November 26

1835  Texas forces defeated Mexican forces in the Grass Fight near San Antonio.

1863   President Abraham Lincoln proclaims November 26th as a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated annually on the final Thursday of November (since 1941, on the fourth Thursday).

1916   The Cheyenne Leader for November 26, 1916 (but with a date error): U.S. Ready to Ratify Protocol With Mexico
 

We need to note here that the Leader made an error on its date on page 1.  To show that, we've uploaded page 2 as well.  This was the November 26 paper, note the November 25 paper.

Woodrow Wilson, the Leader reported, was ready to ratify the protocol with Mexico. But was Carranza ready?  The battle appeared to be turning for Carranza's enemy, Villa, in Chihuahua.

In Washington, John E. Osborne, former Wyoming Governor, appeared to be pondering leaving his Assistant Secretary of State position in the Wilson administration in order to head back to Wyoming. 

And sad news was reported regarding the death if Inez Milholland Bossevain, who had been in Cheyenne during the Presidential campaign.

And the Governor put out a Thanksgiving message for the upcoming holiday. 

1918  November 26, 1918. Letters home with scruffy photos. News photographs with polish appearance. Wyoming for Pershing? The murder of the Jews of Lvov, Rumors of War between Peru and Chile.

Post card home of Harold A. Stivers, 311th Infantry, 78th Division.  Stivers refers to his dress, which he regarded as a little rough.  It is interesting.  He's wearing the by then standard overseas cap and a leather jerkin.  American troops wore the jerkin much less often than the British, with whom it had become standard late in the war.  He notes that his puttees aren't wrapped correctly.  Puttees, used by the British and the French during the war, were adopted by the Americans but they didn't completely replace leggings.  After the war, the American Army quickly went back to leggings.

The contrasting photograph of Gen. Leroy S. Upton, commander of the 57th Bde, 29th Division, who presents a much more polished appearance. Gen. Upton is wearing private purchase lace up, and thick soled, riding boots with speed laces. . . a much preferable piece of footgear for actual field conditions than the standard field boots of the time.

One of the Cheyenne newspapers was declaring that Wyoming would support drafting Pershing for a 1920 Presidential run, or otherwise supporting him in that effort.

No doubt, the news was not in error.  Pershing was the son in law of Francis E. Warren, Wyoming's Senator, and very well remembered there.

And the tax on automobiles was coming off.

The other Cheyenne paper was reporting about the looming war between Chile and Peru, and on the horror of ethnic genocide in Lvov.  And there was fighting, of a different type, in the streets of New York City.

1919  USS Laramie, a fleet replenishment oiler,  launched.

1926  Utah's John M. Browning died.  Browning is regarded as the most successful firearms designer of all time.

1934  Charles E. Richardson, publisher of the Rock Springs Daily Rocket-Miner from 1974 to 2005 born in Newcastle Wyoming.

1942  Lusk announces they will forgo outdoor Christmas lights in accordance with a request from the War Production Board.  Attribution.  Wyoming History Calendar.

1948  Former Governor Frank E. Lucas died in  Buffalo, Wyoming.  He had been Wyoming's Secretary of State from 1923 to 1927, and Governor in 1925 after the death of Governor Ross.  He left office in 1927 and spent the rest of his life as the editor and publisher of the Buffalo Bulletin.

1984  Big Nose George Parrott's remains given to the Carbon County Museum.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

2004  The Snake River Ranch added to the National Registry of Historic Places. 

October 25

Today is World Pasta Day.

Why, I don't know, but that's what it is. The University of Wyoming's American Heritage Center has a post up for today, October 25, 2012, on this event, and asks the question of whether pasta was part of your diet growing up.  It was for me, fwiw, and I suspect for most other people as well, but not with the many fine varieties available today.  "Macaroni and Cheese" was a frequent noon meal when I was a kid, and not the kind that comes out of a box.  Indeed, I've never liked the box kind, which strikes me as somewhat anemic.  Spaghetti was also a frequent at our house, which was the regular boxed spaghetti noodle type, with a red sauce made from tomato soap and with, typically, antelope or deer as the meat in the sauce.  I can't ever recall having ground beef used in spaghetti sauce as a kid at our house.  And macaroni noodles, i.e., elbow noodles, occasionally showed up in shrimp salad, which my mother occasionally made.  And of course, there were canned "beenie weenies, etc." that had noodles in them.

