1837 James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, born in Homer Illinois.
1870 Indians who raided a Kansas Pacific construction crew on the 13th crossed the Union Pacific near Antelope with cavalry under Forsythe in pursuit.
1876. The Powder River Expedition leaves Ft. Fetterman.
1893 The first electric lights in Sheridan were turned on at the Sheridan Inn.
The Sheridan Inn, in 2012.
1898 Troop F 2nd U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, c0ming from Rock Springs, Green River and Cheyenne, mustered in at Fort Russell. Officers and men were: Willis F. Hoadley, Captain; Leonard L. Deitrick, first lieutenant; Thomas J. King, second
lieutenant; Frank Kidd, first sergeant; Daniel B. Shields, quartermaster
sergeant; John A. Jackson, George E. Artist, George Landenberger,
George D. Solomon, William A. Crawford and Jeremiah Maly, sergeants;
John W. Peters, Bert McClure, Angus J. Matheson, Jacob L. Parrott, Frank
C. Wells, Melville W. James, Josiah H. Eardley and John E. O'Riley,
corporals; Frank J. Gunther and Edward F. Ely, trumpeters; Lucius A.
Place, saddler: James Paulson, wagoner. Troopers–Benjamin Benz, Joseph Bird, Henry C. Bloom, John N.
Bodendick, John E. Brooks, Samuel K. Brown, Morrison Chester, Charles W.
Cole, Bert Collins, Thomas Craig, Allison Davis, Walter Durbin, Albert
B. Ekdall, Max Fairbanks, William Farley, Rufus E. Garner, Frederick
Hagen, Patrick W. Haley, Frank O. Johnson, Leo Leffler, Milton M Lewis,
George H. McBride, James W. McGuire, Robert McKlem. Arthur Maher. Robert
Manassa, Philip Michaels, William D. Moffatt, John Muir, Robert Myers,
Charles O'Brien, William O'Brien, James H. Patterson, Harry N. Pauley,
Walter J. Peckham, Emile Peterson, Edward Petteys, Charles A. Pierson,
Ellsworth Porter, Lawrence Riordan, George G. Robinson, George W.
Sadlier, Adolph C. Saunders, Edward G. Schoel, Benjamin Smith, Edgar M.
Smith, Eugen Tiberghein, Frederick O. Wale.
1908 Congress passes the “Second Dick Act", part of a series of statutes that fully establish the National Guard as the reserve of the Army. This was part of a significant reform movement in this direction at this time, backed by National Guardsmen, who feared that the alternative was to be relegated to a species of state police for strike breaking.
Co. C. Wyoming National Guard, 1916, Powell Wyoming.
1911 Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey was born in Wallace, S.D.
1918
The Kaiserschlacht Carries on. May 27, 1918. Operation Blücher-Yorck.
Operation Blücher-Yorck.
The big picture again. This time, having failed to push the British into the sea, the Germans turned their attention to the region where British forces and French forces met, with a diversionary drive on Paris. This "third German drive" was as successful in terms of gaining ground as the first German drive was, and it threatened Paris even as a diversion.
On May 27, 1918, after two full months since the spring offensive first began, the Germans launched Operation Blücher-Yorck against the French near the River Aisne. It became a straight drive towards Paris designed to split the French and British forces from each other and cause the British to divert forces to save the French capitol. The offensive used the same set of assumptions that the Germans had about their enemies earlier in the spring, namely that the British were the real threat. The attack, therefore, was a large scale diversion. While designed to put pressure on the French, in reality the main blow fell against British units that had been in the line in this relatively more quiet sector. French failures to design a realistic defense lead to initial German success.
The Germans did in fact break through at the gap between French and British forces and their drive towards Paris was remarkably successful. The Germans in fact continued to advance up until March 6. During this phase of the Spring Offensive American troops began to be deployed against the Germans in strength and in fact the US 1st Division launched its own offensive on May 28 at Cantigny. This signaled the beginning of the large-scale use of American troops in the war. Losses on each side were again roughly equal, with the Allies loosing 137,000 men and the Germans 160,000.
Of course, at this point the Germans didn't really have the men to loose. But given the commitment they had made and the state of the war, they no longer really had an option. . . other than trying to come to the table.
1919
May 27, 1919: The Peace Conference waits on the Germans, Wyoming troops wait on discharge, Tragedy in Casper.
David Lloyd George, Vittorio Orlando, Georges Clemenceau and Woodrow Wilson in Paris, May 27, 1919. Of interest, only Orlando wears the Edwardian suit, a somewhat less formal alternative to formal dress clothes. Everyone else were's morning coats, which were not i the nature of tuxedos today, but conventional formal wear.
The peace conference continued on with the question still being, would Germany sign, or not?
The Wyoming State Tribune was reporting that British and American Marines had been landed, as a result of the uncertainty, in Danzig. I've never read that claim before and I frankly wonder if its correct.
In the same issue, a building story about the perception that troops from the West were not being mustered out as quickly as those from elsewhere was reported on.
And the news that the NC-4 had nearly made it to Portugal was featured.
It was also featured in the Casper paper, which also had the story about Western troops. The big news in Casper, however, was a tragic explosion near town.
It wasn't Memorial Day, like it is now, but the weather was certainly more holiday like. Casper was enjoying a warm spell in 1919. It isn't now.
Seattle, May 27, 1919.
Seattle Washington was photographed.
1920
Frank A. Hadsell becomes warden of the State Penitentiary.
1929 Pen used by President Coolidge to sign the bill creating Grand Teton National Park donated to State Museum. Attribution: Wyoming State Historical Society.
