If This Reno Divorce Ranch Ashtray Could Talk

A surprise arrived in the mail courtesy of a fellow Reno divorce history buff… an old metal ashtray from the Del Monte Dude and Guest Ranch in Reno. The “Del Monte” was active in the 1930s and ’40s when it catered to the Reno divorce trade. In 1947, Bill McGee stayed at the Del Monte for a week before landing the dude wrangler job on the Flying M E in Franktown. Later that same year, the Del Monte ranch house burned down, killing a divorcee who refused to evacuate naked. Today, driving through Reno on U.S. Highway 395, the Neil Road exit is the former Del Monte Lane. (Yellow Page ad circa 1947)

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!

Shaking a cocktail at the legendary Flying M E divorce ranch, 1947. (Illustration from “The Divorce Seekers” by William and Sandra McGee.)

A Cowboy and A Lady Reliving History

Reno divorce era “survivor” and author Marilu Norden with former 1940s Nevada divorce ranch wrangler, Bill McGee.  Scottsdale, Arizona, November 2012. (Photo: Chris Norden)

 

Marilu Norden is on a short list of Reno divorce era “survivors” — people who went to Reno in the 1940s and ‘50s to get a six-week divorce.

In 1951, Ms. Norden resided for six weeks at Pyramid Lake Guest Ranch, one of a handful of divorce ranches (as they were called) scattered around Reno. Pyramid Lake was remote then – and still is today. However, its remoteness is exactly what attracted many high-profile types who wanted to spend their six weeks in privacy and avoid the prying eyes of the press.

In 1949, noted writer and journalist A. J. Liebling stayed at Pyramid Lake and later wrote “The Mustang Buzzers” for The New Yorker.  In 1956, Arthur Miller stayed at Pyramid Lake to free himself up so he could marry Marilyn Monroe, and penned the short story for Esquire that would later become the basis for the movie, “The Misfits”. In 2008, Marilu Norden wrote a fictionalized account of her six weeks at Pyramid Lake in Unbridled: Tale of a Divorce Ranch.

Bill McGee is a former 1940s Nevada divorce ranch wrangler and the co-author of  The Divorce Seekers: A Photo Memoir of a Nevada Dude Wrangler.

The Cameras Rolled This Month… Four Interviews “in the can” for Reno Divorce Documentary

October 2012 – The cameras rolled this month as producer/writer/director John Cork shot four interviews for his upcoming documentary RENO and The Romance of Divorce . (Pictured) Sandra McGee, Reno divorce expert and creative consultant on the project.

Sandra and her co-author husband, Bill McGee, who is also a creative consultant on the documentary, wrote what is regarded as  the Reno divorce era ”bible”, The Divorce Seekers: A Photo Memoir of a Nevada Dude Wrangler.

Others giving on-camera commentary included: Bill McGee, a former 1940s Nevada dude wrangler on the famous Flying M E divorce ranch; Joan Wagner, who got a 1948 divorce at the Flying M E; and Christopher Caproni, whose grandmother got a 1938 divorce at the TH Ranch in Sutcliffe, Nevada’s first ranch to take in paying dudes and divorce seekers.

The project is currently accepting tax-deductible contributions of any amount for the next phase of production at Indiegogo.com.

Getting the cameras rolling! Documentary update from producer John Cork

John Cork, Producer, RENO and The Romance of Divorce

Lots of exciting news in just the past week… and none of that would be happening without your early, generous support to the project! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

As you may know, we’ve raised over $16,000 so far, much of that through the efforts of the wonderful Bill and Sandra McGee. We’re in the process of seeking out grants and donations to raise the rest of the production budget. We’ve received one grant from Nevada Humanities, and we have PBS sponsorship through the local Reno public broadcasting station, KNPB Channel 5.

We’ve accomplished a great deal of the core research for the project, made important in-roads with key historians and many who have great stories from the “Reno divorce era.” It is a slow process, but amazingly fruitful.

In early October, we will start shooting our first key interviews. We are very excited about getting cameras rolling!

As those of you in the business know, $16,000 is not much of a budget for a documentary. In fact, our production budget is $100,000, and our total budget—including post-production, licensing, music, sound-mixing, mastering and publicity—is just under $500,000.

Most of that money will be raised through grants, and your early support has been key to putting us in a great place to obtain those grants. Some of the remaining money will come from other generous folks like you.

All of us working on the film want to let you know of three ways you can continue to help:

1) Foundations – If you know of any we should reach out to, please contact us. We have a great package, a strong track-record, and we want to connect with those who might be willing to support our project.

In addition: many families that set up charitable remainder trusts as part of estate planning. These have a much lower profile than incorporated 501c3 foundations, but they are set up only to make charitable donations. If you know of any individuals who have a charitable remainder trust whom you think would be interested in this project, we would be very grateful to you if you mentioned the project to them or facilitated an introduction.

