March 13

1852     "Uncle Sam" made his debut as a cartoon character in the New York Lantern.

1884     Standard Time was adopted throughout the United States.

1908  An American car reached Evanston in a New York to Paris race.  The early automobile era saw some spectacular races and efforts of this type. At the time, highways in the region were simply dirt roads.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1916   The Punitive Expedition: The Casper Daily Press, March 13, 1916

 

1917  

The Douglas Enterprise for March 13, 1917: Company F makes it home.

Douglas' Company F arrived home the prior Saturday and the news was reported that Tuesday.  If they were home, chances are that all the men from central Wyoming had likewise returned.

In other news high school baseball teams were already playing each other, even though it was only March and that's still a winter month in Wyoming.  The high schools in the state today no longer have baseball, which isn't surprising as the weather simply isn't conducive for it.

The World War One oil boom had hit Converse County, as this paper gives evidence of.  Converse County remains a major oil location today.  The oil fields referenced in the paper largely spread out towards Casper, which was having a huge oil boom at the time.

The Cheyenne State Leader for March 13, 1917: Eight Wyoming Guardsmen enlisted in Navy.
 

Some Wyoming Guardsmen were already back under orders. . . but in the Navy.

What motivated the switch in services isn't clear, but in the immediate pre World War One period in the US the news was full of the Navy.  Whether that motivated their switch in services or not, those eight would serve out the upcoming war in a new service.  Of course, they couldn't have known that their fellows in the Guard would be back in active duty very soon.

1918  The Ohio Oil Company commences drilling a well that would become the first Lance Creek area producing oil well.

1918   An accurate prediction? The Wyoming Tribune, March 13, 1918.
 

The Belgian minister of war was predicting a big German offensive. . . followed by Germany's defeat.

A big German offensive was widely predicated at the time.  A defeat behind it?  That's the first I've read of such a prediction.  We'll be seeing how accurate it was.

In other news, the American Army was starting to see some action.  And T.R.'s son Archie had been wounded in action.
1974   Arab nations decided to end the oil embargo on the U.S.

2009  Cmdr. William C. McKinney relieved Cmdr. William M. Combes as commander of the SSBN Wyoming during a change-of-command ceremony.

2018  The Casper City Council votes to keep Casper park and historic site Fort Casper open all year long.  Closing it during the winter months had been studied as a cost savings matter but was, in the end, turned down.

2019  A winter storm so intense it qualified as a mid latitude cyclone hit Wyoming shutting things down in southeastern Wyoming. Governmental entities all over that region, and all over the state in some instances, closed due to the massive winter storm.

Early morning street scene in Casper during the "bomb cyclone".

2020  Governor Gordon declared a State of Emergency due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.  President Trump had declared a national State of Emergency earlier in the day.