Mary Elizabeth Carpender

A Wyoming native, Mary Elizabeth Carpender was raised on a ranch, schooled in Cheyenne and had a great appreciation for Frontier Days. Active as a volunteer in the W-HEELS group for over 40 years, she concentrated her efforts on the clothing and the “Old Time Section” of the parade. She and her husband Julian provided a year-round refuge for the parade clothing in their Cheyenne home until the garments overwhelmed them. They then section off a portion of the basement at the family’s dry cleaning business for costumes. Many of these fine garments became the nucleus of the Museum’s collection. She was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Cheyenne Frontier Days™ Old West Museum and the collection of textiles bears her name.