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March/April 2018

Sixth Annual Museums of Western ColoradoHeritage Awards

It is with great pleasure that the Museums of Western Colorado recognizes outstanding individuals and groups for their contributions toward preserving our community’s heritage at the Sixth Annual Heritage Awards, hosted at the Museum of the West. We are pleased to announce winners in the following categories: Archeological Award Glade V. HaddenGeorge Callison Paleontological Award Dr. Rodney ScheetzHistorian Award Dr. Steve Schulte Steve and Denise HightPreservation Award Leslie “Bill” EllicottHeritage Enterprise Award US Bank, Grand JunctionPartners in Heritage Award Plateau Valley Historical Preservation Grand Valley Historical SocietyMuseum Service Award Evelyn Kyle Rayne and John McLennan

In addition, we congratulate Don Kerven – Facilities Czar in honor of 20 years of service with the Museum.

“The Museum’s Heritage Awards recognize individuals and organizations that have contributed significantly to the community by preserving, researching, and supporting our historical legacy,” says Peter Booth, Museums of Western Colorado’s Executive Director. ”This is a significant undertaking that relies on the involvement of others in the community, and we thank you for your contribution.”

Recipients of each of the seven Heritage Award categories received a hand-turned Aspen wood vase made specifically for this event by Don Kerven, Museums of Western Colorado’s Facilities Director. This event was sponsored in part by Whitewater Hill Winery.

2018 Heritage Awards winners

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Through strong stewardship and relevant programming, the Museums of Western Colorado strives to inspire the community to preserve its heritage and tell its story.

Dinosaur Journey collects, preserves, interprets and displays evidence of the history of life and environments of western Colorado and geologically related surrounding areas.

The Loyd Files Research Library provides learning and research opportunities for exploring and interpreting western Colorado’s past, present and future.

The Museum of the West is dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition and interpretation of artifacts that represent the rich heritage and history of western Colorado and contiguous areas of the American West.

Cross Orchards Historic Site utilizes living history to preserve, interpret and educate the public on agriculture, transportation and the social history of the region.

Museums of Western ColoradoP.O. Box 20000

Grand Junction, CO 81502-5020(970) 242-0971

www.museumofwesternco.orgSubscribe to e-news and more at

museumsofwesternco@gmail.comor on our website.

Museum Times is the bimonthly newsletter of the Museums of Western Colorado informing members and supporters of news, programs, and events.

Museum membership entitles you to free admission to all of our sites, as well as discounts for various programs. Check our website for updated membership fees.

@MuseumsofWesternCO@DinosaurJourney

@MuseumoftheWestGJ@CrossOrchards

We lost a great friend of the Museum recently. Ann Buelow was a friend to many and a loyal volunteer. Before her tenure at the museum, she was an army nurse stationed at a MASH unit in Vietnam. In the 1990s, she took

on a volunteer position at what was then Dinosaur Valley in downtown Grand Junction. But that wasn’t enough to keep her busy. She soon took on volunteer roles at each of our museum sites.

At Cross Orchards Historic Site, she was a docent and she worked with the children’s camps in the summer leading games and crafts. She made costumes for volunteers and helped research the history of Cross Orchards. She will forever be fondly remembered for her role

as Apple Annie, where she would dress up as a huge apple, complete with worm, for festival days.

At Dinosaur Valley and then Dinosaur Journey, she did school outreach and guided tours. She started our casting program and was our main caster for 15 years. She was also the mastermind behind the bone cart, bringing specimens to the public. She once again proudly dressed up, taking on the role of Mrs. Claus during Breakfast with Santa.

At the Museum of the West, Ann helped with the move from Regional History in the Whitman building into the CD Smith building. She cleaned objects and helped set up some of the original exhibits. Her knowledge of the buildings' histories was grand, giving her the skills to lead tours of both the Whitman and the CD Smith buildings.

Ann was an active volunteer in most of our early programs and events. She was always willing to take on a new challenge and come up with new ways to involve the public in her passions. She made many dear friends during her tenure at the Museum and her hard work will not be forgotten.

