82801 February/March 2018

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2018

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IT’S NOT JUST NEWS. IT’S DALLY. FEBRUARY / MARCH 2018

Defining Moments ne of my first pieces of journalistic writing was bound with yarn and illustrated with crayon sketches.

It shared, in captivating prose, my experience living in a motorhome and traveling around the United States — at the ripe age of 4 - years-old.

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As my parents, brother, and I traversed 38 states in seven months, I interacted with people who were

different than me, saw landmarks that conveyed the importance of standing for a cause, learned how to live simply, and cultivated a curiosity that taught me not only how to ask questions but how to truly listen.

I also learned how to tie my shoes. It really was a life-changing trip.

To this day, I remain grateful to my parents for

taking a risk, selling our home, and striking out to see the world with two kids in tow.

Two years after our travels, my first grade teacher encouraged me to write a book for a Young Authors competition. I wrote about our trip.

I didn’t win the competition, but that first travel log — not to mention the actual travels — are some of the most defining moments of my life.

They planted the seeds that have driven many of my choices over the years.

Ten years after living in a motorhome, I lived on a canal boat in England on my first short-term missions trip. At 17, I went to China to teach English for a summer. Excursions to Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, El Salvador and New Zealand followed, some with friends, some solo, and the most recent with my husband: a kind, funny, creative man who satisfies his own curiosity through the lens of a camera.

I have written throughout my life — in personal journals, on public blogs, for two newspapers, and on a few napkins. While I lean toward non-fiction, I also have a novel, a junior novel, and a children’s book tucked away on my computer.

One of the things I appreciate most about journalism is how humbled I feel when someone trusts me to tell their story, and tell it well. I realize the vulnerability that takes, and I strive to treat my sources with the care and compassion they deserve. Even in hard-hitting pieces or investigative journalism, we must respect the humanity underlying the news.

When not writing, traveling, or dreaming of traveling, I like to drink coffee with my husband, crawl around the house with my 1-year-old daughter, walk, bike, hike, kayak, snowshoe, bake, and read.

By: Hannah M. Sheely for 82801 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2018

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82801 Features

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Family: When you cross the cattle guard Sheridan’s longest-running Kane Ranch is home to David and Terri Kane, fourth generation cattle ranchers in a family with a fierce work ethic and feisty humor. The Kane family are longtime cattle industry leaders who live and cultivate cattle on lands totaling more than 30,320 acres. Hannah tells their tale of life on the open range, and how it all began.

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Staff Feature: Hannah Sheely

Culture: The Mansion on the Hill

Life: John Benjamin Kendrick

Hannah just recently joined the ranks at Outliers, contributing as a freelance writer on a monthly basis beginning with this month’s Family Feature on the Kane Ranch. Although new to the squad, we’re inspired by the relatability and humility of her work.

Here, Hannah introduces herself as a writer, worldtraveler, wife, mother, and more.

Step inside Sheridan’s mansion on the hill: The Kendrick, originally named Trail End and part of the Trail End State Historic Site. The home has sat perched atop a hill overlooking historic downtown Sheridan since its completed construction back in 1913. The then unimaginable $160,000 price tag only alludes to its still-present grandeur.

Following the introduction of The Kendrick Mansion, Charity provides a brief glimpse into the history of the Kendrick Mansion’s namesake, John B. Kendrick.

Explore a short biography on the man, from his times as a young lad to his brief stint as Wyoming Governor and even as a U.S. Senator.

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When you cross the cattle guard…

Five generations call Kane family ranches home he Bighorn Mountains play peeka-boo behind wrinkled, sagebrush hills on the meandering drive to the E-U Ranch northeast of Sheridan. Twenty miles out on Decker Highway and 10 miles down dusty county roads — some in Montana, some in Wyoming — the ranch is home to David and Terri Kane, the fourth generation to cultivate cattle, family, a fierce work ethic, and feisty humor on patchwork lands totaling more than 30,320 acres.

An increase of 30,000 acres since the original 320-acre ranch was established 136 years ago is no small feat. Neither is keeping a ranch in the family for five generations.

Fifty miles west of David and Terri Kane’s place, their youngest son Nate Kane and his wife Molly — married in August — manage the HN Ranch near Ranchester, continuing the Kane family ranching tradition for at least one more generation. The E-U and HN ranches both operate under the SR Cattle Company.

A study published by Joseph Astrachan, Ph.D., in Family Business Review found that 30 percent of family-owned businesses survive into the second generation, 12 percent into the third and only 3 percent into the fourth generation or beyond.

