Visiting Tom Mix in Mixville
Goldie Griffith and Charley Mulhall, Lucille’s brother, visited cowboy star Tom Mix in Los Angeles in 1914. Mix had been a performer with the Miller Brothers’ 101 Wild West show–the same show that gave Goldie her start. Tom Mix was Hollywood’s first Western megastar in his big white hat and fancy outfits. With his horse Tony, Mix’s films were action-packed, and Mix usually did his own stunts. Millions of American children grew up watching Tom Mix movies on Saturday afternoons. Olive Stokes Mix, with Eric Heath, writes in The Fabulous Tom Mix, “Production...
Read MoreA Cowgirl in San Francisco
After the Lucille Mulhall Girl Ranger tour ended, Goldie joined the Miller Brothers 101 Wild West in San Francisco for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915. As a member of the Miller Brothers 101 Wild West show, Goldie performed rodeo tricks and probably rode bucking broncos. Her arena pass identified her as a “participant,” and her photo was taken in her typical rodeo attire: a striped shirt, silk scarf and big hat. Inside the pass were coupons for admission for each day. Goldie got her start as a cowgirl with the Miller Brothers’ famous traveling 101 Wild...
Read MoreTrick rider, show girl, athlete
Goldie posed in woolly chaps for a photo with a Mrs. Johnson when she was touring with the Lucille Mulhall Girl Rangers. Cowgirls were often invited to society events when their Wild West shows came to town, and city women wanted to have their pictures taken with the famous athletes. While touring with the Lucille Mulhall Girl Rangers, Goldie posed outside the Pantages Theater in Tacoma, Washington. The Wild West shows that Goldie toured with usually performed every day. They often took down the show, traveled overnight, and set up again the next morning. The performers then rode in a...
Read MoreGirl Rangers
This photograph of cowgirl Goldie Griffith was taken for promotion of the show she traveled with in 1914. As part of Lucille Mulhall’s Girl Rangers, Goldie traveled with Lucille, Lucille’s brother, and Lucille’s father around Canada and the U.S. Lucille Mulhall was America’s first cowgirl—President Teddy Roosevelt suggested to Lucille’s father that he promote his young daughter as a “cow-girl,” and the name stuck. Lucille was one of the few women who roped steers, competing with the men, and often beating them. She was as famous as today’s rock...
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