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A Podcast Conversation on the West, Buffalo Bill, and more
The Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s Eric Rossborough, our McCracken Research Library’s Associate Librarian and Senior Cataloger, joined Ramsey Russell, host of the “Duck ...
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The Pitchfork Ranch Antelope Caper
When Monte Skinner was seven years old, he was given the chore of catching baby antelope. Since Iโve been in Wyoming Iโve become used to ...
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Owl Sounds: Not Just Hooters
This blog describes sounds from a few owl species, as well as offering you sound bites to listen to. If I ask you what sound ...
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Who is Liver-Eating Johnson, and Why Are They Saying Those Terrible Things About Him?
Tri Robinson was in his second year as a schoolteacher. He had overcome a learning disability to get through college and now he was faced ...
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The Center of the Westโs Native Education Outreach Program
Over the past few years, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West has embarked on an ambitious education program that embraces the concept of Indian ...
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To Hate or Not to Hate, That is The Pigeon
Ahhhhhhh, the pigeon. I feel confident saying that nearly every human on the planet has seen a โpigeon.โ These birds are found everywhere across the ...
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Black Cowboys in America โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSpring 2021 Black Cowboys in America: Photographer Illuminates Diversity of the American Cowboy Story by Tessa BakerPhotos by Ivan McClellan ...
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Eye Color and Eyelashes of Birds
Birdโs eyes vary greatly in iris colorations, along with if they do or do not have eyelashes. ...
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Kids Ask WhY launches season two
Produced by Wyoming Public Media and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Kids Ask WhY features young journalists from Wyoming (ages 7 to 12), ...
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Hal Evarts’s Skunk Ranch
In 1903, when Hal Evarts was fifteen years old, he and a friend made camp on the Arkansas River. โFur sign was plentiful,โ he wrote, ...
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Contemporary Meets Culture: Modern Art in the Plains Indian Museum
In the Plains Indian Museum, next to the coolest pairs of sneakers I have ever seen, a unique object sits amongst other colorful artifacts with ...
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The Twilight Life of Charles King
Popular nineteenth century writers like James Fenimore Cooper and Mark Twain were so popular they got their own library call number. This is something twentieth ...
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Essential National Park Playlist
While there are a total of over 420 national park sites in the United States, only 63 receive the special designation of National Park. From towering peaks in Denali to colorful coral reefs in Biscayne, ...
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Adele von Ohl Parker โ Cowgirl, Performer and Icon of the Arena
Plumb full of talent, cowgirl Adele von Ohl Parker graced arenas and stages brimming with bravado. Parker was raised on a horse farm in Plainfield, ...
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Parts of a Western Saddle and the Variations
Wedged under almost every cowboy that attempted to tame the frontier was a saddle. The culmination of craftsmanship and practicality, the western saddle is a key piece in the ...
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Artist Highlight: Walter Matia
Walter Matia is a sculptor with an incredible talent of freezing wildlife in its tracks. With intense attention to detail, Matia brings his pieces to life ...
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Into the Yellowstone Wilds โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSummer 2011 Into the Yellowstone Wilds By Jennifer McDonald, Former Program Manager, Draper Natural History Museum Then-Natural History Program Manager ...
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Silent auction 2021: Find unique gifts for yourself or a friend!
Each year, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s Patrons Ball fundraising gala includes a silent auction of beautiful artwork and jewelry, decorative arts, and ...
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Don’t Fence Me In: A Draper and Science Kids Adventure
The Future of Wildlife Resides in the Hands of the Youth That was one of several take home messages that youth participants of the Donโt ...
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Artist Highlight: Dustin Van Wechel
Dustin Van Wechel is an oil painter with a knack for realism. His meticulous attention to detail and extremely specific brushwork is mesmerizing in an โanalyze every detail for hours and wonder how itโs possibleโ type ...
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This Library is Anything but Quiet โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSpring 2005 This Library is Anything but Quiet By Nathan Bender, Former Curator, McCracken Research Library Norman Cousins (1915โ1990), editor ...
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Rodeo Capital of the World
At the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, we are grateful to be located in the โRodeo Capital of the World.โ Every summer night after the museum has shut its ...
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A Modern Day “Hole-in-the-Wall” Gang’s Unexpected Journey โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineWinter 2010 A Modern Day “Hole in the Wall” Gang’s Unexpected Journey By Whitney Western Art Museum Volunteers “While browsing ...
