The Times They Are A-Changin’

 

Again

I’ve been lucky in my career.  I began writing in the middle of the 1970's fantasy boom.  I caught the tail end of the men’s action/adventure books.  Then I saddled up for a long ride with Jake Logan and other series westerns.  These were all done by traditional publishers selling mass market books in ways that have their roots in the Depression.

 The first major change in the business came with the introduction of ebooks.  I started putting titles up on Amazon and other indie venues about 15 years ago, with moderate (to no) success.  But it was an education I needed in producing the book from the ground up.  I coined a term VIPUB–Vertically Integrated Publishing.  The author had to do it all.  Writing, editing, cover, formatting, publishing and promoting. Along with messy business things like how to take money over the internet (and dealing with state taxes on those sales).  The whole enchilada, as we say in New Mexico.  That covers a lot of talents/skills and I am not all that good at many of them.

But the major book publishers still provided paying markets.  For me, over the past 10 years I increasingly focused on the westerns.  But the series began drying up.  No more Jake Logans.  No more Ralph Comptons.

 Smart phones and audio books and Kindles all provided new and different markets, but the bedrock was still the mass market paperback.

 Only now that is changing and we need to figure out what to do as authors, selling our own work.  If you missed it, this is the Publishers Weekly article that details how the publishers and distributors intend to “winnow” mass market pbs by 2026.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/97179-book-publishers-plan-for-a-reduced-mass-market-paperback-footprint.html

 What I read here is that the only print will be trade and hardcover.  In 50 years of writing and over 350 titles published, I have had 3 books (2 westerns) that came out first as hardcovers.  YMMV.  But for me this looks like an asteroid heading for earth (mass markets).

 Original anthologies don’t sell well.  You know how well you do with original ebooks.  Amazon (and others) lets you do Print on Demand.  But sales are nowhere near what the major publishers can offer for mass market originals.  And we have to do VIPUB.  All that work when we could be writing new fiction.

 I don’t have any answers how to survive in a world where mass market (and midlist) books disappear.  So I am asking for discussion from the rest of the Western Fictioneers.  What works best for you?  Are your sales of ebooks and others strong?  What did you do?  Are small presses the answer?  Ads, newsletters, giveaways, podcasts, Kickstarter?  What formats and lengths and topics are most viable?  Is there something you think is a wild idea that’d never work?   Please share it.  This may be the time for wild and crazy ideas.

 We’re all in this writing corral together.  Sharing ideas can be the way we all survive the changing markets.  What can WF do?

 Bob Vardeman

president WF

Jackson Lowry Amazon Page

Karl Lassiter Amazon Page

On This Day in the Old West March 14

 For today, let’s be a little hedonistic. On March 14, 1896, the Sutro Baths opened outside of Cliff House in San Francisco. The baths, the world’s largest indoor swimming pool establishment, were built on the western side of San Francisco by the wealthy entrepreneur and former mayor, Adolph Sutro.

The baths were situated in a small beach inlet below Cliff House (which was also owned by Sutro at that time). Today, both Cliff House and the baths site are a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, operated by the US National Park Service.

In a 1912 article by J.E. Van Hoosear of Pacific Gas and Electric, we learn that Sutro used 100,000 square feet of glass, 600 tons of iron, 3.5 million board feet of lumber, and 10,000 cubic yards of concrete to build his baths. Facilities included:

·      Six saltwater pools and one freshwater pool. The baths were 499.5 feet long and 254.1 feet wide for a capacity of nearly 2 million US gallons. They were equipped with seven slides, 30 swinging rings, and one springboard.

·      A museum displaying an extensive collection of stuffed and mounted animals, historic artifacts, and artwork, much of which Sutro acquired from the Woodward’s Gardens estate sale in 1894.

