When out-of-towners arrive in Dodge City, they bring certain expectations with them. They may expect dusty streets lined with cowboys on horseback. They may expect rows of cheap souvenir stores. They may even expect the occasional gunfight to break out, maybe around high noon.
They can achieve some of their expectations at Boot Hill Museum, thanks partly to the crew of daytime entertainers who bring the place to life.
You can't really call it a museum unless there are artifacts on display, and Boot Hill certainly qualifies in that department.
With one of the largest collections of Old West guns on display and a equally impressive catalog of household items and photographic exhibits, the museum tells the story of early Dodge City in very real terms.
Modern tourists, however, are generally less interested in walking into a room full of display cases and lengthy labels than the visitors who came to Boot Hill during the last half of the 20th century.
Thus, most contemporary history museums try to provide as much human contact as possible for guests. At Boot Hill, this important service is the primary responsibility of a crew known as the daytime entertainers.
Send in the cowboys
Nik Thompson teaches music at Fowler High School, but in the summers he becomes daytime entertainment supervisor at Boot Hill Museum.
He hires, trains and supervises a crew large enough to staff the museum with a bartender in the Long Branch, a daytime can-can dancer, three daytime entertainers, a piano player and a tour guide.
These young entertainers do everything from greeting visitors to providing historic information to answering questions about where to eat and where to stay.
"I had no idea there would be people coming through from so many different places," said Linda Rendel, who plays piano three days a week in the Long Branch.
Most of the staff sees the stream of tourists as pretty steady this summer compared to last year.
"We had more visitors from Kansas last year because of the high gas prices, but this year we're seeing more from the East Coast and the South," Thompson said.
"Most of the people I talk to say they just saw Dodge City on the map and decided to stop by," said Adam McElwain, who's spending a lot of hours bartending this summer. "A lot of our guests are headed to national parks or family reunions this summer."
Understudying many parts
Almost everyone who works at the museum spends time in more than one department.
"It's really great that everyone can learn all the jobs so we have more people to call for the schedule," Rendel said.
As a teacher, Thompson appreciates the opportunity he's able to give to so many area high school and college students with employment at the museum.
"They might start the summer as shy and unsure of themselves, but by the time three months have rolled by and they've greeted several thousand people from all over the world, they're a lot more outgoing," Thompson said.
Every year, older, more experienced employees take the younger newcomers under their wing and help them learn the history of the institution as well as the best answers to the hundreds of questions they'll face daily.
"Everyone wants to know if the Hardesty House is haunted," said Tate Bartlett.
"We tell them it might be, because when Ed Masterson was buried at Fort Dodge, they lost the grave, so he might be haunting somewhere around here," said Alex Castelli.
Bartlett and Castelli were sitting at a round table in the Long Branch, intent on a friendly game of poker.
"We have to explain to everyone that this is not the original Front Street," Bartlett said.