If passing any family business to the next generation is that challenging, passing on a family business that requires attention 24 hours

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per day, seven days per week, and 365 days per year should be celebrated.

But, in typical rancher fashion, Nate Kane speaks sparsely on the topic: “I don’t care to do anything else.”

For Nate Kane, his father David, his grandfather Chas, his great-grandfather Charlie and his great-great-grandfather Philip, ranching is life and ranching is home.

The land — be it tucked against the Bighorn Mountains along Big Goose Creek or corralled by rolling hills just south of the Montana border — is home. The work — fixing fence, pulling calves at 3 a.m., branding six times in the spring — is home. The family — be it kin, friends or neighbors — is home.

“Home is the ranch,” said David Kane.

“When you cross the cattle guard,” Terri added.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

In 1876, Philip Kane, 16-years-old at the time, was on his way up the Yellowstone River when he was diverted to help bury Gen. George Armstrong Custer’s men massacred in the now famous Battle of the Little Bighorn.

David Kane isn’t sure where his greatgrandfather was headed, but he does know he never made it to his original destination; he fell in love instead.

Philip Kane was enthralled by the land below the Bighorn Mountains and staked a claim to 320 acres at the mouth of Big Goose Canyon in 1882, starting what would one day become an operation with 1,100 head of cattle on more than 30,000 acres of prime ranch land in Northern Wyoming.

In 1919, Philip’s son Charlie purchased George Cutter’s ranch across from Eatons’ dude ranch on Wolf Creek. He got married in 1928 and had four children.

His son Charles, known by everyone as Chas, took over the ranch when he was 35-yearsold. He and his wife, Arlene, began to expand the operation, purchasing the HN Ranch and Keystone Ranch in 1969 and the E-U Ranch, a holding of Sheridan’s famous Kendrick family, in 1988.

The physical homes in which each generation has lived have changed over the past 136 years. However, the house built of stone in which David and Terri Kane have lived since January 1, 1988, is 100 years old this year. It was built by John Kendrick and serves as office for ranch operations, and a place of rest for times when the family is able to put their feet up in the living room — rare as those times may be.

Just weeks ago, when the mercury had already dipped to minus 11 degrees at 5 p.m., David Kane pulled on his thick work pants,

fired up his tractor parked outside the front door and rolled away to go help a neighbor move some snow, a task sure to last well past the final glimmers of golden light on snow-covered hills.

IN TRANSITION

Hard work is ingrained in the Kane family. The ranch — the home — is kept alive through early mornings, late nights, icy chores, and sheer determination.

In fact, hard work and the care of animals is so ingrained, it becomes part of relaxation and part of sleep, even.

“There’s nothing more relaxing or satisfying than to go out in a bunch of newborn calves and just see them,” said David Kane.

Kane relaxes on horseback, on his land, doing his work day in and day out.

Molly Kane smiles as she tells about the first time Nate told her one morning that he had a dream about “72 Red,” proof that he inherited his father’s and grandfather’s ability to know each individual cow.

When Nate Kane took on the HN Ranch three years ago, he spent several months with his grandfather, Chas Kane, learning the ins and outs and dos and don’ts of managing the family ranch. Nate learned by doing: the two rode horse, moved cows, fixed fence until Chas died June 4, 2015.

“I was happy to have him for those six months,” Nate Kane said. “He taught me a lot, for sure.”

“It was important to dad for the legacy to continue, to keep the ranch going,” David Kane added.

Now fourth and fifth generation work together, talking on the phone nearly every day to stay apprised of happenings on each ranch and at each home. Communication and respect, said David, are key to keeping the ranch going through each generation and every transition.

LIFE ON THE RANGE

While generational ranches are often associated with the men in a family, women play a vital role. Sometimes wives and daughters take over ownership and operations. Often, they come

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alongside in chores, keeping the books and managing the ups and downs of a life that depends on nature’s goodness.

Molly (Ligocki) Kane grew up on a small ranch, so the rhythm of ranch life was not foreign to

her. She met Nate when she and her older sister helped at one of the Kane family’s brandings.

“You thought you were helping for a day, and now you’re helping for a lifetime,” Nate Kane joked.

On their first date, Nate and Molly ended

originally sure she’d like country living in such a remote location. Now, she wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“I feel like I’m out in my own little world, and I like that feeling,” Terri Kane said.

The family makes a few trips into town each week, be it for groceries, church, or other needs. Often, said David, the drive is relaxing; at night, it can get tiresome. But, as they often must in their life of ranching, the family presses on to do what needs to be done.

