By Bob Reece
Webmaster's Note: This update was originally
published in the Friends of the Little Bighorn Battlefield Newsletter,
October 2009.
Hello Friends members. This is an extended
issue because of so much news. This is a big year so far for Friends and
its mission to support the NPS at Little Bighorn Battlefield National
Monument (LIBI). To date, we have donated $13,350.00 towards four
projects.
Friends Donates $10,000.00
for Archeological Assessment
Friends gave $10,000.00 to the National Park
Service to fully support an
archeological assessment
managed by retired archeologist, Douglas Scott. This assessment will provide a
substantial overview of all archeological work conducted at LIBI as well
as recommendations for future studies. Friends plans to make this
assessment available for sale at the visitor center bookstore. We will
continue to keep our membership updated with Mr. Scott’s progress via this
newsletter, email distribution, and our website. If you are not on our
email distribution list but do not want to miss any of these updates,
please send us an email to add you to our list. Send request to
info@friendslittlebighorn.com
-- we do not sell or share your email with anyone.
These donations of $13,350.00 make a
milestone for Friends as the highest amount donated in one year. We are
proud of this accomplishment which would not have been reached without the
ongoing support from all of you, our membership. Thank you.
Jump here to see details
on all our donations for 2009.
Report on Friends Events of June 26-27, 2009
Friends held its annual events Friday and
Saturday, June 26-27, 2009. See
Mike Semenock’s report on our events from last June. We had a great
turnout with several new volunteers working the trails interpreting the
battle to the tourists. A big thanks for Mike Semenock’s continued
management of the volunteers. As usual, that project went smoothly. Thank
you to Kate Hammond and the NPS staff for their support over a very busy
week at LIBI. We were allowed full use of the old basement theater in the
visitor center for our command post. We missed the kitchen in the
apartments; however, this location was ideal because it was centrally
located, making it easier for our volunteers to come and go between shifts
on the trails. As always, I cannot thank our volunteers enough for the
continued great job all of you do with interpretation. You help enhance
the visitor's experience at Little Bighorn Battlefield.
Our general membership meeting was a lot of
fun. We had great food provided by Julie Elkshoulder. We discovered her
through board member Winfield Russell – a great suggestion, Winfield! Ms.
Elkshoulder made the best Indian Tacos I’ve ever had. They were fresh and
the first Indian Tacos I’ve experienced that were not greasy, plus they
were topped with green leaf lettuce and red tomatoes. I’m getting hungry
remembering that meal!
Ms. Hammond thanked each volunteer with a
small gift and brought us all up to date with happenings at LIBI. We held
our first raffle which garnered more than $700.00 revenue. Thanks to
everyone who participated. And a big thanks to the historians who donated
items for the raffle: John Doerner, Paul Beck; Richard Upton of Upton &
Sons Publishers; Michael Elliott; Jerome Greene; Paul Hedren; University
of Oklahoma Press; Ernie LaPointe; Neil Mangum; Ron Papandrea; Douglas
Scott; Robert Utley; and Steve Alexander.
Jump here to see a list of
the winners.
Facebook Creates Opportunity
to Meet Fellow Custer/Little Bighorn Enthusiasts
About six months ago, Friends board member
and newsletter editor Lola Mauer created a Friends Little Bighorn group on
Facebook where people could meet others in their area who have similar
interests in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. We quickly grew with people
of all ages, backgrounds, and location. Discussions have ranged
from archeology, what ifs, what was George Custer thinking and the famous
“Twilight Zone” episode “The 7th is made up of Phantoms.” We recently
changed from a group to a Facebook Page which makes providing updates so
much easier and faster. Become a fan of the Friends of the Little Bighorn
Battlefield Facebook Page to receive timely news from the battlefield and
Friends. Just click on the Facebook icon at the bottom of each page of our
website – www.FriendsLittleBighorn.com -- to reach our page, and then
click on the “Become A Fan” button to join.
Or jump to our Facebook page right now.
Friends Events June 25-26,
2010
Thom Hatch to Speak, "Deep
Ravine Trail and Beyond" Fieldtrip
Deadline to Register for
Events is June 14, 2010
Our events for next June 25-26, 2010 are
quickly shaping up and it looks like they’ll be a blast with big changes
for the better. I’d plan your reservations now – motels in Hardin fill
fast. (Webmaster's Note:
Jump here for a list of motels in the Hardin area)
__________________
Jump here for a complete report on the planned events for
June 25-26, 2010.
