Our public speaker programs are live-streamed, recorded by Community Seven TV and are available through Youtube at Community Seven TV.
High Noon 12PM on the 3rd Thursday at the Western Heritage Center, except where noted.
Regular admission fees apply. Members attend for free.
2026 High Noon Programs
March 19 – Selling Single Use: The Begrudging Acceptance and Environmental Consequences of Canned Beer in American Consumer Culture
Dr. Cody Patton, Asst. Professor of American History, Montana State University Billings
April 16 – Chief Plenty Coup & the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Elsworth GoesAhead, Post Commander of Chief Plenty Coups Honor Guard
Sponsor: Michelle & Conrad Caron
May 21 – Hope in Hard Times
Dr. Mary Murphy, Emeritus Professor, Montana State University
Sponsor: First Montana Title
June 18 – A History of Montana in 101 Places
Kirby Lambert, Author
July 16 – Getting to Know I.D. O’Donnell
Melody Dobson, Historian
August 20 – William Henry Jackson: Yellowstone’s Pioneer Photographer
Lee Silliman, Historian
September 17 – The History & Legacy of Eugenics in Montana
Casey Pallister, Historian
October 8 – J. Hoolihan Clayton
Co-Hosted by This House of Books
Stay Tuned for More Info!
October 15 – Cowboy Music & Authentic Storytelling
Philip Page, Cowboy Storyteller
November 19 – The Curious Case of Gina Kelly
Lauren Hunley, Community Historian, Western Heritage Center
Sponsor: Michelle & Conrad Caron
Past Programs 2025
RESCHEDULED: April 25 – Stories in Stone: Decoding Headstone Symbols and Their Reflection of Community
Crystal Alegria, Executive Director Extreme History Project
Sponsored by Michelle & Conrad Caron
May 15 – ¡Viva la Fiesta! Past & Present
Dallas & Tony Contreraz
June 19 – The Chop House Affair and Beyond: Race and Legislation in Montana*
Kate Hampton, Community Preservation Coordinator, Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, and Historian at the Montana Historical Society’s State Historic Preservation Office
Kate will also us for a free screening of Hidden Stories: Montana’s Black Past at the Art House Theater, June 19 at 6pm.
July 17 – Montana Stories and How They Shape Our Lives
Sally Thompson, Anthropologist
Sponsored by Michelle & Conrad Caron
July 31 – The Life & Family of JK Ralston
A’Lisa Scott, Granddaughter
CANCELED: August 21 – The Origins and Growth of Eugenics in Montana
Casey Pallister
Sponsored by Michelle & Conrad Caron
September 18 – Conversations in Plains Indian Sign Language
Oly Hugs & Billy Big Day
Sponsored by Michelle & Conrad Caron
October 16 – Left Out in the Cold: Myron Tripp and Rocky Mountain College
Joe Lanning, Librarian, Billings Public Library
November 20 – When Montana Outraced the East: The Reign of Western Thoroughbreds
Catharine Moser, author
Past Programs, 2024
APRIL 11- 12PM (High Noon) – Yufna Soldier Wolf’s (Northern Arapaho) program Boarding School Survivors Experience in Repatriations-Breaking the Silence.
> Yufna Soldier Wolf will also do a repeat evening program on Thursday April 11 at 6:30PM at MSU Billings College Library room 148.
APRIL 18 – 12 PM (High Noon) – Dr. Janine Pease’s (Apsaalooke Crow) program The Crow Indian Student Experience at Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School; a Bittersweet Legacy.
> Dr. Pease will also do a repeat evening program on Thursday April 18 at 6:30PM at MSU Billings College Library room 148.
MAY 16 – 12PM (High Noon) – Lauren Hunley’s program Politics, Photographs, & Football: The Dual Lives of Frank Shively & Alexander Upshaw.
July 18 – 12pm (High Noon) – Dr. Sabre Moore’s program Dark Skies: Light Pollution & the Story of Montana’s Night Skies.
Sponsored by Humanities Montana
August 22 – 12pm (High Noon) – Steve Friesen’s program Galloping Gourmet: The Buffalo Bill Nobody Knows!
Sponsored by Michelle & Conrad Caron
September 19 – 12pm (High Noon) – Mary Jane Bradbury’s actor portrayal program Nancy Cooper Russell, Wife & Business Manager of Montana Western Artist Charles M. Russell.
Sponsored by Humanities Montana
October 17 – 12pm (High Noon) – Lee Silliman’s program, Frederick Remington: Old West Illustrator
November 21 – 12pm (High Noon) – Kevin Kooistra’s program Chandler Cohagen: Montana Architecture – Home Designs for Living
Thanks to our generous sponsors the S.S. Heyneman Foundation, Billings Community Foundation’s James Wrightson Educational Endowment Fund, Jim and Chris Scott, Mayor Bill Cole and Anne Cole, Billings Public Library Foundation, and First Interstate Bank. Thanks to the MSU Billings Library and Eileen Wright for hosting the evening talk on April 11 and April 18.
