entertainment, railroads, politics—you name it. We’re one of the largest non-governmental archives in the country, and we want more people to know what’s here.

If you’d like to plan a visit, ask about educational programs, or just have questions, reach out to Brie at bblasi@uwyo.edu or call 307-766-2580.

We’re looking forward to this next chapter.

Visit us online at uwyo.edu/ahc.

Posted in Education & Outreach, exhibits, Uncategorized | Tagged American Heritage Center, Archives, Brie Blasi, Community Engagement, Current Exhibits, Education and Outreach Department, Educational Programs, Life Between the Rails, New Department, Oral History, Public History, Public Programs, Railroad History, School Programs, The West is Waiting, Union Pacific Railroad, University of Wyoming, Wyoming Archives, Wyoming history | 1 Comment

From Dust to Pavement: The Good Roads Movement in Wyoming

Posted on October 13, 2025 by lwaggen2

In the late 19^th and early 20th century, progressive political movements grew in popularity and in the public consciousness. Causes such as women’s suffrage, the temperance movement, and unionization became forefront political issues, and the impacts of these movements are still remembered and felt today. However, one Progressive-Era movement that is not so well remembered, but literally widely felt, was the Good Roads Movement.

The Good Roads movement was framed through a progressive lens that claimed road improvement would help small towns become more connected and would economically benefit rural working-class people such as farmers and ranchers. Wyoming, being a heavily rural state, had its own local Good Roads club chapters and programs. In this post we will look at some of the archival materials held here at the American Heritage Center related to the Good Roads movement in Wyoming.

At the turn of the 19^th century, the cross-country road infrastructure of the United States was still in poor shape compared to what we think of today. While the transcontinental railroad had been in operation since 1869, road and vehicle infrastructure were still far behind. Especially in rural areas such as Wyoming, travel between towns by car would often involve long stretches of driving on dirt roads not designed for vehicles and would often be multiple day affairs including frequent stops and camping beside the road. Those in the Good Roads movement advocated for improved road infrastructure through new road construction, road paving, and road project fundraising.

An example that illustrates the state of road travel during this period is the experience of the 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy in Wyoming. After the experience of the First World War, which saw increasing military mechanization in the use of trucks of tanks over traditional horse drawn transportation, the US Army decided to undertake a series of transcontinental truck convoys to study the feasibility of cross-country movement for defense. The most famous of these convoys departed Washington DC on July 7, 1919, and took 62 days to reach San Francisco.

The convoy passed through Wyoming in August, following roughly the route that Interstate 80 takes today. Demonstrating the state of roads in Wyoming at that time, the convoy took 8 days to cross the state (breaking 14 bridges in the process), entering near Cheyenne on August 9 and departing on August 17 though Evanston, with stops in Cheyenne, Laramie, Rock River, and Medicine Bow. The slow going is illustrated by the August 11^th entry of the convoy:

The Army Motor Convoy east of Cheyenne, 1919. Source: “”East Wyoming” 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy.” Source: https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/1919-transcontinental-motor-convoy

Departed Larmie [sic], 6:30 a.m….. High wind thruout the day. Bridges were generally poor, and 12 wooden bridges were reinforced… Camped on hillside south of Medicine Bow, soil dusty, sand and no water facilities. Made 59 miles in 11 ¾ hrs. Arrived Medicine Bow, Wyo. 6:15 p.m.

One of the military officers in this convoy was a young Dwight Eisenhower, and it has been suggested that his experiences in the 1919 Motor Convoy were a contributing factor to his support for the creation of the Interstate Highway System during his presidential administration. In any case, in its report the Army noted that the publicity generated by the convoy increased support for the Good Roads movement.

Seeking to advocate for the improvement of roads through new road construction, paving existing roads, and fundraising for local road improvements, members of Good Roads clubs took a grassroots approach to achieving their goals. The Good Roads Club of Laramie County appears to have been an active organization, as shown by a draft petition (see below) they made to the Laramie County Commissioners advocating for public investment in the Lincoln Highway between Laramie and Cheyenne as well as the road between Cheyenne and Denver.

Draft Good Roads Petition. Box 1, Roderick N. Matson papers, Coll. No. 00183, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

The ever-active Grace Raymond Hebard also appears to have been active in the Wyoming Good Roads movement, or at least aware of it. In her collection are several articles about the Good Roads movement in Wyoming. One article reports on a State Highway Convention in 1912 that was to be held in Douglas, to “Further Good Roads Movement Throughout the State.” Talks and events were to be held on improving Wyoming’s highways and on the benefits of making the state more connected.

Highway-Good Roads Movement, 1912-1925. Box 8, Folder 18, Grace Raymond Hebard papers, Coll. No. 400008, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Another striking example from Hebard’s papers is a 1920 article from a Jackson newspaper laying out the plans for a public workday for road improvement. It appears that citizens of Jackson were all but conscripted into “Good Roads Day Work.”

