Let's Talk Wyoming - Wyoming Weather, New Years Resolutions, JayEm & Yellowstone!

As flakes of pristine snow blanket Hot Springs County, Wyoming, our latest episode wraps you in the warmth of a community's spirit despite the chill. We reflect on the simple, profound acts of kindness that define the holiday season and challenge you to carry that compassion into the new year. With a personal touch, I recount an encounter that reaffirmed the power of presence, a tale that weaves through the fabric of our podcast as we celebrate the enduring connections among us.

Venture with us through the storied streets of the little town of JayEm and into the vast expanse of Yellowstone National Park, guided by the insights of Kathy Weiser from Legends of America. From the geological grandeur of a supervolcano to the majestic presence of wildlife that roams the land, we reveal the layers of history and nature that make this place a beacon for the adventurous. Whether you're a long-time admirer of Wyoming or planning your maiden voyage to Yellowstone, this episode offers a tribute to the state's unyielding beauty and the timeless Code of the West that still beats in the heart of its people.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:20

Good morning and welcome to let's Talk Wyoming. I'm Mark Hamilton, your host, and today we'll be taking a look at our year-end Wyoming weather here for the last week of December. We'll talk about some New Year's resolutions, we'll take a look at the town of JM and also a final stop on Yellowstone. Thanks for joining us today and we hope you enjoy the show. Taking a look at the Wyoming weather here at the end of the month of December. Today is the 27th day of December. We definitely had a white Christmas here in Hot Springs County. We had about four to five inches of snow on the Saturday last Saturday. A lot of wind, cold weather Got down to negative three. I did see zero. So it's been definitely a change in our weather we've had in the past. But one thing about it we did have a white Christmas. We were definitely brown in a lot of areas, but it was a white Christmas here in many parts of the state of Wyoming. Weather is hitting in other parts of the state, especially that right now I should say the southeast part of the state is under some advisories, some weather hitting. Of course you all know about Nebraska. South Dakota got hit with weather, but right now we are finishing up the month of December, the 2023, the days suddenly now getting two minutes longer every day after the 21st. So things are looking up here, going into 2024.

Speaker 1: 2:12

It's New Year's resolutions time. Here in Wyoming, like everywhere else. We're coming to the close of 2023 and all of our New Year's resolutions have we kept them? Have we fulfilled them? Have we forgot about them? Maybe a day or two afterwards to lose weight, maybe to get a little better sleep, take better care of myself, spend more time with my family those are all just great ones, and I think when we go into 2024, I don't know, I sometimes wonder when I start thinking about New Year's resolutions. I think it's just better to get into the year, get into 2024, and just determine to make the best of what you have.

Speaker 1: 2:53

I think that's the resolution we have to have right now, with everything going on in our world and a lot of talk about what's happening in our world going into 2024. Every time you look, we have an issue between our southern border, with what's going on at a lot of spots, with wars going on. I'm wondering when our US military is going to be drawn into them, and it's really been just tough. And right now. I've seen a lot of stuff over the holidays. There's a lot of people that are hurting, talking about a lot of people that are homeless or don't have a lot in their life right now. Everything that's happening. So I think we have to try to make the best of it and try to be a positive person for everyone around you. I think the word for me this year a caring person, care about the people, be there for people be available.

Speaker 1: 3:50

That's another word Care and available, and when we're available, that means that when a person has a problem, they can come to us. I heard a speaker a couple years ago talk about that and he was talking about his son. A young lady with some issues with cancer and different issues was wanting to visit with his son, who was a college football player, and he just couldn't figure out what his son could ever do for that young lady to make a difference in her life. And after he met, they set up a meeting between the two of them and he was just wondering, while they were talking, what his son could possibly be saying to make a difference in that girl's life. And then it dawned on him what that girl was looking for with somebody that was available to listen to her, someone that was there. And I think that's probably an issue with a lot of people right now. Are you available to people that may be in need? Are people around you available that you want to share? I think that is a really big one going into 2024. So, care about people, care about what is going on in their life and be available. I think that is one that we need to be available to the people our family to co-workers, people we know of all walks of life that we run into be available for them and care about them. Let them know that you care, and maybe those two things will give us a good start to 2024. It might be a little rocky but I guess if we care and make ourselves available to the people around us, we may make a difference and that would be pretty cool going into 2024. Today we'll be looking at JM, barely Holding On.

