Burnstad, Hattie (1911–1986)

Historically, the West has been a difficult place in which to survive. For the miner, it was a constant boom-or-bust cycle; for the rancher and farmer, it was the natural cycle of weather that plagued them. No matter what the pursuit, nothing escaped the fact that in the West, life does not come easy. To make it in the West you needed a little more spirit or determination and a lot more perseverance than average. Today this spirit or attitude is still very alive and embodied in the saying “cowboy up.” The cowboy image is so popular that it can still be found everywhere in the West, for example, in Wyoming, from the “Welcome to Wyoming” signs that greet visitors to the bucking bronco on ...