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May 1, 2000 One thing for sure -- it's never dull around the Old West Wax Museum complex -- something is always coming in the front door or the back -- boxes to be unpacked, shows to be repacked -- plans for new displays, new shows, upcoming activities. Wheewww -- you could get tired just thinking about it! So to help you keep up on the news... In the Old West Wax Museum... The Voyageur Cruiser, a 26-foot-canoe, will be the centerpiece of a new display to open July 14. In 1989, a crew of men and women re-enacted a trip made by William Ashley and his mountain men in 1826. The group rowed from Riverton to St. Louis -- more than 2600 miles. The canoe is on permanent loan from Riverton educator and organizer Allan Maybee. Maybee and his crew members will be here for a special dedication July 15. As part of the display, a 40-foot mural will be painted by Wyoming artist Barry Lee, Torrington. Lee painted the dinosaur diorama in downtown Thermopolis. (It can be seen on the Wyoming Dinosaur Center website: http://www.wyodino.org.) About two dozen etchings and
newspapers from the G.J. Gutherie Nicholson Trust The interpretive materials in the wax museum will also receive a major overhaul, which should mean for easier reading.
Marta Amundson's show will continue through Memorial Day. Don't let this exciting show pass you by. There are more than 30 of her colorful and innovative works, and they are not scheduled to be shown in the region again for some time. A new photographic exhibit of Women in the West, from the collections of the American Heritage Center, Laramie, will open in June. It includes more than 50 images of women in the early West. We're very excited to be the first to display this revamped exhibit. We're making plans for our Folk FunFest June 8 and our first "Hens & Chicks" activities. These are classes where children and adults -- parents, grandparents or others -- can learn and work together. We'll also be holding our first teddy-bear making class that weekend. Check the schedule for all the activities we have scheduled! We are planning on having demonstrators in the Quilting Bee this summer. We have set up a quilt on which visitors can stitch, and we are installing a felt wall for people to try color and pattern combinations. We still have a number of looms that have not arrived, and one that needs to be assembled. We will be working on additional textile interpretive materials, including a fiber chart showing different types of fibers and yarns. Come see our spectacular Wyoming Centennial quilt by Betty Morgan, Thermopolis. This work of art was hand-stitched by Betty in the 1980s. Each block represents something or someone related to Wyoming. It is such a perfect display for the complex, because many figures on the quilt are on display in the wax museum, including Esther Morris and Buffalo Bill. Our Quilt Block Wall continues to grow. We have over 60 blocks up for display, and another 30 to be finished. If you'd like to donate a block: It can be hand or machine-pieced, the block simply pieced or completely backed and bound. If you or a school class is interested, email ellensb@trib.com for details. We still have many of the regional quilts on display, plus a fun wall hanging from a fourth grade class in Meeteetse (mostly boys!) We expect a quilt project from Hot Springs County High School in May. If you are a teacher and would like your class to work on a project, please email (above) or call Keeping You in Stitches, 307 864 3490, which is coordinating the project. In the Teddy Bear Den...
New Display!! Bears of Germany: If you're a fan of Steiff or Hermann, you'll enjoy these. The collection is from Dr. Erika Pohl-Ströher, Friborg, Switzerland. Many of the finest Steiff replicas made over the last decade are included. Among them are a number of early mechanical toys and "Happy Anniversary," a replica of the 1926 Steiff which brought more than $86,000 at auction and several early mechanical toys. Dr. Pohl-Ströher commissioned artists from her home region (formerly East Germany) to carve small wooden bears that had once been traditional to that region. About 25 of these are included in the collection. A number of new displays have
been set up, including "Celebrate the Century," featuring
the U.S. Postal Service and the 1998 teddy bear stamp. The Thermopolis
post office donated an early wooden sorting desk, leather letter
carriers and a metal mailbox. Featured in the display is "Frank,"
the 1906 Ideal bear used for the 1998 stamp, along with other
bears from the United States and Greece. Many displays have been altered or changed for the season. A major change we hope to finish this spring is adding identification tags. This is a time-consuming chore, but we know it will make the displays more interesting when you can actually see who made each bear and where they are located. And now for the big news! TA-DAAA!!! We will begin work in June on a completely new area -- THE TRAIN DEPOT! A large number of model trains will be on permanent loan to the museum, and we will be setting these up to run! We are hoping a group of train enthusiasts will be working on this with us. Stay tuned for more details! And that's not all! So come join in the fun -- and remember, once is not enough. The Cellar Dweller |
of Thermopolis collection will be put on display sometime in
May. These cover such areas as mining and the Chinese racial
troubles, national newspaperman Frank Leslie's trip across Wyoming
in the 1880s and general life on the frontier.
