Ed Pearce of KOLO-TV, Reno, interviews former 1940s Nevada dude wrangler Bill McGee on the site of the famous Flying M E divorce ranch, Washoe Valley, Nevada. November 2004.
Posts Tagged ‘dude wrangler’
Featured in TRUE WEST MAGAZINE, June 2010
Posted: June 1, 2010 in Divorce Ranches, Reno Divorce Era, "The Divorce Seekers" - Book by William and Sandra McGee, Sandra McGee, William L."Bill" McGeeTags: divorce in Reno, Bill McGee, Bob Boze Bell, divorce seekers, dude ranch, dude wrangler, Emmy Wood, True West Magazine, Flying M E
“The Divorce Seekers – An old-time wrangler recalls Reno, the ‘city of broken vows,’ through his days at the Flying M E ranch” by William L. McGee
TRUE WEST (June 2010) features a four-page story written by former Nevada dude wrangler, Bill McGee, who gives a firsthand account of life in the post-war 1940s on the Flying M E, an exclusive divorce ranch outside of Reno catering to wealthy Easterners. As McGee puts it, “I may be the only dude wrangler ‘still above ground’ who saw the six-week Reno divorce era up close and personal.” Click here to read…
Book-Signing at Carson City Library, Sept 2009
Posted: August 15, 2009 in Divorce Ranches, William L."Bill" McGee, Sandra McGee, "The Divorce Seekers" - Book by William and Sandra McGeeTags: divorce in Reno, Adele's, Bill McGee, Carson City, Carson City Library, divorce seekers, dude ranch, dude wrangler
Carson City, Nevada, September 19, 2009 – Bill McGee and Sandra McGee were among a host of Nevada authors invited to sign books at the Carson City Library’s 11th Annual Oktoberfest.
(Above) That evening the McGee’s celebrated their 29th anniversary at one of their favorite restaurants, Adele’s in Carson City. Bartender Mark Nadreau always takes good of his bar patrons.
(Below) Two cowboys share a quiet moment at Adele’s bar.
“THE DIVORCE SEEKERS: A Photo Memoir of a Nevada Dude Wrangler”
Posted: January 1, 2008 in Divorce Ranches, Reno Divorce Era, "The Divorce Seekers" - Book by William and Sandra McGee, Sandra McGee, William L."Bill" McGeeTags: divorce in Reno, Bill McGee, divorce seekers, dude ranch, dude wrangler, quickie divorce, Washoe Valley, six-week divorce, William W. Bliss
THE DIVORCE SEEKERS: A Photo Memoir of a Nevada Dude Wrangler
by William L. McGee and Sandra McGee, Foreword by William W. Bliss
Former dude ranch wrangler Bill McGee may have written the ultimate Western kiss-and-tell…a firsthand account of the epic era of the Reno six-week divorce. —Cowboys & Indians Magazine
Available from Amazon or williammcgeebooks
Description
In the 1930s to 1960s, if you wanted a quick, simple exit from marriage, Reno was the place to go. Divorce seekers by the thousands, including Eastern socialites, movie stars and housewives, came running to Reno to seek the “Reno cure”. Reno was known worldwide as the “divorce capital of the world” and “I’m going to Reno!” became synonymous with getting a “quickie” divorce.
Author Bill McGee experienced this epic era of the American West firsthand as a dude wrangler on the Flying M E, Nevada’s most exclusive divorce ranch located 20 miles south of Reno.
McGee’s personal stories — laced with names like Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, and a Roosevelt, du Pont and Astor – are mixed with sidebars and mini-histories about the era, the sights, the Nevada divorce business, and more.
I may be the only former Nevada dude ranch wrangler — ‘still above ground’ — who lived through this era. —William L. McGee, Author
- Part I, “Cowboyin’ Memoirs” – the author’s years in the 1930s and ‘40s cowboying in the West.
- Part II, “The Famous Flying M E Ranch and the Changing Cast of Characters”
- Part III, “Gettin’ Untied” –the Nevada divorce business.
- Part IV, “Other Leading Nevada Dude-Divorce Ranches, Circa 1930-1960”
Details
- Published 2004
- 8.5” x 11”, Hardcover
- 444 pp, 502 b&w photos, plus maps, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
- ISBN 13: 978-0-9701678-1-1
- $39.95 Available from Amazon or williammcgeebooks
