Blog Mirror: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (1941)

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (1941)

December 18

1777  Congress declared a Thanksgiving Day following the  British surrender at Saratoga.

1871   A bill providing for the establishment of Yellowstone National Park was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

1890 Thursday, December 18, 1890. No booze for the faculty.

And, according to the University of Wyoming American Heritage Center, on December 18, 1890, the trustees passed a resolution that required all faculty to abstain from alcohol to get or keep their jobs.

1915 The Capital Avenue Theater in Cheyenne was destroyed by fire. Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1929   Former Territorial Governor George Baxter White died in New York City.  He held office for only one month.

1933  Joseph C. O'Mahoney appointed U.S. Senator following the death of John B. Kendrick.  He would actually take office on January 1, 1934. 

1944  The Governor of Oklahoma predicted that Mississippi and Wyoming had the brightest oil related futures in the nation.  Attribution.  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1944  U.S. Supreme Court upholds the wartime internment of U.S. Citizens of Japanese extraction, which would of course include those interned at Heart Mountain, Wyoming.

1966  Fritiof Fryxell, first Teton Park naturalist, died.  Attribution. Wyoming State Historical Society.

1998  A fire Newcastle, WY, destroys four century old buildings. Attribution.  On This Day .com.

2008   Gatua wa Mbugwa, a Kenyan, delivers the first dissertation every delivered in Gikuyu, at the University of Wyoming.  The topic was in plant sciences.

2014.  Nebraska and Oklahoma filed a petition with the United States Supreme Court seeking to have leave to sue Colorado on a Constitutional basis.regarding Colorado's state legalization of marijuana.  The basis of their argument is that Colorado's action violates the United States Constitution by ignoring the supremacy nature of Federal provisions banning marijuana.

While an interesting argument, my guess is that this will fail, as the Colorado action, while flying in the face of Federal law, does exist in an atmosphere in which the Federal government has ceased enforcing the law itself.

2019  The United States House of Representatives approved Articles of Impeachment against President Donald Trump.

December 9

1716   Martín de Alarcón, founder of San Antonio, appointed governor of Texas.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1854 The poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, published.

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:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs 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.

1867 The capital of Colorado Territory was moved from Golden to Denver.

1869  Governor Campbell approved the design for the Territorial Seal.  The Territorial Seal would continue on to be used to some extent after statehood, as the first State Seal was subject to extensive controversy as competing Senators submitted alternative variants, and Governor Barber was left with a mess.  This was, moreover, more than a little significant, as during this era State seals were used for National bank notes. Wyoming's therefore, carried the Territorial Seal in at least some instances after statehood.

A very fine article on the topic of the State Seal appears in the Vol 84, No 2, Spring 2012 , Annals of Wyoming, by former geology professor Peter Huntoon.

1873  The Territorial Legislature approved a measure moving the seat of Sweetwater County from South Pass City to Green River.

1890  A bill for the admission of Idaho and  Wyoming as states was introduced into Congress.

1898  A post office was established at Garrett.  Attribution. Wyoming State Historical Society.

1912  Henry A. Coffeen, former Wyoming Congressman, died. 

1941 China declared war on Japan, Germany and Italy. Hitler ordered US ships torpedoed. The 19th Bombardment Group attacks Japanese ships off the coast of Vigan, Luzon. USS Swordfish (SS-193) makes initial U.S. submarine attack on Japanese ship. Canadian government orders blackouts and closes Japanese-Canadian newspapers and schools. China declares war on Japan, after nine years of "incidents". They were, of course, already at war. Cuba, Guatemala, the Philippine Commonwealth, and the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea also declare war on Japan. Korea, of course, is already occupied by Japan. Japanese troops from Kwajelein occupy Tarawa in the Gilberts. Japanese bomb Nichols Field on Luzon. Japanese capture Khota Baru airfield on Malaya. Siam agrees to a cease fire with Japan, signaling an early defeat there. Japanese ground forces attack across the frontier of the New Territories; capture the key position of Shing Mun Redoubt; D Company of The Winnipeg Grenadiers dispatched to the mainland to strengthen this sector.

1960  Edwin Keith Thompson, former Wyoming Congressman, and Senator elect at the time of his death, died.

1976  A 5.1 earthquake occurred in Yellowstone National Park.

October 26

1865  Companies A, C, F, and G of the 6th West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry arrived at Platte Bridge Station, Wyoming.  They were certainly very far from home.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1880  The Cheyenne Club incorporated.

The Cheyenne Club was a legendary early Cheyenne institution, with many significant Wyoming figures visiting the club, depicted here in as the second building from the right in the row of significant Cheyenne buildings.  It was ornately furnished and courtly conduct was expected within it.  By some accounts, plans for the Johnson County War were developed there, although that is not necessarily undisputed.

1889  Governor F. E. Warren addressed citizens in Lander on the topics of the constitution and citizenship.   Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1942  The Torrington Post Office robbed. Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1956  USS Crook County decommissioned.

1976   Yellowstone National Park was designated an International Biosphere Reserve.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1909  Frederic Remington died in Connecticut at age 48.

2010  It was reported that Wyoming mystery writer C. J. Box donated his papers to the University of Wyoming.

Charles James Box is fairly unusual for a widely popular "Wyoming" writer, in that he is actually from Wyoming, which most nationally read "Wyoming" authors have not been in recent years.  Box was born in 1967 and lives outside of Cheyenne.  He's the author over a dozen novels, most of which are in a series featuring a fictional Wyoming Game Warden, Joe Pickett, as the protagonist.  While I haven't read any of the novels, the choice of a Game Warden as the protagonist is an insight that would perhaps be unique to a Wyoming author.  Box worked a variety of jobs, including that of cowboy, correspondent, and columnist, before his novels allowed him to be a full time writer.

