Boedeker

A novel titled Big Game Rifles

Researching Wyoming’s Boedekers, Truth or Legend?

By Jane Little Botkin / August 3, 2019 /

A famous quote best describes the written lore of Lawman Hank Boedeker: “When confronted with the truth or the legend, print the legend.” Though not much is in print about Henry E. Boedeker, during the 1950s, campfire stories embellished tales of well-known past residents including Marshal Boedeker to impress visiting dudes at ranches across western…

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A beautiful view of the city with the statue of a Red Indian

The Dude Was Born, and the Western Rockies Have Never Been the Same

By Jane Little Botkin / August 24, 2018 / Comments Off on The Dude Was Born, and the Western Rockies Have Never Been the Same

On my way home from Lander, Wyoming, after a horrible start, so bad that I questioned the wisdom in flying out last week. My Southwest Airlines flight took off an hour and half late because someone got the emergency exit door stuck. My connection in Denver was a charter flight to Riverton, WY. Instructions were…

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The Best Part of a Story Is When It Changes

By Jane Little Botkin / August 20, 2018 / Comments Off on The Best Part of a Story Is When It Changes

My mom died. It is a strange feeling being an orphan at my age. I am uncomfortable with the void I feel. I talked to her every day for the last twenty-three years. She had been diagnosed with lung cancer in January. Four months later, gone. One of my best fans, gone. Of course, I…

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An icon of a man riding a horse on a white background

Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys

By Jane Little Botkin / August 16, 2018 / Comments Off on Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys

I email Bump Boedeker’s bronc image to Sarah. I hope the new discovery peaks her interest in her heritage. Cowboys may not impress her much; after all, she is a Wyoming girl where Steamboat is imprinted on everything except the state flag. (Steamboat is Wyoming’s ubiquitous bucking bronc logo.) And like my son, she attended…

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A bump Boedeker black and white photo

Bump Boedeker, Ride “‘Em, Cowboy!”

By Jane Little Botkin / August 15, 2018 / Comments Off on Bump Boedeker, Ride “‘Em, Cowboy!”

Taking care of a dying person is draining, but I can fend off depression by concentrating on the Boedeker family. This tack triggers another realization, adding guilt to my panoply of emotions. I realize that I am a voyeur, my mind’s eye loupe is peering into their lives without permission. Should I tell Sarah? I…

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