Mary Hartman’s involvement with Cheyenne Frontier Days™ began in the late 1970s with attending rodeos and riding in the parades. One of her neighbors in Iron Mountain, Wyoming was Carol Farthing, who was a seamstress, designing historically inspired outfits for the W-HEELS costume contest. Mary modeled some of Carol’s dresses in the CFD/W-HEELS Fashion Show and rode sidesaddle for many years in the CFD parades, wearing an appropriate period costume designed for her by Carol. Many of these costumes are still worn in the CFD parades today.
In 1995, Mary joined the W-HEELS. As a W-HEEL, Mary developed a life-long interest in the maintenance, restoration, and preservation of the historic horse-drawn vehicles owned by CFD and the CFD Old West Museum. This outstanding carriage collection is one of the finest in the world, and for over thirty years, Mary worked on the carriages alongside Marietta Dinneen, who had an encyclopedic knowledge of the history and construction of the carriages and who was instrumental in documenting and organizing the collection. During these years of close collaboration with Marietta, Mary learned as much from her as she could about the carriages, and they worked together to compile extensive information on the vehicles.
During CFD in 2016, a disastrous hailstorm struck Cheyenne, and many of the historic carriages that were parked at the CFD parade lot suffered severe damage to the roofs, seats, and paint. CFD tasked Mary with arranging these difficult repairs. Wagon Doctors and some local craftspeople were able to repair some of the damage, but some damage required expertise not available locally. Mary and Marietta worked to bring some experts to Cheyenne and to send certain carriages to specialized repair facilities located in other states.
Fortunately, the carriages had insurance coverage, and one of Mary’s roles was keeping a detailed spread sheet of expenses associated with repairing each carriage. She helped ensure that the insurance money was used efficiently to carry out the repairs. She is still keenly interested in preserving the carriages and documenting their history and plans to continue to as long as she is able.
The carriages often need to be moved and rearranged for various reasons, including for the CFD parades or for display in the CFD Old West Museum. Mary shows up on these workdays to assist other volunteers in these moves. Over the years, Mary has helped the CFD Old West Museum write the narratives for all carriages that are on display and she also helps organize the Museum’s library. In 2018, Cheyenne Frontier Days™ included Mary in its group on CFD Volunteers of the Year.
Mary volunteers every year at the Cheyenne Frontier Days™ Western Art Show & Sale representing the artists who exhibit their work there. In addition, Mary is involved in the Friends of Foster Grandparents program. Mary’s other interests include Wyoming history and she is involved in the Laramie County Historical Society and the Cheyenne Corral of Westerners.
In recognition of her numerous contributions to the community, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle awarded her its Community Spirit Award in 2018. Mary continues to be involved in Cheyenne Frontier Days™, the parades, W-HEELS activities, Wyoming history, the historic carriage collection, and the CFD Old West Museum.