In contrast, the very widely popular "Wyoming" author Craig Johnson, who is also typically mentioned in that fashion, "Wyoming author", was actually born in Huntington, West Virginia and lived in a wide variety of places.  He's lived, however, in Ucross for the past 25 years, so he's been located in Wyoming for at least half of his life, however, and worked some iconic Western jobs in his youth, I believe.  Ironically, Johnson's series of novels based on the experiences of a fictional sheriff in a county loosely based on Johnson and Sheridan Counties, are more widely popular than Box's novels, which are written by an actual native Wyomingite.  Johnson's novels have recently been made into a television series which is popular with Wyomingites and one can even now observe election bumper stickers for the fictional sheriff of the fictional town.  According to some who have read them (which I have not) at least a few place names in the books are real.  One such place is the Busy  Bee cafe in Buffalo.

For a period of time Annie Proulx was cited as being a "Wyoming author", which is far from correct for the Norwich Connecticut born author of "The Shipping News", amongst other novels.  She has had a residence in Wyoming since 1994, however.  At one time she was indicating that she was going to relocate to New Mexico, although I do not know if she did, and she lives part of the year in Newfoundland.  Proulx made some comments noting that residents of Wyoming near her residence in Wyoming lacked in some degree of friendliness, and her novel "Brokeback Mountain" was not well received in Wyoming.  Proulx is perhaps unique in that early in her career she was frequently cited as being a "New England author" and then later as a "Wyoming author".

Another "Wyoming author", Alexandra Fuller, is actually a Zimbabwean ex-patriot, which her most significant work, "Don't Lets Go To The Dogs Tonight", would make plain, if her thick English like accent did not.  Fuller is the author of a book attempting to reflect the true story of a young man who died in the oilfield due to a tragic accident, but at least in my view, interviews of her tend to very much reflect an outisders view of her adopted state.  Fuller doesn't claim to be a Wyoming native by any means, but at least in the one book attempts to present insights on her adopted state. Here too, I haven't read the book.

Independent writer and author of a book generally critical of Wyoming's politics and economy ("Pushed Off The Mountain, Sold Down The River), Sam Western, likewise lives in Wyoming, but is not, I believe, from here.  Western is frequently quoted within Wyoming, but the author built his career as a magazine writer for a variety of magazines, including Sports Illustrated and The London Economist.  His book on Wyoming's economy brought him to the attention of Wyomingites, where he's remained, and is still frequently debated.  At least one insightful criticism of the book noted that the main point of the book seemed to be that Wyoming wasn't like every other US state in terms of its economy, which would be true, but which would raise more questions than it would answer.  I also haven't read this book.

This even extends to newspaper columnists, to a degree, although its easier to find Wyoming authors in the newspapers.  An example of the ex-patriot columnist, however, would be provided by the Casper Star Tribune's Mary Billiter, who is a relocated Californian.  Her columns (which I find to be repetitious and maudlin) have brought her enough attention that she was put on a board of some type by Governor Mead recently, although I don't recall the details.  She is also the author of a novel, although I know none of the details about it.  In spite of my criticism of her I'd note that she does not claim to be a Wyoming author.

Coming closer to home, author Linda Hasselstrom is sometimes noted as being a resident of the state, which she is, but she doesn't claim to be a Wyoming author. She's a South Dakotan who writes on ranch topics from a woman's prospective, which reflects her background.  I probably ought not to note her in this list, but her status is kind of interesting in that her youth and early adult years associated with ranching would be quite familiar to Wyomingites, and she has had long residence here, but she's mostly noted as being in another genre, which is "women ranching authors".

Even such legendary (at least at one time) figures such as Peggy Simpson Curry, who occupied the position of Wyoming's Poet Laureate, are not actually Wyomingites by birth.   Curry was born in Scotland, but she grew up in North Park Colorado, where her father worked for a ranch.  She did live, however, in Casper for many years, and on Casper Mountain as well.  As a slight aside, I recall Curry reciting poetry at Garfield Elementary School in Casper when I was a child, where she was introduced as the state Poet Laureate. She scared me to death, as she had a sort of odd high pitched matronly voice and recited her poetry very loudly.  From a child's prospective, that didn't work well.  Curry was also celebrated in Walden Colorado, where she grew up, and is noted as a Western author, which reflects her overall life.

A more recent Poet Laureate, Charles Levendosky was born in the Bronx and moved to the state to work for the Casper Star Tribune when he was in his 30s.  Governor Sullivan, also from Casper, made the appointment and Levendosky was well known in Wyoming academic circles at the time.  He was a pretty powerful columnist for the Star Tribune at a time in which they had some very respected columnists, a status which, in my view, they no longer occupy as strongly.  In the same era the Tribune had a well respected local physician, Dr. Joseph Murphy, who doubled as a columnist. Dr. Murphy was indeed not only from Wyoming, but from Casper.

The point of all of this, if there is one, is not to suggest that only Wyomingites can write about Wyoming.  But, rather, to point out an odd phenomenon regarding written works and the American West in general, and more particularly Wyoming.  It's been long the case that many widely read authors on Western topics are either arrivals to the region, or emigrants from it who no longer reside there.  Mari Sandoz, for example, was a Nebraska native, but left the state and then wrote about it.  Wila Cather is likewise associated with Nebraska, but spent her adult years outside of the state.   Aldo Leopold grew famous with "A Sand Country Almanac", which remains a classic, but Leopold was from the Midwest, not New Mexico. Wyoming has produced one notable fiction writer in recent years, C. J. Box, but oddly he's the least widely read of authors sometimes cites as being "Wyoming authors", with most of the other individuals who are referred to in that fashion having ties to other regions.

