I Grew Up in Dodge City in 1875

By Bill Russo

Contrary to popular belief the ‘Wild West’ was not nearly as violent as it was depicted in the newspapers of the late 1800s and still is, in today’s modern stories and films. But it did have its bloody moments, as you’ll see in this tale that mixes reality with fiction.
The setting is Front Street in Dodge City - home to the original Long Branch Saloon where the beer was cold and the women were hot. Both were freely available to any cowpoke with the price.
The date is 1875, the year when Charlie Bassett was elected the first sheriff and Larry Derger was appointed as the first Marshall. A few years later, after the newspapers in Boston and New York had made Dodge famous, more colorful lawmen would come to town: Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp to name just two.
As our story starts, Dodge was home to about 750 permanent residents and host to hundreds of riders who came in from the trail as well as the cowhands from dozens of cattle drives.
The town was also, a refuge to a young man – a boy really – named Chalky Jones. Named for the trail dust that coated him after walking 1546 miles to get to Dodge, Chalky is the narrator of our story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bill Russo
• Release date: Jun 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311034830

Bill Russo

Bill Russo had lived in an area of Massachusetts called the Bridgewater Triangle for many years and never knew that it was said to be inhabited by scary swamp creatures until he met one. It happened on a midnight walk. Years later, two film producers read his blog about it and featured him and his story in their documentary, The Bridgewater Triangle. He also was approached by Discovery channel producers and was featured in the opening segment of Monsters and Mysteries in America - Season two, Episode two. Among his work, are two anthologies featuring the Bridgewater Triangle Universe. One is strictly fiction and the other contains his account of meeting the swamp creature - plus other stories from New England. As a disc jockey, he was the first person to play and promote the trucking classic "Tombstone Every Mile". He counted as a friend, the first man to cross the musical color line, in a 1940s Jazz Band. The "Human Jukebox", who opened for both Elvis and Roy Orbison, was a neighbor of his. Stories of these and other artists are included in "Crossing the Musical Color Line". Bill's background for writing comes from a Boston education at the venerable white shirt & tie, Huntington School for Boys. He followed that up with a study of journalism, music, and broadcasting at the famed Kenmore Square institution, Grahm Jr. College, where he said he learned more about music from an African American gentleman who was the school's janitor, than he ever could in a classroom. He introduced me to Gloria Lynne, Bill said. Years after he learned of her, she had a mega hit with I Wish You Love. One of Grahm's well known graduates was performance artist Andy Kaufman who created his Taxi TV character Latka while at Grahm. Andy also claimed he learned Transcendental Meditation at Grahm, although it was not taught there. But who knows? It could be true. Bill Russo learned music from the Janitor. Maybe someone in bookkeeping was a guru and gave Andy the secrets of TM. At various times during his career, Russo was a New England Newspaper Editor, a Disc Jockey, and a Radio newswriter and newscaster for a number of stations. He also has had stints as an iron worker, and a low level manager for a major mail order clothing retailer. One of his favorite jobs was partnering with Bill Barry, the inventor of a jewelry polish called Clear Bright n Shiny. The 'Bills' as they called themselves toured New England selling...

Book preview

Growing up in Dodge in 1875

Copyright 2016 by Bill Russo

Published by CCA Media at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Prologue:

Chapter One: Gawk Larkin and Lute Fowler

Chapter Two: Chalky and Charlie

Chapter Three: Bassett’s Street Justice

Chapter Four: The Final Shot

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

My Thanks to the writers of The Creative Exiles and Hubpages where much of my work has appeared and to the major online retailers where my books (especially The Creature From the Bridgewater Triangle and Ghosts of Cape Cod have found a comfortable home.

I recommend both of

Reviews for I Grew Up in Dodge City in 1875

[billr8706 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good read. Could have been a good script for Gunsmoke.