Spring 2005 #1

1 • Frontiers 2005

frontiers

Running out of time… Page 20

Volume XVII, Issue 1

The University of Wyoming student magazine

Count von Bush? Van Kerry? Who knew genealogy could be so fun?

Page 32

Find out the motivation for this Olympic athlete at UW

Page 5

Edgar and Rosalie Lewis have made their mark on Laramie

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Frontiers 2005 • 3

“Life must be lived forward but can only be understood backward,” said the Danish writer Søren Kierkegaard.

For those forced to cope with losing their loved ones in the accident that killed eight UW students four years ago, these words may describe some of their reality. In the wake of that fatal September morning, there were more than eight lives irrevocably changed. Relatives, friends, fellow students and neighbors are all impacted by tragedies like this. And Clint Haskins, the drunk driver responsible for the deaths of eight young athletes, will have a lifetime to be haunted by a plethora of “what if’s.”

The turns of life are many and unforeseen, but we cope with them as best we can. And most of all, we try to find some joy and meaning. Whether it is a subconscious dream at night or a cognitive venture out of a boring class — we are bothered and bemused by whom we are.

We have different means of achieving this quest. While some people try to answer the questions through the examination of their past, which Patrick Banks relays in “Voyage into the past”, others live to learn.

Edgar and Rosalie, Laramie residents for 57 years, found each other – and a life – within art and music (see “The fine art of building a community”). Others turn to the outdoors, such as Andy Kaiser, who in “Hook, line and 29 degrees” explains how a dark and cold winter day can be transformed into a great experience of ice fishing.

For UW Olympian Scott Usher, going to the Athens games was more than he had ever discerned. “You can dream about the Olympics — and I dreamed about the Olympics — but it was all that and more,” he recalls in Shannon Valenti’s “Olympic stroke”.

While some people easily find their place in life, others struggle. “Our fear, our inability to trust and let go – to be swept up in the music of creation and dance with the Father of all that is with wild abandon,” is how Kevin Wingert in “Dancing with the lady in red” relays our difficulty to understand and interact with that which is unknown.

I thank my contributors of Frontiers for their efforts in making something that may impact themselves and their readers. As Henry David Thoreau said, “The frontiers are not east or west, north or south, but wherever a man fronts a fact.”

May each of life’s frontiers lead you to a greater discovery of self…

Victoria Sæland Editor

ContentsOlympic stroke

Shannon Valenti

UW’s Scott Usher realizes his dreams and more

by going to the Olympics.

Hook, line and 29 degrees

Andy Kaiser

Experience ice fishing with Andy Kaiser

The fine art of building a community

Robert Townsend

After 57 years in Laramie, this couple has had a significant

impact on the community.

Running out of timeCarrie May

On Sept. 13, 2001, eight lives were lost and many more

changed permanently.

Dancing with the lady in red

Kevin Wingert

Our first dance is symbolic of many aspects of our lives.

Voyage into the pastPatrick Banks

Tracing your ancestors can open new doors into understanding.

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Seeking the thine

“To thine own self be true.”Polonious was a hypocrite

and a loon.How can I be trueto the very thingI do not know?Images, voices

course through thisthin-skinned realityas if one more bumpand the husk would

shuck right off.Thousand different tiny

thoughts—lewd, wise, loving, aloof,sensual, humble, caring

despair—all mine,all me—

but who? who?Laugh, please,

for pathos must findrelief in comedylest we drown.

Kevin M. WingertSource: www.nasa.gov


Photos & Story by Shannon Valenti© 2005 Frontiers

f or some athletes, attending the Olympics is merely a dream. For Scott Usher, it was a dream come true — and a lot more.

“It was the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life — the Olympic prelims. I just needed to get comfortable, just take in everything right then and there. You can dream about the Olympics — and I dreamed about the Olympics — but it was all that and more.”

A University of Wyoming Olympian, Usher swam three races in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. His journey to Athens began when he was growing up in Grand Island, Neb. He followed his brother, Alan, into swimming when he was six and has never left the pool since. Usher did his share of other activities, but the one he really stuck with was swimming.

“My parents threw me into just

Wyoming Olympian, Usher swam three races in the

Games. His journey to

in Grand Island, Neb. He followed his brother, Alan, into swimming when he was six and has never left the pool since. Usher did his share of other activities, but the one he really stuck with was swimming.

Olympic stroke


about every sport you could imagine: soccer, football, basketball, baseball … I did basketball all the way up to my first year of high school, and I did football all through high school. But I always swam,” Usher said.

As a child, Usher swam on a club team for the USA Swimming Organization.

“Clubs are all around the U.S. with age groups from six years old all the way up to senior circuit swimmers who are 60 or sometimes even 80,” he said.

His first coach, Brian Jensen, was with Usher as he competed throughout high school. Jensen is still in close touch with Usher and his family. “He’s been with me my whole life,” Usher said.

Usher holds two Mountain West

Conference records and two NCAA records. He can’t remember exactly when he set his first record, except that he was about eight or nine years old when he started shattering club team records.

“I remember in high school I broke the record pretty fast for our high school team.” The certificates for these records,

along with countless other mementos from his swimming career, have been dutifully collected and saved by his mother, Pam Usher.

“I have quite a few shoeboxes full of ribbons and medals and trophies … somewhere in the house,” Scott Usher said.

Usher had always been a standout swimmer, but when he and U.W. Swimming Coach Tom Johnson started looking closely at his times in the 2003 to 2004 season, they realized he had a chance for higher competition. Usher went to the U.S. Olympic Trials

“I’m not exactly a sociable guy

when it comes to competition… of

course I was friends with my teammates, but I don’t say much

more than ‘good luck’ to the other

guys before a race.”Scott Usher

Photo: CourtesyThe Olympic swimming venue in Athens, Greece.


in Stanford, Calif., in the summer of 2004. Only the top two qualifiers in each event make the Olympic team. Usher raced in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke. In the 100-meter, he fell unnervingly short — he missed 2nd place by just tenths of a second. But redemption came in the 200m breaststroke. Usher placed 2nd with a time of 2:10.90 and became a member of “Team USA.”

With the trials kicking off his summer, Usher had a lot of preparation to do before the Olympic Games began in Athens. The entire U.S. Olympic swim team trained together at Stanford before heading overseas. They spent six days on the beautiful Mediterranean island of Mallorca that belongs to Spain, and then a few days pre-competition in Athens.

The Olympic team had several different professional coaches who

worked carefully with each athlete’s training regimen. “We wanted to bring up the distance a little bit, but we didn’t want to bring it up so much to where I got tired from it. We wanted to maintain … my stroke and my physical fitness … we never did anything that would really destroy me. Once we got closer to the Olympics we dropped a little bit at a time,” Usher said.

Having to train under different coaches wasn’t too difficult to get accustomed to, according to Usher.

“If T.J. (UW’s coach) had wanted to write workouts for me, he could have,” Usher said.

Getting settled in and comfortable as soon as possible is important for any competing athlete. The athletes were housed by country and event in apartments about 20 minutes from

“We tend to stay home and take

it easy on Friday nights, but usually watch movies with

friends and hang out with friends. I like

going rock climbing, though, and hiking.”

