Celebrating

100 years
1917- 2017

a Cody enterprise publiCation

june 2017 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 1
 Isnt it time
you Love
where you
Live?
Then
put Our Team
to work
for YOU!

Call or visit our website:

www.CodyLiving.com
1-877-443-6234
1432 Sheridan Ave. | Cody, WY 82414 | 307-587-6234
2017 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway
HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of
America, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.
2 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
 Reach Out to Us!
Custom Home Construction & Design Custom Cabinetry & Furniture
Renovations/Restorations/Remodeling Quality Customer Services

3243 Big Horn Ave

Cody, Wyoming www.gail-construction.com
(307) 587-3445

Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 3

 Dan Millers
COWBOY MUSIC REVUE
presented by the Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Dinner & Show

Dinner and Show: $40 june 1 - september 30

Dinner buffet 5:30 p.m., show 6:30 p.m.
Best Value/Combo Ticket: $56
Tour the Center stay for the dinner show
Six nights a week, Monday - Saturday
Kuyper Dining Pavilion, Center of the West
(use main entrance)

Show Only: $16 tickets: tickets.centerofthewest.org or

4 (Limited
Buffalo BillSeating)
Center of the West Centennial 720 Sheridan Ave, Cody, WY
 Letter from Bruce Eldredge....................................................... 6
Preserving Buffalo Bill's legacy...........................................8-11
Buffalo Bill Memorial Association.....................................14-15
Bury Buffalo Bill in Wyoming................................................. 17
Great Equestrian Statue Race............................................20-25
Buffalo Bill's spurs torched..................................................... 27
Buffalo Bill timeline..........................................................28-31
Buffalo Bill's boyhood home.............................................32-34 Special publication of the
Index

CODY ENTERPRISE
Traveling Wild West show...................................................... 36
Buffalo Bill in Glasgow.......................................................... 38
Billboards, Buffalo Bill-style.................................................. 41 EDITOR: Amber Peabody
Every horse needs a little bling.............................................. 42 PUBLISHER: John Malmberg
A buffalo gun by any another name....................................... 45 DESIGN/PRODUCTION: Cassie Capellen,
Amelia Earhart was here........................................................ 46 Michelle Milner, John Sides
Buffalo Bill Center of the West timeline...........................49-50 ADVERTISING: Megan Barton,
Five museums of the Center..............................................52-53 Shannon Koltes, Brittany Martin,
Mike Voss
Center of the West and Al..................................................54-56
(All images are from the Center of the
Celebrating the Smithsonian.............................................58-59 West collection unless otherwise noted.)
Patron's Ball: One of the big things....................................... 60 3101 Big Horn Ave., Cody, WY 587-2231
Center Collection...............................................................62-64 codyenterprise.com

Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 5

 Long live the
Wild West
F
rom his days living and working on the
frontier to the 30 years of his Wild West
show, the name of Buffalo Bill was
synonymous with the American West.
And just as William F. Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-
1917) brought the West to the world, the Buffalo
Bill Center of the West believes that there really is no
better place to meet the legendary showman and the
West he loved than in the Centers five museums. between Minneapolis and the West Coast,
In truth, few people did more to shape encompassing an area the size of five-and-a-half
international perceptions of the authentic and football fields. With its five museums and research
mythical American West than Buffalo Bill. Even library, the Center weaves together these various
today, a century after his death in 1917, the iconic strands of art, artifacts, culture, history and natural
image of Buffalo Bill captivates and inspires people science, which all have a common theme: the West.
worldwide. Here at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, we
The Center of the West has come a long way since like to say that weve got a celebration going on a
the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association was founded in celebration of the Spirit of the American West.
1917 upon Codys death. Our namesake left some With this our Centennial year, weve ramped up
very big shoes to fill, and those early Association the celebration even more. Enjoy the tales and tidbits
members knew it. that follow to discover more about the Buffalo Bill
They also understood that the story of the West Center of the West and our namesake. Pay us a visit
isnt just one story, but many: on site or online to meet the West face to face.
Legendary showman William F. Buffalo Bill Finally, our heartfelt thanks to our partners at the
Cody and the West he loved. Cody Enterprise founded in 1899 by Buffalo Bill
The lives of Northern Plains peoples, past and himself, by the way who have helped us tell our
present. story. Long live the Wild West.
Firearms that helped shape the culture of the
West.
Marvelous sights depicted in artists
masterworks.
The interactions of people and nature in the
Greater Yellowstone region. Bruce Eldredge
Today, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West is the Executive Director & CEO
largest history, art and natural science museum Buffalo Bill Center of the West

6 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial

 There are

10,068,240
ways to build the perfect
Long Range System

The new MAGNUS model shown is configured in one of

3,144,680 different ways you can customize this rifle
package to suit your style and performance goals. All New
Several design factors influence the way a rifle behaves
under recoil. Our goal with the Magnus was to minimize
muzzle movement for spotting impacts and fast follow-
Build YOurs Now!
ups. You can configure the caliber, weight, barrel,
and muzzle brake to tune the rifles unique handling
characteristics to your needs. Gunwerks.com

Three women who preserved
Buffalo Bills legacy
By PETER HASSRICK
F
Director Emeritus
rom its inception, the history
of the Buffalo Bill Center of the
West is a compelling account of
visions, aspirations, and accom-
plishments that have reached well beyond
local, regional, and national expectations.
Hundreds of devoted individuals and
groups helped shape the Centers incred-
ible story of the Buffalo Bill Center of the
West, from U.S. presidents and senators
to extraordinary and ordinary townspeople
of Cody.
But of those countless contributors,
three women stand out as inordinately
significant: William F. Buffalo Bill Codys
niece Mary Jester Allen who became
the founding director of the Buffalo Bill
8 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
Museum; philanthropist and sculptor
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney who added
art and wherewithal to the equation; and
newspaper woman and gracious visionary
Peg Coe who with brilliance and savoir
faire led the museums board for more
than two decades.
Buffalo Bill died in 1917. Some years
earlier, seated on the porch of his famous
TE Ranch west of the town of Cody, he
reflected on the way he might like to be
remembered. Cody, among his many
talents, was a committed educator. His
Wild West extravaganzas were referred to
as expositions rather than shows, and he
truly felt they provided learning experienc-
es for audiences from around the world.
By 1916, his touring career had come to
a close, but he his ideas about promoting
Buffalo Bill at his Wild West show tent,
ca. 1905. PN.47.17
the western life in its multiple forms never
wavered a dream that never failed to
make him to think big.
Mary Jester Allen
(1875-1960)
On Colonel Codys conceptual horizon
appeared what he called a home-ranch
museum that would include, for example,
opportunities for showing people how the
western pioneer lived and worked. At the
same time that he looked back into his-
tory, Cody pledged to consider the future.
He hoped such a facility would succeed,
for example, by teaching the youth by
seeing history.
Mary Jester Allen recounted this story
time and again, employing it as the gen-
esis narrative behind her early efforts to
establish a museum in her uncles name.
Determined to keep Codys chronicle alive
in the town of his founding, she helped
orchestrate a $5,000 memorial appropria-
tion from the State of Wyoming in 1917
into a brand new $22,000 log structure
that proudly opened its doors in 1927 as
the Buffalo Bill Museum.
No matter that much of the money
was borrowed, a start was made, a dream
realized, and, as the Cody Enterprise an-
nounced, the initiative was duly sancti-
fied, the site being claimed consecrated
as Western and sacred.
In 1960, after nearly 40 years of
primary involvement, Mary Jester Allen
visited the museum for the last time.
Through those ensuing decades, she
guided the museum, watched it grow into
a multi-structured facility, shepherded it
through a depression and two world wars,
and helped enrich its holdings. Along with
the dazzling legal acumen of the boards
chairman, Ernest J. Goppert Sr., she
helped return the museum to a private Mary Jester Allen, 1945-1951, Cody, Wyoming. PN.228.200
venture after it had been relinquished to
the City of Cody during the war years of
the 1940s.
She oversaw the acquisition and trans-
port of Buffalo Bills boyhood home from
LeClaire, Iowa, to Cody in 1933. And she
was, to her dying day, a stalwart defender
of William F. Cody and his dream for the
future promise of history through muse-
ums. Thanks to Mary Jester Allen, the
Buffalo Bill Center of the West was born,
nurtured and started on its way to what
would become the formidable institution
it is today.

Gertrude Vanderbilt
Whitney (1875-1942)
About a decade before Cody died, he
featured his Wild West in New York City
at Madison Square Garden. The year was
1909 and in the audience one night, in
a VIP booth, was the socialite and artist
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. She brought
two of her children to experience the event
her daughter Flora and her 10-year-old
son Cornelius.
To their collective amazement, Buffalo
Bill had a life-changing experience in store
for them. The second act on most Wild
West programs was the Deadwood Stage.
Following Codys traditional welcome,
the stagecoach rumbled into the arena,
circling it once. On the second round,
Indians attacked it, and then on the third,
a group of cowboys rode out to save the
coach. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, 1920. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
On the night the Whitney family at- Washington, DC 20540 USA. LC-USZ62-111853

Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 9


Portrait of Mrs. Henry H.R. Peg Coe, June 1999. Oil on canvas by M.C. Poulsen. Commis-
sioned by the Tribute to Peg Coe Committee. 10.99
tended the performance, Nelson the coach
driver stopped in front of the Whitney
booth and hollered over to Mrs. Whitney,
Would young Mr. Whitney like to ride in
the coach this evening?
Of course, he would. He leapt over
the barriers and climbed into the historic
coach. From there he was swished around
the arena, attacked by the Indians, res-
cued by the cowboys, and then dropped,
emotionally spent, back in Mamas lap.
What a thrill. he later wrote. He would
never forget it.
Years would pass until the time, 1917,
when Mary Jester Allen needed something
special to commemorate Buffalo Bills
place in Wyoming in Cody to be spe-
cific. That year, she and the board of the
nascent Buffalo Bill Memorial Association
initiated the idea that a commemorative,
10 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
heroic-sized statue of the Colonel would
be in order. One of the board members
probably Codys dude ranch impresario
Larry Larom suggested Mrs. Whitney.
She was internationally renowned as a
sculptor of monumental bronzes; she was
devotedly American in her persuasions;
and she held a special place in her heart
for Buffalo Bill, in part at least because of
his courtesy to her son.
After much hemming and hawing,
Mrs. Allen worked up sufficient courage
to knock on the artists door to ask if she
might consider the commission. Allen had
$5,000 to offer and the dream of playing
a significant role in perpetuating Buffalo
Bills legacy. It wasnt long after she was
admitted to Whitneys studio that Allen
realized that she wasnt selling Mrs.
Whitney Wyoming, the Wild West, Cody,
or the Colonel. She was selling me. The
commission was granted: Mrs. Whitney
would take the job, pay all the bills, and
leave Allen with a lifted heart and a purse
still full of cash.
Cornelius and his mother took a trip to
Yellowstone National Park in 1922. From
the geysers, they drove east to Cody. It
was there, wrote Cornelius later, that we
met Buffalo Bills niece, Mary Jester Al-
len. The two women were very simpati-
co as they searched for the proper site for
Whitneys sculpture, the Scout, that was
taking shape back in New York. Not only
did they find a location, but, Cornelius
recalled, my mother purchased 40 acres
of land for the Association on which to
create a museum complex of western art
someday.
When the Scout was dedicated on July
4, 1924, it was silhouetted against Rattle-
snake Mountain to the north and looked
back over the land on which the future
Whitney Western Art Museum would
eventually be built.
Mrs. Whitney passed away in 1942.
Her final wishes for her children were
that Flora would take over stewardship
of the burgeoning Whitney Museum of
American Art she had launched in New
York a decade earlier. As for Cornelius,
she beseeched him that he might support
that Cody museum complex of western
art at some point should the trustees
ever commit to collecting art in a serious
way.
Following the Second World War, prob-
ably in the late 1940s, Cornelius received
an invitation from Mrs. Allen to visit Cody
again, attend a summer rodeo, and meet
some of the Buffalo Bill Museums board
members. He responded in the affirmative
and was totally enthralled by the warm
welcome that was lavished on him.
He met the board chairman, Ernest
J. Goppert Sr.; Buffalo Bills grandson,
Freddy Garlow; and the museums future
chairman, Peg Coe. They spoke of Mrs.
Whitneys dream, but it was pie-in-the-sky
because the museum, at that point, had
very little artnot much more than a few
portraits of the Colonel. That simply would
not have satisfied Mrs. Whitneys require-
ments.
Margaret Peg Coe
(1917-2006)
Then, about a decade later, the Coe
family stepped forward to further the
cause. The family patriarch, W.R. Coe,
had passed away in 1955 and left a
sizable trust that became the Coe Founda-
tion. His children managed that founda-
tion, and two of them were connected to
Dedication of the new Buffalo Bill Museum, Cody, Wyoming, July 4, 1927. PN.228.111
the Buffalo Bill Museum Henry H.R.
Coe as a trustee, and the Honorable
Robert Coe as an avid supporter. About
1957, the Coe Foundation purchased a
remarkable group of art and artifacts, the
Frederic Remington Studio Collection.
Then, the foundation gave it to the Buf-
falo Bill Memorial Association, and that
gift became the leverage that persuaded
Cornelius to fund a new wing for art of
the American West in his mothers name.
Thus, in 1959, the Whitney Gallery of
Western Art (todays Whitney Western Art
Museum) was born.
Cornelius attended the opening of
the new gallery and was so impressed
with the installation of works that the
new director, Harold McCracken, had
assembled (most on loan from the New
York art dealer M. Knoedler & Co.) that
he offered to double his initial construc-
tion gift of $250,000 in order that the
museum might purchase some of the best
works. Therefore, the collection of art had
increased several fold overnight.
When Henry H.R. Coe died in 1966,
his widow Margaret Peg Coe took his
place on the Associations Board of Trust-
ees. Before that, her mother, Effie Shaw,
had been a longtime board member as
well. Within ten years, in 1976, given her
personal charisma, social poise, manage-
rial savvy, and clarity of vision, Mrs. Coe
was elected to the chairmans position,
a role she played for the next 23 years
before stepping down in 1999.
Cornelius had been charmed by Mrs.
Coe early on, and he, too, became a
trustee. Together the benefactor and the
chairman worked closely to further not
only Mrs. Whitneys wishes through many
enhancements and collection additions
to the Whitney, but to spearhead the
substantial growth of the larger institu-
tion, what was then called the Buffalo Bill
Historical Center.
Under Mrs. Coes aegis, the facility
doubled in size to add the Plains Indian
Museum, the Cody Firearms Museum,
and the McCracken Research Library.
She boldly advocated for the inclusion of
Northern Plains tribal representatives as
advisors in the conception and perpetua-
tion of the Plains Indian Museum.
She also insisted on professionalism
within the museum, and pushed suc-
cessfully to have the institution officially
accredited by the American Association of
Museums (now the American Alliance of
Museums) and formally aligned with the
Association of Art Museum Directors. Like
Mrs. Whitney before her, Mrs. Coe was a
lover of art and encouraged the museums
staff to pursue major art exhibitions and
scholarship throughout her tenure as
chairman.
Furthering the Whitney familys philan-
thropy, Mrs. Coe used her considerable
persuasive powers to build the museums
physical plant and its endowments. The
first endowment had come from the Coe
Foundation, a gift of approximately a half
million dollars. Following the counsel of
fellow board member William E. Weiss,
Mrs. Coe championed what was then
known as the 60/40 rule.
Any new construction would require
that from every dollar raised, 60 percent
would go toward the construction and 40
percent to endowment. By the time of
her retirement as chairman, the Centers
endowment had grown to more than $30
million.
Three remarkable women Mary Jester
Allen, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, and
Peg Coe took the story of one of the na-
tions most masculine, heroic figures and
designed plans to create an ever-growing,
ever-improving museum complex with
complementary programs based on his
dream of teaching America about the his-
toric West. As much as, and in most cases
more than, any of the myriad players in
the museums 100-year narrative, this
trio is to be credited with preserving and
perpetuating William F. Codys extraordi-
nary legacy.
(A prolific writer and speaker, Dr. Peter
Hassrick has served as guest curator of
numerous exhibits nationally and interna-
tionally. He is a former 20-year Executive
Director of the Center of the West and
has served tenures directing the Denver
Art Museums Petrie Institute of Western
American Art, the Charles M. Russell Cen-
ter for the Study of Art of the American
West, and the Georgia OKeeffe Museum,
as well as working as collections curator at
the Amon Carter Museum. He is currently
Director Emeritus and Senior Scholar for
the Center, and in May 2017, he was rec-
ognized by the University of Wyoming with
an Honorary Doctorate Degree.)
Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 11
 the
Coeur dAlene
Art Auction
Fine Western &
American Art

