W. Hudson Kensel

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W. Hudson Kensel (born June 16, 1928) is a western American historian and author.

W. Hudson Kensel is professor emeritus from California State University, Fresno, where he was a former chairman of the Department of History. His early childhood was spent at Pahaska Tepee and Cody, Wyoming. He moved to the state of Washington where he completed his education earning a Ph.D. in western United States history. Kensel is the author of "Pahaska Tepee, Buffalo Bill's Old Hunting Lodge and Hotel, A History, 1901-1946", and he is currently writing a book on Larry Larom's Valley Ranch and dude ranching on the South Fork of the Shoshone River.

Early life and education

The son of Willard F. “Bill” Wilkinson and his wife Jessie R. Brenizer, Kensel was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Kensel made his first trip to the American west as a newborn when his family bought Pahaska Tepee, Buffalo Bill’s hunting lodge near the east entrance to Yellowstone Park. His childhood was spent at Pahaska in the summer months and in Cody, Wyoming, during the school year. The family later moved to Ellensburg, Washington, where Kensel spent his high school years. Following graduation Kensel served in the United States Army from 1946 to 1948 and was a part of the occupation forces in Japan. After completing his military service Kensel attended the University of Washington where he earned a B.A. degree in Economics and Business in 1951. He attended Central Washington University and earned a B.A. in Education in 1952 and a M.Ed. degree in 1955 with a thesis on “Local resource use in a junior high program in the Yakima Valley, Washington.” Kensel completed his Ph.D. in history at Washington State University in 1962 with a dissertation on "The Economic History of Spokane, Washington 1881-1910.” He married Carol J. Jessup on April 4, 1969, with whom he raised four children.

Professional career

Upon earning his Ph.D., Kensel taught at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Washington. In 1965 he joined the Department of History at California State University, Fresno, where he served as Assistant Professor. In 1969 Kensel became an Associate Professor and in 1973 he became a tenured professor. He was a visiting Professor in the Department of History at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington during the summers of 1974-1976. While at California State University, Fresno, Kensel served as the Chairman of the Department of History from 1972 to 1982. He became Professor Emeritus in 2002.

Now living in Edmonds, Washington, Kensel continues to research and write on topics related to western American history. While conducting research in 2004 Kensel acquired a rare photo album of the Sunlight Ranch, which is located east of Cody, Wyoming. This photo album led Kensel to research the subjects in the pictures and in the Spring 2006 the "Annals of Wyoming" published, “Hope and Reality in the Sunlight Basin, Wyoming: The Painter Family and John K. Rollinson.” While conducting research on the Sunlight Ranch and dude ranching Kensel found his next research topic – Larry Larom and the Valley Ranch. In 2006 Kensel was a Resident Fellow at the Cody Institute for Western American Studies at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming and researched this topic extensively. [http://www.bbhc.org/news/PR-Page.cfm?Rel_ID=410 Buffalo Bill Historical Center press release. October 16, 2006.] A manuscript titled, “The Valley Ranch and Irving H. "Larry" Larom: Dude Ranching on Wyoming's South Fork of the Shoshone River, 1915-1969,” is currently being reviewed for publication by a university press.

Works

"Pahaska Tepee, Buffalo Bill's Old Hunting Lodge and Hotel, A History, 1901-1946". Buffalo Bill Historical Center, 1987.

Articles

"Hope and Reality in the Sunlight Basin, Wyoming: The Painter Family and John K. Rollinson," "Annals of Wyoming", Spring 2006.

"Spokane: The First Decade," "Idaho Yesterdays", Vol. 15, No. 1, Spring 1971.

"Inland Empire Mining and the Growth of Spokane, 1883-1905," "Pacific Northwestern Quarterly", April 1969.

“The Early Spokane Lumber Industry, 1871-1910," "Idaho Yesterdays", Vol. 12, No. 1, Spring 1968.

References

External links

* [http://hudson.kensel.com/home.htm W. Hudson Kensel]
* [http://books.google.com/books?q=w+hudson+kensel&btnG=Search+Books Google Book Search – W. Hudson Kensel]