Speaker 1: 5:43

Jm Wyoming began along a watering hole on the old Texas trail that ran north-south of Goshen County. The land around the town site was originally claimed by James Moore, a former Pony Express rider and rancher, in 1860. By 1869, moore had the second largest cattle ranch in Wyoming territory under the brand J Rolling M. A small stream on his land was named JM Creek. Moore died in 1873, but his brand continued to live on.

Speaker 1: 6:14

On February 13, 1899, a post office was established on JM Creek, a short distance from the future site of the present town of JM. The postmaster was Uncle Jack Hargraves, and the post office went by the name of Hargraves. Uncle Jack was an unconventional person with decided opinions of his own. The story goes that there came a time when the US Postal Inspector called on Uncle Jack and their opinions strongly clashed. After that, uncle Jack informed the Inspector that he could pack up his post office and get out, which is exactly what the gentleman did. Since the materials and supplies of the post office were all contained in a large wooden box, packing up and getting out was not a very difficult task. This left the ranchers and settlers with no post office nearer than the Raleigh Butte Station or Fort Laramie for the next 10 years.

Speaker 1: 7:06

In 1905, silas Harris and his three sons, art Lake and Frank, from Wisconsin, took over the JM Caval company. Three years later, in 1908, silas Harris sent a request to Washington DC to have a post office in the area. Again, they replied that the post office would be established, so the family would bring the mail from the Raleigh Butte Station to JM Ranch every other day. For 90 days, silas and son Lake Harris made the 20 mile trip for the three months it was required. Upon receiving approval for the post office, the equipment was set up in a bunkhouse at the ranch. On February 10, 1909, elizabeth Thornton, a friend of the Harris family, was appointed postmistress. In addition to the post office, the Harris family maintained a small general store on the JM Ranch. The Silas Harris company store sold general merchandise to area farmers and ranchers, provided rudimentary banking services, bought farm produce and became a gathering place for homesteaders and cowboys alike.

Speaker 1: 8:09

In 1912, 21 year old Lake C Harris filed for land under their homestead act on an empty stretch of prairie along Raheid Creek. He first built his own house and their operative feed store in the ranch bunkhouse which soon became a general store. When he was appointed postmaster in 1914, the post offices moved to his store. In addition to homesteading, harris immediately began establishing a town to support area ranchers. He called the new town site JM after Jim Moore's JM Ranch. A weekly newspaper called the JM Sentinel and the Fort Laramie News ran from 1917 to 1921. The Harris General Store was moved from the ranch to the new town site in 1918. Other businesses were also established, including a Yumbryard and a Black Smith shop. The Farmers State Bank opened in 1920 and Schautz Garage opened in 1925.

Speaker 1: 9:05

Through the 1920s and 30s the town became a regional center for commerce in northern Goshen County. Afterwards, however, it began to decline as the automobile made it easier for residents to travel to larger towns like Lusk, lingold and Torrington. In 1931, lake Harris was again appointed postmaster, a position he held until 1959 when he retired. In 1935, lake Harris established the JM Stone Company, making tombstones and building products from the stone quarry around the raw hide buttes. The farmer's snake bank sold out in 1945, and Schaut's garage closed the same year. However, the following year the garage would reopen as Wolfe's Repair, a business that lasted until 1960. The general store lasted until the late 1970s.

Speaker 1: 9:53

Lake Harris died in 1983 at the age of 96. At about the same time, most of the remaining residents gradually moved to more modern accommodation scattered around the edge of town, eventually leaving the old historic center of town abandoned, for the most part Never incorporated. The streets of JM were never paved or graveled, there were never sidewalks, curbs or gutter, and there were no municipal organizations or community center. At its largest, jm hosted more than 200 residents. The JM Historical District was listed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1984.

Speaker 1: 10:28

The Historical District is a tightly knit commercial center with all the buildings within a block of each other. The buildings, constructed with materials at hand, display a consistent architectural design. The buildings are wood-framed with shiplap siding and some concrete walls and foundations. They have simple functional doors, windows and gable roofs and they are small, one or two stories constructed to serve the needs at hand. A few modern structures are scattered about the fringes, housing the few remaining residents. The district, looking much like it did in 1910 and 1920, remains in the hands of the Lake Harris Errors. The buildings of the Historical District include the lumber yard.

Speaker 1: 11:09

This is an unusual commercial structure with a two-and-a-half-story false front at the east end, an arch connecting wall and gable warehouse that creates a courtyard in between which was two shed type outbuildings. This building was first called the JM Store and then the General Store. In 1917, it housed the grocery, hardware, drugstore, livestock, feed and lumber yard. The Stone Company, a two-story gable brick structure, was with two large shed roof wings flanking the central structure. The concrete wings are on one story and may have functioned as a living quarter on the east and storage on the right. Lloyd Damrow and Oscar Bradbury opened a business called JM Onyx and Jim Company. Through the years it was also known as the Wyoming Marble and Stone Inc and JM Stone Shop. They made headstones, fireplace mantles, tabletops, paper weights, salt and pepper shakers, astrays, candlestick holders and jewelry.

