Joe Budney was a happy-go-lucky student at Northwestern during the 1960’s, and generous to a fault. He always paid more than his share of school expenses despite having to live a very Spartan existence to make ends meet. At the end of each school y...

Joe Budney’s social life was something of a mystery to me during the later ‘60s. He was a dependable regular at mixed university functions, but I rarely saw him on a date with any particular girl. His popular humor had an earthy flavor that bor...

Joe Budney’s social life was something of a mystery to me during the later ‘60s. He was a dependable regular at mixed university functions, but I rarely saw him on a date with any particular girl. His popular humor had an earthy flavor that bor...

In the fall semester of 1966 while driving to Alva’s town square in Joe Budney’s well used Malibu convertible, I mentioned that some of the local employers of students might be turned off by Joe’s heavy midwestern U.S. accent, which readily ident...

About 50 years ago, Readers’ Digest used to run a continuing column about “My Most Unforgettable Character,” written by a person who knew the unique individual. After teaching at NWOSU for roughly 40 years, I’ve gotten to know a number of people...

Before his attack on the large village at Little Bighorn, Custer divided his force of less than 700 men into three groups that were roughly of the same size. Captain Frederick Benteen was in command of the first group assigned to scout several miles...

In the 19th century, jamming of cartridges in gun breeches of military weapons happened relatively infrequently. But to a harried combatant engaged with an enemy, having a gun jam once in action would be once too often. Some weapons tended to jam...

After decades had passed, Indian accounts of the Little Bighorn battle began to be accepted when they added to or confirmed specific events that had been previously described by reputable sources. However early eastern newspaper reports of the Little...

While on auto trips to the west coast, Patti and I have twice visited the Little Bighorn site where General George Armstrong Custer made his famous last stand along with other members of the Seventh Cavalry. For many persons, after sundown this...

A couple of times, Aunt Blanche and Uncle Ott traveled from Wichita, Kansas, to visit our family in Hugoton, and once during school holidays we kids got to ride back to Wichita with them on a weekday. The plan was for Mother to come get us on the...

During the day, Aunt Blanche pretty well ran all selection of TV shows at her house in Wichita, Kansas. But at night she turned control of the set over to us youngsters, and we soon found that there were some great spook shows, such as...

Otto Spradling, as Aunt Blanche’s husband, was living proof that opposites attract. Uncle Ott was a very quiet demure man who rarely said anything in the presence of others. Each day at 7 a.m. he would quietly disappear to make his bus commute to w...

While growing up, just about everyone needs an older person who makes them feel special. For me that person was an elderly relative named Aunt Blanche who loved to talk about, fuss over, and do numerous things for her relatives. Aunt Blanche must...

The women gamblers discussed in this series were initially discovered when Patti and I made a day trip from Angel Fire, New Mexico, to Trinidad, Colorado, and surrounding towns. Being somewhat frugal and opportunistic, I happened to spot a free...

In the late 1950s, my family particularly enjoyed watching the TV show “Maverick,” starring James Garner (a native Oklahoman) on Sunday evenings. In the show, Garner played a light-hearted professional poker player who had several antagonists, one...

Two powder puff poker players of the late 1800s were anything but delicate in both countenance and deed. The women were not particularly attractive, but were strong physically, they liked to win at cards, and they did not like to be cheated. One of...

Perhaps now would be a good time to paint a general picture of the Powder Puff Poker Players with a broad brush. Scores of women in the mid-1800s chose to try gambling at cards as a way of making a living other than becoming a traditional “school m...

After the American Civil War, John Shirley sold his war ravaged business in Carthage, Missouri, and purchased an 800-acre ranch southeast of Dallas, Texas. In Missouri before the war, he had been a true southern gentleman, refined and well educated....

Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr, more familiarly known as Belle Starr, was born into the John Shirley family on Feb. 5, 1848. By the time Belle was in her early teens, the American Civil War (1861–1865) had begun, and she had to deal with some of th...

After falsely implicating Doc Holliday in the Benson stagecoach robbery in 1881, Big Nose Kate Elder and Doc separated for good. She later claimed she was with Doc when he died in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, but there is scant evidence that her...

In Doc Holliday’s day, most women chose to live out their lives as wife and homemaker, with a spouse and children. In the west after the Civil War, this type of life was generally regarded as rewarding, but highly labor intensive. In such times, a w...

Lottie Deno was an extremely cool customer at the poker or faro tables in the American West during the 1870s and 1880s. Even if things were getting out of hand around her, she concentrated solely on winning a pot. One time in a saloon in Fort...

In December of 1878, Doc Holliday and “Big Nose” Kate Elder managed to complete their winter trip over Raton Pass in northern New Mexico, and headed further south to the luxurious quarters of the St. James Hotel in Cimarron. The St. James Hotel had...

In the fall of 1878, Doc Holliday and “Big Nose” Kate Elder decided to leave Dodge City, and take the train to New Mexico. Doc and Kate had previously been in Dodge for several months, plying their trade of gambling during the peak times when the...

Since Dub Garnett and Steve Waldshmidt are no longer available to spin their tales at McDonalds, some of the relatively new blood among veteran storytellers have been trying to fill the void. (And believe me, the newest blood is still pretty seasoned...