No Shy Anns Here

Linda Burton posting from Cheyenne, Wyoming – When you think of women of the American West, do Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane come to mind? Back in the 50’s Doris Day portrayed both of them in film, and in song; women who seemed to have more fun than hard times. Perhaps you temper that “buttons and bows, sharp-shootin” image with the knowledge of an ancestor whose hardships you’ve heard in stories handed down; women who buried children along the trail and struggled in a land that offered few favors. The truth is somewhere in there, and over on West 17^th Street in Cheyenne you can learn about those truths in Cowgirls of the West Museum, run by modern-day women of the west who not only preserve the stories of the past, but who continue to shape the Cheyenne of today. I found another interesting “western woman” influencing the Cheyenne of today, and in fact the art scene around the world; it’s Veryl Goodnight, artist extraordinaire. I found her work in front of the Old West Museum on North Carey Avenue; her bronze statue of a woman by a wagon wheel is entitled No Turning Back; Veryl’s poem is inscribed below; a touching tale of women who “stored their silk dresses and donned calico.” In front of the Historic Depot on West 15^th is Cheyenne’s latest Goodnight acquisition: a woman standing with umbrella in one hand and handbag in the other, as though she just stepped off the train. A New Beginning is the title; she faces Capitol Avenue with the state capitol at the far end. A meaningful view? » read more