WILLA SIBERT CATHER 1873 - 1947 Born near Winchester, Virginia. When she was nine years old, her family moved to the town of Red Cloud, Nebraska, later the setting for a number of her novels. She attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After college she spent the next few years doing newspaper work and teaching high school in Pittsburgh. She moved to New York City and worked for six years on the editorial staff of McClure's Magazine. Cather won the Pulitzer Prize in 1923 for One of Ours. She died on April 24, 1947. BIO LINK

Evelyn Cameron (1868-1928) Evelyn captured the history and spirit of early Montana with over 1800 photographs and 35 volumes of diaries. The daughter of awealthy English family, she turned away from a genteel lifestyle to adopt the life of a Montana rancher. To make ends meet she turned to photography. While selling the pictures helped her financially, her images of the rugged landscape, the cattle and ranching tasks with almost daily written notations preserve a true impression of American frontier life.  BIO LINK

Laura Ingalls Wilder   1867 -1957 The novels of the Late Laura Ingalls Wilder are based on her life: "I was born in the Little House in the Big Woods of Wisconsin on February 7 in the year 1867. I lived everything that happened in my books. It is a long story, filled with sunshine and shadow. . ." and apparently a story millions of readers find fascinating. BIO LINK

Peggy Simson Curry 1917 - 1987 Not one to be categorized, Peggy wrote a play, television script for Disney, hundreds of columns and short stories, including many Boys Life adventures, and how–to pieces for The Writer. Her work has been included in numerous anthologies and textbooks, her poetry often in literary magazines. She once received a call from the U. S. Department of Education in Washington, asking permission for a London-based publisher to use one of her Spur-winning short stories in an English textbook.. BIO LINK

Betty Kruse Accomazzo (1926-1989) The daughter of German immigrants, Betty made a significant contribution to the preservation of Western History with the publication of a five-volume anthology of stories told by pioneer families of Arizona. She was also a civic leader, serving with the 4-H, the National Livestock Show, the Arizona State Cowbelles and the community council. Betty was honored as "Arizona's Foremost Humanitarian. No Link Available Yet

Teresa Jordan  was raised as part of the fourth generation on a cattle ranch in the Iron Mountain country of southeast Wyoming and has written about Western rural life, culture, and the environment for over 20 years. BIO LINK She won a Wrangler Award from the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1985 for the script to the documentary, Cowgirls: Women of the American West, and has been recognized more recently with literature fellowships from the Oregon Institute of Literary Arts (fiction), The Nevada State Council on the Arts (literary non-fiction), and the National Endowment for the Arts (literary non-fiction), as well as the Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. Great Ghost Towns of the West was a finalist for the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Best Arts Book of 2002, as was Field Notes from the Grand Canyon: Raging River,  Quiet Mind in 2001

Barbara Van Cleve Nationally famous for her photographs of the western range, ranchers, rodeos, cowboys, and cattle women. Member National Cowgirl Hall of Fame BIO LINK

Eve Ball (1890-1984) Eve wanted to be remembered for her work in oral history. Following a lifelong fascination with the West, she moved to New Mexico to learn the histories of the Anglo, Spanish and Apache. She impressed upon each group the importance of preserving their heritage and gained the confidence of many. Though she did not actually begin writing until age 60, her books and articles are such a significant contribution that many universities use them as reference textbooks for historical studies. BIO LINK

Angie Debo 1890-1988 Widely regarded as the premier historian of the southwest, Angie Debo is herself a product of the frontier life she documents in Prairie City. Brought to Oklahoma Territory in a covered wagon as a child, Dr. Debo recalls, "I have a distinct memory of the warm, sunny day, the lively little new town, and the greening wheat fields we passed as we lumbered slowly down the road to our new home."  A long-time reviewer for the New York Times, she has written nine books and received numerous awards, including the 1934 Dunning Prize of the American Historical Association. BIO LINK