Scott Usher


downtown Athens. Each apartment was arranged as a suite with four bedrooms, two beds in each. Since the swimming competition was scheduled first, and the 200 meter breaststroke was the first event of the games, Usher had little time to settle in and mentally prepare for his races. Most of the swimmers did not even go to the opening ceremony because the swimming events began so early.

Although he generally eats what he wants Usher tries to be conscious about choosing healthy food. “I eat whatever I like, but I don’t eat terrible stuff either. A day or two before meets I try to eat a little bit healthier, stay away from soda and stuff … It’s important to get the right stuff into your body.”

As for pre-race rituals such as listening to music or meditating, Usher keeps it low-key.

“I just try to get into the meet by cheering my teammates on and getting everyone pumped up.” He said he doesn’t spend much time engaging in small talk with his competitors. “I’m not exactly a sociable guy when it comes to competition. I kinda keep to myself … of course I was friends with my teammates, but I don’t say much more than ‘good luck’ to the other guys before a race.”

Scott swam three races in Athens, all in his best event, the 200 meter breaststroke.

“Breaststroke is definitely my favorite, and it’s also my best,” he said. The preliminary heats were on the first day. He competed against 18 other swimmers for a place among the top 16. Scott knew his time in the preliminaries would get him a qualifying spot among the top 16 swimmers. “I wasn’t trying to go that

fast, I was just trying to get used to everything.”

Next up were the semi-finals — narrowing the field of competition to the fastest eight swimmers in the world. “When I looked up and I made top eight, I was excited. I was ecstatic!”

The final event came on August. Usher’s parents and Coach Johnson made the trip to Athens to cheer for Scott, while millions of fans watched from their homes.

“The stadium was just a little over half full for prelims, but then for finals thing filled up to max capacity — around 10,000 people. I tried to pick my parents out, thinking I

knew the direction they were in, but they moved around so much

it was difficult.”

Scott was in lane two for the Olympic finals. On the blocks, Scott said he cleared his mind

except for the mantra “long and strong”— a reminder of how

he should do his stroke.”

He swam the final in 2 minutes, 11 seconds and 95 hundredths of a second, placing him seventh in the world.

One advantage of being part of the early game events was that Scott and the rest of the swim team could spend the remaining time watching other events, sightseeing around Athens and bonding with one another.


“The team was awesome. In a month and a half, I’ve never been that close to people before. They were really willing to open themselves up and make it like a family atmosphere.”

Usher met other swimmers such as Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett and spent time with gold-medal athletes Lenny Krazelburg, Michael Phelps and Wyoming Greco-roman wrestler Rulon Gardner. The team also traveled around Athens and saw the sights.

“Really, the acropolis was awesome. It’s in the dead center of Athens and it’s on a huge hill up there, and you can see the ocean, see the city. It was awesome … It was my first time out of the country, first time on a national team and it was kinda nice that it all happened then and there. It was just an amazing experience.”

After an eventful summer, Usher is settling back into Laramie life. He is a criminal justice major and has about another year left of school.

Usher’s week is packed with an intense practice schedule — twice a day Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and once a day on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

In the little free time he enjoys, Usher tries to relax and catch up with friends.

“We tend to stay home and take it easy on Friday nights, but usually watch movies with friends and hang out with friends. I like going rock climbing, though, and hiking.”

Skiing and snowboarding are favorite activities, but according to Usher Coach Johnson “highly recommends” against any activity involving a high risk of injury. (Scott insists that rock climbing with friends is called “bounding” and is not very dangerous.)

Down the road, Usher said hopes to work in policing, though he’s not certain in what area.

“I’m not exactly sure. At first I wanted to do FBI, but I’m kind of open now. My uncle and cousins are state patrolmen and bodyguards. I don’t know, but I guess that’s the direction I want to go.”

Usher plans to keep swimming through this year — his last of NCAA eligibility.

Will he be at the Beijing games in 2008?

Scott smiles and says, “I definitely want to go, but it’s four years away. We’ll have to see what happens.”

Usher’s Olympic tattoo“I got it in downtown Athens at a place called Jimmy’s Tattoo. We had our team doctor go check the place out … to make sure that the place was clean and safe. I went with a couple teammates Larsen Jensen and Brenden Hansen both who were medal winners ... I was a little scared at first about the tattoo hurting but surprisingly it didn’t hurt at all. I’m not sure if that was because I was so hot because the place wasn’t air conditioned or if it was just good work...”


Hook, line and 29 degreesHow to snag a fish below the ice without freezing below the beltAndy Kaiser© 2005 Frontiers

It’s the most wonderful time of the year alright, but forget the capitalist-driven marketing of the “holidays” as the reasoning behind the magic. It’s ice fishing season — the best fishing season of

the year. Not to take away from spring spawning action, late night summer catfish or fall runs of large browns, but ice fishing in the west is one of the most exciting and hottest actions of the year.

There are several different techniques in ice fishing, several fish species that are active and fewer people to disturb you on the hot spots. One of the traditional misconceptions associated with ice fishing is that one must spend all day staring down a little hole for a few bites while freezing one’s butt off on a sheet of ice. But there is a reason for the virtual “cities” of ice fishing communities that you see in Minnesota. This is one of the best times of the year to catch some of the biggest fish.

Warmth is one of the utmost concerns for people when thinking about heading out to the ice. With the number of available shelters, heaters, specialized clothing or even specialized techniques of fishing, there is no reason to dread heading out because of the temperature. Heated shelters can get so warm that

a fisherman could spend all day in cold temperatures just in a T-shirt.

Shelters also provide one of the many fun aspects about ice fishing. The market offers several that are portable, easy to set up and effective in keeping the warmth. However, if you wish, this can be a place where you get creative and make one of your own. Many versions of homemade shelters exist, allowing you to customize to the type of fishing you’ll be concentrating on. It is similar to making a fort for adults — but a quite functional one.

If the shelter is not going to work, or if is too pricey, then you can always bring out a heater, or even start a fire. The fire won’t go through the ice, but it will melt the top layer of ice.

Improved clothing found on the market works well to keep you warm, but several days will not require that you even use them. Many days will get up into the 30s and/or 40s, which could sometimes be too warm.

Dressing in layers is essential. You can always add more layers and take off as many as you need for your comfort level. If you are fishing by using tip-ups on a lake that allows for six lines to be set, then you may end up spending all day running from tip-up to tip-up catching fish. On days like this, you will need to use less clothing and be ready for some vigorous exercise. It is possible to stay warm simply by using this method when catching fish.

The gear to use for ice fishing is specialized, as one may expect, but it is one of the really fun things about the sport.

For the beginner, simplicity may be the best. Ice augers are one of the most critical things to have, because you need to have a way to get through the ice to the water. These vary in style and expense.

Manual augers can be bought for reasonable prices, and some people even use ice chisels or specialized ice saws. Once you get into the ice fishing obsession you may have a better idea what power auger you want.

Obviously, the larger the hole you want to dig, the more work it will require. If you stick with a smaller diameter hole then you will get through the ice faster and easier, but the trade off it is that you may not be able to get that really big fish out of the hole. Digging holes can also be one good way to warm up fast.

Once you are through the ice, you’ll need a good ice skimmer to get the small chunks of ice out of the hole. The sturdier the ice skimmer, the better off you will be for a variety of conditions. The function of the tools is to break up the thin layer of ice that may form at each hole, and many models also have chipping devices and inch measurements to measure your fish.