What does this mean, if anything?  Well, it might not mean anything at all.  American society is highly mobile, far higher than most others.  We'd expect a German author, for example, to have been born and raised in Germany, or an Irish author to have been born and raised in Ireland.  But Americans are nomadic.  For that reason, perhaps, we shouldn't really be surprised by this phenomenon.  

It might also mean something a bit deeper.  Perhaps those who come from the outside are particularly attuned to the nuances of anyone culture.  That is, perhaps, things that are really unique to many people are not to people living an experience.  It's often been noted, for example, that one of the best (supposedly) anti-war books is The Red Badge of Courage, even though the author had not experienced war at the time he wrote.  Maybe a really experienced person can no longer note what's unique about his experience, although plenty of books in that same arena, such as Leckie's "A Helmet For My Pillow" or even Maldin's "Up Front" would suggest otherwise.  Having said that, I think I've come to that conclusion with historical novels, one of which I've been trying to write.  After really studying it, I'm fairly certain that many of the routine things a person would experience in any one era of history are novel to people in later eras.  It's hard for the writers to note those, however, because unless they've experienced them in a non routine fashion, they won't even know about them.  That's what caused me to create my Lex Anteinternet blog, in an effort to learn and explore those details.

However, if there's an element of truth in that, it certainly isn't universal.  Texas has produced a large number of writers over the decades that had a deep understanding of that state, or the West in general.  J. Frank Dobie, for example, was a Texan and his work "The Voice of the Coyote" remains an absolute classic.  Larry McMurtry, perhaps best known for his novel "Lonseome Dove", wrote what may bet he most insightful and accurate novel of modern ranch life ever written, "Horseman, Pass By" (the basis for the movie "Hud").  University of Nebraska professor and Nebraskan author Roger Welsch has written a series of brillian entertaining books on Nebraska themes.  So clearly a local observant writer can indeed write insightful works of great merit.

I guess, in the end, that's the point of this long entry.  Not to criticize outside authors, resident or note, who have written on the state, but rather to point out there are not doubt some great authors from here, many probably slaving away, who, hopefully, will have their works see the light of day, or at least the black of print.

October 16

Today is National Boss's Day.

1889  Emma Howell Knight, future dean of women at the University of Wyoming and Wilbur Clinton Knight, future UW professor of mining and metallurgy, and the future parents of future legendary UW Geology Professor Samuel Howell “Doc” Knight, married in Omaha, Nebraska.

1909  Following on his success of the prior month, August Malchow fought again at the Methany Hall in Thermopolis, defeating challenger Johnny Gilsey in a draw.

1912  Clifford Hansen was born in Zenith Wyoming.  The Teton County rancher was Governor from 1963 to 1967 and then Senator from 1967 to 1978.

1916  Cavalry withdrawn from Yellowstone National Park.  Attribution:  On This Day.

 Cavalry in Yellowstone, 1903.

Cavalry escorting President Arthur in Yellowstone, 1883.

1916The Wyoming Tribune for October 16, 1916: Carranza's family in flight. . . or were they?
 

Readers if the always sensational Wyoming Tribune learned, in the afternoon Monday edition, that the family of Carranza was in flight, suggesting he was about to fall from power.

Well, he wasn't.  He'd remain firmly in power, and in fact at that time was working on his proposals for a new Mexican constitution.  Readers of the Tribune, however, were probably pretty worried.

On other matters, Charles E. Hughes declared himself to be a man of peace, and the Wilson Administration denied that the US was somehow responsible for the execution of Roger Casement, who was sentenced due to his role in the recent Irish Nationalist's uprising against the United Kingdom.

1918  Countdown on the Great War, October 16, 1918. British advance everywhere, Dumas struck by lightening, the Kaiser abdicates?, Flu advances.

The front as to Belgium and part of France, October 16, 1918.

1.  The British crossed the Lys.

2.  The British occupied Homs, Lebanon.

3.  The Allies took Durres, Albania.

4.  German submarines sunk the cargo ships Pentwyn and War Council while the British sunk the German submarine UB 90.  The American SS Dumaru, nearly new wooden steamship, was struck by lightening off of Guam and her cargo of munitions caught fire.  Her crew evacuated two two lifeboats and a raft, with the five passengers of the raft being rescued several days later.  One lifeboat drifted to the Philippines over a course of three weeks. The other badly provisioned lifeboat had to resort to cannibalism of the dead in order for the survivors to live.

SS Dumaru

5.  Wild rumors of the Kaiser abdicating and Germany capitulating were starting to circulate.

6.  The Flu Epidemic was undeniable.

The Cheyenne State Leader was correct in this assessment of the Spanish Flu.

Hmmm, do these two newspapers seem rather similar?  Must have been a morning and evening edition of the same newspaper.  Both were reporting that the Flu Epidemic had become just that in the state.

1919  October 16, 1919. The Air Derby's Toll

Air racers continued to pass through Cheyenne, but not all of them were making it out of the state alive.

This demonstrates the different calculations of risk in different eras.  In the current era, any event with this sort of mortality rate would be shut down..  In 1919, even the government, which was losing flyers right and left in the Air Derby, wasn't inclined to do that.

Meanwhile, the Reds in Russia were reported to be on the edge of collapse, and in the U.S., there were fears of a Red uprising.  Neither would prove to be correct.