"It was important to dad for the legacy to continue, to keep the ranch going,” ~ David Kane up hauling bulls for Eatons’ ranch. They took a detour after that unexpected chore to turn on the #10 irrigation ditch.

“I tried to dress all nice for our date, if you can call it that, and then I had to climb two barbed wire fences,” Molly Kane said. “I was

helping with ranch work on our first date; I knew what I was getting myself into.”

David and Terri Kane met when Terri was in the same sorority as David’s sister at the University of Wyoming. Terri had grown up on a small farm near Torrington but wasn’t

A GOOD HOME

David and Terri Kane have three sons: Jade, Ryan and Nate. All three are good hands, David Kane said, but there was never any pressure to stay with the ranch life. Ranch life did, however, provide a good home and lots of memories.

There was a time Ryan fell asleep on the school bus, riding all the way from Sheridan to the ranch and back to Sheridan before popping up in his seat and wondering where he was.

Each morning, the boys had to wake early, do chores and be on the bus by 6:20, often not returning until after dark when involved with extracurricular activities.

When Jade was young, he would sneak downstairs, grab some pool balls and tuck them into Grandpa Chas’ boots. The family laughs about that to this day.

When David Kane had neck surgery, Nate Kane went out with Grandpa Chas one day to check cows. The two did not return when expected. As lunch time passed and David and Terri’s concern grew, grandfather and grandson sauntered in the door, giggling like school boys.

“Two hundred prairie dogs later we came home,” Nate Kane said.

Chas Kane was driven by his work, by the ranch duties needing to be done. But, on this occasion, he saw an opportunity for a little fun with his grandson. He took it, creating a memory cherished to this day.

At the Kane family ranches, home is sometimes work, sometimes play, always family, and always love.

By: Hannah M. Sheely for 82801 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2018

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Bringing Leadership Local College Students ive Sheridan College students and two of the school’s advisors traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, recently to attend the National Student Leadership Diversity Convention (NSLDC) along with over 200 attendees from other colleges and universities from around the country.

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The NSLDC is the largest national gathering of student leaders and advisors to address the most critical topics of diversity and social justice challenging today’s college campuses.

The annual convention features experiential workshops, keynote sessions, and round table discussions designed to help students and advisors to address the topics of diversity and social justice. It challenges students to explore how various elements of diversity affect their own college experiences.

Sheridan Business student Miguel Gio Arriaga said the convention’s keynote speech

by Dr. Michael “Mykee” Fowlin was something he “thinks the whole world should watch.” He said Fowlin used his professional acting talents and his training in psychology to celebrate the differences between people and create empathy.

Fowlin, who has been formally acting since age 11, aims to create an atmosphere of worldwide inclusion, not just tolerance, towards all people.

“He took on the personas of about twenty different people during the speech, such as a person with a disability, a black person, and many others, to help you (to) empathize with the struggles of all (different) types of people,” Arriaga said of Fowlin.

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From left to right front row: Miguel Gio Arriaga, Rafael Escoto, Francisco Pacheco. From left to right back row: Yanique Linton, Larissa Bonnet, Teanna Braine, and Elizabeth Merryfield.

Empathy and knowledge of other cultures is something Rafael Escoto, success coach and retention coordinator at Sheridan College, and one of the advisors on the trip, hopes the students will bring back what they learned to campus, and share it with other colleagues, peers, and students.

“Sometimes, when we lack knowledge about different cultures we are afraid of what we don’t know, and that causes us to act in a negative way,” Escoto said. “I think the more experiences like this we can give students, the more they will learn to be curious instead of afraid.”

While in Salt Lake, the students also learned how to discuss difficult topics and listen to one

another in a productive way. Yanique Linton, a Health Sciences major, said the conference was a chance for her to step outside of her comfort zone and share her own personal experiences with other students.

“The best thing about this conference was having the opportunity to talk one-on-one with other students and hear what they’ve been through and learn from each other,” she said.

Fellow student Francisco Pacheco agreed, “We got into groups and people shared personal stories. Everyone felt comfortable and was willing to listen.”

& Diversity Home

Attend SLC Convention Both the students and advisors said that hearing and sharing personal stories about discrimination was one of the most challenging, yet impactful, aspects of their experience.

“The most difficult part for me was hearing people talk about times they were discriminated against and describing the pain they went through because of it,” said Larissa Bonnet, director of campus life and housing and another advisor on the trip.

Even though it was difficult to hear, Linton said she thought the pain that comes from negative experiences could be a good thing.