We would like to invite you to a memorial service in her honor to be held at noon on May 16 at Dinosaur Journey. Please bring photos and memories to share. The Grand Valley Combined Honor Guard will be providing a service at 1:00 pm on April 2 at the Veteran's Memorial Cemetery that will recognize Ann, along with others who have served and passed.

In Memoriam

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Oral History ProgramEvery 3rd Thursday at Noon Whitman Educational Center

248 S. Fourth St.

March 15

Laurena Davis, historian for the U.S. Department of Energy contractor, Navarro Research & Engineering, will talk about the contributions of women in the sciences, offices, and homes of Western Colorado, just ahead of Women of the Manhattan Project Week, March19-23.

The presentation will be about how the U.S. Government’s aim to develop atomic weapons ahead of Nazi Germany during World War II employed a workforce from coast to coast, including hundreds of people covertly working in Western Colorado. Women played important roles in what became known as the Manhattan Project.

April 19

The History of Nucla, Colorado will be presented by the Rim Rock Historical Society.

Oral History Programs are jointly sponsored by the Museums of Western Colorado and the Mesa County Historical Society and are free to the public. Check our website or Facebook page for updates.

Programs

Museums of Western Colorado to Host Guest Lecture on 200-Million-Year-Old Utah Dinosaur Fossil

March 9 • 7 pmDinosaur Journey • 550 Jurassic Ct., Fruita

Join the Museums of Western Colorado’s guest lecturer Rob Gay, Director of Education for the Colorado Canyons Association (CCA), as he presents new findings on a fossil identified as the oldest dinosaur bone found in the State of Utah. This guest lecture will be held at Dinosaur Journey in Fruita on March 9 at 7 pm, free of charge, and will highlight the results of an article published in the Utah Geological Association’s journal Geology of the Intermountain West that identifies this fossil from the Late Triassic Period (220-200 million years ago).  

The collaborative efforts of three paleontologists – Xavier Jenkins with Arizona State University’s College of Liberal Arts and Science, Dr. John Foster with the Museum of Moab, and Robert Gay with CCA – resulted in this publication, and identifies this fossil as belonging to a small meat-eating dinosaur that roamed the area known as Utah.  

“This animal was buried less than 100 miles away from Fruita, 220 million years ago. Historically, fossil finds from the west have been taken back east, to Chicago, New York, and Washington. It is great to see more local institutions holding onto the significant parts of the regional history,” says Gay.  

Not only is this fossil a vital piece of our culture, it also helps piece together the history of an era when no humans were alive to witness. By piecing these links together, paleontologists are able to paint a clearer picture of periods previously unknown.  

“This dinosaur is important to the story of the Colorado Plateau because it not only shows us a little of what Utah’s oldest dinosaurs looked like, it is also the furthest north anyone has ever found a dinosaur of this age. Most Triassic dinosaur bones in the United States are found in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. This find may help us better understand how dinosaurs spread across North America during this time period.”  

The sacrum fossil is currently housed at Dinosaur Journey in Fruita.

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2018 Trips and Tours Coming Up Soon

A True Jurassic Park: Paleontology of McInnis Canyons NCAApril 21 • Register by April 2Led by Robert Gay, Colorado Canyons Association (CCA) Education DirectorThe McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area is truly a Jurassic Park. This tour explores major paleontological sites including the Trail Through Time and Mygatt-Moore Quarry, one of the most significant Upper Jurassic dinosaur sites in the country; Dinosaur Hill, where in 1900 Elmer Riggs excavated a partial Apatosaurus skeleton; and the Fruita Paleontological Area, one of the few sites in America where small fossils from the Jurassic Period have been discovered.

$75/Museum or CCA member; $85/Non-memberIncludes transportation, lunch at Hot Tomato, and a special tour of Dinosaur JourneyLed in conjunction with Colorado Canyons Association

Get Your Kicks on Route 66—New Mexico April 27-30 • Register by March 23Led by Peter Booth Ph.D., MWC Executive Director“If you ever plan to motor west,” travel with the Museum “and take the highway that is best.” In this fun and hipster journey down the Mother Road through New Mexico, we will explore the backroad and roadside treasure along this highway of legends. From Tucumcari to Gallup, Route 66 lives on with the people and places along the way.$900/Museum member; $950/Non-member$200/Single occupancy supplementIncludes transportation, lodging, admission, and a trip down the Mother Road. Meals on your own.

