CLE
August 2, 2012 I The Lovell Chronicle 115
COURTESY PHOTO
Members of the Cowley High School Class of 1982 gather with their float before the Pioneer Day Parade on July 21. Picture are
(front row, l-r) Cheryl Wilson Jolley, Tracey Welch Haskell, Richard Parker, Julie Blohm Stingley, Ronda Rasmussen Yorgason,
Diane Monk Busteed, Roger Birdsley, Curt Peterson, Schuylar Hinckley, (back row) Michael Leonhardt, Wes Townsend, Jeff
Johnson and Mike Gams.
Senior Chatter
Dorothy Spragg
celebrates 91st
BY PHYLLIS BRONKEMA
This week's chatter centers
around the last name of Spragg.
Dorothy Spragg has long been a
valuable member of the North
Big Horn Senior Center. As she
continues to mature, her fam-
ily gathers around her more
and more. Since June, daugh-
ters Joyce (Floyd) Hawley of
Casper and Sherry (Stuart)
Morthold of Sacramento, Ca-
lif., have been in Lovell visiting
with their mother.
Although the Mortholds
left for home last Friday, the
Hawleys, joined by Dorothy's
son Gene (Linda) Spragg of
Lovell and her grandson Sau-
ghn DeFuentes of Lovell, cele-
brated Dorothy's 91st birthday,
by eating lunch together at the
Senior Center.
Coincidentally, both daugh-
ters joined Dorothy and daugh-
ter-in-law Linda at the cen-
ter for pinochle last Thursday,
July 26. Wouldn't you know it,
Joyce Hawley won high for the
afternoon!
Arlene Ross snatched high
from three tables of bridge the
same afternoon. Sorry, no one
gave me any exciting news to
Cowley News
We will sure miss Postmaster Jack Nicholls
BY DRUE TEBBS-MEEK
548-6901
It's August already and fall
isn't too far away from us. This
summer has just flown by and
the July weather seems like a bad
dream. The temperatures are ei-
ther going down or we're getting
used to heat.
The wind has been blowing
quite a bit, and since some of our
trees around town are old and
many need trimming, it seems like
all one does in the morning hours,
before watering or cutting the
lawn, is pick up branches, twigs,
leaves and other debris. The winds
are distressing. Does this happen
every summer? I think not. In fall
perhaps, but not in June, July and
August.
Summer hit this area hot and
heavy and our temperatures have
soared. With half the United States
in drought, we are fortunate to
have the Sidon Canal and be able to
water lawns, crops and trees. The
work on the Sidon Canal began
May 28, 1900, and the project was
not completed until the spring of
1904. If you have the book "With
Book and Plow" by Mark Partridge
there is a good outline of the build-
ing of this lifesaving canal, which is
very interesting.
On Monday evening, a fare-
well party for our postmaster, Jack
Nicholls, was held at the Cowley
Park. Most of us don't like the chal-
lenge of change, unless you are
young, I suppose, but having Jack
retire has hit the town popula-
tion pretty hard. Jack has been in
Cowley in charge of the post office
for 15 years, and our community
is saddened by his departure as he
is part of our daily lives, cheerful,
helpful, caring, witty and just be-
loved by us all. Wel miss him and
wish him well as he adjusts to re-
tirement and we adjust to his ab-
sence. We've all tried to get him
and his wife to move to Cowley, but
he seems pretty content to be on his
farm near Lovell. Good luck, Jack.
We miss you.
Nick and Megan Wilson have
returned to Cowley and have rent-
ed a home that Frank Hinckley
built a few years ago. We are glad
to have them back. Nick is work-
ing. for Wilson Brothers Construc-
tion Company as an engineer, and
both he and Megan are happy to be
here. They have lived in Riverton,
Utah, for the past three years. The
couple has three sons, Blake, Kyle
and Dane. Nick is the son of Kim
and Lisa Wilson and Megan is
the daughter of Hugh and Lyn
Mortensen of Grand Junction, Colo.
