1917 The Wyoming Legislature appropriated $750 to move Jim Baker's cabin from Carbon County to Cheyenne. Baker was a frontiersman who came West working for the American Fur Company. He was later Chief Scout for Gen. Harney out of Ft. Laramie. In 1859 he homesteaded at a location that is now within Denver Colorado. He held a commission in the Colorado State Militia during the Civil War. He relocated to a site near Savery Wyoming in 1873 and homesteaded there. He continued to ranch in that location until his death in 1898, although he did serve the Army as a scout occasionally in the 1870s.Today the cabin is located once again in Savery. It is an unusual structure, as it was built partially as a block house in case of attack. It's interesting to note that a concern for preserving the early history
Monday, February 13, 2017
Today In Wyoming's History: February 13, 1917 Legislature acts to move the Jim Baker cabin.
Today In Wyoming's History: February 13:
Sunday, February 12, 2017
When men wore fur coats
People tend to think of fur in terms of fashion. And fur is thought of in terms of fashion because its expensive. It was worn, however, as it was practical.
It's easy to think otherwise, in our day of synthetics. But, in thinking on it, fur is a renewable natural resource where as synthetics can be the opposite.
Sunday Morning Scene: Churches of the West: St. Benedict Catholic Church, Roundup Montana
Churches of the West: St. Benedict Catholic Church, Roundup Montana:
This is St. Benedict Catholic Church in Roundup Montana. The church is built in a fairly modern style, although I do not know the year of construction. It's located directly across the street from the Musselshell County Courthouse.
This is St. Benedict Catholic Church in Roundup Montana. The church is built in a fairly modern style, although I do not know the year of construction. It's located directly across the street from the Musselshell County Courthouse.
Freight station, Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad. Philadelphia. February 12, 1917.
Saturday, February 11, 2017
The Best Posts of the Week of February 5, 2017
The best posts of the past week:
The Casper Star Tribune has started a series looking at the Wyoming Economy.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Two days ago we reported on the last US soldier leaving Mexico:
The Punitivie Expedition: U.S. complete its withdrawal from Mexico. February 5, 1917.
Some Gave All: Home Front In World War One. Poster display at Fort Caspar, Wyoming. Home Front In World War One. Poster display at Fort Caspar, Casper, Wyoming
Looking at the nature of Wyoming's economy again
___________________________________________________________________________________
And so it ended. The Punitive Expedition.
The Punitivie Expedition: U.S. complete its withdrawal from Mexico. February 5, 1917.
The smile on the soldier to the left's face was likely quite genuine.
The 6th and the 16th Infantry crossing back into the United States.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Women and Trousers. No big historical deal, or the triumph of the harpies in trousers?
This overalls wearing lass, whom is portrayed an industrial giant (take
that, Rosie the Riveter) is wearing overalls, albeit one of the
baggiest pairs of overalls ever. She's also wearing a canvass cap to
cover her hair, with hair styles being voluminous at the time. She
doesn't look very happy, we might note.
__________________________________________________________________________________
The Punitivie Expedition: U.S. complete its withdrawal from Mexico. February 5, 1917.
The smile on the soldier to the left's face was likely quite genuine.
The 6th and the 16th Infantry crossing back into the United States.
The Sherdian Enterprise for February 11, 1917; Austrian officers dudes no more, U.S. reestablished diplomatic relations with Mexico.
I haven't put too many Sheridan Enterprise up here, but this one I had to because of the great headline about Austrian officers
Wow. Austrian officers "cease to be dudes".
That probably doesn't quite read the same way now.
In other items, this issue also reported the war news and on the restoration of diplomatic relations with Mexico. And again, a tragic automobile accident was reported.
Wow. Austrian officers "cease to be dudes".
That probably doesn't quite read the same way now.
In other items, this issue also reported the war news and on the restoration of diplomatic relations with Mexico. And again, a tragic automobile accident was reported.
Sunday State Leader for February 11, 1917. Diplomatic relations with Mexico restored.
Things were changing a bit in our relationship with Mexico, as this paper, and one more I'll put up from this date, shows.
Wyoming's National Guard was still on the border, but the US was reestablishing relations with Mexico, recognizing the Constitutionalist as the legitimate government of the country.
Also in the news was the crisis with Germany, not surprisingly. And the legislature was still in session.
Radicalism was popping up in Cuba.
Fatal automobile accident,s, a nearly constant news item of the early automobile era, were also in the news.
Wyoming's National Guard was still on the border, but the US was reestablishing relations with Mexico, recognizing the Constitutionalist as the legitimate government of the country.
Also in the news was the crisis with Germany, not surprisingly. And the legislature was still in session.
Radicalism was popping up in Cuba.
Fatal automobile accident,s, a nearly constant news item of the early automobile era, were also in the news.
Today In Wyoming's History: February 11, 1917. Commissioner of Labor authorized by the Wyoming Legislature
Today In Wyoming's History: February 11:1917 Commissioner of Labor authorized by the Wyoming Legislature. Attribution: Wyoming State Historical Society.
