November is Native American Heritage month. The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) refers to it as a โmonth to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native People.โ2 That celebration started in 1990, when George H. W. Bush โapproved a joint resolution designating November [as] Native American Heritage Month.โ3
Zdenฤk Salzmann, an anthropological linguist, traveled to the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, to research the Arapaho language and culture. His project, which was part of his PhD thesis, started in 1949, but continued in the 1950s, 1960s and later in the 1980s, when this time he was acting as principal investigator for the โArapaho Cultural Heritage Reinforcement projectโ with the University of Massachusetts.
His work involved interviews with the elders that were fluent in Arapaho, inquiring about their customs, but also researching the vocabulary, verbs, songs, tales and folklore, also creating an English-Arapaho dictionary out of index cards.ย In 1963, he published his thesis, โA Sketch of Arapaho Grammarโ.
Translated songs, Box 15, Zdenฤk Salzmann Arapaho Indian research papers, Collection #10396, American Heritage Center, University of Wymoing.
Body parts, Box 15, Zdenฤk Salzmann Arapaho Indian research papers, Collection #10396, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
For the Wind River Indian Reservation tribe, the preservation of their culture is becoming increasingly important. Only a few dozen amongst the elders speak it fluently. The use of the language was put aside in schools when the missionaries settled on the reservation in the late 1800s until the late 1930โs. Only English was allowed to be spoken in the classroom of the St. Stephens Indian Boarding School.4
In 2010, UNESCO listed the language as severely endangered, but efforts to bring back the daily use of the Arapaho Language, started in 2000, when the Tribe got a chance to partner with a linguistics professor from the University of Colorado Boulder. Andrew Cowell used the research material created by Salzmann, and over the years, it led to the creation of a dictionary, edited three times, and was produced using the index cards that Zdenฤk Salzmann created. Andrew Cowellโs project also includes an outreach website which can serve as an educational tool, about the Arapaho language and culture.
Letter โAโ, dictionary cards, Box 18, Zdenฤk Salzmann Arapaho Indian research papers, Coll. #10396, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
The Arapaho Language Project5 is ongoing, and the Arapaho Tribe on the Wind River Indian Reservation benefits from tools such as websites, phone apps, and video tutorials used by the students in the classrooms.ย
These primary source materialsโincluding photographs, documents, manuscripts, and more related to Wyomingโs Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribesโare available through digitized resources, online exhibits, and with assistance from Reference Department staff to help teachers educate students about the cultural heritage, history, and contributions of Wyomingโs tribal nations while supporting Wyoming Social Studies Standards.
For more information about AHC resources, contact the AHC’s Reference Department at ahcref@uwyo.edu.
In 1869, Wyoming passed its groundbreaking woman suffrage law. Wyomingโs women were voting and holding public office decades before the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920. Indeed, the successful implementation of woman suffrage in Wyoming and other western states was critical to the nationwide success of the womenโs movement for voting rights. By empowering its women, Wyoming was essentially conducting a social experiment โ one that was closely watched by both supporters and opponents of suffrage. And, the experiment proved successful โ western women voted and held public office, proving that woman suffrage could work.
Pennant that was used in a presentation given by Mary Bellamy in Washington D.C. in 1917, when she was supporting the war effort and the campaign for the Nineteenth Amendment. AHC Mary Bellamy Collection 000045 Box 1
Note with pennant says: “Red pennant which Mrs. Mary Bellamy used to illustrate a talk at the Suffrage Convention in Washington, D.C., 1917. Donated by Mary C. Bellamy.”
And yet, while the story of the passage of Wyomingโs suffrage bill has been told many times, there is still much about this suffrage history that we do not know. In particular, we do not fully understand the ways in which the right to vote and hold office impacted the lives of ordinary Wyoming women, or their impact on the history of the state. If we want to have an accurate understanding of how women got the vote and what they did with it, we need to tell those womenโs stories.
But this is not always easy to do. One of the challenges of writing the history of women in the nineteenth century is finding sources. When a historian sits down to write a political history of the nineteenth or early twentieth century, men dominate the historical record. Men show up in many places in the sources โ in administrative government documents, in proceedings of legislatures and in newspaper reports. But because this is an era in which it was generally not โrespectableโ for women to operate in the public sphere, there is rarely a public record of womenโs activities. Women were largely excluded from power and from public life, and so womenโs voices are usually left out of these types of sources. And even women who were involved with politics or activism often considered it unwomanly to publicize their activities.
Accordingly, histories of woman suffrage in Wyoming often focus on the men who were involved in passing and implementing the bill. And certainly these men are important โ without their actions, womenโs suffrage could never have come to Wyoming. But at the same time, their story is not the full story.
Finding out what the women were doing and thinking requires a fair amount of detective work. Fortunately, the American Heritage Center has many archival materials related to Wyoming women that can help us to understand the nuances and complexities of the period. The lack of public records created by or about women in this era means that scholars must often rely on private documents such as letters, diaries, family histories and family photographs in order to understand the lives and motivations of women. Fortunately, the AHC has several rich collections that shed light on important political women. Supported by a research grant from the AHC, I was able to spend some of the summer of 2019 digging through some of the rich and interesting materials held in these collections.