“Pain helps mold us into the people we are today, and I think it can inspire us to create positive change,” she said.

One of the most beneficial workshops for the group was called “No More Drama: Managing Conflict Effectively on Campus”, which taught them conflict resolution skills that they can use to facilitate difficult conversations, meetings, or events. Escoto said that he and the students learned tools they will be able to use during campus discussions, such as what types of questions help people open up.

"Pain helps mold us into the people we are today, and I think it can inspire us to create positive change"

The group agreed the skills they gained and the experiences shared at the conference will help them as they host events and discussions this semester that are geared toward making Sheridan College a more inclusive, welcoming place for students, educators, and administrators.

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The Mansion on the Hill he Trail End State Historic Site, consisting of the Kendrick Mansion (formally known as Trail End) and the Carriage House Theatre, occupies 3.8 acres of land on a hilltop overlooking historic downtown Sheridan.

Since 1982, the main house has functioned as a historic house museum focusing on regional and social history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Carriage House functions as a community theater.

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Trail End was the home of the John B. Kendrick family. Born in Cherokee County, Texas, Kendrick (1857-1933) first came to Wyoming in 1879 with a trail herd of Texas cattle.

He moved to the Sheridan area in 1889 and eventually founded the Kendrick Cattle Company.

In 1891, he married Eula Wulfjen (1872-1961) of Greeley, Colorado. They had two children, RosaMaye (1897-1979) and Manville (1900-1992).

The building of the Trail End estate began in 1908, with Glen Charles McAlister of Billings,

Montana, serving as lead architect. Architect D. Everett Waid of New York was later hired to deal with interior design issues. Due to construction difficulties, low cattle prices, conflicts between the two architects, and a string of labor disputes, work was put on hold for nearly eighteen months in 1910 and 1911. Because the Carriage House was finished first, the Kendricks lived there for three years, until the main house was ready for occupancy in July 1913. At that time, a normal-sized home in Wyoming cost around $4,000 to construct.

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The Kendrick Mansion was estimated to cost more than $160,000 to build and furnish.

Trail End is one of the few examples of Flemish Revival architecture in the Western United States. The building’s curvilinear limestone gables are hallmarks of this style.

Along with Kansas brick, Missouri roofing tiles, and Montana granite, the Indiana limestone

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was shipped to Sheridan on railroad cars, then transported to the building site by horse-drawn wagon.

Trail End contains almost 14,000 square feet of living space, including ten bedrooms, twelve bathrooms, eight fireplaces, formal drawing and dining rooms, a library, ballroom, musicians’ loft and kitchen facilities. Most interior furnishings

and finishes, including Honduran mahogany woodwork and a custom-designed white oak staircase, were machine-tooled in Grand Rapids, Mich. While the bulk of laborers were local, skilled craftsmen were imported from Nebraska and Michigan to do much of the installation and finish work. Electricity and indoor plumbing were included at the time of construction, as were

that time, the Kendricks used Trail End primarily as a vacation home.

From 1933 to 1961, Eula Kendrick lived at Trail End with her son and his family. After her death, the others moved out and the house stood empty for seven years. In 1968, when it was about to be torn down, Trail End was purchased by the Sheridan County Historical

Society, which transferred ownership to the State of Wyoming in 1982.

The facility is currently managed by the State Parks, Historic Sites, and Trails Division of the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. The Carriage House Theatre is operated by the Sheridan Civic Theatre Guild.

TRAIL END CONTAINS ALMOST 14,000 SQUARE FEET OF LIVING SPACE

including ten bedrooms, twelve bathrooms, eight fireplaces, formal drawing and dining rooms, a library, ballroom, musicians’ loft and kitchen facilities

other modern technologies such as an intercom system and in-house stationary vacuum cleaner.

John Kendrick had only a short time to enjoy their new home. He was elected governor of Wyoming in 1914, and the family moved to the state capital in Cheyenne. Two years later, he was chosen to serve in the United States Senate, an office he held until his death in 1933. During FEBRUARY / MARCH 2018

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Nearly all the furnishings and personal items on display at Trail End are original to the house and/or the Kendrick family. Special exhibits and displays throughout provide information on early twentieth century daily life, entertainment, interior design, and changing technology, as well as ranching on the Northern Plains.

By: Cynde Georgen for WyoHistory.org Republished with permission by 82801

CLOSED FOR THE SEASON The Kendrick Mansion, located at 400 Clarendon Ave., is closed to the public until April 1, 2018.