Friday, February 10, 2017
And now, let's add watch bands. . . .
to the list of things it is impossible to buy here.
Amazing.
I sued to buy them at the jewelry store downtown, where I also bought batteries. It's now closed down, however, the owner having retired. The other jewelry store does not carry watch bands.
So, in addition to shoes and shoelaces, I have to now find replacement watchbands on the net.
One more service that the modern big box age has made impossible to find in locations that aren't served by a large city. Sure, I could find any hip trendy kids shoe going, but dress laces, well, as recently noted, forget it. And replace a watch band. . .hit the net, i guess.
Amazing.
I sued to buy them at the jewelry store downtown, where I also bought batteries. It's now closed down, however, the owner having retired. The other jewelry store does not carry watch bands.
So, in addition to shoes and shoelaces, I have to now find replacement watchbands on the net.
One more service that the modern big box age has made impossible to find in locations that aren't served by a large city. Sure, I could find any hip trendy kids shoe going, but dress laces, well, as recently noted, forget it. And replace a watch band. . .hit the net, i guess.
End of Sugar Cane farming in Hawaii.
So stated an article I picked up a couple of weeks ago, and now have lost the source of.Hawaii’s last working sugar mill, in Puunene, Maui, produced its last harvest last month. The last truck, piled high with newly cut cane stalks, blew its horn as it circled the mill yard. People cheered and held high their phones; a priest led a prayer. The cane was later put on a ship for processing in California, and 375 employees of the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company became the last of the last to be laid off.
Quite a change.
Initial colonization of Hawaii was for agricultural purposes, and agriculture, including sugar, was big on several islands.
And now its gone.
Sugar Cane field being burned on Maui. Now a scene of the past.
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Movies In History: Hail Caesar!
You probably have to be a Coen Brothers fan, a history fan, and an old movie fan, to like this movie. Fortunately for me, I guess, I'm all three.
This latest Coen Brothers film takes a One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich approach to the story of protagonist Eddie Mannix, played by Josh Brolin. Taking place in a relatively short period of time in 1951, Mannix, whatever his theoretical role with a major motion picture studio, is a fixer. That is, he fixes problems that occur on the set, and those problems have to deal with the personalities he encounters.
In order to really grasp the film a person has to have a bit of a background in the times, arts, and i particular film. A series of films are being worked on in the studio, all of which are typical for the era. One of the films is purely a vehicle for background and a side plot, that being an Ester Williams type swimming extravaganza, but with the Williams stand in being a rough, street wise, and pregnant DeeAnna Moran, played very well by Scarlett Johansson with a brilliantly played and very funny cameo by Jonah Hill. The main movie feature involved in the plot is a Holy Land epic featuring a Baird Whitlock, played by George Clooney, who is kidnapped by Communist screenwriters. Other films and genre actors feature in that story, however, including a sailor featuring musical, a dramatic epic, a self affecting homosexual director, a communist song and dance man, a singing cowboy, a Latin dancer and so on. For those not familiar with movies of the 1940s and 1950s, many of these film snippets and characters will seem outlandish, but in reality, they are all actually extremely close to what actual films were like at the time and the characters, while parodies of Hollywood people at the time, aren't much different from what actual characters were like, except exaggerated.
Apparently the central character is based on a real Hollywood figure who had the role of a fixer. As played in this film, he's tortured by his role and is being worked to death, basically. Deeply religious, and facing an offer from Lockheed Industries to work elsewhere, like Ivan Denisovich his daily life is simply a struggle to get through.
Coen films tend to have hit and miss receptions by the movie going audience, and this one was apparently a bit of a miss. That doesn't surprise me much as a person has to be really familiar with film of the era it depicts in order to not think that everything is an outlandish exaggeration, when in fact the exaggeration is fairly slight. I really enjoyed the film, my wife really disliked it. I found it interesting that this is yet another Coen brothers film where religion plays a big part, and beyond the debate by a Rabbi, Orthodox Priest, Catholic Priest, and Protestant minister on the portrayal of Christ in the Biblical epic being filmed. The Mannix character is played as profoundly Catholic and taking refuge in prayer in his effort to decide his own future and (spoiler alert) making that decision in the Confessional.
I like it and recommend it.
The Cheyenne Leader for February 9, 1917: German activity in Mexico drawing the attention of the Secret Service
Two days after the Punitive Expedition had officially ended Germans in Mexico were still drawing U.S. attention. . . and not for incorrect reasons, as it would turn out.
The US was too proud to fight, even after the lifting of unrestricted submarine warfare, regarded as a really immoral act at the time. And the legislature was still busy, working on another alcohol bill even after a run at Prohibition had failed earlier in the week. Much like today, some economic hopes were being pinned on outside industries even though the economy was doing great, fueled by the agricultural and petroleum boom caused by World War One.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)