Trail End Guilds

"The purpose of this organization shall be to ... serve as a medium through which friends of the [Trail End State Historic] Site may become acquainted and share their enthusiasm for the Site and its surrounding area."

Revised By-Laws

Trail End Guilds, Inc.

1991

Trail End Guilds

Membership

Membership in the Trail End Guilds is very affordable, with dues starting as low as $5.00 a year. Meetings are usually held the second Tuesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. at the Trail End State Historic Site (contact the Guilds for current meeting schedule). Membership levels are as follows:

	Benefactor – $100 and up
	Sponsor – $50 to $99
	Supporting – $25 to $49
	Individual – $5 to $24

Every member receives a subscription to the quarterly Trail End Notes newsletter, plus voting privileges at the annual meeting and any other member benefits as they become available. Contact the Trail End Guilds for more information.

Photograph, Holiday Open House - 2003 (Trail End Collection) Events

TEG sponsors at least one major event each year: the Holiday Open House during the first weekend of December. Other events may be held as well.

A holiday tradition for nearly twenty-five years, the Holiday Open House features decorations, hot spiced cider and lots of live entertainment. The Kendrick Mansion is decorated from top to bottom with garlands, bows, candles and flowers, plus a number of Christmas trees (all decorated in period style). While the glitter of tinsel and glass beckons from the exhibit rooms, the smell of cinnamon, apples and oranges tempts the visitor into the kitchen for a taste of the holidays.

Performances by local musicians are a popular component of the Open House. Past performers have included the Prairie Winds Chamber Group, Sheridan Youth Choir, Sheridan Longhorn Chorale, Celtic Sage, Sheridan High School Treblemakers, SHS Spectrum, Bo & Jo, Sheridan College's General Delivery, Alex Banks and a variety of other vocal and instrumental performers.

The Holiday Open House generally runs from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on the first full weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) of December. Scheduled performers will be announced shortly before the event. For more information, contact Trail End.

Docent Program

Trail End's docent pool (group of volunteer tour guides) is made up primarily of Trail End Guilds members. Docents guide tours for school children, senior citizens, bus tour groups and others on an as-needed basis. Docents are not required to commit to a set schedule or number of tours.

Anyone interested in becoming a Trail End docent needs to participate in one of the museum's docent training sessions. Offered once or twice a year (usually in March or April), the three-hour session includes training on basic visitor information and emergency procedures, techniques for guiding effective tours, and a detailed walk-through of the mansion. Following the training, docents are asked to accompany experienced guides on several tours prior to conducting tours themselves.

For more information on Trail End docent training, phone the museum at 674-4589 or email us.

Merchandise

To raise funds for its ongoing projects, the Trail End Guilds sells a variety of items, including books, note cards and postcards. Additional products will be listed as they become available. All can be ordered by contacting the Trail End Guilds. Prices listed below do not include shipping or handling fees.

One Cowboy's Dream - 2004

One Cowboy's Dream

$12.95 (plus tax, shipping & handling)

160pp, soft cover, indexed, illustrated

Donning Company Publishers; ISBN 1-57864-239-6

An in-depth look at the man who built Trail End, along with a brief study of the ranching empire he founded, details about the house that was his dream, plus biographies of the other Kendrick family members who lived in the house. Written by site superintendent Cynde Georgen.

Pen & Ink by Kendrick Harmon - 1997

Trail End Note Cards

$7.50 (plus tax, shipping & handling)

Ten cards and envelopes per pack

This illustration does not do credit to these elegant note cards, created by Kendrick Harmon, youngest grandson of John and Eula Kendrick. The original pen and ink drawing now hangs at Trail End.

Trail End State Historic Site Souvenir Booklet

$6.95 (plus tax, shipping & handling)

24pp, soft cover, illustrated

In addition to dozens of historic photographs and other images, this brand new souvenir booklet contains over fifty beautiful color photographs of Trail End, including the Kendrick Mansion, the grounds, and the Carriage House Theatre.