When I asked her what her
maiden name was and she said
Mortensen, we talked some more
and discovered that she is re-
lated to Neils and Esther Meeks
Mortensen, who came to the area
in 1900. Neils and Esther are her
great-great-great uncle and aunt,
so through the Meeks line, she
is a distant relative of our family
tree. That is exciting to know.
Another couple, Mike and
April Price, has just moved from
Lovell to John Bennion's brand
new duplex on the land that used
to belong to the Tippetts fami-
ly. What a beautiful duplex, and it
has five bedrooms and three bath-
rooms. Mike works for NFB in Sid-
ney, Mont., and he and April have
four children. Daughter Breya, 18,
graduated from Lovell High School
last spring. She will be attending
Northwest College in Powell. Son
Jacob is 16, daughter Kendra
is 13 and their youngest son is
ll-year-old Ethan.
April said her children will
still attend Lovell schools, but
they are happy to be in Cowley in
their newly built duplex. April also
said she works in Lovell and gives
swimming lessons at the Lovell
schools. We're glad to welcome
them to Cowley.
More families have moved into
Cowley the past week or so, and as
soon as they get settled more, we
can get to know them. Our small
community is beautiful, nice to live
in, and we hope the newcomers will
enjoy themselves in our town we
love.
Linda Parker and her brother,
Ernie Roybal of Gillette, have just
returned from a fast trip to Law-
ton, Okla. Their brother, Frank,
has been ill so Linda and Ernie
drove the long miles to Lawton
to happily discover her brother
is not as sick as they feared and
is doing much better. They were
able to visit relatives and though
the trip was quick and exhausting
to them both, they enjoyed it.
Byron News
Many new projects happening in our community
BY PAMELA COZZENS
HOPKINSON
548-2471
pamhopkinson@gmail.com
Some things stay the same,
and some things change. That's
profound, isn't it? Amid the clam-
or for new high tech "stuff' my
grandson saw a box of Lincoln
logs and that topped his list for
wants for his birthday. I find that
gratifying, as well as confirming a
belief that, in building, whether
with logs or blocks or legos, there
is a sense of accomplishment in
the transformation. Knock down
a stack of blocks and immediate-
ly there is a scramble to build
again. Around town there is ac-
tivity going on. New construc-
tion adds some excitement to a
town as well as hope for the fu-
ture. Someone believes in putting
down roots. Yeah!
Down across from the City
Park, on what is commonly known
as "the pumpkin patch," one can't
help but notice the new structure
going up. It is a tall building with
a complex roof structure. Many
thought it was the Pruett home,
but no, it is his workshop. The
home will come next, first things
first. It is fun to see the progress
from lots of sticks to a pretty fan-
cy looking shop. You must go see.
On Main Street, the Scheelers
have moved out a mobile home
that belonged to Charlie, and
moved in a handsome modular
structure. I like the French doors
facing the street and the white
trim. It will look great when it is
finished and nestled among the
large trees that are left on the
property.
The unfinished homes at the
east edge of town are now under
construction and will be a wel-
come sight to our Main Street.
Perhaps we will appreciate it
more because of the wait. (That is
Pollyanna talking.)
I counted three new garages
in town in various stages of con-
struction. I see some yards that
once were neglected now looking
nurtured and green; plus a fun,
sunshine yellow front door.
It's all a good sign. Progress
takes time. Add a little hope,
some vision and working together
and we could amaze ourselves. Or
better said by Thomas Edison, "If
we did the things we are capable
of, we would astound ourselves."
The newest business in town
is on the sidewalk in front of the
old Carl Anderson home. A bus-
fling lemonade stand, offering
both pink and regular. The young
entrepreneurs are Sierra Ses-
sions, Pixie and Chloe Sylvia, Tra-
vis and David Powell, Riley Dodd
and Caleigh Best. They had their
ad guys out with signs on the me-
dian strip, as well as money tak-
ers and drink pourers.
