This month, we tell the story behind the 96-year development of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra.

Amateur no more

The Casper-based Wyoming Symphony Orchestra’s roots reach back to an all-amateur, no-budget ensemble of local musicians in the 1920s. Now, with a half-million dollar budget, an endowment fund and planned giving, the symphony performs difficult repertoire on few rehearsals—with a substantial number of its musicians from Colorado. Read more in Rebecca Hein’s article, “Quality vs. Community: The First Century of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra.”

Calendar Events

Meeteetse Museums
October 1-15 The Meeteetse Museums have partnered with the Shoshone National Forest and National Bighorn Sheep Center to map trees with bighorn ram skulls in them. Large format maps are available at a variety of locations in Wyoming and Montana. Specific locations are available on our website here. We ask the public to share locations, photos, etc. with us. 
 
October 16, 9:00 a.m. "Stewarding the Past" with guest speakers Dr. Lawrence Todd of  GRSLE Archaeology and Colorado State University professor emeritus; Joe Danielle, State Historic Preservation Office’s Site Stewardship Program; Michael Stites, Bighorn National Forest archaeologist; and Kyle Wright, Shoshone National Forest archaeologist.
 
Participants will learn about archaeology, how to responsibly engage with the past on public and private lands, and more. After a lunch break at noon, Kyle Wright will guide a field trip to the historic Double Dee Dude Ranch to learn more about stewarding historic sites. Although this workshop is free, each participant is encouraged to donate $10 to help ensure future events like this. Participants are also encouraged to pre-register by calling (307) 868-2423. 
 
October 22, 1:00 p.m-4:00 p.m. Stone tool manufacturing and knapping to prepare for our bison butchering event on October 23.
 
October 23, 10:00 a.m. As part of our on-going Bison of the Bighorn Basin Project, we are butchering a bison with stone tools. This is an experimental archaeology project to better understand and appreciate traditional subsistence practices. The public is welcome to participate. Interested parties must RSVP by October 5th and pay a $50 fee (for museum members that fee is only $25). A chili lunch will be served on site. Participants get to keep the stone tool they butchered with and will receive a t-shirt along with the new knowledge about the past! Participants will be emailed instructions detailing how to get to the butchering event at the Antlers Ranch.
 
For more information on any of the above events, visit the Meeteetse Museums website.
 
Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody
October 21, 2021, noon-1 p.m. “Ranching for 75 years in the Wapiti Valley,” free talk by Bob Richard, the third of four “Local Lore with Bob Richard” talks. With a wealth of knowledge about the Cody and Yellowstone National Park areas, Bob has a lifetime of stories to share with future generations. Click here for more information.
 
Dubois Museum
October 30, 2021, 3 p.m.-5 p.m. “Halloween at the Museum.” The Dubois Museum: Wind River Historical Center will host great free evening as part of its ongoing Children’s Exploration Series. Admission $3; click here for more information.

Riverton Museum
October 6, 2021, 6 p.m. “Fremont Haunts By Alma Law,” free talk. Local educator and collector of ghost stories Alma Law presents some of the most eerie, interesting, and entertaining stories and urban legends from Riverton and the surrounding areas. Click here for more information.
 
Pioneer Museum, Lander
October 15 & 16,  2021, 6 p.m.-9 p.m. “Halloween Night at the Museum.” The evening is filled with frighteningly cool decoration, spooky stories, crafts, hay rides, hot cocoa, treats and a campfire for roasting. Costumes are encouraged, children of all ages are welcome. Admission $4.00; click here for more information.
 
National Historic Trails Interpretive Center, Casper
October Saturday mornings, 10 a.m. Kids’ programs. Click here for more information.
October 9, 2021, 1 p.m. “Walking in the Rain with the Local Pterosaurs,” free talk by Jean-Pierre Cavigelli, Tate Geological Museum.
October 16, 2021, 1 p.m. “The Untold Story of Single Women Homesteaders,” free talk by historian Marcia Hensley.
October 23, 2021, 1 p.m. “Fort Laramie: Crossroads of a Nation Moving West,” free talk by Eric Valencia, National Park Service.
October 30, 2021, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. NHTIC presents free award-winning film, “Meek’s Cutoff.”

Timely books

New novel by Tory Taylor
Longtime high-country outfitter, writer, historian and amateur archeologist Tory Taylor of Dubois, Wyo., has a new book out—fiction this time—Horseback on Big Game Trails. Based on real events, the story follows the adventures of a big game outfitter, guides, cook, wrangler and hunters during their fall season. Saddle-toughened hunting camp veterans and new hunters looking forward to their first backcountry trip will enjoy this story. Illustrated. Dubois, Wyo.: Wind River Publishing, $12. Available on Amazon along with Taylor’s other books.

New edition of Tom Rea’s Bone Wars
The University of Pittsburgh Press has just published a new, 20th anniversary edition of Bone Wars: The Excavation and Celebrity of Andrew Carnegie’s Dinosaur, by WyoHistory.org editor Tom Rea. One hundred years ago, Diplodocus carnegii—named after industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie—was the most famous dinosaur on the planet. The most complete fossil skeleton unearthed to date, and one of the largest dinosaurs ever discovered, Diplodocus was displayed in a dozen museums around the world and viewed by millions of people. Bone Wars explains how a fossil unearthed north of Medicine Bow, Wyo. in 1899 helped give birth to the public’s fascination with prehistoric beasts. Rea also traces the evolution of scientific thought regarding dinosaurs and reveals the double-crosses and behind-the-scenes deals that marked the early years of bone hunting.
 
The new edition contains a new foreword by Matt Lamana, chief dinosaur paleontologist at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, and a new afterword by the author, with updates on Wyoming dinosaur developments in recent years. $18, paperback. Available on Amazon or at your bookseller.