O’Hara, Mary (1885-1980), an American author, became known for three novels that portray people living in Wyoming and their love for horses. The novels are My Friend Flicka (1941), Thunderhead (1943), and The Green Grass of Wyoming (1946).
Mary O’Hara Alsop was born on July 10, 1885, in Cape May Point, New Jersey. During the 1920’s, she worked as a screenwriter in California. In the early 1930’s, she moved to Wyoming with her husband and began writing short stories. My Friend Flicka, her first novel, was an immediate best seller. It was made into a popular motion picture in 1943 and a television series (1956-1958). O’Hara also composed music, writing a folk musical called The Catch Colt (1964) that reflected her love of the West. She also wrote two autobiographies, Novel in the Making (1954) and Flicka’s Friend: The Autobiography of Mary O’Hara (published in 1982, after her death). O’Hara died on Oct. 14, 1980.
