Bertrand Steamboat Museum Bitters Bottle Rehousing Project
Bertrand Museum volunteers are preparing to rehouse over 2,000 bottles of Dr. J. Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters. The bottles are currently stored in non-archival boxes with other inappropriate packing materials, a result of emergency packing during major flooding in the summer of 2011.
At that time, staff and volunteers had to pack collection items as quickly as possible—especially the items on display—using whatever materials were available. After the collection was returned in late 2013, the museum improved its disaster plan, installing mobile shelving units and reducing the number of items on exhibit. As a result, many objects, including the bitters bottles, remain in storage containers that are not appropriate for long-term museum storage. Even now, they require proper rehousing.
How you can help: Join us on Saturday, January 31, 2026, from 1 to 3 p.m. for a program presented by refuge curatorial staff and volunteers. They will present information about the history of Dr. J. Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters' and current, ongoing collection work. Participants can help assemble box dividers and observe the bottle rehousing process. The program will be held at the DeSoto Visitor Center and Bertrand Museum.
DeSoto & Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuges are located north of Omaha, Nebraska along on U.S. Highway 30 between Missouri Valley, Iowa and along U.S. Highway 75 near Ft. Calhoun, Nebraska.
For more information contact 712/388-4800 or email the refuge at desoto@fws.gov. Check our websites, www.fws.gov/refuge/desoto/ or www.fws.gov/refuge/boyer_chute/, for refuge updates.
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