It takes a group on a mission
to run a successful venture. As I
was enjoying my lemonade, a tiny
blonde came up to make sure I got
her name. "My name is Pixie, P I
X I E. The youngest and littlest of
the bunch, she fit her name. Good
luck to them. I am hoping the
traffic won't be too stingy and will
give at least a thumbs-up for en-
couragement. Better yet, if you're
thirsty, stop and fill 'er up.
The memorial park now looks
like a beautiful place to stop and
rest a bit, while walking through
and remembering those who came
before us. RB has worked his mag-
ic on putting together a sprinkler
watering system that will now
keep that grass green. No more
plugged up sprinklers. RB Smith
is part of the memorial park com-
mittee and is a tireless volunteer.
There is a story told about some
wise men commenting that all this
desert needs is a few good men
and water. Someone said, "That's
all Hell needs." Well, yes, but we
are talking here and now and can
see that water makes all the dif-
ference, and a good man. Thanks
and thanks again for making the
desert bloom.
Summer means outside
work. Having a couple of grand-
sons here for a few weeks seemed
the perfect time to make that
point. Most of the time it was will-
ingly done, lawns mowed, sprin-
klers moved, stuff like that. But
occasionally I needed to find a
hard job to reinforce a lesson (if
you know what I mean) and un-
fortunately in order to get a hard
job done by a kid, an adult has
to work along side to show "how
it's done." So I found myself an-
kle deep in a just watered pas-
ture with wheelbarrows and
shovels and a grandkid whining
about why he is having to get his
shoes wet in this horse (stuff) wa-
ter. You get the picture.
Our task was to rid the pas-
ture of those tall brown weeds
that must have a name but
you know them when you see
them. Anyway, after an hour of
deep root digging, I had learned
my lesson and was done. I called
him in and he didn't want to quit
because he was now having fun
in that deep gooey mud and de-
cided that this was a fun job. I
got the punishment. Something is
wrong with this picture. Thanks,
Chase, for teaching your grandma
a lesson.
Have a good week.
I I I
E-edition is five this week! Go to www.LovellChronicle.com and
crick on 'free e-edition trial' at top right.
I I F
report about Arlene except
that she continues to be a great
bridge player.
From our files
Painting the
town red
100 YEARS AGO
The Cowley Weekly Progress
August 3, 1912
Bill Eyrecthis week started to
paint the town red--his town at
least. Note the improved appear-
ance of his lumberyard fence. By
the way, he has branched out
into the fancy and staple grocery
business. Old Bill is certainly go-
ing some.
75 YEARS AGO
The Lovell Chronicle
August 5, 1937
The 10ng problem of feed-
ing the nation's biggest elk herd
of about 25,000 animals in the
Jackson Hole country has been
solved by a 20,000-acre addition
to the elk refuge. President Roo-
sevelt in an executive order in-
creased the Teton County acres
to approximately 24,000.
50 YEARS AGO
The Lovell Chronicle
August 2, 1962
Lovell high school officials
announced this week that can-
didates for the 1962 football
team will have to be fitted and
have teeth guards before the
first game of the season. Offi-
cials this year will check play-
ers for guards, and eject from a
game anyone who does not com-
ply with the new ruling.
25 YEARS AGO
The Lovell Chronicle
August 6, 1987
The Town of Cowley is in the
process of completing the second
stage of its major street improve-
ment project with the installa-
tion of new street signs and yield
signs. In addition, new green
and white reflective street name
signs are being installed on all
the streets in town. "This will
help the visitors and emergency
crews who are trying to locate
someone," mayor Mike McCrack-
en explained.
Please submit wedding
and engagement
announcements
to us via email:
Icnews@tctwest. net;
fax:307-548-2218;
or send to our office at
234 E. Main St., Lovell,
Wyoming 82431