Southeast Ohio’s Surprising Connection to the Wild Bunch

How a Boy from McArthur Became Butch Cassidy’s Closest Friend

When most people think of Ohio’s place in American history, they think of presidents, astronauts, and aviation pioneers. Few would ever associate the hills of Vinton County with the American West. Yet Southeast Ohio’s surprising connection to the Wild Bunch reveals that one of Butch Cassidy’s closest friends began his journey not in Wyoming, Colorado, or Utah, but in the small town of McArthur, Ohio.

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The Roaring Twenties: When America Decided to Turn Up the Volume

The Wild Decade Between War and Depression

There are decades in history that feel like they moved at normal speed, and then there are decades that seem like someone grabbed the steering wheel and shoved it to the floor.

The Roaring 20s were one of those decades.

America had just come out of World War I. The nation was changing, growing, and trying to figure out what life looked like after years of sacrifice and hardship. People wanted to have fun again. And they did not just dip a toe into the water — they cannonballed into it.

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