1871 Letter from Amalia Post to her sister, describing her jury service. Morton Post Papers, 01362
One of the most important collections is the letters of Amalia Post. Post was a vocal advocate for womenโs rights. In 1870, the first year in which women had the vote, Post was one of two women who served on the Laramie County Republican Central Committee. That committee nominated two women for office in the September 1870 election. Neither woman won her race, but both secured more than 40% of the vote. Post also served on one of the first juries to include women, and when the territorial legislature attempted to repeal suffrage in 1871, Post lobbied the governor to save it. Post also met national leaders of the suffrage movement and was named a Lifetime Vice President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Without the advocacy of women like Post, woman suffrage in Wyoming might have fizzled out or been repealed. But she took action to see that it was secure and was enacted in practice as well as in law.
Letter discussing the election of the all-female city government of Jackson Hole in 1920. From the Grace Raymond Hebard Papers 400008 Box 26, Folder 3.
The AHC also holds the files of Dr. Grace Raymond Hebard. Hebard was deeply influential in the development of the University of Wyoming and served the institution for more than forty-five years in a variety of roles. She was also a member of the National Womenโs Suffrage Association. She recognized that Wyoming had played a unique and important role in the womenโs rights movement, and she attempted to preserve and document that history. Hebardโs own writings on the topic have been debunked by more recent scholars, but nevertheless, her files still serve as valuable sources. Hebard had connections in every part of the state, and she gathered information on womenโs political history from a vast network of correspondents. She and her students clipped newspapers, preserved documents, and gathered primary accounts related to women who served in elected office. Dr. Hebard also corresponded with national suffrage leaders, and these letters provide insight into the role Wyoming played in the national movement.
Sheet music was composed for Emma Smith DeVoe, one of the most important suffrage activists in the American West. The DeVoes were friends of Mary Bellamy, and this song was performed at many suffrage campaigns. AHC Mary Bellamy Collection 000045 Box 1
And finally, the AHC also preserves records of women who were active in early Wyoming politics. Wyomingโs suffrage law granted not only the right to vote but also to hold office. One woman who pioneered in this area was Mary Bellamy, whose papers are held at AHC. Bellamy was elected Superintendent of Schools in Albany County in 1902. In 1910 she became the first woman elected to the Wyoming State Legislature, serving in the 1911 session. Bellamy was Wyomingโs representative in Washington D.C. during the campaign for the Nineteenth Amendment. The AHC houses collections related to all of these activities.
This is just a small sampling of the many rich womenโs sources available from the AHC. The pioneering women discussed in this postโlike Amalia Post and Mary Bellamyโpaved the way for later generations of women leaders who continued to expand the meaning of equality in Wyoming. There is still much to be learned about the women who voted and served in office in the early days of the Equality State. Discover how three remarkable women used their roles as elected officials to challenge conventional understandings of equality in the AHCโs online exhibit โIn Pursuit of Equalityโ. Their stories show how the foundation laid by Wyoming’s early suffrage pioneers evolved into broader fights for true equality.
Last Halloween, we brought you a blog post on The Killer Shrews, a low-budget horror movie shot in Dallas, Texas, and released in 1959.ย What is the filmโs connection to the American Heritage Center?ย We hold the papers of Forrest J. Ackerman, the editor of the fanzine โFamous Monsters of Filmland,โ and that collection includes a poster for The Killer Shrews.
The Giant Gila Monster movie poster
This
yearโs Halloween blog post focuses on The Giant Gila Monster (1959),
which was also shot in Dallas, Texas, and a poster of which is also included in
the Ackerman papers. Like The Killer
Shrews, The Giant Gila Monster, which Wikipedia describes as a
โhot rod/monster/science fiction film,โ takes as its antagonist an aberration
of natureโthe title creature. As such,
it is akin to other 1950s science-fiction movies such as Them! (1954 โ
giant ants), Tarantula! (1955), Attack of the Crab Monsters
(1957), The Giant Claw (1957), and Attack of the Giant Leeches
(1959). Both The Killer Shrews
and The Giant Gila Monster were financed and produced by Gordon
McLendon, a Texas radio pioneer and owner of a chain of drive-in theatres who
also provided the voiceover narration for the latter. That movie was co-written and directed by Ray
Kellogg, who also directed The Killer Shrews and another movie produced
and financed by McLendon, My Dog, Buddy (1960). (Kellogg is also credited with co-directing,
with John Wayne, the notorious The Green Berets (1968).)
The Giant Gila Monster movie trailer
All three McLendon-financed movies were produced by actor Ken Curtis, who also appeared in The Killer Shrews and My Dog Buddy. Curtis is probably best known for his role as Festus in almost 300 episodes of the TV series Gunsmoke (1955-1975). He also appeared in numerous films directed by John Ford, perhaps most famously as Charlie McCorry in The Searchers (1956).
A clip from The Searchers film, in which McCorry, who is wearing a dark vest, and Martin Pawley, played by Jeffrey Hunter, fight for the affections of Laurie Jorgensen, played by Vera Miles.
Today, homecoming celebrations are often associated with fall and football, but it may not always have been true. The tradition of homecoming is generally a celebration of welcoming former students and members of high schools, colleges, or churches within the United States to celebrate an organizationโs existence.[1] This definition does not explicitly involve football, so the question remains about the origins of homecoming celebrations within the United States and at the University of Wyoming.
Homecoming Parade, 2015. UW Photo.
