The Volunteer Vaquero - Wyoming State Museum

The Volunteer
Vaquero
WyWWyom From the President's PennennnsiddeeeePresident’s Pen
Beverly Goodman , President, Museum Volunteers
November 2011
Hello, everyone, It seems that every time I turn around, it’s time to write another note to you all for the Vaquero newsletter. Does it seem to you that every time you turn around, here’s another note from Beverly? Time passes so quickly as we get older, especially if we keep busy volunteering. This last month the Board of Directors pledged $1000.00 to help the Museum buy some artifacts from Audrey Swartz of Arizona, a daughter‐in‐law of Henry Swartz, a former U. S. Senator from Casper, WY. Ms. Swartz is donating some items as well as half the cost of shipping them to us. The items include furniture, quilts, dolls, and a China set, to name only a few. Perhaps Jennifer or Jim can tell us more about them in the future. This purchase is a good example of the kinds of things we do to fulfill our mission of supporting the State Museum. Our annual Fall Meeting was held on Monday, Oct. 10 as a pot‐ luck luncheon in the Multi‐
Purpose Room of the Museum. We had in attendance: 21 volunteers, 3 spouses, 10 staff members including Helen Louise, our new Museum Director, and 2 visitors; a prospective new volunteer and our speaker for the day. Thanks to all for bringing great food, to Judy Binger for setting the tables for us even if she couldn’t attend herself, and to Sandra Goodman, my daughter, for showing us some pictures and giving us information on the country of Cambodia. We need reminders of how much of the world still lives in abject poverty. But Cambodia is coming to life again after “The Killing Fields”, thanks in a large part to volunteers helping the people to help themselves. I’m including in this Vaquero our yearly calendar so you can look ahead and see what we’re doing each month. Mark the dates on your own calendars and make as many activities as you can. It’s much more fun at these events if lots of us show up. I’m pleased to announce that we have 2 new volunteers: Deb Mellblom and Peggy Staley. They are interested in collections work, research and data entry work upstairs, and helping in the Archives Dept., but they have agreed to help at the Visitors’ Desk also, so keep your eyes open, introduce yourselves, and welcome them to our group. Thanks to all of you for your participation and enthusiasm. Beverly Volunteer Desk Duty
Harriet Loose has agreed to take care of the desk schedule and deal with changes that
come up. If you find that you cannot work your shift, and/or cannot find another
volunteer to cover for you, please call Harriet (638-6602). She will then
find a replacement .
Helen Louise, State Museum Manager, has requested that we staff
the desk 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM. The new schedule for desk duty will
begin on Tuesday, November 1. The early shift will now be 9:00
AM to 12:45 PM. The afternoon shift will be 12:45 PM - 4:30 PM. Each shift will be 3
hours and 45 minutes long. This change will free Museum staff from watching the desk
except during our breaks.
Fall in Wyoming HAPPENING AT THE WYOMING STATE MUSEUM:
October 28 Night at the Museum - Bag Stuffers to prepare treat bags: Thursday October 27-2:00-4:30 and Friday October 289:00-12
- Volunteers to hand out Treat Bags and Scavenger Hunts at the event October 283:30-7:00
If you can volunteer to help at one or more of these times, Please call or email Heyward Phone: 7776670
EmaIl: [email protected]
November 10 How Electric Lights came to Cheyenne John shields, Cheyenne, WY December 8 Charleston to Key West Mark Junge, Cheyenne, WY November 16 Board Meeting 1 p.m. BOARD OF DIRECTORS President:
Beverly Goodman
Vice President: Emma Fosdick
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Tracy Stefanik-Berg
Linda Rogers
Vaquero Editor: Carolyn Turbiville
Ex Officio:
Heyward Schrock
Advisor:
Mary Wilson About the Organization
From the inception in 1974, the WY
State Museum Volunteers have been
instrumental in assisting the art and
education programs of the Wyoming
State Museum.
Their tie to these
programming sections of the museum
remains strong today. Volunteers at
the Wyoming State Museum are an
important link between the museum’s
professional services and the public it
serves.
In human terms, they
represent the museum’s mission to the
public.
The Volunteer Vaquero. . .
is published monthly for members of the Wyoming State Museum Volunteers,
Wyoming State Museum, Barrett Building, 2301 Central Avenue, Cheyenne, WY
82002. Newsletter deadline is the 20th of each month.
November Birthdays 10 – Janet Norrod 22 – Judy Binger Wyoming State Museum Historic Trivia Provided by Jim Allison, supervisor of Collections The Wind River Indian Reservation is located in the central part of the state. It stretches 70
miles east to west and 55 miles north to south, for a total of about 3,500 square miles.
While this figure may seem large, the reservation is roughly one-twentieth of its original size.
The original amount of land set aside for the Shoshone was huge, encompassing over 44 million
acres. It included parts of present-day Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and all of southwestern Wyoming.
