University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
The University of Montana--Missoula
Missoula, MT 59812
406-243-2053
http://www.lib.umt.edu/asc
library.archives@umontana.edu
Mss
044
Randall, L.W. (Leslie Watson), 1893-1970
Leslie Watson "Gay"
Randall Papers
1817-1960
1.5 linear feet
3 boxes
Gay Randall managed his family's dude
ranch, the OTO Ranch, near Gardiner, Montana, and later wrote about the ranch
and early days in the West and near Yellowstone National Park. The collection
contains family genealogy, Randall's writings, and numerous photographs of the
ranch.
Materials are in
English
Biographical Note
Leslie Watson "Gay" Randall, was born in 1893 in Gardiner, Montana,
and grew up on the OTO Ranch. His father, James Norris "Dick" Randall, had
bought the property in the Cedar Creek Valley, northeast of Gardiner, Montana,
just outside Yellowstone National Park, in spring 1898. He intended it to be a
ranch, but soon began hosting hunters. Soon the ranch became a dude ranch, the
OTO Ranch, one of the first of its kind in Montana. It became a thriving
business; by the 1910s, Randall became well-known as "Mr. Dude Ranch" in
regional and national publications. The physical facilities of the ranch
expanded to include a lodge, guest cabins, and other buildings. Demand for dude
ranch vacations increased notably after World War I, and the Dude Ranch
Association was founded in 1926 in Bozeman, Montana. With the 1930s Depression,
business slowed, and the Randalls sold out to C.T. Libby in 1934.
Randall was married to Wiletta Gertrude Husted, who was born in 1897
in Livingston, Montana. They had three children: Abigail Josephine, William
Edward (born 1918), and George Richard. Gay managed the OTO Ranch for a time;
he produced advertising and marketing materials for the ranch. By the early
1950s, he was publishing stories of the Old West in popular magazines and
living in Clarkston, Washington. He published
Footprints Along the Yellowstone, stories of frontier
Montana, in 1961. He also wrote an article in
Montana, the Magazine of Western History on his father and
the history of dude ranching in Montana and Wyoming. He died in 1970.
The collection contains family genealogy, Randall's writings, and
numerous photographs of the ranch. Randall's writings consist of magazine and
newspaper articles and an unpublished book that offer his perspective on the
early West, the beginnings of dude ranching in Montana, and the early history
of Yellowstone National Park. The photographs, most of which were originally
produced for publicity materials for the OTO Ranch, also show the Randall
family and some early history of Yellowstone National Park.
The collection is arranged in three series:
Series I: Genealogy, 2 folders, 1817, 1945
Series II: Writings, 1 linear foot, 1951-1960
Series III: Photographs, 0.5 linear feet, 1886-1941
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of
Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and the
University of Montana--Missoula.
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and
any other applicable statutes. Copyright transferred to The University of
Montana.
[Name of document or photograph number], Leslie Watson "Gay" Randall
Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The
University of Montana-Missoula.
The materials remained in the possession of the Randall Family until
transfer to the Archives.
Gift of Bill Randall, 1977. Transfer to the Archives was facilitated
by Joel Bernstein and Glenda Bradshaw.
The original processers arranged the collection, produced a cursory
finding aid, and separated photographs from the collection; some were
integrated into the Archives' photograph collections, and some remained
unprocessed. In 2004, the collection was reprocessed: photographs were
integrated, the collection (formerly the Gay Randall Papers) was re-named, the
collection was minimally re-arranged, and a new finding aid was produced.
During original processing a Swedish psalmbook was moved to the
Special Collections department.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online
catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or
places should search the catalog using these headings.
Randall family
OTO
Ranch
West (U.S.)--History
Yellowstone National Park--History
Yellowstone National Park--Photographs
Dude ranches --
Montana
Photographs
Montana
Photographs
Agriculture
Parks
and Playgrounds
Sports and Recreation
Dude ranchers -- Montana
Series I
Genealogy
1817 and ca. 1945
2 folders
This series contains items related to the Randall family
genealogy. The first is a genealogical chart of the family that appears to have
been produced for William Edward Randall. The second is an original letter from
J.A. Randall to William Randall from 1817.
1/1
Randall family
genealogy
ca.
