This month, we feature Lutheran missionaries with good intentions.

Beginning in 1858, a group of Iowa-based German Lutherans worked to establish a ministry on Deer Creek near present Glenrock, Wyo. Plagued by sparse funding and widening Indian wars, the effort finally collapsed. Three converted Cheyenne boys returned to Iowa with the missionaries and died there; their families never knew what happened to them.Read more in James Nottage’s article “Spreading the Gospel: Lutheran Missionaries at Deer Creek, 1859-1864.”

Calendar Events

Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody
May 12, noon to 1:00 p.m. “Buffalo Bill Burial Story,” a free talk by Bob Richard with Margie and Mike Johnson. Join us for the May presentation in our Local Lore with Bob Richard series hosted by our McCracken Research Library.  With a wealth of knowledge about the Cody and Yellowstone National Park areas, Bob has a lifetime of stories to share with future generations. The series continues monthly throughout the year.

Meeteetse Museums
May 30, 2:00 p.m. Kick the summer off by spending Memorial Day with Meeteetse’s veterans. Local veterans and local veterans historian, Kathleen Holtzer, will present at the museum at 2:00 p.m.  To learn more about Meeteetse’s veterans, see our blog posts Soldiers of Misfortune and The Boys of Company K.

Riverton Museum
May 14, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Riverton Historic Walking Tour. Join the Riverton Museum and some local historians to visit a variety of historic buildings and homes in Riverton on this Wind River Visitors Council Adventure Trek. Learn the stories of the people who lived and worked in Riverton’s glorious past.

Admission is $5 per person and includes a booklet about the buildings on the tour. This trek requires a good amount of walking; please dress accordingly. Call the Riverton Museum for details: 1-307-856-2665, or click here.

Dubois Museum
May 14, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Petroglyph Preservation and Stewardship Workshop, with Joe Daniele of the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office. Join us to learn about the Wyoming Site Stewardship Program. We will learn how to protect and preserve prehistoric and historic cultural resources for conservation, scientific study, interpretation. and public enjoyment. But that’s only the beginning of what you will learn on this talk and trek to help us be responsible about sharing our amazing petroglyphs with new people. Dubois has some fantastic petroglyphs, and most are undamaged. Let’s try to keep them for other generations!

$10.00 per person. Bring water, hiking boots, trekking poles. No pets allowed.

Lander Museum
May 21, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Historic Lander Walking Tour. Join the Pioneer Museum in Lander for this Wind River Visitors Council Adventure Trek. Learn about the history of some of Lander's oldest buildings on this walk along Lander’s Main Street. Meet at the Lander Chamber of Commerce, 160 North First Street. Donation suggested.

Museum of the Mountain Man, Pinedale
May 10 to 12, 22nd Annual Living History Days. Since 2001, hundreds of school children from southwestern Wyoming come to the Museum of the Mountain Man every May to learn from talks and demonstrations by members of the American Mountain Men. Interested in discovering what daily life was like for the fur traders? See demonstrations on black powder firearms, Native American sign language, beaver skinning, constructing tipis and shelters, trade goods and much more! The event is free and open to the public, generously sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation, Sublette County School District #1 BOCES, and Sweetwater County BOCES. 

Jackson Hole Historical Society & Museum, Jackson
May 10 to Oct. 29, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays, the museum and store will open for the summer. Downtown Jackson Walking Tours will begin on May 27.

For research questions or to schedule research time, contact research@jacksonholehistory.org. To see happenings, including in-person and virtual events, visit our events calendar.

Laramie Plains Museum
May 24, 4:00 p.m. “Wyoming Women’s Remarkable Suffrage Firsts,” in the Tea on Tuesdays series of fundraisers. Wyoming’s women were uniquely able to participate in the political process with men 50 years before those equality rights were given nationally, thanks to Wyoming’s remarkable Suffrage Act of 1869. Learn about the first woman voter, first woman bailiff, first women who sat on a jury, and the first woman governor—all from Wyoming and all very special stories. Tickets are $25; click here for contact info.

Fort Caspar Museum, Casper
May 6, 7:00 p.m. to 10:45 p.m.; Ghost Hunt of Fort Caspar and docent-led ghost tour with Travel Channel celebrity and medium Sarah Lemos; May 7, 2:00 p.m., talk, Sarah’s Mediumship Experiences; 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., VIP Ghost Hunt with Sarah. Audience sizes are limited, and tickets for the fundraiser run from $15 to $75 per person per event.  Click here for times and ticket info. Not recommended for children under 9 years of age.

Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum, Casper
May 21, 10:00 a.m. The Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum invites people interested in volunteering this summer to learn more at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 21 at the museum, 3740 Jourgensen Ave. at the Natrona County airport west of Casper.

The museum needs summer volunteers to help with educational programs, group tours, collections projects, outreach and more. The museum has a busy summer ahead and could use some extra hands.

University of Wyoming Coe Library, Laramie
Through May 27, “Yellowstone National Park,” a 1904 poster by Henry Wellge, is among works from the exhibition “Wonderland Illustrated” on view at UW’s Coe Library The poster is now part of UW Libraries’ Emmett D. Chisum Special Collections. The show presents posters and poster-style illustrations of the park from the 1870s through 2022. The exhibition is located on Level 3 of Coe Library in the hall outside of UW Libraries’ Emmett D. Chisum Special Collections. For more information call (307) 766-6245 or email thert@uwyo.edu.