Speaker 1: 12:05

The bank in JM was a one-story wood frame ship-wrap commercial building that has concrete foundation and a flat roof. Two oversized fixed windows are flanking the central front door with concrete sills and plain surroundings. There are the small one-story frame garads with a gable, tin roof and original double doors. And back Farmer State Bank opened for business in 1920. In 1933, after a month-long run on American banks, president Franklin Roosevelt temporarily shut down banks on March 6 and they weren't allowed to reopen until March 13. The Farmer State Bank and JM did not receive word of this, so it stayed open. The bank was robbed in 1935. The bank was sold to the First National Bank of Torrington in 1945, but it never reopened At one point. The post office was located in the front corner of the bank building and there's also a house still in JM. There's a very simple one-story frame house on a concrete foundation. There was also the restaurant, feed store, post office, general store.

Speaker 1: 13:08

This multi purpose building consisted of two and a half-story gable roof frame buildings connected by a single -story flat roof link. The left side of the structure, built in 1935, replaced the grocery store that was originally in the Lake's home. People were allowed to charge their groceries and dry goods. The hall above this store was used for Sunday school church meetings and as an apartment. The right side of the building, also called JM Hardware, it also had a soda fountain and gas pumps. Town meetings, social and even rifle practices were held in the hall above the store, right between the grocery and hardware store, was a cream station that at one time shipped out more cream than any other station in Wyoming. It also was a repair garage and this was a one-story wood frame building with a front gable overhanging to create a sheltered drive-through. James Schautz was the first proprietor from 1928 to 1945. From 1946 to 1960 it was called Wolf's Repair. A black shop was located in the rear. It also was a gas station which was one-story gabled, wooden frame and shiplap structure. The gable ended extended to create a drive-through carport. And also the Lake Harris house was an irregular mass one and two-story wood frame house. There are three interior brick chimneys and two porches, and the house was built over the original dugout with an owl wall still in evidence. Today JM is called home to about 15 people. A dawned denominational church and a post office remain open.

Speaker 1: 14:45

Jm is located 23 miles south of Lusk, wyoming, just off Highway 85. And it might be an interesting place to stop by and visit. We want to thank Kathy Alexander of the Legends of America for this story. Today in our history section, we want to talk about a place here in the state of Wyoming that everybody recognizes. Wherever you go in the world, people know about Yellowstone. Yellowstone is the oldest US national park. It attracts some 3 million visitors every year to experience its many wonders. It is located in the states of Montana, wyoming and Idaho. Famous for its geysers, hot springs and free-ranging wild animals, yellowstone is a seasonal wonder offering an abundance of activities for all ages and interests.

Speaker 1: 15:37

Some 640,000 years ago, yellowstone and its scenic views were formed when a colossal volcanic eruption injected an immense volume of ash that covered all of the western US, much of the Midwest, northern Mexico and some areas of the eastern Pacific coast, leaving a volcanic depression some 30 miles wide by 45 miles long Eruption created what the early American pioneers referred to as the place where hell bubbles up. Geothermal wonders such as Old Faithful are evidence of one of the world's largest active volcanoes, which typically erupts about every 600,000 years. Though providing spectacular features that be mused and befuddled the park's earliest visitors, the volcano is known to have been the largest to ever occur on earth, resulting in the worldwide population falling as low as 10,000 people. The park was named for the yellow rocks seen on the rocky cliffs along the northern portion of the Yellowstone River. The iron and the rock cast causes them to cast a yellow tint that the Native Americans first called Mitzah Daza or the River of Yellow Rocks. Later, French fur trappers translated this to yellow rock or yellow stone, Gathered from archaeological evidence.

Speaker 1: 16:58

Native American history here is said to date back as far as 12,000 years. These earliest people were known to have been primary hunter-gatherers who utilized significant amount of obsidian to make cutting tools and weapons, they may also have practiced some crude farming activities. Arrowheads made of Yellowstone obsidian have been found as far away as the Mississippi Valley, indicating that a regular obsidian trade existed between Yellowstone Native Americans and tribes further east. In 1806, when the Lewis and Clark expedition moved through the area, a man named John Coulter left the expedition, joining a group of fur trappers. Coulter is credited as being the first non-Native American to visit the region and make contact with the Indians, these Native Americans, where, if you have sheep, readers or a man that this is shown.

