January 2023

Hand Therapy of Wyoming already a booming business in Platte County

WHEATLAND – Hand Therapy of Wyoming which held its grand opening, open house and Platte County Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting Dec. 16, has a goal of getting people on track to be fully occupational and “operational.”

Lyndsie Fuller is a Michigan transplant who was brought to Wyoming with her fiancé, Jeffery Drescher, who landed a job with the Laramie River Basin Electric Power Plant as a mobile equipment mechanic. The couple are planning a July 8 wedding. She brought along her talents as an occupational therapist and her new business, Hand Therapy of Wyoming, is already booming. She began her career in Wheatland at North Platte Physical Therapy and was there for three years.

“I then got the opportunity to open another clinic here,” Fuller said. “And I took it. I think this community can sustain a few therapy clinics.”

Music rocked the WHS auditorium complete with lip sync

WHEATLAND - The Platte County Players hosted the 2023 Lip Sync Battle to raise funds to assist Wheatland High School Thespian Troupe 605 send three members who qualified to attend the National Thespian Festival in Indianapolis in June 2023. 

The battle is held annually and is open to the public to participate and watch.
The judges for the contest are the national qualifiers, and the judges this year were Caden Wade, who qualified in costume construction from “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” Collin Jones, who qualified with a solo, “Grow for Me,” from Little Shop of Horrors, and an original one act play, “Tough Break,” and Sabella Douglas who qualified with a solo, “She Used To Be Mine,” from Waitress. 

The Battle winners were: First Place, Kimberly Mixon, who performed to “Locomotion.” Second Place, Dixie Mount and Beth Shepard Hendon, who performed to “What is this Feeling?” Third Place, Monica Tracy, Rylee Corbett and Gracie Corbett, who performed to “Ponytail.” 

The People’s Choice Traveling Trophy was won by Dixie Mount and Beth Shepard Hendon. A total of $739.50 was raised. Please plan to join in the fun by putting together an act for the 2024 Lip Sync Battle or support these great kids by planning to attend the show Jan. 6, 2024. 

Local author signs books

WHEATLAND – Local resident David Bush wanted to write a book. After researching, learning and putting his nose to the grindstone, he accomplished his task and in December, he had his very first book signing at the Wanderer on Gilchrist.

His story is both inspirational to writers who have always had a desire to write a book and here, in his own words, is his story. Local man dreams his dream and accomplishes the desires of his heart.

“I suppose, looking back, that I enjoyed a typical boyish childhood during every daylight minute,” David Bush said. “Sports, camping, fishing, pulling pigtails of yucky girls, etc. When my exhausted head hit the pillow each night, a transformation occurred, similar to Superman ripping open his crisp button-up shirt, or Zorro donning his mask as I reached for the book on my nightstand.

“As far back as I can remember, I have loved to read. Books brought energy into my young life. Sluggish synapses that failed to function during mind-numbing chores such as folding clothes or washing dishes would spark and pop when I dove into a paperback.

February 2023

SHAPPS hosts Sunrise Mine Memories

HARTVILLE – The Hartville Episcopal Perish Hall had many members of the community gathering together on Jan. 26, for Ray Mansoldo and Bob Hohnholt’s presentation on their Sunrise Mine memories. The presentation consisted of each gentleman’s family history, experiences and memories from Sunrise.

The Sunrise Mine memories presentation was arranged by the Sunrise Historic and Prehistoric Preservation Society (SHAPPS).

According to R.W. MacCannon’s book, “Sunrise: A chronology of a Wyoming mine,” Sunrise was originally discovered when John London and Lieutenant George Eaton located a copper deposit in May of 1881. In the mine’s earliest years, 75 men worked on the copper ore deposit and shipped the ore to Fairbank by wagon train and then to Cheyenne. After the demise of the copper, it wasn’t long before attention was turned to the large iron deposits in the area. 

In the early 1900s, the Sunrise Mine, as we know it, was started.

“What I’m going to talk about first is the early part of Sunrise,” Mansoldo began. “The immigrants are the ones who first started in the mine. There were a bunch of different nationalities, there were Greek, Italian,
English, Japanese, Lebanese and Scandinavian. What I’m going to talk about is my father, Angelo Mansoldo.”

The Three Musketeers are all for one and one for all 

WHEATLAND – Swords have been clanging through the halls of the school where Thespian Troupe #605, Wheatland High School Drama Club has been rehearsing their upcoming play, “The Three Musketeers” by Ken Ludwig, based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas. The performance opens next Thursday, Feb. 16, at the High School Auditorium.

