BIG PINEY — Joining the oil and agriculture industries in Sublette County, about 70 folks attended the 2024 Hard Hats and Stetson’s fundraiser held Saturday, March 16, in Big Piney, raising $10,931 for the Green River Valley Museum (GRVM). The event is the nonprofit museum’s best-known and longest-standing fundraiser.

Attendees at the annual Hard Hats and Stetson’s fundraiser bid on a gift basket brimming with goodies during the live action on March 16.

This year, all proceeds went toward the museum’s biggest renovation in its 30-year history, a “facelift” for the historic Texaco gas station across the street. The Texaco building was donated to the GRVM in September 2020 and the goal, once it’s been restored, is to use it for new museum exhibits, much-needed storage and a brand-new South Sublette County Visitors Center.

The historic Texaco building across from the Green River Valley Museum in Big Piney will be restored using donations and fundraiser money.

This year’s Hard Hats and Stetson’s fundraiser took place at the Southwest Sublette County Pioneers Senior Center in Big Piney, which provided “amazing appetizers and great help,” said, GRVM director Clarica Pinkerton. There were also hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar provided by The Boulder Bar, non-alcoholic beverage options, bidding in live and silent auctions facilitated by auctioneer Dave Stephens and a raffle for a Ruger 10/22 tactical rifle. Only 200 tickets for the rifle were sold.

A delicious array of hors d’oeuvres are available during the fundraiser.

Pinkerton thanks Southwest Sublette County Pioneers Senior Center director Carie James for being “so helpful” throughout the event and allowing the GRVM to utilize the entire facility for its fundraiser.

For more information about the Texaco restoration project, click here.

The Green River Valley Museum, located at 206 N. Front Street in Big Piney, is an admission-free facility dedicated to preserving the history of the Green River Valley. It is open from June to early October, Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 307-276-5343.

To make a tax-deductible donation to the museum, visit https://www.grvm.com/make-a-donation.