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Articles by Ron Soodalter
A Legend Rides the Overland Stage
On August 4, 1860, one of the world’s most famous men arrived in St. Joseph.
The Forgotten Winchester
BY RON SOODALTER East-central Nevada’s White Pine County is the site of the breathtaking Great Basin National Park. Twelve years ago, three park archaeologists on a hunt for native artifacts chanced upon a discovery that would attract national attention, thrill western historians and firearm enthusiasts alike, and uncover a mystery that is yet to be solved.
Ma Barker: The Gang Leader Who Never Was
Soon after Kate “Ma” Barker’s bloody demise on January 16, 1935, J. Edgar Hoover called her “the most vicious, dangerous, and resourceful criminal brain of the last decade.” Despite the fact that a former member of the Barker Gang stated, “The old woman couldn’t plan breakfast, let alone a major crime,” the rest of the country was ready to accept Hoover’s verdict.
The Legend of Johnny Ringo
Americans love tall tales, and Old West legends are prone to embellishment—none more so than the story of outlaw and gunfighter Johnny Ringo. These are the known facts: John Peters Ringo was born in 1850 in Indiana. His family moved to Missouri in 1856, to Liberty and then onward to Gallatin in 1858, where he attended grade school and grew into his teens. At the time, Gallatin was a rough-hewn town with fewer than 2,000 settlers, many still living in log houses.
The Man Who Killed the Man Who Killed the Man Who Killed Jesse James
Americans love their outlaws, perhaps Jesse James most of all. Most Missourians will know Jesse was shot in the back of the head in his home in St. Joseph. The killing of Jesse James may have ended his story—but it started another one. Over the next several years, a grim sequence of retribution, obsession, and violence claimed several lives and injured a lawman. • Portrait of Jesse James.
Along for the Ride
Fifty years ago, Missouri Life featured a story on the state’s three major family entertainment centers: Worlds of Fun, Silver Dollar City, and Six Flags St. Louis (which was then called Six Flags over Mid-America). Since then, the world of amusement and theme parks has seen stunning changes—some anticipated, some not.
Shifting the Shape of Our State
In the early to mid-1830s, a big region now comprising six counties—Andrew County, Atchison County, Buchanan County, Holt County, Nodaway County, and Platte County—was known as the Platte Country. Initially excluded from the state of Missouri, the government set out to purchase the land from the Sauk, Fox, and Ioway Indians. The land quickly became a source of contention involving the federal government, the state of Missouri, and several Native American tribes.
Mindless Mayhem
On a brisk day in December 1787, a well-appointed young man named Thomas Langford was breakfasting at an inn near the small settlement of Crab Orchard in Lincoln County when a ragged group of two men and three women appeared. Feeling sorry for the small band, Langford generously bought them breakfast, unwittingly showing a purse of silver coins. Bandits were common on the Wilderness Road, and when the time came to continue his journey, he joined them, for security.
King of the River Pirates
The story of Samuel Ross Mason. When you hear the word “pirate,” you might think of Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean, the celluloid swashbuckler and dashing adventurer. But true piracy most often attracted men of few scruples and those with a skewed moral compass who were driven by a lust for gain and had an inclination toward violence. These ruthless cutthroats were the scourge not only of the blue waters of oceans and seas but also of big rivers.
The Final Hunt
The sun had barely risen on Aug. 5, 1873, when the Pawnee people found themselves surrounded by death. In a canyon in southeast Nebraska, Sky Chief looked at his people – fleeing, fighting and falling in the face of overwhelming odds. The Sioux, having followed their every move, had finally cornered them. On horseback and with a seemingly endless number of warriors, the Sioux began the attack, sending arrows and bullets into the fleeing Pawnee.
The Great Tri-State Tornado of 1925
When Sam Flowers rode off from his farm near Redford, Missouri—a tiny town in Reynolds County in the Ozarks—to the nearby market town of Ellington on March 18, 1925, the day was oddly warm and unsettled. Rain and “strong shifting winds” were in the day’s forecast. He had business to conduct in Ellington that Wednesday morning, but he hoped to make it home before any storms broke out to soak him on the way. Sam’s horse came home shortly after dark, but without Sam.
Jefferson Highway Revisited
The “Pine to Palm” route took early automobiles through the Show-Me State. From my backyard in Cameron, I can watch cars driving up and down a stretch of highway. A century ago, our property was a pasture from where grazing cattle could have seen farm trucks going to market and early automobiles traversing a north–south route less than a mile away. The cows couldn’t have known it, but they were witnessing history being made.
Long, Violent History
Missouri’s famous feuds comprise bloody chapters in the story of our state. Story: Ron Soodalter Illustrations: Spencer Owen When we think of feuds, the image that often comes to mind is of two multi-generational families, blazing away at each other over some ancient—and largely forgotten—offense. This is indeed one iteration.