·      A 2700-seat amphitheater, and club rooms with capacity for 1100

·      517 private dressing rooms

·      20,000 bathing suits and 40,000 towels to rent

 

During high tides, water would flow directly into the pools from the nearby ocean, recycling two million US gallons of water in about an hour. During low tides, a powerful turbine water pump, built inside a cave at sea level, could be switched on from a control room and could fill the tanks at a rate of 6,000 US gallons a minute, recycling the water in five hours.

At one time, the baths were serviced by two rail lines. The Ferries and Cliff House Railroad ran along the cliffs of Lands End overlooking the Golden Gate, from the baths to a terminal at California Street and Central Avenue (now Presidio Avenue). The second line, the Sutro Railroad, ran electric trolleys to Golden Gate Park and downtown San Francisco. Both lines were later taken over by the Market Street Railway.

Sutro was a colorful character with “passions for art and natural history,” and he incorporated his interests into his baths. According to the National Parks Service, “The front entrance contained natural history exhibits, galleries of sculptures, paintings, tapestries, and artifacts from Mexico, China, Asia, and the Middle East, including the popular Egyptian mummies. In addition to swimming, Sutro Baths offered visitors many other attractions, including band concerts, talent shows, and restaurants.”

After Sutro died in 1898, Sutro Baths struggled for years, mostly due to the astronomic operating and maintenance costs. The facilities were sold to a succession of owners, with each trying various ideas to make money. Eventually, the southernmost part was converted into an ice-skating rink, with a wall separating it from the now-dilapidated swimming pools. In addition to financial struggles, the baths became the focus of a significant civil rights battle in 1897, when John Harris sued Adolph Sutro after being denied entry due to his race. Harris won his case, making it a landmark victory against racial segregation in public facilities. This case “set an important precedent for future civil rights actions, underscoring the growing demand for equal treatment and access to public spaces.”

In 1966, a fire destroyed the building, which was in the process of being destroyed to make way for high-rise apartments. All that remains to this day are concrete walls, blocked-off stairs and passageways, and a tunnel with a deep crevice in the middle. The fire was determined to have been caused by arson, and shortly afterwards, the developers left the city and claimed insurance money. The land was eventually purchased by the National Parks.

If you’d like a special treat, watch this 1897 film of the baths by Thomas Edison!

 

J.E.S. Hays
www.jeshays.com
www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks

 

Hartman, Sierra, “Rare Photos of Sutro Baths on its 119^th Anniversary,” The Bold Italic, https://thebolditalic.com/rare-photos-of-sutro-baths-on-its-119th-anniversary-the-bold-italic-san-francisco-9237ef8da4be

Martini, John, “Signs of Sutro Baths,” Open SF https://www.opensfhistory.org/osfhcrucible/2016/12/

Middleton, Chris , Amber Wright, and Clio Admin. "Sutro Baths." Clio: Your Guide to History. April 16, 2017.Accessed February 23, 2025. https://theclio.com/entry/15208

        

A Western Perspective: Why Do We Western? March 3rd, 2025

At three years old I was introduced to the Western through watching John Wayne in Randy Rides Alone and then right after Angel and the Badman. My grandpa, who showed me these, had no idea that this simple action of sharing these with me would create an obsession with not only the Western genre but with American West history as well! 

The Western has been now a part of my life for thirty three years and with all the people I have met that shares that passion, I was struck with a question, "Why do we western?"

It sounds like a very simple question and one that I could easily answer. I was actually asked on a third date what drew me to the Western and once I started speaking, I realized that my answers were coming up kind of hollow in the sense that I could not cover in depth what I felt towards the genre and history. I can be sitting on a bench in an old mining town in Colorado, the smell of rain and camp fire on the air, watching the pine trees sway back and forth and feel myself transported one hundred plus years ago. I can imagine those who have been long gone while being in an old pioneer cemetery and imagining the lives they had. Explaining that to someone who might not fully understand, will look at me like I am crazy. 