I'm sure I didn't have any of what I would have regarded as exotic pastas, like lasagna, in a homemade example until I was in university.  Otherwise, that was exotic restaurant fare.

On a somewhat more topical note, while not the most memorable day in Wyoming's history, October 25 has been a momentous day in world history, as three significant battles have occurred on this day, all of which will long be remembered.

1415. English forces numbering 12,000 defeat French forces numbering 60,000 at Agincourt.

This is the event so famously recalled by Shakespeare in his "band of brother's speech for Henry V:

Enter the KING

WESTMORELAND. O that we now had here
    But one ten thousand of those men in England
    That do no work to-day!

KING. What's he that wishes so?
    My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
    If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
    To do our country loss; and if to live,
    The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
    God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
    By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
    Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
    It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
    Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
    But if it be a sin to covet honour,
    I am the most offending soul alive.
    No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
    God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
    As one man more methinks would share from me
    For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
    Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
    That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
    Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
    And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
    We would not die in that man's company
    That fears his fellowship to die with us.
    This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
    He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
    Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
    And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
    He that shall live this day, and see old age,
    Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
    And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
    Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
    And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
    Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
    But he'll remember, with advantages,
    What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
    Familiar in his mouth as household words-
    Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
    Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
    Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
    This story shall the good man teach his son;
    And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
    From this day to the ending of the world,
    But we in it shall be remembered-
    We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
    For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
    Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
    This day shall gentle his condition;
    And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
    Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
    And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
    That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day

1854  The legendary British cavalry charge at Balaclava occurred: 

            Half a league, half a league,
            Half a league onward,
            All in the valley of Death
            Rode the six hundred.
            "Forward, the Light Brigade!
            "Charge for the guns!" he said:
            Into the valley of Death
            Rode the six hundred.

            2.

            "Forward, the Light Brigade!"
            Was there a man dismay'd?
            Not tho' the soldier knew
            Someone had blunder'd:
            Their's not to make reply,
            Their's not to reason why,
            Their's but to do and die:
            Into the valley of Death
            Rode the six hundred.

            3.

            Cannon to right of them,
            Cannon to left of them,
            Cannon in front of them
            Volley'd and thunder'd;
            Storm'd at with shot and shell,
            Boldly they rode and well,
            Into the jaws of Death,
            Into the mouth of Hell
            Rode the six hundred.

            4.

            Flash'd all their sabres bare,
            Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
            Sabring the gunners there,
            Charging an army, while
            All the world wonder'd:
            Plunged in the battery-smoke
            Right thro' the line they broke;
            Cossack and Russian
            Reel'd from the sabre stroke
            Shatter'd and sunder'd.
            Then they rode back, but not
            Not the six hundred.

            5.

            Cannon to right of them,
            Cannon to left of them,
            Cannon behind them
            Volley'd and thunder'd;
            Storm'd at with shot and shell,
            While horse and hero fell,
            They that had fought so well
            Came thro' the jaws of Death
            Back from the mouth of Hell,
            All that was left of them,
            Left of six hundred.

            6.

            When can their glory fade?
            O the wild charge they made!
            All the world wondered.
            Honor the charge they made,
            Honor the Light Brigade,
            Noble six hundred.

1890  Miners in Rocks Springs demanded that a "Miner's Ton" be reduced from 2,250 lbs to the English ton of 2,000 lbs.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1906  Lovell incorporated.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1923 The Teapot Dome scandal came to public attention as Senator Thomas J. Walsh of Montana, subcommittee chairman, revealed the findings of the past 18 months of investigation.

1943  A family in Prairie, Wyoming, family received a card from their son in Japanese POW camp.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1944 In the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Japan uses 'kamikaze' pilots for the first time, sinking the USS 'St Lo'.

1962 U.S. ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson presented photographic evidence of Soviet missile bases in Cuba to the U.N. Security Council.  After a dramatic exchange with the Soviet Ambassador, he said the following:

 I want to say to you, Mr. Zorin, that I do not have your talent for obfuscation, for distortion, for confusing language, and for doubletalk. And I must confess to you that I am glad that I do not!

But if I understood what you said, you said that my position had changed, that today I was defensive because we did not have the evidence to prove our assertions, that your Government had installed long-range missiles in Cuba.

Well, let me say something to you, Mr. Ambassador—we do have the evidence. We have it, and it is clear and it is incontrovertible. And let me say something else—those weapons must be taken out of Cuba.

