James Calvin ‘Kid’ Nichols was an influential figure in the early 20th century, associating himself with a number of well-known personalities before they became household names. This enthralling character led an adventurous life, being a prosperous entrepreneur, rural electricity advocate, and fervent philanthropist, known for his love of cigars and flashy vehicles. At 88, his grandson, Jim Nichols, fondly recalls his memories of a grandfather who wore a sterling silver belt buckle adorned with a ruby-eyed, silver-horned steer. The elder Nichols was a frequent visitor at their Georgia home, where Jim’s father was managing one of the grandfather’s veneer mills.
Kid Nichols was born on September 23, 1883, in Farnhamville, Iowa. He established himself as a wrestling legend in his home state and had polished blacksmith skills on his arrival in Cody, Wyoming, in 1904. His intention was to find a lumberjack adversary for a wrestling contest in Marquette, a now inundated town located at the present-day Buffalo Bill Dam site. Upon the unavailability of his intended rival, he returned to Cody, where he worked as a blacksmith at Buffalo Bill’s Imra Livery & Barn.
Nichols’ initial stay in Cody was an adventurous escapade – plagued by a bedbug infestation at Heart Mountain Inn, he subsequently relocated to Dad Burn’s Saloon. As the story goes, he decided to find Buffalo Bill Cody at the Irma Hotel bar armed with an introduction letter from his mother, given the old friendship between Cody and her brothers, the Kibbes. Buffalo Bill insisted that Nichols should stay at his house, but Nichols opted to stay put, assuring the colonel he was just passing through town.
Upon returning to his room, Kid Nichols found all his belongings missing. When he reported the theft to the bar owner, he was informed that his possessions had been retrieved by Buffalo Bill. As Nichols recalls, he found his belongings at Cody’s house, where he enjoyed a warm welcome and hospitable stay for the rest of his time in Cody. Despite being one of Cody’s blacksmiths, he maintained his passion for wrestling as well.
According to Jim Nichols, his grandfather had crossed paths with Milward Simpson, a future Wyoming senator and governor. Together, they organised wrestling and boxing matches that attracted large regional crowds. Simpson, himself a renowned athlete, sometimes shared the stage with Nichols. It was not uncommon for these intense wrestling matches, lasting about three hours, to result in broken limbs and other injuries.
As Jim Recalls, it was a family tale that if anyone was able to ‘pin’ Kid Nichols or ‘knock out’ Milward Simpson, they would be awarded $100. By 1907, Nichols and another Cody resident began promoting a potential athletic club in the basement of the local drug company, furnishing it with diverse exercise equipment. Kid Nichols, recognized for his wrestling prowess, was to provide instruction. Two years later, Nichols, flourishing in his ventures, invited an Iowa banker and their respective families to an elk hunting expedition.
The otherwise ambitious hunting trip near Yellowstone took an unfortunate turn. Kid Nichols was confronted by military enforcers in the park who accused him of poaching, after he had driven some game outside the park boundary. Kid Nichols, confident of his innocuous position, resisted arrest, disarmed the soldiers, and made a daring escape to Canada, all the while maintaining his innocence.
Throughout his eventful life, Kid Nichols experienced significant personal changes. He ended his first marriage and took up a job as a railway brakeman. A mishap resulted in the loss of two of his fingers, earning him a significant settlement, which he gave to his wife when she returned to Iowa with their children. Kid Nichols, then a retired wrestling champ, began work as a paper company salesman — a role that would eventually seed his future success.
Kid Nichols got a business epiphany after observing a bundle of asphalt shingles messily wrapped in paper. He devised a method to protect the shingles more effectively by covering them with a thin veneer of wood before wrapping them with wire. His fresh idea was an instant success at an asphalt shingle convention, catching the attention of all eleven companies present. This led to a lucrative business, which saw Kid Nichols own multiple veneer and plywood mills in the South.
Nichols, a Cody Wyoming devotee, showed his fondness by supplying logs for the construction of the original log Buffalo Bill Museum. Around 1930, he bought the Diamond Bar ranch about 10 miles south of Cody. This property became renowned for its warm hospitality and lavish style. He had an Iowan-style barn constructed on the property during the ’40s, where he raised cattle.
Oral history at the Buffalo Bill Center for the West recounts an intriguing story involving Nichols, his daughter Barbara, and a local Cody-based pilot named Bill Monday. After a dangerous infection resulting from an accident with a pitchfork during a hunting trip, Barbara needed urgent medical attention. Nichols commissioned Monday to fly Barbara to Cody for treatment. The risky takeoff was successful, and Nichols expressed his gratitude by buying Monday a new airplane.
Nichols cherished cars, owning various brands throughout the years, ranging from classic Cadillacs to trendy Thunderbirds. He was also a persuasive advocate for rural electric cooperatives, lobbying tirelessly in Washington on the matter. The electrification of his ranch reportedly involved an unorthodox surveying technique — dropping a trail of toilet paper from an airplane to mark the route for power lines.
Kid Nichols’ entrepreneurial spirit extended beyond his ranch. In 1957, he was part of a hunting team alongside renowned people like Milward Simpson, Lander rancher Bill Scarlett, and TV icon Arthur Godfrey. Nichols’ adventurous soul also took him to Africa on big game hunts, even acquiring the tenth largest legal elephant tusks of the time.
Kid Nichols passed away in 1962 after a battle with esophageal cancer. A devout believer, he wished to bypass the saints and pray directly to God during his last moments at Saint Joseph hospital. His final wish was to be interred on Rattlesnake Mountain outside of Cody. His ashes were scattered over the mountain during an adverse weather condition, as per his wishes. His unparalleled life, as recalled by his grandson Jim, remains an unforgettable part of their family history.