Waiting for the Train. . . Robbers

The long awaited premier of the movie featuring Brad Pitt as Jesse James occurs in September. (Do we even have to mention the name?) We are weary of waiting; I've had Brad's 8x10 promo-glossy-as-Jesse hanging in the hallway for a year now. Perhaps the more exciting news is the premier of 3:10 to Yuma, the remake starring Russell Crowe (above), scheduled for theaters September 7. The original with Glenn Ford and Van Heflin is a real classic, and I can't imagine that the studios have improved upon it. But, we froth at the mouth over any Western that Hollywood is willing to make and the opportunity to see the Wild West on the big screen is one we won't miss. The trailer looks exciting . . . but, it was the quiet that made the original so powerful and it seems difficult to make a movie that allows us to pause and ponder. . . . ah . . . .

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From the West. . .

Hi Deb,

I really enjoy your Mason-Dixon Wild West blog, and appreciate what both you and Tom do to help keep alive the Old West.

I'm Mike Harris, publisher for La Frontera Publishing. We publish books about the Old West. We also have an Internet eZine about the Old West focusing on how today's fans of the Old West celebrate Old West traditions. It's called OldWestNewWest.Com. You can find it by going to http://www.oldwestnewwest.com/

I'm writing you about a new series we have started at the eZine called the American Civil War in the West. Our first report is on the Battle of Wilson's Creek outside of Springfield, MO. I'm hoping you'll find our Web Site and our series interesting enough to link to on your blog, and maybe give us a brief mention. We plan to cover how the Civil War impacted the West, including battlefields, skirmish locations, Civil War outposts in the West, etc. in the months ahead.

Hope you take a look at our site.

Cheers,

Mike Harris
Publisher
La Frontera Publishing2710 Thomes Ave., Suite 181Cheyenne, WY. 82001
(307) 778-4752www.lafronterapublishing.com
Bringing You The West In Books(sm)

DG--Mike, thanks for the kudos. Your site looks great; good work. Speaking of Wilson's Creek, our friends at Wideawake Films are working on the videos for the welcome center at the battlefield and Tom has been involved in that process. It's a beautiful area for those of you who have not visited, and an incredible story. So Mike, next time we're in Cheyenne, Tom & I would love to sit down and talk about how much we love Wyoming. You wouldn't have any spare rooms, would you?
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From the East. . .

Paul R. Martin III, President of the Rockland CWRT, writes that the group's summer field trip to the Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, will be Saturday, July 28 at 10:00 a.m. Would that I were closer because this is one I would love to join. Among the thousands of internments are Horace Greeley, Lola Montez (see Tom's blog "Lovely Lola," 1/11/07), Laura Keene (the actress on stage when Lincoln was shot, and Frank Morgan (below, remember the wizard in the Wizard of Oz? ). From Paul, who must be as passionate about graves as me and Andy Waskie:
Over 3,000 Civil War veterans, including 16 Union generals and 2 Confederate generals, are buried in Green-Wood. In fact, Green-Wood has more Civil War generals than any other cemetery except Arlington and West Point. More than 1200 VA gravestones are being installed to mark previously unmarked graves of Civil War veterans. This is your chance to see the many historic monuments and visit the graves and hear interesting stories of Green-Wood's Civil War veterans. Jeff Richman, Green-Wood Cemetery's historian, will be our guide for an unforgettable Civil War tour of one of the world's great cemeteries. Jeff is the author of the just-published Final Camping Ground: Civil War Veterans at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, In Their Own Words. He will lead our tour to many Civil War-related sites and will share the Project's most exciting discoveries--including recently unearthed gravestones. The tour will include time aboard a new trolley service running through the cemetery and will last approximately three hours.

Please join us for this exciting and fun filled morning. The cost is $10.00 per person for members and guests, to help defray the cost of our guide’s fee. Following the tour we will go to a local restaurant for a “pay your own” lunch. Friends and family, as always, are welcome. Please call me, Paul Martin, to RSVP and for more information at 914-245-8903 (Silent Sentinel Studio). My cell phone # is 914-980-5267 and I will have it on that Saturday morning. Directions are below. See you there and bring along some friends or family who share our love of American history!I have also included a listing of some other local Civil War related events taking place this summer that you may be interested in attending. Contact numbers are listed but feel free to call me as well for more information. Enjoy your summer! God Bless our troops and God Bless America!
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From the South. . .

Great blog.

I recently visited Cherokee on my way to Asheville (See blog 6/29/07). Very neat place. I loved the museum... just avoid that gift shop if you're a booklover- unless of course you're loaded. I have Frazier's latest on my shelf and will hopefully get to it soon.

Cyberhillbilly

DG: I don't have Frazier's new book yet; please let me know what you think after you read it. I have been engrossed in Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters by Elizabeth Pryor. It should win every non-fiction or Civil War-related award available this year. Your website is very interesting. I really enjoyed the entry on whether or not eastern Kentucky is part of the South or the Midwest. Join the conversation at http://www.cyberhillbilly.blogspot.com/.