2026 Winter and Springs Programs and Menus

All meals are served with a salad, rolls, coffee, and tea. You do not have to purchase a meal to enjoy the free presentation! 2026 Menus are still to be determined.

January 16th
The Rims: Billings Treasure by Joyce Jensen and
The Sovereign Grand Lodge: The Independent Order of Odd Fellows by Joan Fischer

February 20th
History w/Montana’s First Americans by Michael Crummett

March 20th
Shields and Chevrons: A Warrior History of Southeast Montana by Christian Coppedge

April 17th
Linda Grosskopf on the Life of Bill Huntington

May 15th
WWI, Germany, Sedition, Judge Charles Crum and Redemption by Bill Jones.

Bill & George Williams in 1912

Bill Jones

2026 Monthly Programs

January 16th

The Rims: Billings Treasure by Joyce Jensen

How much do you really know about this most obvious landmark of our city? Ever heard of Rimrock national monument? Why do we have river gravel on top of the rims? Learn about the answers to these and more.

and

The Sovereign Grand Lodge: The Independent Order of Odd Fellows by Joan Fischer

A teaching and application of Friendship. To visit the sick, help the poor, and educate. Maybe began about 1740 in England and came to America in 1819.  According to the “1883 Coulson Post three men came to establish a lodge in Coulson and Fort Custer.  Their consolidation in 1896 in Billings begins Joan’s story of its existence today.

February 20th

History w/Montana’s First Americans by Michael Crummett

For nearly four decades, Michael Crummett has crossed cultural bridges to Montana’s Indian communities. He has worked with and for the state’s First Americans in various capacities, primarily as a photographer, documentarian, photojournalist, and writer. Coming to Montana in 1971 as a VISTA volunteer on the Crow Indian reservation propelled him into the world and cultures of indigenous peoples in Big Sky Country. Crummett will discuss his numerous projects with Montana’s natives at the February 20, 2026 meeting of the Yellowstone Historical Society. Several books on Indian subjects to which Crummett contributed will be available for purchase.

March 20th

Shields and Chevrons: A Warrior History of Southeast Montana by Christian Coppedge

“This program recounts 3,000 years of military traditions of the indigenous peoples in southeastern Montana. Exploration of archaeological evidence and tribal oral traditions illuminate the origins of the rich warrior traditions and practices common to the region’s early peoples. Through the use of historical sources, the presentation examines the transformative effects of the horse and gun on inter-tribal warfare; these significant technological and cultural shifts also changed the nature of conflict with Euro-American nations and the forging of unique alliances. Time is dedicated to covering Montana Indian involvement in the major conflicts of the early-to-mid 20th century, mainly though vignettes on Thomas D. Saunders, a Northern Cheyenne veteran of the First World War, and Joseph Medicine Crow, a member of the Crow Nation and a veteran of the Second World War. The program culminates in exploring the unique connections that both the Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribes have with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. This program is in support of an exhibition of the same name featured at the Yellowstone County Museum; unveiled in April of 2025.”

April 17th

Linda Grosskopf on the Life of Bill Huntington

Born in the sandhills of Nebraska in 1876, Bill Huntington cowboyed his way north to Montana—riding broncs, chasing cows, hauling freight with half-broke horses, entertaining audiences with his own Wild West shows, and filling a warbag full of colorful memories of a West long gone. Bill and his wife Ella eventually settled on a small piece of property on Indian Creek east of Billings, Montana. At the dinner table and during any other gathering Bill attended, he loved to tell stories from his past. In the early 1950s, when Bill was in his 70s, he was persuaded by his family to share those memories with scores of enthusiastic Western readers and history buffs by way of two autobiographical books illustrated by the famous Montana artist, J.K. Ralston—They Were Good Men and Salty Cusses and Both Feet in the Stirrups. Bill also wrote a weekly newspaper column called “Bill Huntington Spins A Tale” that was so popular it continued to run for four decades after his death in 1969. In 2006, Bill’s great-granddaughter, Linda Grosskopf, put together Bill’s biography, together with four dozen of his stories and some family photographs, which book was published under the title Treasures From Bill’s Warbag.

All of Bill’s true life adventures were interesting, none more so than the colorful chapter in his and his family’s life when he and his best friend produced a modest Wild West Show. Modeled after the famous Buffalo Bill production, Bill and George Williams spent about a decade entertaining not only local folks but also those audiences encountered on a large circle through the South.

Bill’s great-granddaughter, Linda Grosskopf, will share details from Bill’s colorful life at the April meeting. Raised on the family ranch east of Billings, Linda was editor of Pat Goggins’ weekly ag newspapers for 20 years. She has written and/or edited several dozen histories of Western people and ranches.

May 15th

WWI, Germany, Sedition, Judge Charles Crum and Redemption by Bill Jones.

Jones is a YHS Blessed member and Vice President of the Montana Historical Society.