2009 CONVENTION HOME PAGE

Steering Committee:

Winnie Burdan
Jack and Pat Fletcher
Jane and Lee Whiteley


Camille Bradford
Convention Chair

                      

Loveland, Colorado, gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, is the host city for the Oregon-California Trails Association's 27th annual convention.  

Located just 50 minutes from Denver International Airport, Loveland is conveniently situated on the Front Range along I-25.

The Colorado-Cherokee Trail Chapter of OCTA is hosting the 2009 convention.  

The week will see hundreds of trail followers descend on Loveland to learn about Colorado's rich trail history.

Keynote Speaker

Lee Whiteley

Pathways to Gold: 
The Cherokee Trail, 1849 
The Smoky Hill Trail, 1859


TRAILS ACROSS THE THOMPSON VALLEYS
Cherokee Trail
Overland Trail 

Loveland and Berthoud have a rich historical heritage of interest to OCTA members.  Many trail pioneers passed through the area, including '49ers bound for the California gold fields, members of the Mormon church bound for Utah, cattle drives west, and '59ers coming to the Pikes Peak gold rush.  

The Loveland Historical Society and Berthoud Historical Society are jointly organizing Tour D to explore the highlights of their trail history and the early settlement of the Thompson Valleys.  This tour will be conducted on Saturday, August 22 and will include a ceremony at Lakeside Cemetery at which an OCTA marker will be dedicated to the memory of H.L.W. Peterson, an early trail pioneer. 

Click here to read more about Tour D: Trails Across the Thompson Valleys.

 


Special Convention Guests

Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg is an historian and award-winning author from Philadelphia.  His most recent book, Death of a Gunfighter: The Quest for Jack Slade, the West's Most Elusive Legend, received the Best Book of the Year 2008 Award from the Wild West History Association.  This exhaustively researched book is the result of more than 50 years' investigation. 

Dan will speak at the Opening Ceremonies on August 19.  He will also participate in the Cherokee Trail/Overland Stage Route tours on August 20 and 22.  These tours include the historic Virginia Dale Overland Stage Station built by Jack Slade in 1862.  

Members will also have the opportunity to visit with Dan at Authors' Night and other convention events.

  • On Tuesday, August 18 at 2:00 p.m. Dan will speak at 
    the Loveland Public Library, 300 North Adams Avenue.  
    His talk, Jack Slade: The Elusive Gunfighter, is free 
    and open to the public.

.

Safari Team from 
Transworld Tractor Treks  Western Australia

Transworld Tractor Treks is a group of tractor enthusiasts from Western Australia that will be making a ten-week tour, Tractors Across the USA 2009, from Westminster, Maryland to Los Angeles, beginning on June 27.  A group of ten members, along with their spouses, will follow historic trails and visit historic sites along the 5,000 mile route of the tour. They will arrive at the OCTA convention on August 18, visit with members at the Opening Reception that evening, and participate in convention events the following day.  

Denny "Scott" Miller

Denny "Scott" Miller, 
whose long career as 
an actor included his 
role as Duke Shannon 
in Wagon Train in 
the 1960s, will speak 
at the premiere of 
In Pursuit of a Dream  
on August 19.  He will 
also be participating 
in Authors' Night.

 
 

 

Convention highlights

August 17-18:

August 18:

  • Chapter Presidents Breakfast 

  • OCTA Board of Directors meeting 

  • Opening reception

  • Arrival of Transworld Tractor Treks from Australia

August 19:

  • Opening ceremonies

  • Annual General Membership Meeting

  • Keynote speaker: Lee Whiteley

  • Agency Appreciation Luncheon

  • Afternoon speakers: 
         > Colleen Sievers
         > Jack and Pat Fletcher
         > Wesley Brown

  • Chapter meetings

  • Dinner on your own

  • Walking tour of downtown Loveland 

  • Premiere of In Pursuit of a Dream at the Rialto Theater

August 20:

  • All-day bus tours:
        > Cherokee Trail and Overland Stage Route
        > Cherokee Trail and Overland Stage Route, with hike
        > Four Forts Along the South Platte River

  • Happy hour

  • Awards Banquet

  • Live Auction

August 21:

  • Morning speakers:
         > Jerry Greene
         > Michael Landon
         > Kevin Reddy and Don Erickson
         > Johanna Harden, Annette Gray, Cheryl Matthews, Ian C.
            Griffis    , Neil R. Hauser

  • National History Day Luncheon

  • Afternoon speakers: 
         >  Michael Moore
         >  Bill Meirath, Alfred Vigil and Sharon Danhauer

  • Workshops:
         > Chapter Development and Membership
         > Extreme Makeover: Prairie Edition
         > Helping or Hurting? - Issues for OCTA in Trail Archaeology
         > National History Day
         > Partnering With Federal Agencies on Your Trail Projects
         > Research in the Rocky Mountain Area
         > Successful Convention Planning       

  • Dinner on your own

  • Authors Night

August 22:

  • All-day bus tours:
        > Cherokee Trail and Overland Stage Route
        > Cherokee Trail and Overland Stage Route, with hike
        > Four Forts Along the South Platte River
        > Loveland and Berthoud: Trails Across the Thompson Valleys

  • Barbeque Dinner

Click here for full convention schedule

Book Room hours:

  • August 18:  6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

  • August 19:  9:45 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

  • August 20:  4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

  • August 21:  8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
    >> Authors Night: 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Book sellers and Authors:
For information on display tables and participation 
in Authors Night, please contact Bob Clark:  
bobclark@ou.edu 


 

Convention site

The Ranch
Larimer County Fairgrounds and Events Complex
5280 Arena Circle
Loveland, Colorado 80538
(I-25 Exit 259)
970-619-4000

Directions to The Ranch from I-25:

  • From I-25 Exit 259: 
    Travel east on Crossroads Boulevard one mile to Fairgrounds Avenue.  Turn left at this intersection and go north to the entrance to The Ranch.  Turn left into The Ranch and follow signs to the Thomas M. McKee 4-H, Youth and Community Building.  

  • From I-25 Exit 257 and the Best Western Crossroads Inn & Conference Center: 
    Travel east on U.S. Highway 34 (Eisenhower Boulevard) to Centerra Parkway.  Turn left at this intersection.  Centerra Parkway becomes Fairgrounds Avenue at Crossroads Boulevard.  Continue north on Fairgrounds Avenue to the entrance to The Ranch.  Turn left into The Ranch and follow signs to the Thomas M. McKee 4-H, Youth and Community Building.

Click here for map.

 Click here for information on convention lodging.

 



For further information contact:
Oregon-California Trails Association
524 South Osage Street
Independence, Missouri 64050

Phone: 816-252-2276
Toll-free: 888-811-6282
Fax: 816-836-0989
E-mail: octa@indepmo.org
Website: www.octa-trails.org

 

Next year:

OCTA's 28th Annual Convention
August 10-14, 2010
Emigrants, Elko & THE Elephant!

Elko Convention Center
Elko, Nevada

Hosted by the California-Nevada Chapter
www.canvocta.org


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