Stories of Wyoming’s enduring frontier
Although my new book collects my essays on Montana history,
I live close to the Wyoming state line, and have long been fascinated by
frontier issues just to the south of me. (Some of them took up another entire book.) So I also want to note the official launch of an incredible online resource, to
which I was happily able to contribute a couple of items.
WyoHistory.org is an online mega-encyclopedia covering the history
of the Cowboy State. It includes encyclopedia entries on major people, places
and events -- all vetted by professionals --- and it also includes essays, oral
histories, and field trip ideas. It’s all attractively formatted, easily
searchable, and continuing to grow. Great kudos should go to editor Tom Rea.
My two contributions are listed at http://www.wyohistory.org/authors/john-clayton
but really one can spend hours at any portion of the site.
Labels: Caroline Lockhart, history
Caroline Lockhart's talented ex-boyfriends
When I was writing The Cowboy Girl, there were dozens of tangents that I had to stop myself from going down if I ever wanted to finish. Many of these tangents involved Caroline Lockhart's boyfriends. In addition to being quite a character herself, Caroline's taste in men ran toward the unusual, the talented, the zest-for-life types.
One such was Valentin di Colonna, also known as Bill Miller, whom Lockhart described as "the son of a bona fide Italian count.” He helped draw posters for the initial Cody Stampede rodeo. I was intrigued by him, wanted to learn more. Was he really nobility? A good artist? Whatever happened to him? But their affair was incidental to Lockhart's quest, and I reluctantly set him aside.
Luckily, Roy R. Behrens has done that digging, and discovered that di Colonna served in the American Camouflage Corps during World War I -- apparently at the forefront of using protective coloration in warfare. A fine artist indeed. Behrens has the full story (to which I contributed) here.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
One such was Valentin di Colonna, also known as Bill Miller, whom Lockhart described as "the son of a bona fide Italian count.” He helped draw posters for the initial Cody Stampede rodeo. I was intrigued by him, wanted to learn more. Was he really nobility? A good artist? Whatever happened to him? But their affair was incidental to Lockhart's quest, and I reluctantly set him aside.
Luckily, Roy R. Behrens has done that digging, and discovered that di Colonna served in the American Camouflage Corps during World War I -- apparently at the forefront of using protective coloration in warfare. A fine artist indeed. Behrens has the full story (to which I contributed) here.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
Labels: Caroline Lockhart, Cowboy Girl
Upcoming events
I’m pleased to be talking about Caroline Lockhart at several events across Montana and Wyoming in the coming months. All of the following events are free and open to the public, and I would be delighted to see you there.
On Thursday, March 29, at the Western Heritage Center in Billings, I’ll be talking about Caroline as part of the Noon Lecture Series that’s focusing on extraordinary women. The series is related to an outstanding exhibit the Center has put together, which includes a newly-found map of the Lockhart homestead in the Dryhead. There’s more on the event, co-sponsored by Humanities Montana, here.
On Wednesday, April 25, at 6:00 p.m. at Northwest College in Powell, I’ll be leading a discussion of Lockhart’s novel “The Lady Doc.” Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, this controversial novel split Park County in two upon its publication. Was it a scathing indictment of high-level incompetence and evil, or a hate-filled delusional rant? The one thing everyone could agree on was that Lockhart had made little up. The free event, sponsored by Powell Valley Community Education, is in the NWC Fagerberg Bldg, Rm 70.
On Friday, June 29 I’ll be at Beavertail Hill State Park, 25 miles east of Missoula on I-90, as part of its Friday evening interpretive series. Then the following evening, Saturday, June 30, I move to Salmon Lake State Park, near the town of Seeley Lake. A great chance to get outside during a gorgeous Montana summer!
On Thursday, March 29, at the Western Heritage Center in Billings, I’ll be talking about Caroline as part of the Noon Lecture Series that’s focusing on extraordinary women. The series is related to an outstanding exhibit the Center has put together, which includes a newly-found map of the Lockhart homestead in the Dryhead. There’s more on the event, co-sponsored by Humanities Montana, here.
On Wednesday, April 25, at 6:00 p.m. at Northwest College in Powell, I’ll be leading a discussion of Lockhart’s novel “The Lady Doc.” Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, this controversial novel split Park County in two upon its publication. Was it a scathing indictment of high-level incompetence and evil, or a hate-filled delusional rant? The one thing everyone could agree on was that Lockhart had made little up. The free event, sponsored by Powell Valley Community Education, is in the NWC Fagerberg Bldg, Rm 70.
On Friday, June 29 I’ll be at Beavertail Hill State Park, 25 miles east of Missoula on I-90, as part of its Friday evening interpretive series. Then the following evening, Saturday, June 30, I move to Salmon Lake State Park, near the town of Seeley Lake. A great chance to get outside during a gorgeous Montana summer!
Labels: Caroline Lockhart
A glossary for "Me-Smith"
When Caroline Lockhart's first novel, "Me-Smith," was published, the New York Times cited its "infallible ear for local vernacular," among other qualities. At one point famed critic H.L. Mencken at paired Lockhart with Sinclair Lewis and Ring Lardner in their marvelous use of local vernacular.