Historic Trading Post and Native ArtsMay 3-7 • Register by April 2Led by Peter Booth Ph.D., MWC Executive DirectorHistorically serving as the cultural connection to the outside world, trading posts influenced tremendously the history of the Navajo and Hopi peoples. One of the best ways to discover the culture and art these reservations is by visiting historic trading posts such as Hubbell at Ganado, Richardson in Gallup, Toadlena of Two Grey Hills, RB Burnham near Chambers, Totsoh near Canyon de Chelly, Tsakurshovi on Second Mesa, and more.$850/Museum member; $880/Non-member$200/Single occupancy supplementIncludes transportation, admissions, and lodging. Meals on your own.

Check online for additional trips!

Jet Boat Colorado Yankee Boy Basin Jeep Tour Dinosaurs of Eastern UtahFt. Uncompahgre and Historic Montrose Downtown Historic Aspen

Gunfights, Petroglyphs, and Red-Rock Walls on the Gunnison River - and MORE!

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2018 Adventures - Multi-day Trips Spotlight

The Meeker Incident/Milk Creek BattlefieldJune 14-15 • Register by May 11Led by Bob Silbernagel, Historian, and David Bailey, MWC Curator of HistoryBob Silbernagel, author of Troubled Trails: The Meeker Affair and the Expulsion of the Utes, will be our guide as we visit the Milk Creek Battle Site and the original Indian Agency Site. We will also tour the Meeker Museum and visit other historic sites. The group will stay overnight at the historic Meeker Hotel. The hotel has been in existence since 1886 and host to such western notables as Teddy Roosevelt, Tom Horn, Billy the Kid, and actor Gary Cooper, and is full of memorabilia and memories.$255/Museum member; $265/Non-memberIncludes transportation, lodging, and museum admission. Meals on your own.

Southern Colorado in Style: Discovering Colorado AntiguosJune 22-25 • Register by April 23Led by Peter Booth, Ph.D., MWC Executive DirectorSouthern Colorado and San Luis Valley offer some beautiful scenery highlighted by the Great Sand Dunes nestled at the base of the towering Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The valley is also called the cultural cradle of Colorado with heritage that includes Colorado’s oldest non-Native community. This tour enjoys all this and more as we will travel in style—riding first-class on the Cumbras & Toltec Railroad, enjoying an evening at the Creede Repertory Theatre, and staying at the elegant Windsor Hotel.$925/Museum member; $950/Non-memberIncludes transportation, lodging, train tickets, theatre tickets, and admission. Meals on your own.

Mygatt-Moore Quarry & DJ Prep LabJuly 12-13 • Register by July 10Get a double helping of paleontology by coupling a dig at Mygatt-Moore Quarry with working in the paleo lab, learning the skills to prepare fossils. Participants will spend a full day in the Dinosaur Journey Fossil Preparation Lab before heading out to Mygatt-Moore Quarry to excavate dinosaur bones. Our expert paleontologists will be there to guide you every step of the way. This is a perfect match for enthusiasts and future paleontologists alike.

No hiking is required on this expedition, but participants should expect to be outside, in the heat and bugs, working on open, rocky ground. We will provide shade tarps.$215/ParticipantIncludes transportation to the quarry, tools, guidance, lunch, water, and Gatorade

Great American Cities: ChicagoAugust 6-11• Register by July 6Led by Julia McHugh, Ph.D., MWC Curator of PaleontologyJourney to the Windy City and explore its rich art and architecture, museums, and tour Wrigley Field. Discover the world of infamous mobsters and gangsters like Al Capone and, of course, visit our own Grand Valley legend, Brachiosaurus, at the Field Museum of Natural History, excavated from Riggs Hill in 1900. Come with us and experience Chicago like never before!$2,750/Museum member; $3,000/Non-memberIncludes airfare, lodgings, ground transportation, admissions, most meals, and traveler’s insurance

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Since 2014, the Museums of Western Colorado and the Bureau of Land Management have been working on developing a joint website to showcase digital exhibitions and to share information about collections with the public. The BLM grant funding the project provided resources to build a professional website and a children’s website, offer a series of educational camps for children, and design an educational kit to be used by the Grand Mesa Youth Services Center. The grant’s purpose was to make public lands collections, which are typically stored behind the scenes, available to the public.

