All Blog Posts Tagged 'the' (21)

I just love finding old letters, don’t you? They give us such personal insight into the days that came before us.

  John "Jack" and Saphronia Wright

The following was written in 1935 by Elina Jane Wright Wilson, daughter of the man often called Captain Jack Wright, John Ahart Jack Wright, and his wife Sophronia Ann…

O’Folliard

The skinny Texas kid

Thin-lipped and

glass bottle feminine

Sucked marbles with a stupid grin

Kept a pocket full of Lone Star sand.

Spatter dashed across his broken nose

Was freckle dust and old pox scabs

“I’d like to sometime see the coast

Throw coins to all the fish

And crabs

Wrestle with a giant squid

Collect what washes on the shore

Lick the fingers of a Chinese whore

And…

Bob and I had a question come in this week from a reader who wants to identify a structure on the wall behind the bar in several western shows and movies including the Long Branch on "Gunsmoke". I watch the show on a regular basis but haven't spotted it so I thought I'd toss it out to you and ask for your help. I hate to admit it but this might be first time in a dozen years I've been stumped. Here's what she describes:

"I've seen something that puzzles me which you might be able to…

Storyline

Ex- Pistolero, now Rancher James Walker heads into Dodge City to clear up issues concerning the sale of some land and get supplies. James witnesses the closing events of a poker game, with Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Johnny Ringo and others when a cowboy tries to kill Doc Holliday at the Long Branch Saloon. Shortly thereafter, James heads home to his ranch to find his wife and daughter raped and murdered by seven men. James is ambushed by Indians, James is in pursuit of  Cooper's…

And studying the whole thing in the wake of it -- even in its era -- has given many a headache since.  Did Tom McLaury have a gun ?  Who lied during testimony and who didn't ?  Will they ever find the actual Coroner's report ?  etc, etc.     

Here's a solid example of what my efforts produced, in addition to a migraine:

 …

To commemorate the death of a historical figure who is still very controversial today, I've posted an a brief passage from my book "Western Legend," wherein other historical figures of the American Wild West (Frank James, Virgil and James Earp, and Tom Horn) discuss their own first or second-hand knowledge of Billy "the Kid" Bonney.  And to make the passage come alive, I integrated a few photos and a couple YouTube videos, for general reference and entertainment.

Enjoy…

The partnership of Shirley Morris and Kathleen Kellermann, co-owners of Chroma Graphic Communications, continue along a new road nearly three decades after the two opened the doors to the award winning Orange County based graphic design and production company.

"My interest after…

The era of the old west was the most colorful period of our nation's history. It was a time when notorious outlaws and brave lawman became legendary characters whose name are more popular today than in the 1800s. By the turn of the century though, the west was becoming civilized. Trains were slowly replacing the older methods of…