Wyoming Breezes

close up of an abandoned threshing machine This old threshing machine was located on my brother's farm. I can't remember if it was there when he bought the farm or was moved there afterwards. It sat on a windswept hill surrounded by other abandoned farm machinery abandoned threshing machine Many of you may not know the purpose of this large machine, but it was the predecessor of the modern combine. The crew who worked with the thresher was large, and it was a dusty/dirty physical job.  Mom told me that Dad travelled for a couple of years with a threshing crew before they were married.  an old family photo of a thresher at work. separating the grain from the straw

Marilyn & Evelyn (sisters) approximately 1948 or 1949 I love my sisters' silhouettes on the car in this old photo. If the photo was taken in 1948, Marilyn would have been three years old, and Evelyn (Sis) would have been seven years old. Don't you love the matching posing stances and their outfits - right down to the shoes and anklets.

Art, Annie, Franklin, Ed, Ted, Charlie I don't have a photo of my Dad's complete family: I'm sure his sister Sadie is not in the photo because most likely she was the one who took it. Sadie probably took the photo in t his earlier post , too. Every family seems to have a historian, the family photographer. Because of their role, they are seldom in photos. Who's your family historian/photographer?

Fiber Guild members gather at Nancy J.'s house for a Christmas meeting approximately 2011 For years, the Fiber Guild met at Nancy J.'s house for its December meeting. Many times, members would bring a wrapped skein of yarn for a gift exchange. Often Nancy would organize some musical entertainment. One year, several of the Riverton ladies performed  attempted to perform Christmas carols accompanied with Boom Whackers ; another year, one of Nancy's piano students entertained the members. Santa even showed up one year with treats for those in attendance. Refreshments often included mulled cider, an egg casserole, and Julie W.'s  famous cranberry coffee cake. Gradually, the group outgrew Nancy's house, and we met in larger venues. To give you an idea of what Boom Whackers sound like, here's a video for your enjoyment. The Riverton ladies had a lot of fun playing the Boom Whackers, but we spent more time laughing than actually playing.

Central Wyoming College faculty and graduating class (click image to enlarge) yellow star is over my head May 1971 Central Wyoming College  (CWC) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and I am proud to be an alum of this small community college. By the time I graduated from high school (1969), CWC had graduated two classes. To increase the student body in those early years when the college had no dormitories, the college paid students to drive. Having the option of living at home and attending college was an attractive proposition. I received my Associates' Degree in 1971 and was a member of the third graduating class of Central Wyoming College. More about the college's history can be found on Wikipedia . After graduation, I attended the University of Wyoming (UW) in Laramie, Wyoming, and graduated in the summer of 1973 with my Bachelor's Degree in education, with minors in theater and speech. CWC prepared me well for my transition to UW. The campus had three...

Four brothers - Ted, Ed, Art, Charles near Provo, SD  My Dad (second from the right) had three brothers and one sister and grew up on a farm near Provo, South Dakota. The farm/ranch is now being worked by Ed's grandson and is an official Century Farm (managed by one family for at least 100 years) More about the farm's history can be found here . My Dad and his oldest brother Ted moved to central Wyoming in the 1930s. They were eager to farm irrigated land, in the developing Midvale Irrigation District. Ed stayed on the family farm, Charles started a sheep ranch near Provo, and Sadie and her husband operated a ranch south of Provo.

Prexy's Pasture (facing west) University of Wyoming campus Laramie, WY March 16, 2018 Kyle Spradley Photography ~ Facebook image Seeing this photo of Prexy's Pasture brought back memories of my two and half years at the University of Wyoming. I can't begin to count the number of times I trudged across Prexy's Pasture on my way to classes at UW in the early 70s. The wind was often howling and drifting snow across the open space in the winter. Cold nights in the spring would turn the sidewalks into treacherous ice corridors. One early morning, I fell so many times, that I finally took off my shoes and walked in my socks to get to class on time. The pine trees have grown a lot since the early 70s and probably buffer some of the brutal wind and reduce how much the snow can drift in the area. In the summer, the campus is gorgeous with green spaces and blooming flowers. The UW campus has expanded so much that it is clearly more than double what it was in the...

dancers at the Polynesian Culture Center June 1976 Lately I've been yearning for color, as the landscape is still brown and grey with a bit of the white stuff still visible here and there. I searched my old photos and found these two images from the first trip I made to Hawaii - June 1976. Hawaii is beautiful and colorful - the perfect getaway (even in photos) for a winter weary soul. Polynesian Culture Center June 1976 I returned to Hawaii in 1985 and then again in 2010.  Have you visited Hawaii?

John S. collapsing cellar approx. 1984 I don't know when my parents built the cellar on the farm, but I'm guessing it was in the late 1940s. The cellar walls were dirt and almost smooth. On the west side of the narrow path down the middle was an open area to store potatoes, hard-shelled squash (acorn and huge hubbard), gourds, onions, and other root vegetables from the field and garden. Other items were also stored in the northwest corner, like empty lard buckets and empty wicker baskets and wire potato baskets. The east wall had narrow shelves to store numerous Mason jars, filled with tomatoes, tomato juice, corn and creamed corn, green beans, apples and apple sauce, sauerkraut, pickles (sweet and dill), peaches, pears, cherries, jams and jellies, apple butter and other fruits and vegetables if they were available. What we didn't eat out the garden was canned and taken to the cellar. The steps into the cellar were wide and deep and cut from the earth. In the spring, ...

Standing: Oscar Lund, Nils Gabrielsen, Barbara and Bob Rohn, my Mom, Harold and Alma Schmidt, Linda Keldsen, Art Rohn. Seated: Karen Gabrielsen, Naomi Lund, and Lydia Rohn December 1970 or 1971 Last week, I posted a photo and some memories of the Circle K Extension club . Today, I'm sharing a more recent photo (probably from the early 1970s) of a Christmas dinner the group held at a local restaurant. These couples were neighbors and friends for many years. Oscar and Naomi Lund owned the grocery store in Kinnear for many years. At the rear of the store was the local post office, and Oscar was the postmaster. Naomi worked at the store and also gave piano lessons. Oscar was quite a jokester and had a booming laugh. Nils and Karen Gabrielsen lived down the hill from my Mom and also had a dairy farm. Nils parents Gabe and Mary lived there before Nils and Karen took over the farm. Both Gabe and Mary were deaf, but Mary and my Mom visited often by "finger writing" on ...

WRHS Faculty 1981 Front row: Ethel R., Sue O., Bev S., Margaret S ., Chuck G ., Bill H ., Sharon N.. Second Row: Alice N., Allen H., Jim N., Nancy J. Back row: Nancy S ., LeRoy S ., Jim N., Bert O., Kris N ., Louise O. After I returned from teaching in Japan, my next job was teaching Language Arts (English) and Journalism at Wind River High School. Even though I saw a LOT of principals come and go during that time period, the staff members were fairly consistent. In my opinion, it was the longevity and dedication of the staff that kept the school from imploding from the revolving door on the principal's office. For a period of time, we had a new principal every year or every other year and a somewhat militant school board as well. It was the staff that provided the stability the students needed during those years. This group of educators and support staff always put the students first, and I was proud to work with every one of them. Over the years, one by one, we retire...