The Three Musketeers is set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named D’Artagnan, played by newcomer Barak Bertoch, after he leaves home to travel to Paris in order to join the Musketeers of the Guard. His parents make him take his kid sister along played by Sami Strahan. He ends up making quick enemies with his short-fuse temper and getting embroiled in a conspiracy plot against the King of France. Three seasoned Musketeers played by seniors David Bookout, Caden Wade and Kit Winter, take him under their wings as they fight against the machinations of Cardinal Richelieu played by Wheatland graduate Elijah Womack. D’Artagnan meets his true love in the Queen’s friend Constance, played by Lillian Fuentes. Throw in some nuns, a few cameos and a slew of sword fighting, and you’ve got an exciting show.

The cast is a mixture of all ages adding a diversity to the peasants and gentry of represented Paris. There are plenty of new faces from the other schools in town, including Valor Academy. Auditions were held back in December, so players had time to memorize lines over the holiday break.

Daddy/Daughter Dance sets record attendance

WHEATLAND – The annual daddy/daughter dance sponsored by the local Philanthropic Educational Organization chapters “R” and “AW” was held at the West Elementary gymnasium in Wheatland Feb. 11 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

In addition to Justin Herdt, who ran the lights and the music with DJ Magik, there were snacks and refreshments, pictures taken and lots of dads carrying their daughters to the car after a full night of dancing under Herdt’s transformation of a gymnasium into stars and lights.

The dance floor was “dancing room only” for most of the night, and when the family duos weren’t dancing, they were enjoying refreshments on the bleachers or in the hallways.

According to organizer, Murel Connolly, “Although it was huge, the last year we sold 225 tickets, this year we had 362! Everyone ate all cookies and drank punch; had a grand time dancing the night away.”

Kennedy Ranch named 2023 Ag Business of the Year

WHEATLAND – Annually, the Platte County Chamber of Commerce hosts the Ag Appreciation Banquet to celebrate the bedrock of Platte County, the agricultural community. It is a chance for the community to share a meal, hear from a speaker and award the Ag Business of the year award to one of our own. The 2023 Ag Business of the Year was awarded to Kennedy Ranch- Kelly Kennedy, Alexa Kennedy, Nik Kennedy, Holly Kennedy and Carl Lanore.

If you would like to learn more about what the Platte County Chamber does, or to nominate a business for Ag Business of the Year, please reach out to Shawna Reichert, the director of the Platte County Chamber of Commerce, at director@plattechamber.com.

March 2023

Killer February snowstorm brings double-digit snow totals

PLATTE COUNTY - According to the National Weather Center in Cheyenne, snow totals were less than expected but brutally cold temperatures will linger through Friday morning.

A nationwide storm that stretched from the west coast all the way to the east coast brought at least 34 storm related deaths across the county.

According to NPR news, “The scope of the storm has been nearly unprecedented, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60% of the U.S. population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, the National Weather Service said.”

In Wyoming snow totals ranged from over 3 feet of snow in the Eastern Rocky Mountains to 15” of snow in parts of Platte County. The storm was a dangerous two-headed monster that brought both an elongated snowfall and plummeting temperatures with wind chills that reached -60 in the mountain ranges and -40 in Platte County.

John Barrasso answers questions asked by Platte County students

WHEATLAND -  U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) spent some time with students from Platte County answering their questions that pertained to current events and Barrasso’s personal and up-close experience that he has not only nationally, but internationally.

Barrasso covered many topics including the gas prices, the border wall and his opinions about the current administration.

The first thing on the minds of students, especially those who are graduating and may be soon heading into the workforce addressed the issue of the American job force and how it looks at this point.

“It’s always an issue in the workplace,” Barrasso said. “How you hire enough people to do any of the projects that we have and that’s a challenge. With a need for workers at all levels. I met a guy today who works in Torrington and he needs to hire four mechanical engineers and more brain power. How do you find somebody to do that in Torrington when some of the people at that level of training are getting hired away at other places.”

He emphasized to the body of students that were gathered that workforce is a big issue and he advised them to make themselves valuable to the marketplace by getting an education and learning skills.

Cajun Night a traditional favorite

WHEATLAND – Cajun Night has been an annual favorite of people in Platte County since its inception in 2011 when the Platte County Legacy Home was being built.

Last Saturday night the usual packed crowd came out for a catered Cajun buffet, an open bar, raffles, a photo booth and music provided by Justin Herdt and his show DJ Magik.

