Tym Lynch volunteers with Greeley Museums as one of our Renaissance men. Tym brings early period skills from blacksmithing and rope making -to building exhibit furnishings and creating a miniature 1900-era sugar beet train yard.

“As a volunteer with Greeley Museums, I recently traveled with six other members of the Greeley Museums Team (i.e. the historical gang of crazies >>>photo below) to Wyoming to pick up some fresh ideas for exhibits.

We first went to Casper to visit the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center. It was an entertaining walk through the relatively short history of the Overland Trail. While it is not a large museum, it is very well done, very interactive and leaves you wanting more. Im sure I enjoyed the six minutes I sat in the back of the animatronic covered wagon much more than the pioneers enjoyed the six months they traveled through the prairie in the back of their covered wagons. It was great fun pulling a simulated hand cart and carrying a back pack for entertainment& rather than for survival. While it may have taken some of the romance out of the old west mystic, I got a new perspective which may be more valuable in the long run. We came away with some really great ideas to try in the Greeley Museums rawhide signs, lighted trail maps, scripted audio stations. I am suspecting our exhibits curator will have me working out how to adapt those ideas into Greeleys exhibits.

After we ate our brown bag lunches, the gang traveled south to the Fort Laramie National Historic site, where we learned that while everyday life the plains was primitive, it was not nearly as primitive as surviving the discipline in military camps on plains. Being a person who is uncomfortable with tight spaces, I cant imagine I would have done well if I had landed in solitary confinement to 5 x 5 x 2. Nope!

We had beautiful weather to walk around and enjoy the scenery in. I dont even want to imagine chores and marching at Fort Laramie in winter.

I grew up watching westerns on television in black and white, wishing I could have lived that life in living color. Our trip to Casper was a terrific experience that allowed us to travel in comfort (thanks for driving, Bill!), and to visit with friends discussing everything from how children were expected to behave (wash the entire body daily with no more than a quart of water&), to basic survival skills for 1800s life on the prairie (never dig your latrine uphill from your well&). I have renewed my appreciation for the camaraderie shared by fellow lovers of history with the Greeley Museums team.

Written by: Tym Lynch, Greeley Museums Volunteer

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