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This Week in the West

This Week in the West

By: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
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Broadcasting from The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, This Week in the West brings you the stories of the people and events that shaped the history of the American West.Copyright 2024 All rights reserved. World
Episodes
  • This Week in the West: John Arbuckle and Coffee's Importance in the West

    This Week in the West: John Arbuckle and Coffee's Importance in the West
    Mar 23 2026

    🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 73: John Arbuckle and Coffee's Importance in the West

    📢 Episode Summary: This episode of This Week in The West explores the surprising but essential role coffee played in shaping life on the American frontier, focusing on the legacy of John Arbuckle. At a time when coffee was difficult to preserve and inconsistent in quality, Arbuckle revolutionized the industry in 1868 with a glazing process that kept roasted beans fresh and shelf-stable. His innovation made coffee widely accessible, transforming it from a fragile commodity into a dependable staple for Americans across the country.

    The impact of Arbuckle’s coffee was especially profound in the American West, where cowboys relied on it as a daily necessity rather than a luxury. On cattle drives, coffee fueled long days, harsh conditions, and sleepless nights, becoming as essential as food itself. Arbuckle’s brand, Ariosa, became so dominant that many cowboys simply referred to coffee as “Arbuckle,” and its packaging and coupon system even took on economic value in frontier communities.

    Ultimately, the episode highlights how a single innovation helped sustain the physical and cultural life of the West. Coffee was more than a drink—it was a symbol of endurance, comfort, and routine on the frontier. Even as competition and industry changes led to Arbuckle’s decline, his influence remains embedded in the imagery and stories of the American West, from chuck wagons to campfires.

    🔍 What You’ll Learn:

    • How John Arbuckle’s innovation made coffee portable, reliable, and widely available in America
    • Why coffee became a critical survival tool for cowboys on cattle drives in the American West
    • How Arbuckle coffee shaped frontier culture, commerce, and even everyday language

    👥 Behind the Scenes Host: Seth Spillman Producer: Chase Spivey Writer: Mike Koehler

    🔗 Further research:

    • The current Arbuckle Coffee brand: https://arbucklecoffee.com/
    • The history of coffee on the Brooklyn waterfront: https://www.bkwaterfronthistory.org/story/where-coffee-was-king/
    • True West Magazine: Cowboy and Coffee: https://www.truewestmagazine.com/article/cowboy-coffee/

    📬 Connect With Us: 🌐 Website: www.thecowboy.org 📖 Read Our Blog: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/ 📩 Email: podcast@thecowboy.org 📲Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ncwhm/ 📷Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationalcowboymuseum ❎X/Twitter: https://x.com/ncwhm 💼LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-cowboy-&-western-heritage-museum

    🗺️ Visit Us: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73111. See us on the map

    🎟️: You can now buy tickets to The Cowboy online, go to https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/tickets/ 💡 Support Us:🏅Become A Member of the Museum: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/support/memberships/

    🛒Shop at Persimmon Hill, our Museum store: https://persimmonhillstore.com/

    🎧 Listen & Subscribe: 🔹 Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-the-west/id1776228708 🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2KYmd2BumVtQVH1ez1Cr2U 🔹YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFoE2kU21JpX9T6W9NonXuD9UapS1TsmN 🔹Podbean: https://thisweekinthewest.podbean.com/

    ⭐ If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate & review!
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    7 mins
  • This Week in the West: Charles Russell: Artist & Original Great Westerner

    This Week in the West: Charles Russell: Artist & Original Great Westerner
    Mar 16 2026
    🤠This Week in the West 🎙️ Episode 72: Charles Russell: Artist & Original Great Westerner 📢 Episode Summary: This week on This Week in The West, we remember Charles Marion Russell, one of the most important artists to ever capture the spirit of the American frontier. Born March 19, 1864, Russell left his comfortable home in St. Louis at just sixteen years old to pursue his dream of becoming a cowboy in Montana. Instead of following the respectable career paths expected of him, Russell chose the rough life of the open range—an experience that would later define his art. Before he became famous, Russell spent more than a decade working as a cowboy and night wrangler. During that time, he carefully observed the people, animals and cultures of the West. He lived among cowboys, learned from mountain men and spent time with Native communities, experiences that gave his later paintings an authenticity few artists could match. Russell’s artistic career began almost by accident during the devastating winter of 1886–87, when he sketched a starving steer in the snow with the caption Waiting for a Chinook. The small drawing circulated among ranchers and townspeople and brought Russell his first attention as an artist. By the early 1890s, he set aside cowboy life to focus on painting full-time. With the support of his wife Nancy, who became his tireless promoter and business manager, Russell’s work gained national and international recognition. Yet he remained rooted in Montana and committed to telling the stories of the West as he had lived them. Today, Russell’s paintings, drawings and sculptures remain some of the most powerful visual records of frontier life. 🔍 What You’ll Learn: How Charles Marion Russell’s real-life experience as a working cowboy shaped the authenticity of his Western art.The story behind Russell’s famous sketch Waiting for a Chinook and how it launched his career.How Russell and his wife Nancy helped preserve the stories, people and culture of the Old West through art. 👥 Behind the Scenes Host: Seth Spillman Producer: Chase Spivey Writer: Mike Koehler 🔗 Further research: The C.M. Russell Museum: https://cmrussell.org/The Charles M. Russell Center for the Study of Art of the American West at the University of Oklahoma: https://www.ou.edu/finearts/visual-arts/about/charles-m-russell-centerPBS Documentary “C.M. Russell and the American West:” https://www.montanapbs.org/programs/CMRussellAmericanWest/ 📬 Connect With Us: 🌐 Website: www.thecowboy.org 📖 Read Our Blog: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/ 📩 Email: podcast@thecowboy.org 📲Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ncwhm/ 📷Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationalcowboymuseum ❎X/Twitter: https://x.com/ncwhm 💼LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-cowboy-&-western-heritage-museum 🗺️ Visit Us: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73111. See us on the map 🎟️: You can now buy tickets to The Cowboy online, go to https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/tickets/ 💡 Support Us:🏅Become A Member of the Museum: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/support/memberships/ 🛒Shop at Persimmon Hill, our Museum store: https://persimmonhillstore.com/ 🎧 Listen & Subscribe: 🔹 Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-the-west/id1776228708 🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2KYmd2BumVtQVH1ez1Cr2U 🔹YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFoE2kU21JpX9T6W9NonXuD9UapS1TsmN 🔹Podbean: https://thisweekinthewest.podbean.com/ ⭐ If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate & review!
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    6 mins
  • This Week in the West: The Miller Brothers and the Rise of the 101 Ranch

    This Week in the West: The Miller Brothers and the Rise of the 101 Ranch
    Mar 9 2026
    6 mins
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