1941 President Roosevelt proclaimed an "unlimited national emergency"..
1944 Roy Rogers bought a horse to act as a Trigger stand in, in Lusk Wyoming.
2011 The Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum had the grand opening of their new museum.
2013 Memorial Day for 2013.
2019 Memorial Day for 2019.
2020
Pandemic, Part Two. Governor Gordon issues new quarantine orders and cancellation of rodeos occurs.
May 28, 2020Governor Gordon issued a new series of modifications to his existing quarantine orders, with some of the modifications being quite extensive.
Outdoor gatherings up to 250 persons to be permitted under new health orders
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon has announced that updated public health orders effective June 1 will ease restrictions on public gatherings, allowing outdoor gatherings of up to 250 people.
The updated orders allow for outdoor events to occur with social distancing and increased sanitization measures in place. Sporting events, rodeos and other events will be permitted to have up to 250 spectators in attendance, in addition to the event participants.
"It’s time we had the chance to enjoy summer,” Governor Gordon said. “The ability to gather outdoors in larger groups will be good for Wyoming citizens, businesses and our communities as we enter the season. We are not out of the woods yet though, so please use good judgement and don’t jeopardize yourself and others by acting recklessly. We want to keep moving forward.”
Hosts and organizers of these outdoor events are asked to screen staff for symptoms of COVID-19 and ensure adequate personal protective equipment is available. Food and beverage services at outdoor gatherings are required to follow the provision for restaurants outlined in Public Health Order No. 1.
Indoor events and gatherings, other than religious gatherings and other exemptions listed in the order, will continue to be restricted to groups of 25 or fewer. No significant changes are being made to the updated Public Health Orders 1 and 3.
Updated copies of all three Public Health Orders are attached and can be found on the Wyoming's
COVID-19 website.
--END--
One of the significant changes, we'd note, is that churches are now allowed to reopen to groups larger than 25 in number, with certain social distancing provisions in place. Restrictions on Communion were lifted, with guidance.
Governor Gordon also expressed his disappointment on the cancellation of a variety of rodeos around the state.
Governor Gordon expresses disappointment that Wyoming's 6 largest rodeos are cancelled in 2020
Governor stands with event organizers to support their decision
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and representatives from the state’s largest rodeos announced today that six of Wyoming’s large rodeos and events will not take place in 2020. This decision factored in economics, health concerns and logistics.
The cancellation decision was made collectively and includes the Thermopolis Cowboy Rendezvous PRCA Rodeo in late June as well the Cody Stampede, Central Wyoming Fair & PRCA Rodeo in Casper, the Sheridan WYO Rodeo and Breakaway Roping, Laramie Jubilee Days, and Cheyenne Frontier Days, all scheduled for July.
“This hurts. I grew up with rodeo and it is part of Wyoming’s fabric and our culture,” Governor Gordon said. “All the rodeos impacted today are fabulous events. It is with a heavy heart, and only after many long discussions with these fine folks on ways we could make large-venue rodeos work, did we realize that it just wasn’t going to be possible this year.”
The Governor and his staff met with rodeo committee members from Cody, Sheridan, Thermopolis, Laramie, Casper and Cheyenne over the past several weeks to consider potential social distancing measures, entrance and exit plans, and other possibilities to ensure safely staging rodeos, parades, carnivals and concerts.
Flanked by representatives of all six rodeos, the Governor said that after several weeks of evaluation, discussions, and considerations of every possible scenario, it was clear that there was no safe or economically viable path forward at this time for these events.
“The health and safety of our fans, volunteers, contestants and first responders is our primary concern.” the Governor emphasized. “I know what this means for rodeo, for our communities and to Wyoming’s summer. The financial and emotional impacts are immense. But it’s the right thing to do. We are committed to doing all we can to ensure smaller rodeos and events will still be able to occur."
While these six Western celebrations are not possible in 2020, there is a statewide commitment to returning stronger than ever in 2021. A video message from organizers of all six events can be
found here.
Contact information for each of the rodeos follows below:
Thermopolis Cowboy Rendezvous
Cody Stampede
Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo
Sheridan Wyo Rodeo
Laramie Jubilee Days
Cheyenne Frontier Days
--END--
The lifting of some restrictions combined with the cancellations expresses the interesting dual approach to things that is currently occuring in the state. As the state lifts restrictions every couple of weeks, individual cities and entities are continuing to cancel events. Now nearly every significant rodeo in the state has been cancelled for the season, an event which followed the earlier cancellation of the college rodeo finals.
The cancellation of the rodeo finals resulted in the postponement of the AOPA fly in to 2021. Also postponed were the performances scheduled for this year's Natrona County Beartrap festival, as it was cancelled.
So while businesses and institutions are allowed to open up, annual events are largely being postponed.
There is of course a resulting economic impact from big events being cancelled. According to the Tribune, the county will lose $4,000,000 in lost revenues due to the fair and rodeo being cancelled. But a person has to wonder, as we will in a separate thread, what attendance would have been actually like this year. With restrictions lifted around the state some large gatherings are occurring nationally, while in other places people have been slow to return.
A nationwide poll that was conducted surprisingly indicates that only 50% of Americans would receive a vaccination, if one is developed. That would mean that with existing infections it'd still be questionable if the United States reached herd immunity.
That's really stunning under the circumstances. During this crisis there's been a fair amount of shaming of people who haven't worn masks or who failed to self isolate. Whether or not those things are justified or not, a public reaction against those who would not vaccinate, and who therefore are really voting to keep the pandemic going, would be legitimate.
