[Wyatt Burp]

We just went to L.A. to meet our new beautiful ten day old grand daughter. What a cutie pie! I figured if I had time I'd to go Gene Autry Western Heritage museum, Turns out it was two miles away from their place. My son took better pics but these will have to do. These just scratch the surface of this place. There's Wes Hardin's guns, the gun used to kill, him, and the pearl handled Colt used to kill that guy. Hardin memorabilia, Billy the Kid's carbine, Roy Roger's guns, Thee Amigo's guns and rigs, and Colt's galore. Hickok's engraved Navy Colt is there, too but I don't have a picture. It is just fascinating to look at these items knowing such historical figures, good and bad, actually owned and used them. But I won't waste time on all that because you all know exactly what I mean.

 

[FFF21]

Thanks, I need to put that on my to do list.

 

[moosedog]

Congradulations on the grand daughter Wyatt.
Next time i'm in LA i'll have to check out that museum. Neat history.

 

[feralmerril]

Nice! Been there a number of times. The museum changes themes every so often but the guns stay about the same. Actualy I think it started off as john bicanci`s outlaws and lawmen museum back in the late 70s or so in temecula and autry bought it out. Reminded me of a story I cant pass up. I and a GF were going to the museum early one winter morning. I fired up my truck and a cat was in it and got mutilated with the fan. It was horrible! The cat was screaming, the GF was screaming for me to shoot the cat and put it out of its misery! Finaly instead of hunting a shovel or something, I shot the cat. Twice. It was very early morning and the GF was STILL screaming even with the secound shot! I lived in lancaster and doors were popping open with women in their house robes standing in front of their doors checking us out. The GF called the sheriffs dept and explained what happened and that they probley would be getting some calls. They never drove out to talk to me-- unless I was at the museum!

 

[serb]

Wow, thanks for the pics WB.

Us "right coasters" dont make it out there often, but if i ever do, ill definitely put it on my list.

That wall of Colts almost made me need smelling salts.

Congratulations on the newest member of the Burp clan. When can we see a pic of the newest with a Colt in her crib...or tiny hand??

Well, maybe just a Colt blanket for now.

 

[Jim Martin]

Wyatt:Congratulations on the new grandbaby & I have a question,did u go to Olvera st or Phillipes like I suggested while u were in LA?This part is museum related,back in 1930 Johnny Mack Brown was on location north of LA starring in a new film about Billy the Kid when a cowboy came riding in on his horse while they were filming that wasn't part of the cast & ruined the take which upset the director until he realized who it was,it was William S. Hart riding his old horse Fritz,Harts ranch wasn't very far from where they were filming,when things settled down Hart gave JMB one of Billy the Kids guns w/provenance & he used it for the movie.Years later I was talking to JMB's daughter who I have known for years & asked her if she or her brother still had it & she told me somehow it had ended up in the Autry museum & when they had the fire there several yrs. ago it had gotten damaged in the fire & some idiot who obviously wasn't very smart through it out in the trash.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Wyatt:Congratulations on the new grandbaby & I have a question,did u go to Olvera st or Phillipes like I suggested while u were in LA?This part is museum related,back in 1930 Johnny Mack Brown was on location north of LA starring in a new film about Billy the Kid when a cowboy came riding in on his horse while they were filming that wasn't part of the cast & ruined the take which upset the director until he realized who it was,it was William S. Hart riding his old horse Fritz,Harts ranch wasn't very far from where they were filming,when things settled down Hart gave JMB one of Billy the Kids guns w/provenance & he used it for the movie.Years later I was talking to JMB's daughter who I have known for years & asked her if she or her brother still had it & she told me somehow it had ended up in the Autry museum & when they had the fire there several yrs. ago it had gotten damaged in the fire & some idiot who obviously wasn't very smart through it out in the trash.

I remembered what you had said but we didn't have much time because we were hanging out with family. My D-I-L's parents took us to a Persian restaurant (they are Armenian and Iranian non muslims) where we feasted on piles of new foods we have never tried before. I had the lamb shank and eggplant stew. But various types of kabobs with the tenderest of meats and exotic sauces too good to describe here that we all passed around to each other while a belly dancer whurled around the room.

 

[Matchlock]

Interesting story Jim.

Now, would anyone happen to have the address of that Los Angeles County Waste Disposal Site?

Bud

Wyatt:Congratulations on the new grandbaby & I have a question,did u go to Olvera st or Phillipes like I suggested while u were in LA?This part is museum related,back in 1930 Johnny Mack Brown was on location north of LA starring in a new film about Billy the Kid when a cowboy came riding in on his horse while they were filming that wasn't part of the cast & ruined the take which upset the director until he realized who it was,it was William S. Hart riding his old horse Fritz,Harts ranch wasn't very far from where they were filming,when things settled down Hart gave JMB one of Billy the Kids guns w/provenance & he used it for the movie.Years later I was talking to JMB's daughter who I have known for years & asked her if she or her brother still had it & she told me somehow it had ended up in the Autry museum & when they had the fire there several yrs. ago it had gotten damaged in the fire & some idiot who obviously wasn't very smart through it out in the trash.

 

[oberon]

Nice pile of hardware.
Now, where's the pics of the new grandbaby?

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Nice pile of hardware.
Now, where's the pics of the new grandbaby?

Here's the little cutie pie right here with my d-I-l's mom.

