Wyoming Rural Electric News November 2023

WYOMING

NOV 2023

RURAL ELECTRIC NEWS

14

38

AMBASSADORS OF COWBOY MUSIC

WYOMING ARTISTS HELPING OTHERS DEVELOP THEIR OWN A R T I S T I C TA L E N T S AND VISION

24

LOSING LIGHT

WAYS TO SAVE AND IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN YOUR HOME + SWITCH TO A HEAT PUMP WATER HEATER (HPWH) HPWHs are 350% more efficient than a traditional water heater and cost less to operate. HPWHs use electricity to transfer heat from the air into the water, instead of using combustion to generate heat, making HPWHs a safer alternative.

+ INSTALL LED LIGHTING LED lightbulbs consume 80% less energy than incandescent bulbs and can last 10 to 25 times longer. Unlike incandescent bulbs, which release 90% of their energy as heat, LEDs are far more energy-efficient with very little heat.

+ SAVE WITH AN AIR-SOURCE HEAT PUMP The newest air-source heat pumps can be up to 300% more efficient than electric baseboard heat. They work in cold weather and can reduce your propane usage by 80% or more.

+ UPDATE YOUR ELECTRICAL PANEL When increasing your home’s energy efficiency, keep in mind that it may require a service panel upgrade.

As you receive quotes for electrical equipment always be sure to ask for a load calculation to ensure your electrical panel can handle the new equipment.

To learn more about rebates and incentives for electrification programs, contact your local co-op or public power district. Visit us at www.tristate.coop/electrifyandsave

Tri-State is a not-for-profit power supplier to cooperatives and public power districts in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming.

2023 N O V E M B E R

ON THE COVER 14 CENTERPIECE

STORY BY ILENE OLSON

Wyoming Artists

23

JUST FOR FUN CORNER 20 KIDS’ L O O K-A L I K E

22 B R O W N M U L E 7 BOOK GIVEAWAY

BY MIKE TOYNE

23 PUZZLE QUIRKY TURKEY TRIVIA JUMBLE

BY KENDRA SPANJER

FEATURES

Wyoming artists find inspiration in our state’s wide open spaces and Western culture, in our people and in themselves.

They create in many mediums, and inspire the next generation of artists, too. Get inspired on page 14.

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YOUTH 06 CO-OP TO TOUCH A TREE

BY CAMBRE FREMONT

SPOTLIGHT 26 CO-OP E XC E L L E N T

S T E WA R D S H I P AND A DOWNRIGHT S C A RY W O R K ETHIC

BY ILENE OLSON

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11

FROM OUR READERS

ESSAYS & ANECDOTES

STATE NEWS & EVENTS

COOKS 28 COUNTRY C O C K TA I L S

NOTES 04 WREA W H AT A R E YO U

08 TOWN TALES 10 GRASSROOTS NETWORK

30 W Y O M I N G

PEN TO PAPER SUBMITTED BY WESLEY WALKER

PICTURE IT 31 JUST VISITORS

T H A N K F U L F O R?

BY SHAWN TAYLOR

ON THE RANGE 24 HOME LO S I N G L I G H T

BY GINA LUTTERMAN SIGEL

38 AMBASSADORS OF ENLIGHTEN US

COWBOY MUSIC

BY JACKIE DOROTHY

11 THE CURRENT

12 COWBOY STATE BUZZ 34 WHAT’S HAPPENING

WREA NOTES

W H AT A R E YO U THANKFUL FOR? I’ll tell you what I’m not thankful for. Retailers pushing Christmas earlier and earlier every year! Growing up we had Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas; there was no overlap in holidays. It seems like these days you can walk into Hobby Lobby or Target and there’s Christmas décor up after the 4th of July. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. I love it for what we celebrate on the day. I love it for the joy that it brings me and my family and friends, but to quote the great Gen-X’er icon Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.” This year, let’s not forget to stop and look around and give thanks.

After what seems to always be busy summers, hot temperatures and family schedules that are upended with kids not being in school, fall, in my mind, gives us an opportunity to take a pause, take a breath, “stop and look around,” and take stock of what we’re thankful for. In the past I know I’ve written about the co-op family, and for the past almost 19 years, my co-op family and my actual family have had a special kind of connection and that is something I have always been thankful for.

When I first interviewed for the job of Executive Director for the Wyoming Rural Electric Association (WREA), my oldest son, Byson, was just a few months old. Tom Delaney from Big Horn Rural Electric Association was the President of WREA and asked me to bring my family to the interview which, at the time, I thought was kind of an odd request, but in hindsight fits right in with the cooperative family concept. About a year later at my very first annual meeting in Casper, while I was in the middle of introducing our keynote speaker, my wife Erin, who was nine months pregnant, called my cell phone. My board knew this was a possibility, but after interrupting my introduction and stepping out in the hall, I came back, finished introducing the speaker, sat and listened to his speech (although I couldn’t tell you what he talked about), and afterwards I got up to the podium to continue the meeting.

Pam Kinchen, who was a Powder River Energy director yelled out, “Was that your wife?”

I’m pretty sure everyone in the room could tell by the look on my face that my wife called to tell me that she was in labor!

It was my first annual meeting, so I wanted to make it a good one, but my board and all those in attendance were so awesome and understanding when they told me to hit the road and get my butt back to Cheyenne. Luckily it was a long labor and I made it home in time for the birth of my daughter, Ava. Our family has always made a family trip out of attending Carbon Power & Light’s annual meeting in Saratoga, but the deal was they had to actually attend the annual meeting in order to enjoy the spoils of the hot springs. When our third kid, son Slade, was probably 5 years old, we tried to make a game out of the annual meeting and told the kids to pick one word, and every time that word was said throughout the meeting, they got a point. Byson and Ava being wise beyond their years picked the words “carbon” and “coal.”

Slade being relatively new to the co-op family chose the word “cheetah.”

Well as you can predict the words “carbon” and “coal” were mentioned quite often throughout the meeting, but then Carbon’s President at the time, Clay Thompson, got to the mic and lit up Slade’s scorecard by using the word “cheetah” throughout his President’s report. It was hilarious and awesome.

I could take every page in this issue of WREN with similar stories from co-op directors and wives, and/or employees helping Erin and I out with our family, and among many other things, my family and my co-op family is what I’m thankful for.

SH AWN TAY LO R

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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THE WREN MAGAZINE WYOMING RURAL ELECTRIC NEWS The official publication of the Wyoming Rural Electric Association The WREN Magazine, Wyoming Rural Electric News,

WILD AND FREE End of summer bull moose in the Snowy Range.

PHOTO BY TALENA RUNNER, RUNNER PHOTOGRAPHY

volume 69, number 10, November 2023 (ISSN 1098-2876) is published monthly except for January for $22 per year by Linden Press, Inc., Periodicals postage paid at Cheyenne, WY (original entry office) and at additional mailing offices.

WREN Magazine is owned and controlled by rural electric cooperatives in the interest of the economic progress of rural areas specifically and the entire population of Wyoming and the nation generally.

WREN Magazine has a total average monthly paid circulation of 32,298 for 11 months ending September 2023. WREN Magazine is delivered to rural electric member/consumers and other subscribers throughout the entire state of Wyoming and the nation.

Acceptance of advertising by WREN Magazine does not imply endorsement of the product or services advertised by the publisher or Wyoming electric cooperatives.

WREN STAFF Publisher: Linden Press, Inc. — Editorial Team — Maggie York Alison Quinn Becky Freismuth — Design Team — Dixie Lira David Merkley Shawna Phillips

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

High West Energy, Pine Bluffs – Michael Lerwick, President Big Horn REC, Basin – John Joyce, Vice President Wheatland REA, Wheatland – Sandra Hranchak, Secretary/Treasurer Basin Electric, Bismarck, ND – Paul Baker Bridger Valley Electric, Mountain View – Ruth Rees Carbon Power, Saratoga – Kenny Curry Garland Light & Power, Powell – Scott Smith High Plains Power, Riverton – Brett Gardner Lower Valley Energy, Afton – Scott Anderson Niobrara Electric, Lusk – J.D. Wasserburger Powder River Energy, Sundance – Mike Lohse Wyrulec Company, Torrington – Dewey Hageman Deseret Power, South Jordan, UT – Gary Nix Tri-State G&T, Westminster, CO – Julie Kilty

SUBSCRIPTION RATES $22 per year, Single copies $2 each

ADVERTISING To purchase call (307) 996-6552.

OFFICE OF WREN OWNER 2312 Carey Ave., Cheyenne, WY 82001

ADDRESS CHANGES Please contact your local cooperative to update your address.

Paid subscribers contact publisher.

PUBLISHER 307-286-8140 wren@wyomingrea.org

POSTMASTER — Send address changes to — The WREN Magazine, Wyoming Rural Electric News, c/o Linden Press, Inc., 121 E Mountain Ave, Fort Collins, CO 80524, [970] 221-3232.

Include 3-digit co-op code.

PRINTED WITH VEGETABLE INK

YOUNG CREATIVES

CO-OP YOUTH

To Touch a Tree But when a loving and appreciative hand CAMBRE FREMONT

16 YEARS OLD | BEULAH

strokes its bark and kind words are said about how pretty and majestic it is, standing proudly

There is something about a tree … So full of life, bursting from the inside out with beauty, yet never having the chance to see where it was so fortunately placed.