The history of homecoming celebrations is ambiguous. It is often recognized as taking place in September or October and revolving around a central event such as football, basketball, or soccer game so that alumni and former students can join in rooting for their alma mater with current students and the community. Historically, most homecoming celebrations include a homecoming court, parade, tailgate or picnic, pep rally, alumni band, and homecoming dance.
University of Wyoming Homecoming Dance, Laramie, Wyoming, 1927 (Negative Number 14851.1), Box 11, Ludwig & Svenson Studio Photographs, Accession Number 167, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Many schools have claimed to have held the first homecoming celebrations. The list includes Baylor University and Southwestern University, both in 1909, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1910, and the University of Missouri in 1911. The main events for these homecoming celebrations were the parade and football game, where the opponent is usually the home team’s rival.
ASUW Homecoming Committee, Box 30, Folder ASUW Correspondence Telegrams, 1919-1920, Samuel H. Knight papers, Collection #400044, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
The University of Wyoming Alumni Association, established on March 26, 1895, established an annual gathering for former students and alumni of the University of Wyoming centered around commencement.[2] The gathering usually took place in the summer months, primarily in June, and activities took place over five days. The reunions usually included music recitals, baccalaureate ceremonies, the Cadet Ball, an alumni banquet, an alumni play, commencement, an official meeting of the alumni association, and many small-group gatherings.[3]
ASUW Alumni Invitation Letter, Box 30, Folder ASUW Correspondence Telegrams, 1919-1920. Samuel H. Knight papers, Collection #400044, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
The first annual banquet and business meeting of the Alumni of the University of Wyoming occurred on June 20, 1895, at the Ladies Study Hall. Annual dues for the members were set at 25 cents per person; in addition to the annual dues, members in attendance of the annual gathering were required to pay an extra dollar per person. To put this in perspective, one dollar in 1895 is approximately equal to $29.89 in 2018. Mrs. Reiger furnished refreshments for sixteen at $11, and members provided ice and cake.[4] At the annual business meeting, elections were held.
Alumni MinuteBook. Alumni Association, 1891-1920, Box 30, Folder 2, Samuel H. Knight papers, Collection #400044, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.Alumni MinuteBook. Alumni Association, 1891-1920, Box 30, Folder 2, Samuel H. Knight papers, Collection #400044, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Despite previous years of alumni gatherings, October 1922 is attributed as the official documented date of the University of Wyomingโs first homecoming. Dr. Samuel H. Knight, a UW alumnus and professor of Geology, served as the president of the Alumni Association from 1921 to 1924, and served on the athletic committee. Knight was keen on the national movement of coinciding football with homecoming celebrations and was instrumental in collaborating with the Alumni Association to move the alumni celebrations to coincide with the first football game of the 1922 season.
Part of this effort included having an official setting for alumni, former and current students, faculty, staff, and the community to enjoy the games while creating a revenue stream to continue the athletic programs. Although Wyoming football origins date as early as 1893, the football games were played in Prexyโs Pasture.
Black and white photograph of the University of Wyoming football team, 1895 (Negative number 21209 and 25483), Box 11 A, Folder 9, Holliday Family Papers, Collection #347, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
In 1922, Knight fundraised, used his own monies and sweat equity and community connections to establish Corbett Field as the new football field. He also worked diligently with alumni and students to complete the construction of the bleachers there in time for the game. It was a true community effort.
Thank You Letter to the Citizens of Laramie, Box 8, Folder Office-Homecoming 1929, University of Wyoming. College of Engineering and Applied Science records, Collection #550000, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Freshmen clearing football field for Homecoming game, October 1925. AHC UW Photo Files, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.Freshmen clearing football field for Homecoming game, October 1925. AHC UW Photo Files, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Over the years, alumni reunions have been replaced with homecoming and as a result of and in conjunction with societal changes, the traditions of homecoming have changed. In 1921, the University granted its first honorary degree, an LL.D. (Legum Doctor, or Doctor of Laws) degree, to Carrie Chapman Catt, a leading advocate for womenโs suffrage.[5] That year, Catt not only received the honor but also gave the commencement speech. Despite the first honorary degree being awarded 11 years earlier, it wasnโt until 1932 that such degrees became an accepted procedure.
Bucking Forward float from UW Homecoming Parade, 1937. AHC UW Photo Files, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.On Wyo Float at UW Homecoming Parade, 1939. AHC UW Photo Files, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Beginning in 1922, the homecoming celebrations evolved to include class reunions, open houses, a dance, a parade, and the football game.[6] Homecoming served as a way for alumni, current students, and the community to come together to celebrate.
Most memorable are the parade floats, usually funded by fraternities, sororities, and campus organizations. Each year, a theme is announced and the parade floats follow that theme. Due to the costs of creating floats, there has been discussion about canceling the parades from time to time; however, significant pushback from students and the community has kept this beloved tradition alive.
