MSU NEWS SERVICE
BOZEMAN — Montana State University will host the Conversations on Collecting Yellowstone conference June 5–8 on campus including events and activities that are free and open to the public.
The conference is hosted by the MSU Library and the University of Wyoming Libraries and will explore collecting, preserving and using materials that document the history of Yellowstone National Park.
An exhibit of Yellowstone National Park posters and poster-style illustrations from the 1870s through the present will open June 6 on the second floor of the MSU Library and will run throughout the summer. The artwork in this exhibit is from the archives of the University of Wyoming and the private collections of Susan and Jack Davis and Thea and Larry Lancaster.
Lance Craighead will present a slideshow exploring the Craighead grizzly bear study and the genesis of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem concept on the second floor of the MSU Library from 2 to 4 p.m., June 7. Coffee and snacks will be provided after the slideshow.
The vendor fair and quilt display will be held in the Strand Union Building Ballrooms from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 6 and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 7. It will include a variety of Yellowstone National Park souvenirs, artwork and books. The vendor area will be decorated with quilts from the Gallatin Quilt Guild ranging in style from traditional to modern to art.
Held at the same time as the vendor fair and quilt display, vintage buses and stagecoaches used in Yellowstone prior to World War II will be exhibited on MSU’s Centennial Mall. Board members from the Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust will share stories behind the motorized vehicles and stagecoaches, including the development of transportation in the park.
A meet-the-author event will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. June 7 in the Strand Union Building Ballrooms. Several authors who have written books about Yellowstone will be on hand to chat with attendees and sign books, including Diane Smith, research historian with the USDA Forest Service; David Quammen, American science, nature and travel writer; Dayton Duncan, an award-winning writer and documentary filmmaker; and more. Tickets are available to the public for the conference’s keynote dinner with Duncan held later that evening.
The Yellowstone Roadshow, modeled after “Antiques Roadshow” on PBS, will take place at the vendor area from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. June 7 in the SUB Ballrooms. Attendees are invited to bring their Yellowstone souvenirs, heirlooms and collectibles to be evaluated by noted Yellowstone collectors.
The conference coincides with the 150th anniversary of the creation of Yellowstone National Park. The first “Conversations on Collecting Yellowstone” conference was held in Cody, Wyoming, in 2019 and drew more than 100 attendees.
Visit collectingyellowstone.com for more information about the conference visit.
