Chapter 5
The Historical Society
The last week of school was finally here. And as far as Amelia was concerned, it couldn’t have come soon enough. Now, only one more hurdle remained between Amelia and her freedom: a class field trip to the Sundance Historical Society.
The Sundance Historical Society field trip is a right of passage for the kids in town. It’s been an eighth grade tradition for as long as anyone can remember. In fact, for most of Sundance’s residents, the only time they stepped foot in the Historical Society’s building was when they themselves were in eighth grade.
While Amelia wasn’t overly enthused about having to spend the day here, she didn’t put up a fight with her dad about having to go. She had her reasons. First, the Historical Society housed a famous (at least in these parts) fly-fishing collection. Fanny Sullivan was a master fly tier. When she died, she left all of her flies and assorted gear to the Historical Society. And secondly, William was picking her up afterwards to take her shopping for her grade school graduation gift. The two of them were heading to the big city to get some new stargazing equipment.
“I’m leaving, Dad,” Amelia yelled up the stairs. “I’ll see ya this afternoon.”
William was in the middle of shaving. He called down that he’d meet Amelia in front of the Historical Society at 2:15pm.
With that, Amelia was out the door and headed for the grade school one last time.
***
Situated just off Main Street, the Historical Society sits on a large plot of land. The main building actually consists of three buildings that, over the years, have been cobbled together to create a makeshift whole. Looking at the Society from the street, the viewer gets the distinct impression that each building was conceived completely independently of the others. And then someone had a spark of inspiration to connect them. The final result feels – and looks – like an afterthought as opposed to a plan.
There are also some smaller structures – old, haphazard shacks from Sundance’s mining days – dotting the back end of the property. They are fenced off with warning signs like “☠️ DANGER ☠️” and “NO TRESPASSING – PROPERTY OF THE US GOVERNMENT”
Every eighth grader knows someone who knows someone who saw the Sundance Shadow lurking among these shacks. But to be fair, the dilapidated appearance combined with the histrionic warning signs did contribute to an overall haunted vibe you’d expect the Sundance Shadow to find welcoming.
These days, Ms. Kramer oversees the day-to-day operations of the Historical Society. Which is a little bit misleading considering that the building is only open a handful of times throughout the year – one of those dates being the eighth grade field trip and another the eve of the Sundance Spectacu- lar.
The town of Sundance has a long history, dating back to Gold Rush days. And while they weren’t lucky enough to uncover gold in the Black Hills, the Historical Society did find a treasure trove of old photos and collectibles of the earliest residents to put on display.
But the highlight of the trip revolved around seeing the basketball-sized meteor that landed in Sundance decades ago. Ms. Kramer was a child when the meteor came burning through the night sky before landing out by Thunder Lake. As Ms. Kramer tells the story, it looked like a flying serpent lighting up the sky before crashing down to earth. Ms. Kramer swears she still remembers her house shaking from the im- pact.
Once the smoke cleared, the town people went out to see what they could find. Lo and behold, lying in a huge hole in the ground was an orb-shaped piece of the meteor, still smoldering.
Eventually, some of the locals fired up their tractors and managed to pull the rock out of the earth. They hauled the meteor back into town, keeping it in a barn over on the Carney Dairy Farm. As the Sundance Historical Society came into existence, the meteor eventually found a home in the center of the main building – complete with a proclamation from the mayor declaring the meteor “Sundance’s most well-traveled visitor.”
While a local celebrity from the start, the meteor has recently begun receiving attention from a wider audience of “meteorite enthusiasts” thanks in part to the growing popularity of the Spectacular. Every year, more and more people come to Sundance for a chance to see the rare object – for an admission fee, of course. (A “modest donation to Historical Society Fund” as Ms. Kramer puts it.)
***
While her classmates were enthralled with the story of the meteor, Amelia managed to sneak away. Staying within earshot of Ms. Kramer, Amelia made her way over to the Fanny Sullivan exhibit. Fanny’s fly-fishing collection was so expansive that it warranted a dedicated room. The highlight of the collection – at least for Amelia – was the glass display filled with meticulously-made flies. Amelia stood over the display, taking in the colors and the craftsmanship. The names of the flies were stuck alongside each fly, held in place with a pushpin.
Quill Gordon. Catskill Dry Flies. Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail Nymph. The Dusty Miller. The Durham Ranger. The Blacker’s Ghost.
On and on the list of flies went. Some for salmon. Others for trout. And then there were a few in there that were made solely as collectibles. Turns out, other fly fishing tie enthusiasts would send Fanny hard-to-find materials or patterns. Some even sent her ties to add to her collection! It reminded Amelia of the license plate decor over at Smokey’s.
After some time, Amelia realized she could no longer hear Ms. Kramer. So she took one more look at the flies, promised she’d be back, and turned to rejoin her class. Walking out of the room hosting Fanny’s exhibit, she found herself face-to- face with a wall of pictures. There was something about them. Amelia moved in for a closer look.