Its home is in a field with others like it. Spending the morning mingling with the wildflowers and the afternoons with the ferns. But, in reality, it has never been introduced to a single one of them, and not a word passed between them.

It was called home sweet home by many chirping and chattering birds and insects, yet it never heard a single peep from them.

When the sky rained down its blessing, it wasn’t able to sniff the fresh scent of clean, pine infused air.

It couldn’t smile at a passing traveler, or ask where they were from or how far they were going. It couldn’t laugh along with the children who played under its branches.

When morning came it could not see the first rays of sunshine spreading over the mountain or across the sky, nor the last purple glow at twilight.

YOUNG CREATIVES, WE NEED YOU! SUBMIT YO U R WO R K

 wren@wyomingrea.org | 307-286-8140  214 W. Lincolnway Ste. 21C Cheyenne, WY 82001  wyomingrea.org/wren-submissions

on the mountaintop, one can think that, perhaps, the tree can feel that a kindred soul was found. And it can tell that if so much love can be felt by a single touch, it is fine living with only one of the senses … feeling.

The sense of belonging when it simply knows other trees are nearby, the brush of the fern and flower against its base. Those tell it where it is placed, and who the neighbors spread around it are.

The scuttling of ants and the tickling wings of butterflies let it know insects are making its cracks and crevices their home. The cardinals and bluebirds roosting in the branches give away their presence.

Raindroplets running off its leaves, and the refreshing breeze drying them afterwards tell that it has rained, and a rainbow is stretched across the sky.

The gladness and relief of the weary visitor as they sit in the shade is thanks enough, and the laughter and joy radiating off of the children, along with their curious climbing and exploring can say more than words can.

This year, WREN will feature creative work by our Wyoming youth, ages 10+.

Entries may range from photos to paintings, illustrations and digital artwork to poetry, prose and short stories. Featured work may include a blog or a website url if you have one, so WREN readers can view more of your art.

Please include your name, age, address and phone number along with your entry title and description. You are welcome to mail us a physical copy of your work, or send in a high-resolution digital file (this method is preferred).

The enthusiasm of the morning sun, the fervor of the afternoon, and the coziness of the evening sunset are detected. The cool, brisk pace of the moon as it travels with the wind, it is all picked up by the insightful, perceptive tree.

Any sight, sound, saying, or scent … They can all be felt, in one way or another. So, perhaps a tree can appreciate and enjoy life more than we give credit for. Maybe, by not chasing after everything the other senses have to offer or bring to mind, trees can understand more of the mysteries of life than we could ever dream to discover.

All by the simplicity, all by paying the utmost attention to a single, solitary, touch.

NOV 2023

7

TOWN TALES

Town Tales A MAJOR CHARACTER IN CARBON COUNTY

A SHORT HISTORY OF WYOMING’S FIRST LICENSED FEMALE DOCTOR

FROM WYOMING HISTORICAL SOCIETY WYSHS.ORG

SUBMITTED BY TOM MENSIK

DID YOU KNOW CARBON COUNTY WAS THE HOME OF WYOMING’S FIRST LICENSED FEMALE DOCTOR? Lillian Heath was an instrumental figure in the history of Rawlins. She began her medical career as an assistant to Dr. Thomas McGhee in Rawlins. When she was sixteen, she was even present at the famous autopsy of outlaw Big Nose George after his lynching in Rawlins in 1881. Even before that she rubbed elbows with none other than Thomas Edison during the 1878 Total Solar Eclipse. Edison evidently stayed at the Heath residence during his stay in Rawlins.

When she officially became a doctor she was often called to rural patients at all hours of the day and night. She would often have to dress as a man and carry a weapon to these calls. Heath would often face resistance from women mostly.

Her female patients would refuse to pay because they were expecting a male doctor. This did not deter Dr. Heath and she took patients for over 15 years.

In the early 1900s she moved to Denver to become a model for the Daniel’s and Fisher department store. After a brief modeling career, Dr. Heath and her husband operated a hotel in Rifle, Colorado. The couple moved back to Rawlins. Dr. Heath continued to update her medical license throughout her life. Later in life she would go on to inspect hospitals in Denver.

Dr. Heath is a major character not only in Carbon County, but in Wyoming history as well.

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NOV 2023

Dr. Heath as a young woman.

She was quite adventurous and would often be found travelling and exploring the wilderness along with her medical practice.

Dr. Heath is shown holding the skull cap of notorious outlaw, “Big Nose” George Parrot. After his autopsy she was given the skull cap and held on to it for her whole life. She produced it when his body was discovered in a whiskey barrel in Rawlins in 1950 and it was used to definitively match Parrot’s remains.

Top Left: Dr. Lillian Heath, portrait photo. It is unknown when this photo was taken, however, during this time in her life, she was a model for the D&F Store in Denver, Colorado. This could be a modeling photo for the Denver-based department store.

BASIN ELECTRIC

A D A P TA B I L I T Y

POWERING THROUGH W H AT E V E R C O M E S Y O U R W AY Each day brings its own challenges, and Basin Electric will help you power through all of them.

We have the strength and versatility to adapt so you can keep your operation running, your business doors open, and your family safe and sound.

Reliable Energy for Our Way of Life.

NOV 2023

9

GRASSROOTS NETWORK

WREA Seeks Nominations for NRECA Director THE WYOMING RURAL ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION NOMINATING COMMITTEE IS ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS FOR CANDIDATES TO REPRESENT WYOMING ON THE NATIONAL RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION’S REGION VII STANDING COMMITTEES. Region VII includes the Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska rural electric associations.

HOW IT WORKS Region VII members (as a whole) have two representatives on each of the three committees: 1] Regulations 2] Legislative 3] Cooperative Management and Employee Issues

Per the WREA’s agreement with the other three states in Region VII to rotate the six seats, Wyoming will be accepting nominations for one seat on the Cooperative Management, Employment and Community Committee to start serving February of 2024.

MAIL YOUR NOMINATIONS BY JANUARY 15, 2024!

Committees generally meet once a year.

A per diem is paid and travel expenses are reimbursed.

Members and employees from any Wyoming co-op are eligible.

Committee members will be chosen by the WREA board at the annual NRECA Wyoming Membership Meeting on

FEBRUARY 15, 2024.

Those interested in serving or nominating someone should submit names in writing to: Nominating Committee, WREA, 2312 Carey Ave., Cheyenne, WY, 82001. Mail by January 15, 2024.

Include the name of the nominee, mailing address and phone number.

10

NOV 2023

THE CURRENT

Keep Your Holidays Merry & Bright

FROM SAFEELECTRICITY.ORG

T O P 10 H O M E E L E C T R I C A L S A F E T Y T I P S

1.

USE A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN FOR REPAIR WORK

2.

REPAIR LOOSE OUTLETS; REPLACE CRACKED, WORN ELECTRIC CORDS

3.

WATCH FOR HOT OR DISCOLORED SWITCH PLATES, FLICKERING LIGHTS, OR BUZZING SOUNDS.

4.

GET REGULAR CHECK-UPS FOR OLDER HOMES

5.

USE BULBS WITH CORRECT WATTAGE FOR THE FIXTURES

6.

IF CHILDREN ARE PRESENT INSTALL TAMPER RESISTANT OUTLETS TO PROTECT AGAINST SHOCK

7.

UNPLUG ELECTRICS IF YOU SMELL SOMETHING BURNING

8.

USE EXTENSION CORDS TEMPORARILY, NOT AS PERMANENT WIRING

9.

EDUCATE THE HOUSEHOLD ON ELECTRICAL SAFETY

DON’T ADD STRESS TO YOUR HOLIDAY SEASON. KNOWING HOW TO PROPERLY USE AND HANG LIGHTS COULD PREVENT INJURY OR FIRE. Make sure your home’s electrical system can handle the load.

Unplug lights or decorations before changing a bulb or other parts.

Do not use cords or plugs that are damaged, frayed or cracked.

Only use lights certified by a reputable testing lab.

In addition, consider LED lights when replacing old light strands. LEDs use 80 to 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs.

10.

There are 42 million electric co-op members across the country in suburbs and rural areas alike.

KEEP CORDS OUT OF WALKWAYS AND HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS NOV 2023

11

COWBOY STATE BUZZ

Hunters: Submit Your Harvest Survey FROM WYOMING GAME & FISH DEPARTMENT

CHEYENNE - THE WYOMING GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT WANTS TO KNOW HOW YOUR HUNT WENT THIS YEAR.

Deadlines to submit harvest surveys for a chance to win a prize:

ANTELOPE: JAN 4, 2024 DEER: JAN 25, 2024 ELK: FEB 5, 2024

Wills, Trusts & Probate Land Use GAY WOODHOUSE DEBORAH RODEN KATYE BROWN CHRISTOPHER BRENNAN

1912 Capitol Avenue Suite 500 Cheyenne, WY 82001 (307) 432-9399 wrablaw.com

12

NOV 2023

Many hunters will receive a harvest survey via email or the Postal Service. The survey gathers harvest information and feedback on the 2023 hunting season. Wildlife managers use hunters’ responses about their season when making wildlife management decisions.

“A harvest survey is the best way to gather large amounts of data from the public. We use the responses to estimate harvest, hunter success and hunter effort,” said Jason Carlisle, Game and Fish quantitative biologist.