Beyond the necessities to start fishing, gear options become tremendously varied and depend upon the water you fish and the fish you are targeting.

I’ve caught fish through the ice by simply holding onto a regular monofilament fishing line and jigging up and down with ice fishing jigs or night crawlers. Your options range from



as simple as a line in hand to various forms of tip-ups and ice fishing rods. You will soon find that it is possible to get ice fishing equipment for a low price, but it is also possible to spend a fortune on the more specialized equipment. This is one area where you generally get what you pay for. If you spend more money on a high end tip-up or rod, then you will probably tell the difference from most of the cheaper models. However, this does not mean that the fish can tell the difference. As with any fishing venture, the proper presentation will produce fish. Rods vary primarily depending upon the weight of line and size of fish you will be looking for. Heavier rods are set up for larger fish whereas lighter rods give better feel and presentation for smaller fish such as perch and crappie. Tip-ups are essentially a set up wherein a spool of line is attached to a device that is set over the hole. When a fish bites a flag will go up to signal the good fortune. Tip-ups are great for lakes in the west where more than two lines are allowed per person. In Wyoming, most of these special ice fishing regulation waters that allow six lines per person are larger reservoirs that have good populations of walleye. Check the regulations for the nearest lake to you for this type of fishing. Most lakes where trout are the primary or only species do not allow more than two lines per person in the western states, but even here an extra tip-up with a worm can be another way to increase the odds of catching something.

There is much more to be said, but remember that getting out is most important. Ice fishing allows you to hit those spots that were out of reach without a boat for most of the year at a much cheaper price than buying the boat and all the equipment, licensing and maintenance that goes along with boating. It allows for you to extend the fishing season, and may give you the best chance at lots of fish and some true trophies.

So next time you wonder what to do with a cold winter day in Wyoming — perhaps ice fishing can be a fun alternative...

A note on safety:

Every year people go through the ice in places that are unsuitable for

walking. Some people even drive out on the ice in areas that cannot handle the weight of a vehicle.

It is essential that you practice safety on the ice because getting out of the water can be nearly impossible. The low temperatures in the water will also allow you minimal time to get out before reaching hypothermia.

When the snow covers the ice check often and careful the thickness of the ice. Stay away from pressure ridges. These are areas where ice has pushed up against itself and formed a crack in the ice. They work similar to the idea of plate tectonics and provide a virtual mountain range of ice with one sheet of ice going under the other. They also provide areas where open water and risky ice can be found.

Safety devices such as ice spikes can help you get out of the ice should you fall through. If possible, head out with someone experienced in reading the ice. If not, look at where and how others have traveled onto the ice.

In any event, use extreme caution when on the ice. Safety comes first.


…of building a communityRobert Townsend© 2005 Frontiers

In 1947 Edgar J. Lewis Jr. landed at Cheyenne Airport in Wyoming. He had received an off er to teach brass at UW.

“All I could see was space,” Edgar recalls. He rode the train to Laramie, hopped into a cab at the depot and asked the cab driver, “What’s the best hotel in town?” Th ere was only one — the Conner.

Since then, Laramie has changed

signifi cantly. After having spent 57 years in Laramie since that day he stepped off the airplane in Cheyenne, Edgar can testify to that. And since he and his wife, Rosalie, came to embrace Laramie and decided to settle down, they have each partaken in giving the town its characteristics.

“Welcome to our home,” Rosalie Lewis says as she greets you in the entry hall. Edgar stands in the living room, smiles his big smile, and bids his hearty “Welcome.” A delectable

scent of a roast comes from the oven. A ceiling-height split-leaf philodendron with elephant ear-sized leaves colors the corner left of the fi replace. Geraniums’ bold red clusters stand bright in the west window’s sun. Furnishings open up for a crowd or off er clusters for intimate conversations. Rosalie’s watercolor paintings add glowing dimension to this cozy home.

Th e married couple’s bubbling personalities set a warm and

Photo: Shannon ValentiRosalie and Edgar Lewis play their instruments at their home in Laramie.


welcoming mood. Through art and music, they have

both contributed to the community through their 57 year-long residency. Their different beginnings, though similar in some ways, blended together years ago and created a couple that has earned the respect of many others.

Rosalie (von Grueningen) Lewis, at 11 years old, began her 14-year study of the violin at the Wisconsin School of Music in Madison. Through those years at the conservatory, Rosalie enjoyed the coaching of Marie Endres, who Rosalie described as “an excellent violin teacher.” She was “a very big influence on me and the reason I was so inspired. I practiced the violin for 100 minutes every day,” Rosalie said.

Edgar began a different musical life in a different part of the country. He grew up in Wilkinsburg, Penn., on the outskirts of Pittsburgh. “When I was in about fifth grade, my father brought out a cornet. He had saved his money to buy it for himself, but he was giving it to me,” Edgar said.

A friend of Edgar’s family, Walter Cameron played in John Philip Sousa’s band. Cameron taught

Edgar to play his father’s cornet, and when Edgar was 13 he remembered Cameron attending Sousa’s funeral. Edgar played that horn in his junior high and high school bands. He knew music was for him, so he applied to

the Carnegie Institute of Technology, as it was known then.

“I had to play for the head of the music department, Jay Vick O’Brien, just to see if I could get in,” Edgar said. “I discovered at Carnegie Mellon, if you’re going to play in the orchestra, you weren’t going to play a cornet,” he said. So he bought a trumpet to replace the compact horn his father had given him and four years later earned a bachelor’s degree in music education. Pitcairn, Pennsylvania’s high school principal wanted Edgar to teach music at the beginning of the fall semester in 1941.

“I was reluctant to let them sign me on because I was pretty sure I’d be drafted,” Edgar said.

That same fall, following a different passion upon her entry into the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Rosalie began studying art. “I loved to draw from the time I was 3, 4 or 5 years old,” Rosalie said. “In college I studied life drawing, water color, oil, ceramics, etching and art metal. In the life drawing class I had to memorize bones of the body and draw them; it was like taking an anatomy class. I also took architectural drawing. That’s

Rosalie and Edgar Lewis join UW students on the dance floor at a UW-sponsored dance at the Snowy Mountain Lodge.

The University of Wyoming string quartet in the early 1960s was made up of Ward Fenley and Rosalie Lewis on violins, David Tomatz on cello, and Delores Witmer on viola.

Photo: Courtesy

Photo: UW photo by Herb Pownall


where we learned perspective. Boy, did we learn perspective. You have to know perspective if you’re going to draw buildings.”

As Rosalie began her art studies, half a country away Edgar had been right about the draft. Uncle Sam called him to duty in October 1941. He and some Army buddies were listening to the radio while pulling kitchen police duty at Camp Lee in Virginia, on Dec. 7, 1941. They heard the radio announcer relay the horrid details of the Japanese invasion at Pearl Harbor and knew they would be moving soon. Edgar wound up at Truax Field in Madison, Wis., playing trumpet in the Army Air Corps Band.

The city of Madison had a symphony orchestra, but so many of its members were being called to duty that it was difficult for the symphony to continue its engagements. Many soldiers in the band at Truax Field volunteered to play in the symphony.

“When I was in Madison, I was playing in the symphony while still in the Army,” Edgar said. “First trumpet,” Rosalie intervened, meaning Edgar had earned first chair in the trumpet section, the symphony’s premier trumpet player.

