Reflecting with Gratitude as 2024 Draws to a Close
Merry Christmas!
Friends of the Foundation,
As 2024 comes to a close, the spirit of the holiday season fills the air, bringing a sense of joy, reflection, and gratitude. This has been a truly remarkable year for the Dude Ranch Foundation—a year of growth, change, and incredible progress. I am honored to have the privilege of “taking the reins” of this remarkable organization. From the beginning, I knew I had big shoes to fill, or perhaps more accurately, serious cowgirl boots to fill.
This Christmas, as we gather to celebrate the warmth of the season, I want to take a moment to honor someone who has been at the heart of the Dude Ranch Foundation’s journey: Colleen Hodson. After nearly two decades of dedicated service as Executive Director of the Dude Ranchers’ Association, Colleen continued to nurture the Foundation as it transitioned from a DRA committee into an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity with its own board, budget, and bylaws. Her guidance, vision, and tireless commitment have been the driving force behind our success and growth. Colleen has paved the way for so much of what we’re celebrating this year, and I want to express my deepest gratitude for all she has accomplished.
Looking ahead to 2025, I am filled with hope and excitement for the trails yet to be blazed. The Foundation is poised to expand its reach and impact, continuing to support the dude ranch industry and championing education and preservation initiatives that ensure the Western way of life endures for generations to come. Your ideas, feedback, and support are the greatest gifts we could receive, and we look forward to working together to shape a bright future for the Dude Ranch Foundation.
During this season of giving, I invite you to consider a year-end donation to the Foundation. Thanks to a generous donor, every contribution will be matched up to $15,000, doubling the impact of your support. A charitable gift to our 501(c)(3) organization before year’s end not only helps preserve the history and traditions we hold dear but also offers valuable tax benefits as we enter the New Year. With your partnership, we can continue to safeguard and celebrate the Western legacy we all cherish.
From all of us at the Dude Ranch Foundation, we wish you and your loved ones a holiday season filled with warmth, peace, and happiness—and a New Year brimming with prosperity and promise. Thank you for being part of this incredible journey.
Warm regards,
Josie Hedderman
Executive Director
Dude Ranch Foundation
Reminder: Applications Now Open for the National Day of the Cowgirl Scholarship!
Scholarship Opportunity
Don’t miss your chance to apply for the 2025 National Day of the Cowgirl Scholarship! Presented by the Dude Ranch Foundation in partnership with Durango® Boots, this $30,000 scholarship supports young women pursuing careers in the Western industry, from agriculture and ranching to equine science and beyond.
Applications are now open and will close on December 31, 2024. If you or someone you know is an undergraduate female student passionate about the Western way of life, we encourage you to apply! Visit nationaldayofthecowgirl.com to learn more.
The Dude Ranch Foundation Scholarship Program
The Dude Ranch Foundation Scholarship Program
Reminder – Dude Ranch Foundation Scholarship Applications are due March 15, 2025.
The 100th Anniversary of the Shoshone Lodge
“We have been celebrating our 100-year anniversary with our guests all summer, and now that things have slowed down at the end of the season, we are excited to have been able to celebrate with our community, too. We hosted an open house on Saturday, October 19, and were thrilled by how many people turned up to celebrate with us,” said Mike Christiansen, 4th-generation owner of the Shoshone Lodge. “It was so fun to visit with many people who had great memories of the ranch. One woman came down from Montana for the open house and had worked here 40+ years ago. She said it was her first job, and she didn’t think she did great as my Grandma Betty kept moving her to a different position each week. Another gentleman came up for the celebration who is turning 90 this year. He was one of the few people I have met who remembered not only my Grandpa Harry but also my Great-Grandfather Henry. He remembers a hunting trip with Harry when he was a young boy and Henry showing him his sheriff’s pistol.”
The 100th anniversary of the Shoshone Lodge is being celebrated this year as the Park County Archives and Shoshone Forest records show that the first permit was issued to the Dahlem family to begin construction on the Shoshone Lodge in 1924, with several cabins and outbuildings being constructed in that year; however, the build-out of the entire complex was a process that took many years. They began construction on the lodge in phases, with the first section, which now houses the office and check-in area, completed in 1926. Additional sections of the lodge were added between 1927 and 1935, with the final addition not completed until 1944.
“We replaced the roof on the main portion of the lodge about 15 years ago,” recalls Mike. “When we tore off the old roofing materials, we found a board on the original decking signed by Harry Dahlem, which read: Red Star Camp December 1934. I’m sure they were hustling to get a roof on before winter set in and the snow got too deep.”
In the meantime, the guests stayed in small log cabins spread out around the Main Lodge and shared a central bathhouse. According to Mike, many of those original cabins are still on the property today and are utilized as tack sheds, tool sheds, and staff housing.
Because of Shoshone Lodge’s location, situated only 3.5 miles from the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park, it has always been a perfect location for travelers wishing to enjoy the park. It sits in the majestic Grinnell Creek drainage in the Shoshone National Forest, part of the Absaroka mountain range. Shoshone Lodge, its associated guest ranch, and hunting camps have been in the Dahlem family since its inception. The lodge itself was built from native timber wood, milled on-site at a sawmill the family had about 3/4 mile up Grinnell Creek from where the lodge was built. The lodge and original buildings were largely constructed by Henry Dahlem with the help of friends and hired men, as well as his wife, Bertha, a rock hound who collected many of the rocks inlaid in the fireplace in the expansive great room.