1945
1/2
Letter, J.A. Randall to William
Randall
1817
Series II
Writings
1951-1960
1 linear foot
This series contains Gay Randall's writings, including research
materials articles, newspaper stories and editorials, and the draft of a book,
Rising Winds. Research on Fellows D. Pease, who was a
Crow Indian agent, Montana trapper, scout, prospector and trader who came to
Montana in 1856. There is substantial correspondence between him and the Pease
family of Ashland and Lodge Grass, Montana. Much of the research materials,
especially that on Pease and for
Rising Winds, are copied from the National Archives.
Much of that correspondence is directed to his wife, Wiletta. Some of the
publications also include articles by Wiletta.
1/3
"Battle for the
Columbia"
1955
1/4
Research material for "Battle for
the Columbia"
1955
1/5
Elk
undated
1/6
Indian stories
undated
1/7
Magazines with articles by
Randall
1954-1960
1/8
Magazines with articles by
Randall
1956-1962
1/9
Magazines with articles by
Randall
1953-1954
1/10
Newspaper articles
1954-1956
1/11
Research material, Fellows D.
Pease
1951-1959
1/12
Research material, Fellows D.
Pease
undated
1/13
Research material, Fellows D.
Pease
undated
2/1
Rising Winds
[1953]
2/2
Rising Winds
[1953]
2/3
Rising Winds
[1953]
2/5
Articles
undated
2/6
Articles
undated
2/7
Articles
undated
Series III
Photographs
1886-1941
0.5 linear feet
This series contains photographs produced and collected by Gay
Randall. They are a mixture of Randall family photographs and early photographs
of Yellowstone National Park and environs, but largely consist of publicity
photographs of the OTO Ranch. Many of these were taken by Gay Randall as he
sought to promote and build the ranch's business, but there are also
photographs of F.J. Haynes and Gay's son, Bill Randall. There are original
negatives for some images. Many of these photographs appear to have been used
in publications; some were contemporary, but many were for Randall's 1950s
historical publications. The final folder in the series contains Randall's list
of photo identifications; the list is numbered, but does not appear to match
with any numbers on the photographs; according to this, most of the dude ranch
photographs were taken between 1930 and 1941.
81-422
Gardiner Railroad Station,
Northern Entrance to Yellowstone National Park
undated
81-423
Petrified trees near Tower Falls,
Yellowstone National Park
undated
81-424
Theodore Roosevelt at cornerstone
laying ceremonies, north gateway to Yellowstone National Park, Gardiner,
Montana
1903
81-425
Theodore Roosevelt at cornerstone
laying ceremonies, north gateway to Yellowstone National Park, Gardiner,
Montana
1903
81-426
First wagon trail along the
Gibbon River, Yellowstone National Park
undated
81-427
Northern Pacific train at Old
Cinnabar, Theodore Roosevelt's train for dedication of northern entrance of
Yellowstone National Park
1908
81-428
Six-horse tally ho (concord
coach) between Gardiner, Montana, and Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National
Park
undated
81-429
George W. Wakefield, pioneered
first stage lines at Yellowstone National Park
ca.
1890
81-430
Concord Coach of the Wakefield
Transportation and Camps Company, Yellowstone National Park
undated
81-431
Freight team in Gardiner,
Montana
undated
81-432
Freight team in Gardiner,
Montana
undated
81-433
Camp scene near Glenn
Creek
undated
81-434
F.D. Pease
undated
81-435
Four loaded freight teams of C.B.
Scott, Gardiner, Montana
ca.
1910
81-436
Front and Main Streets in
Gardiner, Montana
ca.
1900
44(III):1
"Fishing Boulder
River"
undated
44(III):2
"Trail Riders"
undated
44(III):3
Camp Scene "Summer Pack
Trip"
undated
44(III):4-16
Camping on saddle horse, tour of
Yellowstone National Park
undated
44(III):17
"Off to Castle Cliffs and
Petrified Forest"
undated
44(III):18
Partial view of main lodge and
cabins, OTO Ranch
undated
44(III):19
Cattle, OTO Ranch
undated
44(III):20
Cattle, OTO Ranch
undated
44(III):21
Cattle, OTO Ranch
undated
44(III):22
Cattle, OTO Ranch
undated
44(III):23
Cattle, OTO Ranch
undated
44(III):24
"The end of a pleasant journey,
Chicago to the OTO Ranch, and a grand time" [automobile on road]
ca.
1920s
44(III):25
Bill Randall and Claude Fite,
with log
undated
44(III):26
W.H. Taylor
Looking north on Main Street,
Helena, Montana Territory. Ten-mule jerk line team, "Bloody Dick" is standing
near the corner of Wood and Main Street.