Rosalie played in the Madison Symphony, too. Her lifelong violin teacher was the Madison Symphony’s concert master, Marie Endres, who was the one who introduced Rosalie and Edgar. They both played in the symphony until the war made a turn.

“After the Battle of the Bulge,” which ended in January 1945, Edgar said, “I was sent to Camp

House, Texas, for five weeks of intensive infantry training, then shipped to Europe on the Queen Elizabeth.”

Edgar was assigned to a field artillery battalion that “had trouble keeping up with Patton moving across Germany,” until May 1945 when the war ended.

“After the Battle of the Bulge (which

ended in January of 1945), I was sent to Camp House, Texas,

for five weeks of intensive infantry

training, then shipped to Europe on the Queen Elizabeth.”

Edgar Lewis

Photo: Shannon ValentiRosalie shows a few of her paintings in her Laramie home.


That month, Rosalie graduated with a degree in art education. Rosalie’s background and education was so complete that Madison’s public school superintendent offered her a choice: she could teach music or art. Rosalie chose both. Half of each week Rosalie found herself teaching art to kindergartners through sixth graders. The other half of the week she conducted the fifth through twelfth grade string orchestra. “Exhausting,” Rosalie said.

Meanwhile, the Army transferred Edgar to Regensburg, Germany, to guard prisoners of war.Having traded his trumpet for an M-1 carbine, Edgar knew he could be more productive. He offered to put together an Army band. He marched up the rungs of the Army’s command ladder and gained approval to put a room of dusty instruments to use. He directed the Army band that played for military ceremonies in Germany until the Army shipped him stateside on a Victory Ship in February 1946. Edgar was mustered out of the Army at a New York camp known as Indian Town Gap.

“There was a non-com there who said, ‘Anybody who wants to reenlist should to through that door.’ To a man, everyone went through the other door,” Edgar said.

Free to pursue his dreams, Edgar returned to Madison to work on his Master of Music degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. To earn money to pay for his master’s degree Edgar played in bands. All sorts of bands. He played polka music and he played in a band with a Madison music store owner. One night, their band played in Dubuque, Iowa, until about midnight. “We drove back to Madison the other side of midnight

so I could be in class at eight o’clock that morning,” Edgar said. He also returned to play in the Madison Symphony where Rosalie was still playing her violin. “When I felt the

best I was playing in the orchestra,” Edgar said. He received his master’s degree in May 1947 and, through a music teachers’ agency, discovered an opening in the music department at the University of Wyoming.

In addition to teaching brass at UW beginning the fall semester of 1947, Edgar also served as the associate director of UW’s band. Edgar and Rosalie married in Madison in 1948, the same year he joined the Laramie Municipal Band. About her first impression of Laramie, Rosalie said, “At first I was attracted to pioneer country, not just the land, but the university string program needed to be built up.”

Nepotism laws kept Rosalie from joining UW’s music department faculty, but she did become an adjunct faculty member, teaching violin. Rosalie also played as a member of the faculty’s string quartet. She served as concert master for the UW symphony for 18 years.

“Laramie kind of grew on us both,” Rosalie said. “We found the country and the mountains interesting, but it was kind of a struggle for a while.”

Photo: Shannon ValentiRosalie began playing the violin when she was 11.

Photo: Shannon Valenti

Edgar got his first cornet in fifth grade but replaced it with a trumpet when he began playing for the orchestra at Carnegie Mellon.


Rosalie also served for 10 years as Laramie High School’s orchestra director. “I had to learn how to play the bass so I could teach it,” Rosalie said. “I selected music based on the level of each string section’s ability, which changed every year. If I had strong violins, I picked Vivaldi’s Four Seasons because it has a very nice violin solo and the violas, cellos and basses are more in the background.” Rosalie also offered private, in-home violin lessons.

“Everybody at the university was kind of in the same boat. We all came from somewhere else, so we became our own community,” Rosalie said.

“Local people made us feel welcome — both the Laramie community and the UW faculty. We’d get together for the holidays and for parties. We grew closer as time went on.”

With two little boys, Paul and David, in their lives, Rosalie and

Edgar headed back to Madison for the 1955-56 school year. Edgar took sabbatical leave from UW to establish residency at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to begin work on his doctoral degree. After that year, Rosalie, Edgar and the boys returned to Laramie, and they devoted many subsequent summers to Edgar working on his doctoral degree.

In 1966, the family traveled to Europe where Edgar took a seven-month sabbatical leave from UW to conclude his doctoral research. He studied at the Conservatory of Bologna, Italy, where the Padre Giovanni Battista Martini Library is housed. Martini had been a prestigious music teacher in the 18th century and had built an extensive library of musical information. Mozart had studied under Martini. Using Martini’s vast resources, Edgar completed his dissertation: “The Use of Wind Instruments in 17th Century Music”

and earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Music degree. He was the second person awarded that degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Rosalie described another type of study going on during their time in Bologna. Paul and David then had a little sister, Becky, and the Lewis children had to continue their enrollment in Laramie’s schools from Europe.

“We left in February. The kids were 7, 12 and 14. They had to take their lessons, so they did their homework via mail,” Rosalie said.

The Lewis family lived on the second floor of a two-story Italian villa. The family that owned the villa lived on the first floor. “We found rooms with an Italian family. We had learned a little Italian before we left Laramie,” Rosalie said. “The family’s children would stand outside, downstairs, and yell up to see if our children could play,” Rosalie said. One day their mother yelled, “Where are Paul and Papa?” in Italian, of course; they spoke no English. Rosalie, confident in her language skills, responded, “Paul and Papa have gone to get their hair pulled.” From the woman’s shocked expression, Rosalie soon understood she had mixed the similar-pronounced words cut and pull.

Rosalie traces her roots to Switzerland, and along with a range of other motifs, her vivid watercolors often depict images from this country. Next to the couple’s music room, Rosalie has converted a bedroom into her studio.

During an outing to Pole Mountain with a group of Laramie Art Guild friends, Rosalie, while painting the scenery, saw two cowboys driving a herd of cattle. “It was wonderful,” she said. Rosalie



snapped photographs of the cowboys, the cows and one of her friends painting the scene. She used the photos to help her paint the image she remembered. The painting will be featured in the 2005 issue of UW’s literary and arts magazine, the Owen Wister Review.

When asked why the pair stayed in Laramie all these years, Rosalie said, “The place grew on us. We had opportunities to move on, but we thought about the offers and the places and knew they might not be as good as Laramie.”

In 1998 Edgar authored a book at the request of the head of UW’s Music Department. Edgar conducted research as far back as records and information took him — to the early 1900s — to write Department of Music, University of Wyoming: a history. The book can be located in UW’s Coe and Hebard library collections. Edgar still plays his trumpet in the Laramie Municipal Band, which he directed until a few years ago.

The band shell in Washington Park, where the band plays for Laramie’s annual Freedom has a Birthday celebrations and Concerts in the Park through the summer, is named for Edgar.

The government built the band shell in 1939 and 1940 as a Work Projects Administration effort, and in the late 1960s seating was added, according to

Paul Harrison, Laramie’s Parks and Recreation manager.

The Laramie Garden Club planted the now-gigantic fir trees around the east perimeter of the area in the 1960s. A ramp is under construction that will allow everyone access to the stage.

