Daughters of Daring: Women of the West Who Wouldn’t Behave

Kicking off our Spring Speaker Series we have Chris Enss presenting Daughters of Daring: Women of the West Who Wouldn’t Behave, an immersive, story-driven presentation that spotlights fearless women who defied expectations and helped shape the American West onstage, onscreen, and far beyond the margins of “polite” society.

From the wilds of frontier entertainment to the birth of Hollywood, audiences are introduced to unforgettable risk-takers, including Kate Rockwell (“Flame of the Yukon”); Deadwood gamblers Alice Ivers (“Poker Alice”) and Clare Hodges; Yosemite’s first female ranger;  the most famous professional widow of the west Elizabeth “Libbie” Custer; Maude Adams, the celebrated actress who quietly became an electrical engineer; Cathy Williams, a formerly enslaved woman who disguised herself as a man to fight alongside the Buffalo Soldiers; and Mary Wiggins, an aviatrix who leapt from the sky into a career as a Hollywood stuntwoman. These women refused to behave, refused to disappear, and refused to live by the rules handed to them.

New York Times bestselling author Chris Enss brings these true stories vividly to life through material drawn from According to Kate: Love of Doc Holliday and Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women. Through dramatic readings, vivid storytelling, and audience interaction, Enss explores what it truly took for women to survive and thrive in frontier towns like Tombstone and in the early motion picture industry.

This is not a lecture, but an entertaining, immersive experience filled with history, humor, scandal, courage, and jaw-dropping true tales. Daughters of Daring celebrates the grit, ingenuity, and audacity of women who lived life on their own terms and changed the West forever.

This event is included with admission.