Every place of business that can possible close that day has been asked to do so, and practically all have agreed to. And State Game Warden [W. T.] Judkins has proclaimed a closed season on fishing for the day. The Wyoming press is unanimous in stating the sentiment is to brand as a slacker, anyone who does not turn out and do his, or her bit on June 22, unless he or she has a good reason for not doing so. Everybody Expected to Help.”

The article goes on to explain what tools to bring, lunch arrangements, section captains, and more and ends with a proclamation from Grace Miller, Mayor of Jackson “calling upon all able bodies persons to contribute their best efforts in the improvements of our highways.”

Roads, 1914-1917. Box 19, Folder 8, Grace Raymond Hebard papers, Coll. No. 400008, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Attention brought to the issue of Good Roads by grassroots movements such as Good Roads Clubs, public workdays, and larger national events like Transcontinental Motor Convoy all contributed to road improvement projects. With the establishment of the Wyoming Highway Department in 1917, road improvement became increasingly a governmental responsibility, and highway cutting projects no longer needed to be undertaken at a local level. Technological improvements and large-scale projects such as the Interstate Highway System—approved by an Eisenhower who no doubt had memories of the dusty drive across Wyoming and the country—have radically changed our conception of space and distance while travelling.

Next time you drive the one hour—instead of eleven and half—between Laramie and Medicine Bow, spare a thought for the folks of the Good Roads movement.

Post contributed by Marcus Holscher, Toppan Rare Books Library Aide.

Sources

“Daily Log of the First Transcontinental Motor Convoy, Washington, DC to San Francisco, Cal., July 7th to Sept. 6th, 1919” [U.S. Army, Transport Corps, Transcontinental Convoy: Records, 1919, Box 1, Daily log of the first transcontinental motor convoy (typewritten copy); NAID #12166042]

Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. “1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy.” Accessed May 10, 2025. https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/1919-transcontinental-motor-convoy.

Highway-Good Roads Movement, 1912-1925, Box 8, Folder 18, Coll. 400008, Grace Raymond Hebard Papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

“On Way to West, Government Motor Truck Transport Spends Sunday in Laramie and Hits Trail on Monday,” The Laramie Republican, August 11, 1919.

Resolutions Presented by the Good Roads Club of Laramie County, Wyoming to the Board of County Commissioners of Said County, N.D., Box 1, Folder 5, Coll. 00183, Roderick N. Matson Papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Report, from 1st Lt. E.R. Jackson (Ordnance Observer) to Col. L.B. Moody (Ordnance Department, USA, Tank, Tractor & Trailer Division), “Report on First Transcontinental Motor Convoy,” October 31, 1919. [U.S. Army, Transport Corps, Transcontinental Convoy: Records, 1919, Box 1, Report on first transcontinental motor convoy] [U.S. Army, Transport Corps, Transcontinental Convoy: Records, 1919, Box 1, Report on first transcontinental motor convoy; NAID #12165976]

Roads, 1914-1927, Box 19, Folder 8, Coll. 400008, Grace Raymond Hebard Papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Posted in Transportation history, Uncategorized, Wyoming history | Tagged 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy, 20th Century, Cheyenne, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Good Roads Movement, Grace Raymond Hebard, Grassroots movements, Highways, Interstate Highway System, Jackson Wyoming, laramie, Laramie County, Lincoln Highway, Medicine Bow, Progressive Era, Road infrastructure | Leave a comment

Breaking the “Grass” Ceiling: Women Ranchers of Wyoming

Posted on October 6, 2025 by lwaggen2

When University of Wyoming graduate student Josie Corbett arrived at the American Heritage Center in 2024 as a Women in Public Life Fellow, she came with a mission: to investigate the “multifaceted contributions of women ranchers in Wyoming to the historical ranching industry.” Her ongoing research through the archives, combined with the Center’s abundant oral history collections, reveals a powerful story of resilience, innovation, and indispensable labor that challenges traditional narratives about who built the American West.

The Invisible Foundation of Ranch Life

Corbett’s research through the AHC’s collections paints a vivid picture of women whose work extended far beyond the domestic sphere, even when it was framed that way. Take Maggie Keyes Williams from the Double X Ranch Family Records, who married at 17 and moved west in 1873. While described by her daughter as a “splendid wife and mother, helping in every way to further the success of her husband,” the reality was far more complex. Maggie milked 30-40 cows daily, produced pounds of butter for her husband to freight, and literally built their home—transforming a log house into a comfortable dwelling through her own efforts.

