Red Lodge and the Mythic West: Coal Miners to Cowboys [Hardcover]

Bonnie Christensen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

Midway between Billings, Montana, and Yellowstone National Park, tourists encounter the quaint little town of Red Lodge. Here one may see cowboys, Indians, and mountain men roaming a downtown that's on the National Register of Historic Places, attend a rodeo on the 4th of July, or join in a celebration of immigrants during the annual "Festival of Nations." One would hardly guess that until recently Red Lodge was really a down-and-out coal-mining town or that it was populated mainly by white Americans. In many ways, Red Lodge is typical of western towns that have created new interpretations of their pasts in order to attract tourists through a mix of public pageants and old-timey facades. In The Evolving West, Montana-born Bonnie Christensen tells how Red Lodge reinvented itself and shows that the "history" a community chooses to celebrate may be only loosely based on what actually happened in the town's past. Tracing the story of Red Lodge from the 1880s to the present, Christensen tells how a mining town managed to endure the vagaries of the West's unpredictable extractive-industries economy. She connects Red Lodge to a myriad of larger events and historical forces to show how national and regional influences have contributed to the development of local identities, exploring how and why westerners first rejected and then embraced "western" images, and how ethnicity, wilderness, and historic preservation became part of the identity that defined one town. Christensen takes us behind the main street facades of Red Lodge to tell a story of salesmanship, adaptation, and survival. Combining oral histories, newspapers, government records, and even minutes of organization meetings, she shows not only how people have used different interpretations of the past to create a sense of themselves in the present, but also how public memory is created and re-created. Christensen's shrewd analysis transcends one place to illuminate broader trends in the region and offer a clearer understanding of the motivations behind the creation of "theme towns" throughout America. By explaining how and why we choose various versions of the past to fit who we want to be-and who we want others to think we are-she helps us learn more about the role of myths and myth-making in American communities, and in the process learn a little more about ourselves.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Thoroughly researched and richly textured, Christensen’s vibrant consideration of town building underscores the importance of community in the American West."-—Anne M. Butler, editor of Western Historical Quarterly

"A splendid book that offers a fresh and imaginative look at the constantly shifting definitions of ‘Western’ and of one Montana town’s often muddled efforts to keep up with the latest in Western fashions. Rich in detail, insightful, and important."—-David M. Emmons, author of The Butte Irish: Class and Ethnicity in an American Mining Town, 1875–1925

About the Author

Bonnie Christensen received her B.A. and M.A. from the University of Montana and her Ph.D. from the University of Washington. She now teaches in Honolulu.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 340 pages
• Publisher: University Press Of Kansas (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0700611983
• ISBN-13: 978-0700611980
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,266,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars over dramatized the myth aspect, February 7, 2007

By 

William J. O'connor (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red Lodge and the Mythic West: Coal Miners to Cowboys (Hardcover)

I was born in Red Lodge and graduated from Red Lodge High School in 1960. I learned some facts which I did not know about the early days (1890-1940) of the town. I feel that the author over emphasized the town's officals with respect to throwing out the indians and the cowboys, and then bringing them back into the history for the economic salvation of the area. She should have praised the officials for rescuing a dying coal town, but of course that would not have been what her PhD thesis was trying to prove. I also think that she over emphasized that the Festival of Nations did not include all ethic groups, but only the enthic groups that were represented in the area. What else could they have done? Overall, the history should receive a grade of A, the social science should receive a grade of C+.