The Yellowstone Gateway Museum hosts “How Park County Fought World War II,” an illustrated slide program given by historian Susan Kraft on Thursday, February 19, 7:00 PM, at the Livingston-Park County Public Library, 228 W. Callender, in Livingston.

From the Bataan Death March and D-Day to the liberation of Holocaust victims and the post-war occupation of Japan, the sons and daughters of Park County, Montana were witness to and participants in many of the crucial events of World War II.  In honor of the 70th anniversary of the final year of the war, Kraft will present stories and images highlighting Park County’s contributions to this global conflict.  Veterans and their families are invited to share stories in their own words by attending or contacting the Yellowstone Gateway Museum.

Kraft has a Museum Studies certificate from Tufts University in Boston and an undergraduate degree in English from Immaculata University in Pennsylvania. She served as the Museum Curator for the National Park Service in Yellowstone National Park from 1993 to 2003. Kraft has received numerous awards for her museum work and has published many articles and essays. Since leaving Yellowstone, she has concentrated mainly on military history, especially World War II where she became interested in Eisenhower, and Holocaust studies.  Since 2005, her travels have taken her throughout Europe, including visits to many battlefields, monuments, war museums, and concentration camps. She is an accomplished presenter of history topics.

This is the first program of the Yellowstone Gateway Museum’s Winter Speaker Series in Livingston. The next program is slated for Thursday, March 19: “Pathways to the Past: Twelve Thousand Years of Prehistory and History in Yellowstone National Park” by Dr. Staffan Peterson, Yellowstone Park Archaeologist. This program is followed by programs on Thursday, March 26, “Dogs of Livingston: An Historic Look” by Paul Shea, Yellowstone Gateway Museum Director; and Thursday, April 16, “Gateway to Yellowstone: The Raucous Town of Cinnabar on the Montana Frontier” by Lee H. Whittlesey, Yellowstone Park Historian.  All programs are held at the Livingston-Park County Public Library, 228 W. Callender, beginning at 7:00 PM. The free programs are open to the public. Refreshments provided.

Please  call 406-222-4184, for more information. The museum is also offering programs in Gardiner this winter.