Next, let me say to you that, if I understood you, with a trespass on credibility that excels your best, you said that our position had changed since I spoke here the other day because of the pressures of world opinion and the majority of the United Nations. Well, let me say to you, sir, you are wrong again. We have had no pressure from anyone whatsoever. We came in here today to indicate our willingness to discuss Mr. U Thant’s proposals, and that is the only change that has taken place.

But let me also say to you, sir, that there has been a change. You—the Soviet Union has sent these weapons to Cuba. You—the Soviet Union has upset the balance of power in the world. You—the Soviet Union has created this new danger, not the United States.

And you ask with a fine show of indignation why the President did not tell Mr. Gromyko on last Thursday about our evidence, at the very time that Mr. Gromyko was blandly denying to the President that the U.S.S.R. was placing such weapons on sites in the new world.

Well, I will tell you why—because we were assembling the evidence, and perhaps it would be instructive to the world to see how a Soviet official—how far he would go in perfidy. Perhaps we wanted to know if this country faced another example of nuclear deceit like that one a year ago, when in stealth, the Soviet Union broke the nuclear test moratorium.

And while we are asking questions, let me ask you why your Government—your Foreign Minister—deliberately, cynically deceived us about the nuclear build-up in Cuba.

And, finally, the other day, Mr. Zorin, I remind you that you did not deny the existence of these weapons. Instead, we heard that they had suddenly become defensive weapons. But today again if I heard you correctly, you now say that they do not exist, or that we haven’t proved they exist, with another fine flood of rhetorical scorn.

All right, sir, let me ask you one simple question: Do you, Ambassador Zorin, deny that the U.S.S.R. has placed and is placing medium- and intermediate-range missiles and sites in Cuba? Yes or no—don’t wait for the translation—yes or no?

(The Soviet representative refused to answer.)

You can answer yes or no. You have denied they exist. I want to know if I understood you correctly. I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over, if that’s your decision. And I am also prepared to present the evidence in this room.

(The President called on the representative of Chile to speak, but Stevenson continued:)

I have not finished my statement. I asked you a question. I have had no reply to the question, and I will now proceed, if I may, to finish my statement.

I doubt if anyone in this room, except possibly the representative of the Soviet Union, has any doubt about the facts. But in view of his statements and the statements of the Soviet Government up until last Thursday, when Mr. Gromyko denied the existence or any intention of installing such weapons in Cuba, I am going to make a portion of the evidence available right now. If you will indulge me for a moment, we will set up an easel here in the back of the room where I hope it will be visible to everyone.

The first of these exhibits shows an area north of the village of Candelaria, near San Cristóbal, southwest of Havana. A map, together with a small photograph, shows precisely where the area is in Cuba.

The first photograph shows the area in late August 1962; it was then, if you can see from where you are sitting, only a peaceful countryside.

The second photograph shows the same area one day last week. A few tents and vehicles had come into the area, new spur roads had appeared, and the main road had been improved.

The third photograph, taken only twenty-four hours later, shows facilities for a medium-range missile battalion installed. There are tents for 400 or 500 men. At the end of the new spur road there are seven 1,000-mile missile trailers. There are four launcher-erector mechanisms for placing these missiles in erect firing position. This missile is a mobile weapon, which can be moved rapidly from one place to another. It is identical with the 1,000-mile missiles which have been displayed in Moscow parades. All of this, I remind you, took place in twenty-four hours.

The second exhibit, which you can all examine at your leisure, shows three successive photographic enlargements of another missile base of the same type in the area of San Cristóbal. These enlarged photographs clearly show six of these missiles on trailers and three erectors.

And that is only one example of the first type of ballistic missile installation in Cuba.

A second type of installation is designed for a missile of intermediate range—a range of about 2,200 miles. Each site of this type has four launching pads.

The exhibit on this type of missile shows a launching area being constructed near Guanajay, southwest of the city of Havana. As in the first exhibit, a map and small photograph show this area as it appeared in late August 1962, when no military activities were apparent.

A second large photograph shows the same area about six weeks later. Here you will see a very heavy construction effort to push the launching area to rapid completion. The pictures show two large concrete bunkers or control centers in process of construction, one between each pair of launching pads. They show heavy concrete retaining walls being erected to shelter vehicles and equipment from rocket blast-off. They show cable scars leading from the launch pads to the bunkers. They show a large reinforced concrete building under construction. A building with a heavy arch may well be intended as the storage area for the nuclear warheads. The installation is not yet complete, and no warheads are yet visible.