Toni David grew up mainly in Oregon and Idaho, but her family has deep ties to Wyoming, having homesteaded land in 1912 in the area that would become LaBarge. She has lived in Wyoming her entire adult life. Her interview can be found in Wyoming Women’s History: Choices and Changes Oral History Project, Coll. No. 12882, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

This pattern of essential yet undervalued work emerges throughout ranching oral histories at the AHC. As Toni David, interviewed in 2021, recalled about her ranch experience in the Big Piney area: “Sometimes I was cooking five meals a day, because I would have a haying crew of like 15 men. And then, separate from them, the company had just cowboys hired to take care of the cattle. So, they might show up in the middle of the day for a meal.” Toni also described getting up each morning to make lists of daily tasks: “So, it was a lot of work. But it wasn’t just me doing it. Every cook on those other ranches…had a cook on each ranch. Because at that time, we did cook for the crews.”

Kathy Davison, interviewed in 2022 at her ranch between Kemmerer and Opal, echoed these sentiments about the demanding nature of ranch life: “We started out, Ron made $100 a month from his dad, and our boarding room, we lived here. We started out poor, but we were happy…I liked the sheep more because when Ron wasn’t home I could deliver a lamb pretty easy. A calf was a little harder.”

Care Work as Community Building

Corbett’s analysis reveals how women’s labor functioned as what she calls “care work”—extending beyond immediate tasks to encompass “the physical, emotional, social, and intergenerational well-being of the ranching family.” This care work manifested in countless ways: nurturing family members, managing household and ranching economies, doctoring animals, maintaining infrastructure, and fostering community ties.

AHC oral histories bring this concept to life. Nancy Espenscheid, who grew up on a ranch near Big Piney and later operated her own ranch, described the integrated nature of women’s contributions: “I did a lot of horseback riding. I did all the bookkeeping, the accounting. I drove pickup trucks and did errands…Calving, we helped with calving. I mean, it wasn’t anything that took a genius. It was just somebody that would pay attention and care about the outcome is how I describe it.”

Patricia “Pat” Frolander, Wyoming’s poet laureate (2011 to 2013), at her family ranch in Sundance where she balanced the demanding work of ranching with writing five poetry collections, finding time to craft verses “between the cracks” in the early morning hours before chores or late at night. Interview in Wyoming Women’s History: Choices and Changes Oral History Project.

The community aspect of this care work was crucial. Patricia Frolander, who moved from Boston to a Sundance ranch in 1969, initially struggled with isolation but found that neighboring was essential: “When we’d harvest, the neighbors would get together, we’d do it together. When we branded in the springtime, we did it together—ranch-to-ranch.” She noted sadly in her 2021 interview that “That’s all completely changed now. And that’s a loss to community when that happens.”

Kathy Davison described similar community cooperation with sheep ranching: “We had a lot of nights we had the whole house full of lambs because we had lamb on our land…we had to check on every two hours. Bring them in to warm them up.” The physical intimacy of ranch life meant that caring for animals was inseparable from caring for family.

A Unique Western Equality

Eleanor Stepp Johnston’s experience as a woman of mixed Black and white heritage reveals how ranching communities could transcend social barriers in remarkable ways. Born in 1939 and raised on a ranch her great-grandfather homesteaded along the Green River, Eleanor found acceptance that challenged conventional prejudices: “I’ve never been mistreated because of my race. I feel like, rather, it was looked upon as, ‘Wow. She’s a friend of ours. It doesn’t matter if her skin’s black or blue or purple.’”

Her family was deeply respected—her grandfather held positions as brand inspector, road commissioner, and county assessor because “he had a greater education than most of the white people here.” Her father’s musical family played throughout the region, and when bigots once threatened them, “the locals heard them talking. And those men left town. They were slightly beaten up. But they left town.” Eleanor herself was “included in everything” in school and “served as an officer in every organization,” with family social events often held at their home “because we had a big house…and that’s where the piano was.”

Eleanor Stepp Johnston, Grand Marshal of LaBarge’s Independence Day Parade, celebrating her community contributions with 200 roses—a testament to her lifelong dedication to education, local leadership, and the western Wyoming town where her grandfather homesteaded and her family has lived for generations. Interview in Wyoming Women’s History: Choices and Changes Oral History Project.

Breaking Barriers, Building Futures

Perhaps most significantly, Corbett’s research documents how women actively broke gender barriers while preserving ranching traditions. Patricia Frolander’s experience illustrates this tension perfectly. When she arrived at her first branding as a neighbor, she was told: “Oh, no. The men eat first. We eat second table.” But she persisted, explaining: “And the women were not in the corrals. The women did not ride cattle, they stayed home, and they prepared the meals, raised the children…I broke a lot of barriers here.” Her own mother-in-law predicted she “would never last a year” on the ranch, but that skepticism became motivation: “I’d think about what she said, and I’d think, ‘No, I’ll stick it out.’”

