American Heritage Center

Toe tapping, finger snapping, hummable tunes – that’s what Charles N. Daniels was known for.

Dr. Charles Bingham Penrose was a promising young Philadelphia surgeon who moved to Wyoming after suffering from tuberculosis.



During World War I, the technology of warfare had not advanced enough to cause Wyoming citizens fear of a direct attack by any of the belligerent powers.

But the plight of civilians in Europe concerned the people of Laramie.

In 1918 the Laramie Woman's Club informally adopted Edmonde Filaire, a ten-year old French girl whose father had been killed in the war.

William Gailmor began his career in the 1930s as an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi in New York. By the 1940s he was a nationally known journalist and radio news commentator.

He was blacklisted in the late 1940s for presenting “popular front” viewpoints on the radio. The popular front was a mass democratic social movement that embraced labor rights, civil rights, and economic democracy.

By 1950 he had returned to journalism, writing a regular column on human welfare issues for a liberal newspaper, the Daily Compass.

By the 1960s, comic books were seen as having no redeeming social value and too simplistic for adults.

That changed in 1961 when writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby created The Fantastic Four for Marvel Comics. Their all-too-human superheroes quarreled, had amusing moments, and showed fear.

The Fantastic Four were an immediate success.

Quickly, Lee and Kirby introduced their next creation, The Incredible Hulk. But the third became best known, when in 1962 Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko created Spider-Man.

Seth Parker was a fictional preacher created by radio star Phillips Lord. The character was based on Lord's own grandfather. Lord played the elderly character in a radio show for fourteen years.

The show drew on the charm of rural Maine and its colorful characters. Every episode ended with Seth Parker helping others with a bible story or hymn.

Minnie Corum wrote a memoir titled "I Licked a Stamp" that detailed her life as postmistress in Encampment, Wyoming, from 1918 to 1946.

She was not only a longtime postmistress, she was a successful problem-solver.

One snowy Christmas the mail was delayed for four days and no one received their Christmas packages.

Once the mail arrived, Corum quickly organized a project to deliver all the mail since there were too many packages to fit in the post office.

German-born artist Hans Kleiber immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager in 1900. He developed what he called "an abiding love for whatever the out-of-doors had to offer."

In 1907, Kleiber became a U.S. Forest ranger in the Tongue River District. Dayton, Wyoming, became his permanent home. Inspired by his surroundings, he resigned his job after 16 years to become a full-time artist.

Over time he earned the nickname, "Artist of the Big Horns."

Etching and printmaking were his favorite mediums.

The black-footed ferret is a small weasel-like animal that once occupied the Great Plains.

The CowBelles started as a social group for the wives of cattlemen. Soon statewide chapters formed. Wyoming founded the first state CowBelles organization in 1940.

The American National CowBelles incorporated with the goal of increasing demand for beef across the United States. They conducted beef cooking demonstrations in supermarkets and marketing campaigns. Chapters of the CowBelles collected and distributed recipes. Creative cooks submitted recipes like Beef Nut Bread and Beef Brownies.

A cartoon set to epic opera? Why not?

Michael Maltese of Warner Brothers Studios devised a story featuring hunter Elmer Fudd chasing Bugs Bunny through a parody of 19th-century composer Richard Wagner's operas. [RIK-ard VAHG-nər]

"What's Opera, Doc?" was released in 1957 and was an immediate hit.

The studio condensed Wagner's massive four-opera work into a six-minute cartoon complete with ferocious storms and tragic romance.

The cartoon is also called "Kill da wabbit" after Elmer Fudd's frequent refrain.

Evelyn Ankers was Queen of the Screamers due to her long career as a B-movie horror actress.

People around the world have long had a fascination with the American West.

In 1964, nine life-size replicas of dinosaurs towered over visitors to the New York City World's fair.


Wolfie Gilbert was the songwriting dean of Tin Pan Alley.

Jacob Baker was an assistant administrator for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration.

On election night 1958, Gale McGee waited for returns at the home of UW art professor Robert Russin.

Larry Adler was an Academy Award-nominated harmonica player and musician.

Charlotte Allis left Beloit [Bu-LOYT], Wisconsin in April 1854 on a wagon journey.

From 1946 to 1958 the U.S. Government conducted nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. 

1990 marked the 100th year of Wyoming statehood. Celebrations were held across the state. From Yellowstone to the Medicine Bows, natives and visitors alike were encouraged to participate in festivities to mark the occasion.

Most UFO sightings can be attributed to weather balloons, blimps or satellites. Often, it’s a simple case of mistaken identity.

Every October, young Latinas from across Wyoming gather for the Latina Youth Conference.

Fifth through twelfth graders meet for the two-day conference. They enjoy banquets, cultural performances, informational presentations and educational workshops.

Batman comics were a hit when the Batman TV series debuted in 1966. And Godzilla had wowed audiences since the 1950s.

Why not combine these two iconic characters of pop culture in a film?

Before the Nazis made eugenics synonymous with ethnic cleansing, it was considered a viable tool for managing public health. In the early 20th century, applying eugenic methods such as forced sterilization was a way to improve the human race.

American Heritage Center

Harold Lloyd was one of the biggest silent film comedians alongside Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Lloyd was known for elaborate action sequences where he did his own stunts. His most iconic stunt was hanging off the arms of a clock in Safety Last.

Public domain

Edward Bernds was a prolific Hollywood writer and director known for campy comedies and science fiction films.