Jump
here to our registration form that you can mail in or register for the
events online.
__________________
Visitor Bookstore Sales
Friends board member Kay Hunsaker has made a
great accomplishment for our organization. She is arranging for us to work
with a new manufacturer that will handle all of our product needs for
items to sell in the visitor center bookstore and online. An exciting
aspect of this is that we will finally have beautiful embroidered shirts
and jackets with the Friends logo available for sale. Kay and Bob are in
the process of working out all the details with the vendor that will bring
some changes to the Little Bighorn Store on our website. We’ll keep you
posted.
Friends Director Lola Mauer
Now Secretary
I’m happy and proud to announce that our
newsletter editor and fellow board member, Lola Mauer will now serve as
secretary. This will free up time for Kay Hunsaker to better serve as our
treasurer. I’d like to thank Kay for all her work during the last two
years when she wore both hats.
Secretary Lola Mauer
Friends Director Jerry Jasmer
Resigns
Ryan Trainor Fills Seat
We have to say goodbye to Jerry Jasmer as a
board member. Department of Interior ethics policies require that NPS
employees should not sit on partner's boards to avoid any possible
conflict of interest. I fully understand this, but I'll miss Jerry as a
board member who has faithfully served in that capacity for 11 years. I
cannot think of a single instance where he didn't help us with any
request; I could always count on him to follow through and complete every
project. He always served our board with dignity, as he does the NPS
uniform. Jerry reminds me of the Park Rangers I looked up to and respected
as a child during our family vacations each summer.
Superintendent Kate Hammond was extremely gracious and took the time to
contact me before hand to explain the reasons why Jerry could no longer
serve. I very much appreciate how Kate handled Jerry's resignation.
Thanks again Jerry for all you did to help Friends succeed. We will miss
having you on the board.
Filling Jerry’s seat is Ryan Trainor of Baltimore. Ryan is a 2008 graduate
of Loyola Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts in history and classical
civilization. He currently works as an admissions recruiter for Stevenson
University. Needless to say he’s young, energetic, as well as passionate
about the battlefield and its story. He was a volunteer interpreter during
the anniversary weekend last June.
Ryan follows in the footsteps of celebrated former Friends board members
Dr. Paul Hutton, Dr. Brian Dippie, and Charles Rankin. Ryan is not
intimidated by this at all; he is proud and honored to follow such
prodigious historians and also excited to work with current and renowned
directors Robert Utley and Neil Mangum.
Accepting his position on the board, Ryan had
this to say, “I am thrilled to be a part of an organization that has made
such significant contributions to the Little Bighorn Battlefield. While I
recognize the importance of this position and its responsibilities, I am
more than willing to devote my time and interest in order to assist
Friends in any way possible.” We appreciate that Ryan and welcome aboard.
Friends Newest Board Member, Ryan
Trainor, Little Bighorn 2009
The Last Bugle Call – Friends and NPS Awarded $1,000 Grant
I cannot impress upon our members enough how
gracious and generous Supt. Kate Hammond has been in giving her time to
Friends. She really cares about Friends and is appreciative for what we do
to support NPS at LIBI. She and I had time before the 2009 general
membership meeting for me to suggest some ideas for Friends to do next
year that would be a blast for our members. She was open and receptive for
field trips on the battlefield, specifically the first walk that will take
us beyond Deep Ravine Trail. All Ms. Hammond asked for was time to think
about it and discuss it with some of her staff. She did approve my request
and in discussions with Chief of Interpretation Ken Woody, he and I have
come up with even more fun ideas for future summer events for our members.
Additionally, Ms. Hammond and I have had
countless phone calls as well as a lunch while she was in Denver on
business to discuss issues at LIBI and the future of the National Park
Service in general. We’ve agreed that one of our immediate objectives is
learning and searching for new opportunities in fundraising. This resulted
in the Intermountain Region Partner’s Professional Development Grant
awarding Friends and LIBI a $1,000 grant each that we will use for those
purposes, probably a conference or class next year that Ms. Hammond and I
will attend together. We’ll provide details once we have them.
It is this kind of cooperation and
out-of-the-box thinking that will enable Friends’ continued success with
future projects at LIBI, help enhance the visitor experience there, and
provide fun and exciting opportunities for our active members.
I’ll see you on Last Stand Hill.
October 2009
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