Daniel Sandoval

There is often a connection between cause and effect that defies our expectations, like the firefighter who loses his home in a house fire. Ironic outcomes were in the news for the first week in April.

100 years ago

Indecision seemed to be the theme of the April 8, 1908, Natrona County Tribune, with the lead story going on about Judge Joseph Carey coming from Cheyenne, talking and listening, then leaving Casper without resolving the fight about where to build the new courthouse.

Not best friends - Packs of stray dogs were roaming the streets of Casper and the town marshal issued an edict that gave fair notice, to the townsfolk at least, that come the first day of May, things were going to change.

Dogs do not hire lawyers to file libel lawsuits so the April 8 Tribune writer felt free to call the dogs "curs" and print that their lives weren't even worth the bullet it would take to dispatch them.

The article also claimed the regular fighting between dogs for scraps and territory was creating an atmosphere of lawlessness that occasionally turned into street brawls between people.

According to Marshal Jones' edict, dogs would need a license to escape summary execution after May 1, 1908.

Someone didn't want to wait. The seasonal appearance of poisoned meat was being left around town, as it had been during the spring in previous years, and Dr. Keith's highly prized coach dog was the first known victim of the dog poisoner.

Fatal poisoning incidents had occurred often enough for some residents to give up on the idea of owning a dog.

Council arbor - The Casper Town Council purchased 10,000 willow trees to be planted along the North Platte River in the area known as the Sandbar. The Council's notion was to stabilize the soil and permanently win the ground in the springtime fight with high water from the river.

Judge Carey, the same Judge Joseph Carey who left town without a decision on the courthouse location, reportedly donated the Sandbar to the town.

75 years ago

Prohibition was falling apart quickly and the April 9, 1933, Casper Tribune-Herald mentioned a sample shipment of real beer hitting town and people rejoicing in the taste of pre-Volstead brew, since most would have to make due with "near beer" (3.2 beer) until May 18.

Public servant - The top headline of the April 7 Tribune-Herald declared that a deputy died in a car accident. Natrona County Deputy Sheriff Grant Neeley, 27, died after the car he was driving hit a guard rail on Salt Creek Highway.

The accident occurred at around 4 a.m. when the deputy was on duty. Coroner Lew Gay said that it appeared as the car swung wide and scraped against a previously damaged guard rail, with the rail busting through the windshield and striking Neeley in the face, killing him instantly.

The two people riding in the car with Neeley received minor cuts from the flying glass.

Shrewd - W.E. Glenn was arrested in Casper for passing counterfeit money, counterfeit coins. Two people said they received bogus half dollars and a bogus quarter from Glenn. Authorities were holding Glenn for federal agents.

Hibernation - Folks at the pit stop along the Lincoln Highway west of Cheyenne knew that spring had sprung with the emergence of Waffles, the full grown, unrestrained black bear that socialized with tourists, coming and going as he pleased.

Literary genius - Irish playwright and pundit George Bernard Shaw was visiting the United States in 1933, and he was denying that he characterized Americans as "blind, deaf and dumb" in the presence of Helen Keller.

50 years ago

The celebrity buzz in the April 8, 1958, Casper Morning Star was the fact that Lana Turner's 14-year-old daughter was being held in connection with the stabbing death of mobster Johnny Stompanato.

Unscathed, mostly - A 12-year-old Casper boy was run over by a truck and received only minor injuries. Dean Butcher was riding his bike when a truck driven by Sam Tullis was backing out of a Riverside Trailer Court driveway.

The back of the pickup knocked Dean down and the rear wheel actually rolled over his legs. Dean was taken in for X-rays, which reveal no broken bones.

Life in prison - A jury in Casper gave 19-year-old Phillip Smilie life in prison for the confessed murder of John Pryor. Pryor's body was hidden under scrap plywood on Dead Horse Hill at 25th and Odell. Two school boys discovered the body.

25 years ago

The pilot and first officer at the controls of a passenger jet that bellylanded at Natrona County International Airport were avoiding official requests to answer questions, according to the April 7, 1983, Casper Star-Tribune.

No jobs, no money - Harold Bolger, administrator of the Unemployment Compensation Division of the Employment Security Commission, said that if there wasn't a drastic increase in the number of jobs, the state would run out of money to pay benefits by the fall.

"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.