about Us and LonE Pine

Ross Schnioffsky and Warren Davey have been rootin’-tootin’-but-very-little-shootin’ lounge-chair cowboys since Walt Disney dusted off Davy Crockett’s old coonskin cap. They live just west of Lone Pine, in the little frontier town of Melbourne, Australia. TV Westerns arrived in Australia in 1956 and they have loved them ever since. Despite spending most of their working life in all forms of education, from elementary schools to universities, Ross and Warren have held on to their sanity… barely. Ross, who loves making little documentaries on cinema history, was a research librarian at La Trobe University, Melbourne, and Warren, who loves reading about all things Western, was an elementary school librarian. Both happily maintain disorganized lives.

ross schnioffsky

Ross likes to keep himself busy in his retirement years –  usually by mixing shockingly delicious cocktails which he likes to serve to guests in his backyard Tiki Hut.

Alongside his great passion for the films of Lone Pine he loves music and his taste ranges from Sinatra to Springsteen with many stops in between. He has a mighty collection of cowboy music and his current favourites in this genre include Tom Russell and Colter Wall.

He met the Dale Evans of his life – the English Rose, Marit – while working as a volunteer teacher in Botswana and they have two wonderful children – Bess and Frank. Ross tries to keep out of the road of his family.

warren Davey

Warren enjoys reading about all sorts of stuff, doing puzzles, walking his dog, lumbering around a tennis court and playing the occasional game of social (very social) golf.  
Retirement involves having lots and lots of long lunches with his pals but deep down Warren is a person who thoroughly enjoys his own company and spends many hours reading novels and biographies.
And like Gabby Hayes and Andy Devine makes a good second banana for Ross and his travels through cinema history. So saddle up with Ross and Warren and enjoy What’s Playing at the Roxie. 
Warren also has the annoying habit of referring to himself in the third person!

Lone Pine, California

For the basic low down on Lone Pine you could try the Wikipedia article.

“The town is located in the Owens Valley, near the Alabama Hills and Mount Whitney, between the eastern peaks of the Sierra Nevada to the west and the Inyo Mountains to the east. From possible choices of urban, rural, and frontier, the Census Bureau identifies this area as “frontier”. 

“In 1920, the history of Lone Pine was dramatically altered when a movie production company came to the Alabama Hills to make the silent film The Round-Up. Other companies soon discovered the scenic location, and in the coming decades, over 400 films, 100 television episodes, and countless commercials have used Lone Pine and the Alabama Hills as a film location.”

Where is Lone Pine?

A Big Thank you!

As always we wish to thank our many Lone Pine friends for helping to make this website possible.

These wonderful people include:

DON KELSEN

LIZZIE GULICK

BARABARA BAHL

CHRIS LANGLEY

WOODY WISE