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Artist Highlight: Russell Case
Dreamily depicting scenes of the American West, Russell Case captures theย viewerโsย eyeย throughย vibrant color and light. This allows them to exploreย the detailed elements of the pieces. Most ...
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Views from Yonder: Outside Perspectives of the Wild West
What do you picture when you think of the Wild West? Do you see tumbleweeds drifting through a small town? The bucking bronco on the Wyoming license plate? Or does a gunslinging video ...
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Wildflower Watch
Walking through sage brush steppe on the hottest day of the year, I felt like I was surrounded by a monotonous sea of dirt and ...
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The One that Got Awayโฆ A Photo, That Is โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSpring 2016 The One that Got Awayโฆ A Photo, That Is By Tom F. Cunningham The ways in which our ...
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Anson Eddy Takes Off
A Future Executive? When I was doing research on Anson Eddy, I found record of someone by that name working as an elevator operator in ...
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Last of the Wild West: the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSpring 2007 Last of the Wild West: the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear By Charles R. Preston, PhD It was warm for ...
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Guardians of the Galleries
If you ask anyone who works at the Center of the West who keeps this place running, they will most likely say the security guards. They safeguard the art, protect the ...
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Gunslinging Gameplay – Red Dead Redemption
It is every Cowboy-and-Cowpoke-playing childโs dream to travel across the West, be a gunslinger, and face the perils of an untamed landscape. Those children grow ...
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Beetle Buffet – Feeding on the Future of Science
Tucked away in aquarium tanks rifling through skulls and bones of a bull snake, wolf, and osprey are the dermestid beetles of the Center of the ...
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Traveling West Page by Page โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineFall/Winter 2014 Traveling West Page by Page By Henry M. Yaple “To those with ears to hear, libraries are really ...
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A Day at the Center of the West
Rolling into Cody, Wyoming, is a sight to see. Strolling through downtown can make you feel transported to the Old West, and the mountain views from all angles will take your ...
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On the Silent Hills Near the Little Big Horn
The relentless wind moved the sea of grass like ocean waves. Staring across the tranquil distance it was difficult to imagine the bloodshed that had ...
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Artists-in-Residence enliven Center of the West’s museum spaces
Each summer, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West welcomes artists-in-residence to its museum galleries to demonstrate their artistic techniques and share their vision with ...
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Welcoming Jason Housel: Draper Natural History Museum Artist-in-Residence
From July 26 to 30, Jason Housel is the Draper Natural History Museumโs artist-in-residence. Jason will be interacting with guests and creating displays that showcase ...
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Seeing the West in a Whole New Way โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineFall 2009 Seeing the West in a Whole New Way: The 2009 Whitney Museum Reopening By Laurel Eatherly A blast ...
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Ballin’ on a Budget – A Yellowstone Vacation
Congratulations! You are probably considering a Yellowstone vacation. With breathtaking views and wildlife abound, a trip to the worldโs first national park is almost a no-brainer. Except, occasionally for the pocketbook. Fret not, gathered ...
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Chiller Thriller and Boiler Spoiler โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSummer 2021 Chiller Thriller and Boiler Spoiler: NEH Infrastructure Challenge Grant Required 3-to-1 Match It seems like a lifetime ago, ...
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Little Red Corvette โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSpring 2021 Little Red Corvette: Local Partnership Yields Ideal Car Raffle By Spencer Smith For each of the past 20 ...
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Ultimate Trip Guide Through Yellowstone’s East Entrance
From the dazzling lights of the Cody Nite Rodeo up to the snow-covered peaks surrounding Sylvan Pass down to the wildlife on the rolling hills ...
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Bear Country Bare Necessities
Although appearing as cuddly as their toy store counterparts, wild bears are not to be played with. Being safe in bear country is critical. After all, when visiting nature, you are the guest, and the ...
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The Man Who Wasn’t Jim Bridger
A Well-watered Area Jim Bridger had seen the handwriting on the wall. Between the early 1820s and late 1830s, fur brigades had moved from watershed ...
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Old Westerns: Fiction vs Reality
Seeing the historical figures that are displayed around the museum suddenly come to life in Westen films is entertaining, but not always historically accurate. Many of the information we ...
