There are historical figures on the menu as local businesses jump on board the Greeley History Museum's newest marketing campaign.
According to Rachel Egli, the city of Greeley's content marketing supervisor, the community is taking the history theme and promoting it by developing menu items and sharing them on their social media. It's becoming a visitor experience with a lot of layers.
The cocktail of the same name from a previous menu was brought back by 477 Distilling and Aunt Helen's Coffee House. The businesses are in the same area.
Chris said the t-shirt marketing effort felt like a tribute to his grandmother.
He liked the word "grit" so much that he liked the idea of printing a limited edition t-shirt with it.
It reminded me of my grandmother who lived through the Depression and the Dust Bowl. A girl died of dust pneumonia. She had an attitude that was similar to other women of that generation. They took the good with the bad.
The museum has a t-shirt with an image of Rattlesnake Kate, a woman more familiarly known in these parts as Kate McHale Slaughterback, thanks to her epic rattlesnake- killing afternoon on October 28, 1925. Slaughterback heard shots fired at a lake nearby and the pair left their cabin to find some ducks for dinner. The mother and son were surrounded by venomous snakes.
Slaughterback clubbed the rest of the rattlers to death with her rifle after killing a few snakes with it. She killed 140 snakes that day, sewed a dress from the skins, and created a headdress and shoes. Those were modeled after by the public and the press.
The dress is currently in a climate-controlled case at the museum. The dress is located in the gallery on the first floor.
Slaughterback's determination and resilience were underscored by the work of Bowles and Egli.
In an oral history conducted in the late 80s, there is a lot of information about her personality. The toddler sat astride the horse as the rattlesnakes circled him and his mom.
According to the transcript of the interview, Slaughterback never wanted electricity or a phone, and continued to pump water out of the house until she died at the age of 76.
She kept her goat butter and milk down in the well on a rope. It would have been great if she had power. There could have been an icebox.
Slaughterback was a nurse in World War II.
He noted that Slaughterback was said to have been married seven times, one of which was to Jack Slaughterback.
Rattlesnake Kate had a lack of fear when it came to snakes. She sold Rattlers' venom to researchers in California for use in medical treatments.
Aunt Helen's latte is a traditional latte with amaretto and cinnamon.
It has a nice intersection of sweet and spicy. Holly Berg is the Curator of exhibits for the museum system. For life on the prairie, you need that strength and resilience. During World War II, she was stationed in Korea and Nagasaki.
477 Distilling has a cocktail with spicy ingredients. The flavors reflect Kate's complexity.
A rocks glass is smoked on a strip of oak barrel with a small amount of Rosemary in it. The oak strip is put on top of the glass to create a smoke effect.
A shakeup of the distillery's flagship 477 Bourbon, lime juice, agave syrup and a few dashes of Strongwater Bonfire Bitters is what the cocktail is called. The ingredients are strained into a smoked glass and topped with a sparkling grapefruit soda and a small amount of Rosemary.
When we bring it to the table, we light it on fire to make it smell smoky.
Specialty drinks are not listed on the regular menu. The drinks are part of MyGreeley's image campaign, which highlights the diverse flavors you can taste in the town's restaurants, brewery and when purchasing locally produced food items.
The Rattlesnake Kate promotion will be followed by other historical figures in the city and there are plans to rebuild Kate's cabin at the museum once it reopens for the season this year.
The museum has a post about Rattlesnake Kate on their website. One of the spicily sweet characters from Colorado's history who is undoubtedly one of the most memorable is Rattlesnake Kate Slaughterback.
You can learn more about Rattlesnake Kate Slaughterback at the museum.
10 a.m to 4 p.m. are the hours of operation. Group visits can be made on Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
You can find more information at www.greeley museums.com.
