Taking a spin

We’re in the spin at WyoHistory.org this month. Join us as we wheel around Wyoming figuratively and literally to explore the life of an expert promoter of the West and the prowess of some early Wyoming cyclists. We also share the story of a century-old hotel and personal recollections about Heart Mountain during World War II and small-town life in Cody in the 1950s. 

Also this October, our editors take to Wyoming’s roads to appear at educational conferences in Casper and Laramie and for a public speaking engagement in Saratoga. More details below.

In November, meanwhile, expect to hear more about how you can help WyoHistory.org forward into a bright future. Later this fall you—all our loyal readers and visitors—will hear details on ways to help WyoHistory.org keep producing high-quality articles, and bringing the state’s history-minded community together. If you want to start early, click here now!

Buffalo Bill spins a tale

Buffalo Bill Cody supposedly was just 14 when he made his thrilling, 322-mile ride for the Pony Express. In fact, it never happened. The staying power of the story, though, shows a great deal about the fiction-fact mix that makes Wyoming and the West what they are today. Learn much more in WyoHistory.org Editor Tom Rea’s article “Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express: Fame, Truth and Inventing the West,” at http://www.wyohistory.org/essays/buffalo-bill-and-pony-express-fame-truth-and-inventing-west.

Wheelmen roll through Wyoming’s history

From the high-wheel bicycles of the 1880s through the one-gear racers of the 1890s and tandems of the nineteen-aughts, bicycling grew increasingly popular in Wyoming, with active clubs, long-distance races, bicycle socials and even a Cowboy Bicycle Race at Cheyenne Frontier Days™. Read more in WyoHistory.org Assistant Editor Lori Van Pelt’s article “Touring Wyoming ‘Awheel’: Boneshakers to Bicycles Built for Two” at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/touring-wyoming-bicycles.

Century-old Mountain View Hotel continues historic tradition

The Mountain View Hotel was an integral part of the settlement of the Centennial Valley at the foot of the Medicine Bow Mountains, about 25 miles west of Laramie. With strong ties to mining, railroad, and early tourism endeavors, the building has remained in service in numerous income-producing capacities for more than a century. Read more about this historic property in the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office article at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/mountain-view-hotel.

Oleta Thomas finds adventure in her life

Oleta Thomas’ father was activities director at the Heart Mountain relocation camp during World War II, when she was a teenager. She shares memories of those times and later ones as a 1950s home economics teacher in Cody, Wyo., and later as a therapeutic massage therapist and nutrition specialist in this 2012 interview. Learn more at http://www.wyohistory.org/oral-histories/oleta-thomas.

WyoHistory.org editors take to the road

WyoHistory.org Editor Tom Rea and Social Studies Education Consultant Stephanie Brady of the Wyoming Department of Education will present “Use Wyoming History to Teach Science, Technology, and Cross-Discipline Literacy” at the 7th annual Wyoming Afterschool Alliance conference in Laramie, Wyo., on Oct. 19, 2015. Rea and Brady will also present at the Casper College Math and Science Teachers’ conference Oct. 26, 2015, in Casper.

For more information about the Laramie event, visit http://wyafterschoolalliance.org/events-2/2015-wyaa-state-conference/. Learn more about the Casper College event at http://www.caspercollege.edu/events/mst.

They will talk about ways to integrate Wyoming’s rich geological and energy history into Science, Technology, Education and Math (STEM) curricula and at the same time cover Wyoming literacy standards in both science and social studies. The discussion will include the wide range of WyoHistory.org content, possible integration into STEM curricula, how to incorporate WyoHistory.org content into text sets, and how it enhances the learning experience for students.

WyoHistory.org Assistant Editor Lori Van Pelt will be the featured speaker for the Saratoga, Wyo., Friends of the Library program on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015, at 7 p.m. She will discuss the online encyclopedia of Wyoming history and how the general public can benefit from using WyoHistory.org. For more details, contact the Saratoga Public Library at (307) 326-8209 or visit http://carbonlibraries.org/saratogafol.html.