The Work and Rewards of Indexing
By Phil Roberts, 5-14-23 Indexing–the work, the rewards. We’re frequently asked why there is a plaque next to the front door proclaiming the building as …
Getting Run Over in Cheyenne: Memory of the Flight
By Phil Roberts- May 13, 2023 May 13 is the anniversary of the only time I was ever hit by a car—in the crosswalk on …
“Not a Jerk Historian”: Lessons Learned about Research
by Phil Roberts, 5-9-23 “I’m a REAL historian,” I said with the arrogance only found in a green, first-year doctoral student in almost any field. …
Baku Courts, 2004: An Observation
“The courtroom bore little resemblance to the one I’d seen earlier out in the Baku suburbs last week. The room, with walls painted green to …
The Saga of Avocado Hill
By Phil Roberts Avocado Hill. That picture of the Wyoming Highway patrolman narrowly dodging that out-of-control semi, reminds me of an incident from the past. …
Swimming When Your Head is Heavier Than Your Feet
The world can be brutal to those few, like me, who have a head that is heavier than his feet. I’m among the estimated three …
Strolling through Cairo’s American Cemetery
By Phil Roberts I’ve been thinking of the “good days” in Egypt today–after walking around this afternoon in biting Wyoming fall winds. Cairo has years’ worth …
Looking for Anchor Dam: A Lawsuit, A Chain-link Fence, and Two Dobermans
By Phil Roberts, 8-10-22 The saga of Anchor Dam in northwest Wyoming, well known to most people, has become symbolic of what happens when engineering …
Fort Robinson Biennials: Like Returning Home Again 
David, I just found this on the computer. I had written it in August 2005, after the reunion and just before classes had started. Just …
Letter from Cairo, #3
Political Musings from Egyptians Late in the afternoon of the 3rd day in Cairo, I finished entering my grades online and then took a walk …
Famous Horses in Wyoming
Presentation to Laramie Lyceum, April 19, 2016 Race Horses: Sir Barton Perhaps the most famous of this group is Sir Barton, 1919 winner of the …
Going Home: A Memory of Pal, Steve, and Our Hike to the Sunset
By Phil Roberts, 9 May 2022 We walked that warm summer afternoon, along the rough trail leading to the top of the Hat Creek Breaks …
Cairo Letter, March 15, 2003
March 15, 2003 Hi, everyone. Phil here, from Cairo. We just returned from a very nice sunset picnic on a felucca in the Nile. It …
From Teapot Dome to the “No-No” Boys: The Many Controversies of Wyoming’s Second Federal Judge
During the first 85 years of statehood, Wyoming was authorized only one federal judgeship as one judicial district. Only three men occupied that position during …
Cheyenne’s Admiral in World War II
Cheyenne was the birthplace of at least one Navy admiral—Francis X. McInerney, who was born in Cheyenne in 1899. While he was stationed worldwide in …
The Cellphone Log
By Phil Roberts It is almost unnoticeable in this photo of Barol Lodge at the AMK ranch (inside the borders of Grand Teton National Park), …
First Electricity in Early Wyoming, 1882
By Phil Roberts About the same time that inventor Thomas Edison was constructing his Pearl Street station and developing equipment for it, while he was …
Telling Steve McQueen How to Shoot Tom Horn
By Phil Roberts, 1/15/22 ….If there is a moral to the story, it would be not to tell a box office star how to shoot …
Gambling, 1950s: Fremont Lake Ice Pool
Betting (and opposition to it) has a long tradition in Wyoming. Take the lottery once conducted over ice on Fremont Lake. In a rather lengthy …
“Welcome to UW”—New Faculty Mud Tour of Southeast Wyoming
Phil Roberts—1/3/22 How do you free a busload of new faculty from being stuck most of the day in the mud behind Como Bluff? Fortunately, …
Memories of Christmas Past from Capitol Times, 1984
For Christmas 1984, Capitol Times published a series of brief accounts from readers responding to the question of what was their most memorable Christmas? Liz …
Christmas Celebrations in Pioneer Wyoming
By Phil Roberts, December 1978 (with revisions, November 2018) Christmas was celebrated in the early days in Wyoming, in the 19th century, much like it …
Laramie’s Eliza Stewart: The First Woman Juror in America
By Phil Roberts Laramie women made history in March of 1870 when five of them became the first women in the world to serve on …