Women on horses in Homecoming Parade. AHC UW Photo Files, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.House decorations for UW Homecoming, 1939. AHC UW Photo Files, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.House decorations for UW Homecoming, 1939. AHC UW Photo Files, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.UW Marching band in Homecoming Parade, 1939. AHC UW Photo Files, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Homecoming Schedule of events from 1931. AHC UW Photo Files, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Homecoming 1990 Schedule of Activities. AHC UW Photo Files, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.Homecoming 1990 Schedule of Activities. AHC UW Photo Files, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.Homecoming 1990 Schedule of Activities. AHC UW Photo Files, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Fast forward to today. Homecoming traditions of old exist and new traditions have come to be. One of the oldest traditions for UWโs Homecoming is the annual Homecoming Sing. The program is hosted by Iron Skull โ UWโs junior honorary organization. The group coordinates many student organizations, fraternities, and sororities participating in an annual sing and dance competition. Groups take existing songs and rewrite the lyrics to match the homecoming theme.
As part of Homecoming Week activities, the annual Homecoming Sing competition was held in the Arts & Sciences Auditorium on Oct. 5, 2016. The men of Sigma Chi perform a Beach Boys rendition. UW Photo.Homecoming Sing, 2017. UW Photo.
In recent years, student group competitions have become popular to get students excited for Homecoming. The competitions often incorporate Homecoming Sing, UW Athletics annual car push competition, and other various competition-style programs throughout the week. In addition to alumni and community-focused programs, other student-focused activities occur throughout the week such as the ASUW annual barbeque.
A Homecoming Week Spirit Relay was held on Prexy’s Pasture on Oct. 13, 2015. Student teams participated in a variety of tasks to race against the clock. The Latter-day Saint Student Association (LDSSA) won the relay. Aaron Anderson, of LDSSA, searches for phrases in the shaving cream tarp. The winning phrase was the Homecoming theme, “Once a Cowboy, Always A Cowboy.” UW Photo.
The culmination of the student competitions ends with student groups, departments, and community groups taking part in the annual parade. The parade happens the same day as the football game โ and is another great way for community members, students, and alumni to come together and celebrate.
Western Thunder marching in the 2013 Homecoming Parade.Homecoming Parade, 2018. UW Photo.Members of Chi Omega participating in Homecoming Parade, 2018. UW Photo.
And though some things have changed throughout the years, the purpose of Homecoming has always remained the same for the University of Wyoming. It will always serve as a way to build and reinforce our Poke Pride for students, alums, and the community.
To see visual highlights from this homecoming history, check out our Virmuze exhibit โThe History of Homecoming.โ
The American Heritage Center serves as the official repository for UW’s archives. The UW Archives not only collects official university records but also accepts donations documenting experiences of alumni, former students, staff, administration, faculty, and affiliated entities of the university.ย Please contact University Archivist John Waggener for more information. His email is waggener@uwyo.edu and phone number is 307-766-2563.
Have fun memories of Homecoming as a student, alum or community member? Leave us a comment below!
[2] Minute Book, 1891-1899 Box 2, Folder 2, University of Wyoming. Alumni Relations Records, Collection Number 512002, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
[3] Hardy, Deborah, Wyoming University: The First 100 Years, 1886-1986 (Laramie, Wyo.: University of Wyoming, 1986), 100.
[4] Minute Book, 1891-1899 Box 2, Folder 2, University of Wyoming. Alumni Relations Records, Collection Number 512002, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
[5] Hardy, Deborah, Wyoming University: The First 100 Years, 1886-1986 (Laramie, Wyo.: University of Wyoming, 1986), 232.
[6] Hardy, Deborah, Wyoming University: The First 100 Years, 1886-1986 (Laramie, Wyo.: University of Wyoming, 1986), 101.
Research and blog written by Sara Davis, University Archivist with contributions from Jennifer Kirk, the AHC’s Marketing & Communications Specialist
In 2008, when I rediscovered Alias Smith and Jones (ASJ), a 1970s TV show I watched as a kid, I had no idea that several years later Iโd be writing a book about the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary. Revisiting ASJ on DVD led me to online message boards about it and then to reading fan-fiction based on the show. Eventually I began writing my own ASJ fan-fiction.
Thatโs when I got into researching the Old West. I became more and more interested in the
actual history of the West and less interested in writing fictional stories
about it.
In 2011, I visited the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary in
Laramie with friends from one of the ASJ message boards. It was a fascinating place and I wanted to
know more about it.
Although a book listing all the convicts whoโd been incarcerated
there was available, I didnโt see anything that was a general history of the
penitentiary. So I
decided that I would write a book about it myself.
Image of the Wyoming Territorial Prison from September 1903. Buffum negative number 971 Source: University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, B. C. Buffum Papers, Accession Number 400055, Box 32, Item 28
My first research trip was to the Denver Public Libraryโs
Western History Collection in 2012, followed by a trip to the Wyoming State
Archives in 2013. In 2017, I went to the
Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary State Historic Site to discuss my project with
Ms. Deborah Cease, the site superintendent, and use the library at the site to
continue my research.
We decided that the book would be a pictorial history, using
images to tell the story of the penitentiary.
Ms. Cease told me the American Heritage Center at the University of
Wyoming had lots of information about the prison. I knew Iโd have to return to Laramie and
visit the AHC at some point.
I also knew Iโd have to go to the National Archives in
Washington because that was where most of the information about the
penitentiary during Territorial times was located. In the fall of 2018, I spent a week doing
research there. But I didnโt get through
everything and have to return to NARA when I get the chance.
I knew the AHC offered
travel grants to researchers who wanted to use their collections. I decided that this year I was far enough
along with my project to apply for one. I
received an email in June notifying me Iโd been awarded a travel grant and made
plans to visit in July.
