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