“Hunter feedback is important information and is a valuable tool for monitoring populations, setting future quotas, season dates and other regulations.

We appreciate every response.”

Because of the large volume of antelope, deer and elk license holders, a random sampling of those licensed hunters are surveyed; not all license holders of those species will receive a harvest survey.

However, nearly all license holders for moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, black bear, mountain lion, gray wolf, wild turkey, furbearer, sandhill crane, small game, upland game, migratory game bird, light goose conservation order and sagegrouse are included in the survey process throughout the year as each season closes.

“If you get a survey, it’s important to fill it out, even if you didn’t hunt or harvest,” Carlisle said.

Some hunters may receive a survey before their season ends but Game and Fish asks hunters to wait until they are finished hunting or their season is over before filling out the survey. Responding online is the best way to submit your response, and hunters who complete their antelope, deer or elk harvest surveys by the deadline will be entered in a drawing to win one of several gift cards or prizes donated by outdoor retailers and organizations.

Harvest surveys are being conducted by the Wyoming Survey & Analysis Center (WYSAC) at the University of Wyoming on behalf of Game & Fish. Your responses are confidential.

Hunters who have questions about the surveys can contact the WYSAC survey team directly at 1-866-966-2715 or email WYHUNT ER@UWYO.EDU .

For questions related to hunting regulations or license applications, please call Game & Fish at 307-777-460 0 .

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85684

enjoying life never gets old™

“Final Adjustment”

by Laurie Lee

CENTERPIECE

Within its small population, Wyoming has a large number of talented artists and artisans.

Many find inspiration for their art in Wyoming’s open spaces and Western culture.

Others base their work on a more inward view of the world around them.

Some create on canvas; others work with materials such as wood, clay, metal, stones or found objects.

Some were raised in artistic environments; others were surprised to find interest and talent within themselves.

Following are the stories of five talented and unique artists and artisans in Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin.

Four of them mentor young, budding artists, while the fifth is learning through the mentorship of others.

Wyoming Artists

BY ILENE OLSON

Helping Others Develop Their Own Artistic Talents and Vision

Laurie Lee

“Sleeping Beauty” by Laurie Lee

After watching her mother draw and paint, it was second nature for artist Laurie Lee of Powell to find joy in creating art. She won her first art contest when she was 5 years old, followed by many more awards throughout her life.

Lee graduated with a double major in music and art from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana.

She began her artistic career by painting with watercolors, but transitioned over time to oils.

“When I got married, I knew I wanted to do something with my art, so I started doing watercolor paintings,” she said. She took some of those paintings to the Big Horn Gallery in Cody, and owner Bob Brown agreed to represent her.

That proved to be a springboard for Lee’s art career, and soon her paintings were accepted into art shows, such as the Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale (42 years) and the Cheyenne Frontier Days Art Show and Sale at the Old West Museum in Cheyenne (32 years).

While she enjoys painting seascapes, water and ocean scenes, “my market also kind of dictated Western,” she said. “It’s what I grew up around.”

“Loyal Friend” by Laurie Lee

Laurie Lee in her studio.

PHOTO BY ILENE OLSON

In addition to receiving many awards, Lee has been the subject of articles in several art magazines.

But she is approachable and kind, and she generously shares her love of art with children.

She recalls an instance years ago when she was working as an artist in residence with second-graders.

She gave each student a cartoon drawing of a kangaroo and told them to copy the picture — but they had to do it with the drawing upside down, so its legs and tail were at the top.

“It takes away the mindset that they know what a kangaroo looks like,” she said.

When they were finished, they turned their drawings and the originals right-side up to compare them.

One of the students, a boy who loved math but hated art, finished his drawing in about eight minutes.

Even before turning it right-side up, “he was so excited because it was so well done,” Lee said. “It was just lines and shapes and angles.

He loved art after that.”

John Gallis checks the fit of a gnarled wooden handle for a tray he is working on.

John & Ian Gallis “Pony Express” club chair and ottoman, with wool gabardine applique side panels.

PHOTO BY ILENE OLSON

Moose desk commissioned for the Governor’s Official Residence in Cheyenne. The front drop-down panel frames a picture of a moose hunter in a canoe.

John Gallis was the chief high-end cabinet maker for Bloomingdales in Manhattan for years before moving to Cody, where he opened his woodworking artisan shop, Norseman Designs West. His son, Ian, has worked with him for nearly 18 years.

Together, they transform wood, leather and other materials into gleaming, artistic furniture in the Molesworth Western style. Their furniture has won many prestigious quality and design awards over the years, starting in 1997.

Each piece is a unique work of art.

It invites you, almost irresistibly, to reach out and touch it, feel it, smell it, sit on it— to experience it on multiple sensory levels.

The Gallises’ creations are featured at By Western Hands in Cody, which provides exhibition and sales space for high-end, one-of-a-kind furnishings and decor.

By Western Hands also emphasizes education in quality craftsmanship through a partnership with Northwest College, with an internship degree program that matches interns and mentor artisans for on-the-job training.

John Gallis participates as a mentor in that program and said he has helped youth learn woodworking skills for many years.

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NOV 2023

FURNITURE PHOTOS BY ANNE BEARD

“In a small town, it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “I get out of it more than they get out of it, I think.”

Gallis runs the classes in his shop, with his son helping out. Students are guided while they build small tables, floor lamps, mirror frames, etc.

Teepee Dining Chair (one of a set).

PHOTO BY ILENE OLSON

“I let everybody find their happy spot in what they want to put on this [furniture] — sticks, found objects, whatever.”

The student demographics of those classes have changed over the years.

“Ten years ago, it was almost all men,” Gallis said. “Now, it’s almost all women.

It’s very empowering for them.”

The industry hasn’t caught up to that trend. A lot of the tools are not geared for a woman’s small hands, but Gallis said his students have adapted and succeeded with their projects despite that challenge.

Ian Gallis holds up a huge wood frame he is working on. The frame was ordered by a local artist.

Elaine DeBuhr demonstrates how to shape a bowl on a pottery wheel while students in her beginning ceramics class watch.

Above: Student Arianna Baker (front) places her justfired pottery in a can filled with torn newspaper, causing the paper to burst into flames.

Behind her, Elaine DeBuhr adds more newspaper to a can before closing it with a lid.

PHOTOS BY ILENE OLSON

Pottery glows red in a raku kiln when the kiln’s hood is lifted with a counterweight system.

A student centers clay on a pottery wheel and begins to shape it.

Elaine DeBuhr

When she puts her hands on a lump of clay, Elaine DeBuhr knows immediately if it has the right moisture content, if the air bubbles have been worked out of it, and whether it is ready to be worked into a new form.

red-hot pottery inside. The students then picked up the pottery with long, sturdy tongs and placed their creations into metal cans filled loosely with newspaper strips. The paper burst into flames inside the cans, and lids were placed on the cans to facilitate a process that adds colors and patterns to the pottery while it gradually cools inside.

Whatever the process — throwing it with a pottery wheel, cutting and molding it, extruding it, or using another method — she guides her students through the creative learning process.

DeBuhr said she tries to tailor each class to the interests of her students. For instance, she explores ancient pottery subjects more with classes attended by archaeology majors. If a class is comprised more of art majors, she helps them explore methods to add artistic expression to their pottery designs.

DeBuhr, who teaches ceramics, is an associate professor of art at Northwest College in Powell.

“I try and teach them all so that they have some confidence and understanding of the subject,” DeBuhr said.

Her students also learn how to prepare their pottery for firing, and what firing method will produce the effect they desire.

Students who have completed her classes have gone on to work in community and senior centers, teaching art or pursuing art as a career, among others, she said.

Several students experienced the raku firing process on a mild day in October. When they achieved peak temperature, an advanced student lifted the hood of the raku kiln with its counterweight system to expose the

“People are always drawn to hands-on creative projects,” she said. “They start out by saying, ‘I’m not very creative,’ then they enjoy it so much.”

Kyle Braaten adds a stroke of blue paint to his latest painting.

When he received a package from Amazon a few years ago, Kyle Braaten discovered that some of its contents were anything but what he expected.

Braaten, who is visually impaired, found a set of artists’ acrylic paints inside. His immediate reaction was to return them. They sent paint to him?

What a ridiculous mistake!

But something made him reconsider.

“Call it guidance from above, or divine intervention, or some sign that helps you down a path,” he said. “I thought, ‘I have paint; I might as well use it.’”

Kyle Braaten created the dots on this painting by dipping a tack into paint, then touching it to the canvas. It is much easier for him to tell when a tack touches the surface than when a brush does.

Much to his surprise, “I found I really liked it,” he said.

Braaten’s functional vision is limited due to extreme nearsightedness and random movements of his eyes. He can’t see landscapes, nature or people well enough to replicate them.

Instead, he creates

PHOTOS BY ILENE OLSON

Kyle Braaten

Kyle Braaten holds a black light over one of his paintings to reveal glowing colors.

The same painting, seen under black light.

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NOV 2023

abstract art by using broad brush strokes of color, often combined with patterns of dots made with a thumb tack dipped in paint. Some of his paintings could be imagined as a sunset or a star-filled sky, or seen just as a unique and intriguing combination of colors and patterns.

Braaten, 37, of Thermopolis, began taking an art class at the Hot Springs County Senior Center two years ago, and people have reacted positively.

