Friends Summer Events June 24-25, 2011 -- 135th Anniversary of the Battle
of the Little Bighorn
by Bob Reece
All photos © Bob Reece unless otherwise noted.
Youngest new Friends member,
Jordan, with her mom Marisa
This year marked the 135th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn
and the Friends of the Little Bighorn’s highlight for the weekend was the
Friday evening field trip, “Sunset of the Lakota Nation”. Besides the
field trip, we held our general membership meeting and annual Friends
Feast on Saturday the 25th which included a retirement party for Chief
Historian John Doerner. Both Friday and Saturday, our member volunteers
manned the trails to interpret the battle story for the Monument’s
visitors. We enjoyed an increase in the number of first-time volunteers to
interpret along the trails. Our volunteers worked the Deep Ravine and
Keogh/Crazy Horse Trails, Last Stand Hill, the Indian Memorial, and Reno-Benteen
Battlefield. A big thank you to our volunteers for doing another fantastic
job sharing their expertise about the battle to the Monument's visitors.
For our annual fundraiser, we changed formats and instead of sitting
inside listening to a renowned speaker, we took our speakers outdoors on a
sunset walk upon the battlefield. It was a smart move, and thanks to the
NPS giving us permission to do this, it was the most successful fundraiser
in our organizations’ history. We were sold out by the end of February.
Our long line of attendees was led by Park Ranger and former Friends board
member, Jerry Jasmer. Also adding to Jerry’s interpretation were former
superintendent and current Friends board member Neil Mangum, as well as
John Doerner. The wealth of information these three interpreters provided
was priceless.
Our newest youngest Friends
member, Jordan. Her brother, Logan, is the second youngest. Does this mean
we'll have another newer youngest member next year? Matt? Marisa?
View more photos from "Sunset of
the Lakota Nation"
The field trip included
Last Stand Hill, Keogh/Crazy Horse Trial, Calhoun Hill, and the Company C
defense of the southern end of Calhoun Hill. For the complete details of
the field trip and plenty of photos, just click on the navigation button
near the top right side of this page. Or just jump on over via this
button.
Friends members Dale Kosman and
Anita Smyntek above Horse Holder Ravine
View more photos from "Sunset of
the Lakota Nation"
John Doerner begins his
presentation
photo courtesy Scott Burgan
View more photos from "Sunset of
the Lakota Nation"
Friends Command Post & Public Feed
Our command post this year was on the second floor of the administration
building. For the last two years, our location was the basement of the
visitor center; however, it was filled with boxes of the collections
waiting shipment to Arizona. Except for the location being far from the
center hub of activity, it did provide for a comfortable resting spot with
air conditioning and easy access to bathrooms. Over the weekend, some
folks were fortunate enough to be at the command post at the same time
that Jerry Greene, Jim Donovan, Neil Mangum, or Mike Donahue were sitting
around the table talking battle talk.
Starting first thing at 9:00 AM on Friday, our members and trail
volunteers arrived to register and get their scheduled shifts for
interpretation. We placed interpreters along the Deep Ravine and Crazy
Horse/Keogh Trails, Last Stand Hill, Indian Memorial, and Reno Benteen
Battlefield. Joanne Blair provided snacks and thanks to her employer,
Mountain
Valley Spring bottled water was available. Our volunteers continued with interpretation
through Saturday.
We also provided assistance to the NPS during the public lunch feed on
Saturday the 25th. I especially want to thank Ruth Rhode, Kay Hunsaker,
Joanne Blair, and our newest member Jan Reed for working on the feed. I’d
heard all weekend from various NPS staff members that visitation was down.
I was able to observe this from the fewer numbers enjoying the feed
compared to last year. Gas prices have taken a toll on travelers up to
June 25th.
Friends board member Kay Hunsaker
assisting during public feed
View more photos from the
public feed
“Ghost Herder” Signing
Friday afternoon we held a signing for the Friends first historical
journal “Ghost Herder” (GH). Authors Mike Donahue, Jerry Greene, and Neil
Mangum (also Senior Editor GH), and the editorial staff Bob Reece, Mike
Semenock, and Ryan Trainor sat around a small table in front of the
visitor center autographing copies for the visiting public. The response
to GH has been positive. All proceeds from the sale of GH go into the
Friends coffers to assist with projects at Little Bighorn.
Jump here to
order GH. And, head here to learn what projects Friends has supported so
far in 2011.
