Wyoming is not a
state. It is a club. – Wyoming native Mike Lindsey.
Is Wyoming
really unique from other states?
Based on a new
slogan The World Needs More Cowboys,
being used by the University of Wyoming, the implication is perhaps that, yes,
we are unique.
Disregard that
Oklahoma State U. also used this excellent slogan. Or that a Boulder, Colorado
firm came up with it.
And I am
concerned the request for proposal used by UW to find a promotion company was
written so that apparently no Wyoming company applied? There are talented marketing companies from
Cheyenne to Jackson and in-between.
Check out a very cool bit about
this issue on the Internet by TV personalisty Courtenay Dehoff.
But I digress. So, is Wyoming
unique?
Some years
ago, we published a column listing some unusual things people should know about
Wyoming before moving here. That
column generated even more suggestions for newcomers.
Buffalo’s Jim Hicks says: “I`ve
noticed over the years there are a few people who move to a small town and
suddenly are in culture shock. They may have come from a place were there
was a social strata of sorts. Suddenly they realize the guy who fixes streets
is part of a regular golf foursome with the local doctor, banker and attorney.
There is no seating chart at the church dinner.”
Retired UW Professor Ken Smith, who
also is a former publisher of the Green
River Star, says: “Get ready for the sky. I fell in love with the deep blue
against the contrasting snow after my first storm in Green River. Also, don’t
get cocky just because you own a Jeep, whether off road or in snow. I have been
humbled in both situations.”
My kid brother
Jerry who graduated from Lander Valley High School and now lives in San Diego
says: “You better buy some snow tires. Some real snow tires. Always be prepared
for cold, even on the fourth of July.
“Summertime
sunsets are wondrous as are the sunrises, when the sun hits the peaks first and
the amber glow works its way down the mountainsides. Wait five minutes and that
afternoon rainstorm will be over. The wondrous smell in the breeze is
sagebrush.”
Jean Haugen writes: “While living
in Jackson back in the 1970`s, new people would move to town from all over the
world and we`d usually get a new crop every year.
“They moved there because they said
they loved itthen within a short time, a year at most, they would be trying
to change the way things were done back to where they came from. My
advice: if you move here, you are most welcome, but we love it the way it
is, harsh winters and all, please don`t be changing it.”
Meanwhile the
ongoing argument between whether those ditches along a road are called borrow
pits or barrow pits got some fine press a few years ago in the Thermopolis Independent Record.
Then-Publisher Pat Schmidt printed an official Wyoming Dept. of Transportation
report where it was spelled “barrow.”
This is after former chief WYDOT engineer Delbert McOmie reported it was
“borrow” in a column that I once published.
My thought is
that both usages are correct but the debate continues. And yes, people moving here need to know that
that is what we call those places along roadways.
Of all the people who offered tips
for newcomers, probably the person who moved the farthest to Wyoming is Kari
Cooper of Jackson Hole. She moved here from New Zealand over 30 years ago.
“Wyoming is not always an easy place in which to live, “ she says. “We deal
with the harsh weather plus the craziness of driving 500 miles to make a kid’s
sporting event every weekend.”
Director of
the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce is Dave Hanks, who lives in Farson. His thoughts:
“Moving from Wisconsin 37 years ago
I learned things uniquely Wyoming. First is the term “snirt” in southern
Wyoming. This is a common occurrence as wind blows our very dry snow around
until it mixes with dirt.
“Being a Midwest boy I had a hard
time understanding ‘purple mountain majesty.’ This was answered in a very
visible fashion as we drove to the Big Sandy Openings one evening at sunset in
the summer of 1981. The Wind River Mountains changed color many times in
minutes with the final spectacular splash of primrose and purple. We stood in awe of the sight that unfolded
before our eyes.”
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