Susan Schwartz presents her research findings during her visit to the AHC in July.
What a productive
trip it was! I searched through 22 collections
during my week at the AHC. It was
exciting to find material Iโd never seen before.
I was elated to discover,
for example, photographs of a doctor who worked at the penitentiary, UW
professors who gave lectures to inmates, and an ex-convict and his wife. I also found images of Fort Sanders, which
confined convicts before the penitentiary was built, and photos and maps of
Laramie, some of which pictured the prison.
In addition, I found
correspondence about renovating the prison in 1889, 1890 census data for
Wyoming, and an 1891 contract between James Marsh and the State of Wyoming for
operating the prison. Some of the
collections I consulted included copies of articles from 19th century Laramie
newspapers, which offered a different perspective of the penitentiary from the
official documents that I found.
Iโd like to thank all the people at the American Heritage Center who so kindly helped me with my research. The wealth of material I located in the week I spent there will greatly enrich my book about the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary.
“I’ve got to see it to believe it” was Evanston mayor Dennis Ottleyโs first reaction when he heard about the Overthrust Industrial Association (OIA). A 1983 issue of the Christian Science Monitor, reported that Ottley was incredulous that an industry-backed organization would assist his southwestern Wyoming town through the growing pains of an energy boom. “I made that statement, but I ate them words,” said Ottley, adding, “I think we proved to the world that industry and local government can work together.”
The Overthrust Industrial Association (OIA) was an organization of 36 oil and gas producers and service/supply firms founded in 1980 by Chevron, Amoco, and Champlin. The OIA’s mission was to help local governments in southwestern Wyoming, northeastern Utah, and southeastern Idaho manage socioeconomic and environmental impacts caused by the rapid development of oil and gas resources in the energy-rich geological formation known as the Overthrust Belt.
Memo outlining the urgency to create the OIA as media outlets began reporting conditions in communities in the Overthrust Belt impacted by energy producing activities, Overthrust Industrial Association records, Box 1, Folder 5. Memo outlining the urgency to create the OIA as media outlets began reporting conditions in communities in the Overthrust Belt impacted by energy producing activities, Overthrust Industrial Association records, Box 1, Folder 5.
There was certainly an overflow of issues for the energy companies and Evanston to tackle. Schools were packed to the rafters; oil field workers were living in their cars; construction workers had set up “bachelor camps” on the edge of town; and crime rates soared. According to a Winter 1981 article in the magazine Wyoming Issues, Evanston had grown from a population of 4,862 in 1977 to 7000+ in 1981.
Employee projections for 1981 and 1982 contained in report issued by the Lincoln-Uinta Association of Governments. Overthrust Industrial Association records, Box 1, Folder 2.
The first step by the industry-community partnership of
OIA was a series of meetings, beginning in February 1981, where Evanston
residents could air their grievances. Next came the establishment of a
committee to present community requests to the OIA, which, as of 1983, provided
about $100 million for schools, roads, water lines, sewers, and other projects.
The Monitorโs article quotes Evanston city administrators regarding the OIA. City administrator Stephen Snyder explained to the Monitor that the OIA was pushed into existence partly because of pressure from county government, which had the power to deny the building permits the companies sought. According to Mayor Ottley, by the time the OIA was launched, the people of Evanston had long been in the dark as to how big a boom to expect. “The energy companies weren’t telling us much,” Ottley said.
“But the OIA has been very good,” Julie Lehman, director of the city housing authority, told the Monitor. ”And if it never did anything but facilitate communications between industry and governmental entities, it would be worth it.”
First issue of Overthrust News, a newsletter published the OIA, Overthrust Industrial Association records, Box 12, Folder 4Last page of the first Overthrust News showing an attempt by OIA to address rumors, Overthrust Industrial Association, Box 12, Folder 4.
The Monitor was
somewhat patronizing in concluding, โEvanston may not be your candidate for
city beautiful, but Chuck McLean of the Denver Research Group gives the city
high marks for the way it has coped.โ
Besides passing out funds, the OIA retained a consulting firm, the Denver Research Group, to develop a comprehensive plan for streets, utilities, and so on, and to help the city lobby for grant money from other sources. Out of these efforts came the seed of the Evanston Renewal Ball, which still exists and has grown from a community celebration involving a handful of volunteers to a major fundraising event. The primary purpose of the Ball has become the preservation and revitalization of the downtown and the rail yards.
The Denver Research Group closely monitored media coverage for industry partners in the OIA, Overthrust Industrial Association records, Box 11, Folder 5.
As the energy boom subsided in the mid-1980s, so did the OIA. By 1984, the OIA was publishing its last issues of Overthrust News. By 1985, an energy bust had already engulfed Wyoming.
One of the last issues of Overthrust News in 1984 addressed questions regarding the phase-down of the OIA in the wake of the energy production slowdown. Overthrust Industrial Association records, Box 12, Folder 5.Overthrust Industrial Association records, Box 12, Folder 5.
The OIA records at the UW American Heritage Center contain administrative files beginning with the development of the OIA concept in 1979 and ending with the practical shutdown of the organization in 1985. Files document interaction with local government agencies and oil and gas corporations and describe the assistance provided to impacted communities. Original order has been maintained and a printed guide to the files, written by the organization, is included.