I then explained my love for the Western through the lens of story with movies, TV shows, books and song. How strong characters reflect the real people who made the West their home. How they fought the elements, animals and each other to hold onto their land, possessions, dignity and lives. How the landscape is just as much as a character as the figures in the story.

The west was so vast and expansive and represented a promise land to some and at the same time was a sacred place worth dying for. Clash of cultures that at times were peaceful but a lot of the times it was filled with horrific violence. The blood that has soaked into the ground might have a historical monument commemorating the lives lost there and giving the people of today a chance to remember and reflect. Some places however have a shopping mall or parking lot over them and the sacrifices made on that same spot are lost to the pages of history or known by very few. 

The answer to me as to "why we western" Is not something that can be easily explained and the reason for that is because there is so much to the why. Maybe it is enjoying an old movie with legendary actors on the screen. Hollywood gunfights in a dusty town and romantic kisses all embraced by the landscape of desert, plains and mountains. Maybe it is getting transported to the West through a book and letting your imagination set the stage. Visiting historical sites and the majestic terrain. Eating biscuits and gravy to wash down with some cowboy coffee or drinking a cold sarsaparilla while walking down the boardwalk of an old ghost town. Wearing cowboy hats and boots every chance you get. 

Why we western can literally have thousands of reasons why. It is also very unique to each person. It can be the representation of freedom or the stance of bravery that draws us in or also the realistic view of how hard life can be but we can stand strong to face it like those from the past did. It is a way to remember those before us and the sacrifices they made in search for a better life or those who stood to defend their home and loved ones. The west is a place that we can celebrate cultures and people. From a deeper understanding of life to a friendly wave passing by vehicle to vehicle on an old dirt road. 

So for whatever your reason is to western, we are truly blessed to have this sacred history and genre that we can claim as our own and continue to write, read, eat, drink,dance, sing, talk, explore, ride, and enjoy our western heritage. So keep Westering on 🤠

And Next?

Post (C) Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Image (C) Doris McCraw

As I ponder what I am going to write in this monthly post, my mind runs through all the research and reading I have been doing. I just finished the Patrick K. O'Donnell book: "The Unvanquished" and have Mosby's Rangers and Jessie Scouts' exploits during the Civil War and beyond swirling around in my mind. 

Add that to the research on the Philippine-American War of 1899-1902, an offshoot of the Spanish-American War, for another story I'm working on, and my mind is swirling with reading about the violent history of our country. 

To balance this history, I'm continuing to work on early Women Doctors before 1900 and have added women artists and mountaineers in the West during that same period. It does provide a good balance. I confess that when studying and sharing history, I aim for balance. It is not easy to share history in a way that is engaging while keeping moral and modern sentiment out of the equation. No matter how hard I try, the information is still filtered through my life experiences. 

Photo (C) Doris McCraw

There is also a paper on the statuary, mausoleums, and headstones in Evergreen Cemetery, all of which seem to tie together in my mind.

When we read a book, fiction or non-fiction, we get out of it what we see through our own personal filters. To me, that is why the stories we share as writers are important. We never know when a sentence we've written will make a difference in someone's life. For that reason alone, we need to keep sharing our stories. The reader who needs to read what we've written will find it one way or another. This I do believe, for I've seen it happen, even if the author has passed on.

For those who may wonder, I'm getting ready to read "Man on Fire" about Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a mentor to Helen (Hunt) Jackson, Emily Dickinson, and commander of an all-Black unit in the American Civil War, among other activities. 

Until Next Time - Keep Telling Your Stories

Doris

On This Day in the Old West: February 14

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today, let’s talk Old West technology. In 1837, Samuel Morse filed for a US patent for his electrical telegraph line and in 1838, he sent his first public demonstration of the device over two miles of line in New Jersey. From there, the telegraph spread out across the East Coast, taking decades to become indispensable to Americans. It was the 1850s, however, before the Wild West was connected to the rest of the country. California began using telegraph lines before this date, but the first time the West was hooked up to the East was on Valentine’s Day, 1854, when Marshall, Texas was connected to the Louisiana line.