The 2017 Coeur dAlene Art View select works featured in our 2017 sale and
purchase catalogs at www.cdaartauction.com
Auction will be held July 29
THE COEUR DALENE ART AUCTION
in Reno, Nevada.
12 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
tel. 208-772-9009 info@cdaartauction.com
Thomas Moran (18371926), The Rio Virgin, Southern Utah (1917), oil on canvas, 20 16 in., Estimate: $600,000-900,000
 We take our design cues
from nature herself.

Let us build the

entryway of your dreams!

Custom log signs & archways.

307-761-1744 | RANCHGATES.COM Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 13
A display case of Buffalo Bills Wild West memorabilia in the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association Building, (Buffalo Bill Museum), April 13,
1954. PN.89.05.1083b.10

Buffalo Bill
Memorial Association
S
eattle Metropolitans win Stanley
Cup. U.S. take formal possession
of the Virgin Islands. America
enters World War I. Womens suf-
frage gains momentum. Einstein publish-
es his first paper on cosmology. Houdini
performs first buried alive escape.
And William F. Buffalo Bill Cody
dies in Denver on Jan. 10.
Indeed, 1917 was an unforgettable
year with each of these events on that
calendar a hundred years ago. Against
this extraordinary backdrop, a group of
Buffalo Bills family and friends sought to
memorialize their towns namesake and
banded together to make it happen.
We, the undersigned, residents of
the Town of Cody, in the County
of Park, in the State of Wyoming,
desiring to form a corpora-
tion and to associate ourselves
together under the provisions of

14 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial

 Chapter No. 280, of the Compiled Statutes of Wyo-
ming, 1910, do hereby certify and declare the objects
and purposes for which this corporation and association
is formed, is to establish and maintain a historical soci-
ety for the preservation of the history and antiquities of
[Cody, Park County, Wyoming]; to build, construct, and
maintain an historical monument or memorial statue
in honor of and to perpetuate the memory of our late,
lamented fellow townsman the Hon. William F. Cody,
(Buffalo Bill).

The Corporate name of the association shall be: Buffalo

Bill Memorial AssociationThe term of the associa-
tions existence shall be perpetualThe principal place
of business of said association, shall be Cody, in the
County of Park, in the state of Wyoming.
In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands
and seals this first day of March, A.D. 1917.

And so was the beginning of the Buffalo Bill Memorial As-

sociation a hundred years ago. Signing the Articles of Incorpora-
tion as the organizations first Board were Charles E. Hayden,
William T. Hogg, Len L. Newton, Dwight E. Hollister, S.C. Parks,
Jr., Jacob M. Schwoob, Dave Jones, Maggie L. Simpson and
Minnie Williams.
Today, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West diligently continues
the work of those original members of the Buffalo Bill Memorial
Association with a mission that William F. Cody himself would
have embraced, and one thats changed little since 1917.
The mission of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West is to
inspire, educate, and engage global audiences through an Loving Cup presented to Buffalo Bill on his farewell tour from the
authentic experience with the American West. citizens of Newark, New Jersey, May 4, 1911. Museum purchase.
With the experiences our namesake, Buffalo Bill, amassed
in the West, he is the very embodi-
William Cody Boal Collection. 1.69.96
ment of how the Center approaches
the West enthusiastic, passionate,
global and authentic. Cody always
envisioned what could be: a town
here, a dam there, a fancy hotel
down the street. Nothing in the
present, including the Center that
now bears his name, would have
been far from his imagination or
experience.
Indeed, by 1900, this Pony
Express rider, prospector, buffalo
hunter, army scout, hunting guide,
actor, Congressional Medal of Honor
winner, producer and town builder
may well have been the most fa-
mous, living person on earth.
In 30 years of traveling with
his Wild West show, Buffalo Bill
connected with a host of diverse
individuals who loved the West, too.
Throughout the Centers 100 years,
hundreds of those people and their
descendants have become valuable
supporters and generous donors
exactly like those early members
of the Buffalo Bill Memorial As-
sociation and the reason such an
extraordinary facility came to be
located in a small town in northwest Certificate of Membership, Buffalo Bill Memorial Association, March 2, 1917. MS327.
Wyoming. OS1.01.003.01
Long live the Wild West.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 15

 Congratulations Neighbor
ON YOUR 100TH!

707 Sheridan Avenue, Cody WY 82414 307-527-7501

WestParkHospital.org

KEEPING WYOMING IN THE GEAR THEY NEED FOR NEARLY 30YRS.

+ Guns + Ammo
+ Fishing
+ Camping
+ Archery
+ Outdoor Cothing
OVER 20,000sf OF GEAR.
HOURS:
Monday - Saturday 8am - 9pm
Sunday: 9am - 6pm

1526 Rumsey
Cody, Wyoming
307-527-6071
16 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial

BBMA says, Bury Buffalo Bill in Wyoming
T
his Is A Preliminary State-
ment We feel that the time
has come when the people of
Wyoming and the nation will
suffer an irreparable loss unless steps are
taken at once to strengthen and enlarge
the activities of the Buffalo Bill Memorial
Association, Inc.
And such are the words of a ca. 1930
pamphlet of the Buffalo Bill Memorial As-
sociation, formed in 1917 upon the death
of William F. Buffalo Bill Cody. In the
document, the group laid out some of its
basic principles, including the wishes of its
namesake.
We feel that the Buffalo Bill
Museum, together with adjoining
grounds and the Gertrude Vander-
bilt Whitney statute, with its 52
acres, and the selected burial site
of Col. W.F. Cody on Cedar Moun-
tain, consisting of forty acres, all
should be thrown into the hands
of a national organization and
developed in a large way.
Furthermore, we feel that Wyo-
ming, with all of her interesting
geological formations and
prehistoric fossils, should have
some place as a home for these
treasures. Where could a more
appropriate and fitting place be
found than here in Cody, Wyo-
ming, in connection with the Buf-
falo Bill Museum and the Buffalo
Bill statute? As an explanation for
securing the forty acres of land on
Cedar Mountain, we quote from
Col. Codys last will and testa-
ment:
It is my wish and I hereby direct
that my body shall be buried in
some suitable plot of ground on
Cedar Mountain, overlooking the
Town of Cody, Wyoming, in order
that my mortal remains shall lie
in close proximity to that sec-
tion of my native country which
bears my name and in the growth
and development of which I have
taken so deep and loving an
interest, and to which where-
soever and to whatever parts of
the earth I have wandered I have
always longed to return.
I further direct that there shall be
erected over my grave, to mark
the spot where my body lies, a
monument wrought from native
Red stone in the form of a mam-
Ned Frost stands at
Buffalo Bills cho-
sen burial spot on
Cedar Mountain west
of Cody, Wyoming,
undated. P.71.1477
moth buffalo, and placed in such
apposition as to be visible from
the town, in order that it may be
a constant reminder to my fellow
citizens that it was the great wish
of its founder that Cody should
not only grow in prosperity and
become a populous and influen-
tial metropolis, but that it should
be distinguished for the purity
of its government and the loyalty
of its citizens to the institution
of our beloved Country. I give to
my said executors the sum of Ten
Thousand dollars for the cost of
the monument and its erection
and to carefully keep the ground
about it in proper order.
The document was signed as follows by
six women:
BUFFALO BILL MEMORIAL ASSOCIA-
TION, Inc. Cody, Wyoming
The Town of Cody and the Museum and
Relics Committee
Mary Jester Allen
Effie Shaw
Mary Forst
Lucille Nichols
Ada Greever
Mary Dacken
Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 17
 20 200 FT
200 61 m

20 100 FT
100 30.5 m

20 70 FT
70 21.3 m

20 50 FT
50 15.2 m

20 40 FT
40 12.2 m

20 30 FT
30 9.14 m
20 20 FT
20 11.1 m

20 10 FT
10 5.55 m
Congratulations Buffalo Bill Center of the West.
They are celebrating their Centennial Year.
Thank you for keeping the Spirit of the
American West alive for 100 years.
From your friends at,
SAFE, POSITIVE & FUN PLACE FOR KIDS!
A s you may know the Board of Directors voted to relinquish our affiliation
with Boys & Girls Clubs of America therefore necessitating the name
change. That is the only change you will notice - our Clubs have the same EIN
number, operate under the same 501(c)3 status, and still serve all children
ages 6 to 18 with services afterschool and all day during the summer months
and no school days.
Since opening our doors in 1998 we have served a total of 2,683 youth
(1,246 in Cody; 1,437 in Powell) representing services to 1,754 families
(814 in Cody; 945 in Powell)! Our largest population is elementary age - we
serve approximately 25% of the total elementary school population in Powell
and Cody. We serve a smaller percentage of middle and high school students
but those numbers are rising, from January 1, 2016 through April, 2017 we
have 411 paid members in our programs 19 of those are new to our pro-
gram since January 1, 2017. We have a wide diversity of members/families:
ranging in age from 5 to 18
coming from both below and above the poverty level
with and without special needs
from single parents to both parents living in the home
from 1 to both parents working outside the home
from public, private and home schools
We are proud to have served 262 families in Park and Northern Big Horn
Counties in the last 15 months!!!
Youth Clubs of Park County
Th e S a f e , P o s i t i v e & F u n P l a c e f o r Yo u t h !
CODY CLUB POWELL CLUB
308 16th Street | Cody, WY 82414 815 East 5th Street | Powell, WY 82435
307.527.7871 | 307.527-7867 Fax 307.754.0202 | 307.754-8272 Fax
ADMIN. PERSONNEL: CLUB PERSONNEL:
8 a.m.-4 p.m.
The
MISSION STATEMENT
To provide a safe, positive and fun place for all youth to be inspired and
enabled to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring
citizens.
VISION
To be one of the best Youth Clubs in the country and an outstanding youth
guidance and development agency in our community through quality staff,
facilities and programs supported by financial stability and clearly defined
standards.
We provide a safe, positive and affordable child care alternative - $50
per month/per child, however no child is turned away as we offer scholar-
ship for families who cant afford our membership fees.
We are helping build strong foundations for our members to become
responsible and productive adults in the community.
Parents we serve are much better employees knowing their children are
safe less absenteeism, more productive, etc. in the work place.
We are providing employment for 18 to 20 people year round.
We spend money in local businesses in our community on supplies
needed in the clubs, field trips for the kids, building and equipment mainte-
nance, fuel for vehicles, etc.
CLUB HOURS FOR CODY & POWELL On early release days from school,
clubs open at the time school is
WINTER HOURS
Mon.-Fri., 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. dismissed and days school is out,
summer hours apply.
SUMMER HOURS
Mon.-Fri., 7:45 a.m.-5:30 p.m. We are closed holidays and
11 a.m.-7 p.m. weekends.
 The Great
Equestrian
Statue
Race

The popular Scout statue as

it stands today at the end
of Codys Sheridan Avenue.
Gertrude Vanderbilt
Whitney (1875-1942),
Buffalo BillThe Scout,
1924. Bronze. Gift of the
artist.
20 3.58 Bill Center of the West Centennial
Buffalo
 Theodore Roosevelt and the efforts
to memorialize Buffalo Bill
By JEREMY JOHNSTON

