Tag Archives: American West

FRONTIERADO IS HERE! CELEBRATE WITH HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS OF A WILD WEST TOWN

Wild West TownFrontierado is here at last! Time for buffalo steaks, cactus salads, Tumbleweed Pizzas, Cactus Jacks, Deuces Wilds, Western Spaghetti and lots of games of Frontierado Poker. Naturally the day ends with Silverado plus a few other westerns of your choice. I usually add Posse or Once Upon A Time In The West.

And since it’s a three-day weekend you’ve got both Saturday and Sunday to recover.  

When it comes to Wild West towns places like Tombstone, Dodge City and Deadwood get the lion’s share of the attention. In keeping with Balladeer’s Blog’s overall theme here’s a look at some of the action in the neglected town of Sidney, NE. Figures like Wild Bill Hickok, Luke Short, Susan B Anthony, Whispering Smith and Dom Pedro II of Brazil passed through Sidney in its heyday. Here’s a timeline of just some of the events in the town infamous as “The Wicked Burg”:  

April 29th, 1868 – Daniel Richardson, Thomas Cahoon and William Edmondson became the first recorded dead men buried in Sidney’s Boot Hill Cemetery. All three men were killed in a clash with Native Americans.

May ?, 1875 – Susan B Anthony delivered a lecture in Sidney advocating women’s suffrage.

October 24th, 1875 – At the Capitol Saloon the livery stable owner Robert W Porter and Charles Patterson got into an argument (the subject is not known) that resulted in Patterson shooting Porter to death with 3 shots. Patterson was placed under arrest. Continue reading

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THE WICKED BURGH: THE NEGLECTED WILD WEST TOWN OF SIDNEY, NEBRASKA

Sidney today

Sidney today

Happy Frontierado! Here’s a bonus post for this joyous day! When it comes to Wild West towns places like Tombstone, Dodge City and Deadwood get the lion’s share of the attention. In keeping with Balladeer’s Blog’s overall theme here’s a look at some of the action in the neglected town of Sidney, NE. Figures like Wild Bill Hickok, Luke Short, Susan B Anthony, Whispering Smith and Dom Pedro II of Brazil passed through Sidney in its heyday. Here’s a timeline of just some of the events in the town infamous as “The Wicked Burg”:

April 29th, 1868 – Daniel Richardson, Thomas Cahoon and William Edmondson became the first recorded dead men buried in Sidney’s Boot Hill Cemetery. All three men were killed in a clash with Native Americans. 

May ?, 1875 – Susan B Anthony delivered a lecture in Sidney advocating women’s suffrage.

October 24th, 1875 – At the Capitol Saloon the Continue reading

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RANGE WARS OF THE AMERICAN WEST

HAPPY FRONTIERADO! The great day is here once again which means it’s the first day of a three-day weekend for those of us on four continents who celebrate it! Today we’re all busy getting ready for our meals of buffalo steaks and ribs, New Mexico Territory Fried Rice, Western Spaghetti, rabbit legs, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and cactus salad! After that we’ll all play Frontierado Poker while drinking Cactus Jacks and wind up the evening with Tumbleweed Pizzas and a midnight viewing of Silverado, the OFFICIAL western of Frontierado!

To help celebrate this holiday which commemorates the myth of the American West, not the grinding reality here is a look at some of the best-known Range Wars of the period along with their most famous gunfighters.

Texas

Texas

MASON COUNTY WAR

Location: Texas

When: June 1874 to September 1876

The Belligerent Parties: The majority German population ranchers versus the English-speaking ranchers.

The War’s Most Famous Gunfighter: Continue reading

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FOUR COOL BUT FORGOTTEN GUNSLINGERS FOR FRONTIERADO

Bear River Tom Smith

Bear River Tom Smith

The Frontierado holiday is coming up on Friday, August 2nd and Balladeer’s Blog continues presenting holiday- themed articles. I know that in reality the gunfighters of the old west were thugs and worse but Frontierado is about the myth of the American west, not the grinding reality. 

As the glorious day approaches and we are all making our holiday preparations enjoy a sampling of this group of colorful characters who don’t get the attention – or movies – they deserve.

1. BEAR RIVER TOM – That’s our top-ranked figure in the photo to your left. One of the few actual gunmen to wear a fancy two-gun holster, Bear River Tom Smith’s myth begins with his birth in 1838 in New York City. He either did or did not serve in the Union Army in 1861 (accounts vary) but was definitely part of the NYC police force by 1862. In 1867 he headed west, working as a laborer laying track for the Union Pacific Railroad  in Nebraska.

By 1868 the crew he was with had reached Wyoming, where the Hell On Wheels town of Bear River sprang up around their work camp. Bear River was to wild, lawless railroad towns what Dodge City, Kansas was to wild, lawless cattletowns. Bear River Tom put his guns, fists and law enforcement experience to Continue reading

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JUST TWENTY-SEVEN MORE SHOPPING DAYS TIL FRONTIERADO!

What is Frontierado?  Frontierado is a Continue reading

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FOUR FORGOTTEN GUNSLINGERS WITH COOL NICKNAMES

Bear River Tom Smith

Bear River Tom Smith

The Frontierado holiday is coming up on Friday, August 3rd and Balladeer’s Blog continues presenting holiday- themed articles. I know that in reality the gunfighters of the old west were thugs and worse but Frontierado is about the myth of the American west, not the grinding reality. 

As the glorious day approaches and we are all making our holiday preparations enjoy a sampling of this group of colorful characters who don’t get the attention – or movies – they deserve.

1. BEAR RIVER TOM – That’s our top-ranked figure in the photo to your left. One of the few actual gunmen to wear a fancy two-gun holster, Bear River Tom Smith’s myth begins with his birth in 1838 in New York City. He either did or did not serve in the Union Army in 1861 (accounts vary) but was definitely part of the NYC police force by 1862. In 1867 he headed west, working as a laborer laying track for the Union Pacific Railroad  in Nebraska.

By 1868 the crew he was with had reached Wyoming, where the Hell On Wheels town of Bear River sprang up around their work camp. Bear River was to wild, lawless railroad towns what Dodge City, Kansas was to wild, lawless cattletowns. Bear River Tom put his guns, fists and law enforcement experience to work protecting the Continue reading

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JUST 9 MORE SHOPPING DAYS UNTIL FRONTIERADO!

What is Frontierado?  Frontierado is a holiday my family and I celebrate  each year. It’s a holiday I simply made up to fill the down time between The 4th of July and Labor Day. Frontierado celebrates the romantic myth of the Old West, as opposed to the gritty reality.

What does Frontierado meanI named the Holiday this because I think it sounds cool and the “frontier” part of the name captures the old west feel I’m going for. 

 How do you pronounce Frontierado?  I pronounce it frawn-teer-AW-do and since I invented the Holiday I can pronounce it however I like. 

 When is Frontierado?  Frontierado is the First Friday of August every year. Isn’t it a nice change of pace to have a three-day weekend that doesn’t have the holiday on a Monday?

How is Frontierado celebratedFrontierado is celebrated with a get-together with family and friends involving a meal (cooked outdoors or indoors, whatever you prefer) , Sagas, Frontierado Poker, Cactus Jacks and a viewing of the official Frontierado western, Silverado.  

 What are “Sagas” in the context of Frontierado? Christmas has Christmas Carol singing, Frontierado has Sagas. Sagas are fictional biographies of a Western character I invent for somebody after I familiarize myself with their personality and favorite subjects. You could do one yourself of course, or if you like I could Continue reading

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