“In 1985 the band shell was named in Edgar’s honor due to his dedication to the band and the community. Edgar really is the reason the band has survived. His love of orchestra music is evident,” Harrison said. “When he was

the director, he used to come by the office to pick up the sheet music; some dated all the way back to the 40s. He’d select the theme for each concert, and he’d always pick a Sousa piece.”

“Without Edgar J. Lewis, Laramie wouldn’t have a municipal band.”

UW Professor Robert Belser, who played with Edgar in the band for many years, is now the Laramie Municipal Band Director. He replaced Edgar in 2002 after Edgar had led the band for 52 years. Belser

Rosalie paints in the comfort of her home.



Rosalie (von Grueningen)

Lewis

Born in Madison, Wisconsin

Bachelor of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1945

University of Wyoming Symphony Concert Master for 18 years

Laramie High School Orchestra Director for 10 years

Laramie Art Guild member: since 1992, vice president since 2002

Favorite artist: Albrecht Dürer

Favorite color: “I like a bright sunny yellow the best.”

Advice to UW students: “Practicing is the only way to improve; keep working on it.”

Edgar J. Lewis, Jr.

Born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania

Bachelor of Music Education, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, 1941

Master of Music, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1947

Ph.D. in Music, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1966

Professor of Music, Emeritus, University of Wyoming, 1987

Laramie Municipal Band member: Since 1948, Band Director for 50 years

Favorite trumpet player: “I thought Harry James was terrific at jazz.”

Advice to UW students: “Don’t stop practicing.”


recalled, “In the 60s, community bands began to die out. Funding was cut and they folded. Edgar made sure the Laramie Municipal Band kept going. He’d say, ‘We’ve got to have this music in the park for the people.’ He’s the patron saint of the Laramie Municipal Band.”

Rosalie shows her paintings along with other Laramie Art Guild members at a variety of Laramie shops and at UW. Most recently, Rosalie’s watercolors were on exhibit in the guild’s show titled “The Laramie Art Guild, Selected Works,” in the ASUW Gallery downstairs in the Wyoming Union at UW.

“She’s a bundle of energy. She and one other member hung the show in the union. They made a day

of it and had a lot of fun,” said Tony Guzzo, Laramie Art Guild president.

Rosalie’s work is also on display in Old Town Bagel & Ice Cream Shoppe and in other Laramie stores where guild members show their works. Rosalie serves as the guild’s vice president, a position she’s held for three years. The guild offers local artists and art lovers a rich variety of visiting artists, whose works might be displayed or whose talents might be tapped for seminars or talks.

“(Edgar and Rosalie) are community members who have terrific talent and who share what they have with the entire community — and share it so humbly,” Belser said.


Running out of time



Running out of timeA look of fatherly love traveled over John Schabron’s face as he described the first time he watched his son

Nick run. He described how the track curved and how his young son fell out of sight for awhile. When the pack of runners reappeared, there was one runner ahead of all the rest, and after a little while, Schabron realized that in the lead was his son. Nick was ahead of everyone, winning the race.

In the early morning of Sept. 16, 2001 eight University of Wyoming students were killed in a two vehicle collision 17 miles south of Laramie on U.S. 287 to Fort Collins. A ninth UW student was injured and later found to be the cause of the accident due to drunk driving. Schabron would never see his son win another race…

Carrie May© 2005 Frontiers


22 • Frontiers 2005 22 • Frontiers 2005

Eight UW students killed — one injured

The eight killed on that fateful September morning were all members of the University of Wyoming’s Cross Country track team. They were Justin M. Lambert-Belanger, Cody B. Brown, Kyle N. Johnson, Joshua D. Jones, Morgan J. McLeland, Kevin L.

Salverson, Nicholas J. Schabron and Shane E. Shatto. The injured student was Clinton G. Haskins, a member of the University of Wyoming’s rodeo team.

Haskins was charged with eight counts of aggravated homicide by vehicle, and in February 2002 he pleaded guilty to all eight counts. He faced a penalty of 14 to 20 years in prison per count; his defense asked for 10 to 15 years per count to run concurrently. In the spring of 2002, Haskins was sentenced to 14 to 20 years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary.

The fallout from such a tragedy is immeasurable.

“You know, the University of Wyoming is not known for its sports, it’s not known for these other things — it’s known for two events,” said Eric Alexander, director of the University of Wyoming’s campus alcohol awareness program.

“Matthew Shepherd, which was alcohol-related — you know, everybody in that situation was probably drunk, and that limited their reasoning and judgment — and these eight kids who died. And one more, actually, who’s life is pretty much ruined for 20 years, and that’s Clint,” Alexander said.

The eight victims were all riding in Schabron’s vehicle, which did not safely seat that many riders.

Just a few drinks… In an interview filmed in January 2004 from the Wyoming State

Penitentiary Haskins describes the night of the accident as he remembers it unfolding. Early in the evening he had called a friend to find out what was going on, and he had one beer before meeting up with a group of friends. Upon meeting them he recalls having a few more, and he then went to a keg party where he had another two or three beers. He mixed a drink, picked up a few friends and decided it was time to go to the bar — where he had another couple of drinks. Around midnight they decided it was time to go their own ways.

Justin Lambert-Belanger, 20Timmins, Ontario

Undeclared sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. A transfer student from Campbell University. Awarded a Western Heritage Scholarship.

Cody Brown, 21Hudson, Colo.

Senior in psychology. Received Western Undergraduate Exchange

Award. Brown placed 33rd at the 2000 MWC cross country

championships.

“I called my girlfriend in Fort Collins, and when I got off the phone with her I decided for some reason I needed to see her,” Haskins said in the tape. “I put my truck in gear and pulled away from the curb.” That, Haskins said, was the last thing he remembers from that night. “They all died,” he said quietly.

The people affected by this tragedy stretch all around the country — and probably further.

The reaction around campus was huge.

“There was a vigil, and we weren’t quite sure — well, we set it up on a kind of cold and rainy evening, and when I turned around and saw all of these students coming from the dorms and the sororities and the fraternities — it was beyond description. I’ll never forget it. I was an amazing outpouring,” said Kevin McKinney, associate athletics director for UW Media Relations.

Meeting the man who killed her son

Debbie McLeland, mother of victim Morgan McLeland, said,

“(Morgan) liked running, basketball … he was really involved with those kinds of activities. He enjoyed participating. He was a state champion cross-country runner in 1998. He was an A student. And, you know, he wasn’t all that different from the other kids either. If you talked to the other parents, you’d find out a lot of the same things.”

McLeland put on a joint presentation with Haskins July 2004 in Gillette at the National High

School Finals Rodeo.

“I think Clint has a really powerful message for young people, and it’s really powerful coming from him,” she said. “(The

presentation) was for a high school rodeo group that he had been a part of not too many years ago, so I thought that would be a really powerful place to be. I also think it’s really important that people see the two of us together, so people could see that life moves on after these things. There is a value that we have together,” McLeland said.

In the presentation, McLeland spoke about her son, Morgan, and what had happened in her life since his death.


Kyle Johnson, 20Riverton, Wyo.

Junior in civil engineering.Awarded Wyoming Engineering Society Scholarship and Trustee’s Superior Student Scholarship. He placed 40th at the 2000 MWC cross country championships.

Joshua Jones, 22Salem, Ore.

