Cissy’s Greatest Hits

On newpapers and publishing:

“I’d rather raise Hell than raise vegetables.”

—Cissy Patterson quoted in UPI wire report, 1931

“The trouble with me is that I am a vindictive old shanty-Irish bitch."

—Cissy Patterson quoted in Time, 1954

“Women have always bossed men, although most of the time they don't know it.”

—Cissy Patterson, Hearst Movietone Newsreel, 1930          View it here

Read more about Cissy's newspaper life

On her first marriage, to Count Gizycki:

“Well, of course, he was crazy, that is all I can say.”

—Countess Cissy Gizycka, deposition, Gizycki v. Gizycki, 1917

“He knew that the game was up, and knew the child was the only hold he would have on my family, and the only way of getting anything.”

—Countess Cissy Gizycka, deposition, Gizycki v. Gizycki, 1917

On Jackson Hole / Flat Creek Ranch:

“Yes—yes—yes, I want a good dance floor in the living room. I want a big brick fireplace in it too—a big, huge one—I want a barn painted red. I want the road to go up the creek on the left side, going up to avoid the swampy places. I also want a little cabin for myself to write in . . .”

—Cissy to her friend Rose Crabtree, March 1922

“Back East, my mother was considered a fascinating lawless creature, a charmer, and a menace. Nobody could oppose her without getting hurt. Out here she was a source of constant entertainment. People weren’t afraid of her.”

—Felicia Gizycka, "Jackson Hole, 1916-65: A Reminiscence," Vogue, 1966.

Read more about Cissy and Jackson Hole

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