1874
44I(III):27
Carcasses of elk that died of
starvation on the flat in front of Gardiner, Montana, just inside the border of
Yellowstone National Park
1920
44(III):28
Cattle, near Cow Creek, on the
Yellowstone River
undated
44(III):29
Virginia City,
Montana
undated
44(III):30
"A shot at old Two B,
working"
undated
44(III):31
Dick and Doc? [Dick Randall and
Dr. James A. Randall]
undated
44(III):32
"1923 Lincoln with big engine"
[Randall family? in automobile in Livingston, Montana]
ca.
1923
44(III):33
"Part of camera crew making RKO
movie"
undated
44(III):34
"Off for a day's
fishing"
undated
44(III):35
[Pack string, OTO
ranch]
undated
44(III):36
Gail [Randall], with
fish
undated
44(III):37
Near Livingston,
Montana
undated
44(III):38
"Dick Randall and Gay Randall
sharing a bear"
undated
44(III):39
OTO Ranch lodge
undated
44(III):40
"Dora, Bessie, and the chickens,
Dick's ranch" [OTO Ranch]
undated
44(III):41
"Bridge and water flume, Dick's
ranch" [OTO Ranch]
undated
44(III):42
Gay Randall
undated
44(III):43
"Gibbon Canyon and
River"
F.J. Haynes
undated
44(III):44
George Randall
"June soon finds that it [roping
a horse] is not as easy as it looks. The target is a wooden horse (or
reasonable facsimile) built so that the guests may practice without endangering
the valuable livestock that belongs to the ranch." [OTO Ranch guests]
undated
44(III):45
Leo D. Harris
"A big six-point bull slaughtered
by a tooth hunter for his two tushes, the carcass left to rot and for the
coyotes and ravens to fight over."
undated
44(III):46
"Coon skin Dick and old Two B at
lunch on top mountain"
undated
44(III):47
"Pinto and his load"
undated
44(III):48
[Cattle, OTO Ranch]
undated
44(III):49
"Good Morning!" [OTO guest and
tent]
undated
44(III):50
"It takes a little practice" [OTO
guest and lasso]
undated
44(III):51
"Fishing in Mission Creek
Canyon"
undated
44(III):52
Bill Randall
George Randall
undated
44(III):53
Bill Randall
George Randall
undated
44(III):54
Bill Randall
George Randall
undated
44(III):55
"Dick at OTO" [trail ride with
guests]
undated
44(III):56
"Snow-capped mountains in the
Absarokees"
undated
44(III):57
"Hog-tying a calf"
undated
44(III):58
"Absoroka Mountains, elev. 9500
feet"
undated
44(III):59
"Off on a pack trip, climbing
high divide"
undated
44(III):60
"Part of a day's hunting, early
fall"
undated
44(III):61
"Packing horses for a mountain
trip"
undated
44(III):62
"Bulldogger and Hazen after their
steer"
undated
44(III):63
"Northern Pacific [Railway]
Depot, Livingston, Montana"
ca.
1895
44(III):64
"Fort Parker. F.D. Pease was
appointed first Indian agent to the Crows in 1870 and assigned to Fort
Parker"
Montana Historical Society
ca.
1870
44(III):65
Nancy Brockhart
Randall
undated
44(III):66
Dr. James A. Randall
undated
44(III):67
"Will's home on the ranch" [OTO
Ranch]
undated
44(III):68
"On the way to Will's ranch" [OTO
Ranch]
undated
44(III):69
Front row: Frank Shively, Major
Reynolds, Plenty Coups, Joseph Dixon, Sees with his Ears. Back row: George
Pease, Carl Leider, Scolds the Bear, Big Medicine, Dave Stewart, Jimmie
Hill.
undated
44(III):70
Top row: Curley the scout, Plain
Owl, White Man Runs Him, Sam Harris. Middle row: Packs the Hat, Sees with his
Ears, Holds the Enemy, Stops at Roches, Spotted Rabbit. Bottom row: Horace Song
Bear, Thomas Medicine Horse.
undated
44(III):71
"Hom. Miller, taken about 1907 by
W.S. Berry, Gardiner, Mont."
1907
44(III):72
"A familar sight every day the
dead elk were dragged away to spots for burying in pits"
1920
44(III):73
"Late winter and spring of 1920.
Hundreds of elk died on the feed grounds, on the flat in front of the town of
Gardiner, Mont."