1940  "R Day", the deadline for all men aged 21 to 36 years old to register for conscription.

1993  Lusk becomes the first town in the United States to have a community wide fiber optic telephone system.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

September 18

1865  John B. Stetson, Philadelphia, supposed invented the cowboy hat.

While Stetson's role in manufacturing and marketing "cowboy hats" was vast, the attribution of the form to him is erroneous.  Broad brimmed felt hats dated back to the Middle Ages and their use in North America long predated the "cowboy hat".  Even in relation to 1865 attributing the form to Stetson is in error.  Use of broad brimmed hats by Frontiersmen in the West was already common by that time, and their use as unofficial military hats became very widespread during the Civil War, reflecting widespread civilian use at the time.

What Stetson really did was to market a form of the hat with a Western attribution. Stetson's early, shallow crowned, 3" brim, hat was called the Boss of the Plains.  That hat was an enormous success with working cowboys and others, and at one time was the predominate form of cowboy hat.  It never supplanted, however, other similar hats, and by the last two decades of the 19th Century many variants of cowboy hats existed, including many that were manufactured by Stetson.

Wyoming cowboys.  The cowboy on the far left appears to be wearing a Boss of the Plains.  The one of the far right wears a Montana  Peak, a style that was popular for many years.  All wear flat brims, curved brims not becoming the norm until the automobile.

While Stetson did not invent the cowboy hat, his name, or rather that of his company, became strongly associated with it.  This was so much the case in some localities that the name "Stetson" became associated with cowboy hats of all types.  For example, the Montana Peak hat adopted by the Canadian army for its forces during the Boer War was simply identified as the "Stetson", which remained the identifier (and  the manufacturer) after the style was adopted by the Northwest Mounted Police. Even today, cowboy hats are called Stetsons in some regions of North America.

Stetson itself never restricted itself to cowboy hats and was a major hat manufacturer in modern times.  Like all hat companies, it has suffered in modern times as hat wearing has declined.  The company still exists today, however, although it is a branch of another company.

More on hats, caps, and history can be found here on our companion site Lex Anteinternet

1870  Old Faithful given that name by members of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition.

1890  Passenger trains collided near Rock Springs, killing one person.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1905   Construction contract awarded for Shoshone dam.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

September 11

Today is Patriot Day

1842   Mexico sent 12,000 troops to capture San Antonio from Texas, which it refused to recognize as an independent nation.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1890  First election in Wyoming to elect state office holders.  Francis E. Warren elected Governor.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1902  Future Wyoming Governor William Bradford Ross married future Wyoming Governor Nellie Tayloe Ross in Omaha, Nebraska.

1908  Lovell and Kane hit by tornado.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1916

The Sheridan Enterprise for September 11, 1916

 

And in Sheridan too, the Quebec bridge disaster was front page news.

News was traveling fast.

The headline writer for the Sheridan paper had some fun with Greece, noting that it was "being clubbed into love for Entente Allies", which is pretty much correct.

The Sheridan paper had a big article on the Punitive Expedition which noted the American foray into Santa Clara Canyon.  General Pershing was quoted, which he had not been for some time. Quite obviously, in spite of the type of stalemate that was going on in Mexico, the US Army was still operating far afield from its supply base, as the article notes.

The Laramie Republican for September 11, 1916

The Quebec bridge disaster was also reported the day it occurred in Laramie, testament to how quickly news was now able to be reported.

Also in that news was a report of the ongoing failure to capture or corral Pancho Villa.

And the founding of what would become Tie Siding, outside of Laramie, a tie treatment plant and later a major environmental clean up location, was also in the news.  And the crisis in Greece over World War One made front page news in the Gem City.

The Wyoming Tribune for September 11, 1916
 

The bridge disaster in Quebec managed to make the front page the very day it happened, which is truly remarkable.  The big news for Wyoming, however, was the failure of the Stock Raising Homestead Act to pass to pass on its first attempt.  The act, a modification of the series of Homestead Acts dating back to the 1860s, was important for those in Wyoming agriculture and therefore extremely big news.  Particularly as the entire West was in the midst of a homesteading boom at this time.

Something was also going on with a "border patrol", which wouldn't mean the agency we think of when we hear those terms, as it did not yet exist. 

The Quebec Bridge Collapse. September 11, 1916
 

LOC Caption:  Photograph shows the Quebec Bridge across the lower St. Lawrence River. After a collapse of the original design a second design was constructed the center span of the second design collapsed as it was being raised into position on September 11, 1916 killing eighteen workers. (Source: Flickr Commons project)

1918  I'm sure that would have been an illegal order. . .

but at least one order quite similar to that was in fact issued by the American high command during the war, although it wasn't quite what this notes, but it was quite near it.

And trouble was breaking out in the German ranks. . . .

1988  First snows in Yellowstone National Park began to dampen the huge forest fire going on there since July.

2001  The United States is attacked by Al Queda terrorist in an airborne assault in which four aircraft are hijacked. Two are crashed into the World Trade Towers in New York City, causing great loss of life.  A third is crashed into the Pentagon, whose massive construction absorbed a surprising amount of the damage.  Oddly, September 11 was the 60th anniversary of the groundbreaking for the Pentagon.  The passengers of the fourth aircraft learned of the terrorist attacks while in flight, overpowered the hijackers, and the plane crashed in the ensuing struggle.

