by Evelyn Boswell

10/5/01 BOZEMAN --  When Kathy Wankel went camping 13 years ago, little did she realize where it would take her. It led her first on a hike near the Fort Peck Reservoir. The light was just right and the longtime rock hound from Angela spotted a little ridge of bone sticking out of the ground.

When the ridge happened to be part of a dinosaur arm, the Wankels headed to the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. There, they learned the dinosaur was a Tyrannosaurus rex, which led to a major expedition in Eastern Montana. Jack Horner and his paleontology crews went on to uncover the world's first T. rex with arms, and Wankel appeared in documentaries, a NOVA program and the game show, "To Tell the Truth."

"We were just looking for fossils," Wankel said during the latest stage in her adventure. "We never dreamed we would find even the whole bone."

Kathy and Tom Wankel and their children, Lee, Rock and Whitney, returned to Bozeman Oct. 3 for the dedication of a full-size bronze made in the likeness of specimen MOR555. The Wankels sat in the front row as dignitaries thanked Kathy for her discovery and praised those who made the bronze possible.

"Big Mike" stands outdoors near the main entrance to the museum. At 15 feet tall, 38 feet long and 6,000 pounds, he was named after the late Michael P. Malone, president of Montana State University-Bozeman from 1991 to 1999. The bronze was funded entirely by private donations and given to the museum by its National Advisory Board and friends. It was cast by Research Casting International, Ltd. of Ontario and finished in time for the 61^st annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP). The SVP met Oct. 3 through 6 at MSU.

"This is the very first bronze skeleton of a dinosaur anywhere," Horner said at the ceremony that drew local school children, Bozeman residents, MSU officials and other internationally-known paleontologists. Horner is the museum's curator of paleontology.

Also speaking were Kathleen Malone, Provost David Dooley; Marilyn F. Wessel, dean of the museum; M.F. Seeburg, president of the museum's board of trustees; and Bea Taylor, chairperson of the museum's National Advisory Board.

"Had it not been for the sharp eyes and the dedication ... of one person, not any of us would be here today," Wessel said in recognition of Kathy Wankel.

Wessel went on to praise Michael Malone for his support, vision and guidance to the museum and MSU.

"We are proud to have this occasion to honor him once again. We will never have enough occasions to honor Mike Malone," Wessel said.

Kathleen Malone, who attended the dedication with several family members, said her husband wasn't a man to speak simply. He used big words. But in this case, she was sure "He would simply look at this and say, 'Cool.'"

"I'm so grateful that you have come today to celebrate the life of Mike Malone. It truly is a celebration of what he was about," she added.

Dooley thanked the donors and praised Horner for his contributions to the field of paleontology and the Museum of the Rockies.

"Just as Big Mike is a treasure, so is Jack Horner," Dooley said.

Send questions or comments to Evelyn Boswell at  evelynb@montana.edu. Or you can send letters to Evelyn Boswell, VP for Research Office, 421 Culbertson Hall, MSU, Bozeman, MT 59717

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