Daniel Sandoval

People get what they want more often than they realize. The difficulty in seeing success is that it takes days, weeks, and years, and people generally see fulfillment in special moments. Progress was in the news for the third week of November.

100 years ago

The lead article in the Nov. 25, 1908, Natrona County Tribune drew comparison for county residents between the dismal conditions in the 1890s to the prosperity in 1908.

Home amenities: One of the clear markers of the modern advancement was the telephone lines that connected points throughout the county.

The Tribune said that as recently as 10 years before Natrona County was completely unconnected and messages had to be physically delivered from one place to the other.

A new rail line heading west from Casper to Shoshoni, to Lander, put commercial transportation within reach for countless residents in central Wyoming.

For the 1894 election, there were 484 votes cast, and in 1908, there were 1,307 votes in Natrona County. In 1894 the precincts in tallied added up to 310 votes in Casper and 742 in 1908.

Writing of votes: The Tribune reported the winners of a contest, but the article didn't disclose the auspices under which the contest was held or the method of tabulating votes.

The winner of the unnamed contest was Mrs. Harry Hynds of Cheyenne with 1,551,860 votes. The winning prize was an automobile.

Miss Frances Flanagan of Casper placed second with 1,237,260 votes, and her prize was a piano.

A pinch of circumstance required Flanagan to travel out of state in the closing week of the contest and the Tribune quoted the Cheyenne Leader when it suggested her absence may have cost Flanagan the winning spot because:

"She possesses all elemental charms that endear her to a large number of friends." This was probably Edwardian-speak for Flanagan being a pretty girl who was a delightful presence at social gatherings.

Tough crowd: A hypnotist show traveling under the name McEwen packed the house four times in Rock Springs. They should have quit while they were ahead because during the fifth performance, some members of the company were "wobbly," or somehow unfit to perform.

Patrons were disgusted and demanded their money back en masse. The venue operator realized just how agitated the audience was and quickly reimbursed people. Even returning the money took too much time because a fight broke out as patrons waited.

75 years ago

The third headline in the Nov. 24, 1933, Casper Tribune-Herald announced, "200 TO BE PUT TO WORK MONDAY," referring to a proposal from the Natrona County Civil Works Administration.

Neill Hunter, chairman of the county agency, said that the proposal just needed Burke Sinclair, civil works administrator of Wyoming, to sign off on the proposal that would put the unemployed to work.

Some of the projects planned for the work crews were improvements to the Black Canyon road, the road near Alcova to the county line and constructing a road from Montgomery Hill to the top of Casper Mountain.

Kept animals: Ray Black's cabin near Jackson was a popular stop for tourists because Black had a couple of orphaned brown bear cubs. The mother of the cubs was killed.

Tourists became fewer with the advent of cold weather so Black turned the bears loose to fend for themselves in the wilderness. But the bears returned to the familiarity of their cages each night for a number of weeks - until the cubs didn't return.

After three days of no one knowing where the human acclimated bears were, residents of Jackson were making sure their doors and windows were latched closed and their rubbish bins were battened shut.

50 years ago

The front-page photo of the Nov. 25, 1958, Casper Morning Star shows a school in Rome, Ga., being consumed by fire with people just watching it burn. The firefighters didn't have water to battle the flames.

Details, details: The Casper City Council passed an ordinance which dealt with the administration of Highland Cemetery. Mayor W.S. "Andy" Anderson read the ordinance, and Councilman Patrick Meenan submitted a minor change in the wording, which the council approved.

Forty-ninth state: Alaskans were going to the polls to select political leaders including two U.S. senators, a representative to Congress, a governor, a secretary of state and a 60-member legislature.

President Dwight Eisenhower was waiting for the election to be certified before he issued a proclamation officially accepting Alaska into statehood.

Counting again: Casper merchants were warned that a short change artist was bilking businesses by confusing the cashier during simple transactions of money. Marie Bidstrup of the Red and White Cafe said a man cheated her out of $5.

Two drug stores in Casper reported being cheated in similar fashion.

25 years ago

The top photo of the Nov. 24, 1983, Casper Star-Tribune was a culvert outside Medicine Bow. The culvert underneath Highway 30 was home for a drifter who lived in the culvert for about a week.

Storms pass: Barry Monschein was hitchhiking from California to his home in Kentucky when a winter storm stranded him at Medicine Bow. Monschein waited for warmer weather in the center of culvert.

A passing motorist saw Monschein and reported his presence to Medicine Bow Police Office Russ McFarland, who gave the drifter a ride to Cheyenne and a bus ticket to Kentucky. Monschein's family was looking forward to seeing him for Thanksgiving.

"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.