F
Buffalo Bill Museum Curator
or many years, it was assumed
that immediately following the
death of William F. Buffalo Bill
Cody in 1917, the great battle
over his final resting place began. Howev-
er, Cody, Wyoming, and Denver, Colorado,
did not immediately fight over the location
of Buffalo Bills gravesite. Wyoming held
some resentment that Buffalo Bills body
would remain in Denver, but they accept-
ed the loss of the gravesite as inevitable.
The Park County Enterprise, Codys home-
town newspaper, surprisingly spoke highly
of the Colorado location: Internment will
be on beautiful Lookout mountain [sic]
which overlooks the city.
Residents of Cody gave up on becom-
ing the site of Buffalo Bills grave and
decided instead to be the first to erect an
equestrian statue as a memorial to their
citys founder. They soon found them-
selves in competition with Denvers effort
to memorialize Buffalo Bill by also erect-
ing an equestrian statue this one near
the gravesite. Thus began a race of sorts
between Cody and Denver to complete a
suitable memorial honoring the memory
of Buffalo Bill, with Theodore Roosevelt
assisting and deterring both communi-
ties efforts.
On Jan. 14, 1917, Denver hosted Buf-
falo Bills funeral with John W. Springer
delivering the eulogy. Springer noted, It
is fitting that his tomb should be hewn
out of the eternal granite of the Rockies,
and it is to be hoped that a magnificent
equestrian statue shall be erected by the
people of the great West ... Springer, a
man of significant wealth and at one time
a leading Republican of Colorado, now
found himself on the public stage after a
long silence that followed a sensational
scandal. Gone to Join the Mysterious Caravan, Jan. 11, 1917. Boyhoods Greatest Idol. Purchased
A close friend of Roosevelt, Springer by the BBMA from Mary Jester Allen, niece of Buffalo Bill. 227.69
formed the Roosevelt Club to support
Roosevelts 1904 presidential campaign a former lover, Tom von Phul. When von made headlines across the nation. Spring-
and nearly became his vice-presidential Phul blackmailed Isabel with their love er quickly divorced his wife and withdrew
candidate. Springer also focused on local letters, one of Springers business associ- from an active public life. Delivering the
politics and ran unsuccessfully for mayor ates and close friends, Frank Henwood, eulogy at Buffalo Bills funeral brought
of Denver. Despite this political loss, shot and killed von Phul in the bar at the Springer back into the center of atten-
Springer remained one of the foremost Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. Henwood tion. Using his newfound fame as Buffalo
political and social leaders of the Denver also managed to kill an innocent bystand- Bills friend, Springer organized the Col.
community until an infamous scandal er and severely wound another bar patron. W.F. Cody Memorial Association (CMA)
interrupted his political career. When the newspapers learned of the to erect an equestrian statue on Lookout
It seems Springers second wife, Isabel, reason behind the killings, Isabel and Mountain.
was secretly involved in a love affair with John Springers troubled relationship Meanwhile, on the same day the of-

Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 21

President Theodore Roosevelt, Oct. 25, 1910. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. LC-DIG-
ppmsca-35658
ficial funeral occurred in Denver, efforts
to memorialize Buffalo Bill in the town
of Cody began with a memorial service
hosted by the Society of Big Horn Pioneer
and Historical Association. The organiza-
tions secretary, William Simpson, sent out
letters requesting members gather at the
Irma Hotel and then march to the Temple
Theater for the memorial service. In the
days leading up to the memorial service,
members of the association, possibly still
stewing over losing the burial location for
the Great Scout, likely discussed ways to
honor their towns namesake.
On the very day residents of Cody
met for Buffalo Bills memorial service,
L.L. Newton sent a telegram to Theodore
Roosevelt and other notable personages
on behalf of the newly formed Buffalo Bill
Memorial Association (BBMA). His hope
22 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
was that Roosevelt and the other notables
would lend their support to the BBMA,
thereby generating publicity for the group.
The membership of this new organization,
led by William Simpsons wife, Margaret,
included prominent Cody citizens Charles
Hayden, W.T. Hogg, Sam Parks, and L.L.
Newton. The Park County Enterprise
reported on the BBMAs efforts:
It is proposed to erect a monster
memorial to the colonel which will cost
anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000, and
negotiations are already under way toward
the selection of some noted sculptor in
order to get a model. It is also proposed
to follow the lines of the famous Rosa
Bonheur picture as closely as possible. [To
raise funds, the new association ordered]
several thousand beautifully colored post-
ers of the colonel, which will be given to
those who make a donation of any kind
for the statue. It is proposed that all the
school children of the United States send
Buffalo nickels for the fund.
The BBMAs efforts soon met a signifi-
cant setback when Roosevelt declined to
participate. In a letter to Newton dated
Jan. 18, 1917, Roosevelt wrote, I sin-
cerely regret that it is not in my power to
take part in the movement you propose.
If I could join any new societies for any
purpose whatsoever at the present time,
I would join this one, but it simply is not
possible.
He did, however, indicate his support
for the project. Buffalo Bill was one of
the great scouts in the Indian wars that
opened the West. He typified, as emphati-
cally as Kit Carson himself, one of the
peculiarly American phases of our western
development and most certainly should
have a monument.
Despite Roosevelts protestations,
he soon found himself as an honorary
vice-president for Denvers CMA led by
his friend, John Springer. On Feb. 5,
1917, Roosevelt received a telegram from
Springer requesting an audience for Sam
Dutton, vice-president of the association;
Buffalo Bills adopted son, Johnny Baker;
and former Wild West show manager,
Louis Cooke. Springer noted the proposed
meeting with Baker and Cooke pertains
[to] proposed memorial to Colonel Cody.
Roosevelt replied, Of course I will give
the audience you request, but it is impos-
sible to make any speeches at present.
Will gladly write letter for Colonel Cody
Memorial [sic].
Shortly before the meeting, the New
York Times ran an article announcing Roo-
sevelts acceptance of the vice-presidency
for the CMA. The article quoted Roos-
evelts praise of Buffalo Bill, whom he
described as the most renowned of those
men, steel hewed and iron nerved, whose
Alexander Phimister Proctors sketch of a Buffalo Bill equestrian statue for Lookout Moun-
tain. P.242.2035.27.1
daring opened the West to settlement and
civilization. The Times article described
the proposed memorial:
Denver has donated a plot for the
monument on Lookout Mountain and has
offered to become the custodian of the
memorial. The peak chosen for the memo-
rial is to be renamed Mount Cody and
on it will be erected a mausoleum, the
interior of which will contain the tomb,
as well as the trappings, relics, paintings,
personal souvenirs, gifts, and collections
of Buffalo Bill. Sculptured groups illustrat-
ing episodes in the life of the frontier will
flank each corner of the monument. There
will also be a heroic equestrian statue of
the Scout as he looked in youth.
With Roosevelt joining Denvers asso-
ciation, it appeared the residents of Cody
had lost their chance to erect a memorial.
Clearly, Denver had more resources for
their fundraising ventures, starting with
its population. In 1910, Denvers popu-
lation stood at 213,381 and by 1920,
it had grown to 256,491, ranking it as
the twenty-fifth largest city in the United
States. The city of Codys 1910 popula-
tion stood at 1,132, growing to 1,242 by
1920.
Roosevelt assisted the Denver organiza-
tion with their plans to erect an equestrian
statue by collecting funds and suggesting
potential artists. In a letter to Springer
dated March 8, 1917, Roosevelt recom-
mended Alexander Phimister Proctor be
the artist for the Buffalo Bill equestrian
statue. Springer wrote back to Roosevelt
noting the association agreed with Roos-
evelts choice.
On April 2, 1917, Woodrow Wilson
called for a declaration of war against
Germany and her allies and the demands
of the Great War quickly overshadowed
efforts to erect a Buffalo Bill memorial.
Despite this, Albert Mayfield, the secre-
tary of the CMA, remained optimistic. He
reported to Roosevelt, Contributions are
coming in very satisfactory, considering
the war times, and with the concerted
aid of Col. Codys admirers, we will be
able to raise a large and sufficient fund
with which to erect a magnificent PIO-
NEER monument to his memory, and to
the memory of other frontiersmen who
helped blaze the trail.
Roosevelt continued to collect funds
after the declaration of war, including
$100 from English author, B. Cuninghame
Graham who wrote Roosevelt:
I saw by chance today in Harpers
Magazine that a national monument is to
be raised to my old friend Colonel Cody;
that it is to take the form of a statue of
himself on horseback (I hope the horse
will be old Buckskin Joe), that he is to be
looking over the North Platte. ... If in an-
other world there is any riding and God
forbid that I should go to any heaven in
which there are no horses I cannot think
that there will be a soft swishing as of the
footsteps of some invisible horse heard oc-
casionally on the familiar trails over which
the equestrian statue is to look.
By the end of April, the Colorado
newspapers reported the Cody Memorial
fund had raised $6,630.72 despite the
entry of the United States into World War
I. The cost of the project, however, would
be over $200,000.
On April 17, 1917, Springers scan-
dalous ex-wife passed away in New York
and once again Springers connection to
the infamous murder reappeared in print.
The Park County Enterprise also reported
the death, but it is unclear if this was an
attempt to discredit the CMA or simply to
inform Cody residents who were certainly
familiar with the past scandal. Despite the
war and his personal life again making the
headlines, Springer still remained optimis-
tic about the memorial. Springer wrote to
Roosevelt thanking him for his services,
Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 23
The Buffalo Bill Memorial Association originally had this popular
Bonheur painting in mind as the model for its equestrian memorial
to its namesake. Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899), Col. William F. Cody,
1889. Oil on canvas. Given in Memory of William R. Coe and Mai Sculptor Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney with her bronze Buffalo Bill
Rogers Coe. 8.66 The Scout, ca. 1923. P.69.0185
but now Springer seemed more consumed are now getting out; we expect to send it that the funds raised would also assist in
with the building of the mausoleum. to the confines of this country and we ex- the completion of the equestrian statue in
Within a few days we will have a pen pect to raise the money within a year and Cody. Now Cody and Denver joined hands
sketch of the proposed memorial temple to start at once the first unit. Roosevelt to complete not one, but two equestrian
... and it will be a magnificent structure, did not record his feelings regarding the statues honoring Buffalo Bill in addition
proclaimed Springer. The equestrian increased cost. However, when Springer to completing the mausoleum at Lookout
monument which Mr. Proctor has in mind later attempted to arrange a face-to-face Mountain.
will form part of the temple. Enclosed in meeting with Roosevelt in Kansas City to Despite the joint efforts of Cody and
the letter was a brochure with the proc- discuss personal business, Roosevelt Denver, public support for any Buffalo Bill
lamation, In times of war the Nations declined. Clearly something was amiss memorials quickly vanished as Americas
people should remember those who gave probably Roosevelt had privately indicated involvement in the Great War increased.
their services in the past. The brochure his disapproval of attempting to raise In December 1917, The Denver Post
described plans for a great mausoleum $1 million during a time of Americas announced its opposition to any future
containing Codys relics adorned with an involvement in a world conflict. fundraising for Buffalo Bill memorials until
equestrian statue and surrounded by a Springer and the CMA began to worry after the war.
park complete with live buffalo. Springer about the future success of the more On Dec. 7, 1917, Roosevelt wrote to
declared, This is going to be the great- costly project. In October 1917, the CMA the secretary of the CMA to relinquish his
est thing of its kind ever erected in the began raising funds in Cody from an status of membership in the association.
world and if the proper call can be made office located within the Irma Hotel. To I do not feel that while we are at war I
through the influential channels, I am sure raise money, the association distributed wish to be engaged in soliciting funds for
that the response would be spontaneous a school play called Civilizations Course any memorial, or for any purpose not con-
and overwhelming. in America, which local schools would nected with the war, Roosevelt explained.
In September 1917, Springer reported produce for the community with proceeds He did offer some hope for the future
to Roosevelt that the group now wanted to going toward the completion of Proctors though, writing, When the war is over, if
raise $1 million for the project instead of statue and a mausoleum on Lookout you should desire me again to become a
the $200,000 as originally planned. The Mountain. When Cody residents com- Vice President of the Association, I will be
letter also introduced Mr. A.S. Hill who plained the money would be used only in very glad to take the matter up. I believe
will show you some beautiful work we Denver, the association quickly announced in a monument along the general lines

24 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial

proposed to me a year ago in connection
with Cody and the pioneers of the west
but I would wish to know exactly how the
proposal is to be carried into effect.
Due to the public outcry, Mrs. Cody
asked that no money be raised for any
memorial until the successful completion
of the war. Mrs. Cody noted that Buf-
falo Bill was first, last and always an
American, and he would not wish a cent
diverted which could be used for the de-
fense of the country he loved so well. For
the duration of the war, all statues were
put on hold.
After the end of World War I, the likeli-
hood of completing any grand memorial
for Buffalo Bill in either Cody or Denver
seemed doubtful. Agricultural prices
dropped severely with an end to wartime
demands, plunging the western region into
an economic depression. Tourism, though,
remained a solid economic resource,
partly due to the end of wartime ration-
ing of gasoline and the growing use of
the Model T Ford. Both Denver and Cody
quickly realized any memorial would be a
money-maker, but the funds to build such
a project were not readily available. In
addition, Theodore Roosevelt passed away
on Jan. 6, 1919, and the CMA lost its
primary spokesman.
Unveiling the Scout, July
4, 1924. P.6.1680
Johnny Baker, Buffalo Bills adopted
son, did open a small museum at Lookout
Mountain and named it Pahaska Tepee.
Soon thousands of tourists flocked to see
not only Buffalo Bills grave but also the
museum. With the death of Mrs. Cody in
1921, the residents of Cody panicked,
fearing the loss of potential tourist trade
connected to the memory of Buffalo Bill.
Many residents believed that with Mrs.
Codys passing, the Irma Hotel would
lose its collection of Buffalo Bill paintings,
bringing an end to tourists stopping in
town.
It was probably at this time that
Colorado feared Cody residents would
steal Buffalo Bills body, since the grave
needed to be reopened to inter Mrs. Cody.
Stories later burgeoned about the posse
who tried to steal Buffalo Bills body from
Colorado. However, the Cody newspaper
does not indicate any such posse ever left
Cody at this time. Without any viable way
of getting the body moved back to Cody,
its residents needed to find some way
to continue the work of completing the
equestrian statue.
Under the vestiges of the BBMA, resi-
dents of Cody reorganized their efforts and
continued working for an equestrian statue
to honor Cody. Buffalo Bills niece Mary
Jester Allen, who arrived in the Cody area
in 1921, used her experience with the
Roosevelt Womens Memorial Association
to plan a future memorial for her deceased
uncle. Working closely with the BBMA, Al-
len sought to rejuvenate the plans to erect
an equestrian statue in Cody. The asso-
ciation selected New York artist Gertrude
Vanderbilt Whitney to sculpt the statue.
Ironically, Whitneys daughter, Flora, was
previously engaged to Roosevelts son,
Quentin, who died in World War I.
On July 4, 1924, Whitneys statue,
Buffalo Bill The Scout, was unveiled to a
large crowd of Cody residents. Mary Jester
Allen continued her efforts to memorialize
her uncle and later opened the Buffalo Bill
Museum. Cody finally secured its eques-
trian statue in addition to a lively and
growing museum that would become the
Buffalo Bill Center of the West.
(Dr. Jeremy Johnston is the Center
of the Wests Curator of the Buffalo Bill
Museum and Western American History,
as well as Managing Editor of the Papers
of William F. Cody. A descendant of John
B. Goff, a hunting guide for President
Teddy Roosevelt, Johnston grew up hear-
ing many a tale about Roosevelts life and
times, including the Great Race story.)
Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 25
 Wyoming

*Planning *Estimating
*Consulting *Contracting

www.groathouse.com Since 1954

CELEBRATE BUFFALO BILLS TOWN OF CODY

Custom Elk
Ivory
Wyoming
Must have items. Bucking Horse
The Golden Buffalo
American Bison fine jewelry
1356 Sheridan Avenue, Cody, WY | 307-587-9959 | facebook.com/goldenbuffalofinejewelry

Congratulations on your
Centennial!