The Wind River Indian Reservation is home to which two Indian tribes?
(This month’s answer will be found on page 13)
This and That from the Editor Photographs in this issue of the Vaquero are by Beverly Goodman, Carolyn Turbiville and Mary Wilson. Thank you for your contributions. ~~~ Bill
~~~This
Yannaccone is now residing at Pointe Frontier
issue of the Vaquero is a little late because Mke, our web person,
has been on vacation.
Repeat of 7th Annual Historic Homes Walk September 17, 2011 Repeat walkers from past walks
Cindy Cook & Holly Eleanor McMillan
LaDonna and Heyward Schrock Dr. Ellen Juhl & Madeline, Dogs‐ Abby & Molly Ann Bell & Chico Family Affair Kathy Ramirez, Leeds Pickering Mary Ramirez, Jose and Gabby Ramirez and Buddy. Gabby has only missed one Historic Homes Walk. Leeds is Kathy's father, Mary is Jose's mother. More Walk pictures Host and Hostess with the Mostess Marking the trail‐Beverly Goodman, Pris Joe, Patrick and Pris Golden‐Thank you Golden & Carolyn's sister Myrna Jackson sharing your home. Workers: Bev Goodman Pris Golden, Harriett Loose, Tracy Berg Mary Ann Merek added much festivity to the walk and provided refreshments! Carl Halladay Letha Lynch, Linda Rush, DiAne Christensen, Jeanette Lynch, Norma Coulson Picnic at Beverly Goodman's Beautiful Mountain Home September 18 Picnic "goers": Right: Emma Fosdick, Ann Bell and Gill Gianetti Bottom Right: Ken Barrow, Mel and Harriet Loose Below: Dorothy & Larry Gunton and Gaylord Fosdick 2nd picture: Beverly Goodman, Dick Hart, Emma Fosdick, Gil Gianetti and Ann Bell Couldn't believe I would do it!!!!! Vaquero Editor Carolyn Turbiville riding the Zip Line in Branson, Mo. Artifact of the Month
By Jennifer Alexander, Supervisor of Collections
Halloween “Bogie Books”
(G-2005.86.36 and G-2005.86.37)
Halloween is a festive holiday celebrated each year on October
31. It is a mix of ancient Celtic practices, Catholic and Roman
religious rituals, and European folk traditions that blended
together over time to create the holiday we know today.
Dennison Manufacturing Company published Halloween “Bogie
Books” from 1909 through 1934. The books were made to
promote the use of their paper products with numerous projects
made from their merchandise. Extensive party ideas are featured
including various party themes, instructions for the creation of
crepe paper costumes, ideas for decorations and table favors,
refreshment suggestions, etc. Item descriptions and prices for
Dennison products to be used to fulfill these party ideas could be
found at the back of these books.
The Wyoming State Museum received two of these books in a donation in 2005. They date
from1922 and 1923, and each originally cost ten cents.
Part of the introduction to the 1923 book reads: The hostess who plans a Hallowe’en party has
unlimited possibilities for both the character of her entertainment and fitting
decorations. Black and orange are usually the predominating colors, while witches, black cats,
bats, owls, bogies and Jack o’lanterns furnish a variety of appropriate decorative motifs. This
book is published new each year to help make Hallowe’en and Thanksgiving parties
wonderfully successful and unusual. The decorations pictured may be easily copied and in
almost every case stock goods are used.
The types of products available for sale in these books included: paper cutouts of ghosts,
pumpkins, and witches; party invitations; cut-outs for “Ices”; crepe paper napkins; party caps
and masks; etc. Most items cost just a few cents each.
Many games are described to add fun to a party. Many were geared towards finding a husband
or wife.
Blowing Out Candles: Blindfolded players, in turn, blow out a lighted candle. The number of
blows indicates the number of years before the wedding day.
The Apple Paring Charm: The apple must be pared with the paring in one long piece. It must
then be thrown over the left shoulder, whereupon it will fall into the form of the initial of the
favored one.
Sailing Walnut Boats: The boats are empty half shells of English walnuts. In each is fastened a
short piece of bright-colored Christmas candle, names for some member of the party, lighted,
and set afloat with others in a big tub of water. The action of these little craft reveals the
destiny of their owners, sometimes gliding smoothly along their way together, sometimes
drifting apart. To be a bachelor or maid will be the fate of the one whose candle goes out first.
The Three Fates: The players are seated in a circle on the floor. Three ghosts appear. One
whispers to each in turn the name of future sweetheart, the second ghost whispers a meeting
place, and the third ghost an event in the future. Each must then in turn reveal the future as
told him by the ghosts.
A Very Brief History of Halloween
In the second half of the nineteenth century, America was flooded with new immigrants. These
new immigrants, especially the millions of Irish fleeing Ireland's potato famine of 1846, helped
to popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally. Taking from Irish and English traditions,
Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or
money. This practice eventually became today's "trick-or-treat" tradition.
