Movie Star

Grandpa Elmer Aaron Beard came to Teton Valley with his family in 1910 by covered wagon and ox team.

He had learned from his father how to manage a team and was very skilled working with oxen.  In fact, the men in his family were in three movies using this skill. 

The first movie, "Three Bad Men", was produced in 1926 by John Ford and partially filmed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

In this western/romance, set in 1876, three outlaws come to the aid of a young girl after her father is killed. Typical for westerns of the time period, the film features the gold rush, horse thieves, a corrupt territorial sheriff, a land race, a lonely cowboy, vigilante justice, and romance. 

In 1930, the Beards were cast in "The Big Trail" starring John Wayne and Tyrone Power.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming, was one of the 15 filming locations for this production.  The story follows a heroic young trail scout as he leads a large party of pioneers along THE BIG TRAIL to the West, with Indian attacks, natural disasters & romantic complications all part of the adventure. John Wayne was pulled from obscurity for this first important movie role. 

It wasn't easy to locate the third movie listed in Grandpa Beard's biography as "All Faces West". This film was originally planned to be released in 1928 as a silent film, but instead was retooled with a talkie prologue, very badly done sound effects like barking dogs, etc., and a song tacked on under the new title "West of the Rockies" in 1931. This movie was financed by the Mormon citizens of Utah and although it is not clear if the wagon train characters are Mormons, they do follow the Mormon Trail. Apparently the best part of this film is a very authentic buffalo stampede. 

Speaking of buffalo's, did you know that Grandpa was once hired to rope a couple of stray bison and return them to Yellowstone National Park?

Not bad for a guy born in Hog Holler, Wilford, Idaho.