Mike Donahue, Neil Mangum & Jerry
Greene "Ghost Herder" signing
photo courtesy Joanne Blair
View more photos from
"Ghost Herder" signing
General Membership Meeting and Friends Feast
We had a great turnout for our general membership meeting, Friends Feast,
and John Doerner’s retirement party. Once again, Julie Elkshoulder made
the best Indian Tacos you’ll find in the West. Turns out, she also does a
traditional Indian dinner which includes wild turnips and various berries
that she picks in August. I’ve asked her to prepare such a meal for next
year’s Feast, so it should be a treat, as well as educational for all of
us.
It was amazing to look out upon the members in attendance. Many in the
audience were young; we had two toddlers present and a great surprise
visit by Superintendent Kate Hammond with her new son, Miles.
Joanne holds baby Miles. Kate
gets a break
View more photos from the
meeting
Acting Superintendent Barbara Johnson brought us up to date on battlefield
news. I enjoyed my time with Barbara on and off the battlefield.
Superintendent Kate Hammond selected the right person to fill her shoes
while out on maternity leave. Barbara took to the job as if she’d already
been in that position for years. Kate will return from maternity leave in
August.
Friends logo shield -- Friends
General Membership Meeting
photo courtesy Dona Tomita
View more photos from the
meeting
5-year Memorandum of Agreement
Kate and Bob signed the new Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). Remember last
year during the general membership meeting, we signed an extension to our
MOA since we were in the process of rewriting the current MOA. During this
year’s meeting, we celebrated an incredible accomplishment with the final
draft of the MOA. Board member Mike Semenock led that process with help
from Krista Muddle in the Denver Regional Office. The reason for
celebration: we renewed our MOA with the NPS for five years (practically
unheard of) instead of the usual three. We are one of the first partners
to finalize the MOA based on a new template from the Washington office,
and some newly started Friends groups are having to delay their start-up
due to issues with the template and/or lack of staff to write them. Mike
and Krista did an exceptional job working through this.
I'd like to give one last big thank you to Superintendent Kate Hammond for
her encouragement and continual motivation to complete the MOA template.
Supt Kate Hammond & Bob Reece
sign MOA
photo courtesy Kay Hunsaker
View more photos from the
meeting
John Doerner Retirement Party
We wrapped the evening by publicly acknowledging the outstanding career of
John Doerner. It was incredibly sad for many to finally admit that John
will not be a cornerstone in the Stone House and one of the Monuments
long-serving historians. Whomever takes on his position will have really big shoes to fill.
I presented a plaque to John on behalf of Friends to honor his career and
his amazing help in making Friends the success it is. The plaque included
our logo in full color and it read: “The Friends of the Little Bighorn
Battlefield present to John A. Doerner with sincere appreciation for your
pursuit of truth and honoring all who fought in Custer’s Last Stand and
for your tireless dedication to Friends.” In the photos we have included
on this page, you’ll see real tears in John’s eyes from receiving this
plaque and from what many others said to honor him. Jerry Greene, Mike
Donahue, Valerie Zeeb, Neil Mangum, and Tom Heski publicly honored and
shared wonderful stories about John.
John Doerner
photo courtesy Scott Burgan
View more photos from
John's retirement party
Thank You
It was another great battle anniversary weekend events for Friends
members. For our members who could not make the trip, we hope you’ll be
able to sometime soon. I’d like to thank the Friends board members who
made it this year: Kay Hunsaker, Neil Mangum, Mike Semenock, and Ryan
Trainor. Also, thanks to Mike for managing the volunteers. He’s done that
for enough years now that he can almost do it with his eyes closed. Thanks
to Den Mother Joanne Blair for doing countless number of things that
ensured all went smoothly. She kept all of us fed and hydrated. Thanks to
Neil for hitting businesses in the area to sell “Ghost Herder”. A big
thank you to Kay Hunsaker for preparation of the GH signing – everything
about GH that weekend and in the future – working hard on the public feed,
bringing Jan Reed, and being an incredible marketing guru. Thanks to the
Park Service staff: Barbara Johnson for helping us with logistics, Ken
Woody for the volunteers, and Jerry Jasmer for everything to do with the
field trip. And, thanks to all the Friends members who volunteered on the
trails. You represented Friends incredibly well and enhanced the visitor
experience, all while having a blast.
I’ll see you on Last Stand Hill.
Bob Reece
Thanks again Mountain Valley Spring Water.
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