But it can be a bit intimidating today. Over at "Buddies in the Saddle," Ron Scheer has posted a wonderful glossary of terms appearing in "Me-Smith." I was surprised at how many there were, and how foreign many seemed to me. (I must have glossed over them while reading.) A keen reminder of the constant changes in language, and the current obscurity of the tiny subculture Lockhart was writing about.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
But it can be a bit intimidating today. Over at "Buddies in the Saddle," Ron Scheer has posted a wonderful glossary of terms appearing in "Me-Smith." I was surprised at how many there were, and how foreign many seemed to me. (I must have glossed over them while reading.) A keen reminder of the constant changes in language, and the current obscurity of the tiny subculture Lockhart was writing about.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
Labels: Caroline Lockhart, Cowboy Girl
The Lockhart contemporaries reunion tour
You know the feeling you have about old classmates, or compatriots in some ancient but intense experience? That’s how I feel about many of the people in Caroline Lockhart’s life: I wonder whatever happened to them, and I hope it was generally positive.
The feeling played out effectively for me on Wednesday night, when I spoke to the Yellowstone Corral of Westerners, a group of Billings-area folks interested in Western history. We were talking about Lockhart’s efforts to set up her ranch on the Dryhead (the climactic section of The Cowboy Girl). I showed a picture of one of Lockhart’s boyfriends, Lou Ericson, the fellow who had signed his name to the ranch purchase in 1926.
“We knew Lou Ericson,” said a voice from the audience. It came from Shirley Steele, speaking on behalf of herself and her husband, the esteemed artist Ben Steele. Ericson had been a friend of Ben’s father, and the younger Steeles visited him shortly after their wedding, at the Spear Ranch southeast of Hardin. Ericson told them of his days as a jockey, but not of his association with the notorious novelist/rancher.
A year or two after they purchased the ranch, Lockhart and Ericson split up. (There was a gunfight involved.) She banished him from the L Slash Heart. I was never able to find out what had happened to him, how he felt about Lockhart and his time on the Dryhead. But I was gratified to hear the Steeles report that he lived to a ripe old age, and seemed at that age to be quite happy.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
The feeling played out effectively for me on Wednesday night, when I spoke to the Yellowstone Corral of Westerners, a group of Billings-area folks interested in Western history. We were talking about Lockhart’s efforts to set up her ranch on the Dryhead (the climactic section of The Cowboy Girl). I showed a picture of one of Lockhart’s boyfriends, Lou Ericson, the fellow who had signed his name to the ranch purchase in 1926.
“We knew Lou Ericson,” said a voice from the audience. It came from Shirley Steele, speaking on behalf of herself and her husband, the esteemed artist Ben Steele. Ericson had been a friend of Ben’s father, and the younger Steeles visited him shortly after their wedding, at the Spear Ranch southeast of Hardin. Ericson told them of his days as a jockey, but not of his association with the notorious novelist/rancher.
A year or two after they purchased the ranch, Lockhart and Ericson split up. (There was a gunfight involved.) She banished him from the L Slash Heart. I was never able to find out what had happened to him, how he felt about Lockhart and his time on the Dryhead. But I was gratified to hear the Steeles report that he lived to a ripe old age, and seemed at that age to be quite happy.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
Labels: Caroline Lockhart, Cowboy Girl
Caroline gets BUSTed
The Febuary/March issue of BUST magazine (“for women with something to get off their chest”) includes a great article by Terry Selucky. Titled “Home on the Range” (and teased on the cover as “Cowgirls gone wild”), it argues that cowgirls were among the first and best feminists. As evidence it cites, among others, the life of Caroline Lockhart.
Selucky and I had a far-ranging interview (set up in part by Margot Kahn). I agreed with her basic thesis, that women of the Old West (and New) had an independence, free spirit, and contentment that make them excellent models for young girls today. But Selucky had a problem that I wasn’t able to help her with: most contemporary independent female ranch owners and horsewomen don’t think of themselves as cowgirls.
In the article, Selucky argues that “the term ‘cowgirl’ has been hijacked, so that we can’t even recognize a real cowgirl when we see one.” I think it’s a little more complicated than that, because even in Lockhart’s day the term ‘cowgirl’ did not fit in with the proto-feminist agenda.
Cowgirls are generally women who love the West, the landscape, the lifestyle, the horses and cattle and men who work them -- and who are generally seen as part of a family unit: a daughter, wife, mother. Lockhart was too independent and ornery for such a family-centric role. In metaphorical terms, she wanted to ride off into the sunset alone, just like a cowboy does. And I’m not sure that option was (or maybe even still is) open to cowgirls.
That’s why Lockhart self-identified not as a cowgirl but as the "cowboy girl." And that’s why I selected that phrase as the title for the book.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
Selucky and I had a far-ranging interview (set up in part by Margot Kahn). I agreed with her basic thesis, that women of the Old West (and New) had an independence, free spirit, and contentment that make them excellent models for young girls today. But Selucky had a problem that I wasn’t able to help her with: most contemporary independent female ranch owners and horsewomen don’t think of themselves as cowgirls.
In the article, Selucky argues that “the term ‘cowgirl’ has been hijacked, so that we can’t even recognize a real cowgirl when we see one.” I think it’s a little more complicated than that, because even in Lockhart’s day the term ‘cowgirl’ did not fit in with the proto-feminist agenda.
Cowgirls are generally women who love the West, the landscape, the lifestyle, the horses and cattle and men who work them -- and who are generally seen as part of a family unit: a daughter, wife, mother. Lockhart was too independent and ornery for such a family-centric role. In metaphorical terms, she wanted to ride off into the sunset alone, just like a cowboy does. And I’m not sure that option was (or maybe even still is) open to cowgirls.
That’s why Lockhart self-identified not as a cowgirl but as the "cowboy girl." And that’s why I selected that phrase as the title for the book.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
Labels: Caroline Lockhart, Cowboy Girl