Not everyone knows that objects found on public lands and in public museums are the property of the people. They belong to all of us. Some of these collections are rarely seen, but they exist and are held in trust in collections like those found at the Museums of Western Colorado. Many of the

objects found on BLM land are not visually striking. Rusted cans, broken projectile points, glass bottles, unidentified fossil fragments, and the like are typical of Public Lands Collections. Museums, like ours, don’t have room to display it all so it’s stored away. While it may not look pretty, the educational value is enormous. Every object tells a story and sheds light on the time period it’s from. These websites have allowed us to showcase some of the collections you won’t see in the museum galleries and allow the public greater access to their cultural and paleontological heritage.

Museum and BLM Partnership

The professional website looks at Paleontological and Cultural heritage from western Colorado through a series of articles and photo galleries. You can find the website at westerncoloradoheritage.org.

The children’s website is a work in progress, designed to be an educational hub for area organizations. We are looking to make it the go-to website for educators and kids on the western slope looking to learn about area paleontology, history, geology, ecology, stewardship, and collections. Keep an eye out for additions as we continue to build partnerships.

westerncoheritagejr.org

Year-end Donation RaffleCongratulations to Carol Todd, the winner of the beautiful Storm-Pattern Navajo weaving that was contributed by Old Friends Trading Post in downtown Grand Junction on Main. Carol became eligible by donating to the MWC via Colorado Gives December 5.

Thank you Carol and Old Friends Trading Post.

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SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTTHE CITIZENS OF MESA COUNTY

