Showing posts with label President Theodore Roosevelt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label President Theodore Roosevelt. Show all posts

Monday, September 12, 2022

A Bison Ranch, a US President, and a Dream

 By Kathy Kovach

Just over the Wyoming border and into Colorado on I25 lies a piece of history that few know about. The Terry Bison Ranch has a rich past and an ambitious future.

Senator Francis Emroy Warren
In 1881, prominent Cheyenne citizen, Charles Terry, purchased 300,000+ acres in southern Wyoming and northern Colorado. A mere four years later, F. E. Warren, who would soon become the first territorial governor of Wyoming, bought the ranch and ran it as the southern headquarters of the Warren Livestock Company. Prior to purchasing the ranch, Warren was wealthy through the Warren Mercantile Company, and he established Warren Livestock which boasted 3,000 cattle and 60,000 sheep in 1888. It also bred and trained sheepdogs which were nationally acclaimed. By the time he was elected to office in 1890, he was the wealthiest person in Wyoming. F. E. Warren was only governor for a month between October and November of 1890 when he resigned to become one of the first senators to represent Wyoming. He served in that position for 35 years.

Warren chose to honor the first owner by naming the property Terry Ranch where cattle and sheep were raised.

President Theodore Roosevelt

General John Pershing
The ranch hosted many prominent citizens, including President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 and 1910. Another was General John "Blackjack" Pershing, who had served as a lower-ranking officer in the Spanish-American War. He fell in love with Warren's daughter, Helen Francis, and they married in 1905. Because of his exemplary service in the military, leading many campaigns, he quickly rose to Brigadier General, although some say it was his connection to Roosevelt and his father-in-law F. E. Warren that prompted the promotion. However, his record has proved him out.

Warren residence while on ranch.

The President at dinner
Warrens Terry Ranch
May 31, 1903
Tragedy struck both Warren and Pershing, when, in 1915, Helen and three of her four children met a tragic end in a fire. Only six-year-old Warren survived. He would later come back to work on the ranch during his summer vacations from Harvard.

Bison Train

Me, feeding treats to a bison from the train.
Terry Ranch changed hands in 1987. Dan Thiel incorporated under the name of Horseshoe Bison, Inc, which started out as a bison meat distributor and a horse-trading company. There are currently 27,500 acres and 2,300 grazing bison on the property, now named Terry Bison Ranch Resort. Thiel's dream, which has come to fruition, is to allow visitors to view the majestic animals in their natural habitat. The ranch provides horse riding tours and a unique train ride, where passengers can feed the bison by hand. The following video was taken by me while my husband fed the beasts.

Terry Bison Ranch Resort has RV and tent camping, as well as cabins. Besides bison, they also have a vast array of animals, including horses, cattle, alpacas, llamas, an ostrich, peafowl, chickens, and several cats. We recently stayed there in our motor home as I researched a book I'm writing. It's a tough job.

Desi and I, hard at work.
I was first introduced to the concept of the American Bison while researching the novella, "Periwinkle in the Park". Fun fact: We've been using the term "buffalo" wrong all these years. 
The word buffalo is derived from the French “bœuf,” a name given to bison when French fur trappers working in the US in the early 1600s saw the animals. The word bœuf came from what the French knew as true buffalo, animals living in Africa and Asia. The term bison was first recorded in 1774, and is the correct scientific terminology. - American bison - Wikipedia

A Bouquet of Brides Collection
Meet seven American women who were named for various flowers but struggle to bloom where God planted them. Can love help them grow to their full potential?

"Periwinkle in the Park" by Kathleen Kovach
1910, Colorado
Periwinkle Winfield is a hiking guide helping to commission a national park. But a run-in with a mountain man who is determined to keep the government off his land may place her in great danger.
Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother, though much too young for that. Kathleen is a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.





Thursday, September 13, 2018

Kitchens of Famous Americans


Modern American kitchen. https://goo.gl/images/AWbmhc


Most of us think of open concept kitchen and living areas as the latest trend in home building. The truth is, from the earliest days of Colonial history until the Victorian Age, open concept described the architectural style of most homes unless the owner was quite wealthy. 


