I would never have expected a cowboy to be named Bee Ho Gray, but as a cowboy did have that name I'm not surprised he ended up in Vaudeville.
Thomas C. Fleming (1907-2006) lived in Chico from 1919 to 1926, and went on to have a career as a journalist in San Francisco. In between, he did all sorts of interesting things such as working on the coastal steamers that once connected the cities of the Pacific Coast, and then spending a few years working for the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1944 he was co-founder of the Sun-Reporter, a San Francisco weekly newspaper. There are 86 of his mostly autobiographical essays on-line under the title Reflections on Black History.
Now I'm somewhat dazed from another of those unintentional naps. Must stand under the shower for a bit and see if it helps.