If you have a sled, though, you’re welcome to have a go at the hill on the mansion’s grounds!

RESOURCES Archives at the Trail End State Historic Site that pertain directly to construction of the mansion include the Manville Kendrick Archival Collection, the Construction Era Documents Collection, and the Trail End Research Archives.

“Building Trail End.” Trail End State Historic Site. Excerpts from local news items about the construction, and from Kendrick’s correspondence with architects, builders and artisans. Accessed Dec. 12, 2012 at http://www.trailend.org/letters-building.htm.

Georgen, Cynde A. One Cowboy’s Dream: John B. Kendrick, His Family, Home & Ranching Empire. Virginia Beach, Virginia: Donning Company Publishers, 2004.

“Trail End (John B. Kendrick Mansion),” National Register of Historic Places, accessed Dec. 14, 2012 at http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/NationalRegister/Site.aspx?ID=368.

PHOTOS Trail End, the mansion of Governor and U.S. Senator John B. Kendrick and his family.

Photos courtesy of Sheridan Travel & Tourism.

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John Benjamin Kendrick when he was elected Governor of Wyoming in receiving only three of 22 votes cast. In 1890, lthough he was born in Texas in 1914. In his brief stint as governor, Kendrick Kendrick was asked to serve in the Wyoming 1857, John Kendrick was a selfworked with the state legislature to establish the Territorial Legislature, but declined to continue made, hardworking Wyoming state’s first workmen’s compensation system and focusing on his ranch business. cowboy in the truest sense. public utilities commission.

In 1910 Sheridan County elected Kendrick Kendrick and his younger sister Rosa lost Kendrick was elected to the United to the State Senate where he helped pass some of both their parents at an early age. The two young State Senate in 1916 where he served a total of Wyoming’s first game laws. A few years later in siblings were then shuffled amongst different 17 years. During his time in family members. Young John Congress, Kendrick rarely spoke infrequently attended school until on the Senate floor, but he still the fifth or sixth grade before worked hard for the projects he striking out on his own around age believed in. Among his many fifteen. The son of a cotton farmer accomplishments, he helped to was a cowboy from the start. One uncover the illegal leasing of the of his first jobs was breaking horses state’s oil reserves in the Teapot for room and board.

Dome scandal in the early 1920s.

At age 22 Kendrick was Kendrick was also influential hired to help bring a herd of in ending the meatpacking three thousand steers from monopoly, protecting important Texas to Wyoming. That trip Wyoming landmarks, and took five months, averaging providing water to farmers around eighteen miles per day. through the Alcova, Seminoe, And although he nearly died of and Pathfinder projects. stomach inflammation, it didn’t As the 1934 election sour Kendrick on his chosen neared, there were rumors that career as a cowboy.

Kendrick would be nominated by Kendrick worked his way both parties assuring him another up from trail cowboy to paid 4 years in Congress. However, ranch hand north of Cheyenne, 76-year-old Kendrick said he and then ranch foreman and planned to retire to his home in eventually foreman for the Sheridan at the end of his term to Converse Cattle Company. In relax and enjoy his grandchildren.

1897 Kendrick purchased a At that time, he was the oldest majority interest in the company man serving in the Senate. which eventually became the

On Nov. 1, 1933, Kendrick Kendrick Cattle Company and Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, photograph by Harris & Ewing, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USZ62-123456] collapsed at his downtown Sheridan encompassed more than 210,000 office complaining of a severe acres in Southern Montana and headache. He slipped into a coma and died two days 1912, Kendrick was the democratic nominee to Northeastern Wyoming. later surrounded by his immediate family. Kendrick the United States Senate, but lost to republican The cowboy’s political career got off to a was buried in Sheridan’s Mt. Hope Cemetery. The incumbent Francis E Warren. rocky start when Kendrick was defeated for the cause of death was listed as cerebral hemorrhage.

Kendrick’s political aspirations continued position of Lance Creek Constable in 1882,

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Construction of the Kendrick Manson was completed in 1913

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EXPLORE TRAIL END, THE KENDRICK MANSION Just like any home, it’s all about location.

The Trail End State Historic Site, also known as the Kendrick Mansion is located on a hill overlooking the town of Sheridan. The four acres of grounds has remained mainly intact over the years. Roaming the grounds, visitors can see the confluence of the Big and Little Goose Creeks and also a spectacular view of the Bighorn Mountains.

Construction of the Kendrick Manson was completed in 1913, just over a year before John Kendrick was elected governor of Wyoming.