The Texas and Red River Company opened its first office on that day, offering patrons connections with New Orleans via Shreveport and with Alexandria, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi. Lines were strung treetop to treetop, and in many instances, telegraph operators closed their office and rode along the lines to make repairs when the wind swaying the branches broke the wires. Later that year, Houston, Galveston, and other Texas towns were literally brought online. By 1870, there was an estimated 1,500 miles of telegraph line in Texas. Expansion was rapid up to 1890 as the transcontinental railroads laid wire across the state. By 1943, the Western Union Telegraph Company, which began operating in Texas in 1866, was the only telegraph company still operating in that state. They closed the Marshall telegraph office—the oldest in Texas--in1972.

But how does a telegraph work? Let’s talk science. A telegraph transmits electrical signals from a battery through its wires, from a transmitter to a receiver. The wires form a series circuit, where all components are connected end-to-end to form a single path for current flow. The knob on the telegraph key acts as a switch. When the switch is pushed down, it makes contact with the base and closes the circuit. Electrical current can then flow to the receiver. When the knob is released, it opens the switch and breaks the circuit. The receiver contains an electromagnet. When that receives a pulse of electricity, it moves an armature  that makes a click or that is connected to an ink roller. The ink roller marks a strip of paper.

These marks are not in English, however, or any other human language. They are in Morse Code, named after its inventor, Samuel Morse. The letters and numbers in this code are represented by combinations of long and short signals of sound (or you can transmit the code with light flashes as well). The short sounds and flashes are called dots, and the longer ones are dashes. The more commonly used letters are given the shorter patterns. For example, ‘E’ is the most commonly used letter in the alphabet, so its sound is one dot. The letter ‘J,” one used less often, is coded as dot dash dash dash (. - - - ). Telegraph operators became so skilled at deciphering this code that the better ones could translate 45 words per minute!

Your characters would certainly have communicated via the telegraph, one way or another. Perhaps they themselves sent or received a message, or perhaps they read a newspaper whose articles were supplied by a telegraph. Just be mindful of the dates for the Old West towns and territories to be hooked up to this system.

In case you should need it for your manuscript, here is the Morse code, with dots represented by a full stop and dashes by a hyphen.

A . -                          J . - - -                     S . . .                        2 . . - - -

B - . . .                    K - . -                       T -                              3 . . . - -

C - . - .                    L . - . .                     U . . -                       4. . . . . –

D - . .                       M - -                         V . . . -                     5. . . . . .

E .                              N - .                          W . – -                     6 - . . . . 

‘F . . - .                   O - - -                      X - . . -                    7. - - . . .

G - - .                      P . - - .                    Y - . - -                    8 - - - . .

H . . . .                    Q - - . -                   Z - - . .                     9 - - - - .

I . .                             R . - .                       1 . - - - -                 0 - - - - -

J.E.S. Hays
www.jeshays.com
www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks

Thank you

Post (C) Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Photo (C) Doris McCraw

As January comes to a close, I've been thinking a great deal about the past year. Perhaps it's been all the cold and snow or just planning the next year. Either way, here are a few things I thought I'd share.

As I researched the Civil War Veterans and Wives series, I was able to delve deeper into the complexity of the war and how it affected the men, women, and their families. While I didn't always share my thoughts in the posts, it has given me much to think about.

I have also skimmed or read some great books, both old and new, about the conflict. I shared those in the appropriate posts. I'm finishing "The Unvanquished" and will be starting "Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents." Having grown up in Illinois, Lincoln was a large part of my history; he even spent time in my part of the state. Davis, or his wife, has always fascinated me, and there is a possible relationship by marriage. Additionally, one of their daughters moved to Colorado, where I currently reside, and is buried in the local cemetery.