 

[David13]

This thread has been inspirational to me. To go down to Philippes to have lunch. Which I did today.
Not a bad little motorcycle ride, except for lane splitting the last mile or two in the downtown area.
And to look up info on the Roy Rogers Ranches. I believe they were not the Double R, but the Double R Bar.
The first one in Chatsworth is only the house. All the land was subdivided long ago.
But the second and last one, near Victorville is in the original Roy Rogers configuration. It's too hot up there now (high desert) but maybe I'll ride by on the way to something else. Like Utah in September.
dc

 

[feralmerril]

I used to live in the palmdale lancaster area. Out at lake hughs just past that rock cafe a ways is a narrow road that winds over the mountain to the north. On top is a neat old ranch that I was told he owned many years ago. A guy I used to work with lived in apple valley near roy and clamed to be a close friend of his. Chuck conners, jack palance and noah berry all used to live around tehatchipi. Jay silver heels lived somewhere around pearblossom. R lee ermey is a neighbor to my FIL in quartz hill area. I now live in cedar city utah. Zion, cedar brakes and bryce canyon national parks are all close to me. Our thing is trail rideing with our atv all around here. Its probley one of the best areas in the country to ride a quad.

 

[Jim Martin]

This thread has been inspirational to me. To go down to Philippes to have lunch. Which I did today.
Not a bad little motorcycle ride, except for lane splitting the last mile or two in the downtown area.
And to look up info on the Roy Rogers Ranches. I believe they were not the Double R, but the Double R Bar.
The first one in Chatsworth is only the house. All the land was subdivided long ago.
But the second and last one, near Victorville is in the original Roy Rogers configuration. It's too hot up there now (high desert) but maybe I'll ride by on the way to something else. Like Utah in September.
dc

DC:Another interesting place to see things about the old west that hardly anyone knows or remembers about is William S. Harts ranch,when he died he left it to the state I think & they made it into a state park of some kind or other.He had a great gun collection & there's all kinds of western memorabilia there,it's a little north of L.A. & I'm jealous of u having the sandwiches today,did u think to buy any of the mustard they have there to take home w/u?

 

[oberon]

Thanks, WB.
That right there is a fine lookin' grandbaby, indeed.
I love babies.

 

[Chaffee]

For those of us that will probably never get to the Gene Autry museum, a lot of the guns in there are pictured in Rosa's 'Age of The Gunfighter'. I recognized some of them in Matt's pictures.

 

[feralmerril]

The autry museum changes a lot. Different theams every so often. I belive the guns stay the same. Over about 30 years I probley visited it maybe six times. They take good care of their stuff. Not so the old roy rodgers museum at victorville that is gone now. It used to agrivate me to see the fine guns there that looked like they needed wipeing down and cleaning. I was raised near oshkosh wisconsin. When I was a kid in the 40s and 50s I got into the museum there and it was great for guns. Had many of them. No longer, but let me get to that. They had a colt 1851 navy that I belive had belonged to cole younger. Just before the northfield minnesota shootout a man was arrested for vagrancey and the police took his gun, the colt navy. Right after the robbery the LEO had bells ring and looked closer at the gun. On the left grip is carved CY. They had the holster and opened the flap and engraved with probley a hot wire was: "From Maj Quantrill to C. Younger!!!!! I seen the revolver and holster a number of times growing up. I think what happened was that the james younger gang rode the train with their horses as far as oshkosh (I had read that the gun was taken off a vagrant around the train or depot) and then took their horses west to northfield. Fast forward. Oshkosh museum had a fire around 1998. I went home to visit it again when they reopened. Where they once had several hundred old guns now the museum had just a few displayed with painted theams on the walls . No younger colt. I looked up the young currator and asked him about it. He seemed to have zero intrest in guns and just shrugged and said well, we probley still have it/them (guns) in storage someplace. A old secratary seen and heard me talking to him. She spoke up and said, I remember that gun. We used to have picture postcards of it for sale in the gift shop. I had her look and she found me one. (I either lost or misplaced it). Somewhere along the line I later read the holster was distroyed in the fire. I think the damaged gun probley exists in some damp basement storage along with many more neglected guns familys have donated over the years. After that experiance I dont think I would donate anything to any museum! The people (curraters) arent always gun people like us.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

For those of us that will probably never get to the Gene Autry museum, a lot of the guns in there are pictured in Rosa's 'Age of The Gunfighter'. I recognized some of them in Matt's pictures.

Right. They also had one of those ten engraved identical Colt SAAs Bob Dalton bought for the Coffeyville raid. This one was carried by Emmett Dalton and one of his holsters are there, too. It's 5 1/2", .45, blued engraved, with pearl grips. Wilson's book "The Peacemakers" features these guns, too. Also there was Steve McQueen's Tom Horn suit, Jeff Bridges Wild Bill outfit, and more stuff to drool over than I can mention here.

 

[Revolver]

I did all the gold and silver work for this 2 gun rig back in the 70's for the cover of Guns & Ammo magazine, It's now in the Autry along with another one I did, Pics not that great

 

[Wyatt Burp]

I did all the gold and silver work for this 2 gun rig back in the 70's for the cover of Guns & Ammo magazine, It's now in the Autry along with another one I did, Pics not that great
View attachment 39939

You did?! wow. I still have a Guns and Ammo from around 1972, I think, with those guns and rig on the cover. I think there's pictures of the rig being made which might feature your hands on it. I've always considered these Alvin White colts with those super heavy relief carved ivories the perfect two gun Colt set. I forgot they were at the museum but they weren't displayed when I went last week. Again, absolutely fine work on that rig.

 

[Revolver]

You did?! wow. I still have a Guns and Ammo from around 1972, I think, with those guns and rig on the cover. I think there's pictures of the rig being made which might feature your hands on it. I've always considered these Alvin White colts with those super heavy relief carved ivories the perfect two gun Colt set. I forgot they were at the museum but they weren't displayed when I went last week. Again, absolutely fine work on that rig.

Thanks, It was the March 1974 cover and centerfold, I did the work for John Bianchi, What you see at the Autry is a small fraction of whats there, They have a lot in the warehouse they rotate in and out.