Archives West Finding Aid

Del Jenkins was interviewed by Art True while wintering in San Diego, California in 1968. True, an amateur historian, used a reel to reel recorder which he operated with some difficulty and then later transferred the recording to an audiocassette. As a result, the sound quality of the interview is marginal at best. Jenkins describes his experiences as a Yellowstone stage coach driver and anecdotes about some of the tourists he transported. The interview has been digitally rendered, but no transcription is available. In his 1975 letter forwarding the audiocassette to MSU history professor Robert Dunbar, True wrote “Del was 88 years old at the time of the taping. He wrote a book that he called “The Lucky Cowboy” about his life and experiences. Unfortunately, a woman who got hold of it for editing took out his spicy down to earth language and he decided not to publish. You can learn more about it from the Historical Society, Jackson, Wyoming. As far as I know, Del is still living. He has wintered in Sand Diego for over 20 years. That’s where I met him.”