Since my husband and I are painting the small kitchen in our South Florida condo, and I want to make use of every square inch even though it’s not open concept, I began to wonder about the history of kitchens in America. That’s just the way my mind rolls. The Library of Congress is a great resource, so I started my research there. Browsing through the archives, I stumbled upon photos of restored kitchens used by our founders and other well-known Americans. 

The kitchen has always been the heart of the home, but in the founding days of our Republic and during westward expansion, kitchens also served as living room, bedroom, and dining room as well…unless you lived at the White House or in wealthier homes where kitchens were housed in separate buildings to keep the house cool and as a deterrent to fire. Until modern times, kitchens were designed for function, not frivolity.



Historically accurate chuckwagon used
for modern-day reenactments. https://goo.gl/images/6n5sp9



Even chuckwagons, used for storing food and cooking utensils and driven by cattlemen or pioneers headed west across the prairies, could be classified as kitchens, albeit rudimentary ones. The actual cooking was done over an open campfire.


Let’s look at a few of the kitchens used by people whose names you’ll recognize.




Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, photographer. Kitchen in the Ford Mansion. The mansion was the site of the "hard winter" December through May 1780 quarters of George Washington and the Continental Army at The Morristown National Historical Park in Morristown, New Jersey. Morristown New Jersey United States, 2017. -08-25. Photograph. https://loc.gov/item/2017882224/.



In most American history books, the author will describe the hard winter of 1780 when George Washington’s Continental Army tied rags around their freezing feet and ears and huddled over campfires with little to eat. As the leader of the army, Washington stayed in the Ford Mansion, but even though he enjoyed better rations at a table warmed by the kitchen fireplace, he regularly rode among his troops to rally their spirits.


After securing our freedom and serving as the first President of the United States, George Washington and his wife Martha retired to their large country estate named Mount Vernon. The home and its gardens and outbuildings sit on the banks of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, and underwent expansion under Washington’s ownership. The Washington family had owned land there since 1674 when George’s great-grandfather put down roots. 



Detroit Publishing Co., Copyright Claimant, and Publisher Detroit Publishing Co.
Martha Washington kitchen at Mt. Vernon.
Mount Vernon Estate Mount Vernon Estate United States Virginia, None.
[Between 1900 and 1920] Photograph.
https://www.loc.gov/item/2016796113/


In 1775, the kitchen had been significantly enlarged from the original just before Washington assumed command of the Continental Army in Boston. It was comprised of three workrooms on the ground floor and a loft where food was stored and where the cook presumably slept. 


After Washington’s death, the inventory of the estate showed the kitchen was equipped with skillets, a griddle, a variety of pots and pans, a toaster, fire spits, coffeepots, and much more. 



Detroit Publishing Co., Copyright Claimant, and Publisher Detroit Publishing Co.
The Kitchen, Paul Revere House, Boston, Mass.
Boston Boston. Massachusetts United States, ca. 1909. Photograph.
https://www.loc.gov/item/2016814827/


The original three-story home of Colonial patriot Paul Revere is the oldest in downtown Boston. Built in 1680, rather than placing the kitchen in a separate building, it was housed in a two-story extension built on the back of the house. The prosperous silversmith and engraver is best known for his midnight ride in April 1775 to alert volunteers that the British were at the colonial militia’s doorstep. The battles of Lexington and Concord followed. No doubt, because of Revere’s wealth, his table would have been laden with the best the marketplace afforded.




Barnett Mcfee Clinedinst, photographer.
Kitchen, New White House.
Washington, D.C., ca. 1902. Nov. 1906. Photograph.
https://www.loc.gov/item/2002735757/


Of course, one of the most famous kitchens in America is that of the White House in Washington, DC. The photo above was taken early in the 20th Century when Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt served as the 26th President of the United States. We can only assume the kitchen was well-equipped to handle state dinners and the hosting of world dignitaries.

Learn more about the history of kitchens at the Library of Congress or Wikipedia.org. With the advent of the Internet, there is no subject that you can’t study, including the lowly kitchen.

If you have a photo or know a story about the kitchen of another famous American, would you please share it with us? 



