The LSO has commissioned narratives to accompany the composite, session-by-session photographs of the members of the Wyoming Legislature, which hang in the chambers and hallways of the State Capitol. The narratives give brief biographies of a few legislators of interest, along with a compact, decade-by-decade look at the principal issues facing all the lawmakers since Wyoming became a territory.
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Mary Godat Bellamy, Wyoming’s first woman legislator, was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1910, where she sponsored bills aimed at improving the lives of women and children. She was active as well in the national movement for votes for women.
Verda James, a schoolteacher, deputy director of public instruction for the state of Wyoming, assistant superintendent of the Natrona County schools, and later a faculty member at Casper College, was first elected to the Wyoming House in 1954. She served eight terms. During the last term, 1969-1970, she was elected House speaker, the first woman to serve in that position for a full term.
