The Last of the Wild West Cowgirls: A True Story

A small band of Wild West cowgirls rode into stardom around the turn of the 20th century, earning nearly as much as the cowboys in the traveling shows and often out-performing them. At a time when women were discouraged from working outside the home or exercising, the Wild West cowgirls became fabulously popular stars who drew huge audiences and fans. Women around the world admired them for their audacity to lead lives outside the norm. They are some of history's forgotten women.

Goldie Griffith was one of that group of early professional female athletes. She performed tricks and rode bucking broncos for the most famous showman of the time, Buffalo Bill. At the age of 19, she was married during one of his Wild West shows at Madison Square Garden before a crowd of 8,000 whistling and stomping fans. A few years later, she discovered that her cowboy husband had already been married when they wed, and she pulled out her gun. 

She never shot a husband who didn't deserve it.

A WILLA Literary Award finalist for creative non-fiction.

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The Last of the Wild West Cowgirls: A True Story

A small band of Wild West cowgirls rode into stardom around the turn of the 20th century, earning nearly as much as the cowboys in the traveling shows and often out-performing them. At a time when women were discouraged from working outside the home or exercising, the Wild West cowgirls became fabulously popular stars who drew huge audiences and fans. Women around the world admired them for their audacity to lead lives outside the norm. They are some of history's forgotten women.

Goldie Griffith was one of that group of early professional female athletes. She performed tricks and rode bucking broncos for the most famous showman of the time, Buffalo Bill. At the age of 19, she was married during one of his Wild West shows at Madison Square Garden before a crowd of 8,000 whistling and stomping fans. A few years later, she discovered that her cowboy husband had already been married when they wed, and she pulled out her gun. 

She never shot a husband who didn't deserve it.

A WILLA Literary Award finalist for creative non-fiction.

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The Last of the Wild West Cowgirls: A True Story

The Last of the Wild West Cowgirls: A True Story

by Kay Turnbaugh
The Last of the Wild West Cowgirls: A True Story

The Last of the Wild West Cowgirls: A True Story

by Kay Turnbaugh

eBook

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Overview

A small band of Wild West cowgirls rode into stardom around the turn of the 20th century, earning nearly as much as the cowboys in the traveling shows and often out-performing them. At a time when women were discouraged from working outside the home or exercising, the Wild West cowgirls became fabulously popular stars who drew huge audiences and fans. Women around the world admired them for their audacity to lead lives outside the norm. They are some of history's forgotten women.

Goldie Griffith was one of that group of early professional female athletes. She performed tricks and rode bucking broncos for the most famous showman of the time, Buffalo Bill. At the age of 19, she was married during one of his Wild West shows at Madison Square Garden before a crowd of 8,000 whistling and stomping fans. A few years later, she discovered that her cowboy husband had already been married when they wed, and she pulled out her gun. 

She never shot a husband who didn't deserve it.

A WILLA Literary Award finalist for creative non-fiction.


Product Details

BN ID: 2940166524447
Publisher: Perigo Press
Publication date: 05/15/2009
Sold by: Draft2Digital
Format: eBook
File size: 21 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Long-time Nederland, Colorado, resident Kay Turnbaugh owned the local newspaper for 27 years. During that time she wrote several articles about Goldie Cameron, never guessing that when she sold the paper she would devote four years of her life to researching the fascinating life of one of our country's first professional female athletes who worked as a cowgirl, bronco buster, and local entrepreneur. The Last of the Wild West Cowgirls: A True Story was a finalist for a Willa Literary Award in Creative Non-Fiction for 2010. The author also has written books about local history, a kids' book about the mountain pine beetle, and co-authored several hiking guidebooks. Find her at www.kayturnbaugh.com.

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Other books by the author:


Following in Their Footsteps: Historical Hikes of the Northern Front Range (with Lee Tillotson)

Rocky Mountain National Park Dining Room Girl: The Summer of 1926 at the Horseshoe Inn (with Lee Tillotson)

Images of America: Around Nederland

The Mountain Pine Beetle—Tiny but Mighty

Afoot & Afield: Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins and Rocky Mountain National Park (with Alan Apt)

Ski Touring Routes: Colorado's Front Range (with Alan Apt)

Table of Contents

Author's Notes

Prologue

Part 1

Bucking Broncos

1893–1923

Chapter One

A Kind of Nightmare

Chapter Two

A Decided Novelty

Chapter Three

Ladies' Chamption of the World

Chapter Four

In the Tanbark

Chapter Five

The Grandest Ranch in the World

Chapter Six

A Doozy of a Season

Chapter Seven

A-Wooin'

Chapter Eight

Claustrophobic as a Branding Chute

Chapter Nine

Reaching for the Stars

Chapter Ten

Steppin' Up

Chapter Eleven

Straight Out of a Fairy Tale

Chapter Twelve

Luck Runnin' Kinda Muddy

Chapter Thirteen

A Leaky Sky

Chapter Fourteen

The Truth

Chapter Fifteen

Gratification in a Pin

Chapter Sixteen

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Chapter Seventeen

A Disappearin' Act

Chapter Eighteen

A Girl Ranger

Chapter Nineteen

Prairie Dog Court

Chapter Twenty

No Regrets

Chapter Twenty-One

Meeting the Misty Beyond

Chapter Twenty-Two

A Twisted Tale

Chapter Twenty-Three

A Brave Heart

Chapter Twenty-Four

The Lost Days

Chapter Twenty-Five

Stirring Up Some Magic

Chapter Twenty-Six

One Last Hurrah



Part 2

Ranching

1924–1927

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The Offer

Chapter Twenty-Eight

A New Year and a New Life

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Enjoying the Quiet

Chapter Thirty

Expiation

Chapter Thirty-One

Code of the Range

Part 3

Town

1928–1976

Chapter Thirty-Two

No Longer Hitched

Chapter Thirty-Three

Out on Her Own

Chapter Thirty-Four

There's Gold in Those Stories

Chapter Thirty-Five

Another Mouth of Feed

Chapter Thirty-Six

Ring the Bells of Heaven

Chapter Thirty-Seven

The Home Front

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Tricks and Training

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Willie's Clothes

Chapter Forty

One Last Parade



Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Bibliography

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