Crested Butte Museum
Book of the Month Club
Join us for a monthly book club where we will explore and discuss both non-fiction and fiction works that explore the history of our valley and the lifestyles of those who lived lives similar to those who established the town of Crested Butte.
At the beginning of each month we will announce our book of the month.
With a $30 monthly subscription you will receive a copy of our book of the month, available for pick up at our Museum Gift Shop, and an invitation to our exclusive private book of the month club meetings, to occur on the fourth Friday of each month. At our club meetings, we will discuss the book of the month at the Museum while enjoying adult beverages, snacks, and great company.
If you are not interested in a monthly subscription, you can join us for one month/ one book for $35, paid at the Museum Gift Shop.
Museum Members will receive a special gift each month.
June Book of the Month
“Reflections on a Western Town“
by Kelsey D. Wirth
with Elise Park
Traditionally, the history of the western frontier is said to have ended in 1890. It was the year that the US Census Report stated that the population of the West had reached the level of two persons per square mile, indicating that the struggle to conquer the continent was over.
New western historians dismiss this as over simplification, pointing instead to the recurring activities that have characterized the West from the beginning: economic boom-and-bust cycles and relentless exploitation of natural resources carried out by a remarkable diversity of peoples possessed for the most part by a fervent faith in the principle of “progress”.
Within this modern interpretation, the town of Crested Butte, Colorado becomes as much a western frontier today as it was over a hundred years ago. Unprecedented growth, influx of new people, changing identity and values, and challenges to the environment comprise pressures of the community as they did during the late 1800s.
In Reflections of a Western Town, Crested Butte residents recollect the past and contemplate the future and the ways in which their town is likely to be impacted by the forces of destiny as powerful as the ones that created it at the end of the last century.
July Book of the Month
“Brushstrokes of Time: Painting Crested Butte’s History“
by Cindi Yaklich
with author Cindi Yaklich and Alyssa Moore
August Book of the Month
“How Crested Butte Became a Tourest Town“
by Roger Kahn
“Crested Butte, although it is unique in many ways, it is also typical of these new communities. Importantly, however, it was not always as it is today. In the process of becoming the mature community it is now, with its full array of cultural and athletic offerings and manicured lawns and paved streets, the town went through many stages. In its initial re-incar-nation as a ski town in 1961, it arose from the remnants of a once thriving mining town. Then, it went through several growth phases as it became the bourgeoning year-round destination tourist town and recreation community which visitors often travel great distances to reach. Now, almost sixty years later and well into its maturity, Crested Butte is still evolving. This new type of rural area caters to both a growing number of permanent residents and tourists alike, as it becomes ever more polished and sophisticated”
September Book of the Month
“The Town That Said Hell No: Crested Butte Fights a Mine to Save its Soul“
by Paul Anderson
with HCCA and Elise Park
October Book of the Month
“Crested Butte…Love at First Sight“
by Sandra Cortner
with author Sandra Cortner and Heather Seekatz
November Book of the Month
“The Spaghetti Gang”
by Richard and Cara Guerrieri
With author Cara Guerrieri and Alyssa Moore
Crested Butte was a microcosm of coal towns in America during the dark days of the Great Depression. Guerrieri’s account of his early life and his family’s transition from coal mining in Crested Butte to ranching in Gunnison, Colorado, shows that amidst the economic woes of the time there was fun and adventure to be had. The Spaghetti Gang tells a unique and heart-warming story of an ethnic coal town in American history.