Photo (C) Doris McCraw

Finally, I want to say Thank You to all who read and commented on my posts and the posts of others on this site. The comments help us connect and focus on what is of interest to you, the readers.

Finally, it has been an honor to be a part of Western Fictioneers and as the President for the past two years. This is a wonderful and supportive group of writers, and I consider myself lucky to be a member. Thank you for being you.

Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines.

On This Day in the Old West January 10

 On This Day in the Old West January 10

On January 10, 1878, Joint Resolution, S.J. Res. 12, proposed an amendment to the US Constitution prohibiting suffrage on the basis of sex. This was the first proposed amendment to specify women’s suffrage.

The first convention for women’s rights, organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, was held in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. This convention produced a list of demands called the Declaration of Sentiments, modeled on the Declaration of Independence. It called for broader educational and professional opportunities for women and the rights of married women to control their wages and properties. After this historic gathering, women’s voting rights became a central issue in the emerging debate about women’s rights in America

Many of the convention’s attendees were also abolitionists, whose goals included universal suffrage—the right to vote for all adults. The American Equal Rights Association was formed in 1866. This organization advocated for suffrage “irrespective of race, color, or sex.” In 1870, this goal was partially realized when the Fifteenth Amendment granted black men the right to vote. The AERA was split into two groups over disagreements about the Amendments.  

New York’s National Women Suffrage Association (NWSA, formed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony) focused its efforts on federal legislation, while the Boston group, the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA, formed by Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, and Thomas Wentworth Higginson) targeted state legislation. The NWSA opposed the Fifteenth Amendment because it excluded women. In the year following the ratification of the Amendment, they sent a voting rights petition to the Senate and House of Representatives requesting that suffrage rights be extended to women and that women be granted the privilege of being heard on the floor of Congress.

The AWSA supported the Fifteenth Amendment and protested the confrontational tactics of the NWSA. They concentrated on gaining women’s access to the polls at state and local levels, in the belief that victories there would gradually build support for national action on the issue. The AWSA did, however, send an 1871 petition asking that women in DC and the territories be allowed to vote and hold office.

In 1869, new territory Wyoming passed a bill giving women full voting rights. It would be nearly a quarter of a century before any other state followed suit. The first federal legislation proposing equal suffrage for men and women on the basis of citizenship was in 1868, but the resolution was not debated. It “laid on the table.” The first federal legislation proposing equal voting rights specifically for women was the one in 1878, but it was not acted upon until 1887, when it was defeated in the Senate by a 16-to-34 vote.

In 1890, the NWSA and AWSA merged into the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), which became the largest woman suffrage organization in the country. They led much of the struggle for the vote through 1920, when the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified. The organization was led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton as president, Susan B. Anthony as vice-president, and Lucy Stone as chairman of the executive committee.

Suffragists did more than just send petitions to Congress. Susan B. Anthony registered and voted in the 1872 election in Rochester, New York. As planned, she was arrested for “knowingly, wrongfully and unlawfully voting for a representative to the Congress of the United States.” Anthony was convicted by the State of New York and fined $100, which she insisted she would never pay. On January 12, 1874, she petitioned Congress, requesting “that the fine imposed upon your petitioner be remitted, as an expression of the sense of this high tribunal that her conviction was unjust.”

Wealthy white women were not the only supporters of women's suffrage. Abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass, formerly a slave, was also an advocate. He attended the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. In an editorial published that year in The North Star, the anti-slavery newspaper he published, he wrote, "...in respect to political rights,...there can be no reason in the world for denying to woman the elective franchise,..." By 1877, when he was U.S. marshal for the District of Columbia, Douglass's family was also involved in the movement. His son, Frederick Douglass, Jr.; daughter, Mrs. Nathan Sprague; and son-in-law, Nathan Sprague, all signed a petition to Congress for woman suffrage "...to prohibit the several States from Disfranchising United States Citizens on account of Sex."