In addition to founding and building the Shoshone Lodge, Henry was Park County’s first sheriff. He arrived in Cody in 1903 and worked for the Holm Transportation Company, taking tourists through Yellowstone National Park. He was known as ‘Honest Henry Dahlem’ among the locals at that time. He and Bertha had three children: Mary Helen, Clarence, and Harry. They passed the ranch along to Harry in 1951.
Harry Dahlem died just a few short years later in 1954, leaving his wife Betty widowed with two young children, Keith, then 2 years old, and Debbie, a 9-month-old infant. Betty continued to run the Shoshone Lodge in her husband’s stead for more than 50 years, not officially retiring until she was in her 80s. She also owned and operated the Sleeping Giant Ski Area, which the Dahlem family founded with the Shoshone Alpine Club of Cody in the late 1930s. It originated on the slopes directly behind the lodge to the North but was eventually relocated across the river to the South when Harry and Betty obtained a new Forest Service permit and named it Sleeping Giant. It was Betty’s life’s work, as she ran both businesses full-time and raised the kids in the middle of it all. In 1959, Betty married Lee Woodruff and welcomed their daughter Diane a few years later. As the kids got older, they helped at the ranch, too. The girls married and moved off the ranch but Keith stayed and helped run the businesses into his adult life.
The lodge is now owned and operated by Henry Dahlem’s great-grandson, Debbie’s son, Mike Christiansen. He and his wife Betsy bought the lodge in 2006 while in their early 20s from Betty, Keith and Debbie. They grew up fast, learning the ropes of the family business and working to make improvements to the cabins and operations. They are now raising their two kids at the lodge as well. Mike and Betsy have now gone full circle back to the family legacy of milling their own wood on-site for cabin remodels by replacing the original wood paneling with log slabs milled from local timbers. They also are back to hosting weekly dude ranch vacations. “It is so amazing to get to share our family’s legacy, get out and ride with the guests, and show them the incredible nature in our beautiful area. It’s also fun to see how in awe folks become with the wonders of Yellowstone National Park as they tour, hike, fish, and enjoy God’s creation. There’s a little work in there somewhere, too,” Mike says with a chuckle, “but after 19 years, it’s still really enjoyable.”
“The lodge has been such a special place to so many people in this community, as well as guests from all over the country and our own family. We are so thankful that we are able to keep this family legacy alive and are excited to celebrate this amazing milestone anniversary. We hope to celebrate many more to come, and who knows… hopefully generations to come.”
For more information, visit shoshonelodge.com.
Get Ready for the 2025 Dude Ranchers’ Association Convention in Phoenix, Arizona!
DRA Convention
The 2025 Dude Ranchers’ Association (DRA) Convention is just around the corner! Join us at the Marriott Tempe at the Buttes Resort in Phoenix, Arizona, from January 27th to 31st.
As the largest gathering in the dude ranch industry, the convention will feature an exciting lineup of expert speakers and seminars on hospitality, marketing, risk management, equine care, and more. Attendees can explore a vendor trade show filled with products and services essential to dude ranch operations and enjoy fantastic networking opportunities.
One of the highlights will be our annual fundraising auction—always a great time for a great cause!
For more information, contact the DRA office at info@duderanch.org or 307-587-2339. We’d love to see you there!
Call for Articles: Lariat Legacy Magazine, Volume 4
We invite you to contribute to the next edition of Lariat Legacy, our premier publication for supporters of the Dude Ranch Foundation. This exclusive annual magazine offers an inside look at the people and traditions of the dude ranching community.
We are seeking compelling articles that highlight the heart of dude ranching—its rich history, inspiring individuals, and the Foundation’s vital work. Whether you have a personal story to share, insights on the future of ranching, or a unique perspective on the Western way of life, we’d love to hear from you.
Please reach out to Josie Hedderman with your ideas before January at info@duderanchfoundation.org.
Please Give through Bing
There are many ways to support the Dude Ranch Foundation. And Giving with Bing is one way to support that rewards everyone! Find great search results and help create great results for the Dude Ranch Foundation! Give with Bing is a feature of Microsoft Rewards that enables you to support a cause you care about simply by searching on Bing. It starts by signing up for Microsoft Rewards, their loyalty program. After joining, points earned for Bing searches will be automatically donated to your selected cause. Once you register at Give.bing.com, your search activity on Bing, at no expense to you, provides funding for the Dude Ranch Foundation. Give with Bing is currently available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Join now!
Alliance Partners
Thank you to the Alliance Partners that support the Dude Ranch Foundation mission.
Ways to Support the Dude Ranch Foundation
Donors and Supporters Are the Key to the Foundation’s Success
Every year, we count on your generosity to achieve the fundraising goal of the Dude Ranch Foundation. Please make a gift to the Dude Ranch Foundation today. Help us continue the work on behalf of these remarkable lands we call home.
- Donate
- Tribute Gifts
- Make a Planned Gift
- Donate Real Assets
- Volunteer
- Make a Tax-wise Gift of appreciated securities
- Matching Funds
- Make a charitable IRA Rollover or Qualified Charitable Distribution
- Underwrite a DRF program
- Name the Foundation as a beneficiary of a retirement plan or life insurance policy
- Designate the Dude Ranch Foundation through Bing
For more information. You can reach us by email at info@duderanchfoundation.org or call 307-586-1831.