1920
44(III):74
"Vacation on a dude ranch, riding
in the Rockies"
undated
44(III):75
"Dick Randall off for a little
trout fishing in cold rushing mountain streams"
undated
44(III):76
"Summit Shell
Mountain"
undated
44(III):77
"Evening in camp"
undated
44(III):78
"On the Trail"
undated
44(III):79
"On the corral fence"
undated
44(III):80
"In Montana mountains--Absaroka
National Forest Montana" "Summit high divide"
undated
44(III):81
"One of our cowboys riding a cow
bareback"
undated
44(III):82
"Cooling off on a holiday in
July, Abasaroka National Forest Montana" "Snow Glaciers, elev. 10,000
feet"
undated
44(III):83
"Out for a morning
ride"
undated
44(III):84
"Fort Yellowstone from Capitol
Hill"
F.J. Haynes
1894
44(III):85
"On the Trail"
undated
44(III):86
"Pack Outfit"
undated
44(III):87
"Bill and bear, hilled fall of
1940"
1940
44(III):88
"Abandoned homesteaders
cabin"
undated
44(III):89
"Calf roping"
undated
44(III):90
"Bob, bear hide, Bill
[Randall]"
undated
44(III):91
"Second money"
undated
44(III):92
"Romance in the Rockies" (Kay,
Bill [Randall])
undated
44(III):93
"Almost there"
undated
44(III):94
"Headed for a spill"
undated
44(III):95
"Ridin' High"
undated
44(III):96
"A days ride in the Absaroka
mountains near the ranch"
undated
44(III):97
"Fording Mission Creek at
barns"
undated
44(III):98
"Rodeo stock"
undated
44(III):99
"The toughest Hombre west of the
Mississippi. That's my Pop [Gay Randall]"
undated
44(III):100
"Bill Randall, grandson of Dick
Randall demonstrates the proper technique of holding the lariet for Miss Kay
Brown of New York City."
undated
44(III):101
"Cow calling her
calf"
undated
44(III):102
"A light from a dude"
undated
44(III):103
"Headin' for Heaven"
undated
44(III):104
"A summers harvest"
undated
44(III):105
"Roping instruction"
undated
44(III):106
"Rope spinning
double"
undated
44(III):107
"Making a movie"
undated
44(III):108
"Morning riding party leaving
main lodge [of OTO Ranch]"
undated
44(III):109
"Riding Party"
undated
44(III):110
"Packing up for a
trip"
undated
44(III):111
"Bob on Rusty"
undated
44(III):112
"One that didn't get
away"
undated
44(III):113
"Horses, left to right: Toby,
Chief, Patches, Hope, Shorty"
undated
44(III):114
"Montana jack rabbit"
[deer]
undated
44(III):115
"Grand Canyon" [of the
Yellowstone River]
undated
44(III):116
"Bucking horses"
undated
44(III):117
"A New York lad tries hi luck at
bareback calf riding"
undated
44(III):118
"Branding a colt"
undated
44(III):119
"Bulldogger as he leaves his
horse"
undated
44(III):120
"Watching a thunder storm on high
divide"
undated
44(III):121
"A peaceful nook"
undated
44(III):122
"Watching a thunder storm from a
high divide"
undated
44(III):123
"Jupiter Terrace, Yellowstone
National Park"
undated
44(III):124
"Going a-fishing"
undated
44(III):125
"Pat"
undated
44(III):126
"A glimpse of two of the cabins
[at the OTO Ranch]"
undated
44(III):127
[OTO Ranch employee and
guest]
undated
44(III):128
"Headin' for the
hills"
undated
44(III):129
"Claude when he broke the law"
[fish string]
undated
44(III):130
"A snow bank in July"
undated
44(III):131
"Bulldogging a steer"
undated
44(III):132
"Recreation hour"
undated
44(III):133
"A bad view of the
house"
undated
44(III):134
"In camp"
undated
44(III):135
"A good saddle horse awaits you
at the OTO"
undated
44(III):136
"The old master himself and a
couple of the gals"
1937
44(III):137
"All day trip--Shell Mountain,
Elevation 8650"
undated
44(III):138
"Main lodge [OTO
Ranch]"
undated
44(III):139
"At the corrals after the day's
ride"
undated
44(III):140
"Mission Creek at Ranch house"
[young women sitting on bridge]
undated
44(III):141
"Ready for the trail"
undated
44(III):142
"Dreaming" [young woman by
lake]
undated
44(III):143
OTO upper ranch, Cedar Creek,
upper meadows
undated
44(III):144
"Bill Randall on Will James, Big
Timber, Montana, August 2, 1940"
1940
44(III):145
"After completing his roll, the
horse and rider both ... to get up. All of the other cowboys hurry to help...