The Cooksley Sisters, Elsie and Amy, documented in the James D. Folger papers at the AHC, exemplified this barrier-breaking spirit. English immigrants who became cowpunchers during World War I, they later owned a ranch near Kaycee and started guiding big game hunters in 1955. By the 1970s, when photographer Jim Folger befriended and wrote about them, they had been hunting guides and ranchers for more than twenty years. Despite their recognized competence—as one neighbor noted, Amy “stood in her tan leather boots, more capable than most men”—they faced challenges securing employment through agencies, revealing persistent biases against women in ranching and guiding roles.

Shown left to right are sisters Elsie Cooksley Lloyd (b. 1897) and Amy Cooksley Chubb (b. 1900). James D. Folger Papers, Coll. No. 12709, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

The Evolution of Recognition

Mary Budd Flitner, author of *My Ranch, Too: A Wyoming Memoir*, on her family’s ranch near Greybull where her husband’s family has ranched since 1906—a fourth-generation operation she “helped sustain through decades of hard work, from horseback cattle work to bookkeeping, embodying her belief that “it’s my ranch too.”

The oral histories reveal changing attitudes over time. Mary Budd Flitner, born in 1942, reflected in 2021 on how expectations for women evolved: “I don’t think we gave as much thought to it as we did just assumed that life would take care of us…We didn’t spend a lot of time talking about what we were going to be. But we were just on the edge of that, because as I went on to college, then girls were talking about the Peace Corps and different advocacy groups.”

Contemporary ranchers like Trudi Julian represent both continuity and change in women’s ranching roles. Operating a major sheep ranch near Kemmerer with her brother, Trudi embodies the hands-on approach that has always characterized ranch women: “I’m a person who likes to see things get done. I’m a doer, you get something done.” Her operation runs “between 9,000 and 10,000 herd of sheep” across vast areas of Wyoming, from “the Bridger National Forest, which is north of Kemmerer” in summer to “the Rock Springs Lease Desert” in winter.

The family legacy continues through the next generation. As Trudi proudly noted: “My daughter that’s working on the ranch, she’s the fifth generation working on this ranch, which is pretty neat.” At 26, her daughter Marie represents the future of an industry where women increasingly take leadership roles.

The Continuing Legacy

The pattern emerges clearly from the archives: women’s care work maintained the working heritage of family ranches across generations. This legacy continues today in ranchers like Trudi Julian, whose family has operated their sheep ranch near Kemmerer for generations. As Trudi proudly noted: “My daughter… she’s the fifth generation working on this ranch, which is pretty neat.” At 26, her daughter represents the future of an industry where women increasingly take the lead.

The oral histories preserve voices that capture this evolution—from Toni David reflecting “I’ve always been able to express my opinion and not suffer for it,” to Patricia Frolander’s transformation: “Within 30 days, I had 17 bum lambs to feed…I was terrified…but three years later, I was so invested in the land and the livestock, our home, I would have never left.”

Eleanor Johnston’s experience demonstrates how ranch communities could transcend barriers: “I love being a woman in Wyoming…I’ve been able to get out there and do things and go places.”

These stories reveal that women were essential to ranching’s creation and evolution. The “grass ceiling” was broken long ago by countless women whose legacy continues in every female agricultural student, every contemporary rancher adapting to modern challenges, and every community sustained by the care work that makes ranching life possible.

The American Heritage Center’s Women in Public Life Fellowship supports research that illuminates women’s contributions to American society. Josie Corbett’s research, along with the Center’s extensive oral history collections, provides crucial documentation of women’s roles in shaping the American West. To learn more about the AHC’s collections or fellowship opportunities, visit uwyo.edu/ahc.

Posted in Agriculture, Oral history, Uncategorized, women's history, Wyoming history | Tagged Agricultural labor, Big Piney, Care work, Cooksley sisters, Eleanor Stepp Johnston, Gender barriers, Josie Corbett, Kaycee, Kemmerer, LaBarge, Mary Budd Flitner, Patricia Frolander, Ranch Life, ranching history, Sundance, Toni David, Women in Public Life Fellowship, Women ranchers, women's history, Women's labor, Wyoming women, Wyoming Women's History Oral History Project | 1 Comment

Married to the Story: Fay and Michael Kanin’s Life in Scripts

Posted on September 29, 2025 by lwaggen2

In the golden age of Hollywood—a time when stars were larger than life and scripts were golden tickets to silver screens—Fay and Michael Kanin were busily crafting standout, human, funny, and thought-provoking stories in American entertainment. Together, they formed one of the most dynamic husband-wife teams in show business, leaving their fingerprints on Broadway stages, Hollywood scripts, and even the foundations of major film institutions. Their story is not just about writing—it’s about resilience, partnership, and the belief that storytelling matters.

Fay and Michael Kanin with their son, Joel. Box 34, Fay and Michael Kanin papers, Coll. No. 2893, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Their meeting was pure Hollywood. Fay Mitchell, a young New Yorker with degrees in English and Theatre from the University of Southern California, had just scored a job as a script reader at RKO. Michael Kanin, a visual artist-turned-writer and a fellow New Yorker, was already under contract with RKO as a screenwriter. The two crossed paths in California on the RKO lot—and Michael was immediately smitten. His first words to Fay were, “How do you do, will you marry me?” Fay wasn’t looking for a husband, but she later recalled “Michael was that rare bird who would not only support my ambitions but would enrich my life.”

