The MonDak Heritage Center announces the "Me and Martha: Intimate Reflections by Dora DuFran

Thursday, June 15, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. at the MonDak Heritage Center, 120 3rd Ave SE, Sidney, MT.

The MonDak Heritage Center presents the Humanities Montana Speakers Bureau program “Me and Martha: Intimate Reflections by Dora DuFran about the Real Life of Calamity Jane” with Mary Jane Bradbury. 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.

The program is at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 15 at the MonDak Heritage Center, 120 3rd Ave SE, Sidney, Montana 59270. Admission is FREE to the public. For more information call (406) 433-3500 or e-mail [email protected].

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.

Partial funding for this program is provided by a legislative grant from Montana’s Cultural Trust and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

 

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