Looking Back

100 years ago

Many people do not fully appreciate the importance of a newspaper as a part of their every-day life. A person’s daily duties and casual local occurrences afford familiarity with but a mere pin point on the globe of human interest. Anyone who confines his knowledge to what he sees and hears lives in a narrow world indeed. 1914 is the biennial election of Wyoming. In this year Wyoming will elect a governor, state officers, a legislature, and a congressman. Issues of vital interest to the people of the state will be settled next November. It is up to the men and women of Wyoming to begin now to get familiar with these issues, so they can cast their votes for good measures and for men who will stand for them.

E. Ragel has built an addition on his barn.

Sam Fisher has a sick cow, lung fever is the cause.

When in need of fresh groceries call at the Furney Variety Store.

Jim Byram and Geo. Sisson started the New Year right by filling the pork barrel.

75 years ago

Pine Bluffs was blessed with abundant moisture during the year 1938, as shown by the records of George G. Reed, government weather observer here. The average summer temperatures were lower than for several previous years, being about normal, as against unseasonably hot days that had been the rule for a few years. A total of 19.52 inches of precipitation for 1938 as compared with 14.01 inches in 1937 and 9.73 inches in 1936.

One of the largest crowds ever to attend a farm sale in this territory was in attendance at the H. A. Peters sale, 15 miles northwest of Pine Bluffs, Tuesday.

50 years ago

The Hornet basketball boys have another dual performance on tap for this weekend on the home floor when they play Guernsey Friday and Harrisburg Saturday. Friday night the locals romped to an easy 58-37 victory in a Texas Trail conference game over Glendo on their floor. Frank Supon was high-point man for the Hornets with 24, and Dennis Kieler and Gary Booth each bucketing 10 points.

Bids will be opened Jan. 22 on six highway projects estimated at a total cost of $5.7 million, according to the Wyoming state highway department. The projects, covering 23.4 miles of construction, include work on Wyoming’s three interstate highways and on state secondary roads. Among the projects is an 84-ft. twin concrete separation structure and miscellaneous work on Interstate 80 between Cheyenne and Pine Bluffs in Laramie county.

Mrs. Marvin (Carolyn) Soule is a new employee of the Pine Bluffs Post, having started to work in the office last week. Mrs. Soule, whose husband is employed by the Rural Electric company, has lived in Pine Bluffs five years, and the couple has three school-aged children, Lynne, Peggy and Marvin.

The Carpenter fire truck answered a call about 11 p.m. Sunday to a burning house on the old Ramsey place, now the home of the Carl White family. Freezing temperatures made operations of the truck difficult and one nozzle quit operating, but the truck was able to assist the Pine Bluffs department to put out the fire which was believed to have started from an overheated furnace in the basement. Considerable damage was sustained from the fire. Nobody was injured.

A Landrace sow farrowed 21 live pigs for her owner Gene Noel, Friday.

Mrs. Ward Evans was startled but unhurt Sunday when a .45 caliber army shell exploded in the wood-burning cook stove in the kitchen of her home. She was standing beside the stove and had lifted the lid to stoke the fire when the shell exploded and the cartridge struck the ceiling with force enough to chip the plaster.

25 years ago

Cory Talich, a Pine Bluffs High School senior was among 39 young people from 21 Wyoming communities nominated by Congressman Dick Cheney to compete for appointments to the military service academies. Cory is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Talich.

Pine Bluffs United Methodist Church dedicated its new parsonage recently with a ceremony to honor the funding donor and pass the keys to the new home to Rev. Fred Amborn III family. The structure built at the corner of 6th and Market was named the “Mildred McFann Parsonage.” A plaque inscribed “In Memory of Her Loving Devotion to Her God and Church” was placed on the exterior front wall. District Superintendent rev. Robert Link and Rev. Fred Amborn III presided over the ceremony. Special music was sung by Mary Amborn and she was accompanied by Shirley Leemaster.

10 years ago

The Pine Bluffs Town Council discussed the possible actions to hasten the clean-up of downtown after December’s fire on Main Street at Monday’s regular meeting. “I wish we could get the (town) crew to truck off three to four loads a day,” Mayor Leonard Anderson said. According to Anderson before any clean-up can begin, and loads taken to the landfill, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has to sign off that the material is asbestos free. Town attorney Alex Davison said it does not appear that any insurance is available for the clean-up. He said unless the owner is willing to hire it done, it leaves the clean-up the responsibility of the town.