They married in 1940. As Michael recounted, “For our honeymoon, I splurged on a house for the summer in the ritzy Malibu Colony… it was the ‘Hollywood’ thing to do.” Fay and Michael immediately started writing together. The project? A boxing boarding house story called Sunday Punch, adapted from a New Yorker short story. They spent six months working on it, sold it to MGM, and just like that, the Kanin’s writing partnership was off and running.

Publicity still with William Lundigan, Jean Rodgers, and Rags Ragland who appeared in the romantic comedy *Sunday Punch* (1942). Box 27, Fay and Michael Kanin papers, Collection No. 2893, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

The Kanins had a creative chemistry based on trust, compromise, and an honest appraisal of each other’s strengths. Fay once explained their method: “We would make a story outline together with rather detailed descriptions of the scenes. Then we divided up the writing, each taking the scenes we felt strongly about… As an artist, Michael brought a great visual sense to the process. I was a people person who loved the characters and the dialogue.”

They weren’t just two writers in the same room; they were collaborators who grew and learned from one another. But, as with any marriage, even the most fruitful creative partnerships require space. They were also regularly writing separately. “We find it healthy to do work apart every so often,” Fay said – wisdom forged not just in love, but in the furnace of deadlines and dialogue rewrites.

Publicity still from the film *Woman of the Year* (1942) with the film’s stars Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. Box 27, Fay and Michael Kanin papers, Coll. No. 2893, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

At RKO, Michael wrote furiously, churning out as many as four screenplays in six months. Then in 1941, he joined with Ring Lardner, Jr. on a script written specifically for Katharine Hepburn. The resulting movie, Woman of the Year was nominated for two Academy Awards—one for Best Original Screenplay and a second for Best Actress. Michael recounted, “During the writer’s awards, when the one for Best Original Screenplay was announced, I suddenly hear the names Michael Kanin and Ring Lardner, Jr., for Woman of the Year and was flabbergasted.” It was an amazing accomplishment for a newcomer to the film industry.

Fay, meanwhile, was trying her hand at writing for radio. NBC hired her as a writer-producer for a program called The Woman’s Angle which encouraged women to support the war effort. Fay also acted with the Hollywood Actors’ Laboratory Theatre.

Despite their growing list of credits, the early 1950s were a time of turmoil. The Kanins were swept up in the tide of McCarthyism. Their association with the Hollywood Actors’ Lab, where Fay had taken classes, and the Hollywood Writers Mobilization organization, was enough to land them on the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) blacklist. “We found out when we were traveling in Europe,” Fay said. When they returned to California, they consulted their lawyer who asked them flatly, “Are you communists?” They weren’t. But guilt by association was enough to sink careers. They didn’t work for two years. Eventually, the head of production at MGM broke the silence, hiring them to write the script for the film Rhapsody in 1953.

Hollywood was once again benefiting from the Kanins’ wit and style. Teacher’s Pet (1958), their Oscar-nominated comedy starring Clark Gable and Doris Day, remains one of their most well-known works. A gruff, street-smart newspaper editor (Gable) clashes with an idealistic journalism professor (Day). Bringing a newsroom to the silver screen had its challenges. “We were forced to use all our ingenuity to invent phrases and expletives… that sounded strong but were, according to Code, inoffensive,” Fay recounted.

Page of the script for *Teacher’s Pet*, a screenplay written by Fay and Michael Kanin, June 27, 1956. Box 11, Fay and Michael Kanin papers, Coll. No. 2893, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

The Kanins weren’t just screenwriters; they were also playwrights. Fay’s Goodbye, My Fancy, a Broadway hit, produced by Michael, ran for two years. It centered on a trailblazing congresswoman returning to her alma mater. The story was inspired after Fay’s own return to Elmira College, where she had spent three years as an undergraduate. Countering existing gender roles, Goodbye, My Fancy made a strong statement about working women and freedom of speech in education. Fay’s feminism came out boldly in her writing.

The production of Goodbye, My Fancy was a labor of love. The Kanins mortgaged their home to fund the play and moved to New York with their young son. Their gamble paid off: audiences loved it, and, several years later, Fay even took the lead role in a Pasadena Playhouse production of the show. “The year and a half I spent working on Goodbye, My Fancy was the hardest work I ever did in my life,” she later said. Writing it “was like playing a game of tennis in a telephone booth.”

