Former Denver Newscaster Presents a "Buffalo Boondoggle" at Colorado State University’s 23rd American West Program

A cadre of hard-partying, buffalo-hunting Russians who visited the West in the 1800s will come to life again July 5 through the skilled narrative of a former Denver news anchor during Colorado State University’s American West Program.

Bob Palmer, retired Denver television newscaster and anchor, will discuss "The Buffalo Boondoggle of 1872: A Visit to Colorado by Gen. George Custer and the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia."

Palmer, who retired in 1997 after a 40-year career as a writer, reporter and newscaster for stations KCNC-TV and KMGH-TV, will discuss how the 12-year-old frontier town of Denver was called upon to entertain "a glittering array of hard-partying luminaries," including Custer, Gen. Philip Sheridan and Alexis, the 22-year-old son of Czar Alexander II of Russia.

A Denver native, Palmer received the Governor’s Award in 1994 from the Colorado Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the organization’s most prestigious honor. He also was named Broadcaster of the Year in 1986 and received two Emmy Awards for television newswriting.

Palmer’s interests in Western history include the Indian Wars and the life of Custer. He belongs to the Little Big Horn Association and the Denver Chapter of the Westerners.

The theme of this year’s American West Program, "The Buffalo: An American Icon," will be explored weekly through July by historians visiting from throughout the nation.

In conjunction with the series, the Curfman Gallery in the Lory Student Center is presenting "Images of the West" by artist Bob Coonts. Call 491-6444 for gallery and student center hours.

Following is a schedule of events for the American West Program. All talks except for the July 5 event take place on Tuesdays. The talks begin at 7:30 p.m. in Room C146 Plant Sciences Building and are free and open to the public.

For more information, call Harry Rosenberg , coordinator of the American West Program, at 491-5230.

  • July 5 – "The Buffalo Boondoggle of 1872," Bob Palmer, retired television newscaster and anchor.
  • July 11 – "The Return of the American Bison," Harold Danz, retired National Park Service administrator and executive director of the American Bison Association.
  • July 18 – "When I was a boy, I wanted to be like Buffalo Bill: Now that I’m older, I still want to be Buffalo Bill," Tom Morrison, superintendent of Buffalo Bill Ranch Historical Park, North Platte, Neb.
  • July 25 – "The Importance of the Buffalo in Plains Indian Religion and Culture," JoAllyn Archambault, member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and director of the American Indian Program at the National Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian Institution.