“Owen Wister and the Wild West” Symposium Held he American Heritage Center recently T hosted its 11th annual symposium “Owen Wister and the Wild West.” Co-sponsored by the University of Wyoming’s American Stud- ies Program, the conference explored the legacy of Wister and his famous novel, The Virginian, first published in 1902. That famous novel is widely considered to be the prototypical American Western novel. Wister (1860-1937) was born to wealthy parents in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Between 1885 and 1895 he traveled extensively in Wyoming and the West. He kept detailed diaries during these trips. Drawing upon material collected in his travels, Wister created a tough, yet genteel, Southern born ranch hand who came to be known as the Virginian. Between 1892 and 1902 Wister wrote a series of short stories about this character which were published in Harper’s Monthly magazine. In 1902 he tied these short D.C. Thompson, arrangement and description manager for the American stories together to create his famous novel. The Heritage Center, presenting her paper “The Virginian Meets Matt book was an immediate best seller and its Shepard: Myth-Making in the West” at the AHC’s symposium “Owen influence upon the Western genre continues to Wister and the Wild West.” be felt to this day. One of the highlights of the symposium of the West, dime novels, other western writers was the talk presented by John W. Stokes, such as Mary O’Hara and Jack Schaefer, and Wister’s grandson. Stokes spoke about his other myths as presented in the paper “The personal relationship with his grandfather and Virginian Meets Matt Shepard: Myth-Making in the importance of Wister’s writings. He also the West.” discussed how Wister’s many hand-written The AHC’s twelfth annual symposium will diaries came to be placed in the American Heri- be held September 17-19, 2003, and will be tage Center. Stokes’ entire talk is reprinted in sponsored by the Alan K. Simpson Institute for this issue of Heritage Highlights. Western Politics and Leadership. The theme for Other papers presented during the sympo- the conference will be the influence of western sium explored the friendship between Wister politicians on national issues. ❚ and Theodore Roosevelt, visual representations 2 From the Director t is a bit daunting to be writing about the our staff and the outreach programs they create IAHC to an audience almost all of whom have and implement that mean most to the success been connected to the Center in one way or of the AHC. another far longer than I have been. After three Of course, there is always more we can do. months, I am only beginning to learn the ropes One of our increasingly important outreach tools here and at the university in general. However, is our web page (www.uwy.edu/ahc), and a new there are at least two things I think I know very task force has been appointed to expand the well already: 1) the staff here are fiercely com- content and improve the navigation of our site- mitted to what, in archives and library parlance, —look for those changes before the middle of Mark Greene is referred to as outreach—connecting, directly next year. We are also strengthening our or indirectly, the historical sources in our care relationship with the UW Outreach School, to with as wide and varied an audience as pos- better publicize our existing public programs sible; 2) the programs at the AHC are simply and to develop distance education units for unparalleled in their successful efforts to make baccalaureate, associate, and K-12 students the collections an active part of the educational throughout Wyoming (and indeed across the experience at the university, and an accessible nation). and vital resource for K-12 students across the And while I will have occasion to say more state. about this in the spring, we have made access Historical repositories like the AHC have to our collections one of the key goals of our traditionally been identified first and foremost part of the university’s “DISTINCTION: The with their collections. And certainly, our Campaign for Wyoming’s University.” The cam- mission is to select carefully and critically docu- paign is an unprecedented fundraising effort mentary material that can provide meaningful targeted at strengthening those programs that and useful access to the history of the West and bring UW national and international distinction, the United States. Our goal is to make this and, of course, the AHC is one of those pro- material a visible, vital, and accessible resource grams. One of the Center’s four main for students, scholars, and the public. Not fundraising goals is the creation of an endow- a dusty attic or a formidable club, the AHC is ment to support acquisition