Playbill cover for *Goodbye, My Fancy*, starring Fay Kanin as Agatha Reed, October 1, 1951. Box 34, Fay and Michael Kanin papers, Coll. No. 2893, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Cover of *His and Hers,* a play by Fay and Michael Kanin, 1954. Box 22, Fay and Michael Kanin papers, Collection No. 2893, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

The Kanins’ collaboration spanned decades. Together, they wrote Rashomon for Broadway, inspired by the iconic Akira Kurosawa film and the stories of Ryunosuke Akutagawa. They also co-wrote His and Hers, a comedy about a divorced playwright couple falling back into both love and collaboration—partly a mirror of their own life, perhaps. What held their partnership together? Civility. Patience. And ground rules. “It’s all right to argue, even heatedly,” Fay said, “but couples should be human about it. No insults, no name-calling. You have to learn not to hit below the belt, no matter how angry you are.”

In the 1970s, Fay Kanin found a new canvas: television. While Michael retired from producing and screenwriting in 1969 to pursue painting and sculpting—Fay pivoted into the world of made-for-TV movies. She wrote hard-hitting dramas like Heat of Anger, Tell Me Where It Hurts, Hustling, and the searing Vietnam-era Friendly Fire.

“You cannot get a play on Broadway that’s about contemporary problems. I cannot do it in the movies… I have found a place in television,” she said. Friendly Fire was based on a real Iowa family’s loss of their son in Vietnam and aired to an audience of 60 million. Fay co-produced it and earned an Emmy for her work. “It’s long and it’s arduous, this writing from your own gut,” she said, “but I’m grateful that it was my background.”

Fay’s contributions extended far beyond scripts. She became president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1979 to 1983 and later joined the Board of Governors. She was also deeply involved with the Writers Guild of America, the American Film Institute, and the Library of Congress’s National Film Preservation Board.

Michael, meanwhile, having decided to focus on sculpture in his later years, created bronze tributes to cultural icons like Louis Armstrong and Charlie Chaplin. “Personal homages,” he called them—evidence of his enduring love for artists and storytelling in all forms. He also established the Michael Kanin Original Playwriting Awards to support emerging playwrights through the Kennedy Center’s American College Theater Festival.

Michael Kanin passed away in 1993. Fay followed two decades later in 2013. But their work—and their story—remains. They were often hyphenated in the public’s mind: “Fay-and-Michael Kanin.” But they each stood strong on their own. In the end, their legacy is more than a collection of credits. It’s a testament to the power of collaboration, the strength of resilience, and the enduring belief that stories can change the world—even if it means writing them during your honeymoon.

Post contributed by AHC Writer Kathryn Billington.

Posted in Broadway, Film History, Hollywood history, Screenwriting, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged Academy Awards, American Heritage Center, Creative Partnerships, Emmy Awards, Fay Kanin, Goodbye My Fancy, Hollywood Blacklist, McCarthyism, Michael Kanin, Rashomon, Screenwriting duo, Teacher's Pet, Television writing, Woman of the Year, Women in Film | 2 Comments

Snap Together: Larsh Bristol and the American Heritage Center

Posted on September 22, 2025 by lwaggen2

Conor Mullen applied for the Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship six times before he received it in 2020. When he finally got it, he used it to document something none of us saw coming: the impact of COVID-19 on the Greater Yellowstone Area. His powerful images captured empty lodge lobbies, covered dioramas, and outdoor graduations—visual stories that deserve to be preserved for future generations.

Portrait of Larsh Bristol. University of Wyoming Communication & Journalism Department. https://www.uwyo.edu/cojo/larsh-bristol/index.html

But what happens to student photographers’ work after their fellowship ends? In spring 2025, we worked with the American Heritage Center to help reestablish a mutually beneficial connection between the AHC and the University of Wyoming’s Communication & Journalism (COJO).

As part of the English Department’s inaugural PhD in Public Humanities program, this work was completed for Dr. Nancy Small’s course, Qualitative Methods for Public Humanities. This project focused on qualitative research methods that emphasize community partnerships and relational research. Dr. Small collaborated with University Archivist John Waggener to reestablish relationships with various departments on campus in order to encourage regular departmental donations to the University of Wyoming archives in order to have a rich history of UW history for future researchers.

In an effort to bolster the relationship between the AHC and COJO, we met with several valued faculty members including Justin Stewart, Dr. Shane Epping, and Dr. Cindy Price Schulz. We specifically discussed the Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship and explored how a partnership with the AHC could enhance the visibility of fellows’ work through a dedicated gallery space, while also preserving their contributions in the archive for future researchers and community members.

The Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship provides a $5,500 stipend for University of Wyoming students to showcase strong visual storytelling. Named after UW journalism graduate Larsh Bristol, who died in 2006, the fellowship has supported young Wyoming photojournalists for more than a decade. Bristol was an award-winning photographer who specialized in nature, agriculture and commercial fishing, noted for his photographic portrayals of human emotion. The fellowship was established in 2008 to commemorate his life, work and vision.

You can view past fellows here, many of whom have continued into established careers in photography, photojournalism, and storytelling. Conor Mullen is one fellow who continues to visually tell the stories of Wyoming.