The doors opened at 5:30 and by the time dinner was served at 6 p.m. the Platte County Agriplex was packed out. The event was hosted by the Platte County Hospital and Legacy Home Foundation. Tickets for the event were $25 and were sold out well before March. Kids 12 and under got a chance to come and join in for free. 

There were two raffles at the event, one prize being 18-holes of golf with a cart provided from the Wheatland Golf Course. The raffle tickets were selling for $5 per ticket and Stephanie Foye was the winner.

The second raffle was for a trip to New Orleans for two that included airfare and hotel expenses along with $500 spending money. Tickets were being sold for $10 a ticket and VirJean Reynolds.

Jackalope Jumpers raise money for equipment and trip expenses

WHEATLAND – The Jackalope Jumpers were out in force Saturday morning at the Fire Training Center in Wheatland to brave the chilling temperatures and the icy water.

“The Jackalope jump for Special Olympics was moved to the Wheatland Fire Training Center last Saturday,” Kayla Robinett, Special Olympian coach said. 

The event was supposed to be held at the Wheatland reservoir but a case of bird flu prompted the Fish and Game department to have the event moved into Wheatland.

Marsha Dial who is the area director for the Special Olympics overseeing the Cheyenne area, Laramie and Wheatland said that the event raised over $2600.

“Right now, the team that has raised the most money is The A Team,” Dial said. “The largest team is team Maverick. The most money raised by an individual is Lori Morales and the most money raised by an athlete is Eli Jaren.”

The team Platte County athletes all jumped Saturday. For an athlete to jump it’s $50 and for an individual it’s $100.

“That gets them their T-shirt and their beanie,” Dial said. “We also did a bucket-around to raise the money for two individuals that weren’t enrolled so they could jump. Today we had 19 jumpers.

Kent Smith to be inducted into Wyoming Broadcasting Hall of Fame

WHEATLAND – Dave Walsh, retired sportscaster for the University of Wyoming Cowboys refers to Wheatland as “Kent Smith country,” and in fact, one of the calls made to friends concerning his retirement before it went public, was to Smith. 

You know him around town as “Smitty” From the old bowling alley formerly with the same name to ownership of the local radio station, the play-by-play announcer for local sports broadcasts and coaching the jumpers on the Wheatland High School track team.

In his 43rd year in broadcasting, Kent Smith is being awarded two prestigious awards from his peers that are singing his praises. He has been selected by National Sports Media Association (NSMA) based out of Winston Salem, North Carolina, as the Wyoming sportscaster of the year. A second award, which came quite unexpectedly is his induction into the Wyoming Hall of Fame.

“It hit me twice and I knew about the sportscaster of the year,” Smith said. “On my way down to Boulder with my family, I get a call from the Wyoming Association of Broadcasters, and I hear, ‘Hey, congratulations you’re going into the Hall of Fame.’ And they didn’t know about the other accolade that I got. So, I immediately thought, ‘Wow, is the apocalypse happening or what?’”

Mountain lion shot and killed in Slater

SLATER – As local ranchers Jeb and Lalonda Baker were sipping an early morning cup of coffee and looking out toward the horizon, they marveled at how beautiful the sunrise was and wondered why their dog was out agitating the cattle.

Funny story. As they posed that question and mentioned the dog’s name out loud, the dog came walking in between them and they knew something else was out near the calf pen.

As Baker grabbed a pair of binoculars and took a closer look, all he could say was, “it’s a lion,” before heading for the gun cabinet.

The ranchers in Wyoming know that it’s calving season and although a rare occurrence, vigilance is something that kept close to the gun cabinets. This mountain lion was a 130-pound male that was on the prowl close to Normandy Road on the Baker ranch in Slater.

April 2023 

Kiwanis of Wheatland sponsor Platte County Lego builders Competition at the Wanderer on Gilchrist

WHEATLAND – They are painful if you step on them, but can be used to build creative projects for young contractors who have embraced these plastic construction toys.

According to the History of Lego on Wikipedia, “The history of Lego began in 1932, when Ole Kirk Christiansen founded the company in a Danish carpentry workshop, and continues into the 21st century as a popular and very profitable line of construction toys and related products and services.”

Originally made of wood, the toys changed to plastic in the 1960s. The toys have had a rollercoaster ride from their inception and although the popularity declined in the early 2000s, there has been a recovery since 2005 when those advocates and builders began thinking outside the box and have created ingenious builds.

The Kiwanis Club of Wheatland partnered with the Wanderer on Gilchrist to host the Platte County Lego builders Competition. Although the builds could be done off-site, the finish projects had to be into the bookstore by March 31.