Senior in PsychologyHe attended high school at Southeast High School in Yoder, Wyo.

“I want people to know not to distance themselves too much from me. None of us is immune, it could happen to anybody. Th e fact that it happened to these boys isn’t unique; it’s happening to people everyday. People every day deal with those consequences, of making decisions to drink and drive.”

After McLeland’s presentation, Haskins spoke about similar topics, and there was a question and answer period that lasted about 45 minutes.

“I’ve heard really good things in response to the presentation,” McLeland said. “I have had people who said they thought it was a horrible idea who have since the presentation changed their minds.”

When asked how it felt to speak with the man who killed her son, McLeland answered almost immediately.

“I was really pleased to get this opportunity — I really wanted to have this chance. It’s easier to maintain a distance and keep a picture in your mind of what somebody is … for me it was important that I know him. Meeting him was emotional, there’s no doubt about it, but I feel really good about it. I’m glad I did it. I will try to see him again. I think we will try to present again.”

From his prison cell, Haskins writes for the “Rocky Mountain Rodeo News.” In an article published in September 2004 he

writes about his meetings with McLeland.

“What do you say to the mother of someone whose death you are responsible for?” He continues, “I came to an understanding that nothing I could say would change the situation. I would have to let my actions speak for me. I knew that if I could speak through my heart she would see me and how I truly felt.”

Of McLeland, Haskins writes, “I have to say that this mother is an amazing person

to me. Her strength and understanding is something that helps me realize exactly what I am responsible for. Her attitude has allowed me to relate to her, and in that I have a deeper understanding of her pain. I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for her.”

After the accident, McLeland’s life changed in several ways.

“In ways you’d never think about, she said. “It’s just that there is this hole that used to be where Morgan was. And he has left a really big gap in our family — we miss him a lot … I am certain I would not be doing this, nor would I have the credibility to do so—to speak at these things and to deal with issues like this. I’ve never changed how I feel about drunk driving, but that certainly isn’t a big message. Now it’s a lot more of a personal message.”

have since the presentation

to speak with the man who

“…for me it was important that I know him. Meeting him

was emotional, there’s no doubt about it, but I

feel really good about it. I’m glad

I did it.”Debbie McLeland


Morgan McLeland, 21Gillette, Wyo.

Junior in social sciences/secondary education. Three-time All-State in cross country while at Campbell County High School. Wyoming state 4A champion in cross country senior season. Set course record at 200 state championships.

Kevin Salverson, 19Cheyenne, Wyo.

He was a four-time All-State Selection and two-time state champion.

Coping with consequences, lossMcLeland said students need to

take responsibility for themselves and their actions and realize there are huge consequences for their decisions.

“Society pays a pretty big price for their mistakes sometimes. And they pay a big price, too. Sometimes they don’t think about it. Clint, I’m sure, didn’t think he’d be spending his 20s in the State Penn, either. When he was 20, 21 years old making that choice, I know he didn’t think that would be a consequence he would face.”

Schabron, the father of Nick, said he believes our culture infl uences drinking among teens.

“It is embedded in certain aspects of the ‘cowboy culture’,” he said. “Young people need to be responsible just like adults — part of the problem is tolerance for it — people didn’t stop Clint when so many people knew he had a problem … It would also be helpful if the media treated it responsibly,” he said.

When asked about the presentation McLeland made with Haskins, he said, “Each of us have to

channel it in our own way. You can’t allow yourself to steep in hate — that only hurts yourself.”

Haskins survived on the margins at the night of the accident, and Schabron said that Clint is alive today because of his son.

“You have to understand that the last act of Nick’s life was to save Clint’s—earn it. He lived because Nick turned the wheel,” he said. Schabron had taught his son always to avoid a head-on collision, and this knowledge allowed Nick to avoid hitting Haskins in the driver’s seat by a few feet.

Nick Schabron was fi fth in a family of eight. “He had good humor,” his father said. “He built

things all the time. He was very good at math.”

On trying to describe how his life changed after the accident, he said, “When they show the face of someone’s parents who died in Iraq, I know their look. Our buttons have been rearranged, and I don’t know where they are. Th ere’s not much worse we could lose.”

On the subject of college drinking, he said, “It’s in the overall marketing culture. I don’t pretend to know the answer.”


Nick Schabron, 20Laramie, Wyo.

Sophomore in architectural engineering. Awarded Western Heritage Scholarship and Kester Scholarship. Schabron placed 42nd at the 2000 conference championships. Won the mile run at the 2000 Wyoming Meet of Champions.

Shane Shatto, 19Douglas, Wyo.

Sophomore in mechanical engineering. Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity; Interfraternity Council representative to the Associated Students of UW. Awarded a High School Honor Scholarship.


Lest it be forgottenSchabron has focused much of his time

on renovating highway 287. He says when he heard about the accident, he actually had the location pinned down to within a few miles.

“I’m going to have 287 a four lane highway,” he said.

U.S. 287 has been reported as a dangerous two-lane road, but funding for construction has been difficult to find.

“I think that it is necessary that we continue to remind people about the accident — to make sure it’s not forgotten,” McKinney with the UW media relations said.

“It was a tragedy that went beyond far beyond words. Everybody was stunned, deeply saddened, and it kind of brought everyone together,” he said.

“You feel so powerless to explain it, and to do anything about it. The only thing you can do is to make people aware that these tragedies happen when you have people driving vehicles under the influence. I’ve been here 33 years and that was the most tragic occurrence we’ve ever had.”

Jim Kyritisis, commander of administrative services on the Laramie Police Force, said, “The problem is that there has been a time lapse. People have a tendency to forget unless the tragedies strike close to home. These kinds of stories are good for shock value — it’s good for prom night — it might last in someone’s mind for 48 hours.”

Kyritisis said that last fall, during a period of 60 days, the Laramie police made 44 DUI arrests.

“Some people wanted Clint to come speak here, at the schools, but we couldn’t allow it. Some of the boys who were killed here still have siblings in school here,” he said.

Alcohol — “a cultural norm”Compared to other campuses, alcohol

use on this campus is about average, according to Alexander with the UW AWARE program. “We are not any better or worse than anybody else.”

Other related statistics from spring 2004, however, show that UW is doing worse than other campuses, Alexander said. For example, students under the influence at UW fight at about twice the rate of other campuses. They also drink and drive at twice the rate of students on other campuses. “Also, we have about a third more students with academic problems due to their drinking. And, about two to three more students here engage in high risk sexual behavior than the norm.” Alexander said he thinks these things may be culturally related to a “Cowboy Tough kind of idea.” “We live in a small town, so people figure they can get away with driving while drunk.”

Alcohol has turned into a cultural norm, Alexander said. “With alcohol, when people are happy they drink, when people are celebrating, they drink, but when they’re sad, they drink too,” he said.

“Clint’s a good kid, I just think he made a bad decision,” Alexander said. “There are people who hate Clint, and I think at one point I probably did too. Because I couldn’t believe what he did, but eventually you have to realize that there’s a lot of people who that could happen to, and

“Clint’s a good kid, I just think he made a bad decision. There are people who hate Clint, and I think at one

point I probably did, too.”

Eric Alexander

Friends, family and community members placed flowers in memory of the eight in front of the Steamboat statue in the days following the accident.

Photo: Courtesy


unfortunately, people don’t make the best decisions when they drink. So we need to be really careful how we deal with this issue.”

