Hoofprints of the Past Museum is pleased to have  Spencer R. Pelton  present Bison Hunting in Hole-in-the-Wall Country: Results of the Wold Bison Jump

This presentation provides an overview of prehistoric bison hunting on the northern Plains, reconstructs the events that occurred at the Wold Bison Jump, and then contextualizes those events relative to other bison jumps across the Plains.

Driving bison off cliffs during large scale hunts (or “bison jumping”) was a widespread practice among Native Americans living on the northern Plains of Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, but less so among groups living in Wyoming. In fact, the Wold Bison Jump, located on the Hole in the Wall Ranch west of Kaycee, WY, is one of a very few number of bison jumps in Wyoming. The University of Wyoming conducted research at this bison jump in 2013 and 2014, finding evidence for a single, rather catastrophic bison jump event and potentially tying the jump to the ancestral Crow.

Spencer Pelton received his PhD from the University of Wyoming in 2018. He has worked on archaeological sites in Wyoming for the past six years, most recently at the Powars II Paleoindian ocher quarry, the La Prele Clovis site, and the Sisters Hill Paleoindian site. Spencer lives in Douglas, WY with his wife Hallie and their dog Cashew, where he works for Transcon Environmental as a senior archaeologist.

At 1:30 before the presentation the Hoofprints of the Past Museum Board will hold a brief meeting and annual report on the museum’s 2018 activities.  Coffee and cookies will be served.

Hoofprints of the Past Museum working diligently to preserve our buildings. A  project for 2019 we are working to complete is adding soffits to the north side of the building. This will ensure our buildings will last for years to come by protecting our roof from damage.  If you are willing to help with this museum need, your donation would be greatly appreciated.

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Membership & Support

On February 11 at 2:00 at the Harold Jarrard Park in Kaycee, historian and gun collector Joe Hickey will be speaking on historical guns of the Old West. Hickey will tell the story of various western weapons by weaving together the related famous Western individuals and events of the period. Joe has guns used by Butch Cassidy, Tom Horn, and many others. He is a fascinating speaker and makes it fun even for people who do not know very much about guns.

The Museum held a pre-opening open house on May 29^th to share recently completed new displays. With the addition of two tall wood and glass cases, constructed by John Tinnin, the museum was able to reorganize and rearrange existing displays to better display items in the collection. Recently received new artifacts and display signage were added, while existing collection items were rearranged more precisely by topic and historical chronology. New sections/displays on the the Bozeman Trail and Fort Reno were created, and old displays on the Outlaws and Johnson County War were expanded with some great new items added to the collection.

We still have room for some very special historical items, and are particularly looking for anything connected with local outlaws, the Bozeman Trail, the Townsend Fight, local trappers, other local early individuals and participants in the Johnson County War. Please contact the museum if you would like to discuss placing an artifact on loan to the museum.

If you were unable to make the open house during this very busy time of year, we hope you will still stop by sometime soon. Our hours are Monday through Saturday from 9:00-5:00, and Sundays from 1:00-5:00.

We would like to thank the Johnson County Recreation District for assisting with the cost of the cases.

The 2016 Hole in the Wall Tour held on June 11^th was another successful fundraiser and an enjoyable day spent in the Hole in the Wall country. We could not do it without the support of so many, and would like to thank the following speakers, volunteers, and landowners for making the tour possible:

• Historical Speakers: Colin Taylor, Dwayne Christensen, Bill Betensen, and Brock Hanson
• Landowners: Crago Family, Dave and Cindy Soppe, Gosney Ranch, Wold Ranch and Reichendieffers, Larry Vignerolli
• Lunch/Breakfast Ladies: Robin Petty, Susan Anderson, Dixie McIntyre, Lois Summer, Cheryl Summer, and Paula Hanson
• Porta-Pottie Driver: Gordon Herring
• EMT’s: Casey Cheser and sister Mandy
• Morning Set up: Raymon Turk, Becky Renkert, Bill McIntyre, Betty and Bob Furnival
• Drivers/Helpers on the Tour: Bill McIntyre, Jim Anderson, John Hanson, Donna and Tom Pfielsticker
• Dean Lund for fixing the roads the last two years so they were fine this year due to his work the previous years

Mark Moore spoke about his ancestor Lee Moore, to a group of about 40 attendees at the museum on February 21^st. The talk was well enjoyed by the group, as Lee Moore led a fascinating life in historic times. We will be sharing more about Lee Moore a future museum display and museum newsletter.

The museum has added some new tall, full glass front, preservation quality display cases built by our carpenter/volunteer, John Tinnin. The additional vertical case space will allow the museum to better display certain items and create new topical displays. All historical artifacts in the collection, as well as some new artifacts recently received, will be on display at the museum with some new configurations and additional signage. An Open House is planned in May for people to see the changes.

On September 12th the museum and a busload of attendees had an enjoyable day on the Johnson County War Tour. The tour was narrated by historian and author of Wyoming Range War, John W. Davis and local historian Brock Hanson. It began at the KC Cabin Fight site and concluded at the TA Ranch with additional stops at the Ranger Jones and John A. Tisdale assassination sites. We are grateful for the support of the attendees on this fundraiser, as well as the speakers and landowners who made the tour possible. Thank you!