P.O. BOX 806

307.527.7178
CODY, WY
26 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
 Buffalo BillThe Scout watches over the
Buffalo Bill Center of the West complete
with new spurs.

Buffalo Bills spurs torched on purpose

F
or nearly all 100 years of the Buffalo Bill Memorial As-
sociation, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitneys memorial to
Buffalo Bill has stood at the end of the main street in
Cody, Wyoming. But it did suffer an unfortunate case of
vandalism in the 50s.

Sometime around 1959, Cody, Wyomings, iconic statue sus-

tained a mishap due to vandals. Evidently, some nefarious neer-
do-wells nabbed the spurs off the monumental sculpture of William
F. Buffalo Bill Cody.
Since 1924, the Scout has stood watch over Sheridan Avenue,
with the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and the town of Cody
growing up around it. Not long after the spur-cutting deed, a local
repairman welded the spurs back where they belonged on the heels
of Buffalo Bills boots.
Unfortunately, they were upside down. No one with the Buffalo
Bill Memorial Association realized that Bill rode spur-impaired for
some 20 years. Apparently, not many of the Centers visitors did
either.
Gene Calhoun adds patina to match original finish on Buffalo Bill
Museum officials knew about the inverted spurs, but anticipat- The Scout in 1979.
ing further vandalism, the decision to correct the error was de-
layed, Carol Hill, editor of the Centers quarterly newsletter wrote to do the spur inversion project as a favor to the museum.
in 1979. Most visitors did not notice, but one who did was Dick Cody Gas Company loaned a portable power unit, and Calhoun
Spencer, publisher of the Western Horseman. His letter to Gene and Schaner completed the work in about four hours, Hill contin-
Ball, the Centers public relations director at the time produced ued. As a final step, they added a patina to the spurs to restore
some immediate action. their appearance to match the coloration of the rest of the statue.
Ball enlisted Gene Calhoun and Mike Schaner of Calhouns So, spurred on by one who knew a thing or two about spurs, the
then newly-opened Caleco Bronze Foundry in Cody who agreed Scout has had his spurs in the upright position ever since.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 27

Life and times of William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody

W
illiam F. Buffalo Bill
Cody was the consum-
mate storyteller and
enthusiastic student
of history. More than a century ago,
as his Wild West played in arenas
around the world, Buffalo Bill con-
templated his legacy. He dreamed
of a new arena that would teach
people by seeing history. For more
than 100 years, the Buffalo Bill Cen-
ter of the West has nurtured Codys
dream, teaching and sharing the
West he loved. Learn more about our
namesake with this timeline.

William F. Buffalo Bill Cody, 1915. P.6.0840

Arta Lucille Cody, 1882. Kit Carson Cody, 1876.

P.69.1797 P.6.1654

Family

William F. Cody family portrait, ca. 1882. Standing, Arta and her Orra Maude Cody, 1880. Irma Louise Cody, 1886.
father. Seated, Orra and her mother, Louisa. P.6.813 P.69.0210 P.69.1731
28 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
 William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody
Born: Feb. 26, 1846, Le Claire, Iowa
Died: Jan. 10, 1917, Denver, Colorado
Buried: June 3, 1917, Lookout Mountain, Colorado

1867
Hunted buffalo for the 1879
Kansas Pacific Railroad. Publishes first
autobiography,
1863 The Life of Buffalo
Army scout 1872 Bill: or the Life and
1859 1868 Adventures of William
Participated for the 7th Army scout Scout and guide for
Kansas Cavalry Russias Grand Duke F. Cody, as Told by
in the and guide
through 1865. Alexei Alexandrovichs Himself.
Colorado for the 5th
gold rush. Cavalry. hunting trip.

1850 1860 1870

1872 1876
1858 1866 Dime novel Scouted for
Worked on a Married Louisa 1869 writer Ned the Fifth
wagon train Frederici in St. Buffalo Bill Buntline Army.
headed to Louis, Missouri, appears persuades
Fort Laramie, March 6. in popular Cody to be a
Wyoming. dime stage actor.
novels.
1861 1874
Reportedly 1872 Forms
rode for the Awarded U.S. Buffalo Bill
Pony Express. Congressional Combination
Medal of to perform
Honor, April on stage,
26. (Declared including Wild
ineligible in 1917, Bill Hickok.
but reinstated in
1989).

Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 29

 1899
Establishes
1892 the
1887 Introduces
newspaper,
First tour of the Congress
the Cody
Europe; performs of Rough
Enterprise.
for Queen Victoria Riders of the
in London. World.

1888
1886 Adds
Wild West plays Custers
in New Yorks Last Fight 1896
Madison Square as a regular Founder
1880 Garden. act in the of Cody,
In the 7th Cavalry. Wild West. Wyoming.

1880 1890
1886 1893
1883 Purchases Scouts Sets up
Launches Rest Ranch in North independent
Buffalo Bills Platte, Nebraska. exhibition near
Wild West the Chicago
in Omaha, Worlds
Nebraska, on Columbian
May 19. Exposition.

1882 1885
Old Glory Annie Oakley
1895
Barnum & Baileys
Blowout in North joins Buffalo
James A. Bailey
Platte, Nebraska, Bills Wild
joins Buffalo Bill
on July 4, West.
and revolutionized
precursor to Wild
the Wild Wests
West show.
travel arrangements.

30 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial

 1906
Final 1916
European Buffalo Bill in
tour of Wild West Arena.
Buffalo Bills
Wild West.
1913 1920
Obtained An
backing to make Autobiography
the film, The of Buffalo Bill
1900 1904 1908 Indian Wars.
Buffalo Bill in the backlot. Tours Joins with is published
England, Pawnee Bill posthumously,
Scotland, for the Two illustrated by
and Wales. Bills show. N.C. Wyeth.

1900 1910-20

1901 1913
Cody, Wyoming, Wild West goes
incorporated. bankrupt in July.
1905
Completes Cody
1902 to Yellowstone
Embarks on lodging, Wapiti 1917
second European Inn and Pahaska Cody dies on
tour, 1902-1903, Tepee. January 10 in
Great Britain. Denver.
1903
U.S. Bureau
Reclamation assumes
Buffalo Bills and his
partners plan to irrigate
the Big Horn Basin.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 31

On the Move:
Buffalo Bills Boyhood Home
By ANNE MARIE SHRIVER
M
Buffalo Bill Center of the West
y father did not make a suc-
cessful farmer, and when I
was 5 years of age he aban-
doned the log cabin of my
nativity and moved the family to a little
village 15 miles north of Davenport,
[Iowa] on the Mississippi, named LeClair
[sic]. ~William F. Cody from The Life of
Buffalo Bill
Buffalo Bills boyhood home is one of
the oldest and most traveled buildings
Buffalo
32 BillsBill
Buffalo Boyhood
Center ofHome asCentennial
the West it appeared on the banks of the Mississippi at LeClaire, Iowa, ca. 1890. P.6.1697
in Wyoming. In 2004, it made its fourth
and final move to the Buffalo Bill Center
of the Wests Cashman-Greever Garden
where the charming, two-story, yel-
low clapboard home is now in a setting
reminiscent of its original surroundings in
1850s Iowa.
Built in 1841 in LeClaire, Iowa, the
building was home to Isaac and Mary
Cody, and their children for two years
before the family moved to the Kansas
Territory in 1854. By that time, William
F. Cody, or Willie as he was called by
his family, was only 7 years old, already
creating fond memories of growing up
along the banks of the Mississippi.
At LeClair [sic] I was sent to a
school where, by diligence and
fairly good conduct I managed
to familiarize myself with the al-
phabet. But further progress was
arrested by a suddenly developed
love for skiff-riding on the Missis-
sippi, which occupied so much
of my time thereafter that really I
found no convenient opportunity
for further attendance at school,
though neither my father nor
 mother had the slightest idea of
my new found, self-imposed, em-
ployment, much to my satisfac-
tion, let me add.
When I was thrown in the society
of other boys, I was not slow to
follow their example, and I take
to myself no special credit for my
conduct as a town-boy, for, like
the majority, I foraged among
neighboring orchards and melon
patches, rode horses when I was
able to catch them grazing on
the commons, trapped innocent
birds, and sometimes tied the
exposed clothes of my comrades
while they were in swimming and
least suspicious of my designs
or acts. I would not like to admit
any greater crimes, though
anything may be implied in the
confession that I was quite as
bad, though no worse, than the
ordinary every-day boy who goes
barefoot, wears a brimless hat,
one suspender and a mischie-
vous smile.

In the early days of Yellowstone Na-

tional Park, a steady stream of tourists
500-800 in its heyday arrived by train
to Cody, and then piled into Yellowstone-
bound tour buses. To accommodate the
influx, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
Railroad built a hotel north of Cody,
named the Burlington Inn, alongside their
depot. Since it was a little over a mile
to downtown Cody, the Inn was always
on the lookout for ways to interest their
guests. When they learned of the avail-
ability of Buffalo Bills Boyhood Home,
they believed it was a perfect addition to
their site.
In 1933, the Chicago, Burlington and
Quincy Railroad purchased the house,
moved it 1,200 miles from Iowa to Cody,
Wyoming, and placed it adjacent to the
Burlington Inn. In subsequent years, as
tourism by rail subsided, the railroad
made plans to tear down the Burlington
Inn and donated the boyhood home to
the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association in
1948.
The house made its second move
down two long hills, across the Shoshone
River, and back up two more long hills
to be placed alongside the Buffalo Bill
Museum. In 1969, the Buffalo Bill Memo-
rial Association moved across the street
into the then new Buffalo Bill Historical
Center and the old boyhood home went
along on its third trip. It remained there
for more than three decades until its
recent move to the core of the museum
campus.
The boyhood home was a typical town
Buffalo Bills Boyhood Home arrives at original Buffalo Bill Museum under the watchful eye
of Curator Mary Jester Allen, William F. Buffalo Bill Codys niece, 1948. P.69.1381
house on the agricultural frontier, built
according to the memory and skills of
the carpenter, with no written plans. The
house was made from sawed lumber with
hand-hewn beams and corner posts.
The walls are comprised of hand-split
oak lathe covered with a homemade
plaster of lime, sand, and cement. The
floorboards were leveled with an adze and
smoothed with hand planes. The out-
side of the house was covered with pine
clapboard and even today, one can see
some of the original siding and some of
the square nails.
The building was placed on the Na-
tional Register of Historic Places in 1975.
In the application, Ned Frost wrote:
The building is rectangular in
shape, approximately 25 feet
long, 18 feet wide and 20 feet
high at the gable peak. A lean-
to kitchen was attached to the
back of the house, but was not
moved from its original Iowa
location. In the upstairs were two
or three bedrooms; on the ground
floor were two multi-purpose
rooms, divided according to use.
One portion of the downstairs
was used for eating, wash-
ing, and dirtier chores, such as
candle making.
The other side served as the par-
lor, which was not only a place to
entertain visitors, but was also a
living room, a family room,
and a work room. Here Mrs.
Cody and the oldest daughters
would spin wool or flax, sew
quilts and clothing, and do the
mending while the younger chil-
dren worked on school lessons,
played, or napped. The family
slept in two or three rooms on
the second story of the house.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 33

 These were heated by warm
stove pipes running up to the
chimney on the roof.