A growing number of Black women actively supported women's suffrage during this period as well. They organized women’s clubs across the country to advocate for suffrage, among other reforms. Prominent African American suffragists included Ida B. Wells-Barnett of Chicago, a leading crusader against lynching; Mary Church Terrell, educator and first president of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW); and Adella Hunt Logan, Tuskegee Institute faculty member, who insisted in articles in The Crisis, a publication of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), that if white women needed the vote to protect their rights, then black women – victims of racism as well as sexism – needed the ballot even more.

Forty-one years later, when the Nineteenth Amendment is passed, it is worded exactly the same as the 1878 Amendment, laid before the Senate on January 10. Depending on when your characters lived, they were almost certainly aware of the fight for women’s votes. They may have known a suffragist or even had one in the family. The battle for women’s rights could make an interesting subplot in your next story.

 

JES Hays
www.jeshays.com
www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks

Western Movie Taglines Blog Series – Series Finale Movie Taglines #movietaglines #westernmovies

My 2024 blogging series, Western Movie Taglines, began in January when I explained what a tagline is and gave examples of good non-western movie taglines followed by several disappointing taglines from western movies.

I did not finish this series in 2024, because…circumstances… I’ll leave it at that. I'm wrapping up this series today with the final movie taglines.

Recap:

January Movie Taglines

February Movie Taglines

March Movie Taglines

April Movie Taglines

May Movie Taglines

June Movie Taglines

July Movie Taglines

August Movie Taglines

September Movie Taglines

October Movie Taglines

Series Finale: Movie Taglines Finalized in January 2025

We have reached the top 25 Western Movie Taglines. Counting down to Number 1…

25 – The Man from Snowy River (1982)

The story of…
a boy suddenly alone in the world
the men who challenge him
and the girl who helps him become a man.

24 – Quigley Down Under (1990)
There’s a price on his head.
A girl on his mind.
And a twinkle in his eye.

***

The west was never this far west.

23 – The Magnificent Seven (1960)
There were seven…
They fought like seven hundred.

22 – Silverado (1985)
A dangerous place, in a lawless time…
‘Til four friends risked all to make things right.

21 – The Cowboys (1972)
All they wanted was their chance to be men…
and he gave it to them.

***

The youngest was nine.
There wasn’t one of them over fifteen.
At first, he couldn’t stand the sight of them.
At last, he couldn’t take his eyes away.

20 – Cowboys and Aliens (2011)
First contact. Last stand.

19 – The Mask of Zorro (1998)
No one has seen his face...but everyone knows his mark.

***

When Freedom is a memory and justice is outlawed, the just must become outlaws.

18 – Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
Best of enemies. Deadliest of friends.

17 – Quick and the Dead (1995)
Think you’re quick enough?

16 –  3:10 to Yuma (1957)
A hundred yards to the station...
A hundred seconds to get there...
A hundred bullets betting they won’t make it.

15 – 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Time waits for no man.

14 – Hang ‘em High (1968)
The hanging was the best show in town.
But they made two mistakes.
They hung the wrong man,
and they didn’t finish the job.

13 – Big Jake (1971)
They wanted a ransom in gold.
He gave ‘em lead.

12 – For a Few Dollars More (1965)
The man with no name is back.
The man in black is waiting…

11 – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
For three men, the civil war wasn’t Hell.
It was practice.

10  – High Plains Drifter (1973)
They didn’t know his face –
They didn’t know his name.
But they’d never forget
The day he drifted into town.

9 – High Noon (1952)
The story of a man who was too proud to run.

8 – The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
From the four winds they came, the four brothers, their eyes smoking, and their fingers itching.

7 – Young Guns 2 (1990)
You-Hoo. I’ll make you famous!

6 – Unforgiven (1992)
It’s a hell of a thing, killing a man.

Here we are at the Top 5.