Blog contribution by Leslie Waggener, Archivist, Arrangement and Description
Wilhelm G. Solheim was born in Stoughton, Wisconsin, in 1898. He earned his M.A. degree in 1926, followed by his Doctorate in 1928, from the University of Illinois. He came to UW that next year and worked as professor emeritus for over fifty years (Laramie Daily Boomerang, 1978). He headed the Botany department and later he became the dean of Arts and Sciences for a year.
He was known โas the foremost authority on the fungi of the Rocky Mountain regionโ (Laramie Daily Boomerang, 1978). He retired from UW in 1963 where he then traveled to Afghanistan. He passed away on May 18, 1978, just after his eightieth birthday.
University of Wyoming Associated Students. โSolheim to Serve in Afghanistan Program,โ Branding Iron (August 9, 1963) Accessed May 14, 2019: hdl.handle.net/10176/wyu:324065.
Transcription of Branding Iron Article:
Solheim to Serve in Afghanistan Program
W. G. Solheim, UW professor, left Laramie Saturday for Afghanistan where he will serve as chief administrator of the UW Afghanistan contract program at Kabul.
The program is being carried out by a 15-member team of professors under a contract between UW and the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), an agency of the U.S. Department of State. UW has been involved in various phases of the Afghan program over the past 11 years.
Solheim’s appointment became effective Aug. 1, following federal confirmation. His wife will accompany him during the two-year stint.
Enroute to Afghanistan via a western route, Solheim and his wife will stop in Bangkock, Thailand, to visit briefly with their son, W.G. Solheim, II, a 1947 graduate who holds a doctorate in anthropology and who is conducting field research there. They will also spend three days in New Delhi, India, where Solheim will address a meeting of the Indian Phytopathological Society.
Solheim was born in Stoughton, Wis., graduated from Augustana College and Normal School in 1920, received his bachelor’s degree in 1924 from Iowa State Teachers College and his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Illionois in 1926 and 1928, respectively.
He has served UW as professor of botany and as acting dean of the college of arts and sciences.
A member of Phi Beta Kappa and numerous other honoraries, including Sigma Xi, Phi Sigma Phi Eta and Kappa Delta Pi, he has also served on the executive committee of the Colorado-Wyoming Academy Research Foundation.
He was a field agent for the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the summers of 1923-25 and taught at North Dakota Agricultural College before joining the UW faculty in 1929.
During World War I he served in England and France with the Army and has since traveled extensively in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Solheim has published actively in the field of botany since 1927 and has conducted numerous research projects including those on vitamins and the growth of fungi in pure culture, the effect of natural gases on the growth of plants and rust fungi of North Dakota. His hobbies include hunting, fishing, photography and stamp collecting.
University of Wyoming Associated Students. โWyo Senior class of 1950,โ University of Wyoming (1950) Accessed May 14, 2019: hdl.handle.net/10176/wyu:78199.
Some little known facts about W. G. Solheim include that he served in World War I.
He earned an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree in 1978.
Newspaper photo of W.G. Solheim and his wife. W.G. Solheim I, AHC Bio File, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
To learn more about W.G. Solheim I and his work in mycology, see the W.G. Solheim papers at the American Heritage Center.
Blog contribution by MaKayla Garnica, William D. Carlson Endowment Intern
Folklife is a complex, important and large component of culture. It encompasses the art, traditions and knowledge that passes down among a group of people and can be seen through dance, music, artwork, storytelling, ceremonies and belief sharing. While sometimes thought of as something โoldโ or โold-fashioned,โ folklife is instead fluid and changes as the community changes. The elements of folklife โ doing, making, believing, speaking and teaching โ create a shared sense of identity by connecting people to the past through actions of the present.
Lisa McDonald, Ukrainian egg decorating
The Wyoming Folklife Archive collection at the American Heritage Center (AHC) documents the activities, artworks and traditions of the many diverse groups in the state. Within the collection youโll find examples of folklife from Basque, cowboy, Eastern European, Hispanic and Shoshoni communities, among many others. Some elements of dances and craftwork might be familiar, while other elements of cuisine and architecture are new. They all nevertheless represent the widespread uniqueness of Wyomingโs many communities.
Rose Aguilar, Gillette, Okinawan painter and Origami maker
In 2015, an exhibit, The Art of the Hunt: Wyoming
Traditions, was shown at the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne. It was a collaborative
project between the Wyoming Arts Council and the University of Wyomingโs
American Studies Program that explored the deep-rooted traditions, stories and
skills Wyomingites have that connect them to hunting. Hunting involves more
than the pursuit of animals. It can be stories of previous hunts, sharing of
knowledge about how to track, strategies, and migratory patterns, as well as
the creation of tools used in the pursuit.
The 5-year-long collection of research behind the exhibit is
housed at the AHC. Within it contains photos of and interviews with over 100
people involved in Wyomingโs art of the hunt, such as saddle makers, fly
fishers, knife makers, ranchers and taxidermists.
In addition to The Art of the Hunt: Wyoming Traditions materials in the Wyoming Folklife Archives collection, you can see photos of blacksmithing, leather working, jewelry-making, painting, woodcarving, ropemaking and more.
Larry Simmons, Glenrock, Woodcarver
You can also listen to song recordings and both audio and video interviews of fly tiers, knifemakers, spinners, weavers, poets, and songwriters.
