Winners of the West

the long version

"They went that-a-way!" The gesturing arm pointed into the fading sun, setting the scene for an hour of action and adventure many memorable Saturday afternoons long ago. As the travelogue faded from the darkened screen, a matinee audience filled with kids hoarse from shrieking and whistling at Art Acord's adventures in his latest serial greeted a white-clad silent stranger with a thundering roar as he rode into a dusty western town to face the gunslingers dressed in black. Almost from the time the screen began to move, shadowy riders brought back memories of the pioneers whose foresight and perseverance formed the strength of a new nation. Not surprisingly, many of the cellulloid heroes were real westerners, men like Tom Mix, Neal Hart, and Al Jennings, who had lived and fought, and sometimes nearly died, in the final surges of violence that characterized the transformation of a territory into statehood; men who had lived in the saddle for years, spending much of their lives riding the range and sleeping beneath star-filled skies.