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The time has finally come when the temperature drops enough to make me think about stepping outside with a jacket, and once again I’ll be stubborn enough to keep it hanging on the rack for just a few days more. I like the fall because it gives a nice reprieve between the heat of summer and the chill of winter, a time where the weather is just perfect in my opinion. I also remember fondly waiting for my folks and older brothers to rake up the leaves in the yard. As I was still a bit small to b...
As we celebrate National School Lunch week, I got to thinking back on growing up in Thermopolis and the wonderful lunch ladies we had and the delicious meals they used to make for us. You see, in those days, no one left campus to pop into a fast food joint for lunch, you ate in the lunchroom with everyone else. The lunch ladies were awesome. In my young mind they were all “grandmothers” who knew what they were doing in the kitchen. Everything we had was made from scratch, from the giant pan...
It can take a significant event for us to remember where we were and exactly what we were doing at a given time. For those born in the early 2000's and before, that came in the form of planes crashed into the World Trade Center. For myself, I remember going about my normal routine in college until I passed by the television in the cafeteria and wondered at what I was seeing. It was a sentiment expressed by my classmates, friends, family who called, and personally the reality of it didn't really...
It starts with that nip in the morning air – we turn on the heater in the car to go to work and the AC when we come home. The water bill goes down and the heating bill starts going up. Then there’s that different smell in the air as the leaves turn red and yellow, cheering football fans, Oktobrewfest, bugling elk and then State Football and State Volleyball. Next thing you know the little goblins are running from house to house getting treats, grandma is roasting that perfect turkey for Tha...
I know the importance of the Hot Springs County Senior Citizens Center and its role in our community. We are in essence a retirement community and it’s because of resources like the Hot Springs County Senior Citizens Center that we are able to keep promoting healthy living and lifestyles for our much-respected aging population. Currently the senior citizens center provides many different activities including billiards, card games, Bingo, a library and even touring trips. In my humble opinion, even if all the center offered was an opportunity to...
We have been very fortunate this summer (knock wood) to have missed any kind of major fire in Hot Springs County. As we watch the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and wait for landfall of Hurricane Irma, let us not forget there are 44 fires burning in our neighboring Montana. Add to that fires burning across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California and its no wonder our skies are smoky. As of last Friday, there were 106 new fires, including four new large fires. Fifty of those are nowhere close...
Rarely in life are we blessed with truly “tingly” moments. Not those hair raising moments, but the ones that are breathtaking. I know some folks around here couldn’t understand what all the “hub-bub” was about, why people were coming across vast oceans to our little town to see an eclipse. For some, it was going to be an inconvenience they didn’t want to deal with. We’re pretty set in our ways and having that many people coming to town was a bit scary for some. I can’t tell you how many times...
People who study cultures have often written and maintained the “territoriality” of groups they study. That seems to me to be a very elitist way of saying there’s no place like home. That was brought “home” to me by a recent visit by my sister-in-law and my niece. They were very pleased with themselves for having driven nearly the width of the country from their home in Georgia to California to Oregon to here from whence they would continue their travels on the way to Minnesota and home again. While I admired the energy of my eighty-ye...
The final planning meetings are being held, hotels and campgrounds continue to fill their empty spaces and specially tinted glasses that are ISO 12312-2 certified have quickly become the latest “must have, sell out” items. With less than a week to go before the big event, there’s still a few questions out there, which nobody can really answer until Monday has come and gone, such as “Will we actually get the influx of people everyone is predicting?” “Will there be enough gas, food and other s...
Last weekend I took the opportunity to do something I haven’t in . . . I can’t remember when. I fished. At a small lake about 10 miles from my in-laws I was re-acquainted with that age-old pass time that comes with the cycle of casting, untangling, getting frustrated, occasionally taking a poke from the hook and, yes, even catching a small crappie, bluegill or bass every so often. While I seem to remember drinking was a part of that process the last time with a rod and reel in my hand, I tho...
If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it repeatedly; words count. As a retired English and writing teacher, I’ve lost track of the times I’ve used that phrase or one that was similar in meaning. I emphasized making the words convey as accurately as possible content when you wanted the hearer or reader to understand your meaning or feeling. In a public setting, there were ways of conveying your emotions that were not acceptable, and those that were. People were scandalized by the recorded words of a former president copied from tapes made that wer...
Several times a month someone asks me what economic development is, or does. While economic development is unique to each community, there are basic building blocks intended to create a continual cycle of development. The Wyoming Economic Development Association has produced a series of “building blocks” to guide communities in Wyoming. Each level provides a foundation for the next. Most economic developers work on developing all tiers simultaneously. The first level of the building blocks is Leadership/Civic Development & the role of pub...
I know the kids are going to hate hearing this, but its just four more weeks til school starts! Most summer vacations have been taken and now its just the slow, hot move toward that first day of school. As a kid, I really looked forward to that first day of school. I grew up in a neighborhood with no other kids for blocks, so most of my summer was spent at the library, reading books or practicing my cursive writing. My grandmother would pick an article out of the paper every day to have me...
