Daniel Sandoval

Responsibility is another word for the things people need to do, and many of those demands are enthusiastically done because the benefits are obvious. However, people have their limits. Reluctance was in the news for the first week of October.

100 years ago

The Oct. 7, 1908, Natrona County Tribune confirmed that the fugitives Adia Irwin and Frank Seese were back in custody. Irwin was deposited in the state penitentiary for safe keeping. Seese was in jail in Casper.

Irwin was being held as a witness for the January trial of M.L. Bishop. Seese was serving time in jail for charges stemming from a family dispute at Wolton, although with the escape, he would probably end up with some prison time.

Too much to do: Four candidates wanted off their respective tickets for the November 1908 general election.

For the Republicans, Dr. T.A. Dean, nominated for county coroner, and also county surveyor nominee Justin Kingdon filled out the paperwork to withdraw their candidacies.

On the Democratic side, county clerk candidate Guy Trevett and Lon Claytor, candidate for county commission, said they were withdrawing from the race.

Dearly departed: A report from the Denver Post said that a monument company filled an unusual order for a gravestone, a marker to be placed somewhere around Douglas, Wyo.

Lee Moore, a prominent cattle rancher from Douglas, ordered the gravestone for his friend George Pike. Rather than the maudlin epitaph, Moore wanted to eulogize his friend with a truer picture of the man he knew:

"GEORGE W. PIKE Under this stone in eternal rest, Sleeps the wildest one of the wayward west, He was a gambler and sport and cowboy too, And he led the pace in an outlaw crew, He was sure on the trigger and staid to the end, But he was never known to quit on a friend, In the relation of death all mankind is alike, But in life there was only one George W. Pike."

Moore was quoted as saying, "I got a fence around him now, but I want a big gravestone to hold him down."

75 years ago

There was only one local story on the front page of the Oct. 6, 1933, Casper Tribune-Herald, and even that was a stretch to localize the news. Four people involved in a robbery and kidnapping in Cheyenne were captured in Billings, Mont.

Bob Harmon, Gus Johnson, Tom Fargo and Doris Marshall spent the night in the Casper jailhouse before being taken to Cheyenne to face charges for the abduction of cafe operator Theodore Anderson.

Work piles up: Gov. Leslie Miller returned after 10 days to find a daunting number of duties awaiting his attention, principal among them was the Griffenhagen report on Wyoming's tax structure and governance.

Miller's first statement was to stifle rumors of a special session of the Legislature being called. Miller said that decision wouldn't be made until the legislative commission had time to read the report.

People were anxious for news because the report suggested that a state income tax would be a way for Wyoming to more fairly distribute its tax burden.

Another idea in the Griffenhagen report was to administrate school districts within their respective counties.

Good puppy: Fred Garlow of Cody was the grandson of Buffalo Bill. Garlow went shopping and lost a $10 bill, which he searched for without success.

The next morning as Garlow went to feed his Chesapeake retriever, he found his dog guarding the money. Garlow taught his dog to pick items that he dropped.

50 years ago

The front page of the Oct. 7, 1958, Casper Morning Star printed a photo of the USS Seawolf in its home port at New London, Conn. The nuclear submarine set a new record of being submerged for 60 days.

Right to counsel: Michael Williams was given another week to find a defense attorney. Williams was facing charges for the fatal shooting of William Bilbo. Williams already had two attorneys quit on him.

Robert Murphy and Allen Stuart both withdrew from representing Williams. The judge in the case told Williams if he didn't find an attorney, the court would appoint one.

Schools in: The Oct. 7, 1958, Morning Star published a photo of people coming out of East Junior High after its first full day of operation.

Recovered shells: The 300 cyanide shells stolen from a trapper's were returned in a manner to suggest the thief had second thoughts. A hammer that was stolen with the shells was placed to draw attention to the shells concealed under a chicken coop.

25 years ago

The third story in the Oct. 6, 1983, Casper Star-Tribune was President Ronald Reagan's response to the controversy surrounding Interior Secretary James Watt's comment naming the minorities on an advisory panel.

Reagan said it was a "stupid remark" but that is was not an "impeachable offense."

Lost patient: Clayton Conger, 4, the Rock Springs boy who captured the hearts of the nation with his cheerful and valiant struggle with two liver transplants, died in a Pittsburgh hospital.

In two different photos published on the front pages of the Sept. 28 and Oct. 6 Star-Tribune, Clayton is in his hospital bed and looking at the camera with a hopeful smile.

"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.