Pops Hiking and Travel | How The Virginian Hotel Became a Literary Landmark in Medicine Bow, Wyoming: Owen Wister’s Legacy @popshiking | Uploaded August 2024 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
The Virginian Hotel, located in Medicine Bow, Wyoming, is a historic landmark renowned for its connection to the American West. Established in 1911, the hotel embodies the rugged charm of frontier life. Its name pays homage to Owen Wister’s famous Western novel, The Virginian. The hotel served as a gathering place for travelers and cattlemen, symbolizing the blend of Western hospitality and tradition. Today, it stands as a preserved relic, offering a glimpse into the past and celebrating the legacy of the Western frontier, with its storied history attracting visitors interested in American Western heritage.
I love the book The Virginian! It is true literature. Later writers like Zane Grey, Max Brand and Louie Lamour continued the western novel but in my opinion not as literary. The closest to Wister might be Brand. The Virginian is also a really fun story. In large part it is a love story. Josh and I listened to it as we drove the Lincoln Highway, he for the first time, which made the hotel visit even more special!
Thanks for watching!
A poem I wrote while sitting at Owen Wister’s desk which you saw in the video.
The Virginian Hotel (7/20/24, Jeff McNair)
Lost of old dignity, a center of commerce
holds to the past in words never read
but often quoted as if familiar.
Fading reminders remotely present.
How long will they be remembered?
And by whom?
A memory of strange culture experienced, embraced, shared, celebrated, forgotten.
We play at celebrating memory without the required work.
How long can a point in time last?
When is a memory a contrived lie?
Who is fooling and who is being fooled?
“I really was there” the faded black and white pleads.
“You will soon be me. Pray you will be looked for, for a time.
“Do something remarkable as it helps.”
I find myself among those with no such future or past.
Do they know or care?
What are those who do care hoping for?
They will be disappointed.
The Virginian Hotel, located in Medicine Bow, Wyoming, is a historic landmark renowned for its connection to the American West. Established in 1911, the hotel embodies the rugged charm of frontier life. Its name pays homage to Owen Wister’s famous Western novel, The Virginian. The hotel served as a gathering place for travelers and cattlemen, symbolizing the blend of Western hospitality and tradition. Today, it stands as a preserved relic, offering a glimpse into the past and celebrating the legacy of the Western frontier, with its storied history attracting visitors interested in American Western heritage.
I love the book The Virginian! It is true literature. Later writers like Zane Grey, Max Brand and Louie Lamour continued the western novel but in my opinion not as literary. The closest to Wister might be Brand. The Virginian is also a really fun story. In large part it is a love story. Josh and I listened to it as we drove the Lincoln Highway, he for the first time, which made the hotel visit even more special!
Thanks for watching!
A poem I wrote while sitting at Owen Wister’s desk which you saw in the video.
The Virginian Hotel (7/20/24, Jeff McNair)
Lost of old dignity, a center of commerce
holds to the past in words never read
but often quoted as if familiar.
Fading reminders remotely present.
How long will they be remembered?
And by whom?
A memory of strange culture experienced, embraced, shared, celebrated, forgotten.
We play at celebrating memory without the required work.
How long can a point in time last?
When is a memory a contrived lie?
Who is fooling and who is being fooled?
“I really was there” the faded black and white pleads.
“You will soon be me. Pray you will be looked for, for a time.
“Do something remarkable as it helps.”
I find myself among those with no such future or past.
Do they know or care?
What are those who do care hoping for?
They will be disappointed.