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Georgian horsemen in the Wild West show โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSummer 2019 Georgian horsemen in the Wild West show By Irakli Makharadze Translated from Georgian by Salome and Nino Makharadze ...
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Caching in Birds: What it is, the Why and How
A few weeks ago a friend asked me what the word cache meant. Many species of animals commonly cache complete meals or leftovers. In fact, ...
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Harold McCracken’s Nature Writing โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSummer 2017 Harold McCracken’s Nature Writing By Mary Robinson In a previous, two-part Points West Online installment, Mary Robinson told ...
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Museum Minute: Lakota Tradition of Celebrating Childbirth
Hunter Old Elk, the curatorial assistant of the Plains Indian Museum, said when children come into this world, they are a new generation. โThey are ...
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The Day I met Willis McDonald
Shortly after I started at the McCracken Research Library, our Director, Mary Robinson, came into my office one day. โDo you want to go to ...
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Museum Minute: A Unique Copy Of George Catlin’s Books Of Paintings
Artist George Catlin made a number of trips to the West in the 1830s. He spent a lot of time with the upper Missouri tribes, ...
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How Not to Spook a Horse โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSpring 2020 How Not to Spook a Horse By Jim Davis This article giving advice on how not to spook ...
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Museum Minute: How A Museum Decides What To Collect
The Cody Firearms Museum has over 7,000 firearms in the collection. So are they looking to add anything to the collection? Danny Michael, the curator ...
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150 Years On Target โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineFall 2016 150 Years On Target New Mexico Electric News, MayโJune 1966 An unlikely magazineโNew Mexico Electric News, MayโJune 1966โfeatured ...
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Craftsman and Artist: A Brief Look at the Leather Shops of the Early 1900s
A brief look at leather shops and saddle makers of the early 1900s....
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Museum Minute: “The Last of Their Race”
Artist John Mix Stanley crossed thousands of miles among the western territories in the mid-1800’s. He even went as far as Hawaii in his travels. ...
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The Story of Bronson Rumsey and His Business Records โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineFall 2011 From Buffalo, New York, to Cody, Wyoming: The Story of Bronson Rumsey and His Business Records By Jeremy ...
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Protect Our Indigenous Sisters
Women-led, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Movement (MMIWG) increases awareness for staggering violence, disappearances, and exploitation against Indigenous peoples, especially women....
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Museum Minute: Monte, the Eastern Screech Owl
Eastern screech owls are found east of the Rocky Mountains of the continental divide. They do overlap a little with the Western Screech Owl, so ...
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Mountain Men of the Old School
Max Wilde first drifted through the Cody area in 1913. An Indiana farm boy, he was fascinated by stories of hunting and trapping in the ...
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Taking to the Field with the Draper Natural History Museum โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSpring 2010 Taking to the Field with the Draper Natural History Museum By Jennifer McDonald Nature buffs are always excited ...
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Museum Minute: A Toy Horse and Doll
Toys are a great example of how historians learn about people’s everyday lives. Hunter Old Elk, the Assistant Curator of the Plains Indian Museum, said ...
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To the Western Ocean: Paintings by Michael Haynes โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSummer 2009 To the Western Ocean: Paintings by Michael Haynes By Christine C. Brindza In 2009, Michael Haynes’s To the ...
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Museum Minute: How Pop Culture Influences Firearms Collecting
Pop culture usually influences the way we live. And it turns out firearms collecting is no different. Danny Michael, the Cody Firearms Museum curator, said ...
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Rebecca West named Executive Director & CEO of Buffalo Bill Center of the West
The Buffaโlo Bill Center of the West Board of Trustees Executive Director Exploratory Task Force and the Boardโs Executive Committee today announced the promotion of Rebecca West ...
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Museum Minute: A Telegram Keeps A Memory Alive
Larry Larom was the owner of a famous dude ranch southwest of Cody. He had long been supportive of the Cody Stampede Rodeo and was ...
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Museum Minute: Ted Waddell’s ‘Red Lodge Horses’
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Whitney Western Art Museum in 2008, artist Ted Waddell donated a large painting titled, Red Lodge Horses. Turns out ...
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Museum Minute: Spoon Exemplifies Quill Work
There are times when a curator of a museum may decide not to keep an object that came in with a larger collection. That’s because ...