Iliniwek Village State Historic Site
In the seventeenth century when France had an empire in the interior of North America, there was a large region in the center of the continent known to the French as Le pays des Illinois, “The Illinois Country.” It was a deferential nod to those whose country it was, the dozen or so American Indian tribes of the Illinois Confederation who occupied this vast region that encompassed most of the middle Mississippi valley from Iowa to Arkansas, including eastern Missouri, and up the Ohio River to...
The Thriving Amish Community of Clark
If you were to close your eyes and stand beside one of the white gravel roads bisecting the green agricultural fields around Clark, it would not be long before you would be able to identify the rhythmic clip-clop of approaching horses. Listen closer and you would discern the accompanying clatter of iron buggy wheels crunching the stoney surface. Open your eyes, and even though you would be only 20 miles north of Columbia, it would feel as though you have been transported back to the mid-1800s.
I Am Still Here
By Jim Winnerman and Sydney Jones Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, was once one of the most feared diseases in the world. In 1952, the polio epidemic reached a peak in the United States with almost 58,000 reported cases and more than 3,000 deaths. Polio can be particularly devastating to children. Most frequently, it can leave them with legs that are paralyzed.
Escape From Lone Jack: Can you Solve this Real-Life Case from 1935?
Running for a limited time November 16–17 is Lone Jack Historical Society’s annual escape room adventure, “Hiding in Plain Sight-The Pinkerton Detectives & the Crookfield Case.” Each year, the The Lone Jack Historical Society plans an escape room adventure to raise money for its museum and operations.
Rock Bridge Memorial State Park
Because of its oddity, the area south of Columbia was probably destined to become a state park, if not preserved in some other way, although this is hindsight, of course. There are so many natural phenomena here to excite human curiosity. Flowing creeks disappear underground. Natural shallow ponds called sinkholes act like funnels, holding water for only a short time after heavy rains. Deep holes in the earth open into extensive caverns. Bats boil out of these caves at dusk.
South of a great bend in the Meramec River and just a mile upstream from the Shaw Nature Reserve is a pleasant little park. The initial 1,100-acre tract of Robertsville State Park in east-central Franklin County was purchased by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in 1979 as part of the state’s commitment to the Meramec River Recreation Area, a string of parks, conservation areas, and other recreational facilities along the lower Meramec and anchored by Castlewood State Park.
Why Does Missouri Have 2 out of 12 Federal Reserve Banks?
There was a time in America’s history when our currency was an imprecise, ill-defined medium of exchange. Harking back to prerevolutionary years, colonists freely used French, Spanish, and English coins to conduct commerce. Individual colonies often issued their own money, leading to endless confusion. It was a time when a “buck” was valued as the trade equivalent of a deerskin or buckskin and five bucks bought a cask of whisky. Conducting a war, however, has always been an expensive proposition.
Art and Accuracy
As most firearms enthusiasts no doubt will attest, there are arguably three types of firearms from America’s past that have achieved legendary status: the Winchester rifle, the Colt revolver and the Kentucky rifle. Of these, the last has the longest pedigree by far. A sleek, elegant weapon that combined art and accuracy, it put food on the table in peacetime and performed yeoman service in time of war.
Missouri's Very Own Woodstock
Gone are the days when Sedalia’s main claim to fame was being the trailhead for thousands of irascible, tick-ridden, Texas longhorn cattle. To many Missourians, the most extraordinary event to take place in Sedalia’s history was the Ozark Music Festival that was held 50 years ago in July 1974.
Happy 250th, Harrodsburg
Contrary to popular opinion, Boonesborough was not the first permanent Anglo-American community built in what was destined to become the state of Kentucky. That honor goes to a settlement established in 1774 in present-day Mercer County by hunter, scout, soldier, explorer, trail blazer, Indian fighter and all-around intrepid frontiersman James Harrod. Harrod was born in Pennsylvania sometime in the early to mid-1740s; his exact birthdate is unknown.
Hell on the Mississippi
By Ron Soodalter By the time Confederate General-in-Chief Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, the Civil War had all but run its course. During its four hellish years, it had wrought the deaths of some 620,000 men and created a million and a half casualties. But hostilities were finally winding down, and it was apparent to all but the most determined holdouts that the South had lost.
Like a Bird on a Beam: Meet Missouri’s Wing Walkers
By Ron Soodalter There is a line in the wildly popular early 20th-century song, “Come Josephine, in my Flying Machine” that goes, “Balance yourself like a bird on a beam.” Beginning around the time of World War I, that is precisely what aviators and aviatrixes did for the breathtaking amusement of the crowds at America’s state and local fairs, circuses, and celebrations.