He has sold several of his abstract paintings at the center and to friends.

He is now doing much of his artwork in glow-in-the-dark paints. He displays his artwork with a black light that makes the colors come vividly alive on the canvas.

Braaten said he’s experienced significant improvement in his artwork over the past two years.

“Painting a picture is like a journey,” he said. “You’re pleasantly surprised where you end up.”

Gary Olson swears he knows every single rock in his collection.

“If I’ve seen it, I usually remember it,” Olson said.

Gary Olson uses a grinding wheel to shape a piece of jade into an oval cabochon.

Gary Olson laughs while visiting in his shop.

PHOTOS BY MARK DAVIS, POWELL TRIBUNE

Gary Olson

[Olson’s story has been condensed and updated from “A Smooth Touch”

by Mark Davis, published in the Powell Tribune in October 2020.]

Thing is, Olson has never seen a rock. He’s been blind since shortly after birth.

Born two months premature, he received too much oxygen in an incubator, and it damaged the retinas in his eyes — a common occurrence with premature babies in the 1950s. Rather than being resentful over his loss of vision, however, he is thankful that his life was saved.

In his shop, Olson “sees” each rock by touch.

He turns the rocks over and over in his calloused hands, running his fingers over each bump, ridge or fracture. A broad smile accompanies his inspections for weight, shape and characteristics as he determines the best way to saw it into slabs.

Olson was introduced to rockhounding at an early age. When he was 8, a family friend let him pick some polished stones from some he had tumbled.

He loved the smooth feel of the rocks. Soon, he had saved enough money to buy his own tumbler.

In junior high shop class, Olson learned how to grind and polish stones by hand to create cabochons, which are small stones for jewelry. His shop teacher later built a grinding and polishing unit for Olson to use at home. It has since been replaced with more modern equipment.

Olson’s favorite rock to polish is obsidian, which is volcanic glass. He prefers the mostly black stone because it polishes flawlessly to the touch. But he grinds and polishes many stones — anything from agates to jaspers, and quartzite to jade.

Olson, also known by his business name of Lapidary Gary, is president of the Shoshone Rock Club in Powell and a member of the Cody 59ers Rock Club. He has done lapidary demonstrations for both clubs and during rock shows in Wyoming, Montana and Utah to encourage others who might enjoy the hobby.

“He is amazing. He doesn’t have to see to create beautiful cabochons,” said Dorine Strom of Cowley, a member and former president of the Shoshone Rock Club. He is an example for others, reminding them that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to, she said. W

An assortment of stone cabochons Gary Olson ground, sanded and polished to fit into jewelry mountings.

Ilene Olson is a freelance photographer, writer and editor in Powell.

ILLUSTRATION BY NICK WILLIAMS

KIDS’ CORNER

www.wyobiodiversity.org

LITTLE WYOMING

LOOK-ALIKE

What does it mean if somebody tells us that we have our mother’s eyes or our father’s nose? Our outward appearance is in large part driven by our genetics, which is a mixture of DNA inherited from our biological mother and father. Things like our hair color, our eye color, the size of our nose and more are determined by those inherited genes.

COLOR-CHANGING CAMOUFLAGE Not all baby animals look like miniature versions of their parents, but that doesn’t mean there is something wrong with their genetics. In fact, this difference in appearance often helps to keep babies safe! As the babies grow up and are better able to fend for themselves, their appearance changes to look more like their parents.

Take baby mule deer, for example. Baby mule deer have rich, reddish-brown fur that is covered in white spots.

But their parents have a plain, light brown coat, and as the baby deer grows up, it’ll lose its spots and its fur will lighten until it looks like its parents. The dark fur and spots camouflage the helpless young deer from predators, allowing them to stay hidden all day among vegetation.

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NOV 2023

IMPERSONATORS A baby mule deer, despite its differences, is still easily identifiable as a mule deer. Some baby animals, however, can look like an entirely different species at first glance! As adults, eastern yellow-bellied racers have a solid gray-green back and a yellow underside. This uniform color makes them difficult for a predator to track as they race away through the grass. But when these snakes are babies, they may not be capable of reaching the quick speeds necessary to avoid predation. So, they have a blotchy brown pattern that makes them look more like a bullsnake or a rattlesnake, which helps to keep the slower-moving babies camouflaged from potential predators.

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B OB O KO K G IR VE EV AI WE WA Y

BROWN MULE 7

​​Life of a 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry Combat Wireman in Vietnam WRITTEN BY MIKE TOYNE, AS TOLD THROUGH LEON TOYNE’S VIETNAM LETTERS 1966-1967 Leon Toyne’s letters were written to his grandparents and parents over 50 years ago and not discovered until his passing in 2018 at the age of 73.

Drafted into the U.S. Army on Oct. 26, 1965, Leon served during the Vietnam War. He received several decorations for his actions in Vietnam and was wounded at the end of his tour, spending several months in hospitals overseas before being transferred to Fitzsimmons Hospital in Denver, Colorado.

Once out of the service, he worked on ranches in the Lander area. In 1968 at a 4th of July rodeo in Lander, he met the love of his life for 49 years, Amie Annis. On April 5, 1969, they were married in Casper. In 1979, they bought a cattle ranch and made their home on Gooseberry Creek near Worland. Leon also began work at the Worland Sugar Factory, balancing factory work and ranching. In 2006 they moved to Otto. Finally, in 2012, Leon and Amie bought their last farm in the Pavillion area.

Stories in the book are from a Combat Medic, Radio Operator, War Zone Dental Medic and another Combat Wireman who served with SP4 Toyne. They were sent into the deadly Central Highlands of Vietnam on a “search and destroy” mission to rid the Central Highlands and Eastern Coastal Plains of communist forces. Their missions would take them deep into the jungles of Vietnam into remote valleys, outposts and landing zones, under the most austere conditions. The stories they shared recall humor and friendship, along with sadness and tragedy. Also mentioned in the book are testimonies and stories about Vietnam Scout Dogs, courageous Dustoff pilots and crews, an Army doctor and an Army nurse who played a critical role in saving lives.

ORDERING INFORMATION: 2023 | 174p. $32.99 hardcover | $15.99 paperback ISBN: 978-0578279947 Publisher: Book Writing Cube

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 BROWN MULE 7

c/o WREN Magazine 214 W. Lincolnway, Ste. 21C Cheyenne, WY 82001

 wyomingrea.org/wren-submissions

PUZZLE

Quirky Turkey Trivia Jumble

BY KENDRA SPANJER

1.

There’s no evidence that anyone ate ▢ ▢ ▢  E ▢ at the first Thanksgiving.

2.

 ▢ ▢ Q▢ ▢ ▢ ▢ ▢ ▢ was key to the survival of the pilgrims at Plymouth Colony.

3. The first Thanksgiving included just four ▢ ▢M▢  .

4.

The first Turkey Trot was held in 1896 in ▢  ▢F ▢▢▢, ▢▢ .

Complete each statement by filling in the missing word. Some letters have been provided for you! Next, collect all the letters that appear in the circles and unscramble them to reveal the answer to the final question!

Gobble up the answers on page 37.

5. Philadephia is home to the oldest Thanksgiving ▢A  ▢▢▢ .

FINAL QUESTION

Q: What is 3 minutes, 19.47 seconds?

6. The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924 featured

7.

▢ ▢ ▢ ▢N ▢ ▢  ▢ ▢ , not balloons.

A: Guinness Record for the World’s Fastest

Until 1935, turkeys were bred for their ▢ E▢▢▢▢  ▢ .

8. Domesticated turkeys ▢ E▢  ▢ twice what they did 40 years ago.

 

9. Male and female turkeys have different ▢ O▢▢ .

10. Ben Franklin considered turkeys to be “more ▢▢▢▢  ▢▢▢▢▢E ” than bald eagles, which are known to steal from other birds.

11. The first president to officially pardon a turkey was ▢E ▢▢▢▢

▢▢ ▢▢▢▢.

12. President Calvin Coolidge once received a live ▢▢▢  ▢▢N as a Thanksgiving Day gift.

13. Sarah Josepha Hale lobbied for ▢ H▢ ▢ ▢  years for Thanksgiving to become a federal holiday (which it did in 1863, on its 242nd anniversary).

14. An accidental over-order of Thanksgiving turkeys by a Swanson employee in 1953 sparked a brilliant invention that still exists today: ▢ 

▢ ▢▢▢▢R ▢ .

15. ▢▢ ▢  ▢E in 1950s Philadelphia were the first to coin the term Black Friday.

NOV 2023

23

HOME ON THE RANGE

BY GINA LUTTERMAN SIGEL

Losing Light 24

NOV 2023

When we got chickens this spring, my in-laws thought we were crazy. “What are you going to do with chickens?” my mother-in-law, Mary, said. “Do you know how much a dozen eggs cost at the store? It’s not even worth the cost of feed!” So, of course, as we started nearing winter, she had a lot to say about how the long, dark nights would affect our investment. It’s nature—the change in day length affects reproductive behaviors and breeding cycles to coincide with longer days when food is more abundant, ensuring that offspring have a better chance of survival. Egg production be damned.