2) IndieGoGo Link – Please share with any friends who might like to be a part of this great project with a tax-deductible donation:

http://www.indiegogo.com/RenoandTheRomanceofDivorce

Or, for those who might be interested in donating, but don’t want to do so over the Internet, here is the mailing address of our non-profit sponsoring organization. Checks should be made out to “The San Francisco Film Society” with “In support of ‘Reno and the Romance of Divorce’” on the MEMO line:

San Francisco Film Society
Suite 110
Finance Department
39 Mesa Street
The Presidio
San Francisco, CA 94129

 3) Home movies - As always, we are looking for photographic archives, home movies and memorabilia of the era to illustrate our story. Please let us know if you know of resources we should investigate.

Again, we are tremendously grateful for your support. This project is exciting and important to all of us who are working on it.

From the entire team, thank you for helping to spread the word and for supporting documentary filmmaking. We feel confident you will enjoy the results!

Sincerely,

John Cork
Lisa van Eyssen
Cloverland
24685 Camino del Monte
Carmel, CA 93923
323 662-4467 – office
323 273-1375 – mobile
email: johncork@mac.com
website: madeincloverland.com

“RENO and The Romance of Divorce” promotional bookmark 4″ x 9″.

The Pig Roast

In September, the documentary team of RENO and The Romance of Divorce  (“RRD”) met in Reno to discuss plans for the next phase of production. (See the post, Getting the Cameras Rolling, September 15.)

The team took a break to attend the Annual Pig Roast hosted by Reno historian Neal Cobb and his wife Mary on their Reno ranch. More than 200 guests enjoyed an old-time Western gather with an abundance of food, good music, camaraderie and of course… The Pig.

“RRD” documentary producer John Cork (center) with “2012 Distinguished Nevadan” Guy Rocha (left) and Reno gaming historian and author Dwayne Kling (right).

(Left to right) Steve Ellison, producer “Harolds Club” documentary; author and “RRD” creative consultant Bill McGee; and Deb Geraghty, “RRD” creative consultant.  

“RRD” producer Lisa van Eyssen (left) with “RRD” creative consultant and author Sandra McGee.

 

Got Bookmarks?

To get your glossy 4″x9″ bookmarks for RENO and The Romance of Divorce, send an email with your name and mailing address to Sandra at mcgeebmc@aol.com.

 

National Day of the American Cowboy – July 28, 2012

 

 

My favorite cowboy…  Bill McGee on his roping horse Zorro on the Flying M E Guest Ranch, Washoe Valley, Nevada, 1947. Who is your favorite cowboy?

-Sandra McGee, Divorce Nevada Style

Welcome to DIVORCE NEVADA STYLE

From the 1930s to the 1960s, if you wanted a quick, simple exit from marriage, Nevada was the place to go – and especially Reno.  ”Divorce Seekers” (as they were called) flocked to Reno — and later Las Vegas – by the thousands, including Eastern socialites, movie stars and housewives, all seeking the “Reno cure”.

In most other states, divorce required a waiting period of a year or more and proof of adultery. But in 1931, Nevada made it simple: A six week residency at a hotel, boarding house, or exclusive divorce ranch; a list of legal grounds that required little proof; and an average of six minutes in court.

Soon after Reno was known as the “Divorce Capital of the World” and “I’m going to Reno!” became synonymous with getting a divorce.

I became fascinated with the Reno divorce era through my husband’s stories of his time from 1947 to 1950 working as the head dude wrangler on the Flying M E, an exclusive divorce ranch 20 miles south of Reno that catered to wealthy Easterners, socialites, and Hollywood celebrities. Together we co-authored a coffee table book, The Divorce Seekers: A Photo Memoir of a Nevada Dude Wrangler. (Read about the book on the page, The Divorce Seekers: The Book That Inspired This Blog.)

Today, few people know about this part of Nevada history or how difficult it used to be for a woman to get out of an unhappy marriage. I hope to help preserve this history. To this end, my husband, Bill McGee, and I are currently creative consultants on an upcoming documentary RENO and The Romance of Divorce . (Click on the link to view the trailer and read the full story.)

Please send me your Nevada divorce story at mcgeebmc@aol.com.

– Sandra McGee, Divorce Nevada Style

VOGUE Magazine June 2012 Features Reno Divorce Ranch Story

The fascination with Reno divorce ranches continues on with a story ”On Her Own” by Lily Tuck (VOGUE, June 2012). Yes, that’s VOGUE magazine and the story’s author is novelist Lily Tuck who got a divorce in 1970 at the Donner Trail Guest Ranch, the last of the legendary Reno divorce ranches. Check it out… the June issue is on the stands now.    -Sandra McGee, Divorce Nevada Style