Conor applied for the Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship six times before he received it in 2020. He was funded to document the impact of COVID-19 on the Greater Yellowstone Area; he captured communities, businesses, and the national parks. Due to the pandemic, his work was showcased during an online webinar and in a one night physical exhibition in UW’s Coe Library. Conor noted the importance of gallery exhibitions for emerging photographers and emphasized the importance of archiving his work for future generations to understand the pandemic’s effects in northwest Wyoming.

One of our group members, Aubrey Edwards, had the pleasure of speaking with Conor about his Larsh Bristol award and his present work in visual storytelling. Below you will find excerpts from our interview and images from his project Covid 19 + GYE.

A Yellowstone Lake Lodge employee runs a broom across the hotel’s empty lobby in summer of 2020. In other years the space is filled with furniture, visitors, and at certain times of day the music of a harp player. The hotel welcomed guests that season, but the gift shop, restaurant, and other common spaces were closed. © Conor Mullen

Plastic covers a diorama of the Teton Range at an empty, unlit Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve Center during the summer of 2020. Trails and outdoor spaces surrounding the center were open to the public, but the Center did not open its doors for visitation that season. © Conor Mullen

Conor: We weren’t really sure the extent of the pandemic, its impacts on people, industry, businesses, travel, etc. So, when I applied, it was kind of a big question mark. But as I started documenting that summer and going into the fall, I was taking photos of national park facilities, small businesses, tourist attractions, sites for recreation around different communities in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. So everywhere from Gardiner, Montana, to Cody to Jackson to Lander, really focusing on the route of travel that tourists use to make their way through Wyoming to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Without the grant, I would not have, and could not have, pulled off the project.

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Rafe Rives, owner of Cane Water Family Farm, sells produce grown in the Teton Valley at an outdoor farmers market held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming during the summer of 2020. Agriculture and small businesses encountered hurdles and smaller profits due to the pandemic’s impacts on economies of all scales. © Conor Mullen

Conor: As time goes on, I think people are going to look back with an interest in what life was like in 2020. Photos are a good way to do that. The photos I took in 2020 can help to communicate what things were like for that part of the state, that part of the world. Yellowstone and Grand Teton see around 3 or 4 million people every year from all over the globe. To see photos from the national parks during that time is to see the pandemic’s impacts on an international venue. I find some meaning in knowing that people could access those photos through the AHC archive.

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An outdoor graduation stage awaits the class of 2020 in Thermopolis, Wyoming. The town gathered on sidewalks and in parks to celebrate young graduates along a parade route ahead of their ceremony in the spring of that year. © Conor Mullen

Conor: I think you never know what can happen with a show. Somebody might come to your reception, or somebody might wander into the gallery when you’re not there and see your work. If they like your work, you might make a sale, or you might make a connection, which could lead to the next project.

Fabric covers historic photos hanging at the back of an unlit diner inside Jackson Lake Lodge’s Pioneer Grill during the summer of 2020. The lodge remained closed for the season that year due to the pandemic and health concerns. © Conor Mullen

By listening to Conor Mullen, John Waggener, and COJO faculty, our team recognized the incredible role that the American Heritage Center and the Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship play in preserving and amplifying western narratives. In bridging the pre-existing relational gap between COJO and the AHC, student fellowship work—such as Mullen’s documentation of the pandemic in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem—will receive the visibility and archival care it deserves.

Through continued collaboration into the future, the AHC, COJO, and the Larsh Bristol fellows will remain incredible stewards of Wyoming visual narratives and history.

Post contributed by: Aubrey Edwards, Shelby Hutson, Chloé Flagg.

Sources

COJO. The Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship. https://www.uwyo.edu/cojo/larsh-bristol/index.html. Accessed 11 Sept. 2025.

Mullen, Conor. Aubrey Edwards Interviews Conor Mullen. 22 Apr. 2025.

Posted in Student projects, Uncategorized, Wyoming history | Tagged Academic collaboration, Aubrey Edwards, Chloé Flagg, COJO (Communication & Journalism), Conor Mullen, COVID-19, Dr. Nancy Small, Gallery exhibitions, Grand Teton National Park, Greater Yellowstone Area, John Waggener, Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship, Pandemic documentation, Photography, Public Humanities, Shelby Hutson, Student photographers, University of Wyoming, Visual storytelling, Western narratives, Yellowstone National Park | Leave a comment

Following the Manito Trail: New Mexicans of the Cowboy State

Posted on September 15, 2025 by lwaggen2

In honor of the beginning of this year’s National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15^th – October 15^th), today we look at the history of the Manito Trail and the interdisciplinary Following the Manito Trail exhibit that tells its story.