The Wyoming Folklife Archive collection at the AHC was
created by the folklife coordinators and specialists at the University of
Wyomingโs American Studies program and builds on the work of the State of
Wyomingโs Council of Arts. Today new records showing Wyoming folklife are collected
through the combined efforts of the UW American Studies program, the Wyoming
Arts Council and the Wyoming Humanities Council.
To learn more about Wyoming folklife, see the Wyoming Folklife Archive collection at the American Heritage Center.
Listen to Wyoming’s Musical Heritage
Ready to experience the sounds of Wyoming folklife? Explore our exhibit “Songs of the West” on Virmuze, which features folk musicians from across the state whose art reflects Wyoming’s rich cultural traditions. From traditional songs passed down through generations to contemporary compositions inspired by Wyoming landscapes, discover how music serves as a vital thread connecting communities and preserving stories. The exhibit includes audio recordings and stories from artists like Mike Hurwitz and Dave Munsick, as well as musical gatherings from the Jackson Hole Hootenanny to the Rock Springs Polka Festโall part of the Wyoming Folklife Collection that continues to document our state’s living cultural heritage.
The 9th United States Cavalry was formed during the Civil War as a segregated unit with African American troopers and white officers. The regiment was stationed in the West in 1867 and served in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, and Wyoming. In 1898 it took part in the Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba.
Frederic Remington โArizona Territory, 1888โ, oil painting, George Rentschler collection, American Heritage Center. Remingtonโs painting appeared in Century Magazine under the title โA Scout with the Buffalo Soldiers.โ Remington was traveling with the 10th Cavalry, sister regiment the 9th, also made up of white officers and African American soldiers.
In 1891, Troop E, located at Fort Washakie, Wyoming, was ordered to Fort Robinson, Nebraska. The wife of one of the officers, Lieutenant Montgomery Parker, had given birth to a daughter three weeks before. She was still weak, so her mother, Mary E. Almy, came to Fort Washakie to help during the move. Mrs. Parker was laid on the floor of the โambulanceโ (a covered wagon) cushioned by eight buffalo hides. The new baby, Mildred, was placed in an Arapaho cradle board attached to the ribs of the wagon cover. Between caring for her daughter and granddaughter, Mary Almy kept a journal of the trip which began on May 18, 1891.
Fort Washakie, Wyoming, 1895, Mary Wilson Pascual collection, American Heritage Center. Fort Washakie was located on the Wind River Reservation. It was abandoned in 1908.
โI am chief nurse and doctoress and so far am getting along very successfully. L [Lizabeth] stands the trips, excitements and all very well, and her appetite is improving, and I see no reason why she shouldnโt go through all right. [Mildred] loves to cuddle and be cuddled and kissed and fussed over. That makes her such a comfort and plaything.โ
Mrs. Almy also took note of the soldiers who created their camp at the end of each day after a difficult march: โThis horde of black men got the seven tents up for the officers in marvelously quick timeโฆThe escort wagons were mired twice today.โ Almy provided details about one such incident. โThe escort wagons were ahead. Two first ones decided to drive through the pond, down a steep pitch and up an incline. They got over all right. Number three, the heaviest of all, with trunks and bedding, then came down. Mr. Driver thought heโd take the roadโฆtipping the huge bulky old wagon on its side, down the embankment and into the pond. I thought, โOh, Mary! All the clothes youโve got are in the consommรฉ!โโ Fortunately, the contents of the wagon had little damage.
More excitement was encountered at the crossing of the Sweetwater River. โThe men cut down the bank on the farther side of the river to make the ascent less steep. Lโฆtook Mildred in her lap and put her feet up on the opposite seat, where the bags and the rugs were piled almost to the top of the ambulance. Mont got in to keep them from falling off the seat, and a lively time those rebellious bags gave him, chasing each other off the seats, on the floor, into the water that slowly oozed in between the cracks, as we bounced over boulders and slipped between the rocks.โ
Pronghorn in Wyoming, undated, Dan W. Greenburg collection, American Heritage Center. Pronghorn are miscalled antelope — they are actually related to goats.
Hunting was apparently encouraged to supplement rations. โWe have had hopes of an antelope all day,โ Almy noted, โas we have seen them several times at a distance, but the men are not good hunters, therefore they missed two that are quite close.โ Lizabeth Parker also had bad luck. โClose to the road we drove on to seven sage hens. Holmes, the driver, had a carbine. L got out and walked to a good shooting distance and fired and shot too high, of course. She fired again at two, close together, and the ball struck the ground between them. If she had had a short gun, sheโd have gotten the two hens.โ It was not all disappointment. The Parkersโ โstrikerโ, Greene, โcame to the tent and rapped. โCan I speak to the lieutenant?โ He had five small fish. Some of the men are catching them in a net here in the Platte River.โ
Center Street, Casper, Wyoming, 1890, Looking North, Petroleum Information collection, American Heritage Center.
On June 12 the company arrived in Casper, where, according to Almy, โwe attain the commonplace again.โ At Casper, the troops were loaded onto railroad cars for the rest of the trip to Fort Robinson. From Fort Robinson Mary Almy mailed her journal to a relative with instructions to return it later, so she could copy it into Mildredโs baby book as a record of โMildredโs First Journey.โ
In 1981 Mildred, now grown and married to General Barton Kyle Yount, sent a transcription of the narrative to the American Heritage Center. โI cannot send the originalโ she explained, โbecause the paper it is written on is so old that it is cracking.โ Mildred Almy Parker Yount died in 1986.
