2010 Conference Report
Buffalo Bill Historic Center
Cody, Wyoming
June 11-12, 2010
Conference Report
Set within the history-rich, picturesque landscape of Cody, Wyoming, the 3rd Annual National Stagecoach and Freight Wagon Association (NSFWA) meeting enjoyed a huge success, with attendees from all over the United States. From the official kickoff of activities, the event calendar was chock-full of educational opportunities, including a wealth of information from numerous presentations, extensive museum collections, hands-on demonstrations, western vehicle tours, artifact displays, and vendor booths.
Throughout the diverse and in-depth itinerary, member comments were overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic. In fact, rarely do western enthusiasts have the opportunity to learn so much about early trails and vehicles in such a short time while networking with so many others of like interest. It made for an exciting atmosphere with new friends and faces quickly becoming an important part of the NSFWA family.
With goals committed to providing authoritative resource information that reinforces the legacies of early American trails, western vehicles, and the people and industry that supported it all, the NSFWA worked to make this a special experience for all attendees. According to event coordinators, Ashlee Ganoung and Rawhide Johnson, “We worked closely with area businesses, speakers, and museum curators to help provide an extensive, motivating, and inspirational excursion for all attendees. It’s been very rewarding to hear so much positive feedback.”
]Throughout the event, members invested their time into taking ownership and pride in this unique organization. A portion of the conference was in conjunction with the community of Cody since it covers so many of the same aspects the NSFWA promotes and emphasizes. We want to extend our sincere appreciation to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center for hosting the first day of the event.
The first day of the conference was filled with a number of presentations covering a wide range of informative and interesting topics.
Covering the history of his family’s Buffalo Bill Stagecoach, Gerry Groenewold took us back in time to the actual trail that it was used upon, told the story of its history and restoration, and emphasized the importance of studying and preserving the knowledge of these relics of the West.
David Sneed’s presentation, Western Vehicle Brands and Recent Discoveries, gave insight into the magnitude of the wagon builder’s industry, with a look into the companies, their history, what each contributed to the region they were produced in, and how they influenced other makers and the industry as a whole.
Doug Hansen explained in his presentation, Ft. Pierre Deadwood Trail Revisited, how reenactments and participation in reliving the actual trails answered many questions about how and why things were done and presented a number of new questions to be explored and discovered.
Paul Fees revealed the history of the BBHC’s Buffalo Bill Stagecoach and the part it played in entertaining audiences from around the world and giving them a taste of the Wild West.
Private tours of the inner workings of the museum gave participants insight into how museum pieces are acquired, cataloged, and preserved. This exclusive opportunity to take part in a vault walk of the archives gave members a good understanding of the importance of preservation.
Image Gallery
These images are from the annual meeting in Cody, Wyoming.
The town of Cody, Wyoming is rich in western history and scenic vistas. It was an ideal location for the 2010 NSFWA annual conference.
Photo Courtesy of David Sneed, Wheels That Won The West® Archives
This sheep herder wagon is just one of the special vehicles housed in the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.
Photo Courtesy of David Sneed, Wheels That Won The West® Archives
The Buffalo Bill Historic Center is a vast series of museums showcasing everything from early western vehicles and vintage firearms to Native American collections, rare artwork and the unique geography of the Yellowstone region.
Photo Courtesy of David Sneed, Wheels That Won The West® Archives
An original Yellowstone Touring Coach in the entrance to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center sets the stage for a world of amazing displays and collections inside the multi-level museum.
Photo Courtesy of David Sneed, Wheels That Won The West® Archives
Rawhide Johnson gave an interesting series of presentations on stagecoaches, harness and other related topics.
Photo Courtesy of David Sneed, Wheels That Won The West® Archives
The final evening of events was held in the Mountain Trails Art Gallery and included displays of several early stagecoaches as well as western sculpture presentations by Vic and Dustin Payne.
Photo Courtesy of David Sneed, Wheels That Won The West® Archives
The legendary sites of Yellowstone Park were an easy day trip from the 2010 NSFWA meeting in Cody, Wyoming.
Photo Courtesy of David Sneed, Wheels That Won The West® Archives
Our trip through the Old Trail Town collection of early Wyoming buildings and related history was a rare opportunity to see over one hundred different western vehicles including this original condition Peter Schuttler sheep wagon.
Photo Courtesy of David Sneed, Wheels That Won The West® Archives
Old Trail Town in Cody, Wyoming is filled with opportunities to see numerous original western vehicles including mountain wagons, Yellowstone coaches, ice wagons, sheep wagons, escort wagons, log wagons, chuck wagons and more.
Photo Courtesy of David Sneed, Wheels That Won The West® Archives
