The Yellowstone Gateway Museum announces the opening of a new permanent exhibit, “Yellowstone: Living on the Edge,” on Thursday, May 2. The gala event is from 5pm to 7pm with catered food as well as beverages from Katabatic Brewing provided by Yellowstone Gateway Museum Foundation. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. This exhibit opening is dedicated to the memory of John Fryer and Paul Shea, men who dedicated their lives to this community and the museum, and showed us what it was like to live “on the edge.”

The new permanent exhibit explores the relationship between Yellowstone National Park and Park County residents living near the park from before the park’s creation in 1872 until present day. Employee stories, souvenirs, and photographs tell of the deep connection that people had (and still have) with the park, its wildlife and its wild places. Park County businesses benefited from the park’s close proximity and helped create the visitor experience inside as well as outside the park. Businesses included in the exhibit include Wilcoxson’s, Shaw and Powell Camping Company, A. W. Miles, the Grabow Hotel, W. A. Hall, and more. Perhaps the most critical early-day Park County connection to Yellowstone was the Northern Pacific Railway. Passengers rode the rails first to Livingston, and then continued their journey to the park via the railroad’s Yellowstone Branch Line. The railroad advertised and financially supported amenities in the park, including hotels, as well as local attractions like dude ranches. Photographs and objects from the collection reveal the many interwoven relationships with the park.

Visitors can go inside a tent and experience what it might have felt like to camp with tent companies in Yellowstone. People can experience 3-D stereoview postcards, pack an Adventure Backpack, and if a park employee, they can document years worked in the park. Special bear souvenirs and photographs document experiences that people don’t have in the park today, including feeding the bears. The exhibit looks back at how people experienced the park in earlier days but acknowledges the inspiring work that local people still do in Yellowstone today.

Visit www.parkcounty.org/Yellowstone-Gateway-Museum/, Facebook or Instagram for updates. The museum is located at 118 W. Chinook St., Livingston, MT. 406.222.4184.