With its last move, the facilities manager

at the time, Paul Brock, noted that the Cen-
ters staff exercised care and caution during
the move of the old and somewhat unstable
structure. It was the start of a long-term
stabilization process to restore the buildings
historical integrity. Funded by Buffalo Bill
Museum Advisory Board members Bill Gar-
low and Naoma Tate, the move and now its
continued restoration is a team effort among
the Buffalo Bill Museum and the Facilities
Department.
As local artist and carpenter Ty Barhaug
performed the initial restoration carpentry,
he began with the roof and worked his
way down. As he went through the house,
Barhaug noted that he was constantly learn-
ing more about it, including the discovery
of traces of what is thought to be original
wallpaper.
To transport the house to Cody in 1934,
the house was sawed in two causing
weakness in the structures frame. Brock
and Barhaug documented any telltale signs
of mistakes in the reconstruction and used
standards of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation. The initial stage of restoration
was completed in September 2005.
By using historical photos, the team was
been able to approximate the setting of the
house when young William F. Cody and his
family lived there in the 1850s. The house
remains yellow its original color, and during
the 1980s, the Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion (FBI) was enlisted to test chips of paint
to determine the buildings original hue.
The Center reproduced the stone and
picket fence seen in photographs, as was the
cottonwood tree that was placed in its original
orientation. Lake Valley limestone from Iowa
was used for the fence. Interestingly, without
knowing its origins, the sample was Brocks
first choice; the color and texture seemed
right. When he was told it was from an Iowa
quarry, it was the only option. Research has
shown that a house built in Scott County,
Iowa, by Isaac Cody in 1847 also had an
unusual limestone and picket fence, leading
the staff to believe that Isaac Cody built the Buffalo Bills Boyhood Home, 1841, today at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Gift of Burl-
fences at both houses. ington Northern Railroad.
While they want to bring visitors back
in time, the Center had to also consider the els, and it does not release potentially damag- falo Bills boyhood home will see more work
long-term preservation of the house and ing cotton in the spring. Crested wheatgrass on the interior with new programs and activi-
whether surrounding plants would grow in (Agropyron cristatum), intermixed with native ties using the building as its focus. Proudly
Wyoming. A cottonless cottonwood tree, wildflower seed, was planted on the perim- positioned within the Centers Cashman-
which is already more than fifteen feet tall, eter of the house. The crested wheatgrass Greever Garden, a hundred yards from its
was planted next to the house with room for requires significantly less water than Kentucky previous location in front of the Center, the
future growth so as not to affect the founda- bluegrass and is tolerant to hot and cold little yellow house has become a popular
tion or siding. temperatures a good choice for Wyomings exhibit for visitors.
The cottonless narrowleaf cottonwood high, arid conditions. Less water means less
(Populus angustifolia) is fast-growing and risk of damage to the house. (Additional information for this story
adaptable to a variety of soils and water lev- In the future, depending on funding, Buf- came from the Center archives)

34 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial

 Julia Brownfield
Owner/Broker
(307) 254-2156

Our real estate team will work tirelessly

to make your dream come true.
www.wyomingranchrealestatebrokerage.com

COME RIDE WITH THE BEST! CHUCKS LAWN CARE, INC.

for all your custom lawn
and tree care
SCENIC MOUNTAIN
HORSEBACK RIDES Mowing
Aerating
Ultimate Adventure
Daily Rides in the Shoshone National Forest Power Raking
Lawn Fertilization
& Weed Control
Seasonal Yard
Cleanup
Snow Removal
Tree & Shrub Care

Please call for reservations Chuck Durm

307-587-2097
www.billcodyranch.com
Only 30 minutes from Cody,
WY on the way to Yellowstone
3429 cottonwood ave. - P.o. Box 1928
cody, wyoming 82414
(307) 899-7386 (307) 527-7386
Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 35
Wild West arena in Germany, ca. 1891. Gift of Thomas P. Isbell. P.69.1512

Buffalo
Bills
traveling
Wild West
show Buckeye Blake (b. 1946). Peering Under the Big Top, 2006. Oil on can-
vas. Virginia Boal Hayden Acquisition Fund. 2.07.1

O
ne of the reasons that the Buf-
falo Bill Memorial Association
wanted to honor their towns
namesake was that he was
downright famous.
Before global tours and music festivals,
William Frederick Buffalo Bill Cody and
his Wild West extravaganza introduced the
world to an unrivaled spectacle of cow-
boys and cowgirls, sharpshooters, Indians,
exotic animals, and the sights and sounds
of the American West.
Buffalo Bills Wild West toured for 30
years, making stops in more than 2,000
venues in 15 countries, including all the
lower 48 United States. The first perfor-
mance was May 19, 1883, in Omaha; the
final performance was July 22, 1913, in
Denver.
But, if there was a way to level the
playing field, would the Wild West be as
big a production as those of the celebrities
and performers of today say, as com-
pared to pop star Beyonce, for instance?
in todays dollars. In 1965, the Beatles
The Wild West had a cast and crew of
500-800 people (depending on the year),
600 horses (also a buffalo or two and even
an elephant), equipment, seating (report-
edly for 20,000 spectators), costumes,
props and more than 50 train railcars to
haul them.
Beyonces cast and crew for her world
tour includes 80 people, no animals.
A typical season for the Wild West was
roughly 195 days a year, 300-plus perfor-
mances, and travel of more than 10,000
miles.
At 245 days, Beyonces 2013 tour
may have lasted a bit longer, but keep in
mind todays travel amenities. Buffalo Bill
traveled by train and performed almost
daily sometimes twice a day!
Prices for premium, reserved seats for
the Wild West were $1, or nearly $24
charged between $2.50-$6.50 for shows,
or between $18.70-$47.30 with todays
dollar. This year, the average price of a
ticket to a show on Beyonces world tour
cost $142.
No doubt about it: The Wild West was
spectacular even Mark Twain thought so.
He jotted a note to Buffalo Bill dated July
14, 1885, that read, I have now seen
your Wild West show two days in succes-
sion, enjoyed it thoroughly. It brought back
to me the breezy, wild life of the Rocky
Mountains, and stirred me like a war song.
The show is genuine, cowboys, vaqueros,
Indians, stage-coach, costumes, the same
as I saw them in the frontier years ago.

36 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial

 rn R ea l E state of Wyoming
Weste Est. 1969
, Inc.
Cody, Wyoming

1143 Sheridan Avenue www.westernre.net

Cody, Wyoming western@tctwest.net
Photo by Mick Frost 800-538-5122 307-587-5584

Keeping Codys Animals Happy for over 82 years!

C
F
CODY FEED 307-587-3891 308 19th Street, Cody THE BEST LOCAL FARM AND RANCH
STORE IN CODY SINCE 1935!
& LIVESTOCK SUPPLY CodyFeed.com
People clamoring to gain admission to Buffalo Bill's Wild West, undated. P.71.1501
Buffalo Bill in Glasgow
T
he numbers may not have
rivaled those of the Beatles in
Shea Stadium in 1965, or Tay-
lor Swift in Times Square last
New Years Eve, but the crowds at each
performance of Buffalo Bills Wild West in
Glasgow, Scotland, July 31-Aug. 6, 1904,
were huge.
Following Buffalo Bills run in Glasgow,
the Glasgow Evening News Lorgnette
column of Aug. 12 estimated that atten-
dance for all the Wild Wests shows that
week totaled 175,000. Tom Cunningham
wrote about the Wild West shows Seven
Days in Glasgow for the latest issue of
Points West, our member magazine. Here
are some snippets from his story:
The troupe arrived on Sunday, July
31, and the first performance took place
Monday at 2 p.m., drawing an audience
of 11,000. It wasnt long before the word
was out about the extravaganza, and by
Tuesday night, the crowd was at capacity,
38 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
selling out shortly after 7 p.m., and turn-
ing away 5,000.
The crew added 4,000 seats for
Wednesday, which still wasnt enough.
All told, some 30,000 spectators viewed
the shows two performances that day.
The Glasgow newspapers estimated that
if Wednesday evenings audience stood
shoulder to shoulder, the line would ex-
tend 10-and-a-half miles.
The Evening Newss Voice of the
People column had this to say about the
crowds:
We have received a number of
letters regarding the crush and
difficulty of getting tickets at
Buffalo Bills show last night. The
writers more or less condemn the
management for lack of adequate
arrangements, but it is obvious
that even with the most perfect
arrangements possible, 18,000
people cannot get into any enclo-
sure, and especially a temporary
enclosure, without some discom-
fort.
Attendance records were broken on
Thursday, too, and even Buffalo Bill
shared his fears about the crowds in an
interview with the Daily Record and Mail
in its Aug. 8 edition, saying, I walked
round the arena, and the way in which
the people were packed caused me some
uneasiness, and the chief of police shared
the feeling.
But, as their stay came to an end,
Buffalo Bill had a parting shot for waiting
reporters:
Please express through your jour-
nal to the citizens of Glasgow my
heartiest thanks for and profound
appreciation of the magnificent
support they gave us during the
week. Glasgow has beaten all
records for attendances on this
side of the Atlantic
 Fthe
avorite of
Locals!

downtown Cody
Hand crafted beers
delicious food
Patio seating
Widescreen tvs

15 craft
beers great

On Tap Food

ng company
brewi
opening at 11am Looking for a
wednesday - monday
(closed tuesdays)
Primary Care Provider
1019 15th Street downtown cody for Your Family?
307.586.5410
Our experienced family medicine providers,
working as part of our primary care team, are
Family. here to provide complete health care to you
and your whole family. They offer a variety of
Friends. services including:
Womens and mens health
Community. Childrens health including
well-child exams
Care for colds, allergies and
sinus problems
Immunizations
Jen Talich, Agent Were all in this together. Skin care
1108 Beck Avenue
Cody, WY 82414 State Farm has a long
Bus: 307-527-7176
tradition of being there. That's Sports medicine and sports physicals
jen.talich.mdle@statefarm.com
one reason why I'm proud to
support the Buffalo Bill Center Hours: SameDay Care:
of the West. Monday - Friday Monday - Friday
Get to a better State .
7:30 am to 5 pm 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

For an appointment, call (307) 527-7561

or 1-800-332-7156, ext. 7561.
201 Yellowstone Avenue, Cody, WY 82414
billingsclinic.com/cody
1211007 State Farm, Bloomington, IL
 VERITATIS SPLENDOR COUNSELING
THE SPLENDOR OF TRUTH COUNSELING
Counseling that gets results and relief
Christian approach to therapy
Specializing in EMDR Trauma Therapy
Treating: Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, Sexual/Physical Abuse,
Grief, Loss, Divorce Reaction, Abortion Healing and More
Counseling which seeks the Truth and Explores the
Dignity of the Human Person
Now accepting Medicaid
Justin McColl MA, LPC
Bernadette Schmitt MA, LPC
1735 Sheridan Ave., Suite 237, Cody 307-213-4341
justin@vscounseling.org www.vscounseling.org

FROM OUR FAMILY RANCHES

TO YOUR FAMILYS TABLE
At Wyoming Legacy Meats, weve created the first full-service
USDA approved facility in Wyoming. We care for our beef and
pork from conception to consumption, ensuring quality meat
and peace of mind - the way we do things in the West!

(307) 587 5827 | 74 Road 2AB Cody, WY | Learn more at wyominglegacymeats.com

40 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
Buffalo Bill Wild West poster. Her Majesty Queen Victoria at Buffalo Bills Wild West London, May 11, 1887, 1888. Museum purchase. 1.69.6354

Billboards,
Buffalo Bill-style
I
n its 100-year history, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West has
acquired literally thousands of items for its collection beginning
with the original Buffalo Bill Museum Collection amassed by the
Buffalo Bill Memorial Association, especially Buffalo Bills niece
Mary Jester Allen. Through monetary donations or gifts from private
collections, generous donors have made a world class museum pos-
sible in Cody, Wyoming.
And each of the art and artifacts has a tale to tell, like this back-
ground of one of the largest objects the Center has: a super-sized
Buffalo Bill Wild West poster.
Just in time for the Center of the Wests unveiling of its reinterpret-
ed Buffalo Bill Museum in 2012, it acquired a poster commemorat-
ing an 1887 performance of Buffalo Bills Wild West show for Queen
Victoria of England. At first blush, the staff was quite impressed with
the 10 x 28 foot poster when they first saw it. When they learned
the intricacies of its production from historic printer Mike Parker, they
were even more amazed.
For example, the very first step is engaging an artist to create this
elaborate image. After that, an engraver carved the image into blocks white would have to be cut away since the color white was simply
which were placed in the form to print the individual sections of the the paper showing through. Shaded or tinted areas were created with
poster. (Parker estimates that at least a year was needed to create the hash marks that werent cut as deep as the other carving, and so
image and carve the printing blocks.) The printing press applied ink didnt absorb as much ink.
to the blocks in the form that would transfer the image to paper. And This was one complicated print job and all for a billboard! Like
to think that each sheet of paper comprising a poster measured only outdoor signs today, these creations for Buffalo Bills Wild West
20 x 40 inches. werent intended for long-term installation. Usually plastered on the
The Queen Victoria poster consists of 32 separate sheets! Since side of a building, the Wild West advance team installed them to
four base blocks were needed for each of the four colors for each alert residents of the upcoming performance. By the time wind and
sheet, a total of 512 base blocks (4 blocks x 4 colors x 32 sheets) weather took their toll on the signs, the show had moved on. So, to
were needed to produce this poster. With additional blocks for special find one in near pristine condition is simply extraordinary.
areas, Parker estimates that 763 blocks were used for this poster. Clearly, this poster was never mounted. The question is: Where
The carved image had to be upside down and backward in order has it been for 129 years? It appears that more research is in order
for it to be the right orientation off the press. In addition, anything for that one

Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 41

 W.F. Cody Buffalo Bill
1907. Arabian stallion
Muson to May. P.6.459.1
Every horse needs a little bling
T
here is something about riding
down the street on a prancing
horse that makes you feel like
something, even when you aint
a thing.
Western humorist Will Rogers (1879-
1935).
This is especially true when that horse
has a little bling.
As the Buffalo Bill Center of the West
accumulated the thousands of objects
in its collection throughout the last 100
years, West was the operative word
specifically the American West. And in
the West, there are lots of cowboys with
all manner of horse tack functional and
sometimes over-the-top. Its little wonder,
then, that the Center has amassed a large
collection of horse tack thanks to genera-
tions of donors.
For example, the Center has a massive,
silver-engraved saddle by Edward Bohlin
(1895-1980) saddle maker to the stars.
This work of craftsmanship is the embodi-
ment of bling. Staffers arent even sure
how much it weighs, or what kind of horse
could carry it and a rider without its legs
buckling under him! Theres no doubt,
though, that riding a horse with such
flashy rigging would make ol Will Rogers
feel like something.
42 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
In the West, the saddle was not only a
tool that was used every day, but a symbol
of stature, explains David LaFlair, of the
Cochise Leather Company in Arizona.
Many a cowboy didnt own his own horse,
but if he had his own saddle, he could get
a job just about anywhere. More than
likely, a 19th-century cowboy would scoff
at a fancy saddle like the Bohlin as too
heavy and too much work to maintain.
But, to give the likes of classic western
movie and TV stars like Hopalong Cassidy,
Monte Hale, Tom Mix, William Hart, Gene
Autry, Clayton Moore, and Roy Rogers the
extra attention they deserved, their horses
needed elaborate saddles and bridles
the more silver, the better. This became a
market for Bohlins and others leather and
silver work.
James Nottage, Vice President Chief
Curatorial Officer and Gund Curator of
Western Art at the Eiteljorg Museum Manufactured between 1954 and 1956 by
in Indianapolis, Indiana, is author of a
definitive work on Bohlin, Saddlemaker to Claude Mills, saddlemaker; Don Ellis, silver
the Stars: The Leather and Silver Art of Ed- engraver; and Gerald A. Redick, die maker.
ward H. Bohlin. In it, the author notes that Gift of Clifteen Redick. 1.69.2225
lavish saddles didnt begin with the stars
of early classic westerns. Its no wonder, then, that even the likes
Fancy silver-mounted horse gear had of Buffalo Bill embraced equine bling. One
been used to show off finely bred horses need only examine his saddle at the Center
and the gentry of California since the of the West. Its what all the best horses
1800s , Nottage explains. are wearing.
ALL YOUR SPECIALTY DENTAL SERVICES UNDER ONE ROOF!

