The Last of the Wild West Cowgirls: A True Story

by Kay Turnbaugh

When cowgirl Goldie Griffith was married at Madison Square Garden in 1913 during a Buffalo Bill Wild West, she had no idea that her new husband was wanted for murder in Texas. The fetching 19-year-old was one of America’s first professional female athletes. Before becoming a cowgirl she was a boxer, fencer, and a wrestler. She joined the wildly popular 101 Wild West for a season that ended with acting in the new western flickers, or movies, that were becoming wildly popular across the country. She was married during a Buffalo Bill Wild West show at Madison Square Garden with a crowd of 8,000 in attendance. A few years later, she pulled out her show gun, aimed it at her husband, and squeezed the trigger. Goldie also worked on what is now the famous Caribou Ranch in Colorado, trained dogs for the war, and opened a number of restaurants to support herself and her young son. She was present at many significant early day western events and knew many of the people who helped the American West become important to our history. There was nothing Goldie, truly The Last of the Wild West Cowgirls, wasn’t willing to try. This biography of Goldie Griffith is a 2010 WILLA Literary Award finalist for creative non-fiction.

Genres: Biography, History

402 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Kay Turnbaugh was born and raised in Colorado, and she now lives in the small mountain town of Nederland where for 27 years she published the town's weekly award-winning newspaper. After retiring from the newspaper business, she researched and wrote The Last of the Wild West Cowgirls, a biography of Goldie Griffith who rode bucking broncos in Buffalo Bill's Wild West shows and ended up owning restaurants in Nederland.

The Last of the Wild West Cowgirls A WILLA Literary Award finalist for Creative Nonfiction.

Around Nederland, is part of Arcadia Publishing's Images of America Series.

A children's book (for ages 8-12) about the mountain pine beetle, The Mountain Pine Beetle-Tiny But Mighty.

Following In Their Footsteps: Historical Hikes of the Northern Front Range.

Ski Touring Routes: Colorado's Front Range with co-author Alan Apt.

Afoot & Afield: Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, and Rocky Mountain National Park, a hiking guide with 184 trails, maps, and photos of hikes along Colorado's Front Range. With co-author Alan Apt.

Rocky Mountain National Park Dining Room Girl: The Summer of 1926 at the Horseshoe Inn, with historic photos and maps, from letters written by an adventurous girl from Iowa. With co-author Lee Tillotson.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this book as part of Goodreads First Reads program.

This is the biography of Goldie Griffith. Born in 1893, she went into show business as a lady wrestler in the early 1900s. Enamored by a young cowboy in a traveling western show, she decides to follow that path and finds that she has a definite aptitude for all that being a cowgirl entailed. She eventually joins Buffalo Bill's show, and is with it when it goes bankrupt. She continues plying her trade as a cowgirl for a while, and eventually settles down in Nederland, Colorado, where she operates a series of restaurants until her retirement and eventual death in 1976. Her interesting story takes us through much of the 20th century is describes a way of life that long ago disappeared from America.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book last year when I was in Colorado. I had never heard of Goldie Griffith but I've been fascinated by cowgirls ever since I was little watching Sallie Starr on TV. It's an interesting biography told in a very homey style that was no doubt inspired by the way Goldie loved to tell her own story of traveling with Buffalo Bill and other Wild West Shows. The book made that period and the people who worked the shows really come to life. I especially enjoyed the stories of her later days in Nederland Colorado. Though she became a wife, mother and eventually a grandmother she never stopped being a cowgirl.

[Karen Emanuelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate the extensive research into an under-explored part of history: Women who are famous due to their own achievements rather than because of who they were descended from, married to or gave birth to. There is especially a big hole with regard to real, working and professional cowgirls. The photos in this book are a special added treasure. I sure hope more people get to know Goldie Griffith.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in Nederland. I didn't know Goldie. I'm not sure my parents knew Goldie. But we ate at her restaurant. I really enjoyed her history and knowing her story.

[Mary Elizabeth Hollett · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read

The forgotten history is wonderful to read about. It is well worth the read. An era when women enjoyed a freedom few seem to know about today

[Candi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book and would have given it three and a half stars if I could. There are great stories from an interesting life. But the lasting impression of the book is a set of stories in chronological order with gaps of time in between. The early part of the book is more continuous but at a certain point each chapter is separated by gaps of years.

Another disappointment is the lack of an index. The author shows her research with a bibliography and acknowledgements but without an index this book lacks the tool to be a research source itself.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fun to read because of the Western history, the stories of Nederland, CO, and the fact that it was all true.