Author Archives: nancyleek

About nancyleek

Nancy is a retired librarian who lives in Chico, California. She is the author of John Bidwell: The Adventurous Life of a California Pioneer.

Got History?

Posted on November 26, 2018

You can get yourself some great local history with ANCHR’s new book, Ten Miles of Roadside Archaeology Along the Old Humboldt Wagon Road, by Gregory F. White, with contributions by Ron Womack, Josie Smith, David Brown, Michelle Rader and myself, … Continue reading →

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The Last Years of Two-Gun Nan

Posted on November 7, 2018

Nan’s husband Frank died in 1929 or 1930 and she gave up vaudeville soon after. Sometime in the early 1930s she remarried, to a man named Al Lambell, who she described in a letter as, “a nice little old Pal … Continue reading →

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The Saga of Two-Gun Nan — part 6

Posted on November 6, 2018

After her legendary ride, Nan and her husband Frank worked to capitalize on her fame. Various newspapers reported their plans for the future. Possibilities included performances in Atlantic City, teaching society women in Newport, Rhode Island, to ride and rope, … Continue reading →

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The Saga of Two- Gun Nan — part 5

Posted on November 4, 2018

Riding horseback alone across Utah, Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska in the winter must have been a bleak and chilly undertaking. And unfortunately, Nan Aspinwall Gable did not leave any recollection of her journey — no letters, no journal, no memoir. … Continue reading →

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The Saga of Two-Gun Nan — part 4

Posted on November 2, 2018

After she lost her way in the Nevada desert, Nan Aspinwall ended up in the little railroad town of Proctor. It was little then and it is a ghost town today, with next to nothing left. According to the article … Continue reading →

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The Saga of Two-Gun Nan — part 3

Posted on November 1, 2018

Nan left San Francisco on September 1, 1910, riding her thoroughbred mare, Lady Ellen. She traveled light, not even taking extra food, water, or clothing, but only the bare essentials. She planned to stay in towns when she could and … Continue reading →

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The Saga of Two-Gun Nan — part 2

Posted on October 30, 2018

Nan Aspinwall, the “Montana Girl,” was not raised on a ranch in Montana. She was born in New York state in 1880 and as a small child moved with her parents to Liberty, Nebraska, where her father was a storekeeper. … Continue reading →

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