The next photograph shows a closer view of the same intermediate-range launch site. You can clearly see one of the pairs of large concrete launch pads, with a concrete building from which launching operations for three pads are controlled. Other details are visible, such as fuel tanks.

And that is only one example, one illustration, of the work being furnished in Cuba on intermediate-range missile bases.

Now, in addition to missiles, the Soviet Union is installing other offensive weapons in Cuba. The next photograph is of an airfield at San Julián in western Cuba. On this field you will see twenty-two crates designed to transport the fuselages of Soviet llyushin-28 bombers. Four of the aircraft are uncrated, and one is partially assembled. These bombers, sometimes known as Beagles, have an operating radius of about 750 miles and are capable of carrying nuclear weapons. At the same field you can see one of the surface-to-air anti­aircraft guided missile bases, with six missiles per base, which now ring the entire coastline of Cuba.

Another set of two photographs covers still another area of deployment of medium-range missiles in Cuba. These photographs are on a larger scale than the others and reveal many details of an improved field-type launch site. One photograph provides an overall view of most of the site; you can see clearly three of the four launching pads. The second photograph displays details of two of these pads. Even an eye untrained in photographic interpretation can clearly see the buildings in which the missiles are checked out and maintained ready to fire, a missile trailer, trucks to move missiles out to the launching pad, erectors to raise the missiles to launching position, tank trucks to provide fuel, vans from which the missile firing is controlled, in short, all of the requirements to maintain, load, and fire these terrible weapons.

These weapons, gentlemen, these launching pads, these planes—of which we have illustrated only a fragment—are a part of a much larger weapons complex, what is called a weapons system.

To support this build-up, to operate these advanced weapons systems, the Soviet Union has sent a large number of military personnel to Cuba—a force now amounting to several thousand men.

These photographs, as I say, are available to members for detailed examination in the Trusteeship Council room following this meeting. There I will have one of my aides who will gladly explain them to you in such detail as you may require.

I have nothing further to say at this time.

(After another statement by the Soviet representative Stevenson replied:)

Mr. President and gentlemen, I won’t detain you but one minute.

I have not had a direct answer to my question. The representative of the Soviet Union says that the official answer of the U.S.S.R. was the Tass statement that they don’t need to locate missiles in Cuba. Well, I agree—they don’t need to. But the question is, have they missiles in Cuba—and that question remains unanswered. I knew it would be.

As to the authenticity of the photographs, which Mr. Zorin has spoken about with such scorn, I wonder if the Soviet Union would ask its Cuban colleague to permit a U.N. team to go to these sites. If so, I can assure you that we can direct them to the proper places very quickly.

And now I hope that we can get down to business, that we can atop this sparring. We know the facts, and so do you, sir, and we are ready to talk about them. Our job here is not to score debating points. Our job, Mr. Zorin, is to save the peace. And if you are ready to try, we are.

October 7

1759  Comanches ( branch of the Shoshone tribe), Yaceales, and Tawakonis, defeated a Spanish force under Diego Ortiz Parilla on the Red River in Texas.  As previously noted, part of Wyoming was in the Spanish, and then Mexican, colonial administration that became Texas.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1857  Ft. Bridger torched by Mormon forces during the Mormon War.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1885  Those arrested for the Rock Springs riots were released.

1916   The Wyoming Tribune for October 7, 1916: Boston takes game one of the world series

Note, this is the 3:30 pm edition of the Tribune.

1917   The Cheyenne State Leader for Sunday, October 9, 1917.
 

Cheyenne turned its focus to central Wyoming oil.  The issue speaks for itself, and foreshadowed the future at that.

1917   Poster Saturday: 1917 World Series
 

Game Two of the 1917 World Series was played on this day in 1917:  The result was: the New York Giants 2 and the Chicago White Sox 7.  That put the Sox up two as they'd won the day prior 2 to 1.

1918

Countdown on the Great War: October 7, 1918.

1.  The Regency Council of Poland, a temporary council appointed by the Central Powers in support of their claim to create an independent Polish monarchy post war, declared Poland independent of Germany.  Handwriting on the wall?

2.  The Red Army captured Samara, a city on the Volga that in modern times has had a significant role in the Soviet then the Russian space program.

