Two visitors at the Buffalo Bill Museum in LeClaire pose for a photo with its namesake and Annie Oakley. Photo: Visit LeClaire.
Buffalo Bill packed his famous Wild West shows with plenty of creative stunts. But even a showman like him might not have imagined that his hometown would one day celebrate his Feb. 26 birthday with live music and a competitive buffalo-chip toss.
The Buffalo Bill Museum in LeClaire, in the Cody Road Cultural and Entertainment District over in Iowa’s wild, wild East, cordially invites you to honor the city’s favorite son, William Cody (1846-1917), by flinging a few buffalo chips as far as they can fly — outdoors or inside, depending on the weather.
“Sometimes we’ve done it in the boat building, but it’s not too bad,” museum staffer Bob Schiffke said, noting the projectiles aren’t as messy as you might think. “They’re reusable. I’m sure they’re not real.”
But the music by the Chord Busters and Acoustic Friends will be, along with refreshments and artifacts in several new museum exhibits. One of the newer additions is the so-called Cody Stone from its namesake’s historic mine in Arizona. While you’re there, be sure to tour the Lone Star steamboat, which plied the mighty Mississippi River from 1890 into the 1960s.
Old Bill’s party is set for noon to 4 p.m. this Sunday, Feb. 26, and admission is free.
