Mental Health Challenges in Park County: A Conversation, 10 a.m. – noon and 7–9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7 (child care provided at the evening session). Panelists include:

• Sara Murray – Board Chair Park County NAMI
• Peg Montieth – PCSD#6 Student Support Services Director
• Krista Blough – Cody Regional Health Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
• Brett Martin – Cody Regional Health Certified Addictions Therapist
• Shaun Balch, PhD – Yellowstone Behavioral Health. 

This is a collaboration with Christ Church, Cody.           

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The history of Cody area eateries; cafés, diners, bakeries, coffee shops, drive-ins and restaurants from 1900 -2019 will be explored at the Cody library. Park County Archivist Robyn Cutter will discuss the hundreds of establishments she has so far researched at 2 p.m. on the first three Saturdays in November.

       On Nov. 2, she will present the eateries which span the letters A-H.  Topics include the A&W Drive-in, Bronze Boot, Cody Spudnut, Green Gables, Hughes Systems Inc. – a diner and Cody’s first cafe started by Buffalo Bill’s cook, George Grupp, in 1900.

      The program on Nov. 9 will address I-P or the Irma through Patsy Ann’s. Queen’s Parlor and Café to Zapata’s, Q-Z, wind up on Nov. 16.

      Robyn delights in the stories. For instance, Ken Quintiliani stopped by the Archives with a question about a largely intact portable diner he had acquired. It had been serving as a chicken house in Otto, Wyo. He knew it had been in Cody at one point, but, had no idea what the name had been or where it was situated. Robyn thrives on solving this kind of mystery.

      Her research revealed that the Hughes System Inc. diner originally stood on the corner of Beck Avenue and 13^th Street. It opened in 1948. The module was manufactured in Wichita, KS. by Valentine Laboratories. From there it moved to East Sheridan Ave. where it was dubbed the Reclamation Diner by virtue of its proximity to the Bureau of Reclamation. Moved to Meeteetse, the diner operated as the Standard Service Café, then on to Greybull where it was known as DeLane Café. Quintilliani found a DeLane Café menu in the course of his restoration.

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      Robyn’s restaurant study is part of a larger Cody Business history project that she undertook three years ago. The projects grow every day.

      Robyn relies on obituaries, newspaper ads and articles, the sponsors listed in the back of yearbooks, grave registries, Rotary Club and Stampede programs, menus and random people dropping by with information to build a picture of Cody through time. When a business changes owners, the name is often changed, too.

      She stresses the importance of adding critical details to print advertisements. A photograph of the business, owners name, location and notice of name changes will serve future archivists well.

      Beyond simple documentation, Robyn feels that capturing history pays tribute to people gone but not forgotten. Seeing the photos and the names makes people say “Oh, I knew them.” “I loved Coley’s Café broasted chicken.” “Remember chili cheese dogs at Bud’s?”

      The holidays seem to trigger memories of family and past events. “I hope people will share their photos and memorabilia with the archives,” Robyn said. “It all helps to complete the puzzle that is Cody history.”

Photographer Ron Everhart will present “The Joy of Carter Mountain” slide show at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct 19. The show is free and open to the public at the Cody library.

      For more than three years Ron has explored the many faces and seasons of Carter, capturing aspects with fellow photographer John Frasier.

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      “My first day on Carter, I identified 19 different species of wild flowers,” Ron said.

      “I moved to Cody because of the mountains. My two favorite plants are cactus and there is only one species in this area. My second favorites are the alpine plants, those that grow above the tree line in the harshest of conditions. I can photograph these flowers on Carter and Beartooth Mountains,” he said.

      The transit of the sun and different lighting conditions in the high country fascinate him.

      He retired from teaching nature photography in 2001 after 35 years at Indiana and Purdue Universities. He plans to teach photography in Wyoming.

      He has written and illustrated 19 natural history books including a 10 volume series “The Plant and Animals of Indiana.” Everhart has contributed thousands of articles to nature and gardening magazines.

    Ron attended the New York Institute of Photography in 1968 when it was a residential campus. He then went on to work in 15 national parks and three national forests.

Refreshments for the program are made possible by the Friends of the Cody Library.