$20,000 and OverBureau of Land Management

Colorado Mesa UniversityMesa County Valley School District 51

Edward and Lois Gardner

$5,000 and OverAlpine Bank

Bank of the West Colby and Leslie Barrett

Chevron Colorado Humanities Family Health West

FCI Constructors, Inc. Bill and Patti Milius

Ron and Marie Tipping U.S. Bank

Cheryl WhitemanWhitewater Building Materials

$2,000 and OverGeorge and Judy Callison

Grand Junction Subaru Max Krey

Mountain West Insurance & Financial ServicesSt. Mary’s Hospital

Dr. Michael Neste, Family Health West FoundationU.S. Bank Foundation

George “Mickey” WheelerWilliam and Mai Robinson Charitable Trust

$1,000 and OverSigma and Bobbi Alpha

Herb and Laura May Bacon Dennis and Arlene BakerChuck and Robbie Breaux

Chadwick, Steinkirchner, Davis & Co. Community First Foundation

Enstrom Candies Fruita Thrift Shop

Betty Hall Burton J. and Kelly L. Hamilton

Nancy Janes and John BehrsLoralee Kerr

Madsen Family Trust

MEMORIAL FUNDSLeland Cofer

Dann HabberfieldLorant Horvath-DoriElsie King-Granere

Billie McLeanAl and Jean Schiesswohl Trust

$500 and OverActive Insurance Solutions Tina and Drew Armstrong

Autopaychecks, Inc. Cary D. Baird

Bray Real Estate Robert Brownson

Daughters of the American Revolution, Mt. Garfield Chapter Sandra Ducray

Robert FoltzLarry FredrickRuth Gormley

Kathy HallPatricia Heinz, Cowboy Mercantile

Sandy Horvath-Dori Home Loan Insurance Company

Ken and Rose Marie JohnsonDale and Jan Jones

Mesa County Historical Society Scott McInnisCarole Moritz

Brian and Joyce OlsonJen Pederson

Orville and Bonnie PetersenCatherine Robertson

Janet Sheeval Dr. Meg Thornton

Barbara Traylor-Smith, Retirement Outfitters Robert Whitehorne

Lawrence WildMary and Hugh Wise

Sandra Zoldowski

$250 and OverAmerican Furniture Warehouse

Richard ArcandRoger and Wendy BainFloyd and Valerie Beard

Bill May Books Tillie and Pat Bishop

Garry and Barbara BrewerJim Digby, Hayden Outfitters

Farm and Ranch MarketMark and Debb Francis

Grand Junction Regional CenterGrand Valley Power

Hilltop Resident Youth Services Shelley Hyde

Bruce and Mary Ann McBrideKaren McGuirk

Mesa County Genealogical Society May Family

William and Marilyn NielsenO’Dwyer Electric

Palisade Historical Society

Dennis and Peggy Pretti Third Sector Innovations

Salvation Army Scotty’s Complete Car Care Center

Steve ScrogginsShiners Flex Wash

Carol and Tom SkubicVerne Smith

Sooper Credit Union STRIVE

Ann StrieberChris and Jana Thomas

John and Georgia Thompson Western Chapter of Territorial Daughters of Colorado

Western Slope Cattlemen’s AuctionWhitewolf Cabinets

Deana and Cody Znamenacek

IN KIND (Donated Products and Services)

Adobe Creek National Golf Course Apple Hill Farm

Asterion Foundation Dennis Baker

Colby and Leslie Barrett Garry and Barbara Brewer

R.B. Burnham & Co. Nona Kelley CarverCity Market, FruitaThe Daily Sentinel

Wayne and Marie DarlingJ. Clinton Driscoll

Edward and Sharon DryEnstrom Candies

Family Health WestGrand Junction Subaru

Grand Valley Public Radio KAFMHammond’s Golf Headquarters

Kannah Creek Brewing Co.Don Kerven

The Legendary Ladies, Inc. King Enterprises, Fruita McDonald’s

Peggy MaloneMerge2Media

Monument Gage & GrindingTerry Nash

Old Friends Trading Post Rhema Music and Clothing

Springhill SuitesTalbott FarmsSteve Tanner

Marie and Ron TippingToomey Foundation for Natural Sciences

Whitewater Hill Vineyard & WineryYour Screen Printing & Sign Co.

Museums of Western Colorado Donors 2017The Museums of Western Colorado expresses sincere appreciation to all supporters

—volunteers, members, sponsors, and staff—during its 50+ year history.

Your support has helped establish the Museums of Western Colorado as a great institution in its efforts to serve this community. Thank you.

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Original Placerville Post Office Exhibition at the Museum of the West Museums of Western Colorado employees are in the process of installing the original Placerville, Colorado Post Office, used in San Miguel County from 1934 to 1986. The museum acquired the post office in 1986, and the installation will complete the early town exhibition in the Museum of the West which includes the Park Opera house, a rural one-room school house, and the Pastime saloon from the same era. Visitors can enjoy the newly installed façade now and watch as we add components in preparation for a May celebration of several new exhibition at the Museum of the West.

This new exhibit will provide a glimpse into the original post office operations and

provide the history behind it. “It was one of the first leadership roles for women, who ran hundreds of rural post office locations across the West,” said David Bailey, Curator of History at the Museums of Western Colorado. In addition to the Placerville Post Office, the adjacent area will have an educational component, where children visiting the Museum can mail letters to the past.

The opening of the new Placerville Post Office exhibition will be publicly celebrated on May 11, with several other new exhibitions, including the new Western Investigations Room and a Colt Revolving rifle exhibit to the Thrailkill Firearms Room.

Exhibit Updates - Museum of the West

Top: Staff carefully disassembling for transport up to the gallery from collections.Right: It's starting to look like something special!

World War I was a world-wide conflict during 1914-1918, and the United States was a combatant 1917-1918. Naval forces were engaged on the Atlantic, and land forces were mainly in battles in France. These Mesa County recruits, ready to leave for military service, boarded a car on the Midland Railroad which served Grand Junction from 1890 to 1918.

