Natrona County Tribune, 1909

Head of state - "Miss Jeannie Brooks as Governor.

"Miss Jean Brooks, the eldest daughter of Governor B. B. Brooks, is now managing the affairs of the governor's office at the state house. …

"She handles the correspondence of the office and attends to much of the business which daily comes into the executive branch of the state's government in a manner which shows her master of the situation.

"Miss Brooks is a characteristic type of western girl. With marked beauty, a frank, pleasing expression and manner, but with a self-possession, and reserve which inspires respect. She does not let the importance of her duties weigh upon her mind, and at the close of business hours is ready for a horseback ride or drive, with no thought of business affairs left to mar her pleasures."

While you were out - "Attempted Burglary.

"Mr. and Mrs. David Williams came in from the Casper mountain asbestos mines last Friday where they had been for a month, and upon their arrival home they found that some one had been in their coal house and opened a trunk, scattering the contents over the floor, but there was very little missing. An attempt had been made to get into the house through one of the windows, the putty being scraped off the sash, but for some reason the glass was not taken out. Some day some of these purloiners will get caught and it will go hard with them."

Casper Tribune-Herald, 1934

Jackpot - "COUNTERFEITING CHARGE FILED AGAINST QUARTET

"… Discovery of Mold in 'Jungle'

"Four itinerants were arraigned … on charges of counterfeiting quarters and dimes.

"A counterfeiting mold … in the "hobo jungle" near the railroad yards, was discovered. … The trail proved a warm one, and … resulted in the arrest of the four as they allegedly were molding the counterfeit coins. … (E)fforts [were] being made to discover if any bogus coins had been previously passed. The authorities voiced the conjecture that the alleged counterfeiters had meant to 'work the slot machines' with the home-minted 'money.' Their alleged operations evidently had been nipped in the bud before any quantity of coins had been manufactured."

Detainees - "Former Casper Boy Seized As Spy on Tour in Germany …

"Robert Bailey, former Casper youth, has found out what it means to be seized as a spy. …

"The son of Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Bailey of Houston, Tex., who were residents of Casper while Mr. Bailey was superintendent here for the Texas [refinery] company, young Bailey with a companion boarded an oil tanker for Ireland after graduating. …

"All went well with the voyagers … until they crossed into Germany. … There they became victims of suspicion intensified by the jealousies under which many foreign nations are laboring and they were chucked into jail without explanation. In their search for evidence to justify the seizure, German officers ripped open their clothing, tore the lining out of their luggage and otherwise subjected them to close scrutiny, all without avail.

Thirteen hours later, following an exchange of cablegrams and representations made through the Texas company and U. S. representatives, they were freed with apologies and given what amounted to a carte blanche permit to go where they chose."

Casper Tribune-Herald, 1959

In the event - "Amateur Radio Emergency Corps Has Simulated Drill

"A simulated emergency drill was conducted … by the Natrona County Amateur Radio Emergency Corps, with the clubhouse of the Casper Amateur Radio Club, at the south end of Durbin Street, being the center of operations. …

"The A.R.E.C. is a volunteer organization of radio operators, commonly called 'hams,' who have organized to provide radio communications in case of a disaster or emergency in which ordinary communication facilities fail or are overburdened. The members of the organization are all licensed operators who own and operate their own short wave radio stations. The group individually and collectively owns transmitters ranging in power from nine to 1,000 watts input. They also have portable power plants which can supply 110 volt A.C. power from 15 to 3,000 watts. …

"(T)he group is prepared to deal with any communication problem that may arise in the event of an emergency, either natural or manmade. …

"The Natrona County A.R.E.C. is part of the Civil Defense organization of Wyoming."

Casper Star-Tribune, 1984

Simple-minded - The Casper Star-Tribune's editorial board noted: "Gillette schools bind, gag First Amendment …

"Bent on sheltering Gillette high school students from each others' thinking, the Campbell County schools have issued a new set of rules to censor the high school newspaper. …

"(T)his week the school district issued a new policy permitting censorship of libelous or obscene items.

"Consider the incredible new definition of libel: 'Any words which defame or injure a person's reputation through the medium of written material.' The least effort to find what libel involves would have shown that … (l)ibel starts with an untruth. If the material is true, it cannot be libelous.

"Thus an adult newspaper could report the arrest of a school official, say, for drunk driving, but such an item would be struck from the student press in Gillette. True or not, such a report might 'injure a person's reputation.' …

"That should stop students from reading (or quoting) Ben Franklin, Shakespeare, Mark Twain or the Declaration of Independence."

"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, unless otherwise noted.

Cutline:

Jean Brooks, daughter of Bryant Butler Brooks, governor of Wyoming from 1905-11, "has formerly been the governor's stenographer, but during the absence of her father, who is in the northern part of the state on business, she is holding down the office with marked business ability." See story. Pictured: Mrs. Jean Brooks Lathrop, 1937.

(Frances Seely Webb Collection, Casper College Western History Center.)