Daniel Sandoval

Most of us are blessed with a long journey of life, a lifetime long enough to be rife with fulfillment. Some fall early and have little chance to fulfill their lives. The specter of death was in the news for the second week of October.

100 years ago

The lead article in the Oct. 14, 1908, Natrona County Tribune ran with the headline, "Mexican Found Dead," and the distinction was indeed racial, and with contemptuous pity, the writing wrung out a tale of a sheep shearer dying in his shanty cave.

Hard life: The spelling of ethnic names is woefully suspect in the 1908 Tribune, so the man found dead may not have spelled his name as Tom Ruise, but that's what the Tribune tagged him with as he departed this world.

Ruise had further indignities attached to his memory. The Tribune described Ruise as having a lump on his back that gave him pain, about which he complained.

His shamble up to town from Riverside Park was reportedly fraught with resting spells as he struggled with miner's consumption.

After one such trip into town to get his daily meal, he settled into his bed and this sojourn of sleep would be his last. Ruise was found by his friend Joe Valdaiz.

The county coroner impaneled a jury and they found that Ruise died of natural causes and he was interred in Highland Cemetery at county expense. One of the personal items found was a small looking glass tied to a blue handkerchief.

Marketing: Sanford Dodge and his acting troupe visited Casper again. The ad in Oct. 14, 1908, Tribune was noticeably less artistic. Promoting Dodge's February 1906 visit, the ad featured the actor wearing a tunic and buskins.

The 1906 performances were plagued by obstreperous people in the audience heckling the foolish aesthetic of Classical Greek tragedy. The rowdier members of the audience kept shouting, "Powder River," among other things.

In 1908, the ad presented Dodge standing in a regular suit and a Western fedora. A brief article on the back page of the Oct. 14 Tribune said the performances were well received.

75 years ago

The federal government was making changes to deal with hardened criminals by pushing legislation to sentence incorrigible offenders to life and to convert Alcatraz Island into a prison, as reported in the Oct. 13, 1933, Casper Tribune-Herald.

Assured destruction: Germany was threatening to withdraw from the League of Nations if the organization in Geneva didn't stop pawing at the Reich with a document saying Germany would disarm.

Germany made good on her threat. Adolf Hitler rejected the disarmament conference entirely by withdrawing Germany's participation, and Hitler's parting comment was quintessential doublespeak.

Hitler renewed his vows of peace but added that Germany would not scale down her military unless surrounding countries did the same.

Hat tossed in: Chas M. "Pep" Gunnison filed for candidacy in Casper's mayoral race, filing as an Independent. Although the Tribune-Herald mentioned Gunnison's candidacy made the mayoral election a three-ticket race, the other candidates were not named.

Gunnison opened his campaign saying he was beholden to no one. He started out running a newsstand and through business acumen built his enterprise to become proprietor of Pep's Drug Store on South Center Street.

Renewal: Going through public records, the Wyoming Health Department compiled births and deaths. Dr. W.H. Hassed, state health officer, released the numbers.

Wyoming births in September 1933 totaled 376, with deaths numbering 132. Goshen County had the largest population growth 37 births and just two deaths recorded.

50 years ago

The photo on the front page of the Oct. 14, 1958, Casper Morning Star showed four incubators containing the quadruplets born to Julia and Chester Ullman in Grace Hospital in Detroit.

Distinguished title: George Buchanan was named Oil Man of the Year at the Oil Appreciation Banquet at the Eagles Hall in Casper, and the Oct. 14, 1958, Morning Star ran a photo of Buchanan sitting in front of a 1950s-style illustrated banner.

Civil strife: The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear pleas for review of three cases having to do with desegregation. The cases came out of Louisiana, Delaware and Arkansas and all were arguing against requirements to enroll black students.

Power generation: The Oct. 14, 1958, Morning Star included a photo of Dave Johnston Power Plant giving off an impressive chuff of steam as the coal fired plant near Glenrock was gearing up for full operation.

25 years ago

Only one news photo appeared on the front page of the Oct. 13, 1983, Casper Star-Tribune, a photo of a Salvadoran soldier patrolling the jungle near San Salvador; the other five photos were mug shots of politicians.

Aw shucks: One of those mug shots was of Rep. Dick Cheney, who was busy deflecting supposition that he would be a good replacement for the irascible Interior Secretary James Watt.

Cheney appeared again - different mug shot, same set of his head and expression on his face - on the first page of the Wyoming section in an article about the possibility of the MX missile being deployed in Wyoming.

Speaking in Torrington, Cheney said that Congress would decide the issue in November and that people for and against the missile were divided about 50-50.

"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.