So the house, lovingly called Trail End, was mainly used as the family’s vacation home until Kendrick’s death in 1933. At that time, his widow Eula Kendrick took up permanent residence there with their son Manville and his young family.

After Eula’s death in 1961, Trail End sat vacant

until its journey to becoming a house museum began in 1968.

The Kendrick Mansion was the perfect candidate for becoming a house museum since there hadn’t been any major changes to the structure.

“Built by a cattle baron for a cattle baron's family, the fine workmanship, opulent style and close attention to detail showed the pride the Kendrick family had in their home,” the Trail End Historic Site website boasts. “Because of the generosity of the extended Kendrick family and the Sheridan community, many original furnishings have been returned to Trail End, thus affording visitors a remarkably true vision of life in bygone days.”

That is the true essence of a house museum.

History and Political Science Professor at the

University of Southern California, Philip J. Ethington, wrote in a 2007 article, “All human action takes and makes place. The past is the set of places made by human action. History is a map of these places.”

RESEARCH LIBRARY The Trail End Research Library is located on the second floor of the Kendrick Mansion.

Records, correspondence, and photographs relating to John B. Kendrick can be found within beside hundreds of volumes relating to a variety of topics. These topics include: western history, Wyoming history, Indian wars, and ranching.

There are also accounts of the social history of the area, as well as research and historic-based FEBRUARY / MARCH 2018

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reproduction of the clothing and design in the early twentieth century.

CARRIAGE HOUSE THEATRE The carriage house at the Kendrick Mansion was built in the same Flemish Revival style as the house itself and was mainly used for storage from the 1930s into the late 1970s. In 1979 the Sheridan County Historical Society, who owned Trail End at the time, granted the Sheridan Civic Theatre Guild permission to renovate the carriage house for use as a community theater.

The initial renovation took several years.

The former carriage room now seats 87 guests in an intimate theater. The tack and horse stall areas were converted into reception areas.

Costume and property storage are in the former hayloft upstairs. And even the chicken coop was repurposed to serve as office and ticket booth.

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After a fire in the stall and hayloft areas of the Carriage House in 1985, the Sheridan community once again rallied to restore the structure in time for the theater group’s 1987 season. The Civic Theatre Guild season usually includes four productions throughout the year in addition to occasional evenings of acoustic music and comedy.

HAUNTED As with any historic building, rumors abound that Trail End is haunted, especially with the advent of the internet.

Some unsubstantiated occurrences allude to books falling from shelves unprovoked, lights turning on and off by themselves, cold spots, and empty chairs rocking.

The Trail End Historic Site website tackles some of the rumors. None of the staff at Trail End has ever witnessed chairs rocking

by themselves or books falling from their places on bookshelves. Many lights at the Kendrick Mansion are on timers to deter the overly curious and to simulate someone is in the building.

The cold spots can be explained by poor air circulation and the fact that the building was constructed in 1913.

“We prefer to think that Trail End is haunted by history, by ghosts from the past that come alive every time a visitor walks through the front door,” explains the website.

TRAILS END GROUNDS Minneapolis landscape architectural firm Morrell & Nichols designed the grounds of Trail End and wrote the following in a letter to John B. Kendrick in 1911. “​The arrangement of groups of trees and shrubs aims principally in giving setting to your residence and other buildings as well as to frame

The Kendrick Mansion is open for daily tours April 1st through December 14th

the grounds and give you as much privacy as possible and to show up the lawn to the best advantage thus forming a harmonious whole.�

The statement still holds true more than a hundred years later. The wide variety of trees, shrubs, saplings, and vines provide the perfect habitat for an equally diverse array of wildlife.

Black bears and snakes are a rare site at Trail End. But, deer, squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits are daily sights.

The Kendrick Mansion has long been a favorite destination of bird watchers. More than a hundred different species of birds have been noted on the grounds since 1970, everything from bald eagles to rufous hummingbirds.

During the warmer months the grounds are the perfect place for an evening walk and a picnic. There’s a shady apply orchard located at the southwest corner of the property.

The Trail End grounds are open to the public year round from dawn to dusk.

The Kendrick Mansion is open for daily tours April 1st through December 14th. No appointments are necessary for self-guided tour groups of less than ten people. Brochures are available at the front desk in a number of languages. All four floors of the house are open to wander and explore.

There are two types of audio tours available, one for adults and one written and recorded for children ages seven and up.

Guided group tours are also available and must be scheduled in advance by calling 307-674-4589.

By: Charity D. Stewart for 82801 Photos courtesy of Wyoming Parks and Cultural Resources.