The location of the original journal is now unknown.
Extracts from Mary E. Almy journal, Collection Number 3596, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Among the American Heritage Centerโs comic book industry collections are evidence of the way in which industry insiders attempted to legitimize their business following the comic book moral panic of the 1950s. Fredric Werthamโs 1954 monograph, Seduction of the Innocent โ which linked comic books with juvenile crime and perversion โ and the 1954 United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency hearings led to the denigration of comic books as a form of media. In order to save their business, six publishers, including National Comics (DC), formed the Comics Magazine Association of America (CMAA) to self-censor their work.
The records in the Mort Weisinger papers demonstrate how the editor worked to reclaim a cultural space for his medium after this public castigation. As the editor of DCโs Superman titles, Mort Weisinger was in frequent contact with politicians, writers, and others to promote the comics under his purview. His efforts helped both to keep DCโs characters in the spotlight and to rehabilitate the image of comic books following the panic of the 1950s.
In 1963, DC planned to include a story in Superman no. 168 in which Superman worked on behalf of President John F. Kennedy to inspire children to work on physical fitness. It later appeared in issue 170 (cover date July 1964). According to the storyโs introductory text, โWhite House officialsโฆ informed [DC] that President Johnson wanted it published, as a tribute to his great predecessor.โ[1] Weisinger wrote to the late Presidentโs brother, bringing both the story and a letter from Robert F. Kennedyโs son to his attention. Kennedyโs reply, indication of his appreciation for Weisingerโs thoughtfulness in writing, helps show the way in which Weisinger sought official approval of DCโs work.[2]
Letter from Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to Mort Weisinger about Superman 170 that was published as a tribute to John F. Kennedy, June 4, 1964. Box 13, Folder 8, Mort Weisinger papers.
Weisinger further courted official support of DCโs characters by gifting Batman posters to Lester L. Wolff, Representative of New Yorkโs 3rd District. Wolff wrote of the posters, โMy staff is convinced they can be a great campaign aid. โBatmanโ is such a phenomenon. I wish I had his touch.โ[3] A decade prior, following Fredric Werthamโs accusation that Batman represented gay propaganda, no politician would have joked about using the character as a campaign aide. By 1966, with the success of the ABC series starring Adam West and Burt Ward, it made sense for a politician to jump on the bandwagon.
Letter from Representative Lester Wolff of New York to Mort Weisinger thanking him for sending “Batman” TV show posters to his New York campaign office, June 17, 1966. Box 13, Folder 12, Mort Weisinger papers.
As an editor at a member company of the Comics Magazine Association of America, Weisingerโs papers include the CMAAโs newsletter. The June 1966 issue details accounts of comics โin use as teaching aidsโ in the Bronx, Texas, Mexico, and England, thereby arguing that comics play a role as educational tools much like other media, such as film.[4] A second story discusses the Library of Congressโs growing comics collection, at the time including โmore than 12,000 copies of some 2,500 titles that have been published since the 1930s.โ[5]
The second page of the June 1966 Comics Magazine Association of America newsletter. Box 24, Folder 1, Mort Weisinger papers.
By 1969, Mort Weisinger received a letter from John C. Baker, the Public Information Officer at the U.S. Department of Commerce, reporting that โothers in the Census Bureau are enthusiastic about [Weisingerโs] proposal that Superman become a champion of the 1970 census, through two issues of the monthly Superman comic book and a special 16-page Superman book.โ[6] The letter builds upon the use of comics as an educational tool, outlining ways in which a Superman story can explain the function of the census and get children involved with their parents in participating. Baker further invites Weisinger to have the artist and writer of a possible story visit the Census Bureau office, thereby granting more official sanction to comics as a medium capable of contributing to society.
The Mort Weisinger papers capture a critical moment in comic book history in which he used his position as an editor at one of the largest publishers to validate the comic book medium after the public shaming of the 1950s. Mort Weisinger sought official approval from members of the government to demonstrate the educational value of comic books and their ability to comment on critical events like any other form of media. As a result of his actions and those of others in the industry, comic book writers and artists currently enjoy greater creative freedom while the comics themselves now influence other forms of media, generating multi-billion dollar profits for their corporate parents.
[1] E. Nelson Bridwell, โSupermanโs Mission for President Kennedy,โ Superman 170 (July 1964).
[2] Robert F. Kennedy, Letter to Mort Weisinger (1964), Box 13, Folder 8, Mort Weisinger Papers, Collection Number 07958, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
[3] Lester W. Wolff, Letter to Mort Weisinger (1966), Box 13, Folder 12, Mort Weisinger Papers, Collection Number 07958, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
[4] CMAA Newsletter (1966), Box 24, Folder 1, Mort Weisinger Papers, Collection Number 07958, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, pg. 2.
[5] CMAA Newsletter (1966), Box 24, Folder 1, Mort Weisinger Papers, Collection Number 07958, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, pg. 2.
[6] John C. Baker, Letter to Mort Weisinger (1969), Box 14, Folder 3, Mort Weisinger Papers, Collection Number 07958, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