Speaker 1: 17:52

You survive by hunting for big horses, fishing the headwaters of the snake and at a 70-year old stone grave. Coulter spent the winter of 1807 to 1808, on the expedition and exploring Yellowstone.

Speaker 2: 18:06

On his ground, he was captured by the guys, who were the children of the Chimpanzee who were somehow able to escape on their return to Missouri from his addiction to the tribe.

Speaker 1: 18:28

He was captured by the guys who were the Chimpanzees, and Yellowstone is worshipped as Coulter's help.

Speaker 2: 18:34

He was captured by the guys who were not in heaven and he had the pleasure of making an expedition to Yellowstone. He also was very mischievous and wanted to spend his time in the woods. He was a very mischievous and wanted to spend his time in the woods. He was able to escape on his return to the tribe and he had the pleasure of making an expedition to Yellowstone.

Speaker 2: 19:01

Heaven above heavenly host sing alleluia. Christ the Savior is born. Christ, the Savior is born. Christ. Oh man, day that you were born, they said you were the Son of God. And the wise men came and said it to them that, oh my God, the story is true. Then you came here to set us free from all the pain and misery. You made the moon and the stars above and you sealed it all with your precious love. I just wanna thank you, jesus. I just wanna thank you, lord. Send us your radiant light on this silent night. God is born, father, child and mother. Alleluia the Savior is born. I'm gonna give you some time to have fun and I'm gonna spend my life I'm gonna live. I'm gonna live Spending my life on me. I'm gonna spend my life on me. I'm gonna live.

Speaker 1: 21:07

I'm gonna live On the problems that he witnessed firsthand. Congress finally provided funds for a salary, as well as a minimal amount, to operate the park. Additional superintendents followed, but without adequate help. Yellowstone's natural resources were being destroyed, as poachers killed animals, souvenir hunters broke off pieces of geological formations and developers established numerous tourist camps. As a result, the park turned to the US Army for help. In August of 1886, the Army arrived to begin what would be more than 30 years of military presence at Yellowstone. After living in temporary framed building at Camp Sheridan and enduring five cold winters, the Army realized there was no end in sight for the assignment and asked Congress for funds to establish a permanent post. Fort Yellowstone was completed by late 1891 and, as more troops were needed, additional buildings were constructed, including officer quarters, a guardhouse, headquarters, stables and barracks for the enlisted men. At the height of the Army's presence in Yellowstone in 1910, there were 324 soldiers stationed at Fort Yellowstone. The Army continued to manage the park until 1918, when the newly established National Park Service assumed management.

Speaker 1: 22:25

Today, yellowstone is one of the most popular national parks in the United States due to its numerous natural wonders. Visitors to the park will experience the sight of hot springs, canyons, geysers, lakes and abundant wildlife. Activities for visitors include fishing, boating, hiking, camping, not to mention the opportunity to view wildlife, which include buffalo, moose, bighorn, sheep, elk and more. A couple of notice to potential visitors include due to geothermal activities of the park, the odor of sulfur is common in some areas and visitors with respiratory difficulties consult their doctors before visiting. Though they may look friendly, visitors should never approach wildlife and staying on safe trails, as outside of these can be found boiling liquids and toxic gases. Bodging ranging from hotel to cabin accommodation exists at 11 locations within the park boundary.

Speaker 1: 23:19

We'd like to thank Kathy Weiser of Legends of America for sharing this story with us and, again, we'll continue on on this series about Yellowstone Park. But it is a natural wonder that everyone needs to visit at some time in their lives and it is definitely a place that's just unsurpassed with the magnitude of what is there and, as they said, in the sights that we have there, with the buffalo and moose, bighorn, sheep, elk and more. And, as we know, there's been other animals introduced and we always talk about the bears that are there. There are grizzly bears and black bears. Also, you'll run into the gray wolf that had been introduced in recent years.

Speaker 1: 23:59

Just another fact about Yellowstone Park the park was officially open to autos in 1915 after a period of controversy in which it was argued that the park roads were too narrow for both autos and teams. But again, yellowstone is a place definitely that you need to put on your list. If you haven't been to Yellowstone or you can always go more than once it's a place that you want to see here in the state of Wyoming. Thanks for joining us today and we hope you enjoy our podcast. As per the Code of the West, we ride for the brand and we ride for Wyoming. Three, two, one, three, two, one go.