Numbers 5, 4 and 3 have taglines of my creation. These three movies did not get the taglines they deserved, so I fixed that most egregious oversight. 😊 Funny how my taglines made the top five. hahaha

5 – How the West was Won (1962)
The west was won by its pioneers, settlers, and adventurers.
Those tracks in history will never be forgotten.

4 – The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
I will find you.

3 – The Man who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.

The Top 2 Best Western Movie Taglines – Drumroll, please…

2 – The Searchers (1956)
…he had to find her…he had to find her…

1 – Shane (1953)
Somebody’s comin’, Pa… Well, let him come.

 Kaye Spencer

December 24, 2024 and a Look Back

Post (C) Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Photo (C) Doris McCraw

This post will go live on December 24, 2024. It is also the final post for me for 2024. I have thought a lot about what this post would be. I settled on a look back.

2024, saw the series on this blog and the Prairie Rose Publications blog about the Civil War Veterans and Wives of Veterans who are buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs. The research, stories, and books that were a part of my journey have given me an even greater sense of what these people went through.

Photo (C) Doris McCraw

For those who would like to read more, here are some books I found worth my time:

"The Unvanquished" - Patrick O'Donnell

"The Tenth Minnesota Volunteers" - Michael A. Eggleston

"Three and a Half Years in the Army: Or History of the Second Colorados" - Ellen Williams

"The Three-Cornered War" - Megan Kate Nelson

2024 was also a year of loss.

I lost a friend on May 1, 2024. She'd had two strokes at different times, and she finally left us in May.           Go Rest High on that Mountain - Home Free

We also lost Western Writers Robert J. Randisi and Kit Prate and other notable personalities.

Photo (C) Doris McCraw

What I do know - If it were not for those who came before us, we would not be who we are and can become. 

I want to take the time and use this post as a thank you to all who left a legacy, large or small. Without their courage, vision, and efforts, I and others would be the poorer for it.

As we move through the Holiday Season, I wish everyone the best time possible and the fulfillment of dreams in the coming year.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND BEST IN 2025.

Until Next Time: Stay safe, Stay happy, and Stay healthy. 

Doris

On This Day in the Old West: December 13

Well, it’s finally happened—absolutely nothing of interest to your Old West characters occurred on December 13! However, I did find one interesting tidbit from the East Coast.

The first U.S. Fish Commissioner, Spencer Baird (yes, there is a U.S. Fish Commissioner), was charged with raising fish to help rebuild depleted stocks around the country. He began by transporting new fish species via railroad. However, NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) soon came up with the idea of a floating hatchery that could travel between sites. And thus, on December 13, 1979, the first federal fish hatching steamer, the R/V Fish Hawk, was launched.

Fish Hawk was a 156-foot coal-burning steamer, the first large vessel built by any nation specifically to promote fishery. She was a floating hatchery and laboratory outfitted for general scientific research. Congress appropriated $45,000 for her construction and the Fish Commission chose a design by C.W. Copeland of the U.S. Lighthouse Board. The Fish Hawk was built by the Pusey and Jones Company in Wilmington, Delaware. She had a fore--and-aft two-masted schooner rig, coal-fired steam propulsion, and twin screws. She was designed more for coastal work rather than oceanic research, with an iron hull sheathed with about three inches of yellow pine, caulked and coppered. Above the main deck, Fish Hawk was of wooden construction. The pilot’s house, captain’s quarters, and a laboratory were built on a promenade deck extending along the entire length and across the entire width of the ship.

Fisheries scientists of that time believed that successful spawning was “the most significant factor in the productivity of fisheries.” American shad was “a priority,” as the most important fishery in the United States. Since shad “runs” only lasted for a month in any given location, a floating fish hatchery that could move along the coast was deemed more cost-effective than erecting shad hatcheries along the entire East Coast.

