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MUSEUM HOSTING DAY OF THE DEAD EVENT

Dancing Catrina skeletons and festive Day of the Dead style skulls decorate a poster in a blue and purple gradient. The bottom right includes pictures of two children in traditional dresses playing somberly in front of a fake tombstone in Clock Tower Park outside the Sweetwater County Historical Museum in Green River. Below that is a picture of children making sugar skulls below a purple tent in front of a sign reading Sweetwater County Historical Museum. A family mans the booth smiling at the camera. Text reads: 'JOIN US FOR A DAY OF THE DEAD celebration of Hispanic culture Saturday, October 12 CLocktower park, Green River 11:00 AM until 3:00 PM ACTIVITIES AND REFRESHMENTS: Food and drinks Temporary tattoos Photo both Scavenger hunt Story book booth Paper masks Arts/Crafts activities Don’t forget to visit the Museum’s Ofrenda Exhibit Dance performances begin at 1:00 PM. Local students from Coco Dance Camp will perform a variety of traditional hispanic dances. PHOTOS WITH PERFORMERS AVAILABLE AFTER PERFORMANCE Brought to you by Bridges for Community and Unity Sweetwater County Historical Museum'

Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid rode again on Saturday

Bill Betenson stands in a stage in a western outfit in front of a slideshow and before an audience of people seated at white tableclothed long tables about 8 to a side perpendicular to the stage.

Photo #1 - Historian Bill Betenson was the featured speaker at the “An Evening with Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid” event at the Broadway Theater in Rock Springs on Saturday

 

(Sweetwater County, Wyo. - September 24, 2024)     The special fundraiser “An Evening with Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid” played to a full house at the Broadway Theater in Rock Springs on Saturday.

Hosted by the Sweetwater County Museum Foundation to benefit the Sweetwater County Historical Museum in Green River, the event commemorated the 55th Anniversary of the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Newman portrayed Cassidy (real name Robert Leroy Parker), and Redford the Sundance Kid (Harry Longabaugh). Etta Place, the Sundance Kid’s consort, was played by Katharine Ross.                              

Cassidy’s great-nephew Bill Betenson, noted historian and author of Butch Cassidy, My Uncle and Butch Cassidy: The Wyoming Years, provided commentary regarding the film’s historical accuracy. Cassidy and his Hole in the Wall gang had numerous connections to places in Sweetwater County, including Tipton, Rock Springs, and the Currant Creek Ranch. Sweetwater County lawyer Douglas Preston represented Butch, Matt Warner, and other of their outlaw cohorts in several legal cases. Some accounts tell of Cassidy meeting Preston secretly at Boar’s Tusk north of Rock Springs for counsel and to pay legal fees.         

Katharine Ross, who has been married to actor Sam Elliott since 1984, was unable to accept an invitation from the Board to attend the event, but sent along her best wishes to Dave Mead, the Sweetwater County Historical Museum’s executive director.

A special edition of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was shown after dinner and Betenson’s presentation.

Mead expressed his special thanks to board members Randy Walker, Budd Allen, Fay Quiroz, James Quiroz, and Bridgette Nielsen for their hard work in creating “An Evening with Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid.”

MUSEUM HOSTING SPECIAL DINNER AND MOVIE EVENT

An edited poster of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

The Sweetwater County Museum Foundation is hosting a special fundraising event to commemorate the 55th Anniversary of the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The event will feature special guests, a catered dinner, and movie showing. 

 

Tickets are available on the Broadway Theater's website, click here

 
Bill Betenson, Butch Cassidy's great-nephew, will reflect on the making of the movie and provide commentary regarding its historical accuracy. Betenson's great-grandmother, Lula Parker Betenson, was Cassidy's sister and served as a consultant to actors Robert Redford and Paul Newman during the filming of the movie. Betenson is a noted historian and author of Butch Cassidy, My Uncle and Butch Cassidy: The Wyoming Years.
 
Whether in fact or fiction, many of Cassidy’s and Sundance's adventures took place in Sweetwater County, at places like Tipton, Rock Springs, the Currant Creek Ranch, and elsewhere. It is said that Robert Leroy Parker, alias Butch Cassidy, got his nickname “Butch” when he was working as a butcher in a meat market in Rock Springs. It is also well known that Sweetwater County lawyer Douglas Preston represented Butch, Matt Warner, and other members of the Wild Bunch in several legal cases. Some historic accounts tell of Cassidy meeting Preston at Boars Tusk for counsel and to pay legal fees.
 
"An Evening with Butch & Sundance" will begin at 6 PM with dinner and Betenson's presentation and will conclude with showing the movie.
 
Proceeds from this event will support efforts to refurbish exhibits in the museum’s galleries and at venues across Sweetwater County. For more information, contact the Sweetwater County Historical Museum at (307) 872-6435.
 
Tickets for the dinner and entire program may be purchased for $80 per person or $560 for an 8-person table. Tickets for the movie only may be purchased for $20 and doors will open at 7:15 PM for movie-only participants. Tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be available at the door.
Cash bar available
 

Tickets are available here

 

Kids and parents gather for special picnic in Green River

 Left: Young students run around a park. Right: A student handles a number of pelts on top of a table.

Photo #1 - Local wildlife and history were the subjects of a recent Sweetwater County Historical Museum presentation at the Monroe Elementary English Language Learners picnic in Green River. Around 40 students and parents attended.

 

(Sweetwater County, Wyo. - August 14, 2024)     Wyoming wildlife and history were the subjects recently at the Monroe Elementary English Language Learners picnic at Centennial Park in Green River.

Some 40 children and parents attended the event. Aidan Brady of the Sweetwater County Historical Museum also participated with a table presentation of pelts, antlers, and other parts of local animals from the museum. Brady talked about Wyoming and Sweetwater County history and the kids got a chance to handle the pelts and other artifacts.

Educators, parents, and parent-teacher groups who are interested in learning more about museum programs for students Grades K - 12 are encouraged to contact Brady at (307) 872-6435 or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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