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The Cowboy Girl: The Life of Caroline Lockhart by John Clayton

2008; Oregon Historical Society; Volume: 109; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/ohq.2008.0076

2329-3780

Laura Woodworth-Ney,

American Literature and Culture

innocence and old-fashionedmorals" (p. ix). In many respects, her memoir resembles an oral history that isfullof informationpresented in a nonlinear format. While some readers may find thatstylecumbersome, for me, itprovided a touch of authenticity. Lansing introduces readers tohermaternal and paternal families,outlining the events that drew them together on the Flathead Indian Reservation during Montana's homestead boom in the 1910s.From there,shedraws read ers into her world with the 1917 marriage of her parents Lars Beck and JuliaSyla. She uses theopening chapter todescribe her immediate familymembers and the influence theyhad on her while shewas growing up. Especially poignant are her descriptions of her parents. Lansing writes unabashedly, "I lovedmy mom and reliedon her,but at the same time Idid not want my lifetomimic hers. I yearned for the kind of respect my dad had" (p. 11).Subsequent chapters provide a description of life in rural Montana, including the challenges they faced during thedifficulttimesof theGreat Depres sion, the anxiety and opportunity afforded with theUnited States' entry into World War II, and the social complexities of growing up inRound Butte, from thevantage point of an adolescent. For those of uswho have parents thatgrew up during theDepression, Lansing's stories have a familiar ring. Those readers who are two or more generations removed from the events Lansing describes in My Montana, however, may experience an emotional detachmentwith her narrative. This might cause them to judge Lansing's work as lacking in substance, espe ciallywhen paired with the strong nostalgic thread thatpermeates thebook. In some instances,thatnostalgic threaddoes become oppressive, such as in chapter 5 ? "A Tour of theFarm"?where Lansing takesread ers,almost literally, on a tourof theBeck family environs.Her "comewithme now" statements detractfrom rather than add to the authentic ityshe is seeking (p. 50). The least appealing chapter of the book proved to be chapter 12, "Native American Friends and Neighbors." Where previously she had relied on second ary sources to provide context to her personal narrative,here she relies almost exclusivelyon secondary sources about Salish,Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreilles peoples, with only a fewper sonal insightssprinkled in foreffect. The factremains that My Montana isa very nice glimpse intoa past that isequal parts alien and familiar to us all.Who has not obsessed about their appearance during high school or overindulged in a candy bar and soda pop binge while at the same time experimenting with alcohol and tobacco? They are adolescent adventureswe have all imbibed. Rich Aarstad Montana Historical Society, Helena THECOWBOY GIRL:THE LIFE OF CAROLINELOCKHART byJohn Clayton University ofNebraska Press, Lincoln, 2007. Photographs, notes, bibliography, index. 321pages. $21.95 paper. John Clayton's lively account of Caroline Lockhart is a welcome biography thatwill be of interest to western historians, women's historians, literaryscholars, and general read ers. Little has been written about Lockhart, a journalist and novelist who wrote extensively about her surroundings andwhose lifeinCody, Wyoming, is memorialized with a substantial collection ofwritten records, including ledgers and diaries, housed at theAmerican Heritage Center inLaramie. Lockhart was born on February 25,1871, to Sarah and JoeLockhart. The Lockharts, like many otherMidwestern farm families during thepost-CivilWar years, invested in land, and moved from town to country and back and from Illinois to Kansas and back. Lockhart Reviews 159 spenther childhood in Illinois andKansas until hermother died at theage of forty. Alone with several young children and preoccupied with his extensive ranching and land enterprises, Joe Lockhart sent "Caddie" towealthy rela tives in Pennsylvania, where she attended an upscale school foryoungwomen, the Moravian Seminary.When she completed school, Lock hart found that her choices reflectedneither theworld of the social elite on theEast Coast nor that of the impoverished frontier, where women returned home from school to teach school or take in mending to assist theirstrug gling families. Instead, she tried elocution and drama in Boston, ultimately failing at both before becoming what was known as a "female stunt"reporterfortheBostonPost. Female stunt reportersbecame regulars inEast Coast papers during the late-nineteenth century; but their writing rarely moved offof the stuntpages, and they were not allowed in thenewsroom. In 1904, Lockhart followed a boyfriend to Cody, Wyoming. Cody's boardwalks and false-fronted main street suited Lockhart's...