The phenomenon known as photoperiodism, where changing day length triggers specific behaviors to prepare for the coming season, is not just restricted to chickens. Deciduous trees allocate resources to root development and energy storage in preparation for the winter months, changing leaf color and shedding leaves. Many of our beloved Wyoming animals prepare for hibernation, to conserve energy during the colder months when food is scarce. You may have seen animals (or people, like my parents) being cued for migration, preparing for long-distance journeys to more favorable climates. Species that are cold-blooded, or ectothermic, become less active or go into a state of torpor to conserve energy and cope with colder temperatures. Those who don’t migrate to warmer pastures in Wyoming can experience a loss of over three minutes per day of sunlight around the peak of the fall equinox—almost 20 minutes in one week! If it feels like the length of the days is changing rapidly, that is absolutely correct.

Electricity offers some solutions for the gaps that natural light can’t fill.

The availability of indoor lighting has altered social patterns, influencing social norms, nightlife and entertainment. It has enabled shift work and flexible work schedules which have become essential in industries that require continuous operation, such as healthcare and manufacturing.

Even the chickens can increase egg-laying with the introduction of artificial light in their coops—a concept my husband is excited to try, if for no other reason than to hush his clucking mother.

But is all the increased production a good thing? Artificial lighting can sometimes distort our perception of time and disrupt natural circadian rhythms, causing sleep disruptions. For my farming family, the winter brings respite; while the animals may have it harder, there are no crops to tend to and shorter days of working outside for the human caregivers.

The light can have a dark side, too. And while overexposure can be a bad thing, there is also a loss experienced with the waning light.

Humans’ relationship with light is nuanced. Light is essential and beautiful … and fades my rug at 7,200 feet faster than you can say, “Holy sun damage, Batman!” Ask anyone struggling with skin cancer, my own family included.

The light can have a dark side, too. And while overexposure can be a bad thing, there is also a loss experienced with the waning light. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a mental-health diagnosis, impacts people enough to warrant bulbs that mimic sunlight or increased Vitamin D supplements to help combat its effects, and not just here in Wyoming. Outdoor enthusiasts have less time after work to get outside and play. Even stained-glass windows don’t have as much time to showcase their lovely artwork with the natural light showing through them.

Don’t get me wrong, I love lights. The globe-style patio lights? My husband says I am obsessed with “piazza lights.” And we all know how the holidays, with their Christmas twinkle-lights, are situated around the darkest time in the calendar year. There is something charming about my parents’ cabin, which only runs by

kerosene lantern after the sun goes down.

Maybe it’s the romantic in me. Or maybe it is the light, itself, shining out of the darkness.

There is a solar eclipse happening in April at my parents’ winter home in the Texas Hill Country, and it makes me think about Wyoming’s own solar eclipse (it was fantastic!) and the celestial phenomena that play with light in nature. Our galaxy is speckled with gas and matter that is beyond comprehension—infinite. In space, time is measured in light years. A Nobel Prize just went to three scientists who were able to break down light into small enough pulses “to measure the rapid process in which electrons move or change energy.” (According to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.) These scientists broke light down to capture one quintillionth of a second, more than one second divided by 1,000 six times, to capture the very particles that fuel electronics. Ironic? Perhaps.

The kids and I were biking home in the dark from the farmer’s market this fall and asked, “What time is it, even?!” It was 7:05 but it might as well have been 10:00 at night. The potholes were out in full force; the stars, however, were fantastic.

“Just wait until you see the Northern Lights some day,” I said. “Then, you will appreciate the dark.” At least, I hope they will … more than Mary or our chickens. W Originally from Laramie, Gina Lutterman Sigel draws inspiration from five generations of agriculture to tell the stories of rural living.

NOV 2023

25

CO-OP SPOTLIGHT

WYOMING COWBOY HALL OF FAME

Excellent Stewardship and a Downright Scary Work Ethic

BY ILENE OLSON PHOTOS COURTESY OF WYOMING COWBOY HALL OF FAME

B

eginning as a toddler, Bob Lucas of Jackson Hole has spent most of his waking life in the saddle.

Lucas’ ancestors settled in Jackson Hole in the late 1800s, clearing the land and digging irrigation ditches to create productive hayfields and pastureland.

His parents, Rod Lucas and Joyce Imeson Lucas, continued that ranching tradition, and he followed in their footsteps.

Along the way, Bob Lucas learned the challenges, skills and responsibilities of running a cattle ranch. Over his 68year career, he has worked on the Box L Ranch, the U Lazy U Ranch and the N Cross Ranch.

Lucas was inducted into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2022.

Born in 1952, Lucas grew up helping his family in the spring with calving and branding calves.

In the summer, he assisted as they stacked loose hay with mowers, rakes, buckrakes and pitchforks. He rode horseback as he helped move cattle to the summer pasture 40 miles up the Gros Ventre River.

Bob Lucas with his daughter, Abby.

The cattle were rounded up each autumn, and the calves shipped to market. During winter, Lucas helped fork hay to the herd from a two- or four-horse team and sleigh.

Each spring, the cycle started over again.

As part of his ranching stewardship, Lucas learned to doctor cattle and horses,

26

NOV 2023

ranging from treating simple cuts and injuries to performing cesarean-section deliveries.

Today, Lucas continues the family’s ranching tradition with his wife, Kate, and their daughter, Abby. The seasonal jobs are the same, but many of the methods for accomplishing them have changed over the years. Moving and sorting cattle still requires many hours in the saddle. But large round hay bales have replaced three-ton stacks of loose hay, and powered feeders have replaced men with pitchforks on horse-drawn sleighs.

Lucas’ cattle are known for their ease of handling and good genetics, and his calf crops are in demand. He trains his horses to be top cow horses.

“His knowledge of cattle and horses is a sight to behold,” said Veterinarian Ken Griggs, a member of the committee that nominated Lucas for induction into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame.

“If you are fortunate to work a day in the saddle with Bob, you are in for a rare treat,” Griggs said. “He can get more done with a cow by himself many times than with a couple of good hands. Slow is fast; he knows what a cow is thinking before she does.

The occasional obstinate cow quickly sees the right choice is easy; the wrong choice hard or not possible, or not worth the price she would pay.

“Bob’s quiet way with horses quickly built trust and teamwork, always setting the horse up for success. He is a master technician in pressure-

put off or draw back from any challenge from man or animal.”

Bob Lucas on his ranch in Jackson Hole.

release-timing that builds a solid foundation in a horse.”

Lucas couldn’t be reached for comment on this story because, as is common, he was busy with ranch-related duties and out of cell-phone range.

However, others were profuse in their praise of him.

“The Lucases are well grounded in Cowboy Wyoming,” said Nancy Lawrence, whose father, Bill Tanner, worked for the Lucases for many years. “They are just solid, salt-of-the-earth, good people,” she said. “They don’t display any kind of pomp. It’s just working your fingers to the bone, trying to maintain the integrity of that ranch.”

Lucas’ sister, Jennifer Flanagan, also said Bob is a hard worker. “He’s just built that way,” Flanagan said. “But he always has time to help people.”

Griggs said riding across Lucas’ ranch is a testament to excellent stewardship.

For example, Flanagan said Lucas has been helping a friend who was able to buy back his grandfather’s farm in Teton Valley, Idaho.

“He’s trying to operate it the way it used to be operated, with mowers and rakes, then stacking the hay. He needed help with a derrick [used for stacking the hay], so Bob … got the timbers, and they built this derrick in Teton Valley,” she said.

Her brother rarely mentions the help he’s given to others, Flanagan added.

Griggs praised Lucas’ abilities and work ethic.

“He has an amazing ability to tackle and accomplish any task, whether with machinery, animals or any other ranch- or ag-related problems with striking talent and preparation. He does not

“He owns one of the last, if not the last, self-sufficient ranches in this valley,” he said. “One big reason for this success is his legendary, downright scary work ethic. Every dayworker knows if you ride with Bob, you will start before daylight and very likely barely make it home before the next day starts. However, he works harder than anyone around him, hired or volunteer. You can either keep up or get out of his way so he can finish the task.”

But the problems Lucas faces as a rancher go far beyond the daily challenges of running a cattle ranch. Griggs said the few remaining ranchers in Jackson Hole experience great difficulty trying to ranch “surrounded by subdivisions and clueless city people.”

“The political climate is hostile to ranching and the ag community,” Griggs said.

Ranchers are constantly pressured to sell to “billionaire developers for the ‘good of the valley,’ and that has resulted in a pressure cooker for continued ranching.”

But, Griggs added, “Bob has resisted this pressure doggedly and successfully.” W

Ilene Olson is a freelance photographer, writer and editor in Powell.

NOV 2023

27

COUNTRY COOKS

COCKTAILS

“A MEAN MARTINI”

PEACHES AND CREAM MARTINI

2 1/2 OZ GIN OR VODKA 1/2 OZ DRY VERMOUTH

1 PEACH, PEELED AND SLICED 1 TSP WHITE GRANULATED SUGAR 4 OZ PEACH SCHNAPPS 4 OZ GODIVA WHITE CHOCOLATE LIQUEUR 2 TBS SANDING SUGAR

2 TBS COCONUT OIL 4 OZ VODKA 4 OZ WHIPPING CREAM 1 OZ HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM 1 OZ FRESH LEMON JUICE 1/4 LEMON

JUNE HUSS

CENTENNIAL

RAMOS GIN FIZZ Exported from MasterCook

Preheat oven to 400°. In baking dish combine peach slices with sugar and coconut oil. Roast 15 to 20 minutes. Turn peaches midway.

