February 8

1893  Confusion over the design for the state seal lead the legislature to adopt more specific language, providing:

A pedestal showing on the front thereof an eagle resting upon a shield, said shield to have engraven thereon a star and the figures '44,' being the number of Wyoming in the order of admission to statehood. Standing upon the pedestal shall be the draped figure of a woman, modeled after the statue of the 'Victory' in the Louvre, from whose wrists shall hang links of a broken chain, and holding in her right hand a staff, from the top of which shall float a banner with the words 'Equal Rights' thereon, all suggesting the political position of woman in this state. On either side of the pedestal, and standing at the base thereof, shall be male figures typifying the live stock and mining industries of Wyoming. Behind the pedestal, and in the background, shall be two pillars, each supporting a lighted lamp, signifying the light of knowledge. Around each pillar shall be a scroll with the following words thereon: On the right of the central figure the words 'Live Stock' and 'Grain.' and on the left the words 'Alines' and 'Oil.' At the base of the pedestal, and in front shall appear the figures '1869-1890," the former date signifying the organization of the Territory of Wyoming, and the latter the date of its admission to statehood. A facsimile of the above described seal is here represented and is made a part of this act.

Wyoming State Seal on shield device on U.S. Army beret, as worn by the Wyoming Army National Guard.

The entire controversy was recently detailed in an article in Annals of Wyoming, the journal of the Wyoming Historical Society. A truly fascinating, if bizarre, event, the original approved design was substituted by the legislator who carried the seal design to Governor Barber, for his own, which had not won approval. That design featured a woman bereft of clothing in the design.  When the Governor learned of the switch, he commissioned a drawing of the correct seal, but by that time the matter had become such a controversy that it was kept secret and not used.  Ultimately money printed with Wyoming's seal in this period, and there were notes printed with the seals of every state at this time, used a modified territorial seal. 

1910  Boy Scouts incorporated.

1918  Oral arguments heard in the United States Supreme Court in Wyoming v. Colorado.  The controversy surrounded appropriations on the Laramie River.

1919  Edwin Keith Thomson born in Newcastle.  Thomson had risen spectacularly young, graduating from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1941 at which time he was only 22 years old.  He entered the service thereafter and became the youngest battalion commander in the Army during World War Two, reaching that position at age 24.  He was still in his 20s when discharged as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1946.  He became the Congressman from Wyoming in 1955.  He was elected to the Senate in 1960, but died of a heart attack at age 41 before assuming his office.  His widow, Thyra Thomson, served as Wyoming's Secretary of State for 24 years.

1919  February 2, 1919. Beating the high cost of living, Wyoming troops returning home. Senate passes land bill for soldiers. Donuts.

The Wyoming Tribune advised on this Saturday, February 2, 1919 that with a good cow, a flock of hens and a small garden, you could beat old "Mr. H.C.L.", that being the high cost of living.

It's an interesting and possibly accurate observation in some context.

And men from the 41st and 91st Divisions would be back in the U.S. shortly.

The U.S. Senate was anticipating that some of those returning me would want to become agriculturalist, which was in fact correct.

In light of that fact, the Senate's bill did something to give homesteading returning servicemen an advantage, although I frankly don't know what that was.  The various homestead acts were still in existence, so they could have homesteaded anyhow.  The impact of the law, however, was a real one as I know of at least two instances of individuals who took advantage of this provision and I knew one of them.  By reports, this was a fairly popular option for returning World War One servicemen, but a similar effort to reopen the homestead act, on a limited basis, for returning World War Two servicemen, on certain designated grounds (at least some of which were Indian Lands) would not be.

Returning soldiers were celebrated on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, depicting a soon to vanish means of transportation in use by somebody who is probably supposed to be an aged farmer.

Leslie's, on the other hand, was looking back to World War One still and celebrating the Red Cross donut girl, although having said that the efforts of the Red Cross were still in full swing in Europe, although a lot of those women were now returning home.

If that illustration looks familiar, it's because it was from an actual photograph.  And if you have a hankering for trying Great War donuts, here's your chance with the recipe.

The donut girl was one Stella Young, serving in France.

I don't know anything else about here, but I'd note that, while a person isn't supposed to make such observations, she has a classically English appearance and my guess is that was her nationality.

1921  Mike Zavor of Acme, and late of Poland, received a patent for a plow.

1922 Douglas chapter of the Kiwanas formed.

1924  President Coolidge signed a resolution ordering the Doheny and Sinclair petroleum leases to be nullified due to the Teapot Dome scandal.

And also:

1929  A train hits and kills 61 head of sheep.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1938  Alcova Dam completed.  Dam's were recently discussed here in a Blog Mirror item.  Attribution.  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1941  Willis Van Devanter died.  Van Devanter has been discussed elsewhere on this site and achieved a lasting position in U.S. history due to his elevation to the United States Supreme Court, the only member of the Wyoming State Bar to achieve that honor.  He had retired in 1937, after Congress granted full pay to Justices over 70 years of age who retired.  He stayed in Washington D. C., where he is buried.

1943  A B-25 landed on a highway near Douglas due to low fuel. Attribution. Wyoming State Historical Society.