The Thomas Trail: every contact leaves traces

 

 

 

416 Elizabeth Street, Key West, FL

Later Thomas McGuane moves to 416 Elizabeth Street, Key West, FL.

The Thomas Trail: every contact leaves traces

 

 

 

(1970s) 1011 Von Phister Street, Key West, FL

Thomas McGuane’s next Key West home is located at 1011 Von Phister Street, Key West, FL

The Thomas Trail: every contact leaves traces

 

 

 

The Snake Pit

The Snake Pit (aka Old Anchor Inn), 208 Duval Street, Key West, FL

The Thomas Trail: every contact leaves traces

 

 

 

Howie’s Lounge

Howie’s Lounge, 109 Duval Street, Key West, FL

Tom McGuane probably first meets Jimmy Buffett at Howie’s Lounge.

The Thomas Trail: every contact leaves traces

 

 

 

The Chart Room

The Chart Room, 1 Duval Street, Key West, FL

The Chart Room, Jim Harrison’s bar of choice, “…a weird little bar trapped inside a luxury resort.”

The Chart Room, 1 Duval Street, Key West, FL

 

Guy de la Valdene, Thomas McGuane, Richard Brautigan outside The Chart Room, Key West 1974

 

The Thomas Trail: every contact leaves traces

 

 

 

(1970- ) 123-125 Ann Street, Key West, Florida

In 1969 Thomas McGuane first lives at Loggerhead Lane, Summerland Key, Florida.

In 1970 Thomas McGuane lives at 123-125 Ann Street, Key West, Florida.

Tom McGuane first came to Key West in the 1950s with his father. Around 1970 Tom moved to Key West with his wife Portia “Becky” Crockett, and their son. Shortly after, Jimmy Buffett arrived in Key West in November 1971 and first stayed in the mcguane’s guest house for awhile. Mcguane wrote most of his novel Bushwhacked Piano in their house at 123-125 Ann Street.

“I bought a house right down in the old town down by the ocean, a spectacular place on a huge lot. It had three little conch houses on it. I remember I paid $28,000 for it. That piece of property is now probably worth $5 million.” –Thomas McGuane

The Thomas Trail: every contact leaves traces

 

 

 

(1969-1970s) Key West

“Key West was a town where you had to pick and choose. It was always a favorite of pirates.” –Thomas McGuane

“From California I went straight from Stanford to Big Pine [Key, Florida]; I had all the college I wanted.” –Thomas McGuane

The Thomas Trail: every contact leaves traces

 

 

 

(summer 1969) Duane Neal’s barn

Black Otter Guide Service, “A family business operating since 1968.” Duane Neal’s current address: 131 Pray Road, Pray, MT

In July 1968, Tom and Jim Harrison took a pack trip in the Crazies with Duane Neal, a Pray outfitter. Neal told them, “If you come back again next summer you can live at my ranch.” The McGuanes accepted the offer, returning to Montana in 1969. Hjortsberg received a postcard, “Fishing great. Have a ranch. Come join us. Tom.” Jim Harrison was there, too. The three writers had portable typewriters. They spent the summer laughing, writing, and joking in the old barn.

The Thomas Trail: every contact leaves traces

 

 

 

(1968) Livingston, Montana

In 1968 Thomas McGuane rented a house at Lewis and H Street, Livingston, Montana.

The seeds of the Montana migration were planted in 1967 in Bolinas, California when Thomas McGuane, his old friend William Hjortsberg and Richard Brautigan first grew to know Russell Chatham. In 1968 McGuane picked Livingston, Montana off a map as a good place for a headquarters.

The Thomas Trail: every contact leaves traces

 

 

 

Writers of the New West

Thomas McGuane, Jim Harrison, William Hjortsberg, Russell Chatham (artist), Richard Brautigan, and Jimmy Buffet (musician) are the nucleus of a group of writers who moved to the Livingston, Montana area in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were friends before they made Montane their home.