Contrary to some common assumptions, the Al Queda attack was not the first attack on the United States made by the organization.  It earlier had attacked the US ship the USS Cole, an American Embassy in Kenya, and had attempted to destroy the World Trade Towers through explosives before. This attacked differed in its scale, and that it caused the United States to regard itself as being at war with the organization, although the organization had been engaged in a campaign against the US dating back to the first Gulf War, during which it's leader, Osama  Bin Laden, had become angered over the presence of US forces in the Arabian Peninsula.  Al Queda mistakenly believed that the structures were critical to the US economy and that their destruction would cripple it. 

The resulting military efforts of the US and its Allies have, as a result, been greatly reduced in effectiveness and its leader, Osama Bin Laden, died in a US strike this past year.
 

September 7

1870   Nathaniel P. Langford sketched the first detailed map of Yellowstone Lake from the vantage point of Colter Peak.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1873   Capt. W. A. Jones names Togwotee Pass after his Sheepeater (Mountain Shoshone) guide, Togwotee.  Attribution: Wyoming State Historical Society.

1918  Beer becomes a casualty of the Great War and Villa resurgent. September 7, 1918.

Prohibition, which was rising prior to World War One, gained massive momentum during the war for a variety of stated reasons and a series or more significant unspoken psychological ones.

On September 6, 1918, it received a big boost in the form of an emergency agricultural bill that had been amended to include a ban on brewing on December 1, 1918.  There was a certain logic to the ban, in that resources were really tight and the brewing of beer consumed agricultural products that could go elsewhere. But that only provided part of the reason for banning brewing.  The more significant one was that the American public had been persuaded by the war to take the country dry, in part due to concerns that soldiers in hastily assembled Army camps would booze it up in nearby, formerly quiet, towns and in part by fears that soldiers far from home would be corrupted by drink outside the eyes of their families, both in the US, and away in wine laden France.

That can be seen in particular by the paper above, which not only noted the passage of the bill, but the mustering of dry forces that would seek to carry on Prohibition post war. . .a move that was successful. . . and not.

Meanwhile, the war in France itself was going well, but Villa was resurgent in Chihuahua.

1919  Cornerstone of St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Casper set.

1925  Monday, September 7, 1925. Failed landing at Al Hoceima.

It was Labor Day.

Nolan Motors, I'd note, was still in business into the 1990s.

1927     TV pioneer Philo T. Farnsworth succeeded in transmitting an image through purely electronic means by using a device called an image dissector, thereby ushering in the end of contemplative thought and decent civilization.

1936  Max Baer defeated Cowboy Sammy Evans in a prize fight in Casper.

1945  Trains were halted west of Green River as a bridge was destroyed by a fire.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1995  The Van Vleck House in Jackson was added to the National Register of Historic Places.  Attribution:  On This Day.

August 29

1865  Gen. Connor lead 125 Michigan cavalrymen and 90 Pawnee in an early morning assault on an Arapaho village encamped on the Tongue River in the last battle of the Powder River expedition  The battle was at the current location of the town of Ranchester..  At the time of the assault, many of the Arapaho fighting men were away fighting the Crow Indians along the Big Horn River, although the cavalrymen and their Pawnee scouts were nonetheless outnumbered.  The fighting lasted all day, and Connor had to bring up two howitzer to repel an Arapaho counterattack designed to hold Connor's force back while the Arapaho withdrew their camp, which included the remaining older men, women, and children.  Sixty three Arapaho were killed in the battle, and eighteen women and children were taken prisoner but subsequently released.  1,000 Arapaho horses were taken and killed.

The battle is notable for several peculiar reasons.  For one thing, while Connor's forces were in the field to address Indian raiding that had gone on earlier that year, it appears that the Arapaho, which were a very small band of Indians, were not at war with the US, or at least this band was not. So the assault, while conceived of by Connor as an attack on a hostile band, was in fact an assault on a peaceful band. The assault would turn them hostile, however, and they would be allied with the Sioux and Cheyenne up through the 1870s.

1870  Mount Washburn in Yellowstone National Park ascended for the first time by members of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition.   The scientific/topographic expedition was under a military escort lead by U.S. Army Cavalry officer, Lt. Gustavus Cheyney Doane, who made this report:

The view from the summit is beyond all adequate description. Looking northward from the base of the mountain the great plateau stretches away to the front and left with its innumerable groves and sparkling waters, a variegated landscape of surpassing beauty, bounded on its extreme verge by the cañons of the Yellowstone. The pure atmosphere of this lofty region causes every outline of tree, rock or lakelet to be visible with wonderful distinctness, and objects twenty miles away appear as if very near at hand. Still further to the left the snowy ranges on the headwaters of Gardiner's river stretch away to the westward, joining those on the head of the Gallatin, and forming, with the Elephant's Back, a continuous chain, bending constantly to the south, the rim of the Yellowstone Basin. On the verge of the horizon appear, like mole hills in the distance, and far below, the white summits above the Gallatin Valley. These never thaw during the summer months, though several thousand feet lower than where we now stand upon the bare granite and no snow visible near, save n the depths of shaded ravines. Beyond the plateau to the right front is the deep valley of the East Fork bearing away eastward, and still beyond, ragged volcanic peaks, heaped in inextricable confusion, as far as the limit of vision extends. On the east, close beneath our feet, yawns the immense gulf of the Grand Cañon, cutting away the bases of two mountains in forcing a passage through the range. Its yellow walls divide the landscape nearly in a straight line to the junction of Warm Spring Creek below. The ragged edges of the chasm are from two hundred to five hundred yards apart, its depth so profound that the river bed is no where visible. No sound reaches the ear from the bottom of the abyss; the sun's rays are reflected on the further wall and then lost in the darkness below. The mind struggles and then falls back upon itself despairing in the effort to grasp by a single thought the idea of its immensity. Beyond, a gentle declivity, sloping from the summit of the broken range, extends to the limit of vision, a wilderness of unbroken pine forest.

