We had some streaming troubles so the first few minutes are cut off, but the rest is here!

Above is where the live streaming video of the program will be available around 7pm MT. When the program goes online you will see a large “Play” symbol appear. Press the button and wait for it to load. It is normal for commercials to interrupt the video.

Dail Barbour moved to Jackson Hole in 1970 from North Carolina though she had visited the valley as early as 1964. In talking about the variety of things she has done in Jackson Hole to make a living, Dail said that she “did everything a person could—that people would pay you for, that wasn’t illegal.” Her jobs included cocktail waitressing, washing cars, cleaning rooms and construction sites, and more. Dail has worked for the Teton County Library for the past seventeen years, also at a variety of jobs, culminating in her position as Facility Manager.

A native from Tennessee, Rob Cheek’s first trip to Jackson Hole was in 1951 as a youth. He moved to Jackson in 1975. Like Dail, he “scratched around trying to make a living” and tried different types of work including road building. Rob currently is a commercial real estate agent, having sold property here since 1995. He will share stories of how things in Jackson Hole have changed over time as well as what hasn’t changed.

The programs are held on Thursday evenings from 7:00-8:30 p.m., at the Old Wilson Schoolhouse in Wilson. Families are welcome.

Admission is free for current Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum members; memberships are available at the door. Non-member admission is $5. The series is funded in part by a grant from the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole. Series sponsors include McDonalds, Teton Heritage Builders, Teton Motors, and Wells Fargo.

The final program of the series is on March 8 with Jay and Tracey Petervary, endurance bicyclists.

Please contact Karen Reinhart, Curator of Education and Outreach, at 733-2414 for more information.

Above is the video from the live streamed event at the Pink Garter Theater featuring Bill Briggs and Christian Beckwith. The event was a real success — completely sold out!

Please note that the video is a little pink due to the color of the stage lighting. But you can still get a sense of how great a program it was.

The video presentation will begin around 7pm MT. You will see a play button appear. Press the play button and you should see the video soon.

Second Saturday Family Fun continues on March 10 when participants explore bird facts and build bird baths. On April 14 families will decorate and plant a mini greenhouse in preparation for spring. The final family program on May 12 explores the topic of American Indians; families will sew a pair of moccasins. All programs include storytelling in the museum.

Suggested donation is $5 per child or $10 per family. Child must be accompanied by an adult(s). Please contact Mindy Barnett, Youth Education Assistant, 733-2414, for more information.

Bill Briggs made ski mountaineering history on June 15, 1971 when he became the first person to ski down the Grand Teton. He has many other first descents to his credit, including Mount Moran in 1968 with other skiers and the first high traverse in Canada’s Rocky Mountains in 1959. He had become a certified ski instructor in 1955 and moved to Jackson Hole in 1958, working as an Exum Guide.

Briggs began the Great American Ski School at Snow King in 1966. He was inducted into the Skier Hall of Fame in Park City, Utah in 2008. Following his other passion—music—Briggs co-founded the Stagecoach Band in 1969 and still plays every Sunday night at the “Coach” in Wilson. He’s a famous Jackson Hole personality who has done much to define the character of the valley’s ski and music communities.

Christian Beckwith has been skiing for about forty years and has long been a fan of Briggs. Shortly after he moved to Jackson in 1994 he named his first magazine, “The Mountain Yodel” after Briggs. Beckwith is the former editor of The American Alpine Journal, the founding editor of Alpinist Magazine, the founder of The Alpinist Film Festival, and the coordinator of the Teton Boulder Project. He’s the entrepreneur of Outerlocal, social media website for adventure athletes.

Last year, on the fortieth anniversary of Briggs’ epic ski descent of the Grand, Beckwith repeated his feat. “He has been my inspiration for years, and it was rad to ski his line and realize how far ahead of his time he was,” said Beckwith. “It doesn’t matter how strong you are, or how good a skier. Bill’s route is awesome, and it always will be.”

Beckwith will focus on how skiing the iconic peak has evolved in the forty years since Bill first skied it. “Equipment, information, and advancing proficiencies have all made skiing it more accessible to the average skier,” said Beckwith. “But you still can’t fall, and skiing the Grand will always be what a friend calls ‘skiing on the moon’”.

Purchase $10 advance tickets at Teton Mountaineering or at the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum’s museum store. $15 at the door. Current history museum members are admitted free but should not come to the program late. Pizza and beer will be available during the program.

Special sponsors for “Skiing the Grand” program include Exum, Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, Marmot, Outdoor Research, Outerlocal, and Teton Mountaineering. Sponsors for the series include McDonalds, Old Wilson Schoolhouse, Teton Heritage Builders, and Wells Fargo. The series is funded in part by a grant from the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole.

The programs continue on February 16: Dail Barbour and Rob Cheek, longtime residents who share colorful stories of the 1970s. The final installment is a rescheduled program on March 8 with Jay and Tracey Petervary, endurance cyclists. These two programs are held on Thursday evenings from 7:00-8:30 p.m., at the Old Wilson Schoolhouse in Wilson. Families are welcome.
Admission is $5 for non-members.

Please contact Karen Reinhart, Curator of Education and Outreach, at 733-2414 or 406-224-1534 for more information.

The Crabtree Hotel was a fixture of Jackson Hole for many years. It was once used as a family home, a hotel, and is now being used as retail space. You can visit the replica building today at the corner of King and Broadway just off the town square in Jackson, Wyoming. This short video was produced by the history museum at 225 N. Cache in Jackson Wyoming.

For more information the Crabtree Hotel, check out Jack Huyler’s “And That’s the Way it Was in Jackson’s Hole” and Sam Lightner’s “Roads Through Time”.