Dont let them Ruin A school tailored for you

your pretty Smile! and for who youll become.
Wisdom
teeth Jordan
removal today

is our
Local Jordan
7th grade
Specialty!
codyoralsurgery.com
BILLINGS
O R A L S U RG E RY
& D E N TA L I M P L A N T C E N T E R

NO Get a
Down Payment straighter smile
WITHOUT
all the
MONTHLY HARDWARE!
PAYMENT
Plans Available

InvIsalIgn
&
TradITIonal
Braces
offered!
Wyoming Connections
codybraces.com Academy is the
tuition-free online
public school serving
grades K12.
With caring, certified
teachers and a
92%* M
MEND

Pediatric Dental
AR
P

ENTS REC
O

comprehensive,
high-quality curriculum,
its a personalized Grades K12
S P E C I A L I S T S education that works
Treating Toddlers To Teens for families like yours.
Serving children from the Big Horn Basin since 1995.
Kelly M. ClarKe,. D.D.S. | Tanner D. Bennion, D.D.S.
MarK a. Wilgus, D.D.S.

Big Horn
Call 800-382-6019 or visit
pediatricdentalspecialists.org ConnectionsAcademy.com.

DENTAL Specialists *2016 Connections Academy Parent Satisfaction Survey

2910 Big Horn Ave., Suite C | Cody | 307.587.5451 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 43
 THE CODY MONOLOGUES
Famous & Infamous Women of the West

Come and see Codys Legendary women come to life

in this acclaimed play by Bethany Hamilton Sandvik!

For show times & tickets call: 307.527.7398

or go online: www.codyperformingarts.com

Studio Theatre @ CCPA - 1527 18th Street - Cody, WY

Celebrating
100 Years of the
Buffalo Bill Center
of theWest

1330 Beck Avenue, Cody | 307.587.2577

OPEN Mon.-Fri.: 8:30am - 5:50pm & Sat: 9am - 5:30pm
accentsfloralwy.com
44 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
What Buffalo Bills Lucretia looked like as an intact rifle. Springfield Model 1866. .50 caliber. Museum purchase. 1998.2.1
A buffalo gun by any other name
100,000 objects
500,000 historic photos (30,000
online)
30,000 books
2,000 linear feet of documents
F
and records
rom these numbers, its clear:
The Buffalo Bill Center of the
West collection is massive
quite unexpected in a town
the size of Cody. It all started with the
original Buffalo Bill Museum Collection,
memorabilia from the life and times of
William F. Buffalo Bill Cody, including
his favorite gun, Lucretia Borgia.
Its not unusual for a man to bestow
a beloved moniker on his favorite fishing
rod (Bessie), his truck (Ol Red), his
saber saw (Killer) or his rifle. Even
as far back as 1867, William F. Buf-
falo Bill Cody was no exception. When
he acquired his new buffalo killer, a
Springfield .50 caliber trapdoor needle-
gun, he christened it Lucretia Borgia.
Cody spoke often of the rifle in his
autobiography, often adding old before
the rifles name, making the nickname a
term of endearment.
Buffalo Bills favorite gun, Lucretia Borgia, 1865. U.S. Springfield .50 caliber needle gun that he used while hunting buffalo for the Kansas
Pacific Railroad, and the gun that earned his name. Original Buffalo Bill Museum Collection. 1.69.366
In one story, Cody told of one poor
man on his way to Colorado who lost
a horse to a passing herd and the trail
boss wouldnt return it. He asked Buffalo
Bill for help, but there was some confu-
sion about whether Cody was a con-
stable with authority to seek the horses
return. But as Cody wrote, I buckled on
my revolver, took down my old Lucretia
rifle, and, patting her gently, said, You
will have to be constable for me today.
In November 1917, western author
Zane Grey added an epilog of sorts to
Last of the Great Scouts by Helen Cody
Wetmore, Buffalo Bills sister. Grey re-
counts a recollection of Codys last days
he received from Buffalo Jones, one of
Codys long-time friends. Jones asked
Cody which gun was his favorite.
Lucretia Borgia, he smiled.
Did you always use the same
gun? Jones asked.
Practically so. The barrel of
Lucretia Borgia is now on the
elk horns at the ranch, with the
knife with which I killed Yellow
Hand. I dont know where the
stock is. And here the white
head drooped wearily
Fort Hayes State University Assistant
Professor of History Dr. Juti Winchester
and former curator of our Buffalo Bill Mu-
seum says theres a mystery about the
stocks disappearance and many stories
abound. One story is that after downing
an elk with Lucretia, Cody finished it off
with a blow to the animals head which
broke the stock, she explained. Another
story is that Cody supposedly loaned
Lucretia to the Grand Duke Alexis of Rus-
sia whom Cody was guiding on a hunting
trip. The Grand Duke was so excited at
killing his game, he threw the rifle in the
air, and his horse stepped on it after it hit
the ground.
But how did it get its name in the first
place? Lucretia Borgia was a famous
fifteenth century femme fatale (French:
fatal woman) from a corrupt political
family. Victor Hugo wrote a play about
her and it could well be that Buffalo Bill
saw the play or knew about it. Because
Lucretia Borgia was deadly, as was his
buffalo rifle, the name fit.
Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 45
 Amelia
Earhart
was here
A
viatrix Amelia Earhart, almost 40 at the time, disap-
peared on July 2, 1937, on an around-the world flight
in her twin-engine Lockheed Electra.
She and navigator Fred Noonans last transmission
(We are running north and south ) was near Howland Island
in the mid-Pacific. No trace of Earhart or her plane was ever
found.
But before she took off on that ill-fated journey, the aviatrix vis-
ited the Double D Ranch on the Upper Wood River, near Meetee-
tse, about 45 miles southwest of Cody, sometime between 1934-
1936. The Buffalo Bill Center of the West has photos of Earhart
with ranch owner Carl Dunrud, enjoying a western vacation.
Eventually, Dunrud would donate two coats that belonged to
Earhart to the Centers Buffalo Bill Museum. He identified the
leather flight jacket as the one she wore on her solo trans-Atlantic
flight in May 1932.
While theres no reason to doubt that the jacket belonged
to Earhart, its definitely not the one she wore on that flight,
explained Dr. John Rumm, former Buffalo Bill Museum curator.
Photographs in her papers at Purdue University indicate that she
wore a different-style flight jacket [on that flight]. Clearly, further
research is needed to determine whether or not Earhart wore
our flight jacket on a different flight.
Dunrud also donated an 1870s buffalo coat, which he as-
serted had been presented to Amelia Earhart by William S.
Hart. According to Rumm, Hart made Earharts acquaintance
in the mid-1930s when he became annoyed with a small plane
buzzing over his house. He learned it was Earhart, and, being
chivalrous, decided to invite her to dinner to complain about her
planes noise.
Ironically, Hart and Earhart became fast friends. In the fall of
1936, Hart decided to present a gift of a buffalo coat so that
when she climbs far up into the sky, this old buffalo coat of the
Indian wars and prairie seasons will hold her tight and keep her
warm, according to a letter he wrote her on Oct. 8, 1936 (Pur-
due Archives). The coat was U.S. Army issue, given to soldiers
during the mid-1870s to fight the Plains Indians during the
winter months.
After the Indian Wars ended, there were scores of leftover buf-
falo overcoats consigned to cold storage. Sometime around 1920,
they were then taken out and disposed of, and, as Hart told
Earhart, I was so fortunate as to get hold of a few.
The Center doesnt really know whether Earhart ever wore the
coat, but as she prepared for her around-the-globe flight, she sent
many of her personal possessions to Wyoming including the
buffalo coat. She attached a note that read, For you Carl. I know
of no one who can put this to better use than you.
Dunrud gave the coat to the Center of the West in 1966 one
of the hundreds of donors who built the Centers collection in the
last 100 years. Amelia Earhart at the Double D Ranch on the upper Wood River,
Wyoming, ca. 1934.. Gift of Mrs. Verna Belden. P.67.1477
46 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
 Youre Invited to join

The
e

Arms
A rms C
Collectors
ollectors A
Association
ssociation
WACA MEMBER BENEFITS INCLUDE:
W
Quarterly
Q subscription to The Winchester
Collector
C magazine
A
Annual Membership Calendar
w/full
w color photos
F
Free Admission to WACA Cody Show
M
Member Discounts on selected WACA
merchandise
m
Winchester Arms Collectors
Association, Inc. (WACA) is 1 15 Additional Cody Firearms Museum
a not-for-profit tax exempt Record Searches for WACA-CFM Members!
corporation dedicated to the
preservation of all Winchester
firearms and related products.
Mail check payments to:
MEMBERSHIP DUES WACA Membership
e-Membership: $ 35 USD - 1 Year PO Box 10427
$ 95 USD - 3 Year
$150 USD - 5 Year
Bozeman, MT 59719
Traditional Membership:
US: $ 50 USD - 1 Year Contact Us by Phone or Email:
$140 USD - 3 Year
$225 USD - 5 Year
(406) 285-3722
Canada/Mexico: $ 65 USD - 1 Year Trish@WinchesterCollector.org
Other Foreign: $ 85 USD - 1 Year

Join online at WinchesterCollector.org

Your future, our focus

The perfect LOCATION

to ATTEND college. CHOOSE
from over 70 degree programs! FULL SERVICE SHEET
METAL SHOP STANDING
SEAM METAL ROOFS HVAC
for LIGHT COMMERCIAL,
CUSTOM HOMES, and
REMODELS
We are a proud patron of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

NWC.EDU/PROGRAMS 2420 Sheridan Ave., Cody

NWC IS AN EOI

307 587 2288

Call or come by & see us for all your Sheet Metal & HVAC needs!
 DEES ALTERATIONS Congratulations to the
everything from lace to leather BUFFALO BILL
CENTER OF THE WEST
Logo

Patches,

Zippers,

Gowns,

Dresses

etc.

Open from 8a to 5p Monday thru Friday

9a to 2p on Saturdays
Cynthia M. Rankin, CPA
307.587.8966
Located at 961 12th St. Cody 1285 Sheridan Ave., Ste. 235
307-254-9534 Cody, Wyoming 82414

Congratulations to the Center of the West, Heres to the Next 100!

BEST OF CODY WILD WEST TOUR

r
h i s Ad fo
F
g in t
Brin
O F Give us an Hour,
$2 ur Tro l l ey Tour!

Well give you 100 YEARS!

SAVE $$
yo Trolley/Bu with
Center of ffalo Bill
th
2 FUN Guides!1 Hour! 22 Miles! COMBO e West
Buffalo Bill Annie Oakley Historic Sites TICKET
Insider Stories Wildlife Tips Best Attractions

Multiple Located at the

Daily Tours RESERVATIONS & INFO Irma Hotel
307-527-7043 CodyTrolleyTours.com
CODY WYOMING
48 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
Buffalo Bill Center of the West
Celebrating 100 years of history
1917 - 1930
1917
Buffalo Bill
Memorial
Association
established.

1917 Col. William F. Buffalo Bill

Codys dies January 10 in Denver.

1924 Buffalo BillThe Scout, a statue 1927 Buffalo Bill

by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Museum opens
unveiled. July 4 with Codys
niece Mary Jester
Allen as curator.

1931 - 1970
1933 Buffalo Bills
childhood home
moves from Le
Claire, Iowa, to 1935 Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney donates
Cody. the Centers current 40-acre site.

1959 Whitney Western Art

1969 Buffalo Bill Museum opens June 3;
together with the Whitney, becomes the
Buffalo Bill Historical Center.
Museum dedicated.
1970 Buffalo Bills childhood is home
moved to the Centers current site.
 1971 - 1990
1977 First
annual
Patrons
Ball, the 1976 Winchester Collection arrives in Cody.
Centers chief
fundraiser.
1978 W.H.D. Koerner Studio in the
Whitney dedicated.
1979 Plains Indian Museum dedicated.
1980 Winchester Collection installed;
1981 Remington Studio in the McCracken Research Library dedicated.
Whitney dedicated.
1986 Buffalo Bill Museum rededicated.
1987 Whitney Western Art
Museum rededicated.
1991 - 2017
1991 Cody Firearms Museum
1994 McCracken Research opens to the public.
Library rededicated.
1998 Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale
moves to Center of the West.
2000 Plains Indian Museum rededicated.

2002 Draper
Natural History
Museum opens.

2005 First online collection, Plains Indian

Museum, is uploaded to the web.

2007 Papers of William F. Cody launched.

2008 Center becomes Smithsonian Affiliate.
2011 Draper 2009 Whitney Western Art
Museum Museum redesigned.
Raptor
Experience
launched.

2012 Buffalo Bill Museum

remodeled and rededicated.
2013 Buffalo Bill
Historical Center
becomes Buffalo Bill
Center of the West. 2017 Buffalo Bill Memorial Association is
100 years old.

50 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial

 Aaron L. Killpack, DO HEART MOUNTAIN INTERPRETIVE CENTER
15 minutes from Cody off Hwy 14A
H. Brannon Ayres,
MSN, APRN, FNP
Cody Nielson,
MSN, APRN, FNP-BC

St. Vincent
Incarceration
P H Y S I C I A N S | SCL Healthcare in
720 lindsay lane, suite a, cody | 307.578.1800
Se Habla Espaol.
Focus
HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY BUFFALO BILL A Comparative Look at the Photographs of
CENTER OF THE WEST!
The Doctors and Staff of 307Health
Ansel Adams and Yoshio Okumoto

Michael Tracy, M.D. Robert Chandler, M.D.

