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Friday, April 4, 2014

D is for Dodge City

My theme for A- Z is the year my book takes place: 1881. I'll be posting about people, places, and random facts about the year as it relates - however distantly - to my book.


Dodge City was made famous in the early 1880's both as a frontier settlement and a cattle town. There were more gunfighters working in Dodge City at one time or another than any other town in the West, among them Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, both of whom have small roles in my novel. Additionally, Dodge City boasted the usual array of saloons, gambling halls, and brothels - including the famous Long Branch Saloon, which some of you might recall from the show, Gunsmoke. Then again, I may just be dating myself.



11 comments:

  1. Oh no! I watched Gunsmoke as well.
    Now, time to get out of Dodge...

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  2. My father loved Gunsmoke (and many other westerns), so we watched them. I try to imagine needing a horse or a horse-drawn carriage to travel any significant distance and I can't. Well, I can and can't. We have it a lot easier today in so many ways...

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  3. well, what else could we expect from the Wild West...

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  4. Gunsmoke was the longest running series on television wasn't it? Went for twenty years.

    And thank you, thank you, thank you! I got home from my trip last night and found the sweetest package waiting for me, a copy of WEST OF PARADISE, complete with a handmade book mark. LOVE it. Thanks so much!

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  5. Gunsmoke plays every afternoon in my house.

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  6. I am definitely more 'Dodge City' than I am a 'New York City' gal. Hand over the accent, the hat, boots, and horse. That's me. Keep the cab and subways.

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  7. 'Gunsmoke' made women like cowboys and sheriffs. The epitome of the honest lawman. I like your theme for the challenge. The old west continues to fascinate us, as do those men who ride the range.

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  8. LOL. This is crazy. I have Gunsmoke reruns playing on TV as I read this. Dodge City must have been something in its day. I had forgotten how dark that show could be. Most shows didn't have happy endings.

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  9. Didn't watch Gunsmoke, but that was only because we weren't allowed to watch TV on school nights...

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  10. I have, of course, heard of Dodge City and Gunsmoke, but I've never seen Gunsmoke. I hear I'm missing out.

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  11. Wasn't that the longest running show before the Simpson came along?

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