“Modern Journalism,” Editorial, Seattle, 1895
This editorial was published in the Seattle Press-Times, May 10, 1895, p. 2, c. 2: “During the last ten years a remarkable change has taken …
Wyoming’s 1st Printed Newspaper Was a Daily
By Phil Roberts, Reprinted from Buffalo Bones column, October 20, 1979 The first printed newspaper in Wyoming hit the streets on June 12, 1863. Unlike …
Having a Sandwich with Tom Horn (A Century After He Was Hanged)
By Phil Roberts, Nov. 19, 2021 Hired gunman Tom Horn was hanged on the “Julian gallows” inside the Laramie County Jail 118 years ago tomorrow. …
Transcontinental Telegraph Came Across Wyoming in 1861
Invented by Samuel F. B. Morse in the 1830s, the telegraph was already maturing as a communication tool when it became a key component to …
Fractional Money: Civil War Era Coin Shortage Solution
A few months ago, I wrote about the merits of silver dollars, widely used in most of Wyoming in the 1950s. I neglected to mention …
When Laramie Tried Scrip, 1933
At the beginning of 1933, Laramie officially was near bankruptcy. (FDR’s New Deal wouldn’t be taking office until March). In order to keep paying the …
Gambling Raids in Wyoming, 1935
By Phil Roberts, Oct. 2021 Wyoming politicians, publishers, and church leaders have led opposition to gambling throughout the state’s history. Some of these attempts came …
Law and Order: Regular Concern for Frontier Wyoming Publishers
A common refrain one finds in 19th century Wyoming newspapers is the call for “law and order,” including government control over guns. Editorials warned that …
Wyoming Board of Immigration, Report for 1911
In the early 20th century, the State of Wyoming set up a “Board of Immigration to promote immigration to Wyoming,” both from the rest of …
A New Newspaper in Wyoming, 1977
On Sept. 29, 1977, David L. Roberts started the Medicine Bow Post, just as the town of Medicine Bow was about to boom (with the …
Billy the Kid, Wyoming: Tourist Site near Rock River
Billy the Kid, Wyo., just north of Rock River, in the 1950s was a motel, truck stop, café, and souvenir shop with a small petting …
A Cheap Suitcase, A Knife-wielding Maniac, and No Plans to Bury a Dog: Memories of 1990s Cairo
By Phil Roberts In this installment, I’m writing about some memories of Cairo. I first came to Cairo to help Peggy get settled in at …
Airplanes in Wyoming, 1932
Wyoming had a small, but much-used fleet of aircraft by the beginning of 1932. Airplane census in Wyoming in 1932 showed there were 67 total …
Two Senators at a Time: Wyoming, 1890, 2008
By Phil Roberts Wyoming voters went to the polls in November 2008 and voted for all three members of the state’s congressional delegation—both U. S. …
The Coin Commission’s Compromise: Equality State? Cowboy State? And Sharing the Open Space
By Phil Roberts The new Wyoming quarter, officially unveiled in August 2007, shows Wyoming’s license-plate bucking horse and next to it are three words: “The …
Wyoming Had Many Connections Worldwide and with Australia
By Phil Roberts Many years ago, I gave a talk to the Laramie Lyceum about the unusual number of connections between Wyoming and Australia. I …
Origins of the “W” on Laramie’s “W Hill”
By Phil Roberts “Go out in the back steps of the University or any other convenient place about town and take a look at the …
Death of a Missouri Insurance Salesman in Pre-statehood Cheyenne
By Phil Roberts Traveling across Wyoming was perilous in the covered wagon days of the Oregon-California trail. Yet, even when rail travel made it faster …
Silver Dollar Days in Wyoming, 1950s
By Phil Roberts As nice as it sounded, walking and hearing silver dollars clanking in your Levi’s pocket used to have a few down sides. I’m …
A Friday Afternoon with Dr. Agnes (and a Busload of Norwegians)
By Phil Roberts I’m not a specialist on Scandinavian history and biography, but one late spring day, after several heavy downpours during the week, I …
A 42-Year Tie Ends: The Scrapping of a 1979 Chrysler
By Phil Roberts A 42-year odyssey with a white 1979 Chrysler LeBaron came to an end this week when we sold it to a salvage …
Pumping Gas on the Cody Road to Yellowstone
A Reminiscence by Phil Roberts Pumping gas at a filling station was a pretty good job for high school students in those long-ago days before …