one, who despite the weight of the horse passing...suffered only
bruises"
undated
44(III):146
"The heavy, stiff hemp rope
becomes twisted into a perfect figure eight. Great skill is needed to keep the
twisted strands of the rope from snarling into knots. The object in twirling
the rope is to keep the loop open and to give the rope enough speed to keep up
with its moving target."
undated
44(III):147
"Like everything else on a ranch,
Dudes want to learn how to do it, a wrangler obligingly is teaching this young
lady how it is done, while the others look on."
undated
44(III):148
"After listening to the careful
instructions of the master of the art, Shirly Watson finds that, while the
target is stationary, it is still hard to catch. Moving targets are much more
difficult as a timing element is involved."
undated
44(III):149
Bill [Randall], Dick [Randall],
Gay [Randall]. "Three generations"
undated
44(III):150
"Giving a dude the works on the
buckaroo (a dummy horse made from short length of log, suspended by ropes, the
rope pullers can give the rider a tough time, even experienced bronc riders
find it hard to ride the buckaroo."
undated
Note on back: After seeing a real western bronc perform, every
youngster wanted to learn to ride a bucking horse. Naturally the risk of them
getting badly hurt was too great, so we at the OTO Ranch came up with this
dummy horse, for this practice job for those Dude kids. After a few spills the
youngster was usually satisfied that he was not a bronc rider and that he did
not care to be one. The four men on the ropes could control the dummy's
actions, either for giving the rider a hard or easy demonstration. The
publicity for this novel device was taken up by the
New York Pictorial Review with a full-page spread,
then the
Popular Mechanics Magazine gave the OTO more
publicity.
44(III):151
"The stage coach Oregon drawn by
four horses, and loaded with its capacity load of eleven tourist passengers"
[in Yellowstone National Park?]
undated
44(III):152
Mrs. R.D. Kennedy
"Thrashing scene, eastern
Montana"
1913
Coal burning steam engine furnishes the power right, bundle
wagons and separator in background. This sixteen-man crew could not possibly
thresh out as much wheat in a day as the present tractor drawn or self
propelled combines, with only a two-man crew."
44(III):153
"The old Mammoth Hotel, built in
1883 in background. Foreground: the stage coach Bighorn, the number one coach
of the Wakefield Transportation Company"
F.J. Haynes
1886
44(III):154
"Livingston [Montana]
rodeo"
undated
44(III):155
"Dad and dudes"
undated
44(III):156
"The all-log rustic Northern
Pacific [Railway] depot at Gardiner, Montana, north entrance to Yellowstone
[National] Park, coaches lined up in front loading passengers, train standing
on tracks back of depot. Shortly after the first war and the horse and buggy
days in Yellowstone, the handsomely built depot was torn down."
F.J. Haynes
undated
44(III):157
"Pat and Gail, Bill [Randall]'s
sisters"
undated
44(III):158
"This was an everyday sight along
the dusty dirt roads of Yellowstone [National Park] during the horse and buggy
days. Four horse-drawn coaches, loaded with tourists, three seated five
passenger spring wagons and special surreys lined the roads."
F.J. Haynes
1914
44(III):159
"Going up Mission
Creek"
undated
44(III):160
"Crazy Mountains"
undated
44(III):161
"Play hour"
undated
44(III):162
"George seems to be interested in
the new guest from Philadelphia"
undated
44(III):163
"A pause to enjoy the
view"
undated
44(III):164
"Looking like a dangerous bandit
is just one of Dick Randall's ways of entertaining the ladies and making their
stay long to be remembered. Mors. Heding is under the hat in case you cannot
find her in the picture."
undated
44(III):165
"Getting in practice"
undated
44(III):166
Eastern Montana
ca.
1890
44(III):167
"Pat Tucker, Indian scout,
Picture taken Livingston [Montana], July 4, 1930"
1930
44(III):168
"The view from the
Ranch"
undated
3/8
Album pages
undated
3/9
Unidentified
undated
3/10
Unidentified
undated
3/11
Unidentified
undated
3/12
Information on
photographs
undated