“The kids have had all month to build,” Josephine Young, one of the organizers of the event said. “We have 51 total entries including one entry from Casper. This is our Kiwanis fundraiser for scholarships for kids.”

Kiwanis Club raises money for local kids at annual Casino Night

WHEATLAND – The Kiwanis Club held a Casino night on April Fools Day at the Platte County Agriplex.

All of the casino games were provided by Casino Party USA. 

“They’re based out of both Colorado and Wyoming, and they do primarily casino parties as fundraisers for various organizations,” Kit Armour, Kiwanis casino night organizer said.

Food and drink was available throughout the night. Guadalajara’s set up cash bar with alcoholic drinks and the students from Wheatland High School provided the food with their group, “Last Minute Catering.”

Along with the games and refreshments were the raffles and silent auctions. The silent auction consisted of items created by local artists and donated to the event.

At the end of the night, participants could cash in their earnings for more chances in the raffle. 

There were three big prizes in the raffle. There was a three-night stay in a two-bedroom condo in Breckenridge, Colorado at French Ridge Condos. This was donated by Alpine Meadows Management. Next there was a half-price turkey hunt for two valued at $1,000 and donated in honor of CPL Josiah Hollopeter and Niobrara Wilderness Outfitters out of Valentine, Nebraska. The third raffle was for a box of steaks and ground beef donated by Horblit Natural Beef.

The casino night was brought together with the help of at least 30 volunteers and an estimated 125 people attended.

Annual Brewing For a Cause hosted by Western Coffee in Platte County

WHEATLAND – The third annual Western Coffee “Brewing For A Cause” will begin next week and run from May 1 – 6 at the new location where event organizer Becky Hilty is excited about helping local people who are battling cancer.

A cup of coffee here and a cup of coffee there in Platte County hopes to yield a great bounty in the weeklong “Brewing for a cause” which was set up by local business woman Hilty who owns Western Coffee Co. in Wheatland.

“It is with a grateful heart to express to Platte County that last year we received almost $17,000 in donations for the Brewing for a Cause,” Hilty said. “This year we hope to do well again. Without our patrons and these fantastic businesses, we would not be able to pull off another successful year.”

Hilty’s motto, “Western Coffee Co., where coffee and community come together,” has rung true and has been a blessing for so many people in need. It also gives the community a sense of accomplishment to be able to help our own neighbors who are struggling with an illness.

“We donate personally a dollar per cup,” Hilty said. “We do sell other things like pastries and stuff, but the drinks, we a dollar per cup and then last year we had many businesses that came in along side of us and donated so much per day or also matched our donations per cup. We also had people who would just come to the hut just to donate on that day. Everyday we’ll have a box there at the hut and whoever wants to donate on top of getting a drink will put it into that day’s fund. We will take anyone’s donations each day.”

May 2023

Glendo went pink for Marge Cares fundraiser

GLENDO – The entire town of Glendo became participants in the annual Marge Cares Foundation fundraiser complete with pink balloons, streamers and banners.

The Marge Cares Foundation raises money from within a little town in Wyoming and they not only dream big, but they are visionaries that last year, exceeded all expectations by raising $39K in their one-day annual Big Bucks Bingo and chili supper.

This year the event was held once again in the Glendo High School gymnasium from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The multiple roasters of chili were hot and although a few circuit breakers had to be reset, everything went on with great excitement and fanfare. The raffles were exciting and the big bucks bingo produced big bucks for the participants. The theme for this year was “Paint the town pink for Marge,” according to MCF organizer and Marge Cares board president Candy Underwood Geringer.

“Every year I wonder if anyone will come,” Geringer said. “This year they all came again and packed our facility as they have in previous years. One of the highlights was the live auction for the buffalo quilt and the Esterbrook Church photograph donated by local artists. The quilt sold for $5,000 and the picture went for $1100. I believe we had almost 200 donations for the auctions and silent auctions this year. I just can’t believe the talented people that come together to support this incredible cause.”

Mean Girls pack out
the WHS auditorium

WHEATLAND –  For three memorable nights, the stage play, Mean Girls was performed by the Platte County Players at the Wheatland High School auditorium to standing room only crowds.

The Platte County Players is an organization independent from the Wheatland High School drama club who has a purpose of teaching and promoting all aspects of theater and watching the kids perform for four nights (including the dress rehearsal) showed the depth and spoke volumes about the mentoring and coaching that goes on in this community from a very talented artistic group of individuals. 

Once again, the local power couple of Evan and Stephanie Bradley put together a big-time musical in the small town of Wheatland. The musical ensemble under the direction of Evan Bradley was made up of community members who volunteered their time and musical talents to make it different from a lot of high schools across America who perform musicals with recorded music.

