E. Joe Brown

Historically, the energy industry, primarily oil, has fueled Tulsa's economy over the years. Still, today the city has diversified, and now its economy has added other segments such as finance, aviation, and several technology areas. For most of the 20th century, the city was called the “Oil Capital of the World” and played a significant role as one of the most important hubs for the American oil industry.

I'm excited to share my experience a few days ago at the Chisolm Trail Heritage Center (CTHC) in Duncan, Oklahoma, supporting their National Day of the Cowboy celebration. I was honored when Edie Stewart, the Center’s education director, asked me to be part of the event.

Here is a little background for those who don't know about this annual celebration:
In 2005, National Day of the Cowboy (NDOC) sponsored a bill in the Wyoming House and Senate to preserve and celebrate cowboy culture and history in that state, naming a holiday to be observed on the fourth Saturday in July.

I hope you enjoyed Part One of the Rapid City Conference adventure. Maybe that's too strong a term, but it was fun for Linda and me. We love taking the old US or State highways when we can, which lets us drive through the small towns you miss when you use the Interstates. That said, we did use I-90 across South Dakota on Sunday, the 25th. We wanted to stop at Wall Drug on I-90, about fifty miles east of Rapid City. While we were there I met with the bookstore manager and they purchased six copies of A Cowboy's Destiny for their shelves. YAHOO! That was a great start to our trip home.

Kansas City is a central hub of the Kelly Can Saga in and around the time of Book Two "A Cowboy's Gusher", and beyond that, I think we need to understand what was happening there post-World War I and into the Roaring 20s. Although today Kansas City is considered a moderate and family-oriented place to live, a hundred years ago, it was a wide-open rip-roaring town.

Some of you might be wondering who is Marjorie Merriweather Post and why you should care. That’s fair, and I’ll be happy to tell you.

Marjorie was born in Springfield, Illinois on March 15, 1887. She was the daughter and only child of C. W. Post and Ella Letitia Merriweather. His father founded the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. At age twenty-seven, upon the death of her father Marjorie became the sole owner of the company and at the same time the wealthiest woman in America. She was worth $20 million (equivalent to over $500 million today). She was known as a tremendous businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist.

In a previous blog, we talked about the actual 101 Ranch. It plays a pivotal part in the story of Charlie Kelly and "A Cowboy's Destiny." The ranch existed, and the Millers also truly owned the ranch. The Miller brothers, Joe, George, and Zack are characters in the story. So is the person E. W. Marland. I wanted a genuine feel of realism in the story even though it absolutely is a work of fiction.