3.  Brigadier General Edward Sigerfoos became the only American general to be killed in action during World War One, although his promotion by a Congress unaware of his death was actually on October 10.  He had just assumed command of a brigade in the 28th Division an hour prior when he was mortally wounded on September 29.

4.  The same day Gen. Doyan of the Marine Corps, stationed to a training role in the United Stated, died of the Spanish Flu.

5. The flu was hitting the front pages of the Wyoming papers:

It was reported in Cheyenne that 285 cases of the Spanish Flu had been reported in Wyoming.

And in Casper "health authorities" were considering closing the schools.

1919  (Posted for 1919 Air Derby):  October 7, 1919. The White Sox Rally?

The Sox suddenly were back in the game on this October 7, 1919 game of the World Series.

Dicky Kerr was pitching again, the Sox's did well in a ten inning game.

On this same day, news hit the state of the impending start of a bit air race scheduled for this very week.  The race was sponsored by the Army Air Corps and was scheduled to commence on October 8.

In other news, the Germans, whom had been kept at first in the Baltic states by the Allies, but who had become very involved in the conflicts there, were being invited to leave.  And a terrible flood hit a small town in Colorado.

Cardinal Mercier continued his tour of Belgium, raising funds for the restoration of the Library at Leuven.  On this day, he spoke at Columbia.

In Czechoslovakia, the parliament was in session.

1935  United Airlines Trip 4 crashed outside of Cheyenne killing all 12 persons on board.

1941  Bandleader and Army Air Corps officer Glenn Miller donated 50 records to Ft. F. E. Warren.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1949   Ft. Francis E. Warren renamed Francis E. Warren Air Force Base with the USAF now having been established as a separate service.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1998  Matthew Shepard was found beaten, burned and tied to a wooden fence outside of Laramie.  He died several days later.  His murder by two young Laramie men became the most infamous murder in Wyoming since the 1970s.

2015  

 Rainy Day in Cheyenne.

Yesterday Governor Mead announced that he intends to trim $200,000,000 from next year's budget.  That's $200,000,000 from a $9,300,000,000 budget, so while its a decline, it's still not a decline that even takes a billion out of the budget.  It's also, it should be noted, a budget that reflects revenue from more than one source.  I.e., not just coal and oil.

But those coal and oil revenues are dropping, and the budgetary chickens are starting to come home to roost.

What will be trimmed hasn't really been announced yet, although there's some concern that the University of Wyoming will be among the state institutions hit. And it unfortunately comes at a time when a judiciary study shows that several Wyoming judicial districts could really use additional judges.

Even now I find some people in denial about the slow down having an impact, and I will say that in some cities around the state it seems construction is still going on like mad.  But certain signals are hard to ignore.

September 9

1776   The term "United States" was adopted by the second Continental Congress to be used instead of the "United Colonies."

1845   The arrival of the potato blight in Ireland is reported in the Dublin Evening Post.  This would, of course, be seemingly unrelated to the theme of this blog, but the Potato Blight would result in the commencement of the great Irish immigration to the United States, and to what would ultimately become a significant Irish immigrant population in Wyoming.

1850   Territories of New Mexico and Utah were created.

1876  The second day of the Battle of Slim Buttes, South Dakota, sees the first day's fighting.  The 3d Cavalry had surrounded a Sioux village undetected the night prior and charged this morning.  American Horse was mortally wounded.  Indian survivors fled to the neighboring Cheyenne and Sioux village.  In he meantime, elements of additional cavalry and infantry units arrived at the occupied village.

Sioux and Cheyenne under Crazy Horse to counter attacked but were surprised by the numbers of soldiers then in the occupied camp.  They did open fire and Crook, in command, formed defensive positions, and then sent forward skirmishers.  This was effective in driving the Sioux and Cheyenne away.  110 Indian ponies were seized in the village, along with  a supply of dried meat, a 7th Cavalry guidon from Company I, the bloody gauntlets of Capt. Myles Keogh, government-issued guns and ammunition, and other related items.

This concluded the first day's fighting.

1885  Additional U.S. troops arrive in Wyoming due to the Rock Springs Massacre. They escort Chinese workers, against their desires, back to Rock Springs.