“In college, we went out to get drunk”

In one of the videos, Haskins admitted he had a drinking problem from the beginning of college.

“I really don’t feel I was unusual for where I was at the university. I knew several people my age who did what I was doing,” he said. “In college, we went out to get drunk. I think there was an unspoken message in my hometown and in Laramie that drinking was okay, as long as you were responsible. I believe that’s an oxymoron—drinking and responsibility don’t necessarily go

hand in hand.”

Haskins said he and his friends drank because they felt it was what college had to offer. College life, for him, he said, was about partying.

“I don’t remember spending time with anyone who didn’t drink.”

Haskins recalls the first time he chose to drink and drive. “I can remember thinking—‘do I really want to do this? Can I do this, or am I too drunk to drive?’ We had a couple of girls with us, and I didn’t want to back down from the situation. So I drove … I had no idea that four years later that same decision would cost eight people their lives.”

Drinking and driving never turned in to a habit, Haskins said, but he still did it. Each time he drank and drove, he said he gained a little more confidence in his abilities to do so.

Before the accident, he said his worries about driving drunk mainly consisted of losing his driver’s license or having to go through court proceedings.

“That kind of thing happens to everyone else; those kinds of things don’t happen to me,” he said. “As far as that being an unusual night — me choosing to drink and drive on a highway for 60 miles — yes.”

Haskins didn’t find out what happened until the next day.

“I couldn’t believe it when they told me. I knew that I’d been in a wreck, but understanding that I took eight lives was unimaginable — realizing that. That whole week in the hospital I really struggled to understand what had happened — why it had happened. Why eight people had to die.”

“I really struggled to understand what had

happened — why it had happened. Why eight people had to die.”

Clint Haskins

Nick Shabron racing in a 2001 cross country meet.Photo: Courtesy

D ancing withThe

Lady in

RedKevin Wingert © 2005 Frontiers

“Never seen you lookin’ so gorgeous as you did tonight…”

You groan inwardly—another slow song. The lights on the dance floor flicker and flash in a staccato rhythm, twirling about the nebulous darkness. Somewhere

amid the reverberating music, young couples are dancing in each other’s arms.

Sigh. Not me. It is truly awkward, that first dance. Overcoming the fear of the unknown, allowing yourself to be vulnerable long enough to make a connection with someone else—it is nothing short of pure terror. So you stand to one side of the dance floor, holding your punch in hand. You glance often at your shoes and occasionally make an off-handed remark to the dozen or so other guys standing near you. They, like you, are trying to get a grip on their own fears. Glancing across the floor, you see another crowd, very similar to your own, of young women shuffling nervously about.

Oh to be John Travolta, if only for a moment! You blush, thinking of just how ridiculous Travolta looked in “Saturday Night Fever.” And yet, the man had no fear. He danced like a maniac. And unlike you, that voice in your head reminds you, he was not standing on the sidelines wishing he could dance…


Our relationship with God is much like that first dance. Our fear, our inability to trust and let go—to be swept up in the music of creation and dance with the God of all that is.

We know of God, and in times of distress we may even cry out to him. We certainly never hesitate to tell a friend or loved one going through hard times that they need to trust and lean on God. “God will bring you through,” we say sanctimoniously. When it comes to our own obedience and trust, however, we run screaming from any relationship of substance with God.

“Never seen so many men ask if you wanted to dance, looking for a little romance…”

The gnawing, aching desire of your heart just won’t let go. You kick the floor in frustration. Be a man! For a moment you have the strength and the courage to take a step toward the dance floor. You look up to see Cynthia Stalflander.

“Give her half a chance…”You freeze like a deer caught in headlights. Cynthia!

You’ve long admired those crystal blue eyes and the curly, auburn locks of this young woman. She looks at you with those penetrating eyes. Her mouth opens and turns upward in a smile. That smile!

“And when you look at me and smile, it takes my breath away…”

God’s grace and love from a distance can appear dazzling. Few people with a basic concept of what grace is would argue against the benefit of such a gift. And few people would deny the blessings of knowing God on an intimate level.

We admire those who share a deep, abiding sense of closeness with God—Corrie Ten Boom, Francis of Assisi, Mother Theresa, Oswald Chambers, etc.—and we envy their relationships. We desire to impact the world about us as they did. We long to know God like them.

So why then don’t we know God on such a level? Why do we run from intimacy with God? Why do we run from God?…

Cynthia Stalflander is smiling at you!

A goofy grin creeps across your face, and you take another step forward.

In one moment your entire world is turned upside-down—literally.

Later as you playback the scenario in your mind, you are convinced there must have been a seismic tremor—even if only on a microscopic scale—because that floor moved. You know it moved.

Regardless, your foot slipped and the attached leg flew up while your head came crashing down. Oh, and your glass of punch landed on your only suit.

If you were keeping track of such minor details, you would have noted there was a two-point-four second lag time of silence between your faux pas and the commencement of laughter

upon the entire student body attending the dance…

We have all fallen at various times in our lives—some more than others. For a few of us unlucky ones, the vast majority of our time seems to be spent in the process of standing up once more as opposed to actually standing. Is it any wonder that wisdom has been referred to as the “school of hard knocks?”

It is in those moments, though, spent on the floor in a heaping mess that our character is truly defined.

Will we wallow in self-pity? Will we jump to our feet and dash for the door? Or will we stand because God has given us the grace to stand?

You will know people by their fruit: the way in which they act when they have been stripped bare of all dignity. Under pressure, do they display grace, love and mercy in keeping with God’s character? Or do they draw into themselves, cursing those who stand near or would help?

Fear keeps us from God: fear of admitting our fallen nature, our sins; fear of admitting our helplessness to correct that sin; fear of failure; and fear of having to change.

We know in the presence of God, no one remains unchanged. You cannot see God and know God and not be changed.

Yet we focus on that changed nature as if it were something to be feared and dreaded. It is so contrary to who we are now. We lose grasp of the fact that we will know God and he will change us—not us change ourselves. He will give us the grace to accept such change…

You wish you could say the word and die right there. The laughter is diminishing, somewhat, and your eyes focus on one of the twirling lights above you and the little fissure cracks in the ceiling tiles. Fascinating how you never realize the intricacies of a ceiling until


you are lying flat on your back in the middle of a dance floor in a pool of punch. Something blocks your view. As your eyes focus, you realize it is Cynthia’s face.

I never noticed that little freckle on the underside of her nose…

You can stand across the room and stare at a beautiful girl all night long. You can hear her favorite jokes, observe the way she dresses and even understand how she acts around others. But you will never know the intimacy of a dance with that beautiful girl until you actually dance with her. You will never know her until you move from scratching the surface into intimacy.

Likewise is our relationship with God. Until we move beyond a shallow understanding of him, he remains a part of our heads—not our hearts.

We must get intimate with God: We must drop all our defenses, all our means of control and become vulnerable before the God and creator of the Universe. And we must reach out to embrace him. Rest assured, his arms are already extended to catch yours.

Care to dance—with God?

Cynthia extends a hand to help you up. Her palm feels cool and soft, but her grip is strong. She looks at you, smiling. It occurs to you that she is looking at you—not the stain on your suit or your frumpled hair.

“Would you like to dance? I think it’s a slow song.”