William Henry Jackson on Mount Washburn a few years later.

1899  Wyoming volunteers returned from service in the Philippines, via the Port of San Francisco.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1900  The Hole In The Wall Gang robbed a train near Tipton.  Attribution:  On This Day.

Wednesday, August 29, 1900. The Wild Bunch robs the Union Pacific No. 3.

The Wild Bunch robbed the Union Pacific No. 3 at Tipton, Wyoming, taking $45,000.

Charles E. Woodcock, express messenger for the Union Pacific, had the misfortune of being on a train robbed by the gang for the second time.

This would be their last train robbery.

This is famously depicted in the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

1918  More news from the border, Noyon falls to the French, mule reunion, and twenty personal questions. The News. August 29, 1918.

Sniping was still going on, but I don't know if this ultimatum was delivered or not.  It may have been.

The Casper paper was also reportign that Gen. Cabell had issued an ultimatum.

As usual, the Laramie Boomerang was less dramatic about things.  But there was disturbing news about new "sin taxes".

The Wyoming State Tribune lead with the fall of Noyon to the French, as did every other paper.  But it also had a touching story on an equine reunion and discussed the twenty personal questions new draftees would be asked.  Along with a story on the events in Nogales.

1923  Wednesday, August 29, 1923 Scaling Heights.

Teton's, 1902.

The South Teton was scaled for the first time. The climbers were Albert R. Ellingwood and Eleanor Davis. That same day, Ellingwood became the first person to climb the 12,809 feet (3,904 m) high Middle Teton.

Granite Peak, in Montana, was scaled for the first time.  The climbers were Elers Koch, James C. Whitham, and R.T. Ferguson, 

1970  The Medicine Wheel was designated a National Historic Landmark.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1971  The Casper Buffalo trap was discovered.

2004  3.8 earthquake occurred 95 miles from Gillette.  Attribution:  On This Day..

August 27

 Members of President Arthur's party in Yellowstone.

1883  President Arthur began a tour of Yellowstone National Park.

Gen Stager spends some time fishing while with President Arthur in Yellowstone.

1884  Nels H. Smith, Governor of Wyoming from 1939 to 1943, born in Gayville South Dakota.

1910  Theodore Roosevelt was present in Cheyenne for Frontier Days.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1915   Friday, August 27, 1915. The death of Frankie Pershing and her children.

Helen Frances “Frankie” Warren Pershing, wife of the future Gen. Pershing, and daughter of Sen. Francis E. Warren, died in a fire at the Presidio in San Francisco. Three out of four of the Pershing children also died in the fire.

The British reinforced their offensive at Hill 60, but the Ottomans retained the hill. 

Germany resumed submarine warfare after a brief hiatus.

1917   Allen Tupper True receives a contract to paint eight oil on canvas murals for the Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne. True was a prominent muralist who did a collection of prominent murals in the region.

1933  A monument was dedicated at the Overland Trail Crossing on the North Platte.

1942 The USS Wyoming torpedoed by the U-165.  She did not sink, but four men were killed in the attack.

2002  Kaycee endures a flood.

August 25

1819 Allan Pinkerton, detective, secret service agent, born.

1850  Western humorist Edgar Wilson "Bill" Nye born in Maine. He career as a humorist was launched while he was a postmaster in Laramie.

1916. National Park Service formed. The NPS took over a role which had been occupied by the Army, that of patrolling the National Parks. Their uniform still recalls the Army of 1916 to a small extent, in that they've retained the M1911 style campaign hat, in straw and felt, as part of their uniform.

On this, it's also the case here that the Yellowstone just ceased last year using the Army built courthouse, built in 1908, in favor of a newly constructed one. Still, that's pretty good service for a small Army courthouse really.

 In 1916, the cavalry branch, which had been heavily involved in patrolling the parks, was committed to the Cold/Lukewarm war with Villa. I wonder if part of the reason that the Park Service came into being in 1916 was because this mounted service was needed to free up the Army's mounted arm for it's primary military role?

1944  Seventeen sheep were slain by a mystery aircraft near Medicine Bow.  I wish I knew more details about this, but I don't.  The item is a Wyoming State Historical Society item, and must have been reported in a newspaper at the time.

1950 President Harry S. Truman orders the Army to seize control of the nation's railroads to avert a strike.

1972  Congress authorized the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway.

2010   Governor Dave Freudenthal signed an executive order increasing protected sage grouse habitat by a net of 400,000 acres.

August 20

1619 August 20, 1619. Slavery comes to British America

The date isn't known with precision.  Only that it occurred in August.  But this date, August 20, is used as the usual date for the event when a slaver arrived off the port at Port Comfort, Virginia, carrying 20 to 30 African who were held in bondage and sold into slavery.

The event marked the return of the English to being a slave owning society.  Slavery had been abolished by the Normans after conquering Anglo Saxon Britain in 1066 and while it's common to see claims of other types of servitude, including involuntary servitude, equating with slavery, they do not.  Slavery is unique.

And late European chattel slavery, which commenced with the expansion of European powers into African waters and into the Americas, was particularly unique and in someways uniquely horrific.