(Dean Photo, The Daily Sentinel)

Local History

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Exhibit Updates - Dinosaur Journey

Horns & FrillsChances are that if Triceratops was not your favorite dinosaur when you were a kid, you knew someone whose it was. But did you know that Triceratops was just one of many? It belongs to the group Ceratopsia, and it is very diverse! These giant animals once covered the open plains of North America and Asia in vast herds of spectacular variety, like the antelope on the plains of the Serengeti today.

On May 18 at Dinosaur Journey, our 2018 Special Summer Exhibition Horns & Frills opens to the public. This exhibition explores the amazing diversity and grandeur of ceratopsians. Eleven different species will be featured in this exhibit, combining our existing Triceratops displays with new skulls and a cast skeleton of Utahceratops gettyi from our partners at Fruita’s own Gaston Design, Inc. Discover how these strange and elaborate frills and horns were used in courtship and combat, how they changed during growth and throughout the group’s evolutionary history.

This special exhibition is included with regular admission to Dinosaur Journey and, of course, is free to members. Horns & Frills will run from May 18-September 16, 2018. Once the exhibition closes some of the displays will remain permanently at Dinosaur Journey (including the skull of Utah ceratopsian Diabloceratops), while others will be returned to Gaston Design, Inc. We hope you will join us this summer for Horns & Frills!

&HORN

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FRILLS

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Our special summer exhibit will be presented by:

Watch for more details!

Discover the Secrets of Dinosaur Combat

and Courtship!

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Spring Day on the FarmMay 5 • 9 am - 3 pm

Cross Orchards Historic Site3073 F Road, Grand Junction

Celebrate spring and the opening of our season with us!

Blacksmithing, woodworking, woodstove baking, demonstrations

Wheels West will have cars on exhibit and we will have animals, too!

$5/Adults; $3.50/Kids (3-12); $4/Seniors; $15/Family groups

Free to members

Sponsored in part by:

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A Day in the OrchardSaturday, April 7

9 am - 3 pm

Explore the orchard while our team plants new trees and shows

you our Victory Garden.Learn about the agricultural

history of the valley!

Cross Orchards Historic Site

3073 F Road

$5/Adult; $4/Senior;$3.50 Child (3-12 years);

$15 Family group (up to 6)Free to Museum members!

* Due to liability issues, we can’t permit patrons to help with planting.

The bunkhouse will be open and fresh baked cookies will be available. There will be history talks in the orchard and more!

Made possible with support from:

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Museums of Western ColoradoP.O. Box 20,000Grand Junction, CO 81502-5020www.museumofwesternco.orgmuseumofwesternco@gmail.com

Cross Orchards Historic Site3073 F Road • 970.434.9814Closed for the season

Dinosaur Journey Museum550 Jurassic Court, Fruita • 970.858.7282October 1-April 30Mon-Sat • 10 am-4 pm; Sun • Noon-4 pm

Museum of the West462 Ute (5th & Ute) • 970.242.0971October 1-April 30 Mon-Sat • 10 am-4 pm; Sun • Closed

Loyd Files Research Library Second floor of Museum of the WestTues-Thurs • 10 am-4 pmMon and Fri by appointment only

Non-ProfitOrganization

U.S. POSTAGE PAIDGrand Junction, CO

Permit No. 194

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Thru October 1 Alferd Packer: Solving One of the West's Greatest Murder Mysteries Museum of the West

March 9 7 pm Paleontology lecture Dinosaur Journey

March 10 San Rafael Swell Rock Art Trip - FULL

March 10 11 am-3 pm Volunteer Class Museum of the West

March 15 Noon Oral History Program Whitman Ed. Ctr.

March 26 Historic Registry in the Grand Valley Trip - FULL

April 6 6 pm Grand Junction Native American Arts Auction Benefit Reception Whitman Ed. Ctr.

April 7 9 am - Preview12 pm - Auction

Grand Junction Native American Arts Auction Whitman Ed. Ctr.

April 7 9 am-3 pm A Day in the Orchard Cross Orchards Historic Site

April 19 Noon Oral History Program Whitman Ed. Ctr.

April 21 A True Jurassic Park: Paleontology of McInnis Canyons NCA Trip

Please note: Dates and times of events, meetings, and programs are subject to change; please call to confirm.

Calendar of Events