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Collection Connections with the Corps of Discovery โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSummer 2009 Collection Connections with the Corps of Discovery By Christine C. Brindza In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson chose Meriwether ...
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Pulp Fiction
When Bill Hayes was thirteen years old, he spent several days at a mine in the Bighorn Mountains. Some cousins had invited Bill, his Dad, ...
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Raptors Arenโt Always What You Expect
There are many surprises in the natural world. Some are due to our own false interpretations and conclusions, others are due to misinformation we have ...
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Fields of Discovery โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineWinter 2009 Fields of Discovery Ed. note: This article shares the story of a past series of summer educational programs. ...
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Museum Minute: The ‘Biography’ That Made Colt Buntline Revolvers Famous
Colt Buntline Revolvers weren’t very well known until a biography was written about Wyatt Earp. Earp was an American law enforcement officer who served as ...
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Finding Frank โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSpring 2016 Finding Frank By Jennifer R. Henneman In a previous Points West Online article, readers took great delight in ...
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Museum Minute: The Stetson Hat In Literature
John B. Stetson came West as a young man. He was the son of a successful hatter. In the West, he recognized the need for ...
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BBCW Youth Advisors awarded environmental project grant from Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution has awarded $500 to the Youth Advisory Board (a group of Cody High School students) at the Buffalo Bill Center of the ...
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Sitting Bull: Even Cody Couldn’t Save Him โ Points West Online
Originally published in 1980 in the Centerโs newsletter, and reprinted in Points West magazineFall/Winter 2015 Sitting Bull: Even Cody Couldn’t Save Him By Gene BallFormer ...
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Forging an American Identity: The Art of William Ranney โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSpring 2006 Forging an American Identity: The Art of William Ranney By Sarah E. Boehme, PhDFormer Curator, Whitney Western Art ...
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From the Streets to the Academy: the Charles G. Clarke Story
Charles G. Clarke (1899 – 1983) may not have been present for the settling of the American West, but he sure was present for the ...
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Museum Minute: A Chromolithograph of the Grand Prismatic Spring
Painter Thomas Moran visited Yellowstone National Park in 1871. A year before, Yellowstone became the world’s first national park. Moran traveled to Yellowstone on a ...
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Will the Real Frontiersman Please Stand Up? โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSummer 2015 Will the Real Frontiersman Please Stand Up? By Sandra K. Sagala The controversy over the film The Interview ...
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Museum Minute: Dentalium Shell Dress
One day while working in the Plains Indian Museum collections, Hunter Old Elk, the curatorial assistant, found a very heavy box. “I didn’t really know ...
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Margaret Murie: Sunlight Aura and Spine of Steel โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSummer 2003 Margaret Murie: Sunlight Aura and Spine of Steel By Valarie HammFormer Intern, Draper Natural History Museum Nestled in ...
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Cody Firearms Museum celebrates its collection with an anniversary
The Buffalo Bill Center of the Westโs Cody Firearms Museum, completely redesigned and renovated in 2019, includes about 4,200 firearms in its 40,000 square feet ...
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Avian Courtship: Let’s Get It On
Love, a Universal Problem Let’s face it, most of us have had our hearts broken at some point. When that happens, itโs completely normal to ...
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Favorite Firearms โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSummer 2019 Favorite Firearms A number of firearms experts, scholars, enthusiasts, and Buffalo Bill Center of the West staffers are ...
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Museum Minute: Dude Ranches in the Big Horn Mountains
The McCracken Research Library’s Housel Director loves artifacts that tell a bigger story. Mary Robinson said one of her favorite examples is a pamphlet that ...
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Exhibition: What Lies Beneath
Current exhibition Open April 24 – August 8, 2021, and again from…October 1, 2021 – May 1, 2022 What Lies Beneath: Exploring Yellowstone Lake’s Mysterious ...
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Charles Fritz: A Present-Day Artist on the Trail of Lewis and Clark โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineSummer 2009 A Present-Day Artist on the Trail of Lewis and Clark By Christine C. Brindza It began with one ...
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Blacks in Army Blue โ Points West Online
Originally published in Points West magazineFall/Winter 2018 Blacks in Army Blue: Early Depictions by Frederic Remington and William F. Cody By Dr. John Langellier John ...
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