E. Joe Brown

I love how the Kelly Can Saga Series is entering the Roaring Twenties. That was a fascinating time to be alive. I have many ideas about how you, as a reader, and I, as an author, can explore the exciting history of the era.

During the 1920s, the cattle industry in Oklahoma experienced significant growth. Angus and Hereford cattle became dominant, and I chose to have Charlie raise Angus cattle. But Hereford cattle may have been even more popular. One Hereford breeder was oilman and rancher Roy J. Turner, who would later serve as governor of Oklahoma and president of the American Hereford Association.

Other oilmen who became major stock raisers include William G. Skelly (Skelly Oil), Robert S. Kerr, and Dean A. McGee (Kerr-McGee Oil). William G. Skelly, along with Harry Sinclair (Sinclair Oil) and J. Paul Getty (Getty Oil), are already characters you have seen who show up in the storyline of my series. During this time, the ranches in central Oklahoma became known as "Hereford Heaven" and attracted buyers from throughout the country.

As stated by the Oklahoma Historical Society, among the country's best-known ranches was the 110,000-acre 101 Ranch, founded in 1893 by Col. George W. Miller. The ranch was famous not only for being known as the largest diversified farm and ranch in America, but also for its internationally popular Wild West show (1905–31), organized by the Miller brothers, Joe, Zack, and George, Jr. As many of you know, my maternal grandfather, Clarence Ashley Kelly, was a cowboy at that ranch around 1920, and his stories inspired me to write this series.

The cattle industry, the oil business, and the business world in the 1920s expanded rapidly in Oklahoma, Texas, and California. So, the Kelly Can story will be expanding as well. In future novels, you can expect to read about challenges in all those business and geographical areas as Charlie and Susan travel to California, Texas, and probably even back to New England to seek opportunities to grow the Kramer Group. Their family might grow, too.

Happy Trails,
Joe