Slavery itself was not introduce to African populations by Europeans; they found it there upon their arrival, but they surprisingly accommodated themselves to participating in it very rapidly.  Europeans had been the victims of Arab slavers for a long time themselves, who raided both for the purposes of acquiring forced labor, and fairly horrifically, for forced concubinage, the latter sort of slave having existed in their society for perhaps time immemorial but which had been licensed by Muhammad in the Koran.  Arab slave traders had been quite active in Africa early on, purchasing slaves from those who had taken them as prisoners of war, an ancient way of dealing with such prisoners, and the Europeans, starting really with the Portuguese, seemingly stepped right into it as Europe's seafaring powers grew.

Having waned tremendously in Europe following the rise of Christianity, European powers somehow found themselves tolerating the purchase and transportation for resale of Africans for European purchasers by the 15th Century, with most of those purchasers being ultimately located in the Americas.

The English were somewhat slow to become involved.  It wasn't clear at first if slavery was legal under English Common Law and the English lacked statutory clarification on the point such as had been done with other European powers.  Early English decisions were unclear on the point. However, starting with the 17th Century, the institution worked its way into English society, even as opposition to it grew from the very onset.

The importation of slaves to English populations was not limited to North American, but it was certainly the absolute strongest, in the English speaking world, in England's New World colonies.  While every European seafaring power recognized slavery by the mid 17th Century, the really powerful markets were actually limited to the Caribbean, English North American, and Portuguese Brazil.  European slavery existed everywhere in the New World, and no country with colonies in North America was exempt from it, but it was strongest in these locations.

And slavery as reintroduced by Europeans was uniquely abhorrent.  Slavery, it is often noted, has existed in most advanced and semi advanced societies at some point, but slavery also was normally based in warfare and economics nearly everywhere.  I.e., it was a means of handling conquered armies, conquered peoples, and economic distress.  The word "servant" and "slave" in ancient Greek was the same word for this latter reason.  In eras in which resources were tight and there was little other means of handling these situations, slavery was applied as the cruel solution.

But it wasn't raced based.  The slavery that the Europeans applied was. Even Arab slavery, which was ongoing well before the Europeans joined in and continued well after, was not based on race but status.  If a lot of Arab slaves were black in the 17th Century, that was mostly due to an environment existing which facilitated that. Earlier, a lot of forced concubine Arab slaves, for example, were Irish.  The Arabs were equal opportunity slavers.

Europeans were not.  European slaves were nearly always black, and even examples of trying to note occasions in which Indians were held as slaves are very strained.  And because it was raced based, it took on a unique inhuman quality.  Slavery wasn't justified on the basis that the slaves were prisoners of war that had fallen into that state, but that the state was better than death, nor were they held on the basis that they had sold themselves or had been sold into servitude due to extreme poverty, and that was better than absolute destitution.  It wasn't even justified on a likely misapplied allowance granted by Muhammad for slaves that were held due to war, and could be used for carnal purposes, reinterpreted (I'm guessing) for convenient purposes.  It was simply that they were black and, therefore, something about that made them suitable for forced labor.

And forced labor it was.  Servants in the ancient world had often been servants and even tutors.  While it did become common in North America to use slaves as household domestics, most slaves in North America performed heavy agricultural labor their entire lives.  It was awful and they worked in awful conditions.

And it tainted the early history of the country in a way that's ongoing to this day.  With opposition to its reintroduction right from the onset, but the late 18th Century it was clear that its abhorrent nature meant it was soon to go out everywhere.  Almost every European country abolished it very early in the 19th Century, which is still shockingly late.  It was falling into disfavor in the northern part of the British North American by the Revolution, in part because agriculture in the North was based on a developed agrarian pattern while in the South the planter class engaged in production agriculture (making it ironic that the yeoman class would be such a feature of the American south).  The pattern of agriculture had meant that there were comparatively few slaves in the north.  This is not to say it was limited to the South, however.  Slavery even existed in Quebec.

With the Revolution came the belief that slavery would go out, but it didn't.  By that time the American South had a huge black slave population.  Slavery would if anything become entrenched in the South, where most of the American black population lived, and it would take the worst war in the nation's history to abolish it.  So horrific was that war that even today the descendants of those who fought to keep men slaves sometimes strain the confines of history to find an excuse for what their ancestors did.  And following their Emancipation, the nation did a poor job of addressing the racism that had allowed it to exist.  It wasn't until the second quarter of the 20th Century that things really began to change, with the Great Migration occurring first, followed by a slow improvement in status following World War One, followed by a rapid one after World War Two that culminated in the Civil Rights Era of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.

But the stain of slavery lingers on in innumerable ways even now.  Having taken to slavery in 1619, and having tolerated it for over two hundred years thereafter, and having struggled with how to handle the residual effects of that for a century thereafter, we've still failed to really absorb the impact of the great sin of our colonial predecessor.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.
This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check; a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.
Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?"
We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.
We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.
We can never be satisfied as long as our chlidren are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for whites only."
We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.
No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exhalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.
With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning, "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that; let freedom ring from the Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Rev. Martin Luther King, August 28, 1963.

1804  Sergeant Charles Floyd of the Corps of Discovery died.  He was the only member of the Corps of Discovery to die during the existence of the Corps, which was of course formed and existed for the special purpose of crossing the newly acquired territory of Louisiana.

1870  Camp Stambaugh, near South Pass, established. Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1877  Elements of the 1st and 2nd Cavalry unsuccessfully engage the Nez Perce at Camas Creek, Idaho. The battle is regarded as a Nez Perce victory.

1908  Cheyenne electric railway commenced operations.

1910.  Disastrous fires strike in Montana.  3,000,000 acres of land burned in two days.  Taft, DeBorgia, Henderson and Haugan Montana were destroyed and over 80 people died.

