Join us Saturday April 21st at 1:00 for the Annual Gallatin Historical Society Spring Members Meeting and Program. Meeting and program will be on the 3rd floor of the Gallatin County Courthouse with a reception following next door at the museum.

This year's program will feature Mary Jane Bradbury as Madam Dora DuFran.

The name Calamity Jane brings to mind an iconic character of the American West. Accounts of Calamity—whose real name was Martha Canary—are legion and she has achieved mythical status in the lore of the frontier. She lived and traveled throughout Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas from 1867 to 1903, during some of the West’s wildest days. The voracious Victorian press sensationalized her activities, and as a flamboyant character in popular dime novels, Calamity Jane’s legend grew until the person behind the character all but disappeared.

Mary Jane Bradbury will bring to life insights about Calamity’s real life through the eyes of madam Dora DuFran, a Black Hills pioneer, entrepreneur and close friend of Calamity’s. Ms. DuFran built a successful red light business during the rambunctious early days of the western frontier in Deadwood, South Dakota, and has a unique perspective about how wild it really was. Ms. DuFran knows better than anyone the life of Martha Canary and Calamity Jane, two quite different women, one legendary, one all but forgotten.

Mary Jane Bradbury is a scholar and actress with over 25 years of experience bringing history to life for audiences of all ages in the Rocky Mountain region. She is a member of the Humanities Montana and Colorado Humanities Speakers Bureaus, and before moving to Montana, was an historic interpreter for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

This program is open to the public and is co-sponsored by Humanities Montana.