Carolyn, Harold and Bandit on their porch

Meet our Friends

These aren’t just stories to read — our friends talk with you. Ask questions, follow your curiosity, and hear frontier life in their own words.

Ask anything — they’ll answer in their own voice.
Short visits or deep dives — you set the pace.
Friendly, curious, and fun — you’re among friends.
Tink — 1st Mate • Riverboat - Far West
1st Mate • Riverboat - Far West

Tink

Keeps the paddle wheels turning and the crew in step along the big river.

  • River schedules, landings, and how a boat minds the current
  • Who works where on a sternwheeler (and why it matters)
  • River tales — fog horns, tight bends, and fast water

Visit Tink

Sgt. McClain — U.S. Army
U.S. Army

Sgt. McClain

Keeper of the flag, the roll, and the temper of a frontier post.

  • Outpost routines — drills, patrols, and mail day
  • Reading sign and riding a good picket line
  • What the Army expects when storms roll in

Visit Sgt. McClain

Samuel — Gold Prospector
Gold Prospector

Samuel

Chases color in cold water and laughs easy about luck.

  • How to pan and what “pay dirt” looks like
  • Stakes, claims, and camp common sense
  • Boomtown truths — card games and sore backs

Visit Samuel

Ruth — Country Doctor
Country Doctor

Ruth

Lantern-light rounds, steady hands, and a good word at the right time.

  • Prairie medicine — what we carry and what we improvise
  • Stitches, splints, and saddle-bag tools
  • Keeping calm when a room isn’t

Visit Ruth

Martin — Bull Whacker
Bull Whacker

Martin

Hews the line west — every tie a step for the iron horse.

  • Axes, adzes, and making a tie true
  • Rail camps, pay chits, and trail cook tricks
  • How the grade is cut and the bed is set

Visit Martin

Harry — Crop Farmer
Crop Farmer

Harry

Bets on soil, seed, and sky — and keeps betting come spring.

  • Breaking sod and minding weather
  • Tools that pay for themselves
  • What a good harvest really takes

Visit Harry

Eli — Blacksmith & Stable Owner
Blacksmith & Stable Owner

Eli

Iron talks when it’s hot — shoes, straps, and fixes that keep a town moving.

  • Shoeing a working horse the right way
  • Quick wagon fixes that last
  • Temper, quench, and a clean forge

Visit Eli

Chaska — Lakota Akicita
Lakota Akicita

Chaska

Carries stories of home ground — tradition, hunt, and change on the prairie.

  • Trails, seasons, and the rivers that bind them
  • Camp order and kinship ways
  • What it means to protect a people

Visit Chaska

Buck — Cowboy/Ranch Hand
Cowboy/Ranch Hand

Buck

Rides for the brand — sings night guard and keeps a clean loop.

  • Crossings, drifts, and reading cattle
  • Head-and-heels roping and dally work
  • Camp craft that keeps you dry and fed

Visit Buck

Lena — Dakota Wíŋyan
Dakota Wíŋyan

Lena

Keeps kinship at the center — work, song, and the ties that hold a camp.

  • Daily work and winter stores
  • Songs, stories, and what’s remembered
  • Showing welcome — the right way

Visit Lena