, 1922-01-22

act OF the 1913 Btdu0S RE1Slatr
state historian and q state his
governor, the secretary of stat
Conditions were exceptions
attitude 5r the people wac that OF
doubt AS to tho possibility o~f44asdnE a
suceess OF such a venture In Byoming
and tho country was Just paz sing into
this strczairg postwar period But
we know that Wyoming history Is
| nlied with deeds OF braverya roura.-.
adventure and rsmanceHan thterwov-
: en- In the life histories OF tho ssif-sso-
rsficing. Justice and liberty loving
women. the founders and pioneers OF
this great COMMONWEALTH We knew
that thS collection md p~rcservafion
OF this history IA worthy OF 3ou- best
ability. our energy. our tfmo and q
enthusiasm We knew also. tnaf when
our citizens were convinced Of the
value OF such an undertake. ~. thcy
would give It their unresersred sup-
port
Such a department ehcuid snpt exist
for the benefit OF any classl hut for
benefit Of all. A histcJ 5cal or
g~znizatfon which catacombs 1ts H.
'y-sry. services and publications, in
even the most spacious and ,preten-
t'uus quarters. Is not unlike a
country rich in natural pesources
which remains undsvclopcd. A hts
torical agency without the ability to
fsrue publications is like a NAN with
out a voice.
State History Popularizt q.
The FIRST and most import tnt pro
oedurc. looking toward a sud lstantiai
foundation. was to popularnrk state
history. Today the official who fs
not making an effort towsrd the
placing Of his WARE before Ehe pub
lie, should beware lest a Descendant
of Mark Twain's intellieenk and
famous spider seek his dooisse b for n
permanent abode. When Mark. Twain
In his early days was editor OF Ia Mis-
sourf paper, a superstitious srbscrib-
err wrote to him. saying he hadk found
n spider in his paper. and nsISirhy him
whether that was a sign of COCK luck
or bad luck Mark Twain wrote him
his answer and printed Il.
stOid Subscriber:-Finding n spider
IN your paper was neither good luck
or bad luck for you. The spidpr was
merely looking over u PAPER to see
which merchant Is not ADVERTISING. SO
that he can go to that store. spin his
web across the door and lead D life
of u~ndisturbcd peaos eve after
ward"
But how could we carry on a dig
nfded publicity campaign WITH the
cost of everything at the high peak,
and sit costs to advertiser The
Packard Motor company APPROPRIATE
Cd $780, 900 to '.popularize- ths~ prod
uot, tho drive to extend 0ver . sferfod
Of five weeks. At our disposal were
81 5000 to cover a period of two bears
with which to organize and daFelop
a historical department for a wvnder-
fuf state! However, It was very
gratifying to ind the press of the
state willing to cooperate. and we
set about q vigorous publicity earn
psfgn with circular letters and Itews-
paper articles Soon u correspond
{ files became voiuminoua We
determined that no letter which tame
to tho department should ever ffeem
too unimportant to be given . our
teous. painstaking reply.
Cooperation Secured.
The services Of hundreds OF psttri-
clio citizens were enlisted to ain IN
collecting records and trophies Of
wyuming's part In the World wrr.
The good will ard active support Of
statewide bodies were solfcited; as
was also the cooperation of authhrs.
Journalists and local historians
One OF the most important means
employed was to cndeavor to kfve
the central agency q personality.
Most people regard history as an@th-
er dead language" 1t must thhre-
fore be made a living. vital thing
Some Of our plans Of attack followed
to populnrize our history could not
be termed "dignified" from the
scholars vantage But since Pho
trapper, guide. ranchman, merchetnt,
banker and business man are lsll
most important factors in this GREAT
commonwealth. these various methods
Of advertising the department have
been found very advantageous.
Our annual invitation to hundrehs
of wyoming residents. to attend the
special programs which we arrange
in honor of our pioneers at DE
wyoming State fair, has brought tho
table results. This provides h per-
cna contact with many at n tnfe,
ana the reunion Of the early SETTLERS
ID most gratifying.
Tho prize essay contest conducted
m b high schools Of h state and
the numerous folders carrying q mes-
sage OF soaae feature OF the work..
trs,sed by the department and dis
tfbuted generously among our peoples
have created q keen interest In the
study Of Wyoming history and.
through these venues Of ~endsavur;
valuable historical data have been DEF
POSTED IN the files.
Notable Results.
That the study OF Wyoming history
has become popular in the schools'
and study clubs Of the stats Is evil
denced by the hundreds OF calls forI
materials bearing upon Wyoming
topics. which are now annually re-
ceived by the historical department.
The literary nles have been enriched
|hy numerous personal reminisS
|cences and hiEtpricai data and the re-
<clnmation OF Colon Coutnnt's unpub-
Ilished material.
Much has been accomplished In tho
department in the classification OF 1T