WLM | history
H
istorical research is my passion. This is our third issue to explore a photographic time capsule from one
Wyoming community. In our two last issues of WLM, I shared my “green folder obsession” at the Wyoming
State Archives. I tell my friends at the archives my topic Wyoming town and retreat to a table with green
folders of historical images that I have the great joy of choosing from. Two issues ago, we looked at Cody, especially
the funding of a church by the women of the community; in the last issue, we examined Rock Springs’ diverse
international history. For this issue, I wanted to look at Buffalo. I love this quaint town that has a deep artistic
nature. My husband Levi and I were lucky enough to enjoy the fi rst Longmire Days event with a media pass – what
an adventure that was! Last fall, when I was delivering the last round of WLM, I happened to stop at the Occidental
Hotel to discover a standing room only crowd enjoying music that was fl owing into the street.
My green folders on Buffalo before me at the archives on my research day, I stopped to study a series of images
regarding a harvest of turkey carcasses from the 1920s (truly fascinating!), and then found picture upon picture of
devastation…. Muddy messes of goods strewn out in the street … the actual street torn apart … people dressed like
extras from 1997’s blockbuster movie Titanic clearly moving quickly from the blur of their faces, working