In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about
community and neighborly get-togethers than about ghosts, pranks, and witchcraft.
At the turn of the 20th century, Halloween parties for both children and adults became the most
common way to celebrate the day. Parties focused on games, foods of the season, and festive
costumes. Parents were encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything
"frightening" or "grotesque" out of Halloween celebrations. Because of their efforts, Halloween
lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the twentieth century.
By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a secular, but community-centered holiday,
with parades and town-wide parties as the featured entertainment. Between 1920 and 1950, the
centuries-old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. Trick-or-treating was a relatively
inexpensive way for an entire community to share the Halloween celebration. In theory,
families could also prevent tricks being played on them by providing the neighborhood children
with small treats. A new American tradition was born, and it has continued to grow. Today,
Americans spend an estimated $6.9 billion annually on Halloween, making it the country's
second largest commercial holiday.
Research Source: History.com
WSMV CALENDAR 2011‐2012 2011: May 16: Annual Meeting 1:00—Museum Multi‐purpose Room Memorial Service for Beth Gianetti and Marj Woods, deceased May 2 and May 5 Election of Officers and Volunteer of the Year: Gil Gianetti May 14: Historic Homes Walk, More Haven Heights, Start 432 W. 6th Ave., Pris Golden’s home. May 18: 1:00 Board Meeting. June 15: 1:00 Board Meeting. July 20: 1:00 Board Meeting July 23: Frontier Days Bake Sale, 9:00‐12:00 August 13: Arts and Crafts Show and Sale, 9:00‐3:00 August 17: 1:00 Board Meeting September 17: Historic Homes Walk repeat September 18: Picnic, 1;00 Buford, WY, Goodman’s home. September 21: 1:00, Board Meeting October 10: Fall Meeting, Museum Multi‐purpose Room, noon Pot Luck luncheon. October 19: 1:00 Board Meeting November 16: 1:00 Board Meeting December 5: 10:00, Tree Decorating and Cookie Exchange December 21: 1:00 Board Meeting 2012 January TBA: Museum Orientation Janurary 18: 1:00 Board Meeting February 7: 1:00 Pie Social, Museum Multi‐purpose Room. February 15: 1:00 Board Meeting, Volunteer of Year nomination forms sent out, Nominating Committee appointed. March 17: St. Patrick’s Day Dinner, 6:00, location TBA March 21: 1:00 Board Meeting April 18: 1:00 Board Meeting Vote on Volunteer of the Year April TBA: help Museum Staff with Earth Day activities. May 7: Annual Meeting, location TBA. Election of Officers, Volunteer of Year award. May 16: 1:00 Board Meeting May 19: 8‐00 A.M.‐2:00 P.M. Historic Homes Walk, Holliday Park Area, start at Gil Gianetti’s home. Wyoming State Museum Historic Trivia Answer: The Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes live on the Wind River Indian Reservation. The former
make their home in the western and northwestern parts of the reservation. The latter live in the
eastern and southeastern areas. These two very different peoples were traditional
enemies. The Shoshone developed out of the Great Basin desert culture, while the Arapaho
evolved from the Algonquian culture of the northeastern woodlands. A Shoshone council
chairman described their languages as being as dissimilar as English and Russian.
The First Treaty of Fort Bridger established the huge Shoshone territory in 1863. The Second
Treaty of Fort Bridger fixed the boundaries of the Shoshone Agency five years later. Chief
Washakie of the Shoshones was the only Indian chief to choose his own reservation with definite
boundaries, although they were significantly smaller than the original reservation. In 1878,
nearly 950 Arapahos were "temporarily" placed on the Shoshone Agency. Arapaho chiefs
Sharpnose and Black Coal had persuaded the U.S. government to let the Arapahos settle on an
Indian reservation in their own country rather than be moved to Indian Territory in Oklahoma or
to a Sioux agency. It soon became apparent that the federal government had no intention of
moving the Arapahos again, and a permanent agreement attached the Arapahos to the Shoshone
Agency. The traditional enemies were very opposed to the idea of living together in the Wind
River Valley. In 1938, the Shoshone Tribe sued the United States for compensation for sharing
their land with the Arapaho Tribe, winning a settlement of over four million dollars. The name
of the reservation was changed to the Wind River Indian Reservation the following year.
Fall Luncheon and Meeting October 10 Wyoming State Museum Volunteers and Staff Carolyn Turbiville doing one of her favorite things, taking care of a dog Manny Vigil, Bev Goodman & Heyward Schrock trying to get the PA system to work President, Beverly Goodman, opening the meeting Harriett Loose's chauffer and husband making his grand entrance. Chow line is open and much good food is enjoyed Sandy Goodman presented a very informative program about Cambodia at the luncheon. Sandy is Bev Goodman's daughter. Guests enjoy Sandy's presentation