Bob Ford, The Dirty Little Coward
Story by Ron Soodalter St. Joseph, MO: April 3, 1882. Jesse James was uncharacteristically careless in trusting the Ford Brothers, Bob and Charlie. As the bandit leader almost certainly knew from recent newspaper reports, one of his band had already betrayed him and turned state’s witness. He was on the run. Yet, he welcomed the Fords to his rented hilltop hideout, fed them, and discussed with them his plans for a raid on the Platte City bank.
These Fighting ‘Mighty Midgets’ Packed Big Guns
The Asiatic-Pacific Theater in World War II culminated with a grueling, bloody amphibious campaign to capture one Japanese-held seabound stronghold after another.
‘The George Washington of the West’
Looking at Matthew H. Jouett’s classic portrait of Isaac Shelby, it would be difficult to envision his subject in the buckskins of a canny frontiersman or the uniform of a seasoned field officer. The face is round and jowly, and the body is somewhat rotund. The portrait depicts Shelby at around 70, in failing health and just a few years before his death. It does nothing to convey the lifetime of military and political service he devoted to Kentucky and the fledgling American nation.
'Killed Without Cause'
In the frigid early morning hours of January 28, 1918, eight men from Texas Ranger Company B left their headquarters in Marfa and, buoyed by liquor, descended on the tiny Texas border community of Porvenir. They were accompanied by four local ranchers and twelve soldiers from the Eighth U.S. Cavalry. As the soldiers cordoned off the village, the masked Rangers and ranchers battered in the doors of the residents’ stone and adobe huts.
A Day at the Beach
At first glance, it might seem that County Road 5285, eight miles south of Rolla, is an unlikely place to spend a day at the beach. And yet, several trusted travel websites rate the location among the Midwest’s top 10 beaches. How can this be? By Ron Soodalter County Road 5285, eight miles south of Rolla, is an unlikely place to spend a day at the beach.
Rollin’, Rollin,’ Rollin’
Those of a certain age are familiar with the Western Heritage Award-winning TV series Rawhide. Every Friday night for six years, a crew of seasoned cowboys drove herds of Texas cattle toward the railhead at Sedalia, Missouri.
Lost Treasures of the Old West
The American West is vast, and its treasures elusive. From the first Spanish explorers to cross the plains and deserts, the quest for the West’s rich lodes of silver and gold has been unceasing. And over the centuries, thousands of —stories some more fantastical than others—have surfaced around hidden riches, buried loot, and disappearing mines. Here is a handful of folktales of some of the most popular lost fortunes to have tantalized and eluded seekers for generations.
Riding For The Brand: The Ballad Of Bob Fudge
This cowboy saga, immortalized in song, comes from the true-life adventures of a Texas trail driver and Montana-Wyoming cowboy who wrote it all down. This is the story of “The Ballad of Bob Fudge.” The life of Bob Fudge tracks like a Jack Schaefer or Larry McMurtry novel. During the heyday of the big herds, he worked as a trail driver, pushing thousands of head of cattle and horses north from Texas to the ranches and reservations of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.
The Flight Of Red Bird: The Life And Work Of Zitkala-Ša
The life of the exceptionally gifted and important Yankton Sioux writer, musician, and activist Zitkala-Ša proved a bicultural journey that would defy her times and gender. It would stand to reason, given the deep-rooted bias against her race and her sex, that a Sioux Indian girl born into late-Victorian, predominantly white America might have little to no chance for growth and fame.
The Untold Story of Wyatt Earp in Missouri
Lawman Wyatt Earp is immortalized in books and movies, but he first wore a badge in the Missouri town of Lamar. When he left town a couple of years later, there was a warrant out for his arrest. Why did Wyatt want to forget his life in Lamar? This article was published in the January/February 2023 issue of Missouri Life.
Frontier Odyssey
The dramatic tale of Jenny Wiley’s capture by and escape from Native Americans has become a cornerstone of Kentucky history and lore. Yet, as is often the case when events lack reliable documentation, a story can assume a life of its own. As such, Wiley’s odyssey bears examination to see where fact ends and fancy begins. This is one of the more generally accepted versions of her story. The Raid Shortly before dark on a dismal, rainy Oct.
How This Escaped Slave Got His Revenge on the Confederacy
In his 33 short years of life, Abraham Galloway impacted the course of American history more than men who lived to be twice his age—beginning with his bold escape from slavery.
Lost Treasures of the Old West
Skip to content The American West is vast, and its treasures elusive. From the first Spanish explorers to cross the plains and deserts, the quest for the West’s rich lodes of silver and gold has been unceasing. And over the centuries, thousands of —stories some more fantastical than others—have surfaced around hidden riches, buried loot, and disappearing mines. Here is a handful of folktales of some of the most popular lost fortunes to have tantalized and eluded seekers for generations.
