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Monument celebrates 90th anniversary this weekend
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| A Studebaker wagon arrived Wednesday afternoon at the Scotts Bluff National Monument for their 90th anniversary celebration. The wagon is on loan from Fort Laramie, Wyo., putting up the canvas cover for the wagon were maintenance crew members from Fort Laramie. From left, Jim Bowsher and Vince Hill handle the cover while Mark Davison, park ranger at Scotts Bluff National Monument looks on. Photo by Chabella Guzman |
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By: CHABELLA GUZMAN, Staff Reporter
Commemorating its 90th anniversary a few months early, Scotts Bluff National Monument plans a weekend of events in conjunctrion with Oregon Trail Days.
“The monument was proclaimed the Scotts Bluff National Monument by President Woodrow Wilson Dec. 12, 1919, and it set aside the area west of Gering containing Mitchell Pass and Scotts Bluff,” said Mark Davison, a ranger at the Scotts Bluff National Monument.
As part of a special display “Wagons of the Overland Trails,” a Studebaker horse-drawn wagon has been brought up from Fort Laramie National Historic Site in Wyoming on loan from July 8 – 27.
“The wagon is typical of the three different kinds that the pioneers used while moving through the area,” he said.
The monument has wagons on display regularly, including the Murphy and Conestoga varieties as well as a Mormon handcart.
Officials decided to the do the celebration six months early to share the event with tourists and visitors that are usually visit the monument in the summer.
“We figured so many would be visiting the Oregon Trial Days, we would offer some special programs as well during the weekend,” he said.
Events will begin Saturday with Pony Express riders that will ride through Mitchell Pass at 2 and 3 p.m. The riders will ride on, or close to, the Pony Express Trail. They will ride at an express pace and attempt a rapid transfer just west of the visitor center. Riders are local members of the Pony Express Association. Visitors are encouraged to park in the visitor center parking lot well before the events to allow riders to continue their rapid pace as they cross the entrance road.
Monument staff will be in period clothing on Sunday.
“We’ll be hosting our first soapbox demonstration derbies since the early 1950s,” Davison said. “The local soapbox derby group will run several demonstration heats of soapbox cars between 10 a.m. and noon on the lower portion of the Summit Road.”
Visitors should park in the visitor center parking lot and are welcome to walk up along the Summit Road for viewing. Bring a hat, water and folding chairs if desired.
The commemorative activities will culminate with a historic skit in the Monument’s amphitheater from 4 to 5 p.m. “Scotts Bluff through History,” will feature notable historic persons from the discovery of the Bluff through its designation as a National Monument in 1919. Local residents will play the parts of Hiram Scott, William Henry Jackson, A.B. Wood, Will Maupin, and others. Local radio personality Kevin Moony will be the narrator.
As part of the Backyard Tourist Passport program sponsored by Platte Valley Attractions, a life-size Hiram Scott replica will be someplace within the monument during the 90th anniversary commemoration week.
“The monument was proclaimed the Scotts Bluff National Monument by President Woodrow Wilson Dec. 12, 1919, and it set aside the area west of Gering containing Mitchell Pass and Scotts Bluff,” said Mark Davison, a ranger at the Scotts Bluff National Monument.
As part of a special display “Wagons of the Overland Trails,” a Studebaker horse-drawn wagon has been brought up from Fort Laramie National Historic Site in Wyoming on loan from July 8 – 27.
“The wagon is typical of the three different kinds that the pioneers used while moving through the area,” he said.
The monument has wagons on display regularly, including the Murphy and Conestoga varieties as well as a Mormon handcart.
Officials decided to the do the celebration six months early to share the event with tourists and visitors that are usually visit the monument in the summer.
“We figured so many would be visiting the Oregon Trial Days, we would offer some special programs as well during the weekend,” he said.
Events will begin Saturday with Pony Express riders that will ride through Mitchell Pass at 2 and 3 p.m. The riders will ride on, or close to, the Pony Express Trail. They will ride at an express pace and attempt a rapid transfer just west of the visitor center. Riders are local members of the Pony Express Association. Visitors are encouraged to park in the visitor center parking lot well before the events to allow riders to continue their rapid pace as they cross the entrance road.
Monument staff will be in period clothing on Sunday.
“We’ll be hosting our first soapbox demonstration derbies since the early 1950s,” Davison said. “The local soapbox derby group will run several demonstration heats of soapbox cars between 10 a.m. and noon on the lower portion of the Summit Road.”
Visitors should park in the visitor center parking lot and are welcome to walk up along the Summit Road for viewing. Bring a hat, water and folding chairs if desired.
The commemorative activities will culminate with a historic skit in the Monument’s amphitheater from 4 to 5 p.m. “Scotts Bluff through History,” will feature notable historic persons from the discovery of the Bluff through its designation as a National Monument in 1919. Local residents will play the parts of Hiram Scott, William Henry Jackson, A.B. Wood, Will Maupin, and others. Local radio personality Kevin Moony will be the narrator.
As part of the Backyard Tourist Passport program sponsored by Platte Valley Attractions, a life-size Hiram Scott replica will be someplace within the monument during the 90th anniversary commemoration week.
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