State historical society awards local projects

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
From stampeding cattle to murders on Main Street, Newcastle and Weston County are full of history. Thanks to local historians and school projects, this history is retold so it will never be forgotten. 
Once a year, the Wyoming State Historical Society recognizes the people that put time, effort and money into preserving Wyoming history,  and in September three Weston county residents were recognized for their efforts. 
Receiving the L.C. Bishop Award, one of the specialty awards, was Linda Hunt for her project “Interpretation and Marketing of Stampede Street Stock Trail.” Only one of these awards is given annually, if there is one given at all. 
“This award is made to an organization or individual who has voluntarily contributed in a significant manner, over several years, to preserving or recording the history of any part of a historical trail in Wyoming through preservation of a site, completed written research, cartography, or other means,” the awards description says. It notes that the award is named after Bishop, a county surveyor and engineer who actively studied Wyoming history. Bishop mapped many of the state’s emigrant trails and stage, express and freight roads. The Wyoming State Archives is the caretaker of several of his map series. 
Nominated by Mike Jording and Betty Petranek, who are members of the Weston County Historical Society, Hunt was recognized for her project that takes in nearly a mile along Stampede Street. 
This walking tour shares the history of the street that began as a livestock trail in about 1905, according to Hunt, and remained a trail until sometime in the early 1950s when it became a city street. She said that the name Stampede Street comes from the stampedes created by children and animals coming at the cattle as they moved toward the stockyard, located behind what was then Toomey’s Mills.
While the project was completed last year, Hunt said, it actually began years ago when she was working with former city engineer Bob Hartley to develop a bike path that ran along the street. 
“It (the project) is all because Hartley told me the history,” Hunt said. “It is a new concept to this area, instead of museums, of taking the history to the people.” 
The end result of her project is about $25,000 in work, including signs and statues that explain the history of the former trail that ran cattle through Newcastle to the stockyard. 
In addition to Hunt’s award, the News Letter Journal’s Hannah Gross received second place in the junior activities category for grades nine through 12 for her History on Main Street series with local historian Leonard Cash. Gross had previously been recognized for this series and enjoyed getting to know Cash and the local history. 
“I loved getting to know Leonard during our weekly meetings, as well as glean information from his wealth of knowledge. It was truly a learning experience and an adventure,” Gross said. “It was neat to see history come alive, and it made me realize how important history is — especially local history because of its personal tie to how Newcastle came to be the town it is today that we’ve all grown to love and appreciate.” 
Rounding out the awards for Weston County was youngster Wyatt Marshall who took first place in the junior activities for grades six through eight. Marshall’s project was titled “Upton for the Sioux Treaty and the Trail of Broken Promises.” 
The Weston County Historical Society selected all local nominations earlier this year for the annual contest. The awards are then presented each year at the annual meeting of the society on the Saturday after Labor Day.