Patsy Montana (1912-1996) Patsy was the first woman to sell a million records with "I Want To Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart." The eleventh child and the first daughter of an Arkansas farmer, Patsy learned to yodel and play the organ, guitar and violin. Beginning her career in radio in California, she worked rodeos and country programs with the Prairie Ramblers and the Sons of the Pioneers. She wrote more than 200 songs and was recognized worldwide. BIO LINK

Ernestine Chesser Williams Ernestine taught school for thirty-three years before retiring and starting a writing career. After a full life of rural schools, farming and raising livestock in New Mexico, where her parents were early pioneers, she set out to record and preserve the histories of local people and events. Ernestine published five books and numerous articles about New Mexico's heritage, becoming known for her accurate recounting of Southwest ranching culture. BIO LINK

Lucia St. Clair Robson True West Magazine* named Lucia as Best Living Western Historical Novelist - "Beginning with her first book, Ride the Wind (about Comanche captive Cynthia Ann Parker), through her latest, Ghost Warrior: Lozen of the Apaches, Lucia combines a historian's knowledge of facts with a novelist's understanding of the human condition. As a result, she's able to transport her readers to a world that is so real, they can smell the sweat." BIO LINK

Georgie Sicking Georgie grew up believing she was born to be a cowhand. But chances to prove herself were scarce for a long time, so Georgie began writing poetry. She eventually achieved her dream of ranching as an equal and her poetry reflects a Western history seen through a ranch hand's eyes. She owned and ran several ranches and her poetry receives national attention with awards like the Gail Garner award for the outstanding working cowboy poet. BIO LINK

Mari Sandoz (1896-1966) Mari published her first story when she was twelve. Growing up on the sandhills of western Nebraska, she wrote of life around her. Mari first gained fame for "Old Jules," the story of her father and other settlers. She also produced six related books on the relationship of the Indian and white man. Mari won numerous awards for her writing, which presented the drama of man on the Great Plains more accurately and vividly than any writer before her. BIO LINK

Nellie Snyder Yost (1905-1992) Nellie published her first book when she was 46, a collection of the stories told by her father about early ranching life. She went on to write eleven more books and numerous articles about the people and history of the West. Raised in northwest Nebraska and home schooled until she was ten, Nellie was honored with many prestigious awards for her ability to capture the essence of the wild west. She is celebrated as Nebraska's pioneer storyteller. BIO LINK

Linda Dockery Born: 1952 Louisville, KY. A pioneer for women writers in television. Linda broke the barriers by becoming a strong female voice in a predominantly male setting by writing screenplays for television westerns. Through her work in film, television, books, magazines, poetry and lectures, Linda Dockery continues to teach us about the American West. BIO LINK Member: National Cowgirl Hall of Fame http://www.dockery004.com

Cindy Walker Date of Birth: 7/20/1918  Mart, TX Called the greatest female country western composer in history, Cindy wrote her first song when she was twelve. She is the only songwriter to have Top Ten hits in five successive decades. Cindy has written more than 500 classic songs and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. A recording artist in her own right, Cindy wrote songs for Bob Wills, appeared in Gene Autry movies and hosted her own radio show in California. BIO LINK

Joni Harms In 2003, Harms was named Female Vocalist of the Year and accepted the award for Song of the Year from the Western Music Association. She is also a multiple winner of Academy of Western Artists Awards, including the top honor of Entertainer of the Year for 2002, and she continues building audiences through appearances on the famed Grand Ole Opry and a recent stint at New York City’s Carnegie Hall Female Vocalist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year. She’s also received top honors from the Western Music Association for Female Entertainer of the Year as well as Song of the Year.   BIO LINK http://www.joniharms.com

Kathleen O'Neal Gear She began writing full-time in 1986 and has over one hundred non-fiction publications in the fields of archaeology, history and writing, and has authored, or co-authored -- with her husband W. Michael Gear -- twenty-three international bestsellers, which have been translated into seventeen languages. BIO LINK Congratulations to our latest inductee To learn more about this remarkable woman, visit her web site at: http://www.gear-gear.com/