I need your help. I’ve been working on my presentation of “Sidesaddles and Geysers: Women’s Adventures in Early Yellowstone that will be at Beavertail Hill State Park southeast of Missoula this Friday at 8 p.m. It’s part of a 12-week series at the park on Women in Montana History.
Beaver Tail Hill State Park, Montana
The event, which is sponsored by the Humanities Montana Speakers Bureau, has a standing title, but I always tailor what I say to the occasion. That gives me a reason to review my files and keeps things fresh in case somebody has a chance to hear me twice.
Here’s how you can help—and win an autographed copy of my book, Adventures in Yellowstone: Early Travelers Tell Their Tales.
- Click on the “Categories” button on the right side of this page and choose “Women Stories.”
- Review stories listed (you’ll have to click the “older posts” button at the bottom of the list to see all 16 of them.)
- In the comments section below list the four stories that you think will make the best presentation.
I’ll choose a winner from the submissions based on the following criteria:
- Appropriateness to the audience (families of campers and vactioners) and setting (outdoors in a state park).
- Appropriateness to the topic, “Montana Women’s History.”
- Variety (adventure, humor, time period, etc.)
Enter and many times as you want!
Tell your friends! Have fun!
M. Mark Miller, Author 
Mark,
Here are my four choices:
1. A Tale: An October Snow Storm at Yellowstone Canyon — 1880 — lots of adventure to appeal to all ages and the setting is one of the signature spots in Yellowstone.
2. A Tale: Grandma Told Me Abuse Killed the Handkerchief Pool — a good lesson for all ages on taking care of our environment and what happens when we don’t.
3. A Tale: Mabel Cross Osmond: Dolly Saved My Life — 1874 — food, adventure, corset stays! wow!
4. A Tale : Emma Stone Tours Yellowstone — 1872 — a great “first woman” story.
I LOVE Yellowstone. Having spent the best growing-up years of my life in Wyoming, we went there often. I remember having a picnic lunch with park employees who told stories of things that happened that never made public knowledge. This fascinated me. I collect history of women and national parks. Enjoyed reading about Yosemite’s first women stories when I visited there. My brother is in charge of the trails and special projects in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I’ll have to ask him about stories of women and the park. He recently gave me Kephart’s long-lost manuscript now published as Smoky Mountain Magic (I think that’s the title; I haven’t taken time to look it up). He includes wonderful advice for writers in this book.
Would love to hear you speak, Mark. The last time I heard you speak, it was on communication theory!
Good luck!
Pam Maize Harris
pamelamaize@yahoo.com