Herring, mackerel, and striped bass in coastal waters were also a focus for the Fish Hawk. Her main deck was covered with hatching equipment, with a pump supplying 10,000 U.S. gallons per hour. Two 500-gallon distribution tanks fed the equipment. Fertilized fish eggs were placed in the 36 hatching cones, each able to hatch 200,000 American shad eggs. Feed valves regulated the current through the cones to keep the eggs gently in motion so they would not mat or settle to the bottom. Fish Hawk also had 18 hatching cylinders – each capable of holding 250,000 eggs – with wire gauze bottoms. The cylinders were suspended from beams hanging over the sides of the ship and partially submerged, with nine on each side. Machinery raised and lowered the cylinders, keeping the eggs in circulation.

Most often, the Fish Hawk was used for dredging and trawling around Cape Cod, in the Gulf of Maine, in Long Island Sound, and in other coastal waters. She also trawled and dredged out to the edge of the continental shelf from Maine to Florida. The ship was outfitted to conduct general scientific research related to fisheries, including depth sounding, measuring the temperature of the sea bottom, and collecting marine plants and animals. Fish Hawk is famous for the discovery of 60 new species of fish and mollusks, including tilefish in 1880. She had a hoisting winch with 1,000 fathoms (6,000 feet) of steel cable for trawling and dredging, an otter trawl, and three sizes of beam trawls (9-, 11-, and 17-foot). Fish Hawk also had Blake and Chester rake dredges and a tangle bar (an iron axle with wheels and bundles of rope yarn on chains that dragged the bottom to capture plants and animals). For hydrography, she had a sounding machine with 600 fathoms (3,600 feet) of piano wire, with deep-sea reversing thermometers and density salinometers.

Fish Hawk carried a number of smaller boats: a 24-foot steam cutter, a 24-foot ten-oared cutter, a 24-foot gig, a 17-foot dinghy, and several 18-foot flat-bottomed boats (used for spawn-taking). She had a crew of 84 and berthing for another 25 people on temporary assignment, such as scientists, technicians, or civilian observers. She made her last two cruises in late 1925 and was decommissioned in January 1926.

As I said, it would be highly unlikely for your Old West characters to have even heard of the fishery department, much less the U.S.S. Fish Hawk, but they could always have friends or relatives on the East Coast who might pass the word along. At any rate, a floating fish maternity ward is fun to learn about.

J.E.S. Hays
www.jeshays.com
www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks

Some may not care - but

Post by Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Image (C) Doris McCraw

November has Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving. In honor of those two Holidays, I dedicate this post to all the veterans and am thankful for all they have done.

This whole year has been dedicated to finding and sharing the stories of the soldiers who served in the Civil War. This next to last post is about George Washington Castile (Casteel, Casteele). 

Castile was born November 15, 1845, in Buchanan County, Missouri. If you look at a map, Buchanon County is close to Clay County, the home of Frank and Jesse James. George, however, served with the Union Forces in Kansas with the 14th Kansas Calvary. He mustered out with the rank of Corporal.

That unit was formed on April 1, 1863, and continued until June 25, 1865. Records show the 14th was involved in Battles in Lawrence, Kansas but the brunt of their service was in Arkansas working primarily out of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

After the war, George returned to Buchanan County. He later married Mary Jane Marion in Douglas, Kansas in 1870. Mary died sometime around 1874 leaving behind George and 3-4 children. George then moved to Douglas County, Colorado. In August of 1879, he married Euphrama Gillman, who was thirteen years his junior. He brought his three sons into the marriage. George and Euphrama had four children. 

By 1900 the couple were living in Colorado Springs where George was a Veterinary Surgeon. 

George died in 1918 at the age of 72. Although his wife is buried in another section of Evergreen Cemetery, George is buried in the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) section. 

Headstone image taken from
Find A Grave

For those who want to dig deeper into Buchanan County, Missouri, here is a link to the history published in 1881: Missouri Digital Collection - Buchanan County

Until Next Time: Stay safe, Stay happy, and Stay healthy. 

Doris