Natrona County Tribune, 1909

A trip to write about - "AN auto-stage line is to be established between Shoshoni and Thermopolis in the near future, and every editor in the state is hoping that the gasoline wagon will be in operation before the meeting of the Press association."

Enterprising inventor - "County Clerk F. H. Sawyer has invented a patent paper file fastener which will prove a great convenience to people who file documents and legal papers. The invention consists of a movable point which can be attached to the the common brass fasteners. It is manufactured from tin, and slips over the points of the prongs of the fastener, holding them together so a legal paper can be easily filed, … and additional papers may be attached on the same fastener as easily as the first paper. The contrivance is simple but nevertheless is of great convenience. Mr. Sawyer has his invention patented and will place them on the market, and no doubt they will find a ready sale."

Never fails? - "PARKER'S HAIR BALSAM

"Cleanses and beautifies the hair. Promotes a luxuriant growth. Never Fails to Restore Gray Hair to its Youthful Color. Cures scalp diseases and hair falling. 50c and $1.00 at Druggists."

Casper Tribune-Herald, 1934

Chain of expansion - After winning the contract to fly mail from Cheyenne to Pueblo, Colo., "(t)he Wyoming Air Service, Inc., of Casper will submit bids on service to be instituted between Pueblo and El Paso, Texas," as well as from Cheyenne to Billings, Mont.

"If the company succeeds in landing these contracts they will be enabled to institute and maintain through service from Billings to El Paso, regarded as an important factor in developing business."

Sen. Joseph C. O'Mahoney, D-Wyo., explained that "'Cheyenne,Casper and Sheridan will be on a north and south air mail route connecting with all four of the east and west transcontinental routes. It is another step and a very material one in building up the communication system of our state.'"

A page 1 editorial noted that Wyoming Air Service "is prepared to purchase new ships equipped with night flying facilities. The company will be forced to marked expansion.

"This will be reflected in increased activities at the Casper airport, where extensive improvements are now under way, including the erection of a modern structure to house all activities.

"… Casper has cause for real congratulation on her good fortune."

Public funds helping private enterprise - Another page 1 editorial advised: "WEATHER BUREAU NEEDED IN CASPER-Why not a government weather station for Casper? … The service would be extremely beneficial to major livestock and related interests that look to weather forecasts for information put to practical use.

"Now another factor has entered the picture. … Inauguration of air mail service between Billings and Cheyenne makes such a station essential to this area. None other in existence at present provides the necessary weather data on which aviation depends."

Casper Morning Star, 1959

Unsolicited solicitation - Under the title "Your Duty," the Casper Morning Star's editor admonished the public to "halt a half-billion-dollar a year traffic in mail order obscenity." For those who perhaps didn't feel enough guilt, the editor sermonized:

"(L)ack of cooperation is the same as siding with the filth merchants.

"… (T)he guilty do not answer for their crimes when the upright citizen decides it is too much to bother to sign a complaint or otherwise become involved in court action. There is no proper 'convenient' answer."

Quoting the postmaster general, the editor intoned, "'(T)he people themselves hold the final answer because they can put the filth merchants out of business.'"

Road rage - "The controversy over location of the federal Interstate Highway between Gillette and Sheridan is headed for the Wyoming Supreme Court." The town of Clearmont and "10 of its residents had sought an injunction to prohibit the State Highway Dept. from building the Interstate highway on a direct route from Gillette to Buffalo where it would link with U. S. 87 to Sheridan. The town contended the highway department failed to obtain the community's approval for a bypass."

Final frontier - This week, "Space Stocks Up-Rest Take Drop."

Casper Star-Tribune, 1984

Bank bailout - "Two local banks fail, but rescued by others…"

"Western National Bank of Casper and the State Bank of Mills were declared insolvent and closed. … (B)oth banks will be taken over by other local banks. … No losses are expected from any accounts. … All bank customers will be able to transact business as usual. …

"The bank failures are the first in Wyoming since a Lovell bank closed in June 1983, and represents only the second and third such failures in the state since 1934. …

"The two banks shared common ownership, and the boards of directors of both banks were identical."

"… (T)he doors were locked at both banks at 3 p.m. and the FDIC assumed management of both businesses."

Wyoming National Bank of West Casper, a subsidiary of Affiliated Bank Corp. of Wyoming, would take over Western National Bank's business, while transactions of the State Bank of Mills would be handled at the Mountain Plaza bank.

"'There is no bank customer that need fear anything,'" assured one official. "'The doors will be open as usual on Monday.'"

"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.