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Who was Benjamin Henry?
Who was Benjamin Henry? Historians and those knowledgeable of guns would be familiar with his name, but for most his significance is unknown. Conversely, the name Winchester sparks immediate recognition. Yet in one of history’s many ironies, it was Henry who was directly responsible for the Winchester rifle and Oliver Winchester’s place in American history. As a young man Henry worked as a gunsmith apprentice and rose to foreman of a small arms company in Vermont. He worked with Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson who went on to form the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company. Oliver Winchester, a clothing manufacturer, was one of their main investors. Winchester was able to take…
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War Bonnet!
The old steamer trunk has been in the family attic for generations. The treasure it holds comes out from time to time to be admired and pondered. Who wore it? What moments in history did the wearer see and experience? What stories are hidden in this honorary headdress? Over one hundred years ago the US government opened up a strip of land to homesteaders between the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. There were over 100,000 applicants but only 2500 families won a claim. One of these families was that of Henry and Margaret Lutgen, who established their farm along the path the local Native Americans…
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Knowing Your Past Carries You into the Future
The past meets the present and future in a quiet little town; from the last lynching in North Dakota to the fellowship of burgers in the park and a farmers market on Saturday nights. Showcasing it all is the Lewis and Clark Trail Museum. Motoring down Highway 85 you now bypass the town of Alexander where traffic and trucks lumbering through town used to be an all-day occurrence. All that commotion goes around town now, but beckoning passersby is a highway sign pointing the way for some quiet moments and a glimpse into the past. In the 1960’s McKenzie County and its towns were as they had been for many…
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“Come and Get It”
There she stands welcoming all who enter the ranching exhibit at the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. She’s all done up like she would have been back in her heyday when she was perhaps the most important entity in a cowboy’s life on the trail. The horse was a cowboy’s first love, but to start and end the day what could be more important than the chuck wagon! As the National Day of the Cowboy approaches here at the NDCHF and across the US, perhaps no other image reflects the life of a cowboy more than the chuck wagon – a cowboy’s home away from home. This is where…
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The Wild Horses of Roosevelt’s Badlands
He was an old man, arthritic and without a family band, but still wild and free. Singlefoot was the oldest stallion living in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP). He may have been on his own but he still found the energy to play and enjoy life. He looked out over grasslands and rolling hills interrupted by dramatic and colorful badland formations where his ancestors once roamed. The history of the plains horse dates from prehistoric times; disappearing from North America about 11,000 years ago and returning in the 1500’s with Spanish explorers. Singlefoot and the other horses in the park descended from those brought by the Spaniards and other…
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The Wild Horses of Roosevelt’s Badlands for The Cowboy Chronicle
He’s an old man now – arthritic and without a family band, but Singlefoot, the oldest stallion living in Roosevelt National Park (TRNP)still roams wild and free where his ancestors did, looking out over grasslands and rolling hills interrupted by dramatic and colorful badlands. The history of the plains horse dates from prehistoric times; disappearing from the North America about 11,000 years ago and returning in the 1500’s with Spanish explorers. Singlefoot and the other horses in the park are descended from those brought by the Spaniards and other domesticated stock. Once domesticated, they are feral animals, not “wild” horses as they are generally called. Regardless, these beautiful animals seen…
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The True Facts
There is a certain beauty in the harshness of western North Dakota winters. Winds howl across the prairie, through the coulees, and sometimes bring the effective temperature as low as forty below. Snow, not always abundant, is often a patchwork with gray and brown rather than a continuous blanket of white. Days are short in deep winter with as little as nine hours of daylight. Men and beasts adapt, putting on their winter coats and hunkering down for those long months until the ground thaws and grasses grow tall again. Those that survive these winters are men with resilience and determination, and animals that herd together for warmth and scratch through frozen ground.…
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National Day of the Cowboy: Preserving Pioneer Heritage and Cowboy Culture
“We celebrate the Cowboy as a symbol of the grand history of the American West. The Cowboy’s love of the land and love of the country are examples for all Americans” President George W. Bush The thirteenth annual National Day of the Cowboy is July 22, 2017. The American cowboy has firmly taken his place in American history. He is an almost mythological character of the American west; often a lone rider embracing a simple life, loving and living off the land with hard work and nobility. The cowboy culture is firmly embedded in the character of many western states; the cowboy hat and boots are more than just a…
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Lydia Langer: The Unexpected Candidate Amid 1930’s Political Scandal and Intrigue
SCANDAL ! Back room deals and a little back stabbing to maintain positions of power. Ah, the stuff of politics. In October 1934 some involved in this kind of political dance held a forum in Watford City to woo the ranchers, farmers, and independent minded residents. Surprising many was soft spoken Lydia Langer, the state’s recent first lady, now the Republican gubernatorial candidate. Traveling with congressional contenders in pursuit of their political desires, Lydia could not be farther away from how her life was anticipated to be. It was not the 1600 miles from New York to Bismarck; she could have been across oceans living a more expected life. Lydia Cady…
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The Legacy of the Horse in the Lives of the Great Plains People
The Great Plains spread in a boundless swath of land across ten states running from Texas through North Dakota and into Canada. The Northern Plains, including North Dakota, have vast open expanses dominated by short and tall grasses. The climate is one of extremes; cold harsh winters and hot humid summers. The grasses change from a vibrant green in the spring to a sea of gold as the summer ends when land and animals prepare for the winter. Sometimes as you look across the plains, those wide open spaces of flat and rolling grasslands can seem to go on forever. The wind and sunlight will create waves in the ocean…