Direct Primary Care for Wyoming Supported in part by an award from the Wyoming Arts Council
Better Access = Better cAre through funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Summer Hours: 10am5pm Daily

1539 Road 19, Powell, WY 82435
307-764-3721 www.307Health.org 307.754.8000 || www.heartmountain.org
Find us on Facebook Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 51
Five Museums of the Center
N
oted western artist Frederic Remington (1861-1909)
once wrote, I knew the wild riders and the vacant
land were about to vanish forever ... and the more I
considered the subject, the bigger the forever loomed.
Without knowing how to do it, I began to record some facts
around me, and the more I looked, the more the panorama un-
folded. After 100 years, the Center of the Wests five museums
and research library continue to diligently embrace Remingtons
notion of preserving the West unfolding that great panorama
of land, people, and culture for another 100 years. Long live the
Wild West.

Whitney Western Art Museum,

Buffalo Bill Museum, est. 1927
Prospector. Bullwhacker. Trapper. Pony Express rider. Buffalo
hunter. Army scout. Guide. Producer. Is it any wonder it takes a
whole museum to tell the story of the legendary showman Wil-
liam F. Buffalo Bill Cody? The Buffalo Bill Museum shares tales
of Cody, his Wild West show, and the West he loved.
est. 1959
With their tools of the trade sketch pads, canvases and pa-
per, or clay to sculpt artists chronicle the marvelous sights they
encounter throughout the American West. The Whitney Western
Art Museum touts some of the most stunning, priceless master-
works of the American West.

52 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial


Plains Indian Museum, est. 1979
The Plains Indian Museum shares life stories of the Northern
Plains Indian peoples using Native voices, music, and unique
collections. Carefully passed from one generation to the next,
these narratives tell about family, the land, beauty, and celebra-
tion from the past to the present.
McCracken Research Library,
est. 1980
Its been said that a library is the delivery room for the birth
of ideasa place where history comes to life. Nowhere is that
more truer than in the McCracken Research Library. There,
original historic documents, one-of-a-kind photographs, and a
collection of all things western await scholars, researchers, and
western enthusiasts alike.
Cody Firearms Museum, est. 1991
Firearms manufacturing factory workers, business competi-
tion, production innovations had as much to do with the cul-
ture of the West as did the firearm itself. Still, a gun was a gun,
and on the Frontier, it provided security to the sure shot, protec-
tion for his family, and dinner for his table. The Cody Firearms
Museum tells the story.
Draper Natural History Museum,
est. 2002
The Drapers interactive trails replicate the sights, sounds,
and, yes, even the smells of the Greater Yellowstone region. Fea-
turing specimens of grizzlies, wolves, bighorn rams, moose, elk,
and other wildlife, the Draper Natural History Museum sets the
stage for Yellowstone visitors.
Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 53
 the humor of one of its best supporters, Al Simpson. Through-
out its Centennial year, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West has
pause to remember the work of a legion of supporters whose
efforts brought the Center to the prominence it enjoys today.
The Simpson family was there from the start:

Getting on board
As our Native American friends and colleagues say, Life is a
great circle. This event is a closure of that circle.
With these words referring to his familys long association
with the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association, including his fathers
tenure as board chairman the Honorable Alan K. Simpson,
former three-term U.S. Senator from Wyoming, accepted his
appointment as Chairman of the Centers Board of Trustees on
Sept. 26, 1997.
Its a tremendous honor, and I take it very seriously, Al
continued. This is a special place, and you have tendered me
a special office. I heartily accept the challenge, and I am at a
point in life, as is Ann, to give it our earnest best.
Al likes to say that Executive Director Margaret Peg Coe
hand-picked him to be her successor. She asked me if I
planned to run for Congress again, and when I said I wasnt, she
said she had another job for me.
As he assumed the board chairmanship, Al talked about the
makeup of those who have served and continue to serve

Al Simpson, Buffalo Bill Center of the West, 2007

Center of
the West
and Al
By MARGUERITE HOUSE
Plains Indian Museum groundbreaking, Oct. 12, 1977, with tribal
representative Red Horn, Margaret Peg Coe, and Al Simpson.
PN.89.79.13527.10

I
Points West Editor
walked into the Irma Hotel one Saturday morning with my the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association. This is an extraordinary
grubs on, my cowboy boots scuffing, and my hat pulled board thats not about chemistry, but about caring, respect,
over my eyes playing it cool. As I was paying my bill, a and affection for each other. This is an unbelievable gathering
guy walked up to me and said, Anybody ever tell you that of humans: steady, wise, articulate, well read, creative, bright,
you look a lot like Al Simpson? I smiled and said, Yeah, they witty, pesky as hell, opinionated, successful, ornery people,
do. He said, Makes you kinda mad, dont it? but all of us, each and every one, is deeply committed to a
For years, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West has enjoyed place we all love and are so proud of. For this, my colleagues,

54 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial

is hallowed ground.
During good times and bad times, Al
suggests that the Buffalo Bill Memorial
Association was protected by some magi-
cal force. That force was the people who
worked their hearts out when there was
no glory in working around this place.
There was no place like this; there was
no concept of a temple like this in the
Athens of the West Theres a heritage
in this place of leadership, guts, and vi-
sion.
As Al ended his speech accepting the
chairmanship of the Centers Board of
Trustees, he remarked, I can tell you
that Annie and I are excited as hell. So
unchain the lightning, were rarin to go.
And hes been rarin ever since
An interview with Al
Poet Emily Dickinson once wrote, My
friends are my estate.
For the staff, volunteers, and board
members of the Buffalo Bill Center of
West, its estate is indeed vast and far-
reaching. It counts
as its friends, folks
who number in
the thousands,
are found all over
the world, and are
devotees of the
American West.
And about no
one are Dickin-
sons words truer
than with one of
the Centers best
friends, Al Simp-
AL son. At the time of
SIMPSON his retirement from
2009 his chairmanship
of the Buffalo Bill
Memorial Associa-
tions Board of Trustees in 2011, this
native son reflected on his tenure:
Biggest highlight as
trustee chairman
The biggest highlight for me in working
with the Center is the honor of carrying
on a family legacy. In the spring of 1917,
just a few weeks after the death of Col.
William F. Buffalo Bill Cody on Janu-
ary 10 of that year, my grandmother,
Margaret L. Nanny Simpson, and some
chums all friends of the colonel met
on the porch of the Irma Hotel to deter-
mine how best to honor the colonels
memory.
Thats when the Buffalo Bill Memorial
Association was born. Both of my grand-
parents knew Louisa (Mrs. Cody) and Bill
since Granddad was Bills lawyer for a
time, and Nanny tended the grandparents
Lorna and Milward Simpson, 1974, Trail
Al (left) and Pete Simpson with Charles
Gates Dawe, 30th vice-president of the
United States, at the Buffalo Bill Museum,
ca. late 1930s. PN.89.114.21360.1
of our own Trustee Bill Garlow.
Ever since I was very young, the
Buffalo Bill Memorial Association has
been part of my life. I remember my
mom (Lorna) taking Pete and me over to
the old museum now the Cody Coun-
try Chamber of Commerce and the Art
League. Mary Jester Allen, curator and
Buffalo Bills niece, asked Mom to play
the piano for eastern guests in an effort
to try and impress them! Mom played the
piano; theyd have tea; and Pete and I
had a look around the cases of artifacts.
It was loads of fun for two young boys to
see these great things.
My dad, Milward, served as Chair-
man of the Board of Trustees from July
2, 1966, through Sept. 14, 1973, and
then he was appointed Chairman Emeri-
tus from through 1984. Now, son Colin
is serving on the Board of Trustees and
brother Pete has done some consulting
work for the Center. Yes, the Simpsons
have a long history with the Buffalo Bill
Memorial Association.
Collections favorites
One of my favorite artifacts is the
Unhaltered Packhorse painted by Frederic
Remington in 1899 and sent to George
Creek Ranch, Wyoming PN.89.68.12448.09
Beck (one of the City of Codys founding
fathers) in 1908. My dad Milward bought
it at the George Beck estate sale for $500
after Becks death in 1943. On the back
of it was a note from Remington to Beck;
what a great memento. Pete and I, and
our families, were happy to give it to the
Center in 1998.
Frederic Remington (1861-1909). Unhal-
tered Packhorse, 1899. Oil on canvas. Gift
in fond memory of our dear parents, the
Honorable Milward Lee and Lorna Kooi
Simpson, from their devoted sons, Dr. Peter
Kooi Simpson and Sen. Alan Kooi Simpson.
21.98.1
I also love the Scout statue, which
we used to call the the monument. Of
course, the whole area around it was
vacant back in the 1930s. As kids, wed
hunt arrowheads around it; wed pack a
lunch and have a grand ol time.
The Remington Studio, a gift of the
Coe Foundation, is fantastic, and all the
W.R. Leigh paintings have such special
meaning since Leigh was actually in this
area. His Buffalo Drive is amazing. I like
W.H.D Koerners Madonna of the Prairie,
and any Remington in there is a thrill.
Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 55
Milward and Lorna Simpson with sons Al (left) and Pete, and Shoshone River Canyon in the background. The monument was right of this
photo, demonstrating how the area has changed. PN.89.107.21020.02.1
Al, the curator
If I were a curator, I suppose Id want
to work in the Whitney Gallery. I dont
have a huge art collection, so I appreciate
galleries where I can see fine art. What a
wonderful job to be surrounded by those
artists that Ive come to like so well. As
young married folks, Ann and I didnt
have the money to collect art. When I
was in the army, wed save all our leave
and travel to Paris, London, Italy, and the
like. Through the years of observing art, I
discovered the thrill of being able to iden-
tify the masters. Im not a connoisseur
by any means, but seeing masterworks is
truly a joy.
One of the greatest acquisitions since
Ive been a trustee has to be Custers Last
Stand by Edgar Samuel Paxson a deal
that was akin to the midnight ride of Paul
Revere. Director Harold McCracken found
out that Paxsons heirs had offered the
painting to the state of Montana who was
waffling on the price.
So, Harold and Ernie Goppert Sr. took
a truck with some padding and several
thousand dollars, and showed up to pick
up the painting. Thankfully, the owners
agreed to sell. McCracken was a packrat
why, he even approached Mrs. Belden
at her husbands funeral [Charles Belden,
noted western photographer] about ac-
quiring his silver plates.
This is a case where people stepped
forward with lots of guts, lots of luck, and
lots of passion to accomplish extraordi-
56 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
of Plains Indian Museum advisory board,
and it was a still, magical Indian summer
day with cobwebs floating through the
air like lace. We dedicated the spot by
digging a hole and putting cedar pieces
in the ground that I later retrieved but I
made sure it was okay with Joe.
One of the many things I am so very
proud of is how excited our visitors are
The Draper Natural History Museum open-
ing, June 2002 just what Al meant by
extraordinary accomplishments by the
Center of the West.
nary things here at the Center and they
continue to do that today.
In retrospect
And what is the Buffalo Bill Centers
greatest strength? Without a doubt, its
the collections and the way theyre prop-
erly presented and put to the public, and Al Simpson and Crow elder, the late Joe
rotated when necessary. The Dyck collec-
tion [The Paul Dyck Plains Indian Buffalo
Medicine Crow, 2012.
Culture Collection] outshines anything
in America; it is a true pre-reservation as they enjoy the Buffalo Bill Historical
bonanza. Now thats strength. Center. When I wander through the galler-
The day we broke ground for the Plains ies on a busy summer day, or even on a
Indian Museum has to be one of my most slow winter day, and I see families gather
memorable experiences at the Center a around, expressing their fascination with
day of unbelievable description, a real these exhibits and being captivated by
goose-pimpler. Joe Medicine Crow was the stories they are seeing and hearing, it
there and Red Elk, both original members truly makes all our efforts worthwhile.
 Picture living healthy & loving life!
Natural & Organic Foods Gluten-Free Foods
Vitamin Supplements Sports Nutrition
Health & Beauty Aides Books Jewelry
Bulk Foods Dairy Herbs We Ship Anywhere!
Freezer Fresh Foods

1902 17th St. (Top of the hill) Cody, Wyoming 307.587.1700

M-F: 9:30-6 Sat: 9:30-5 Find us on Facebook

FUEL FOR THE EQUINE SPIRIT

a complete line of equine nutrition products backed by ongoing research
IONS
ATULATNNIAL
CO NG R
CENTE EQUINE SUPPLEMENT
on your BILL CENTER
O
BUFFAL HE WEST!
O T
F
EQUINE IMMUNE
POWER PLUS

EQUINE FIBER PLUS

ELECTROLYTE PLUS
EQUINE NUTRITION
THAT REALLY WORKS!
FLEX PLUS

NEW STRESSLESS

For information or a dealer near you contact:

STAMINA PLUS Cody, Wyoming www.staminaplus.com
Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 57
Cody Firearms Curator Ashley Hlebinsky double checks the installation of the exhibition Journeying West: Distinctive Firearms from the
Smithsonian.

