Not sure where to post this.

I found myself in Salmon, Idaho recently. Here's a photo of Elmer's house in Salmon. And two photos of his final resting place.

Enjoyed reading "Hell, I Was There". Would have like to have gone hunting with him.

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Riding, Shooting, and Truth

Think what kind of experience this would have been:

Smithswede, been there myself and took the same photos as you. Really cool and thanks for sharing. I was there in 2002 and actually talked to a few people in town who knew him.

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Elmer Keith is my hero.

I have spent a lot of time in Salmon and the surrounding area over the past 15 years. My 80 year old hunting buddy, Dwight Williamson, spent several of his youth years in Salmon and in Lewiston. His father was a physician in Salmon in the 1940's and hunted with Elmer on a few occasions. In fact there is a photo of him with Elmer I believe on page 146 or so of "Hell I Was There". I have had the fortune to meet up with several of those who knew Elmer well in that town.....many of the long time locals were not as fond of old Elmer as some of us are today.

When Dwight's father moved the family to Lewiston, he had the good fortune of meeting up and hunting/shooting with guys like Jack O'Connor and Vernon Speer.......what a fantastic time to be in Idaho!!

The photos below are of the same house, taken in the 40's
by Dwight's father.....you can see from left to right: Lorraine, Dwight, Dwight's mother, Ted and of course Elmer.

The photo of the two hunters with Lorraine and Elmer out behind the house just before heading out on a hunt. Ted took the photo and the hunter on the left is Dwight's father (far right) and his buddy Dick Martindale is with him on the hunt. Look at the photo in "Hell I Was There" and you will see these same two guys wearing the same clothes!!

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

A cousin of mine spent 25 or 26 years in the Marine Corps all the while buying and trading mainly Winchester lever action rifles. He retired and looked for a lesser demanding job in a good hunting/fishing area. He snagged the US Postmaster job in a very small town about 30 or 40 miles north of Salmon. He put his better Winchester rifles on display in the lobby of the post office (It was that kind of town and a different time). He had been in the job about a year when..... One afternoon a short broad shouldered man in a big western hat walked in. He asked for the Postmaster. He introduced himself to my cousin....it was Elmer Keith. He said, "I was told there was a hell of a collection of Winchesters in this Post Office and I wanted to see for myself." They spent the rest of the afternoon taking the majority of the rifles down and talking about the where-fores and why-fores of my cousin's acquisition of each. They struck up quite the friendship and when my cousin moved away he continued to correspond with Elmer via letter. My cousin moved about 100 miles further north to a larger Post Office. He had been in the new home about two years when his house burned down. He lost most of the Winchester collection and all of the Elmer Keith letters and mementos. ... He got discouraged with the North country and moved to Tucson.

Great pics. Thanks for posting

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Surrounded by corn in Indiana.

I had sent a letter to him and got a letter back from his wife that he had passed. Was a great fan of his.
Honestly, I can understand why some in Salmon would not look on him favorably. Those are/were the kind of people that can't handle honesty and brevity in the same sentence.

Elmer is no different than anyone else - - - - - having his fans & critics. I personally know & knew a few modern day gun guys (won't mention names as we all know who they are) who are so full of themselves it makes one want to puke. I know many would look down upon me for saying something negative about their "idols" and yet some might agree - but better off not to! My point here is even gun guys are human, loved and hated.

I never met or knew Elmer but from all that I have read he was a colorful character that helped shape our hobby. When someone is that outspoken and well known, he will have had to stepped on some toes along the way. At least we can all give the man credit for living his life the way he wanted to.

Who was Rene Randall Keith? Part of the name is cut off on the headstone pic.


I met Lorraine Keith and Elmer in Dallas in the 1970's, when Elmer addressed an audience of his fans at a hotel. They seemed an affectionate couple. I later met Elmer at the 1979 SHOT show and we had breakfast together courtesy of the Winchester PR man. John Falk was a fine PR guy for the firm in Olin days. That press breakfast was probably the best I ever had. It was in San Antonio and the buffet included a lot of fresh fruit as well as the usual items.