Remove from oven and put on plate to cool. Using ¼ lemon, trace rim of martini glasses and dip in sanding sugar. Refrigerate. Add cooled peach slices and whipping cream in blender until smooth. In cocktail shaker, mix peach mixture with rest of ingredients along with ice. Shake well and put in chilled martini glasses. Garnish with peach slice.

MICKI HALL

Fill a mixing glass with ice. Add gin or vodka and dry vermouth. Stir 18 times. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with an olive or an onion!

SARATOGA

PUMPKIN PIE MARTINI

3/4 CUP HALF AND HALF

1/2 OZ CRÈME LIQUOR SUCH AS BAILEYS IRISH CREAM

1 TSP WHIPPED CREAM

3/4 CUP GIN

2 OZ VANILLA VODKA

1 TSP VANILLA

CINNAMON STICK, FOR GARNISH

1/2 OZ PUMPKIN LIQUOR

1/2 CUP ORANGE JUICE

DASH OF NUTMEG

1 TSP DRIED EGG WHITE POWDER OR 1 EGG WHITE

Pour crème and vodka into a shaker of ice and shake well. Add the pumpkin liquor and shake again. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Top with a teaspoon of whipped cream.

In a blender that holds at least 48 ounces, add 32 ounces (4 cups) of ice. Add all ingredients and blend until no ice chunks remain. Drink.

Have another.

Add garnish and enjoy! Perfect for fall happy hour, the pumpkin liquor gives this martini its festive fall flavor. A cinnamon stick and a sprinkle of nutmeg provide the finishing touch to this yummy Pumpkin Pie Martini!

1/4 CUP CLUB SODA 1 TBS POWDERED SUGAR, REALLY HEAPING

BARBARA GUSTAFSON

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NOV 2023

29

PEN TO PAPER

W Y O M I N G SUBMITTED BY WESLEY WALKER

LYMAN

This poem was discovered by WREN reader Wesley as he was reading through an old book of cowboy poetry and found this poem about Wyoming which he had never heard before.

He asked that we share it with his fellow WREN readers.

I’ll give to you the whole round earth, And all there is within it— Just take it all for what it’s worth, This very blessed minute, If you’ll leave me one little spot Out there beyond the gloaming— The only Homeland that I’ve got— My glorious old Wyoming!

BOOK TITLE: TRAIL DUST OF A MAVERICK WRITTEN BY E A BRINNSTOOL (EARL ALONZO, 1870-1957) PUBLISHED: NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD, & COMPANY, 1914

Your wide, free ranges stretch away, And call and beckon to me; In all my visions through the day, Your azure skies pursue me.

I long for your wild canyon deeps, Where mountain streams go foaming, Out where the sunset glory creeps, My glorious old Wyoming!

‘Way up beyond the smoke that palls, Your peaks rise, white and hoary, And on the crooning breeze there falls The music of your glory.

‘Tis there my feet would fondly turn, ‘Tis there my thoughts go roaming, And for your peaks and plains I yearn, My glorious old Wyoming!

We share a selection of WREN readers’ creative writing (poems, limericks, haiku, short verse, and prose) every issue as space and content allow. To be considered for publication, please include the author’s consent to be submitted, his or her mailing address, and confirmation that the work has not been published elsewhere. If you would like us to return your work, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

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NOV 2023

For me no spot can quite compare With your cloud-capped expanses; I love your rocky ranges there, Where soft the sunlight glances.

I love your sagebrush-covered plains, Where mighty herds are roaming, And every spot where beauty reigns, My glorious old Wyoming!

Your stalwart sons have turned the sod, And lo! fat fields are gleaming!

Where once fierce tribes of red men trod, With progress all is teeming.

I love your skies so fair and blue, As softly falls the gloaming, And my heart fondly turns to you, My glorious old Wyoming!

Put Your Pen to Paper!

Please include your name, address, and phone number.

SUBMIT A PIECE

 wren@wyomingrea.org |  [307] 286-8140  214 W. Lincolnway Ste. 21C Cheyenne, WY 82001  wyomingrea.org/wren-submissions

01 02 03

01

Winged Visitor Stephanie Manning, Torrington

02

Chicken Coop Visitor Heather McLaughlin, Upton

03

Pumpkin Head Martha Rasmussen, Burlington

04

Just Stopped By to See How Your Morning is Going Rob McIntosh, Torrington

05

The Visitor that Never Left Lauree Scott, Gillette

04 05

JUST PICTURE IT

THIS MONTH:

FEB (DUE JAN 15):

VISITORS

FROST

06 07

06

Early Morning Surprise Visitors Martha Rasmussen, Burlington

07

Evening Visitors Trudy Craft, Basin

08

Coffee Klatch Ken Hoffman, Newcastle

09

Showing Off Tara Seely, Hawk Springs

10

From Japan to Kemmerer to Meet Great Grandfather Janice Kennah, Fort Bridger (Photo credit: Rana Jones)

09 10

08

11

11 12 13

11 12 13 14 15

Welcome to Our Yard Rob McIntosh, Torrington

16

Over the River and Through the Woods…

Melody Posey-Harris, Saratoga

Dinnertime Guests Martha Ralston, Encampment Sweet Visitor Trudy Craft, Basin Hungry Visitors Johnny Chavez, Torrington In Velvet Sur Sanders, Hulett

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15 16

SUBMIT A P H OTO

 wren@wyomingrea.org  214 W. Lincolnway Ste. 21C Cheyenne, WY 82001  wyomingrea.org/wren-submissions Please include your name, hometown and a title.

Please submit high-quality digital files* or an original we can scan, as well as details about the artwork, the artist’s name, and the co-op. *Use the highest quality setting on your camera, or save digital artwork as a .jpg or .tif file with at least 300 dpi resolution.

If you would like your work returned, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

NOV 2023

33

WHAT’S HAPPENING

WHAT’S HAPPENING REGIONAL MAP

02

03

DECEMBER

01 | SOUTHEAST CENTENNIAL ONGOING Nici Self Historical Museum: Museum grounds and exhibits open Thu-Mon 12-4p. Free. Info niciselfmuseum.com.

CHEYENNE

04

01 FEATURED EVENT

FIRST AND THIRD SATURDAYS (THROUGH MAY) Winter Farmers Market: 9a-1p.

Located inside the warm and cozy downtown historic Train Depot. Local producers selling homegrown meats, baked goods, ready-to-go foods, body care, jams, jellies and much more.

C H U G WAT E R THURSDAYS Acoustic Jam Session: Stampede Saloon & Eatery music venue open for Thursday night jam session. Info 307-422-3200, stampedefun@aol.com.

CHRISTMAS IN CENTENNIAL CENTENNIAL  DECEMBER 9

Ready for some holiday cheer?

You are invited to a whole day of activities for the family as part of the 20th Annual Christmas in Centennial holiday celebration!

Time: 9a-3:30p • Cost: Free Shop the holiday market full of local vendors at the school Make a gift with Mrs. Claus at Santa’s Workshop at the library Have breakfast with Santa at the Post Stop by the book sale at the library Enjoy 3 restaurants and 2 gift shops Enjoy some holiday cheer on the mountainside FOR MORE INFORMATION: CHRISTMASINCENTENNIAL.COM SOUTHEAST 34

NOV 2023

ONGOING Live Music: Stampede Saloon & Eatery music venue open for Thursday night jam session and weekend performances. Info 307-422-3200, stampedefun@aol.com.

ENCAMPMENT ONGOING Grand Encampment Museum: Main Gallery and GEM store open Tue-Sat 10a-4p. Info 307-327-5308.

MEDICINE BOW ONGOING Museum and Gift Shop: Open daily 8:30a-4:30p. 405 Lincoln Highway.

Info 307-379-2383.

02 | NORTHEAST BIG HORN DECEMBER 10 Christmas Light Parade: 5p. Join us for a light parade up Big Horn Avenue, followed by a visit from Santa at the museum with cookies and hot chocolate. There will be a hot chocolate bar set up at the Mousse Lodge downtown. Info wttmdirector@rtconnect.net, 307-756-9300.

B U F FA L O THURSDAYS Bluegrass Jam Session: 6:30p. Occidental Saloon. Free. Info 307-684-0451.

GILLETTE DECEMBER 16 Christmas Crafts Family Day at the Rockpile Museum: 10a-12p. Rockpile Museum. Children ages 4-12 years are invited to attend with a parent or grandparent to create holiday projects just in time for Christmas. Free, but space limited to 50 children. Reservations required. Registration opens Nov. 27. Info 307-682-5723, rockpilemuseum.com.

ONGOING (THROUGH 2023) No Time For Tears: The Life & Art of Dixie Lynne Reece Exhibit: Campbell County Rockpile Museum. Features nearly 70 works of art from Campbell County artist Dixie Reece (1936-2018). Info 307-682-5723, rockpilemuseum.com.

ONGOING Ava Community Art Center: Info 307-682-9133, avacenter.org.

HULETT MONDAYS AND THURSDAYS (THROUGH APRIL) Adult 5-mile Walking Exercise Class: 4:45p.

GHCC Gym. Info 307-467-5676.

THURSDAYS Storytime: 3p. Hulett Library. First group ages 0-7, second group ages 8-12. Info 307-467-5676.