1913  Only pool hall in county closed in Torrington.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1945  The War Production Board ceases most of its activities.

1946  Restrictions on American truck production, started during World War Two, come to an end.

1988  "Black Saturday" of the Yellowstone fire, in which more than 150,000 acres were burned in a firestorm.  Attribution:  On This Day.

2014   Following on this item posted this morning:

Today In Wyoming's History: History in the Making: The 2014 Primary Election: The 2014 Wyoming Primary occurred yesterday. The election was one of the most remarkable in recent history in that it featured the near co...

and noting the statewide results just linked in, there are a couple of remarkable items in the results.

One is that Tea Party candidates for state office did remarkably poorly nearly everywhere.  This would suggest that the Tea Party elements that appeared to be gaining a great deal of ground prior the Primary, and which had come to dominate some county organizations, are not nearly as popular as would have been previously thought.  Indeed, it would appear that their strength at the county level is probably due to their enthusiastic members rather than numbers, and when it comes to voting, the base isn't there.

Additionally, it's interesting how poorly Cindy Hill did everywhere.  Hill was the center of the controversy which gave rise to Tea Party activism this primary but she seems to have had very little support amongst actual GOP voters.  Indeed, Tea Party voters went for Taylor Haynes in much greater numbers.

That's interesting too in that while Haynes did not achieve anywhere near the votes he would have needed in order to topple Governor Mead, he himself is fairly well liked.  This says a lot for Wyoming voters and suggests that the old Wyoming GOP may still be there for the most part.  Haynes is from Laramie County, which is generally unpopular in general elections, he isn't actually originally from here, and he's black.  Voters shouldn't have weighed any of that in their considerations, and they appear to have not done so, to their credit.  Native Hill was proved to be unpopular and Haynes did much better.  As Haynes may not actually hold views as extreme as he stated during this election, it'll be interesting to see if he has a future in Wyoming GOP politics.

2014_Statewide_Candidates_Summary.pdf

2014_Statewide_Candidates_Summary.pdf

History in the Making: The 2014 Primary Election

The 2014 Wyoming Primary occurred yesterday.

The election was one of the most remarkable in recent history in that it featured the near complete collapse of the state's Democratic Party combined with a very real split in the GOP. In effect, therefore, this was the actual election for many offices.

The demise of the Democratic Party was fairly apparent in the election, although it's been the case for at least one prior election cycle.  The Democrats could not field candidates for every state office, although they did field serious candidates for some, and filled others with candidates who are so poorly known they have no realistic chance of success.  Probably the Democrat that has the best chance of election in November is Mike Cellabos who is running for Secretary of Education, although his chances probably decreased last night with the victory of Jillian Balow for that position in the GOP.

Balow's victory is emblematic of what occurred yesterday, as she handily defeated a slate of other candidates including one that associated herself with Tea Party Gubernatorial candidate, Cindy Hill, the present Secretary of Education. For a year the GOP has been in absolute turmoil in the state as Tea Party elements took on the GOP establishment and essentially created two parties within the one. The Primary was a struggle for which side would prevail within the GOP.  Tea Party elements ran candidates for every position, including two candidates for the Governor's seat against the incumbent Governor, Matt Mead, who had drawn their ire for signing SF104 into law. That bill had greatly reduced the responsibilities of the Secretary of Education and was seen as an attack on Hill, who later fared poorly in a Legislative review of her actions in that position. The law was found to be unconstitutional by the Wyoming Supreme Court but not before the controversial Cindy Hill, who is the present occupant of the office, declared for the Governorship herself.  In local elections Tea Party adherents ran against other incumbants, including two such efforts locally here in Natrona County.

This caused the election to be rather peculiar to long term Wyoming residents and featured such oddities as threats to arrest Federal officers within Wyoming and threats to "take back" the Federal Domain.  In the end it turned out that the GOP rank and file that turned out for the election (the turnout was somewhat low) was much more mainstream than the Tea Party branch and Tea Party candidates went down in defeat.  Mead fared well in the primary and his victory in the general election against Democrat Pete Gosar is nearly assured.  Hanynes, who gathered some attention with his first run four years ago, in a campaign that was less extreme, and Hill, both went down in defeat with their combined totals amounting to less than 50% of the vote. As noted, Balow handily defeated the candidate who campaigned on her association with Hill.  In two local races, while they were surprisingly close, incumbents turned back Tea Party challengers.

It'll be interesting to see how this develops long term.  Effectively the Wyoming 2014 election is practically over, save for a few local races and, as noted, the race for Secretary of Education.  Tea Party elements have effectively been given a rebuke by the GOP rank and file.  Candidates who would have attracted the more conservative, but less Tea Party like, elements of the GOP, like Gubernatorial candidate Taylor Haynes and Secretary of State candidate Buchanan might take this election as a lesson that they can appeal to the true conservative elements of the party but should not campaign on extreme positions which are not likely to appeal to the general electorate and obviously do not appeal to the GOP rank and file.

The lesson for Democrats, of course, is a repeat of the one they received some years ago that they need to find a Wyoming center and campaign on it.  The complete collapse of the Democrats under former Democratic governor Dave Freudenthal, who was not responsible for it, but who somewhat is symbolic of it in that he had to distance himself from the party from time to time, should have taught them that.  Now the party struggles to even find candidates and has what amounts to only two serious ones, Gosar and Cellabos, with only Cellabos having any realistic chance of a victory.  Those candidates aren't tainted with the national party, but the local Democratic Party has steadfastly refused to learn that, and continues to back positions that are all but fatal for anyone with a "D" behind their name.