Elmer poured scotch in his tea. Said he picked up the habit from his white hunter in Africa, I think John Lawrence. Many of the older gun writers drank a lot, including Elmer.


He recalled me from our earlier meeting and asked if I'd like to join him. He was very cordial on both occasions, and I got to see him shoot at the Winchester gun range in Dallas. I don't doubt that he performed all the shooting that he mentioned. My only reservation is that famed 600 yard shot on the mule deer with a S&W M-29. But I think he believed that he hit the deer at that distance. I think it more probably succumbed to shots at closer range and to a hit from a .300 H&H rifle.


Anyone interested in guns should have his books, Sixguns and, Shotguns. His other books were good, too, but those are justifiably classics.

My only contact with Elmer (and any of those other writers) came through the printed word. There were two camps. The O'Connor camp and the Keith camp. For some reason I found myself in the O'connor camp. The fact that I knew NOTHING at all about rifles and such didn't matter. I was a teen-ager. I knew it all. If I didn't, Jack did.

It wasn't until many years later, I learned to appreciate Keith and his writings.



The seller of "Hell I Was There" apologized because "Someone he hunted and fished with has written in it."

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John 3:16 .

Wow. Thanks for all the follow-up details and old pictures.

Does anyone know what happened to Elmer's daughter? She is buried next to him, and I recall from the gravestone that she died young. I think 18 years old.

Bonkers
Actually Phil Sharpe gave us the 357 magnum contrary to a lot of printed materials. Elmer and a few others who were known as the 44 Associates scoffed at the 357 because they could do the same and more with the 44 special, and obviously later the 44 magnum.

I met Elmer and another famous writer at the San Antonio NRA bash. The nameless one was too drunk to communicate. I will give him a pass. I later found out that he had a terminal illness.

Bill Jordan was another of the old timer that I met through an old shooting buddy of his in central Texas. Saw him twice and had nice visits both times. He was the real deal. Could be because we had other mutual friends as well. He was a hunter as well as a renowned pistolero.

Best ,

Jack

I was in Rhodesia in the Monomatapa hotel for the world IPSC competition in 1977. I was in the lobby when I heard a discussion about a "big American" in the bar. From the description it had to be Bill Jordan... I ran into the bar looking for him but no joy. I think that was the closest I ever got to Jordan

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Old paratrooper in NC

Great stories guys! Thanks for the memories.

To paraphase Lincoln's comment on Grant's drinking, someone should find out what brand the older writers favored and send some to the current crew of hacks.

I know Skeeter favored Henry McKenna for his whiskey. I tend to favor it myself.

I liked it when it came in the little crock jugs but ain't much on it since all I see it in is plastic. Nothing tastes right out of plastic.

The avatar I use is a picture of Elmer when he was 9 .

Eddie

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

Awesome thread !
I was a Keith disciple of the 60's and 70's , read his magazine articles,when Sixguns came out I bought and read it before buyin my first handgun ( a Ruger Blackhawk ) , wrote him a letter asking 41 magnum reloading questions when he was with Guns and Ammo .
He was The Man as far as I and revolvers were concerned .
Funny , I never ever remember seeing his middle name , Merrifield ! I would have never guessed that .
Thanks for the photo's ,
Gary

The only way I can find it is in glass 1.75 jugs. Charlie Sherrill told me he has seen it in the crocks.

In the early Eighties I was at the NRA Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah and got to see Elmer Keith, Bill Jordan and Skeeter Skelton. I was a young man and stood in silence while three of my favorite gun writers made small talk at one of the booths. Skeeter was always my very favorite.

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Join the NRA today

I used to see a picture of Elmer nearly every Friday when I visited a friend for Fri. after work drinks with a bunch of fellow gunners. The picture was taken back in the 70's I think when Bill was traveling and stopped to visit Elmer and when Elmer mentioned his toilet had a problem, (Bill being a plumber) fixed his problem for him. Bill was about the same size as Elmer and the picture was with Elmers arm around Bill's shoulders. I wished I had copied that picture, as my friend Bill has passed, and no idea what happened to the picture.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

While Elmer resided in Salmon, Idaho there was a true legendary lawman who interacted with him on many occasions. His name was Sheriff Bill Baker and Bill was the Sheriff of Lemhi County for 32 years. Bill passed away in 1994....just 10 years after Elmer died.