1886   Construction commenced on the Wyoming State Capitol although the cornerstone would not be laid until the following year.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1918  Monday, September 9, 1918. The news in Casper. Old Indian Fighter back in town. . . Debs goes on trial. . . French cavalry on the move. . . State Guard assembles in town. . .Corn crop low. . . and Ruth hits a triple to give the Sox the World Series.

A lot was going on in this paper.  Battles new and old, and on the baseball diamond.

1920  Cheyenne's airport saw its first airmail flight.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1925   Sheridan area rancher, Oliver Wallop, became Earl of Portsmouth upon death of brother.  O. H. Wallop was English born and a member of the titled class.  The Wallop family was part of a significant English ranching community that was centered in the Sheridan area, but not limited to it. British ranching operations entered Wyoming as early as 1876 and continued on well into the 20th Century.  Montana likewise saw a significant community of English ranchers.  Some were family owned operations, such as this, but others were British corporate owned operations, such as the Natrona  County headquartered VR (Victoria Regina) Ranch.

Wallop had served in the Wyoming legislature and was a naturalized U.S. citizen.  In order to take his place in the House of Lords he had to renounce his U.S. citizenship.

1945  The term "computer bug" was first used by LT Grace Murray Hopper while she was on Navy active duty in 1945. It was found in the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator at Harvard University. The operators affixed the moth to the computer log, where it still resides, with the entry: "First actual case of bug being found." They "debugged" the computer, first introducing the term.

In honor of this disturbing event, I propose that this day henceforth be known in the computer age as "Grace Murray Hopper Day".

1951  FCC filings were completed for a public television station at the University of Wyoming.

September 5

1836     Sam Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas.

1866  Fort John Buford was renamed Fort Sanders.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1867  The first head of Texas Longhorns shipped from Abilene Kansas,giving birth to the long cattle drive era and the expansion of the cattle industry in  the West.

1877  Crazy Horse is fatally bayoneted by a U.S. soldier after resisting confinement in a guardhouse at Fort Robinson, Nebraska.  The wound wasn't instantly fatal as he lingered for hours after the incident while Indian leaders and officers worked to avoid a violent outbreak occurring as a result.

1879   The Delmonico Hotel and Washington Market collapsed in Cheyenne, killing several people.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1885  U.S. Army troops arrive in Rock Springs following anti-Chinese rioting.  Attribution:  On This Day. 

1894  The first Jewish wedding to occur in Wyoming, occurred in Cheyenne.   Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1910  August Malchow fought again at the Methany Hall in Thermopolis, defeating challenger Patsy McKenna.  The victory was technical as the fight was stopped after brawls in the audience commenced and the victory given to the title holder, Malchow.  McKenna had won more rounds. This was McKenna's last recorded professional fight.

1913  Fire destroyed the main part of Upton.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1916  Sheridan Enterprise for September 5, 1916. Big Labor Day celebration in Sheridan, riots in El Paso.
 

The Casper Record for September 5, 1916: "School has started--Have you got that uniform?"

 

Something we've addressed here before, but which would seem alien to many locals today. The era in which the local high school required uniforms.

For girls, anyhow.

Boys had a uniform they couldn't avoid, as we've already noted, but one which their parents, relieved of buying school clothes, were often glad to have imposed. The military uniform of JrROTC.  Girls, on the other hand, had a prescribed uniform.  What exactly it was in 1916 I'm not sure, but a basic blouse and dress is likely what was required.

In other news current residents of Natrona County would be shocked to see that the county fair was, at that time, held in late September.  Gambling with the weather?   And the tragic death of Mildred Burke, front page news in Cheyenne, had hit the Casper paper.

This photograph of the Omaha Stockyards, where many head of Wyoming beef went through, was taken.   Note the boxcar with some beer name on it, although I can't really make that all out.

1917   September 5, 1917. The draftees begin to report
 

September 5, 1917, was a big day for a lot of younger men as they began to leave their homes to report to Army training camps.  Eleven, we learn from the Casper paper, were leaving booming Casper.

And 35 were leaving from much larger Cheyenne, whose paper was also reporting that the Japanese were mustering to come to the aid of the Russians.

In the university town of Laramie the paper reported on the total numbers of the first contingent of draftees in its headlines, 34,450.

There would be a lot more following.

1969  The 116th Engineer Battalion (Combat), Idaho Army National Guard was mustered out of Federal service after active duty in Vietnam. This marked the sixth time in 70 years that the battalion served on active duty.  The Idaho National Guard unit is the only Guard unit, Army or Air, to officially serve in theater during both the Korean and Vietnam wars.  During it's tour in Vietnam six unit members lost their lives, over 100 were wounded, and two members received Silver Stars.

