By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University
It was the opening scene of the TV show “Gunsmoke.” Marshal Dillon stepped into Hollywood’s version of Dodge City’s Front Street for a quick-draw showdown with an unnamed gunman. That unnamed gunman was in fact a technical advisor for many major western stars. His daughter, an accomplished artist, would eventually find her way to the real Dodge City in Kansas.
Inga Ojala is an accomplished artist and art teacher. She is the daughter of Arvo Ojala, the gunman from the opening scene of “Gunsmoke.” Arvo Ojala’s parents immigrated to the U.S. from Finland and settled on a ranch in Washington state. It was rugged country. Arvo said he learned to shoot by shooting the heads off rattlesnakes. That would certainly provide an incentive to shoot quickly and accurately!
By the early 1950s, Arvo was working as a Hollywood stuntman. He observed the cowboy movie stars and designed a special type of holster which enabled them to draw their guns more quickly. Arvo practiced his skills to the point that he could draw in one-sixth of a second. Continue reading “Inga Ojala, artist”
