Shirley E. Flynn

Shirley E. Flynn is an American author and local historian in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She has written several books on local Cheyenne history, including a work on the history of the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo held regularly since 1897. She was involved with the founding of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum and later served as director of the facility. Flynn was honored with a community service award by the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in September 2008.

Career

Flynn began her association with the Cheyenne Frontier Days event in the late 1960s by serving as a volunteer during the time that her late husband, Lloyd Flynn, served on the event's general committee. She served as a member and secretary for the founding board of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum, which opened its doors in 1978. Flynn served as director of the facility from 1987 to 1991, and helped oversee expansion of the museum in 1992. In 1996, Flynn authored Let's Go! Let's Show! Let's Rodeo! The History of Cheyenne Frontier Days which chronicles the history of the event from its 1897 inception. According to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, she is considered an authority on the history of the rodeo, and has served as a consultant for documentaries on it. She is also the author of Cheyenne Frontier Days, a work published by the Wyoming State Library in 1999.

In addition to her works on Cheyenne Frontier Days, she co-authored Cheyenne's Historic Parks: From Untamed Prairie to a City of Trees with John Price in 2001, and The Plains Hotel with Bill Dubois in 2002. Flynn has also written centennial histories for the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce (also co-authored with Dubois) and Cheyenne's St. Mark's Episcopal Church. She has also written articles for the Wyoming Historical Society's Annals of Wyoming, that organization's history magazine.

In September 2008, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle announced that Flynn would receive The Newspaper's 11th annual "Community Spirit Award", which is presented to individuals for "with Outstanding Records of service" to the Cheyenne community. The newspaper's president and publisher, L. Michael McCraken, considered the award to Flynn fitting because she had served as a consultant to the newspaper when it created award in 1998.