Erskine, Clyde

Clyde Erskine was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, on May 12, 1895, and attended Iowa State University. He renewed his courtship with Helen Elizabeth Randall after WWI, then came west and worked on the OTO Ranch as a dude wrangler. From his years at the ranch, Clyde Erskine assembled his collection of memoirs, clippings, and photographs for publication.

When the Depression of the early 1930s took its toll on dude ranch reservations, the OTO was sold, and Erskine became manager of resort hotels in California, Arizona, and Florida, often returning to Yellowstone National Park in the summer to manage Old Faithful Inn or the New Mammoth Hotel.