The one thing that needs to be said about Fred Nolan's legacy is just how much damn fun he was to hang with. We spent many a mile couped up in cars together on serious-rutted back roads to out-of-the-way historic sites, and if he wasn't singing some show tune, he was riffing on the absurdities of all our Kid Krazy compadres. To boot, the English dude was generous to all the upstarts and understudies in the Lincoln County War field. When I attended the 1991 Billy the Kid conference in Ruidoso, I was an unpublished Kid buff who sought out his counsel and his advice. He was generous with both. To this day, when someone says his name, I always smile. I have a strong hunch I always will.
-Bob Boze Bell
A Renaissance Man
On the face of things, Fred Nolan was just your average guy with a British accent. He was short and wiry and often unassuming.
But those characteristics belied a giant intellect and understanding of many subjects-the Lincoln County War was just one of his interests. He also was a highly successful book editor and publisher, and he wrote adventure novels and studies of American popular song.
This story is from the September 2022 edition of True West.
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This story is from the September 2022 edition of True West.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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Where Did the Loot Go? - This is one of those find the money stories. And it's one that has attracted treasure hunters for more than 150 years.
Whatever happened to the $97,000 from the Reno Gang's last heist? Up to a dozen members of the Reno Gang stopped a Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis train at a watering station in southern Indiana. The outlaws had prior intelligence about its main load: express car safes held about $97,000 in government bonds and notes. In the process of the job, one of the crew was killed and two others hurt. The gang made a clean getaway with the loot.
Hero of Horsepower - Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
From the Basin to the Plains
Discover Wyoming on a road trip to Cody, Casper and Cheyenne.
COLLECTING AMERICAN OUTLAWS
Wilbur Zink has preserved the Younger Gang's history in more ways than one.
Spencer's West
After the Civil War, savvy frontiersmen chose the Spencer repeating carbine.
Firearms With a Storied Past
Rock Island gavels off high profits from historic firearms.
She Means Business!
An energetic and ambitious woman has come to Lincoln, New Mexico, to restore the town's legendary Ellis Store.
Ride that Train!
HERITAGE RAILROADS KEEP THE OLD WEST ALIVE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
Saddle Up with a Western
Old West fiction and nonfiction are the perfect genres to fill your summer reading list.
RENEGADES OF THE RAILS
RAILROADS WERE OPEN SEASON FOR OKLAHOMA AND INDIAN TERRITORY OUTLAW GANGS.