of and access to a welcoming, lively place where both experts collections. If you would like additional infor- and novices work with the original sources of mation about this effort, or if you would like to history. contact me for any reason, please feel free to do Our success can be measured, in part, in so at [email protected] or 307-766-2474. statistics. Last year researchers represented I would like to close with a brief personal forty-eight states and twenty-one nations, note. At its meeting this summer, the AHC Board including Australia, Germany, Botswana, of Associates formally thanked Rick Ewig for Brazil, and Russia. Just as importantly, our ref- his tremendous service as acting and interim erence and Toppan Library staffs hosted more director, and presented him with a framed Grace than one hundred university and public school Raymond Hebard map. I want to express pub- classes for orientations, tours, and bibliographic licly my own gratitude to and admiration for instruction. These figures compare favorably Rick and his leadership of the Center. He has to—and sometimes outshine—the success of been unstinting in his willingness to share his many other world-class historical centers at uni- knowledge and expertise with me, and I am for- versities far larger and better known than the tunate to have the advantage of his counsel. The AHC and the University of Wyoming, includ- AHC is privileged—I know I am—to have the ing some Big Ten and Ivy League schools. It is benefit of his energy, talent, and dedication. ❚ —Mark Greene 3 Reflections on Owen Wister and The Virginian By John W. Stokes (This talk was presented at the AHC’s symposium, “Owen Wister and the Wild West.” Mr. Stokes is Owen Wister’s grandson.) hank you to Rick Ewig for inviting me to Tthis symposium. It is exciting to play a role in discussing the Wister legacy. It is a pleasure and a little daunting to be speaking to so many Wister devotees and scholars. I can only assume that each of you know more than I do about my grandfather, which is a bit humbling. Let me say at the outset, I agree with the comments on the last picture in your wonder- ful Owen Wister photographic exhibit on dis- play in your museum downstairs. “Regardless of one’s opinion about the book, The Virginian has stood the test of time as the prototype west- ern novel.” The fact we are all here today cer- tainly supports this conclusion. Before I discuss Wister’s work and the 100th Anniversary of The Virginian from my perspec- tive, I would like to offer a few reflections on his personal life away from the West and one persuaded him not to pursue a career in music John W. Stokes of his other books. First, a few facts to put his but instead go to Harvard Law School. He presenting life in perspective. I did not know my grand- entered in 1885 and graduated in 1888, accept- his “Reflections on Owen father well. My role was to deliver the mail to ing a law position in Philadelphia. Wister and The him each morning at his summer home, In the mid 1880s due to ill health, Wister’s Virginian.” Crowfield in Saunderstown, Rhode Island. He doctor advised him to go west. He made 10 trips died when I was six years old in July 1938. To from 1885-1895 keeping detailed diaries of me, he was a large and friendly man. (How- everything he saw and all the people he met. ever, when you are six grown-ups tend to look These diaries formed the basis for his western big.) He loved Saunderstown and spent forty stories and The Virginian. The diaries were given summers there with his family. to the University of Wyoming by my mother, Wister was born in 1860 outside of Fanny Kemble Wister Stokes. Philadelphia. He attended Saint Paul’s School To digress for a moment, some of you may in Concord, New Hampshire, graduating in know it was a former librarian of this univer- 1878 and then went on to Harvard College. He sity, N. Orwin Rush, who in 1951 prompted my graduated from Harvard in 1882—summa cum mother to find her father’s western journals. In laude in music. There he was a member of the preparation for the 50th anniversary of The Vir- Porcellian Club where he became a great ginian, Mr. Rush had written to her asking for friend of fellow member Theodore Roosevelt. the diaries. She replied that none of the family Wister planned a career in music following his had heard anything about them. Mr. Rush then graduation. His grandmother, the famous wrote again to my mother quoting a reference Shakespearean actress and abolitionist, Fanny from Owen Wister’s book about Theodore Kemble, arranged for him to play one of his Roosevelt: “Upon every Western expedition I compositions for Franz Liszt who told her had kept a full, faithful, realistic diary: details Wister had pronounced talent.