Daniel Sandoval

Travel is so common that we give little thought to the comings and goings of people and we now think more of purpose than we do distance. Travelers were in the news for the final week of October, with a judge in 1907, a searcher in 1932, an inspector in 1957 and a president in 1982.

100 years ago

Murderous rage - A man who was incensed about the outcome of a lawsuit shot a judge in Laramie to death and then turned the gun on himself in late October 1907.

William Lepper shot Judge Charles Bramel three times in the face as the judge slept in a chair in his office. Lepper then fled the office, met someone drawn in by the gunshots, attempted to shoot the man who intercepted him but the gun failed to discharge.

Lepper turned back and secluded himself in a room where he shot himself in the head, killing himself instantly.

Judge Bramel was taken to the hospital and clung to life for three days. The gunshots had broken both sides of his jaw, tore his tongue in half and ripped away the roof of Judge Bramel's mouth. The judge died of blood poisoning.

District Judge C.E. Carpenter said the assassin had threatened to kill him, also, and everyone associated with a lawsuit. Judge Carpenter was in Casper to assemble a jury pool at the time of the shooting.

The lawsuit involved property in Laramie and Lepper had at one time retained Judge Carpenter as an attorney in the case. Judge Bramel had actually ruled in Lepper's favor during the lawsuit's early proceedings, but the decision was reversed by the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Paper envoys - All the post offices in the country were ordered to inventory the amount of mail they handled for a specific week in October 1907.

According to the Oct. 30, 1907, Natrona County Tribune, the Casper Post Office forwarded 3,119 letters, 1,171 postcards and 249 packages during the week between Oct. 12 and Oct. 19.

75 years ago

Wilderness - Search and rescue parties combed through an area of the Bighorn Mountains looking for three missing hunters and it was a Casper man who helped find the first body in the fourth week of October 1932.

Dillon McKinnon, 17, of Greybull, set off hunting alone. McKinnon's body was found about 25 miles north of Hyattville. Also missing in the same region of rough terrain were Fred Demmel, of Sheridan, and Dell F. Yoakum, of Columbine, Wyo.

The hunters were trapped by a snowstorm that descended rapidly and then turned into a blizzard. Conditions were so bad that rescuers were in danger of being lost and days of poor visibility and impassable roads prolonged the search. McKinnon was missing for 11 days.

Casper searcher A.R. Camley said that McKinnon appeared to have made a bed for himself with pine boughs, removed his shoes and socks and quietly succumbed to the cold.

Borrowed trouble - A Cheyenne con man came to Casper to make a fool out of local businessman and then, as con artists do, vanished in late October 1932.

Harry Borland, alias Bob Wright, alias Clyde Pearson, took gullibility to new lows when borrowed a 12-gauge shotgun from a Casper businessman, Borland saying he just wanted to get a feel for the gun.

Borland later came back and told the man who had loaned him the 12-gauge that it wasn't quite right, and he borrowed a 20-gauge shotgun to see if it more to his liking.

He borrowed the second without returning the first.

Borland pawned both shotguns before leaving town.

50 years ago

Health care - Casper's hospital garnered glowing praise from a visiting inspector, as reported in the Oct. 29, 1957, Casper Morning Star. Dr. Peter Ward, of Chicago, characterized Natrona County Memorial Hospital's approach to health care as "visionary."

Dr. Ward was in town as a representative of a joint commission of hospital accreditation. Dr. Ward pointed out that it was beyond his authority to say whether Memorial Hospital would be accredited, since accreditations were made by a board.

Yet, the accreditation board based its decision largely on reports from inspectors such as he, and Dr. Ward promised his report on Casper's hospital would be a favorable one.

Rumble averted - A gang fight never got started because Casper police were tipped off and apprehended the aspiring combatants in late October 1957. Police receive word that some 40 boys were going to have a gang war under the F Street bridge.

When police arrived the boys scattered, but the ones who were caught were taken in for questioning and then released to their parents without charges.

25 years ago

Great communicator - Air Force One touched down at Natrona County International Airport and with bands from Kelly Walsh and Natrona County high schools playing "Hail to the Chief," President Ronald Reagan stepped off the plane into the cold air of late October 1982.

With extensive coverage in the Oct. 29, 1982, Casper Star-Tribune, President Reagan was in Wyoming making a campaign stop for the men in his entourage. With the president were U.S. Sen. Malcolm Wallop, U.S. Rep. Dick Cheney and Republican gubernatorial candidate Warren Morton.

"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.