The Stratford Library continues its special 4-part series about the American Old West of “Sunday Afternoon Talks”, its monthly series of informative and entertaining talks hosted by Charles Lautier and featuring prominent local guest speakers. The Old West series, which features guest speaker Hamish Lutris,will offer its final two sessions on the Zoom session in November.  The schedule is:

Sunday, November 8, 2020:

Hell on Wheels: The Wild West

From the 1850s until the 1890s, the West was a dangerous place, one that took a high human toll before it was ‘civilized’ in the 1880s and 90s. This talk will focus on three aspects of that danger: cattle, which drew cowboys and big business out west; Indians, who contested that expansion doggedly; and the railroad, which served to draw the nation together and subjugate Native Americans. Each contributed to the reality and mythology of the West, and remain powerful images today.

Sunday, November 22, 2020:

Sodbusters and Colleges: The Winning of the West

In 1860, most of the western plains were uninhabited by Americans; the 1890 census revealed that the frontier, where US law did not hold sway, had disappeared. Civilization had come to the entire West in only 40 years. How? This talk will focus on the immigration, technologies, and political actions that made possible the taming of the vast land that we call the West.

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