On This Day in the Old West December 12

 On December 12, 1874, President Ulysses S. Grant  and his wife Julia hosted the very first official state dinner. The guest was the king of the Sandwich Islands, David Kalakaua. Today, of course, the islands are known by their native name: Hawai’i. At that time, the islands were suffering from a depression and the king was hoping to broker a deal whereby Hawaiian goods would be imported tax-free into the United States.

A “state dinner” is a special dinner hosted by the American president for a visiting foreign head of state. Until the visit of King Kalakaua, there just weren’t any foreign heads of state visiting. With 3,000 miles of ocean on one side and 3,000 miles of “unknown frontier” on the other, it just wasn’t feasible for foreign rulers to pop in for dinner. Most so-called “state” dinners were held for Governors, victorious Generals, the Supreme Court Justices, Congress, and sometimes for former or incoming presidents.

When Grant became president in 1869, the “Gilded Age” (a term coined by Mark Twain) had begun. The country’s economy was strong and people were making money. Showing off this money was fashionable, too. The more opulent your décor and dress, the more respect you commanded. And while the White House couldn’t rival the homes of the Astors or Vanderbilts, it was still a wonderful place for a party. And since Ulysses and Julia Grant were “affable people,” the doors were open for dinners, balls, and receptions. President Grant was probably the most popular man in the country.

In case you’re a history buff wondering about that first state dinner designation, President Buchanan’s 1860 hosting of the Prince of Wales didn’t count. The prince wasn’t a head of state, he was only eighteen, and he claimed he was traveling incognito (though nobody believed him).

David Kalakaua was the king of a sovereign nation, and one which had become “semi-important” during the US Civil War for supplying the Union with sugar. Kalakaua expected to be treated as royalty, even if he was asking for a favor from the US government. He was “pleasantly acquainted” with Mark Twain, who had spent time in his country, and Twain was, in turn, acquainted with President Grant (who admired the author in return). In short order, an invitation to dinner at the White House was arranged for the king.

King Kalakaua was greeted cordially by President and Mrs. Grant, and a small dinner was served to the thirty-six people invited. It was said to have nearly thirty separate dishes of “exotic” French cuisine and ‘the finest of wines.” The menu included several choices of soup, fish, boiled and roasted meats, game entrees, vegetables, relishes, pastries and other desserts, and, of course, coffee. “The cost of the affair was around $3,000—more than ten times the amount today!”

But the purpose of the visit—and the dinner—was achieved, at least for the king. A duty-free agreement between the Sandwich Islands and the United States was reached for sugar and other items. This agreement was evidently mutually beneficial, since only twenty years later, the islands chose to annex to the mainland.

 

Your characters could have heard or read of the first state dinner, and maybe followed the visit of King Kalakaua in the newspapers. In 1881, the king became the first ruling monarch in the world to undertake a round-the-world tour. He revisited the United States, met with President Chester Alan Arthur, promoted island culture, and re-negotiated trade agreements. “As a one-man Chamber of Commerce, King Kalakaua could be considered a whopping success.”

 

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

 

Sources:

Feather Schwartz Foster, “President Grant and the First State Dinner,” Presidential History Blog, October 9, 2017.

Betty C. Monkman, “The White House State Dinner,” The White House Historical Association.

Ishaan Tharoor, “King Kalakaua Goes to Washington, 1874,” Time Magazine, January 11, 2011.

A Western Perspective: The Western Genre Is Emotional Oxygen

 Howdy Everyone, 

I hope you are all doing well! 

 Recently I have heard a lot of talk about how the western needs to push into different genres to be able to reach a more broad readership and for younger audiences as well. I get that some people might get into reading the westerns by having zombies, vampires in them or if they are more of a sci-fi or fantasy take and that is all good for those that are into that. If this is the kind of western that you read or write, please know this is not a dig at that at all. I think the western can absorb and be a part of any other genre perfectly and make it work naturally and for those writing those types of stories, my hat is off to you.

My point is that I want to make sure that the western also lives on with respect to the stories that have come before and those coming out now. Someone asked me the other day why I write westerns and do I think they are going to be around much longer. The conversation was great, because I was able to do a deep dive on why I love this genre, the history, the people, the land, the food, the towns, the "good guys, the "bad guys", victories, losses, birth, death, love, heartache.....see even there I can just keep going! With this conversation I was reminded though just over the past five years how the western has made not only a comeback but was essential in surviving the pandemic.  

The Western genre endures because it strikes a rare balance between myth and truth, capturing both the rugged beauty of the frontier and the emotional landscapes we all navigate. It’s an amazing, encompassing genre precisely because it blends adventure with introspection. In Westerns, the wide-open plains are more than scenery, they’re symbols of possibility. The frontier becomes a place where characters test themselves, confront their fears, and measure their courage against the enormity of the world. Young readers, especially, connect to these themes because the frontier mirrors their own inner journeys. Growing up is its own kind of wilderness, and Western stories give young minds a way to explore bravery, independence, and identity in a setting that feels limitless.

What makes the Western so powerful is that it taps into a universal longing for space. Space to dream, to breathe, to become. The genre’s heroes often stand alone against challenges, not because they seek loneliness, but because solitude sharpens their sense of purpose. That resonates deeply in a world where noise and pressure crowd our days. In Westerns, there’s room to think, room to grow, room to imagine a life beyond the ordinary. The trails, the campfires, the star-filled nights, they all carry the promise of clarity. Even readers who have never set foot on a ranch or ridden a horse feel the magnetic pull of that freedom. The Western invites everyone, regardless of age, to step into a story where the world is wide and the stakes are real.

This yearning for openness became especially vivid during the COVID shutdowns, when people around the world suddenly found themselves confined, disconnected, and craving escape. Movie theaters went dark, playgrounds emptied, and commutes dissolved into the four walls of home. In that moment of unprecedented stillness, the Western’s promise of movement and vastness felt like a lifeline. Its landscapes were everything our daily routines were not. Expansive, untamed, alive and free. People didn’t turn to Westerns simply for entertainment; they turned to them for emotional oxygen. They watched cowboys ride across endless prairies, read stories of pioneers facing hardship with grit, and rediscovered the comfort of a world where integrity, courage, and resilience could still triumph. The frontier offered a sense of agency at a time when control felt impossible.

The surge of interest wasn’t just nostalgia, it was psychological survival. Westerns reminded us that humanity has weathered difficulty before, that isolation can forge strength, and that simplicity has its own kind of beauty. They provided a mental escape hatch, a way to step into a world where challenges were met head-on and every sunrise brought the chance to start anew. In a time when reality felt tight and anxious, the Western genre swung the gate wide open. It brought people back to a place where the sky had no ceiling, the future was unwritten, and even in the harshest conditions, hope rode right alongside you.

I hope you all have a great December and a Happy Holidays!