ONGOING Hulett Museum and Art Gallery: 8a-4p. Mon-Fri. Free. Info 307-467-5292.

Senior Center Events: 145 Main Street. Carryin dinner 12:30p third Sun. Rolls and coffee 9a Thu. Info 307-467-5743.

MOORCROFT WEDNESDAYS Moorcroft Branch Library Activities: Storytime 10a. Afterschool Craft 4p. AA meetings 7p. Please use downstairs entrance.

Info 307-756-3232.

THIRD THURSDAY OF MONTH Adult Book Club: 1p. Moorcroft Branch Library. New book each month. Stop by the library for your copy. Info 307-756-3232.

ONGOING West Texas Trail Museum: Now open yearround 9a-5p Mon-Fri. Info 307-756-9300.

Senior Center Events: Coffee and rolls 9a Wed. Toenail clinic 9a fourth Thu, dinner 6p fourth Thu. Info 307-756-9550.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

DECEMBER

NEWCASTLE

S U N DA N C E

FRIDAYS

THIRD SATURDAYS Weston County Democrats: 4p. Weston County Library.

Info 307-941-1822.

WEDNESDAYS Storytime: 10:30a. Crook County Public Library. Info Tonia 307-283-1008.

Story Time: 11:30a. Dubois Branch Library, 202 N First St. Free. Stretches, story, songs, crafts and fun! Ages birth-5 years. Info 307-455-2992.

FRIDAYS Bingo: 7:30p. VFW Hall. Free.

SECOND AND FOURTH WEDNESDAYS Gigi’s Closet: 9a-1:30p. First United Methodist Church. Gently loved clothing available for babies to adults. Info 307-746-4119.

S H E R I DA N DECEMBER 1-4 Trail End State Historic Site Holiday Open House: 4-7p.

Trail End State Historic Site. Live music, figgy pudding, and Father Christmas! $4 per adult, kids free.

Info trailend.org/special-events.

DECEMBER 2 Country Christmas Craft and Gift Show with Lexie’s Sugar Shop: 9a-3p. Ramada Plaza. Christmas dress fashion show, karaoke contest and door prizes. Bring your camera for a free picture with Santa! See “Country Christmas Craft and Gift Show” Facebook event for more details.

DECEMBER 9 United Methodist Women’s Cookie Sale: 8a-1p. First United Methodist Church. Cookies sold by the pound in Fellowship Hall. Info Barbara Flack 307-672-3813.

DECEMBER 15 & 17 Christmas with the Kendricks: 5-8p. on Dec. 15, 16 and 18. 2p on Dec. 17. Trail End State Historic Site.

Guided tours with actors in each room. Tickets required in advance.

Info trailend.org/special-events.

DECEMBER 16 ProCRAFTinator’s Market: 9a-2p.

Sheridan College Whitney Academic Center Atrium. Get your last-minute shopping done! Info Kristin Sowers ksowers@sheridan.edu or Karen St. Clair kstclair@sheridan.edu.

SATURDAYS Landon’s Farmers Market: 9a-12p.

Landon’s Greenhouse, 505 College Meadows Dr. Info 307-672-8340, info@landonsgreenhouse.com, landonsgreenhouse.com.

UPTON

GREYBULL

FIRST AND THIRD WEDNESDAYS Bingo at Senior Center: 6:30p, $10 for 10 cards. Info 307-468-9262.

ONGOING Senior Center Activities: 1113 2nd St. Lunch is served at noon Mon-Fri for $4. Call for reservation before 9a at 307-468-2422 or 712-400-9056.

Coffee and treats at 9a on Tues.

Exercise program at 9a every Tue and Fri. Card elimination and potluck every third Mon at 5:30p. Ask about medical equipment loans. Info 307468-9262.

03 | NORTHWEST CODY ONGOING Cody Country Art League Gallery: 9a-5p Mon-Sat. 836 Sheridan Ave. Info 307-587-3597.

DUBOIS DECEMBER 2 Open House: 11a-2p. Dubois Museum. Newly acquired artifacts are part of must-see new exhibits.

If you have not visited the museum since last year’s open house, now is the time! Take advantage of free admission to learn more history of the Dubois area. Refreshments provided by Friends of the Dubois Museum. Gift shop items are 15% off.

Get your ornaments before they are gone! Info 307-455-2284.

THIRD WEDNESDAYS Wyoming Health Fairs Monthly Wellness Screen/Blood Draw: 7-10a. Dubois Medical Clinic.

Appointments encouraged. Info 307-455-2516, whf.as.me/dubois.

FIRST AND THIRD THURSDAYS (THROUGH DECEMBER) Farmers Market: 2:30-4:30p.

Headwaters Arts & Conference Center. Featuring local produce, baked goods and bread, dairy products, jams and jellies, herbs and salves. Info 307-455-2027.

SECOND SATURDAYS Greybull Ladies Coffee: Greybull Library. Info 307-765-2100.

LANDER

SUBMIT AN EVENT

Send complete information by

JANUARY 15!

Please send events occurring in the month of February by January 15, and March by February 15 for inclusion in the WREN. Also, be sure to include the date, title, description, time, cost, location, address and contact information for each event.

Photos are always welcome.

Look for more events at wyomingrea.org/news.

QUESTIONS & SUBMISSIONS:

 wren@

wyomingrea.org

 [307] 286-8140  214 W. Lincolnway

Ste. 21C Cheyenne, WY 82001

 wyomingrea.org/

wren-submissions

DECEMBER 16 Old-time Christmas Open House: 5-7p. Pioneer Museum. Annual Old Time Christmas open house. Enjoy Christmas music, crafts, treats, Christmas exhibits and discounts in the museum gift store. This event is free and open to the public and is part of the Bailey Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series. Free.

Info 307-332-3339.

SATURDAYS Acoustic Music Jam: 11a-1p. Lander Bake Shop. Info 307-332-3237.

ONGOING First Friday: New artist and local musician each month. Art show reception 5p, music 6p. Middle Fork Restaurant. Info 307-335-5035, facebook.com/MiddleForkCafe.

R I V E RTO N DECEMBER 9 Christmas Open House: 10a-4p.

Riverton Museum. Annual open house and free museum day. Come by and enjoy the museum with some hot cocoa and Christmas snacks, as well as discounts in the museum gift store. Enjoy crafts, Christmas exhibits and decoration, and a 15% discount at the gift shop! Hot chocolate and popcorn are available with a donation. Info 307-856-2665.

Santa’s Workshop: 2-4p. Riverton Museum. Part of the Bailey Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series program. Get ready for the holidays by making your own classic toy with the staff of the museum. We provide the materials; you bring your creativity! This hands-on children’s activity focuses on creating self-made classic toys that kids can take home.

We will have kits available ranging in the cost from $2 to $10. Kits will be available for purchase and assembly while supplies last until Christmas.

Info 307-856-2665.

NOV 2023

35

WHAT’S HAPPENING

WEDNESDAYS Acoustic Music Jam: 6:30-8:30p.

Holiday Inn Convention Center. Free.

Join in or listen as musicians and dancers perform. Info 307-856-8100.

PreK Tales & Tunes: 10:30a. Riverton Branch Library. Ages 3-5. Free. Info 307856-3556.

Starlight Storytime: 5:30p. Riverton Branch Library. Ages birth-5. Free. Info 307-856-3556.

THURSDAYS Toddler Move & Groove: 10:30a.

Riverton Branch Library. Ages birth-2.

Free. Info 307-856-3556.

ONGOING Library Activities: PreK Tales & Tunes Wed 10:30a; Starlight Storytime for birth-5 Wed 5:30p; Toddler Move & Groove birth-2 Thu 10:30a; LEGO Club grade 2-5 Thu 4-5p. Info 307-856-3556, fclsonline.org.

MEETEETSE MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS Meeteetse Recreation District: 10:30a yoga. Info 307-899-2698, meetrec.org.

MONDAYS Toddler Storytime: Mondays after school. Meeteetse Library. All kids grades 1+ not in school. Legos, board games, crafts, stories, songs and more. Info 307-868-2248.

POWELL DECEMBER 1 Book Club: 9a. Homesteader Museum. We will be discussing “The Vengeance of Mothers: The Journals of Margaret Kelly and Molly McGill”

by Jim Fergus. Info 307-754-948, homesteadermuseum.com.

DECEMBER 10 Community, Conversation and Crafts: 12-4p. Homesteader Museum. Info 307-754-948, homesteadermuseum.com.

DECEMBER 29 Last Day Open: Homesteader Museum. We are closed the month of January for cleaning and reopen February 1. Info 307-754-948, homesteadermuseum.com.

SNEOPVTEEMMBBEERR

SECOND SUNDAY Community, Conversation, and Crafts: 12-4p. Homesteader Museum.

Info 307-754-9481.

THERMOPOLIS SECOND SATURDAYS Great Until 8!: 4-8p. This event showcases the businesses who are staying open until 8p or later in town. Shop after 5p and enter in for a chance to win $100 gift certificates. The $100 gift certificate will be valid at the business with the winning receipt. Info 917-589-7852, mainstreetthermopolis@gmail.com.

M O U N TA I N V I E W MONDAYS Cub Scout Pack 7798 Meeting: 3:45p. Presbyterian Church on 3rd Street. We are always accepting new boys who are in 1st to 5th grades.

