Captain’s Entry:
It didn’t
storm earlier today, so we went to the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and
Museum. Tomorrow we plan to drive to Dallas and visit the Texas Book Depository
Museum recommended by a friend of ours. While it didn’t rumble around this
morning, this evening there are storms rolling toward our location. We’ve
already heard the thunder, and it’s beginning to sprinkle. We’re just hoping it
doesn’t hail or get overly windy.
At the
museum the new Annie Oakley exhibit on the first floor has several holographic
images of this famous cowgirl, and we enjoyed seeing and listening to the
life-sized one. The others were smaller images, but no less impressive.
Unfortunately we couldn’t hear the audio in these smaller presentations due to
the level of the sound and the background noise created by the large screens
showing the Buffalo Bill Wild West Shows in the front of the gallery.
We were
disappointed to learn we could not take photos inside the museum. There were so
many shots we would have liked to record to jog our memories of this visit. In
lieu of photos I’ll try to remember the highlights to share with you.
First, the
amount of information available impressed me, but became overwhelming in a big
hurry. I read news clippings about transporting the Buffalo Bill exhibition to
London on the ship Nebraska with over 200 horses, some mules, and the large
stage coach lifted up by a crane and deposited into the ship’s hold. Along with
these animals and some exotic ones, there were Indians, sharp shooters like
Annie Oakley, and the road crew responsible for assembling the show once they
reached London!
Queen
Victoria bowed to the American flag as it flew by carried by a performer on
horseback. It was the first time in history a British monarch had done so. Many
artifacts of the Wild West Exhibitions are displayed in glass cases like a white
dress on a statue of Oakley holding the first rifle she ever owned. At a young
age Oakley shot birds and sold them to restaurants to help support her poverty-stricken
family. Her life story is well worth a look if you get a chance to look her up
on the Internet.
Upstairs
there are displays of the careers of the cowgirls who are now honored by this
hall of fame. Most are rodeo stars and film footage shows them riding cutting
horses, standing on the backs of galloping horses, or hanging on for dear life
sitting on the broad backs of bulls and bucking broncs. The lives of women cattle
ranchers are chronicled as are the movie and TV stars that portrayed the
cowgirls on the screen.
I especially
enjoyed sitting on a bar stool listening to jukebox music from some of the
early country singers like Patsy Cline and Emmy Lou Harris. It was like being
at the soda fountain again and dropping in a quarter for three songs. It was
fun pushing the old style square buttons to select the songs I wanted to hear
over the headphones provided.
Dale Evans
and the actress who played Annie Oakley on TV, plus Penny of Sky King fame were
well represented in the small movie room and in the show cases full of
costumes, posters, records and other memorabilia. I think I enjoyed this part
of the museum the best since I grew up watching these actors on Saturday
morning TV. The country music also appealed to me.
I would have
enjoyed seeing some representation of horse ranching alongside the cattle
ranching women since the books I write are along those lines. Nevertheless, all
the women included in the exhibits were exceptional and broke ground in a man’s
domain for the women who followed. Today women rodeo participants make the same
money as the men because of the cowgirls who came before them and made sure of
it.
It’s
impossible to relate without pictures what a stunning museum this is. If you
get a chance to wander out West, try to visit Fort Worth and this unlikely museum
that started in a library basement back in the late 1970s and has now come into
its own. I think you will be impressed by the grit and determination of these
amazing cowgirls.
End Captain’s Log
First Officer’s Log
After we
visited the Cowgirl Museum, we walked over to the Science and History Museum
where I skirted the ticket area to run down the hall where I could press three
pennies. Then we Googled local restaurants and found Hoffbrau Steaks about a
mile away and drove on over. After all when in Texas you’ve got to eat steak!
Cheryl had a
New York Strip steak and a loaded baked potato, both of which she declared to
be about the best she’d ever eaten. I on the other hand, in spite of what I
said earlier about eating steak, had a pork chop grilled in a jalapeño sauce
along with a flame-grilled ear of sweet corn. I have to say both of those were
beyond excellent.
This is the
second time on this trip we’ve stumbled on some great lunchtime food by
accident. The first was the Southern-Fried Chicken place in Richmond, Virginia
after touring the Hollywood Cemetery.
BTW I really
enjoyed the Cowgirl Museum. I was absolutely fascinated by the holographic
Annie Oakley presentations and completely pissed at the poor quality of the
audio accompanying those presentations.
End First
Officer’s Log
You might get a kick out of watching this very short video of a young lady riding a bucking bronc. It will be live after noon Wednesday, 08-26-15.
http://www.cowgirl.net
Scroll down to Bronc Ride Exhibit/Click/login: cheyenne238651 and enter password: HE986D
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