Missouri’s Most Infamous Outlaws
Missouri’s Most Infamous Outlaws Missouri was once the western frontier and part of the Wild West. In the mid-to-late 1800s, Missouri was known as the Outlaw State, with considerable justification. Missouri contributed far more than its share of bushwhackers, stock thieves, band and train robbers, and killers. Here’s a roll call of some of the most infamous outlaws. Born from War One of the standouts was William T.
When Social Media Meets the Cowboy Life
The Cowboy Way of Life Let me tell you about this place—it’s 135,000 acres of grass and trees and rocks and wind between Grass Range and Roundup, Mont., in the central part of the state. I manage this ranch for the largest private landowners in Montana. I live here with my wife and three young sons, as well as with two cowboys who work for me and their small families, and an older bachelor who chain smokes Marlboro cigarettes as he checks water for the cows.
Was the Big Die-Up the death of the Old West?
Officially called the Great Cattle Extinction, it would come down in Western history as the Big Die-Up. When it ended, most of the large ranching operations on the Northern Range died up, as well. The old-time cattle industry, the trail drives that fed it, and the Old West itself, never recovered.
Death Alley: The Dalton Gang's Deadly Demise
“The five men rode boldly and at a swinging trot, raising a cloud of dust which literally enveloped them as they passed down Eighth Street.” –An eyewitness For a brief period toward the end of the 19th century, the mere mention of the name “Daltons!” was enough to send paroxysms of terror through the towns of the Frontier West.
How the South Led the North in Submarine Warfare
Traveling safely underwater in an enclosed airtight capsule had been a dream of man for millennia. Although various plans and designs for a watercraft capable of accomplishing this were being drawn as early as the 1500s, reportedly the first actual prototypical submarine—a crude, oar-powered rowboat-like affair—was built in 17th-century England. Once the possibility of beneath-the-waves travel seemed feasible, man’s thoughts turned to its application in war.
Yoko Ono names her 57 favourite books of all time
Yoko Ono is one of the most notable figures in music. The wife of John Lennon, she has long and mistakenly been derided as the force that caused The Beatles to split up. Of course, she is so much more than this life-altering whisper. Yoko Ono is an accomplished musician, artist, and philanthropist in her own right. Interestingly, she’d already established herself as a renowned visual artist years before she’d met The Beatles frontman, a fact that puts many of her critics to shame.
Americans Had Only Seconds To Escape A V-1 Flying Bomb in London’s Sloane Court
The “Londoner’s Diary” section on Page 2 of the Jan. 7, 1944, Evening Standard included what to citizens of the bomb-ravaged British capital must have seemed a rather uninteresting news item. Under the heading Still Empty it read in part: “Down in Chelsea two rows of houses in Sloane Court were requisitioned over three months ago. Tenants had to pack up and find other accommodation.
The Cadet Chapel: A Jewel in Military Gothic
When President Theodore Roosevelt attended the 1902 centennial observance of the founding of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he became so concerned about the deteriorating state of several of its buildings that he immediately began agitating for their refurbishment. West Point’s academic board, under the direction of Superintendent Colonel Albert L. Mills, responded by drawing up a list of the academy’s architectural shortcomings and making recommendations for improvements.
Meet the Big River Bushwhacker-the Dashing, Dangerous, Illiterate Outlaw Bent on Revenge
From 1861 to 1865, war-torn Missouri produced its share of guerrillas and brigands. The deeds of many Missourians who rode “under the black flag”—“Bushwhacker Bill” Wilson, Cole Younger, and “Little Arch” Clement, to name just a few—fell far outside the bounds of what were considered the “acceptable” rules of conduct during wartime.
‘My Soul Is Vexed Within Me So’
Symbolic Tribute: Martin Delany is aptly the focus of this ca. 1863 lithograph, Allegory of Freedom, but the meaning of some of the symbols shown, such as the two boats and obelisk, is not completely evident. The banner being dragged behind a horse appears to be an inaccurate depiction of the Confederacy’s first national flag.
Americans Had Only Seconds To Escape A V-1 Flying Bomb in London’s Sloane Court
A reconstructed V-1 site in Normandy demonstrates how the weapons were launched from an inclined rail. Artrera Picture Library via Alamy Ron Soodalter March 2022 The “Londoner’s Diary” section on Page 2 of the Jan. 7, 1944, Evening Standard included what to citizens of the bomb-ravaged British capital must have seemed a rather uninteresting news item. Under the heading Still Empty it read in part: “Down in Chelsea two rows of houses in Sloane Court were requisitioned over three months ago.
Wilderness Odyssey: The Saga of Simon Kenton (Part Three)
RECAP OF PARTS ONE AND TWO: Simon Kenton’s progression from an indolent boy on a hardscrabble Virginia farm to a legend of the American frontier began when he was 16. Believing he had killed a man in a fight, he fled to the untamed region known as Kain-tuck-ee. There, under the assumed name Simon Butler, he excelled at hunting, trapping and—when the occasion called for it—fighting Native Americans.
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