“As far as challenges, there were quite a few,” Stephanie Bradley, the production director said. “The obvious one, was getting our support from the school withdrawn. That was a serious setback. The Platte County Players were immediately onboard to produce the show, but everything had to be re-applied for, which took time. That delayed things like fundraising, costuming, set-building, because none of us could face undoing all of those things if we didn’t get approved.”

Platte County butcher shop wins multiple awards including grand champion

WHEATLAND – Harold Allbright who has been processing both domestic and wild game in Platte County for 23 years in his shop H’s Custom Cuts has had a busy spring as his shop has won multiple awards in two different state competitions.

“We first went to Nebraska a month ago and entered my hot dogs,” Allbright said. “We just started making hot dogs a year ago. We came back with a fourth-place award on the spur of the moment from the Nebraska Association of Meat Processors.”

The actual award was “Reserve Champion” in the frankfurters and hot dogs category. 

Last year Montana was a big year for Allbright in Montana as his shop landed nine awards from the Montana Meat Processors Association. He set the bar pretty high for his little meat processing shop and said that he didn’t think he could do anything like that again.

Until he came back this year with thirteen awards and the state’s cured meat overall grand champion.

“We entered 20 categories including a bunch of new ones that we’d never even entered before,” Allbright said. “We came away with 13 awards with an overall grand champion which was chosen by taking your first, second, third and fourth place points. We had enough points through the 13 that we won to make us the overall grand champion.”

Thrifty Foods undergoing major renovations

WHEATLAND – Thrifty Foods has been a downtown mom and pop grocery store for years. People have come to trust the home-town feel and the personal attention that is given by owner Jodi Axford. 

Axford is rewarding her customer base with renovations that are not only convenient and esthetically pleasing to her customers, but also to her employees who are saying that it’s like working at a brand new store.

“It’s been two years in the making,” Axford said. “It took two years to get a general contractor specializing in commercial work. I ended going with Capstone. I had contacted all the general contractors who were commercially licensed in Wheatland and they were all so far behind because of COVID. I’ve contacted ones in Laramie, Cheyenne, Casper, Torrington and then finally went back to Capstone and said, just get me on your schedule.”

June 2023

Frederick Brothers speak at Wyoming Historical Society

WHEATLAND – The Wyoming Historical Society held their last meeting of the season last Tuesday night at the Platte County Public Library and will take a summer hiatus until September.

Special speakers for the meeting were Doug and Chuck Frederick from Guernsey who talked about their family history and presented a slide show and narration of how their family established a small settlement in Whalen Canyon, northeast of present-day Guernsey. The meeting had a packed-out audience and the biggest crowd that the Wyoming Historical Society has ever had.

Both Frederick brothers worked as a team as they shared their family history and caused many in the crowd to, at times, laugh out loud and ooh and ahh. 

But for the fate of a single letter, written in the early 1880s, the history of several Platte County communities could have been very different.  It is the pivotal piece in the storied history of the Frederick family, ranchers with a direct connection back to the days when frontier fortresses such as Fort Laramie and Fort Steele were part of the western landscape.

Laramie Peak Museum to celebrate 40 years

WHEATLAND - More than 40 years ago a group of local citizens, interested in preserving history decided it was time to save some Platte County Artifacts. Efforts were begun in 1974 to establish a local museum with the incorporation of the Laramie Peak Museum Association.

The plan was to buy the Globe Hotel on the corner of Eighth Street and Gilchrist Street to turn it into a museum. It soon became apparent that remodeling the Globe was prohibitively expensive so things came to a temporary halt.

In October of 1977 Arlo Bowen donated an acre of land along 16th Street if the association would build a building as a public museum. Money was raised through many donations and a building was constructed and occupied in the fall of 1983.

Anderson Dental expands their facilities and their staff in Wheatland

WHEATLAND – Anderson Dental is going through some growing pains and the excitement for the Anderson Dental family is high with the addition of a new expansion, the welcoming to their practice, their daughter, Dr. Ellen Reimers and the anticipation of hearing the pitter-patter of tiny feet in the very near future.

With all the adversity this family has faced in their past and now, sitting at a table together to share all the new and exciting things that are going on, you can sense that they are overdue for some blessings to come their way.

Dr. Mark Anderson and his wife, Sherri began their love story back in the ‘90s in Nebraska. They actually met each other while going to school at the University of Nebraska (UNL) and married while Mark was in his senior year of dental school. Sherri was going to school for speech therapy and her grad school was next door to the dental school in Lincoln.