Celebrating the Smithsonian

Buffalo Bill Center of the West
becomes a Smithsonian Affiliate
I
m so pleased to be here in Cody to welcome the wonder-
ful Buffalo Bill Center of the West as the first Smithsonian
Affiliate in Wyoming. Its a great opportunity to kick off the
collaboration between our two institutions. Not only does
the Center benefit from the collections and resources of the
Smithsonian, but we also benefit from the expertise of those
here at the Center of the West.
And such were the words of Laura Hansen, National Out-
reach Manager for Smithsonian Affiliations, who, on June 20,
2008, announced the Center of the Wests new status as a
Smithsonian Affiliate, a designation that Center staff, volunteers,
and board heartily endorsed.
The goal of Smithsonian Affiliations is to establish mean-
ingful relationships with its affiliate partners to maximize the
cultural and educational benefits to a community. The pro-
gram allows organizations across the country the opportunity

58 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial

to access Smithsonian collections and resources.
But how did those resources come to be?
Smithsonian History
Englishman James Smithson (1765-1829) never traveled
to the United States, but his legacy is American through and
through. It was Smithson whose bequest created what we know
today as the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
Smithsons will was tricky: He had no children, so upon
his death, he left his estate to his nephew. According to the
Smithsonian, Smithson wrote in his will that if his nephew
died without an heir, the money would go to the United States
of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the
Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge His nephew did indeed pass away
without an heir, and Smithsons estate $500,000 or 1/66 of
partners incorporate Smithsonian educational resources into
curriculum development for local schools, lectures, traveling
exhibitions, workshops, study tours and other programs.
The Center of the West benefits greatly from its association
with the Smithsonian. It participates each year in Smithsonian
magazines Museum Day, offering free admission to readers
with passes from the publication. Kirk Johnson, the Sant Direc-
tor of the Smithsonians National Museum of Natural History,
lectured at the Center in summer 2016. In 2010, the Center
hosted the exhibition Buffalo Bills Wild West Warriors: Photo-
graphs by Gertrude Ksebier, a partnership between the Center
and the Smithsonian. Currently, the Center hosts the long-term
exhibition Journeying West: Distinctive Firearms from the
Smithsonian and several Center of the West staffers collaborate
with the Smithsonian on research.
James Smithson would be proud.

Providing
the entire U.S. budget in 1836 came to the America.
Since Smithson hadnt shared his unusual idea with anyone
while he was alive, an eight-year debate began in Congress
after his death about his intentions for this new institution.
Had Smithson meant a university? How about an observatory? Real Estate Home
Inspections
A library? A research institute?
An Act of Congress on August 10, 1846, established the
Smithsonian Institution as a trust administered by a Board of
Regents and a Secretary of the Smithsonian. Today, the Smith- Combustion Testing
sonian has become the worlds largest museum and research
complex, with 137 million objects, nineteen museums, the
including Carbon
National Zoo, and nine research facilities. Monoxide,
Infrared Scans
The only Smithsonian Affiliate & Blower Door
Testing
Covering Park, Big Horn,
in Wyoming Washakie, and Hot Springs counties.
Smithsonian Affiliates are chosen from cultural organiza-
tions whose missions are parallel to the Smithsonians and who
demonstrate a strong commitment to serving their local com- Ron Jason
munities.
For the Smithsonian, the program fulfills its outreach mission Willis Brost
of sharing artifacts, programs, and expertise. Established in Owner/Inspector Inspector
1996, the affiliations program includes more than 150 muse-
ums and educational and cultural organizations in 39 states,
307.202.0359 307.250.5275
ronhwillis@hotmail.com
Panama, and Puerto Rico. The Center of the West is the only
Smithsonian Affiliate in Wyoming.
For the Affiliate, the advantages of a Smithsonian partner- Wyoming Home
ship are many. First, the program permits the long-term loan
of artifacts from the Smithsonians more than 136 million Inspection Network LLC
object collection. Such loans enable the partner to incorporate www.wyohomeinspection.com
Certified
Smithsonian collections into exhibitions, educational initiatives,
and research programs. In addition to borrowing objects, many and Insured
10 Willow Road Cody, WY 82414

11555
MLS#100 Good People to Know, Julie Snelson Jeanne Majusiak
307-272-0574 307-272-8527
Great Realtors to Trust. Julie@codyhomeandranch.com Jeanne@codyhomeandranch.com

See ALL current listings at www.codyhomeandranch.com

1276 Sheridan Ave. Cody, WY 82414 (307) 587.8778
Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 59
Frederic Remington (1861-1909). The Big
Things, Aug. 14, 1899. Pen and ink on paper.
Museum purchase. 78.69
Patrons Ball: One of The Big Things
O
n Aug. 14, 1899, Louisa Cody,
Buffalo Bills wife, invited every-
one in the county to the party
she gave at Irma Lake Lodge on
Carter Mountain southwest of Cody, Wyo-
ming. C.E. Hayden, a surveyor who made
the partys arrangements, recorded in his
diary that Frederic Remington, the noted
artist, was on hand and was sketching
some of the outstanding characters.
The Buffalo Bill Center of the West
commemorates that same tradition with
its annual Patrons Ball, the Centers chief
fundraiser.
Indeed, the story of the Buffalo Bill
Memorial Association might be a little
The Last Ball of the Season, engraving
by Augustus Hoppin (1828-1896). Ap-
peared in Harpers Weekly, Feb. 20, 1858.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. LC-
USZC2-6400
60 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
The first annual Patrons Ball, 1977.
lacking without Patrons Ball. Since its other will be given top priority, Mrs. Weiss
first black-tie gala in 1977, the Buffalo added in June 1977. All persons, from
Bill Center of the West has had plenty to pioneers of the State to newcomers, who
applaud in its 40 years of celebration. are interested in the culture and preserva-
Like Hoppins Last Ball of the Season,
the Centers annual Patrons Ball also
celebrates the end of the season. Founded
as an occasion to commemorate the years
accomplishments, the Ball has grown to be
much more. Touted as the premier social
event of the Northern Rockies, the Ball
has all the trappings of an extraordinary
evening: food, fun, and friends and all for
a worthy cause.
A short paragraph in the March 1977
Buffalo Bill Historical Center (now Buffalo
Bill Center of the West) newsletter was
short and not the least bit prophetic. It
said simply, Mrs. William D. Weiss has Another ball celebrates an organization:
been named general chairman for a festive William F. Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917)
event set for Saturday night, Septem-
ber 24. This Patrons Dinner Dance will
attends the First Annual Showmens League
celebrate the Buffalo Bill Museums 50th of America Ball as president of the orga-
season [opened in 1927] and also the nization, March 4, 1914, Sherman Hotel,
progress on the new Plains Indian Museum Chicago, Ill. No doubt hed have donned his
fund drive. dancing shoes for Patrons Ball. P.6.845
Nothing in those few words hinted
that, with this annual soiree, the Buffalo
Bill Memorial Association would still be tion of this great achievement [specifically,
celebrating the Centers season this the successful fundraising for the Plains
time, not one museum but five, and not 50 Indian Museum] should plan now to take
seasons, but 90. The Centers Patrons Ball part in the festive, historical celebration.
is now its biggest fundraiser with all pro- Today, Patrons Ball is the finale of the
ceeds benefiting the programs and public week-long Rendezvous Royale celebration
activities of the Center. of the arts in Cody; more information is
Patronship and getting to know each available online at rendezvousroyale.org.
 Open Daily 7am to 9:30pm
PAHASKA TEPEE RESORT
at Yellowstones East Entrance.

Buffalo Bills Historic

1904 Lodge
Lodging Restaurant/Bar Gift Shop
www.pahaska.com 800-628-7791

The Premier Hometown Professional Service...

Garden Center With Old West Values!
in Northwest
Wyoming

Lance Bower
Sales Associate
307-272-4114
Rita Lovell
Broker
307-899-7092

Northern Gardens LLC

Greenhouse Nursery Landscaping
84 Road 2ABN, Cody 527-6272
Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m.-4 p.m.
Canyon Real Estate
1327 Rumsey Ave. Cody, WY 82414
www.canyonrealestate.net 307-527-7092
Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 61
For historic firearms enthusiasts, the Winchester Model 1873 rifle
was the gun that won the West. This .44 caliber model belonged to
William F. Buffalo Bill Cody. The receiver on the right side features
an engraved standing buffalo and scroll work; on the left, along with
scroll work, a buffalo hunter on horseback chases buffalo.

(Original Buffalo Bill Museum Collection. 1.69.372)

Amelia the short-eared

owl is one of the Draper
Museum Raptor Experi-
ences birds of prey.
In October 2015, she
caught her left wing in a
barbed-wire fence near
the Antelope Coal Mine
outside of Gillette in
northeastern Wyoming.
Her injury eventually
meant amputation of
Amelias lower wing.
The Raptor Experience
provides proper care
and a life-long home
to these amazing birds
(nine in all), none of
which can be released
into the wild.

Before written records, Plains Indians recorded one notable

event for each year on a winter count, a kind of pictorial cal-
endar. Early on, keepers painted or drew illustrations on buffalo
hides; when buffalo became scarce, they substituted muslin, linen
or paper. Here, Lone Dogs count, painted and drawn on muslin,
records the years 1800-1871, beginning in the center and spiral-
ing out counter-clockwise. (NA.702.5)
62 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
 Center
What sets a museum apart
from any other institution is its
collection. And when a facility
like the Buffalo Bill Center of
the West has five extraordi-
nary museums and a research
library, one can imagine the
collection
difficulty in choosing only a
few to highlight. But, its easy
to find out more about the
Centers collection online at
collections.centerofthewest.
org and centerofthewest.org/
research/mccracken-research-
library/digital-collections.
Check them out today better
yet, visit the Center and see
for yourself. Long live the Wild
West for another 100 years.

Edgar Samuel Paxson (1852-1919). came to Montana in 1877, a year after the Battle
of Little Bighorn. He took nearly 20 years of research and then in 1895, he started painting
Custers Last Stand. Amazingly, the 6x9-foot painting includes more than 200 figures, each
one sketched separately before adding it to the canvas. (Museum purchase. 19.69)

In the spring of 2001,

Grizzly Bear 104 was struck
by a vehicle and killed on
the highway. Through the
cooperation of the U.S.
Forest Service, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, and
Wyoming Game and Fish
Department, Grizzly Bear
104 now resides in the
For Plains Indian people in 1890,
Draper Natural History
the sacred Ghost Dance meant renewal
Museum to engage, inform,
of the world. They believed that if they
and inspire visitors about
performed the dance, the buffalo and
the natural legacy of Yel-
other game would be plentiful, dead
lowstone and the American
relatives and old friends would return,
West. (DRA.305.5)
and white men would disappear. This
dress is Southern Arapaho, ca. 1890.
(Gift of J.C. Kid Nichols. NA.204.1) Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 63
 William F. Buffalo Bill Cody used
this Deadwood-Cheyenne Stagecoach
in his Wild West show for his Attack on
the Deadwood Stage. The manufacture
of the coach took place in 1867, and it
was originally used as a hotel coach
in Little, New Hampshire. (Gift of Olive
and Glenn E. Nielson. 1.69.2726)

This western
saddle was made
for Buffalo Bill, ca.
1893, by Collins
and Morrison,
Omaha, Nebraska.
It even appears
in the last photo-
graph of Buffalo
Bill taken at his TE
Its been said that God created all men;
Ranch. The hand-
tooled saddle
Samuel Colt (1777-1850) made them equal.
boasts an image of
Throughout his career, the events that molded
Buffalo Bill stand-
American history had a huge effect on the products
ing and holding
that Colt manufactured. He marketed his guns
a rifle. (Museum
through presentation models and even had a major
purchase. William
display at the first Worlds Fair in London in 1851,
Cody Boal Collec-
where he displayed nearly 450 revolving firearms.
tion. 1.69.45)
Pictured here are Sam Colt's personal cased pair of
Colt Model 1851 Navy Revolvers, 1860. (Gift of James
H. Woods Foundation. 1979.4.1)
64 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
 (307) 899-1428 MCGSROOFING.COM
Free Estimates
LIFETIME WORKMANSHIP WARRANTY

Luxury flooring,
Affordable prices

| New New Construction
Construction
Re-Roofs
| Tear-Offs | Re-Roofs |

| ShinglesShingles
| Shakes | Shakes
Wood Shingles |
706 Yellowstone Ave. Cody 307-527-6848
| Metal
Metal && Stone
StoneCoated
| Licensed
CoatedRoofs |
Roofs
|

Tues-Fri: 9am-5:30pm Sat: 9am-12pm Licensed &&Insured
Insured

Bold Sophisticated Choices

Licensed General Contractor
New Construction
Remodels
C o n ta C t Solid Surface
Countertops &
Us Showers
t o d ay ! Painting
Custom Cabinets
Light Construction
BESTION nsed General Contr
e
CT MIKE KELLY
SELEin the
Lic

act

JUSTIN KELLY
or

G H O RN
B I S I N!
BA M&K 307.899.7342
Cody, Wyoming
Cu
stom od LLC mikekelly39@hotmail.com
Monday - Friday 8am-9pm Saturday & Sunday 9am-9pm
Wo justinkelly404@hotmail.com

Fine Wine Spirits Beer

1801 17th St., Cody (next to Albertsons)
307.587.3380 | EastgateLiquorCody.com
Locally owned & operated for more than 40 yrs. Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 65
 On average, people estimate that life insurance costs three times more than it
actually does2.
See how affordable it can be to protect those most important in your world with
life insurance. Contact us today.

Jeanna Kennedy Luke Hopkin

1308 Rumsey Ave 1308 Rumsey Ave
Cody Cody
(307) 587-9669 (307) 587-9669
www.jeannakennedy.com www.lukehopkin.com

Auto | Home | Life | Annuities | Business | Farm & Ranch

1
Individual eligibility for all product promotions is subject to underwriting and approval. Estimated premium payment is for 20-year Choice Term Guaranteed Premium Plan; Standard; 35-year-old male
or female; non-smoker. Amount is for demonstrative purposes only. Contact your Farm Bureau agent for a quote on your actual monthly premium payment. 2LIMRA Life Insurance Consumer Studies,
Facts about Life 2016. Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company*/West Des Moines, IA. Mountain West Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company/Laramie, W Y. *Company provider of Farm Bureau
Financial Services LI171 (3-17)
66 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial
 How did Buffalo
Bill, water rights and
The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day
Saints help to form
Cody? Find out at...

A Historic Tale of the

Migration and Settlement
of the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming Belf r
Big Horn Ave.
y HW Y
r.
Circle D

Wyoming Ave.
19th St.
16th St.

Sheridan Ave.
17th St.

1719 Wyoming Avenue, Cody, Wyoming

307.587.3290 | www.CodyMural.com Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial 67
 On the trail of the West for 100 years
Saddling up for 100 more...

centerofthewest.org
720 Sheridan Avenue, Cody, Wyoming | 307-587-4771

on the front: Bob Scriver (1914 1999), Buffalo BillPlainsman, 1976. Bronze. 86.5 x 62 x 50.25 inches. Cast by Modern Art Foundry, New York, NY. Museum Purchase. 12.77
68 Buffalo Bill Center of the West Centennial