September 3

Today was Labor Day for 2012.  Labor Day statutorily occurs on the first Monday of September.  The Federal holiday was created, as a Federal holiday, in 1894.

1865  Colonel Nelson Cole, with troops from Missouri, engaged Sioux, Arapaho and Cheyennes on Dry fork in the Powder River Basin.

1876   The Wyoming Weekly Leader reported that a shipment of oysters was to arrive soon.

1885  Governor Warren arrived in Rocks Springs by train, following yesterday's violent riots.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1918  The first uranium discovery in Wyoming was announced, with the discovery having been made near Lusk.  What was uranium used for in 1918?  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1916   Cheyenne State Leader for September 3, 1916. The Eight Hour Day becomes law.
 

This is an interesting 1916 item to say the least.  The moment at which the eight hour day became the American standard.

We're so used to thinking of the average working day lasting eight hours that we hardly give any thought to there being an error in which this wasn't the case. But there certainly was.  Prior to 1916, many laborers worked well over eight hours pre day. After September 3, 1916, that work day was established and the modern work day became law.

Which is not to say that there  hasn't been some retreat on this. There certainly has.  At least for the "professional" class of worker the eight hour day has long ago expanded into more hours than that, and well over forty hours per week. As more and more Americans have entered this category, the working hours of American have been increasing in recent decades, with wages not doing the same.

1918:  Lex Anteinternet: Labor Day, 1918. The local news

Somehow I missed the September 3, 1918 newspapers when I posted about Labor Day 1918 here, as the both Casper papers did run articles on the Casper parade that year, and on the front page too:

Lex Anteinternet: Labor Day, 1918.: This was Labor Day for 1918. In at least Casper and Cheyenne parades were held, something we don't see locally for Labor Day at all an...

Of course at least in one case, the headline was a bit odd, but liberties with headlines were a little more common at the time.

1920 Alonzo Stepp was appointed the postmaster of Fontenelle, Wyoming.  He was an area rancher.

That may not seem remarkable, but Stepp was an African American who was exceptional for his era in numerous ways, one of which was that he was one of few black ranchers in the state at the time, with there remaining few today.  The Kentucky born Stepp was college educated, having received a classical education, but immigrated to Wyoming with his wife, whom he'd met in college, to pursue ranching after having worked on a Wyoming ranch one summer while in college. That introduction to ranching came through the invitation of a college friend, who was a white student.  Lon Stepp ultimately moved back to Wyoming and into ranching, working on area ranches and purchasing land over the years until he had a full time operating ranch.  By 1920, he's already served as an elected district road supervisor.  He occupied the postmaster position until December 15, 1941, when he died.

The Stepps would continue to ranch in the area until their ranch was one of the ones that was taken over by the government for Fontenelle Reservoir in 1963.  The Stepps fought the condemnation for the reservoir in court but ultimately lost.  

Fontenelle Reservoir in 1972.

Perhaps ironically, the dam for the reservoir on their land which they had opposed has proven to be leaky and the reservoir has had to been hurriedly drained twice.  Irrigation from the reservoir never really developed due to the difficulties of doing that in a high desert region, and therefore the lake has principally been used for recreation.

Stepp family members remain prominent in the area today.

More on the Stepps can be found on the WyoHistory.org page on them.  This entry is based on that one.

Elsewhere:

1895   William Carrol Crawford, the last surviving signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, died.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1918.  Elsewhere; U.S. War Exposition held in Chicago.

September 2

Today is Labor Day for 2013.

1885  In one of the worst examples of race based violence in Western US history, 150 white miners in Rock Springs, brutally attack their Chinese coworkers, killing 28, wounding 15 others, and driving several hundred more out of town. Governor Warren intervened to stop further bloodshed by having Federal troops sent to Rock Springs, and he himself went there, and to Evanston where it appeared that the violence might spread to.

1901     Vice President Theodore Roosevelt offered the advice, "Speak softly and carry a big stick," in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair.

