Daniel Sandoval

Our expectations rarely match the outcomes, but in travail and ambition alike, we settle on what is best for everyone involved. Anticipation was in the news for the first days of February, with spring in 1908, certificates in 1933, delay in 1958 and expropriation in 1983.

100 years ago

Candlemas - The Feb. 5, 1908, Natrona County Tribune reported that the otherwise unidentified "Mr. Ground Hog" emerged from his burrow, saw his shadow, "and to at once skidoo back into his hole"; six more weeks of winter, that's what that meant.

Public words - In a front-page Feb. 5, 1908, letter to the editor in the Natrona County Tribune, the writer demonstrated a critical lesson in written discourse.

Some writer from the Silberman Bros. of Chicago: "From various sources we hear that shearing will commence in the Casper district somewhat earlier than last year … " blah, blah, blah, " … identically … " blah, blah, blah, " … unfashionable … " blah, blah, blah, "… appearance …" blah, blah, blah.

Hint to would-be letter writers: It is preferable to compose one's ideas in paragraphs consisting of 100 words or less. Readers don't always take the time to read into a 200-word morass.

Intersection - Calif Johnson was riding in his buggy a couple of miles west of Powder River when his rig was hit by a freight train, as reported in the Feb. 5 Tribune.

Johnson was taken to Shoshoni and attended by Dr. Nelson for bruises on his shoulder and legs. The horses were banged up but walking, and the buggy was demolished.

75 years ago

Handling hands - The Casper Unemployment Council proposed to issue scrip as a means of paying the unemployed for their labor, according to the Feb. 5, 1933, Casper Tribune-Herald.

Still working out the details, the plan would circulate "Service Certificates" in exchange for goods from participating merchants around town.

There was also discussion of exchange-discount stamps worth 2 cents that could be collected on the back of the scrip and exchanged for cash value when the holder had a dollar's worth of stamps.

Ever vigilant - A jug of whiskey bought two men a trip to the Casper jailhouse Feb. 4, 1933. S. Van Horn and W.H. Honeycutt were arrested in the Salt Creek country by Natrona County Deputy Sheriff Charles Davis.

Davis spotted a truck without a license plate, made the stop, and discovered Van Horn and Honeycutt had a 10-gallon jug of contraband.

Honeycutt was already in trouble - he was out on bail facing charges that he was stealing drip gas from a pipeline.

50 years ago

All systems go - Hoping to assuage the embarrassment of the Soviets launching two successful satellites, Americans waited for their country to get a second satellite in orbit, but wind postponed a launch, as reported in the Feb. 4, 1958, Casper Tribune-Herald.

The 72-foot rocket Vanguard stood ready with its Explorer I satellite at Cape Canaveral, Fla., but three days of strong wind kept the mission grounded.

At half-past midnight Feb. 5, the wind calmed. The Vanguard lifted off, climbed for a minute, wobbled, broke apart and was destroyed from the ground by the safety officer.

This was the second Vanguard rocket to end in a fireball.

Rebellion ends - Serial murderer Charles Starkweather was treated with disdain by the Feb. 4, 1958, Casper Tribune-Herald, with its leading headline, "Bantam Killer And Caril Both Plead Innocent."

"Bantam" was a slight put to Starkweather's stature, and, outrage that any man, even a short man, would express his frustration by killing 11 innocent people.

25 years ago

Tarry not here - The Natrona County Commission notified the Wyoming Legislature Feb. 4, 1983, that the district attorney would not be kicked out of his county offices.

A bureaucratic tussle between the state and the county cast doubt, in official documents, on the physical location of the district attorney's office and which agency was responsible for the costs.

"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.