The Town Too Tough to Die was on life support when Edna Landin came to town in 1949.
It was still just a rugged town with more past than future; still a place only remembered for Wyatt Earp and a gunfight near the O.K. Corral 68 years earlier. Its once majestic courthouse was already falling apart.
None of this suited Edna, nor her husband, Ted, who retired here from Ohio. But Ted died soon after, and Edna carried on as a one-person savior for the next 18 years, earning her the title "Mrs. Tombstone."
Two governors could tell how tenacious she was-Ernest McFarland and Paul Fannin; two U.S. senators could attest to her laser focus-Barry Goldwater and Carl Hayden; both Udall boys knew her well-Stewart and Morris. And they all came to see the same vision Edna had.
This story is from the December 2022 edition of True West.
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This story is from the December 2022 edition of True West.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Where Did the Loot Go? - This is one of those find the money stories. And it's one that has attracted treasure hunters for more than 150 years.
Whatever happened to the $97,000 from the Reno Gang's last heist? Up to a dozen members of the Reno Gang stopped a Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis train at a watering station in southern Indiana. The outlaws had prior intelligence about its main load: express car safes held about $97,000 in government bonds and notes. In the process of the job, one of the crew was killed and two others hurt. The gang made a clean getaway with the loot.
Hero of Horsepower - Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
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Discover Wyoming on a road trip to Cody, Casper and Cheyenne.
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Wilbur Zink has preserved the Younger Gang's history in more ways than one.
Spencer's West
After the Civil War, savvy frontiersmen chose the Spencer repeating carbine.
Firearms With a Storied Past
Rock Island gavels off high profits from historic firearms.
She Means Business!
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Ride that Train!
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Old West fiction and nonfiction are the perfect genres to fill your summer reading list.
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