Sheriff Baker's son, Bob is a good friend of mine and has lived in Salmon all of his 60 years. Bob has told me many stories about his dad and the interaction he had with Elmer over the years that they both lived in Salmon.

Some funny stuff that I will share with you guys in another post.

Here are a couple of photos of Sheriff Bill Baker, these were taken several years before he was elected to be Sheriff.

Bill was selected as one of several Sheriffs to go to the FBI Academy for additional training. Bill won the best marksmanship award of all those who attended and received an award from J. Edgar Hoover himself......I have a photo of them together someplace....

Also a couple photos of the cabin at the Baker Ranch above the Salmon River. The photo of the young boy and man are my friend Dwight and Bill Baker's father who built the cabin in 1940 with logs harvested at the treeline above the ranch. He cut the trees and hauled them down to the building site with draft horses.

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

Here is a photo taken of my friend Dwight atop of one of Elmer's horses.
This photo was taken in Elmer's backyard at their Salmon home in the mid 40's.

Attached Images

Dwight Williamson on Elmer Keith's horse (8-9 years old - Mid 1940's).jpg (108.3 KB, 233 views)

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

It varied with the man. Bill Jordan told me that he preferred tequila "because it won't rile up your system like whiskey does."


Jon Sundra knows wine very well, the only other gun writer I've met who shared that interest with me. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if he's still writing. I haven't seen his byline in some time.

I was at the same event...it was the night of my Dallas PD Academy class graduation party but my wife and I elected to go see the presentation and get to the party late.

We got there early and spotted Elmer wondering around alone. Apparently everyone was so in awe of the man no one approached him to talk. Finally we did and had him just about to ourselves till just before the presentation started. His wife came up during the conversation. She seemed a very nice person... He signed my two books, Keith, An Autobiography and SIXGUNS which I still have..

I was in Salmon in 2014 and saw some of his items in the Salmon Museum but never thought to ask where his house or gravesite were...

Thanks for posting...Bob

His Mother was a Merrifield .

Eddie

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

Elmers wife was Lorraine Randall , daughter of Cyrus and Frankie Randall. That's her.

Eddie

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

Guess I need to look farther afield, all I see around Pulaski is plastic. They do have one crock from the 70's on display but would not sell it to me. Can't find Centennario Tequila around here anymore either. All this fancy stuff they sell now taste like watered down whisky to me . I like the old style stuff with a little peppery taste to it. It's a hell of a thing to get old !

Eddie

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

She died from Influenza in 1948.

Eddie

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

thanks for the home pics...does anyone currently live there?

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SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

Yes, the house is occupied. I didn't try to talk to the new owners.

Have a pair of sheep horn grips made for Elmer, he did not like them and I bought them from one of his gunsmiths Dom Malchovich (sp?) and love them.

Elmer had a favorite gunsmith named Iver Hendricksen who lived in Missoula. When I was attending U of M, I took a Win Model 88 to Iver to get the safety changed to Left Handed. After he did so, I took the 88 out to check the POI and it "clicked" instead of fired. I took it back to him and he refused to even look at it --- in fact he shut the door in my face.

This was only a few days prior to Elk/Deer season opening. I took it to Bob Ward & Sons, who at that time had a resident gunsmith. They replaced the broken firing pin. When I mentioned Iver they just laughed.

"Finest trout, salmon and salt-water fishing; harpoon porpoise."


I don't think that will ever make it to the Disney channel.

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You're shy a few manners.

Is Lorraine Keith's name misspelled on the headstone? Has no one else here noticed this issue?

I was going to mention Don Mihaljevic, who was Elmer's last gunsmith before Elmer passed. Don was an acquaintance of mine. Don passed away a couple of years ago, ended up with Parkinson's and his family moved him back to Chicago for care......but he died shortly after being moved out of Salmon. I think leaving Salmon, the place he loved, did more harm than good!

