Natrona County Tribune, 1909

Way better half - "SHE WANTS HER HUBBY

"Ed Gill … Skips Out and Leaves His Sick Wife.

"Ed Gill, the fakir, dead-beat and all 'round scallawag, who inflicted the citizens of Casper several years with his presence … and who later joined Bill Cody's Wild West show, … was married to a young lady at Scranton, Pa., about the first of the year, and last week, after raising a $10 check to $100, … left his sick wife with numerous unpaid bills. … (H)e met a great many tenderfeet in the east, and he told them a great cock-and-bull story of how he was a real live sheriff in Wyoming. … (T)he only time he was sheriff was in his fertile brain when he was guzzling booze. … His wife writes a most pitiful letter to the TRIBUNE, asking that we assist her to locate him. … But when, if ever, the wife knows him as well as do the people of Casper, she will be tickled half to death that he has gone. … He is not fit for any woman to waste tears over."

Casper Tribune-Herald, 1934

Death trap - "OFFICERS KILL CLYDE BARROW

"WOMAN FRIEND OF OUTLAW IS SECOND VICTIM

"BLACK LAKE, La., May 23.-Clyde Barrow and his gunwoman companion, Bonnie Parker, were beaten to the trigger by Texas and Louisiana officers today. …

"Barrow's car broke over the horizon racing at 85 miles an hour. As the car approached, an officer yelled 'halt.'

Barrow and the woman answered by reaching for their guns and they were met by a fulsillade from a dozen guns. …The car careened into an embankment. …(T)he desperado and his cigar-smoking girl crumpled up in the front seat. …

"The car splintered by gunfire, proved to be a speeding arsenal … three army rifles, two sawed-off automatic shotguns, a machine gun, a dozen pistols and large quantities of ammunition. …

"Clyde Champion Barrow … was sought in connection with at least a dozen killings throughout the southwest. … His police record dates from 1926, when he was arrested in Dallas for automobile theft."

Speed trap - "MOTORISTS WARNED AGAINST DISREGARD FOR TRAFFIC SIGNS

"During a few hours yesterday when plainclothes men of the local police department were stationed near stop signs in different parts of the city a total of 128 were caught ignoring stop signs, police said.

"The warning was given yesterday instead of fines being meted out. … Hereafter, police said, the fines will be assessed and warnings also will be given."

Casper Morning Star, 1959

Coveted plate - "1960 Plates Arrive Here

"Two trucks this week brought 20,988 pairs of license plates from the State Pen at Rawlins to Casper. However, in a short time there will be only 20,987 sets of plates here. The license plate that will disappear soon is number 1-1. …

"Many people feel the license plate 1-1 should go on the car belonging to the Governor of Wyoming. The much wanted plate goes on an auto belonging to a State Senator Dick Jones of Park County. …

"The 1960 plates are lettered in yellow paint on a black background."

Crossed the line - A turnloader operator for Reeves Construction, James Hames, 32, died when a train struck his earth mover. "An eye witness said … [Hames] had been thrown into the air by the collision and several train cars passed under him before he landed. He was found under a boxcar. …

"The 20-cubic-yard vehicle was crossing the Chicago and North Western Railroad track empty when it was hit by a 49-car freight train eastbound. Engineer A. L. Fredrickson told investigating sheriff's officers he 'big holed'-applied all emergency brakes."

Casper Star-Tribune, 1984

Kitty tats - A new city ordinance "requires either a tag or a tattoo for cats when off its owner's property."

"(I)f a cat or dog has a tattoo, the owner is required to register the animal when it is licensed. The license fee is $5 for all unaltered animals and $3 for neutered animals."

Yellow thumb - "Dandelions show little respect for government

"… Outlawed by city ordinance, dandelions, weeds and trash may be the object of attention from a special 'task force.'"

The ordinance was "beefed up last fall when weeds caused by a large amount of moisture and a large number of vacant homes grew wildly. … Presently, there is no task force." The ordinance "is more enforced by complaint than any other single source."

"(I)t is difficult to determine whether a property owner has a true dandelion problem or is really squabbling with a neighbor. …

"If the matter goes to court, … a property owner faces a maximum fine of $750."

"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. Quotation marks surround stories as they appeared in the Casper newspapers 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago, with their original grammar, punctuation and spelling, except where noted.