American West Program at Colorado State University Welcomes Abraham Lincoln, Gen. George Custer and Full Lineup of Speakers

The 22nd American West Program continues at Colorado State University with programs that feature two men who played crucial roles in the development of America.

Steve Alexander, foremost interpreter of Custer’s career, will present "An Evening with Gen. George Armstrong Custer" on June 22, and Abraham Lincoln will give a public presentation on June 29 in the persona of Harry Fritz, professor and chairman of the history department at the University of Montana. Both events take place at 7:30 p.m. in Room C146 Plant Science Building.

Alexander has traveled throughout the country presenting Custer and the history of Western expansion to children and adults and has been featured on television and in newspapers, periodicals and books. A native of Michigan, he has been recognized for his role in reenactments of the Battle of the Little Big Horn and has participated in ceremonies at Battlefield National Monument and at historic conferences.

As Lincoln, Fritz will discuss his election to Congress in 1846 during the height of the "Democratic Manifest Destiny fever." Fritz, a native of Salisbury, Md., lives in Missoula with his wife and two children.

The theme of the American West Program, "Manifest Destiny Realized: 1850-1898," continues the exploration of Western expansion during the 1800s that was featured in last year’s program. All talks are free and open to the public.

In conjunction with the program, the Curfman Gallery in the Lory Student Center will present William Henry Jackson’s paintings and photographs through July 27. The exhibit, on loan from the Scottsbluff National Monument Museum in Gering, Neb., will include black-and-white photographs and 24 original paintings.

In addition, the Duhesa Lounge on the second floor of the student center this summer will feature the Eagle Plume Collection, an exhibit of Native American art, and Bob Coonts will have limited-edition, numbered and autographed serigraph prints on sale for $30 at the student center information desk.

Call 491-6444 for gallery and student center hours.

The Fort Collins Museum will host two special displays this summer. "A Century of Cycling" will open July 1, and "Carved in Cloth: Pictorial Quilts from Colorado’s History" also will be on display. The museum is located at 200 Mathews St. and open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays.

Following is a schedule of events for the American West Program. All programs begin at 7:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public. Programs will take place in Room C146 Plant Science Building. For more information, call Harry Rosenberg at 491-5230.

* June 22 – "An Evening with Gen. George Armstrong Custer," Steve Alexander, Monroe, Mich.

* June 29 – "President Abraham Lincoln and the Myths of Manifest Destiny," Harry Fritz, University of Montana.

* July 6 – "American Religion and Manifest Destiny, 1850-1898," Ferenc Szasz, University of New Mexico.

* July 13 – "The Civil War and its Role in the Defeat of the Western Indians," Valerie Sherer Mathes, City College of San Francisco.

* July 20 – "Manifest Destiny, the Yellow Press and the Spanish-American War," Sandy Barnard, Terre Haute, Ind.

* July 27 – "Theodore Roosevelt and His Rough Riders," Paul Hutton, University of New Mexico.