The first set of framed photos were of some of Sundance’s earliest residents. Established in 1875, the town has seen its share of history. And hard times. As Amelia studied these early prints, she could see in the faces staring back at her how difficult life must have been back then.
The photo gallery then transitioned into the inaugural shots of the Historical Society itself. Starting with the founding in 1975, to commemorate the 100-year anniversary, pictures of the Historical Society members hung in succession up to the present day. Each of the annual member photos found the members sitting in the same arrangement on the front porch of the main building. The only things that seemed to change from year to year were the clothing styles and hairdos.
Veyla – who had been so enthralled with Ms. Kramer’s presentation on the meteor that she didn’t notice that Amelia was missing – now came sidling over to where Amelia stood.
“Whatchya doin?” Veyla whispered in an attempt to avoid drawing attention to the fact that they’d split off from the tour.
Amelia pointed to one of the women in a dress and asked “Can you imagine us walking down the street wearing that?”
“That dress might clash with your fly fishing pole,” Veyla giggled in return. “And you wouldn’t last a quarter mile up Bear Lodge Mountain in those shoes,” she said, pointing to some especially uncomfortable looking footwear.
Veyla made her way down the wall of photos, taking each one in with a smile on her face. “Ohhh, but I would definitely wear that necklace!” Veyla said, pointing to a picture hanging on the far end of the wall.
Amelia walked over to get a look at where Veyla pointed. It was one of the earlier black and white Historical Society member annual photos. “Yep,” Amelia confirmed, “that looks just weird enough to fit your style, Vey.”
“I think the word you’re looking for is “vintage,”” Veyla said, still studying the piece of jewelry and its wearer.
But their spell of admiration came to an abrupt end. “Girls,” their teacher hissed from down the hall, “Ms. Kramer is getting ready to start her final presentation. Please come back over here and join the class.”
***
William arrived at the Historical Society early, parking his truck on the street outside of the main building. Amelia saw him as soon as he pulled up.
Having seen Fanny Sullivan’s collection – thus checking off the list the only thing she was interested in at the Historical Society – Amelia spent the remainder of the trip counting down to the final PowerPoint slide. Being so close to freedom – and some new star gazing gear – made the last fifteen minutes of Ms. Kramer’s presentation feel like it was two hours long.
As soon as “The End” flashed across the projection screen, Amelia was packed up and ready to go.
“Dad’s already here. I’ll catch you later, Vey,” Amelia blurted, rushing past Veyla, out the front doors, and towards the truck.
“Ummm...okay. Let me know what you get,” Veyla yelled after her.
But Amelia didn’t hear her. Her focus was on getting into Johnny Cash’s passenger seat as fast as possible.
“Congratulations on surviving eighth grade,” William grinned through the open window.
Amelia opened the door, stepped on the running board and slid into her seat – all in one impressively single movement.
“It was a close call for sure. Ms. Kramer probably gave mom the same exact presentation when she was a kid. It was so boooorrrrringggg.”
William looked at her and smiled. “It sure is tough being a kid. You know when I was your age I had to...”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. You had to walk to school in the snow, uphill both ways with your sister on your back.” Amelia finished for him while rolling her eyes. “Now, giddyup Johnny Cash!”
“Aha! I knew you listened to me when I talked to you,” he teased as he started up the truck. William pulled into the road and they were off.
Driving out of Sundance and towards the city, Amelia kept her window rolled down. Her arm hung out of the window, playing in the wind. She liked to pretend that her hand was a dolphin, diving down against the current and then jumping up and over the passing trees and telephone poles.
This game made her think of Veyla’s whale-tracking program. It’d been a couple of days since Veyla mentioned anything. Amelia made a note to check in with Veyla about it later that night.
As she continued leaping over tall objects, her dad’s phone began to beep. She knew it was his work phone by the ring tone. William seemed almost as surprised as Amelia to hear it ring.
“Hello, Moon here.”
Amelia pulled her arm in and rolled up her window. The conversation seemed one-sided. As more time went on without her father saying anything, Amelia sensed something was up. She couldn’t make out what the voice on the other end of the phone was saying, but she could hear the rapid fire delivery of the caller. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as her father’s face turned to stone.
All her father said to the caller was “I’m on my way.” Amelia immediately recognized the tone of his voice. It meant there was a problem. A big problem.
“Is everything okay?” she asked meekly, already knowing the answer.
“There’s been an incident out at Bear Lodge Mountain. We have to head there now. I don’t have time to drop you off at home.” William said.
Amelia looked straight ahead through the windshield. And then her eyes widened as she registered her dad’s answer.
“Bear Lodge Mountain? Like where the wolf pack is? Is everything okay?” Amelia asked.
She did not get an answer.