This is one of my most favorite weekends in Thermopolis -- All Class Reunion! Every year, Bobcats from across the country gather in this little place we called home to reminisce, see old friends and relive the good old days. (Not that we’re old. Really.) This is also a chance for alumni to visit their old stomping grounds, drag a few “mains” or maybe go down to Green Eye (realizing that water is a lot faster than we remember). Snider Point and the buffalo pasture are a must, and perhaps, if yo...
Last week I made the annual trip to PBS to watch their presentation of “A Washington Fourth.” I was particularly pleased that the “Beachboys” were prominently featured on the program since they succeeded in reviving some happy days when the problems we faced were, or at least seemed, much smaller. What I didn’t see was as entertaining as the group. I didn’t see a single scowl among the large crowd gathered in the mall area. No signs of protest slogans, no policemen in riot gear, no megaphone announcements, and no one being pushed or pummeled...
This past weekend afforded me an interesting opportunity, as well as a reminder, to witness duality when dealing with nature, especially when it comes to water. The Wind River and Bighorn River have generated quite a bit of discussion and speculation over the past few weeks, what with the runoff and occasional rainstorm impacting just how fast they each are moving. Saturday, I watched as a couple groups navigated the river in the canyon, waves soaking and spinning them, even helping their rafts...
Sixty plus years ago, Dad and I would arise at 4 a.m. in Torrington and have our lines in the water by first light at Glendo. We caught a ton (slight exaggeration) of fish there. As the years passed, as well as Dad, I began to realize that my mind wasn’t reliving the thrill of reeling in a good sized Rainbow, it was reveling in the warmth of a father/son relationship that transcended who could land the largest trout of the day though that competition was delightful. Worries, frets, regrets, and anxieties were left back in Torrington for Mom t...
This past Saturday I was honored to be able to shoot photos of a very heartwarming event, the Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation flights provided to some of the veterans at the Wyoming Pioneer Home. I watched these gentlemen getting off the Pioneer Home bus, some walking on their own, some with walkers or canes and even some with oxygen – looked over at the open cockpit bi-plane, and wondered how this was going to work. What happened was amazing. The pilot, Mike Winterboer and his wife, D...
Most teachers find after they have completed their Bachelors and spent a year in the classroom that it’s in their interest financially and professionally to seek a Masters in something...practically anything will be helpful to their career. Unfortunately, many interested in the three reasons to enter teaching (June, July, and August) soon find that they have been misled about the nature of the vocation they have undertaken. It seems there was an applicant for a high steel job in a city working on a high-rise project. Though he indicated he h...
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director We are only 53 days away from the 2017 Solar Eclipse. It is hard to believe that we have been planning for this event for almost 2 years. I have been surprised how many organizations have been involved in preparing for this “Once in a Lifetime” Event. Among the participants in these at these monthly planning meetings have been BLM, HSC Public Health, HSC Emergency Management, Mortimore Ambulance Service, HSC Search & Rescue, HSC Weed & Pest, HSCMH, Hot Springs State Park, HSC Planner, Town of The...
Mark your calendar for the Annual Gift of the Water Parade that is Saturday, August 5 at 10 a.m. The theme to this year’s parade is “Pages from the Ages — Celebrating over 100 years.” Many of our downtown buildings are celebrating their 100th birthday this year. It is amazing that we can look at some of the buildings and know that they have been there for at least a 100 years. The parade route is as follows: Line up starts at 9:30 a.m. on Arapahoe and Senior Avenue — make sure to check in and get your entry number. At 10 a.m. the parade wi...
We’ve talked a lot about spring and flowers and everything getting so green and beautiful right now, which got me to thinking about my grandmother and her little brother. In the old days, kids had to not only make their own fun, there was no such thing as an allowance, so in order to get treats, they had to use their ingenuity. My grandmother, Margaret, and her little brother, John, lived in Kirby as they were growing up. Their father, my great-grandfather, was the sheriff at the time. My g...
This past week I saw my oldest son graduate from his pre-school program, and dealt with a barrage of “why” as I tried to break down why he couldn’t go straight to kindergarten the next day. He has yet to grasp this concept of summer vacation, and I only hope his love for school holds out longer than it did his father’s — I lost it around third grade. For those students who recognize what we’re on the cusp of, it can mean a switch from learning to lounging or, in some cases, working through the...
I hope that the title of this column got your attention! It is an ill-kept secret that Thermopolis has a lot going on, and there are several different versions as to what the facts are. In an effort to communicate with the public, and put out the true facts of what is happening around the community, this column will be a weekly opportunity for nonprofits and clubs to toot their horns and inform. The basic rules will be simple: keep your column between 200-400 words, and keep it clean. This is NOT Thermopolis Confessions! To kick things off, I i...
We’re officially within two weeks before graduation — 10 days to be exact — and there’s a flurry of activity at the schools, not just in these last few days but the entire month of May as spring sports wrap up their seasons, school programs take to the stage and students go on field trips near and far. Though the last few days feel like a time to be a bit more lax in the classroom, with summer vacation within sight, I’d encourage students to keep their academic, athletic and extracurr...