June in Cody

We are into our busiest weeks of the year. 

This weekend (June 12-14) the CFM and the town of Cody host the Winchester Club of America annual gun show.  The show is at the Riley Arena (1400 Heart Mountain Street – Cody). 

Next weekend (June 19-21) the Winchester Arms Collectors Association annual show is also at the Riley Arena. 

The Records Office will be doing serial number searches for folks at both gun shows and offering discounts on CFM memberships.  I invite to stop by the shows if you are in the area.  

The rest of the  BBHC also has a lot going on this month with the Plains Indian Museum Powwow and the grand opening of the new Whitney Gallery of Western Art and many other activities.  The whole town bustles with events and activities so visit Cody in June!!

More about change

(This is an excerpt from a post I left on the forum at www.Gunbroker.com. I am posting this here as I have received some questions and I thought it would be good for the blog, as well.)

As for the future of the Cody Firearms Museum, there will soon been an announcement for a national search to fill the position. I have not seen the announcement or any sort of updated job description, but I expect that the minimum requirements will be something along the lines of a Masters Degree in history, museum studies, etc., 3-5 years experience working with museum collections, and subject knowledge.

Now I know there are a lot of folks who think that because they are know-it-all about guns, former LEO/Military, etc., that they are qualified for this job (trust me, I have talked to them… *sigh*). What this does is qualify you to work as a volunteer for the Museum (actually one of our BEST volunteers knows nothing about guns except that you pull the trigger and it goes bang!).

A background in museums/museum management is necessary because most of the work required at this level is administrative, exhibits planning, and working with donors and an advisory board. If you are not someone who can compromise and work with a WIDE variety of personalities, museum work is not for you.

OK, I’ve gone on too long. However, I have already received the question to the above answer several times and wanted to nip it in the bud.

Cheers,

Dave K.

Working on vacation

OK – when you get a free tour of gallery and vault spaces at one of the best military museums in the country, I guess you can’t really call it work.

A few months ago, I was contacted by the Registrar at the D-Day Museum. She had some questions about gun treatment, use, and storage as part of a museum collection and I gave her my opinions. I called her before going on Christmas vacation and she was able to show me around the place and pick my brain some more.

American arms of World War II

I do like how they have their guns mounted – either in small, supportive frames or hanging on cables as you can see in the picture here. Although I do like the use of the zip-ties, I still want to check with a conservator just to make sure. All-in-all, I think they are doing a great job and we identified some areas for collaboration in the future.

In case I don’t get a chance to post before then, have Merry Christmas!

Cheers!

Dave