Daniel Sandoval

There is a sort of organizational momentum that takes control of projects, and the more complex the endeavor, the more difficult it is to make results match the original ideas. Changes in plan were in the news for the second week in November.

100 years ago

The lead article in the Nov. 18, 1908, Natrona County Tribune began with the headline, "TWO NEW COUNTIES," which teased but actually delivered only the possibility that the 10th Legislature would consider petitions to redraw the state map.

County seats: In 1908, Uinta County was 210 miles north to south and 55 miles wide. Someone living in Star Valley would need to travel west into Idaho, catch a train east on one rail line, and catch a different rail line in Sweetwater County going west again to get to Evanston.

Evanston was the Uinta County seat, making a long trip necessary for residents in the northern county.

Kemmerer was proposed as the county seat for a new county on the southwestern border of Wyoming. The 1908 Tribune did not report a proposed name for the county but modern maps show Kemmerer in Lincoln County.

Thermopolis was proposed as a county seat for a new county in the extremities of Big Horn and Fremont counties.

Because of the geographic obstacles like the Wind River Canyon, Thermopolis residents were also isolated from their seat of local government.

The article in the Nov. 18, 1908, Tribune did report that the proposed county around Thermopolis already had an informal name of "Hot Springs county."

Condescension: The Tribune did little to disguise its writers' contempt for certain individuals. Robert Multey, an inmate who died in prison, was called a dope fiend in the headline.

Multey (identified as Joe Mulkey in the Jan. 1, 1908, Tribune) was the man who jumped out of a moving train while being taken to the penitentiary. Multey landed unharmed in a snowdrift and was quickly recaptured.

Another startling attitude in the Tribune was the reporting received by Native Americans, so when Roy Spoonhunter arrived at his Riverton home intoxicated, the reporting of the altercation lost any semblance of objectivity.

Tribune called him a "drunken Indian," called his wife a "squaw," a term so offensive that the translation cannot be printed, and reported that the couple's "papoose" rolled into the fire but escaped with minor injuries.

75 years ago

"AMERICA RECOGNIZES RUSSIA," declared the Nov. 17, 1933, Casper Tribune-Herald, referring to the exchange of ambassadors from Russia and the United States and the reinstatement of diplomatic relations after 16 years.

Retail mogul: J.C. Penney was scheduled to speak at a luncheon at Casper's Henning Hotel. The subject of Penney's address was titled, "Our changing economic conditions."

An ad in the Nov. 17 Tribune-Herald advertised a Founder's Day event the Casper J.C. Penney's store, which said Penney himself would be at the store all day Nov. 18 to meet with customers.

Inside job: Jack Nothan was hired as a dishwasher at the Big Four restaurant in Casper. Nothan was arrested by Officer Jack Bordeaux, to whom Nothan was said to have admitted to looting a slot machine of about $25.

Once in custody, Nothan confessed to arranging for a door to the restaurant to be unlocked to gain access to the slot machine, according to police reports.

Criticism artist: Penrhyn Stanlaws, a portrait artist made famous for his paintings of beautiful women on the covers of magazines like The Saturday Evening Post, complained that Hollywood starlets were far from perfect beauties.

The article listed Stanlaws' critiques of stars like Mae West, Katherine Hepburn, Constance Bennett and Greta Garbo. His only criticism of Kay Francis was that she had overdeveloped triceps but otherwise had "nicely balanced features."

50 years ago

The Nov. 18, 1958, Casper Morning Star published a front-page photo of the aftermath of a tornado that razed a two-story house in Cookietown, Okla.

Spare change: The Casper City Council approved a rate hike for the downtown parking meters. Although the Morning Star went into the vicissitudes of the city council, it neglected to mention the actual costs of parking.

Hard to hold: George C. Adams escaped from the penitentiary at Rawlins in early September 1958, turned himself in to authorities at Sturgis, S.D., where he slugged a guard and again escaped custody.

Adams changed his mind and turned himself in to authorities at Sturgis for a second time. Warden Deane Miller took custody of Adams and returned him to his prison cell.

25 years ago

The lead article of the Nov. 17, 1983, Casper Star-Tribune was about Yasser Arafat losing his stronghold in Tripoli, Lebanon, to the Iranian backed Palestinian rebels. Israeli fighter jets swooped into the Bakaa Valley and destroyed a rebel base.

Satisfying cravings: The American Cancer Society of Natrona County predicted that about 1,000 smokers in Casper would observe the then-seventh annual Great American Smokeout by not smoking for a 24-hour period.

Deal breakers: Lynne Cheney, wife of U.S. Rep. Dick Cheney, was in agreement with her husband's vote against the Equal Rights Amendment. Legislative procedure shot down the measure in a closed vote that curtailed the opportunity for debate.

Mrs. Cheney, a supporter of ERA, acknowledged that amending the Constitution was serious business and shouldn't be done without proper debate.

"A Look Back in Time" is made possible with the help of Western History Archivist Kevin S. Anderson at the Casper College Western History Center, which is open to the public.