His nephew's inherited his property which is only a few miles south of Salmon along the Salmon River. The range in Don's back yard was one of the places that Elmer would test/review guns and loads the last few years he was working.

I have a buddy who owns two guns that Don built, one is a Colt SAA that he modified with a longer grip frame, the other is his first gunsmith project while in gunsmith school which is a black powder rifle.....I am trying to get the owner of those guns to sell them to me!!!

Here is one of the last photos taken of old Don.....

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IMG_3413.jpg (106.7 KB, 258 views)

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

There was also another Salmon based gunsmith that Elmer used quite often, his name was Ed Schaller........quite an amazing guy! Story goes that old Elmer would bring in guns for work and pick them up without paying......Ed's wife got tired of Elmer not paying and asked Ed not to do Elmer's work if Elmer wasn't going to pay! Elmer also bummed rides at the local Salmon airport from guys to get to/from shows around the area......I am told from some of the locals that he seldom paid for those rides. Guess that's a couple reasons the locals in Salmon are not as enamored with Elmer as most people are.

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

Elmer's daughter was named Druzilla. Elmer was a descendant of William Clark, of Lewis and Clark fame and Druzilla was a family name that he, Clark, wanted to pass down.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Druzilla's death was a huge hit to Elmer and Lorraine.
Interesting how Elmer ended up in Salmon.......with Sacajawea being born just a few miles south of there!

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

WOW, what a photo collection. Thanks for sharing.
Steve

Elmer's first daughter was born 25 October of 1927 . She died from complications at birth . She is buried in Weiser Cemetery in Weiser ,Washington County Idaho . Her mother's name is misspelled Lorene on her birth certificate. I do a Family tree on Ancestry .com called " Elmer Keith / Lorraine Randall Family Tree . I am into Genaeology and Elmer was my #2 Hero behind my Pap and ahead of John Wayne .

Eddie

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

Nice Pics, Elmer was one of my favorites!! In that picture of his tombstone, the mountains in the background look like the ones in this photo to me. Beautiful place to live, and rest.

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image13.jpg (81.3 KB, 233 views)

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PTLAPTA!

H Richard, Dick ,Michael has that picture in his gunroom, you are more than welcome to borrow it to make a copy. Man, I miss those Friday nights. A 40 year habit is hard to break. Give me a call if you want.

[QUOTE=SmithSwede;139342252]Not sure where to post this.

I found myself in Salmon, Idaho recently. Here's a photo of Elmer's house in Salmon. And two photos of his final resting place.






How did ya know it was Elmer's place? Been thinking of visiting Salmon myself one of these days.

Elmer had a house in town, then moved out on to the ranch which is north of Salmon in Gibbonsville........the road if off of HWY 93 and is KEITH RD or KEITH LN......I have a photo of the street sign someplace. I have mentioned on this thread before that my hunting buddy spent some of his youth in Salmon and his father hunted with old Elmer......see photos above. Some cool history in the Salmon area for sure and good fishing on the river so take a rod and book a trip!!

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

My only contact with Elmer Keith was the NRA convention in Atlanta, 1978, maybe. I recall Elmer shaking hands and talking to all us ordinary members while the rest of the big names in the shooting, hunting, industry crowd were in cliques of their cronies.
Engraver Ken Hurst was personable, but he was taking orders, too.
I particularly remember seeing Col Charles Askins circulating with his Handgunner of the Year trophy in the crook of his arm and a glass of whiskey in the other hand.
Kind of solidified my opinion of the big personalities in the field.

Truth be told, the gunwriters of my acquaintance are typically personable types, and a couple are even kind of shy. I'm always eager to meet one of my readers. (I only have three or four )

But the times I've been with some other writer, if someone comes up to say hello, we drop the conversation and shake hands. That happened quite a bit at the NRA show in Atlanta this year.

Mrs. Keith cut me a piece of watermelon once.

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Joshua 1:9