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Pinedale Online > News > October 2010 > Old newspapers an intriguing time machine

Peary discovers North Pole. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
Peary discovers North Pole
In The Range Ledger, 1909. This article is one of the pieces of a newspaper on the wall in the kitchen.

Denies Cook reached Pole. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
Denies Cook reached Pole
Detail of one of the paragraphs of the Peary North Pole article.

Victor-Victrola. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
Victor-Victrola
Someday you will surely own a Victor-Victrola... an ad from one of the papers on a kitchen wall.

Scroll down for more pictures

Old newspapers an intriguing time machine
Sommers Ranch homestead restoration project update
by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online!
October 17, 2010

Earlier this year, the Sublette County Historical Society partnered with siblings Jonita and Albert Sommers to restore the Sommers family homestead ranch and make it into a living history project. The homestead ranch is located along the Green River, about twelve miles southwest of Pinedale.

Restoration of the two-story homestead house has been the focus of the work this fall, and it has already turned up many interesting tidbits of insight into the history story this homestead ranch has to tell. One of the recent fun finds has been the uncovering of the walls to discover they are lined from floor to ceiling with old newspapers. Most cannot be identified, but some that have pieces that include the paper name include the Saturday Evening Post; The Range Ledger from Hugo, Colorado; The Salt Lake Tribune; and The Laramie Republican. Papers date to the early 1900s.

One article that stands out comes from the Saturday, September 18, 1909 edition of The Range Ledger, which is heralded as being "devoted to the live stock interests of eastern Colorado" and being "the newsiest newspaper in eastern Colorado." The headline reads "DISCOVERY OF NORTH POLE RELATED BY ROBERT E. PEARY – Intrepid Explorer’s Story of the Bold Dash by Which He Reached the Earth’s Apex—Dr. Cook’s Claim Flatly Denied." The article begins with a "Notice to Publishers" warning of the copyright protection against the reproduction of the account. Click on the pictures to the right to see that paper.

A 1909 Denver Post had the story about a bold daylight bank robbery. There was an ad for the Salt Lake City Brewing Company, and a 1909 death notice for South Pass area resident John Bilcox.

Below are some of the ads and tidbits from the papers. These papers show how the people living out in rural Wyoming were still getting news of international interest from their available news sources. Being frugal, the papers were "recycled" for a useful purpose. Over 100 years later the papers have resurfaced to give us an insight into the lives of the people who helped shape the world we live in today.

Click on the links below to read more about the Sommers Ranch Homestead project or contact Angie Thomas with the Sublette County Historical Society at the Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale, 307-367-4101.

Photos by Dawn Ballou and Jonita Sommers.



Related Links
  • This Place Matters: Sommers Ranch Homestead - Community Challenge
  • National campaign a chance to win $25,000 to preserve a Sublette County homestead - September 8, 2010
  • Extensive Wyoming land conservation project conserves nearly 19,000 acres - June 29, 2010

  • Off and Over. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Off and Over
    The homestead house had to be moved off the foundation so a new one could be poured. The house moving took place in September, 2010.

    Back Over. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Back Over
    After the new foundation was poured, the homestead house was moved back over. This was done in late September, 2010.

    Kitchen wall. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Kitchen wall
    Newspapers line the inside of a wall in the kitchen. Papers date to the early 1900s. The papers were discovered when the walls were removed to clean rodent debris behind them.

    Old paper. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Old paper

    Laramie Dry Goods Co. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Laramie Dry Goods Co
    Saturday Specials on dress gingham, 10 yards for 7-1/2 c.

    Bank Robbery. Photo by Jonita Sommers.
    Bank Robbery
    Bandits Loot Bank - Bold Daylight Robbery Nets $10,000 to Men Who Escape. Desperadoes hold officer and employee with faces to wall while every piece of cash is taken -- Two suspected accomplices are arrested. 1909 Denver Post.

    1909 Death Notice. Photo by Jonita Sommers.
    1909 Death Notice

    John Bilcox. Photo by Jonita Sommers.
    John Bilcox

    Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. Photo by Jonita Sommers.
    Denver & Rio Grande Railroad

    Chief. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Chief
    Drawing from one of the articles. Not enough remains to tell what this related to.

    Goldometer. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Goldometer
    For hunting minerals, gold or silver.

    Cheyenne Creamery Co. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Cheyenne Creamery Co

    Special rates on pianos. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Special rates on pianos
    MONEY LOANED To Salaried People. Engineers, Firemen, Shopmen, Brakemen, and all other reliable wage earners - just on the note. SPECIAL RATES ON PIANOS, FURNITURE, ETC., from $10 to #100, returnable in month...

    Wild West Show. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Wild West Show
    Indians, Cowboys and Wild Horses Galore...

    Winton Six. Photo by Jonita Sommers.
    Winton Six

    Illustrated Weekly. Photo by Jonita Sommers.
    Illustrated Weekly

    New pencil. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    New pencil

    We have good drugs. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    We have good drugs
    GOOD DRUGS mean much more than FRESH DRUGS because it includes high grade as well as freshness...

    Multigraph. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Multigraph
    A rapid rotary printing press and multiple typewriter combined in one handy little machine that can be easily operated by students or employees.

    1909 Salt Lake Tribune. Photo by Pinedale Online.
    1909 Salt Lake Tribune

    Walker's Corsets. Photo by Jonita Sommers.
    Walker's Corsets

    Salt Lake City Brewing Company. Photo by Jonita Sommers.
    Salt Lake City Brewing Company

    Sample Shoe Shop. Photo by Jonita Sommers.
    Sample Shoe Shop

    Cigars. Photo by Jonita Sommers.
    Cigars
    Rothenberg & Schloss

    Coney Island. Photo by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online.
    Coney Island
    This paper has an article about Coney Island. Not enough remains to tell how or if the scarecrow graphic relates to the article.
      
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