1953  The first dial telephone system in Carbon County opened in Hanna.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

July 17

1866 Sioux warriors drove off a herd of livestock (175 horses and mules of the 18th Infantry Regiment) at Ft. Phil Kearney, with soldiers giving pursuit, resulting in some soldiers being killed and others wounded.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1876   The battle of Warbonnet Creek occured in which Col. Wesley Merritt and his 5th Cavalry, out of Fort Robinson, Nebraska, attack the Cheyenne in the vicinity of Fort Robinson.  The battle launches Buffalo Bill Cody into fame.

1891  An explosion at the Union Pacific's No. 6 mine killed five and was felt in Rock Springs. Attribution:  On This Day.

1915  An unseasonable snowstorm occurred in Hartville.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1920  The USS Wyoming given her hull designation as the BB-32.

1921   Burnu Acquanetta, actress, born near Cheyenne. She was an Arapaho and a minor movie actress.

1975  A plaque was presented to the Commissioner of Reclamation at Pathfinder Dam.

June 27

1893  Grand Opening celebration, featuring William F. Cody, occurs at the Sheridan Inn.

1895  Berlin, Wyoming laid out in the  Big Horn Basin.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1898  The First Wyoming Volunteer Infantry, part of the Third Philippine Expedition, was with it when it left for the Philippines starting on this day.  The process would take through the 29th.

1916   The News Around the State for June 27, 1916
 

Tuesday June 27, 1916, saw a variety of approaches to the news of the ongoing crisis with Mexico.

The Wyoming Tribune, a Cheyenne paper that tended to be dramatic in its headlines, was dramatic for June 27.

Quite the dramatic cartoon about "civilization following the flag" as well, presenting a colonial view that a person can't imagine seeing in a paper today. Indeed, its hard not to imagine the cartoon offering offense, and frankly even viewing it now, it offers it.

The Sheridan Record, however, was less so, if still pretty presenting some pretty worrisome news.

The Laramie Republican was the least dramatic of the examples we have here, but presented the same set of news stories, more ore less.

1919 

June 27, 1919. Introduction of the Volstead Act, the men of the 148th coming to Casper, an uncertain Peace, horses and oil, violence in Tennessee, Annapolis and Rock Springs.

On this day in 1919 the Volstead Act, the bill that was tailored to carry out Prohibition under the 18th Amendment, was introduced into the House of Representatives.

On this day in 1919 there was still time to have a beer. Soon, there wouldn't be.

An enforcing act was necessary in order to make Prohibition actually come into effect, something that's occasionally missed in this story.  Compounding the overall confusion, many states had passed state laws on the topic, including Wyoming, so in those places Prohibition was coming into law earlier, and with different provisions.  In some localities, such as Colorado, it already had.

It hadn't come into effect just yet, which meant that Casperites had time left to toast returning members of the 148th Field Artillery, recently discharged from their military service, just as they were also contemplating Germany signing a treaty that would end the war, but which appeared likely to result in an uncertain future.

That uncertain peace headlined the Wyoming State Tribune, which also featured an article that would be regarded as racist today, because it was.  That latter storing being how Mexican women were going to be liberated from the chains of tradition by adopting more progressive, non Mexican, values regarding their gender.

The 15th Cavalry, it was noted, was also going to appear in Cheyenne for new billets that afternoon.

Cavalry of that period was still horse cavalry, of course, and horses remained an important part of the economy in every fashion.  Advertisements for a horse auction in Campbell County appeared right on the cover of Wright's newspaper, which noted that it was published weekly "in the interests of dry-farming and stockraising in Wyoming".

Today, of course, when you think of Wright, you think of oil, gas, and coal.  You probably don't think of farming at all, let alone dry farming, although ranching is still there.

A photographer visited the Burk Waggoner oilfield of Texas on this day, giving a glimpse of what oil production in 1919 was like.

In far off Tennessee, Sheriff Milton Harvie Stephens of Williamson County, was murdered by horse thieves.  He was 74 years old and had held the office for one year.  That crime demonstrates that the value of the old means of travel, and the crimes it was associated with, kept on. The fact that Stephens was employed as a sheriff at age 74 also says something about the working environment of the day.

In that same region of the country, sort of, riots occurred in Annapolis between Navy trainees who were training to be mess attendants and local residents. The riot is regarded as part of the Red Summer, but the oddity of it was that the rioters were all black on both sides.  Mess attendants were normally black or Filipinos in the segregated Navy of that period and in this case it was black local residents who were in conflict with the sailors. The cause was that sailors had been harassing local women.

Strife and violence also seems to have broken out that day in Rock Springs.