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My feisty Irish bride Kate O'Brien McKean asks her husband for an annulment in Dreams of My Heart, book 1 of The Reluctant Brides series, setting off a chain reaction of events that endangers them both. The historical romance set in 1875 Montana Territory is published by Mountain Brook Ink. The book is available at Amazon in both ebook and print and free with Kindle Unlimited. 



Barbara J. Scott


After a career spent acquiring and editing books by numerous bestselling Christian authors, Barbara J. Scott has returned to her true love—writing. She is currently writing the second book in the Reluctant Brides series—Love of My Heart. Barbara and her husband Mike recently moved to the Ft. Lauderdale area to be closer to two of their four grandchildren. Reading, writing, and research are her passions. Want to know more? Connect with Barbara at www.BarbaraJScott.com.


Friday, May 18, 2018

Minnie Cox, Postmistress

Minnie Cox
Wikimedia Commons
Minnie Cox, born in 1869 to former slaves, grew up in Lexington, Missouri. She graduated from Fisk University with her teaching degree at the age of nineteen. She married Wayne Cox, the principal of the Colored School in Indianola, Missouri, and began teaching. 

Wayne Cox was also the first black alderman in the city. Both Wayne and Minnie were very active politically and supported the Republican party. President Benjamin Harrison needed a Postmaster for Indianola. He appointed Minnie in 1891 when he couldn’t find anyone else qualified. Minnie became the first black postmistress in the United States.

President Harrison
U.S. Library of Congress
Minnie worked hard at her job. Indianola was one of the largest post offices and carried a lot of responsibility. Minnie worked long hours. She was the first to put in a telephone at the post office so the patrons could call to see if they had mail to pick up. She went out of her way to help people.

She did such an exceptional job that President McKinley reappointed her for another term in 1897. Theodore Roosevelt reappointed her again when he took office. Her salary of $1,100 annually was considered high pay at the time. Minnie was known to use part of her pay to cover costs when people were late paying for their post office boxes.

Very few complaints were made about Minnie until the political climate began to change. New laws discouraged allowing blacks to vote, and also prohibited appointing, black citizens into positions of power. In 1902, some of the white citizens of Indianola began to call for Minnie to step down. Minnie refused to do so, but did let them know she would not seek reappointment when her term ended in 1904.

In late 1902, James K. Vardaman, newspaper editor and white supremacist, gave speeches inciting the citizens against Minnie Cox. Threats were made against her and her family. It was suggested that as an appointed official, Minnie should be protected by federal troops. Minnie decided to tender her resignation.

President Roosevelt
U.S. Library of Congress
President Roosevelt refused to send troops for her protection. He also refused to allow Minnie to resign. Instead, he closed the post office in Indianola and rerouted the mail to a neighboring town, causing the citizens to have to go farther for their mail. He also continued Minnie’s salary until the end of her term in 1904. 

Minnie and her family left town in early 1903 because of the fear of people following through on their threats. She didn’t return until 1904 after her term of office ended and the post office returned to Indianola, although it had been downgraded to a lower class postal system.

The news about the hostility toward Minnie spread across the country. For four hours her situation was debated on the Senate floor. In early 1903, the Cleveland Gazette ran the headline, “Mrs. Minnie Cox, Postmistress of Indianola – A Faithful and Efficient Official Driven From Office by Southern White Brutes.” One of the "brutes" referred to in the headline, was James K. Vardaman, who went on to be elected governor of Missouri. 

Minnie and her husband quit teaching. When they returned to Indianola, they opened a bank that attracted both black and white patrons. Minnie passed away in 1933. In 2008, the Indianola Post Office was renamed the Minnie Cox Post Office Building by an act of Congress.

Have you ever heard of Minnie Cox? Did you find this story fascinating? I know I did. I loved how President Roosevelt supported Minnie by continuing her pay even after the post office was closed. I would love to hear your thoughts.



Nancy J Farrier is an award winning author who lives in Southern California in the Mojave Desert. She loves the Southwest with its interesting historical past. Nancy and her husband have five children and two grandsons. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats, and spend time with her family. Nancy is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Literary Agency. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.