SUMMER PLANS 2014

If you are interested in local history, you may have a busy summer ahead.  The Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum will once again sponsor the "spirit evenings" at Willow Grove Cemetery.  Local residents are researching early day residents, who rest in our local cemetery.  A brief overview of their life will be shared with attendees.  This have proved informative in the past and we look forward to the new presentations.

The Museum is sponsoring a dinner on Saturday the 26th of May.  It will be held at the Cowboy Carousel Center on Lobban Street.  After a catered meal, there will be a program about the history of  three area ranches east of  Buffalo.  This a good opportunity to learn of the ranching history of our county.

The Historical Society places flowers on the  graves located in Potter's Field near the entrance to Willow Grove Cemetery each Memorial Day.  They post informational  sheets on the gatepost, giving an overview of Potter's Field with  the name and a brief description of the woman, baby and men buried there.

The local Historical Society has presented several well received programs this spring.  Attendees learned about Kearney and the community building located there.  It has fallen into disrepair and a local group has formed a 501c3 group to raise the funds needed to repair and preserve it.  Jeb Taylor presented a program on Native American artifacts and Randy Moses described the geology of the area around Trailside on the east slope of the Big Horns. Fred Gray, who owns the property had a group of pictures of the area and visited with the guests about  the history of the area.  The Society have exciting programs planned for the Autumn and Winter.  

The Kearney group have a fund raiser evening planned for June 7.  There will be an auction and will surely be lots of people available to discuss the history of that early community.  It should be an informative and pleasant evening.

Edith K.O. Clark

Ginny Kilander from the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming will present a program on Miss Clark at the Johnson County Library on Thursday evening. Clark was born near Washington, D.C. and followed her family to Wyoming when she was a young woman.  She taught school in Johnson County   in 1906 and later moved on to teach in Sheridan County.  Eventually becoming the Superintendent for Sheridan County.  She served in France during the War, under the Y.M.C.A. She returned to Cheyenne and joined two friends in opening a restaurant there.  She was involved with the Cheyenne Little Theatre Players.  Clark secured the land under the Stock Raising Homestead Act in 1929, and built herself a cabin there.In 1932 and 1935,  she underwent two surgeries for Cancer and passed away in late May of 1936.  She was buried in an unmarked grave in Cheyenne, WY.