Info MarNae 307-677-2566.

WEDNESDAYS Storytime: 11a. Uinta County Library. Info 307-782-3161.

ONGOING Community Classes: Fitness, computer, workforce and kids’ classes are available. Valley Learning Center. Times and prices vary. Info 307-782-6401, valleylearningcenter. coursestorm.com.

04 | SOUTHWEST LY M A N THURSDAYS Storytime: 11a. Lyman Branch Library. All ages welcome. Free.

Info 307-787-6556, uintalibrary.org.

Introducing

Dr. Breitman

Weight Loss Surgeon

Your new provider is just one call away.

(307) 632-1114 Schedule Now 5201 Yellowstone Rd. Cheyenne, WY 82009 cheyenneregional.org

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NOV 2023

CLASSIFIEDS

WREN CLASSIFIED ADS ARE $0.75 PER SIX CHARACTERS CONTACT:  SHAWNA@GOLINDEN.COM  970-221-3232

FOR SALE

WANTED

Aermotor Windmills and parts, cylinders, pipe, rod, submersible pumps, motors, control boxes, Hastings 12 ga. bottomless stock tanks, Shaver Outdoor Wood Boiler Furnaces and more. In business for more than 77 years.

Herren Bros., Box 187, Harrison NE. 1-308-668-2582.

We Pay Cash For Mineral & Oil/Gas Interests producing & non-producing. 800-733-8122.

New & Used Coal Stokers, parts, service & advice. Available for most makes. Thanks. 307-754-3757.

MISCELLANEOUS Soon Church/Government uniting, suppressing “Religious Liberty” enforcing “National Sunday Law.” Be Informed!

Free materials. TSBM, PO Box 374, Ellijay, GA 30540, tbsmads@yahoo.com, 1-888-211-1715.

Frontier Auto Museum Looking For Oil Company Gas Pumps, Globes And Signs. Also looking for general antiques for our antique shop. Please go to our website FrontierAutoMuseum. com. Located in Gillette WY, our passion is to preserve Wyoming history and the nostalgia of the past, especially Parco, Sinclair, Frontier, Husky and any car dealership along with all brands. We are also always looking for neon motel or store signs, WY license plates and WY highway signs and State Park signs. Please call Jeff Wandler 307-680-8647 wandlerfrontier@gmail.com or daughter Briana Brewer 307-660-2402 relics@frontierauto.net.

WANTED CJ or Wrangler reasonably priced.

Any condition but rusted. 512-797-1664.

PUZZLE ANSWERS

Quirky Turkey Trivia Jumble 1. Turkey

6. Zoo Animals

11. George HW Bush

2. Tisquantum

7. Feathers

12. Raccoon

3. Women

8. Weigh

13. Thirty

4. Buffalo NY

9. Poop

14. TV Dinners

5. Parade

10. Respectable

15. Police

Q: What is 3 minutes, 19.47 seconds?

A: Guinness Record for the World’s Fastest T U R K E Y       C A R V N G     I   PUZZLE ON PAGE 23

NOV 2023

37

Wendy Corr, Hannah Miller and Dan Miller.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF WENDY CORR

ENLIGHTEN US

AMBASSADORS OF

COWBOY M

BY JACKIE DOROTHY

The cowboy music of yesterday – “Back in the Saddle” and “American Cowboy” – mixes naturally with the more modern tunes of Martina McBride’s “Independence Day.”

The harmony of two voices blends and transports the audience, myself included, to a different era. For one hour, time is suspended and even the younger audience members are under the spell of old-time cowboy music.

Wendy Corr, who grew up in Cody and was named Wyoming’s Broadcaster of the Year six times, has played this show for nearly two decades. She immerses herself in the music, singing harmony and playing bass to Dan Miller, himself a showman who left Hollywood for the slower pace of Wyoming.

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NOV 2023

“I feel a connection to the people as they come in,” Wendy says.

“And then after the show, I’m greeting each and every one of them as they leave. I can’t tell you how many hugs I get every day. They see a friendliness you don’t get in the big cities.”

Up on the stage in their hometown of Cody, the duo is playing to a bus group. The audience shouts out the various states they are from. Alabama. Delaware. Ohio. Florida. The names continue with encouragement from Dan who repeats the places and makes comments while Wendy nods her head and smiles, playing up to the audience.

“We know you guys can sing now,” Dan Miller nods encouragingly after playing “Big Iron” by Marty Robbins. “We just don’t know yet if you have rhythm, so if we could get you to just snap with us here.”

Larry and LouAnn Black from Larry’s Country Diner, and Ronnie Robbins, Marty Robbins’ son.

Obediently, we begin to snap our fingers and Dan beams down at us from the stage. “This song lasts about 20 minutes, so just keep it going there. That’s perfect.”

Wendy gasps in mock horror but continues to gamely snap along up on the stage. Then, with one last inspiring snap of his own fingers, Dan launches into a spell-binding rendition of “Sixteen Tons.”

It is this fun music of the Dan Miller Cowboy Review that has kept Wendy singing with Dan for nearly two decades.

In her modest western dress, she sings and strums her guitar, engaging the audience with both her voice and the comical faces she pulls in reaction to Dan’s jokes. All around, voices sing along with old favorites and answer the trivia questions Dan throws out at them about bygone cowboy singers.

“Cowboy Music Review is much more than just cowboy music,” Wendy describes her passion for the music they play. “It’s Americana, it’s music that not only evokes the American West, but America as we dream it should be.

I think that’s the appeal of this show in particular.”

the audience has grown older and the bus groups to Wyoming are not as large as they were in years past.

“What I feel that we do with cowboy music is we present it in its heartfelt form. I love the reactions that people have to hearing those songs that take them back to their childhood.”

During the summer, the Cowboy Music Review plays in their hometown of Cody and when the winter wind blows, Dan and Wendy begin their annual tour around the country. They have played for television, crowds of thousands and audiences of 12 in over 2,000 performances.

“Dan is so good at engaging with the audience,” Wendy says. “I have fun reacting to the things he says and trying to talk to the audience in that way. My face does more of the talking than my voice!”

The music that entertains and moves her audience also deeply touches Wendy at every concert.

MUSIC Wendy Corr

She puts her heart into the songs whether she is back-up to Dan or singing a solo.

“What I love about the music is the harmonies, because with harmonies, there’s a vibration, there’s a texture to songs that just resonates. It resonates in your chest and in your heart. It causes a swell of emotions when you have that right chord. It just gives you goosebumps whether you’re on stage or in the audience. That’s what I love about the music.”

Wendy acknowledges that over the years, that while the music remains timeless,

“Cowboy music has a real hokie stereotype,” Wendy explains. “We have to win people over sometimes. They will come in here and think, ‘Oh, cowboy music, do we really have to listen to cowboy music?’ And by the time they leave, they have tears in their eyes from either the memories or from the emotions that are evoked from just an hour of family friendly music.”

“It’s not just cowboy music, it’s country music as well,” Wendy clarifies the popular show’s format. “We’ll do Crosby, Stills and Nash, some Simon and Garfunkel and we’ll do some Arlo Guthrie because it’s the music that speaks to people. That’s how we choose the music, the music that speaks to people and tells a story.”

While on the road, Wendy and Dan are doing just that – telling the story of Wyoming. They extoll the virtues of the Cowboy State and encourage their audiences to visit. Dan’s original song, “Wyoming Is Calling,” was even featured by the state tourism board to promote travel to the Cowboy State.

“The blessing is that we get to take the show on the road in the winters and bring a little bit of Cody to everywhere else,” Wendy smiles. “Wyoming is what America was. I think that there is a definite truth to that.”

As the crowd slowly disperses to board their tour bus, Wendy leaves the stage and greets each person personally and shares hugs with many of them.

“I feel a special connection to the people that walk in this door. The people are half the fun. I love the music, but I love meeting the people just as much.”

She adds with a large smile, “It’s just been dream come true stuff.” W Jackie Dorothy is a freelance writer and historian. She owns a marketing agency in Thermopolis.

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YO

P U E L T T O E B D U T I T A R G R U

Create a gratitude time capsule to revisit it and add to each year.

All you need is a jar with a lid, a box, or another vessel you can close up. Then just have a conversation and record your thoughts!

This activity is great to do as a family because it creates social-emotional connections and helps your kids practice conceptual thinking - gratitude and time - in a simple way.

Ask everyone in the family to say at least one thing they are grateful for this year, and to explain why.

1

Write down the answers, including the year, and put them in the time capsule vessel.

2

• You can add answers throughout the holiday season or create them all at once.

3

At the end of the season, put your time capsule away with the holiday decorations so you can find it and bring it out next year.

• At the next holiday season, read your answers together from the year before and talk about what has changed and what has stayed the same.

• Then add even more gratitude to your time capsule!

All WY Quality Counts activities are supported by the Wyoming Early Learning Standards as well as the Domains of Development, which include:

Communication

Sense of Self & Relationships

Curious Minds

Strong & Healthy Bodies

WY Quality Counts, housed in the Department of Workforce Services, helps Wyoming parents and child care providers identify and create quality learning experiences for children, thanks to the funding of the Wyoming Legislature.

Check out This month's activity:

“KID-FRIENDLY PUMPKIN PARFAITS” Find fun activities to do with your kids at

wyqualitycounts.org/wren