As previously covered in our blogs on Laramie’s Latin Club and the Powell Tribune’s 1927 Spanish-language La Pagina Español, Wyoming has both a rich past and rich present of Hispanic and Latine populations. One facet of this is Wyoming’s community of Manitos and Manitas. Drawing from endearing diminutive forms of hermano and hermana, Manito and Manita have come to describe Hispanic New Mexicans who left New Mexico to seek out work in various other states, including Wyoming.

Laying the Roots

As Manito/as spread out and took on jobs in agriculture, the railroad, mines, and sheepherding, to name a few, there developed what poet and University of New Mexico (UNM) academic Levi Romero referred to as a “Manito trail” along Interstate 25, from Albuquerque to Cheyenne. Many of these families have since settled in Wyoming, rebuilding their New Mexican cultures in the Cowboy State.

As a project, Following the Manito Trail began officially in 2015, co-directed by Romero and Dr. Vanessa Fonseca-Chávez, then an Assistant Professor of Latina/o Studies and English at UW. Both shared their own familial Manito/a roots and were spurred on to collect oral histories of Manito/as who came to call Wyoming home, building on interviews previously recorded by Romero’s students in 2007. Another vital member of the project was Manita Dr. Trisha Martínez, then pursuing her doctorate at UNM. The very first oral history she reviewed on the project was miraculously of her own grandmother, Alice Martínez.

Following the Manito Trail’s First Exhibit

Logo for the *Following the Manito Trail* project and exhibit.

The Following the Manito Trail exhibit debuted in 2017 at the American Heritage Center, weaving a colorful tapestry of Manito/a stories across time and space, and across many mediums. The interweaving stories of the Manito/a communities throughout Wyoming were told by archival documents, oral histories, family and project photographs, and a heritage quilt loaned by Riverton Manita Annie Mejorado.

Nicanor Martínez (L), Elezaida Montoya Martínez (R), and Maximiliana Martínez (Center). Laramie, Wyoming. 1951. Maximiliana was interviewed as a part of the *Following the Manito Trail* project. Photo courtesy of Following the Manito Trail.

There were additionally three documentaries created for the project. One told the story of the South Park Barrio in Riverton, where Manito/a neighbors, including Mejorado, came together in 1986 to repave the streets of their neighborhood after a lack of response and multiple denials of grants from the city. Another documented the carvings, known as arborglyphs, left behind by Manito sheepherders on the aspen trees of the Sierra Madres in southern Wyoming as early as 1905. The third told the story of a Manito family’s journey to Wyoming through both oral history and song.

An example of an arborglyph found in the Sierra Madre Range. Courtesy of Amanda Castañeda, Wyoming Archaeology.

The exhibit has since become a traveling exhibit, traveling to locations such as Taos’s Millicent Rogers Museum, and recently, Cheyenne’s CHISPA Festival. With every installation, the project only grows.

Manito Futures: In Conversation with Dr. Trisha Martínez

In pulling this blog together, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to Dr. Martínez (who is now an Assistant Professor of American Cultural Studies here at UW) about both the meaning and the future of Following the Manito Trail. At the heart of the ongoing project is connection and the acknowledgement of complex identities, as well as empowering Manito/as of Wyoming to be seen and valued as integral members of the state’s community.

Another important facet is the theme of place and the power of memory as it weaves into querencia, or one’s sense of a cherished place, where one draws their strength and sense of belonging. At the time of writing, Martínez’s grandmother, Alice, has sadly passed. With her voice being what strongly drew her into Following the Manito Trail in its beginnings, Martínez commented upon how the sense you have of a place can change greatly when those you associate with it are gone. For this reason, it becomes all the more important to document the stories of elders, to preserve and honor those memories and querencias.

Following the Manito Trail is set to return to the American Heritage Center in 2027, from September through February. If you have family stories woven into the Manito trail, please feel free to reach out to Dr. Martínez for more information at tmarti40@uwyo.edu.

For further reading on the Manito trails that extend across the United States, consider visiting the Manitos Community Memory Project’s Digital Resolana. Some of the oral histories from the Following the Manito Trail project can also be listened to online here.

Post contributed by AHC Audiovisual Archivist Aide Marty Murray.

Posted in Community Stories, Culture and heritage, exhibits, Uncategorized, Wyoming history | Tagged American Heritage Center, Arborglyphs, Cheyenne, Community memory, Exhibits, Following the Manito Trail, Hispanic Heritage, Interstate 25, laramie, Latino/Latina studies, Local history, Manitas, Manitos, Mexican-American history, Migration patterns, National Hispanic Heritage Month, New Mexican culture, Oral History, Riverton, Sheepherding, Sierra Madre Mountains, University of Wyoming, Wyoming history | Leave a comment

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Snap Together: Larsh Bristol and the American Heritage Center

Following the Manito Trail: New Mexicans of the Cowboy State

Laying the Roots

Following the Manito Trail’s First Exhibit

Manito Futures: In Conversation with Dr. Trisha Martínez

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