My Story

As a young lad living in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, then Everett, Washington I fell in love with the Wild West, nurtured by such cowboys as Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and John Wayne. I was ready for action when I wore my white straw cowboy hat, blue jeans with rolled-up cuffs, jean jacket, and had my “exact replica” Colt-45 tucked in its holster. I told my parents, “When I grow up, I’m going to own a cattle ranch and be a cowboy!”

One can imagine my excitement when, on a family vacation, we stopped to visit a relative who actually did own a cattle ranch in Montana. I told him, “I want to own a cattle ranch just like you.” He said, “it’s a lot of hard work.” I said, “I can handle it.” Obviously impressed with my bravado, he handed me a branding iron as we parted, “let this branding iron always remind you of your dream, little pardner.” Or something like that. As I got older my dream of being a cowboy bit the dust replaced by cold, hard reality, grown-up style.

After receiving a degree in Broadcast Communications from Washington State University, I worked for a couple of television stations in the Pacific Northwest, then an advertising agency in Seattle before starting P’Chelle International, a marketing consulting firm in Kennewick, Washington. I got involved in a number of themed development projects, where my mind would invariably return to the greatest of them all — Ghost Town at Knott’s Berry Farm. I itched to know more about the founder – Walter Knott.

As I flipped through the pages of Walter’s life, I gained an appreciation for his vision, perseverance and the Providence that guided him. I also learned about the patch of ground that he called home. It was a mosaic of incredible Wild West stories, many connected to Walter Knott and Ghost Town, some new to the aficionados of the Wild West. I plan on changing that.

My white cowboy hat is long lost as is my Colt-45. My blue jeans and jean jacket stopped fitting decades ago. I never did own a cattle ranch or become a cowboy. Worst of all, I misplaced the branding iron symbolic of my “cowboy dream.” But my love for the Wild West never waned. It is now focused on a small corner of the southwestern United States, known by most as Southern California, preferred by me as the Wild West of Walter Knott. I look forward to sharing that Wild West with you on social media and the serialized episodes shown below.