Empire Builder Lunch Menu by Reiss

This undated lunch menu features Riding Black Horse. A photo below shows someone named Bob Riding Black Horses in a 1905 parade in Alberta. Would that have been the man in the Reiss portrait or his son? Other photos show him wearing the same clothing, but a different headdress, than in Reiss’ portrait. Since he is described as a “brave,” it is possible that Riding Black Horse did not actually own the ceremonial headdress shown in the painting.

Click image to download a 1.2-MB PDF of this menu.

This lunch menu is undated but is probably from the late 1930s. A complete meal with any of six entrées is 85 cents, while a sirloin or tenderloin steak is $1. Page 2 has a space for the name of the dining car steward and the dining car itself; the car appears to be “Indiana,” though I thought GN named its dining cars for states actually served by its lines.

This photo shows Bob Riding Black Horses in Fort MacLeod, Alberta.

Update:I discovered that I had accidentally reversed pages 2 and 3 on this menu. I’ve rescanned it with a better scanner and posted the new scan in place of the old one.


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