Fear grips your heart like an iron glove. You realize it is now or never. You take Cynthia’s other hand and right then and there, you begin to dance.

“… is dancing with me, cheek to cheek.”

Slowly, haltingly at first, the two of you make your way around the dance floor arm in arm. Every moment, you’re a little more confident; every moment, you’re a little closer.

“… just you and me, the way I want it to be…”

God, you think to yourself, this is how it should be.

And you are right. This is how it should be.


A version of this story first appeared in the March 2003 edition of Wingspan at Laramie County Community College.


Voyage to the past

Patrick Banks© 2005 Frontiers

On April 19, 1619, a ship called the George sailed up the James River bearing new colonists

for the Jamestown colony in Virginia.

Among the passengers on board were Englishman John Woodson and his wife Sarah. Th e Woodson’s left England for the same reason people relocate today – to fi nd a new job.

John Woodson had been off ered a job as a surgeon to a company of soldiers, no doubt sent over to protect the fl edgling colonies and

plantations along the James River from Indian attacks. He was lucky enough to have his passage to Virginia paid by Major Arthur Allen.

Presumably, Allen was a wealthy man because he paid for the passage of 19 other people to Virginia, among them a fellow by the name of Robert Flake. Allen would later be awarded 1000 acres in Virginia for his eff orts.

However, the struggling colony needed more than soldiers, surgeons and planters to survive.

Th anks to the ever-present threat posed by the local natives, the

colonists needed fortifi cations and engineers to build them – engineers like Nicholas Martiau.

Martiau was a Huguenot who fl ed to England when the Catholic King of France decided to persecute Protestants like Martiau. He became a military engineer and went to Virginia in June 1620 to design fortifi cations for settlements there.

Th e Woodson’s, Flake and Martiau have a lot in common besides being early colonists in Virginia. John Woodson and Flake, as noted earlier, both had their passage paid by the same person. Likewise, Woodson and Martiau


both provided support for the military in the colony. Centuries later, their paths would cross again. In the 20th Century, John Hildreth, a descendent of Martiau, married Dorothy, a descendant of Flake.

John Woodson entered the picture again in September 2004 when his descendant – yours truly – developed an interest in genealogy. I learned that the Hildreth’s, a retired Chicago Bridge and Iron engineer, had done extensive research into their own family history so I went to their home in Laramie to interview them. We ended up comparing notes, and soon the connection was made.

It’s not every day two strangers in the same little town discover a historical connection. Still, genealogical research can be full of delightful surprises, such as the revelation during the 2004

presidential campaign that both President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry are descended from Vlad

the Impaler, a.k.a Dracula. Even when someone can’t find

a connection to a famous historical figure, most people probably have ancestors’ with interesting stories to tell — be they bootleggers, 49ers looking for gold or accused witches burned at the state.

People who want to learn these stories have several resources they can turn to. In fact, the sheer volume of those records may seem daunting.

Leroy Maki, a member of the Albany County Genealogical Society, suggests budding genealogists should start with themselves and work their way back.

After that, Maki says researchers should begin digging into old court, birth, death, marriage and census records. According to Maki, not only are census records useful for finding a particular family, but they can also shed light on who else was living

Photo: Shannon ValentiJohn Hildreth examines one of the many volumes of books that make up his library.

Illustration: David Wonder


nearby at the time the census was taken.

“If you examine them closely and look where these people are living you can fi nd out something about the neighbors, which may be where your mother or grandmother came from.”

Keep in mind, though, that census records only become available after 70 years. So researchers will have to wait until 2010 to fi nd out where their grandmother was living when the 1940 census was taken. Nor are census records everybody’s favorite resource. John Hildreth said court minutes can be a real gold mine.

“Very few people read court minutes … there are things in court minutes that are nowhere else, like (records of ) a bastard child.”

People serious about genealogy typically fi nd that it isn’t a solitary activity. Th at’s why Maki said it’s a good idea to join a club like the Albany

County Genealogical Society.

“We have programs every month which center on diff erent facets of genealogical research …

if you have a problem you can bring it to the group and get suggestions on where to go or how to solve it.”

Most people run into diffi culties of some sort during their research. Descendents of slaves and Native Americans often have a hard time tracing their ancestry past a certain point because they came from cultures without a literate tradition. Even when records were kept, many have been destroyed by natural and man-made disasters, according to Maki.

“Th ere were a lot of passenger lists out of Bremen, Germany, which was bombed during World War II, and all those records are lost.”

Just because someone run into an obstacle it does not mean they have


John Hildreth recommends that people interested in genealogy use a variety of available records to them, including court docu-ments.Photo: Shannon Valenti

reached a dead end – at least when asking John Hildreth.

“There is no such thing as a dead end … because there is always more to find. Records are being found everyday – in attics, in the courthouse, dungeons if you will, rooms, drawers they’ve never looked at. There are just untold numbers of sources.”

John and his wife, Dorothy, have a knack for finding those sources. As noted earlier both traced their ancestry back to Jamestown. Nor is that the end of the road — in John’s case, at least. John said his oldest verifiable ancestor is a Dutchman named M. von Culemborg who lived from 1470 to 1532.

Not everybody is able to trace their families back that far – Maki said most people are lucky if they trace their

ancestry back into the 18th century. Still, even if your family tree is closer to resembling a shrub than a towering redwood, examining its branches can still turn up little gems.

“Our way of thinking is they are all interesting,” Dorothy Hildreth said.

Maki, for instance had an ancestor who fought in the Civil

War – on both sides.

“I had a great grandfather that when I looked up his Civil War records he had spelled his name differently. The tale was that he first joined he joined the

“I had a great grandfather that when I looked up

his Civil War records he had spelled his name differently.

The tale was that he first joined he joined

the Confederate army and then

didn’t like it, went AWOL, joined the union army and he changed his name.”

Leroy Maki

Confederate army and then didn’t like it, went AWOL, joined the union army and he changed his name.”

A couple of my ancestors have quirky war stories of their own. Jonathan Woodard was a veteran of both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. Family legend has it that he survived a deadly battle by getting lost on his way to the field during the French and Indian War. When the revolution came, he cast his lot in with the colonists.

John Phillips, another ancestor of mine, was also a veteran of the Revolution. Unlike his future in-law, however, he stayed loyal to King George III. This caused a bit of a problem when Washington’s army captured him. While all his fellow prisoners were released, Phillips was forced to sit out the rest of the war as a POW just because the staunch old Tory refused to doff his hat

to General Washington. That might have been a smart move on his part – who knows how many of his fellow redcoat prisoners ended up dead after their release.

Of course, family legend isn’t the same thing as definitive proof, as Hildreth will attest. About 15 years ago he wrote a book about some of his family history that contained a fair bit of family legend.

“I’ve found so many errors in my work because of what I’ve took from (family legend). Since then we just don’t put anything down unless we try to have documentation to prove what we’re putting down or say it hasn’t been proved.”

For Hildreth, that is the most satisfying aspect of genealogical research – proving an ancestor existed.

“I think that’s the enjoyable part, really, to prove

Philip L. Dubois, UW President:

Surrealist Painter Rene Magritte — perhaps best known to Americans as the painter of a man in a

bowler hat with a green apple covering his face. Magritte was a cousin of Dubois’ paternal grandmother Berthe Magritte. Berthe knew the artist before she and her husband Fernand Dubois Sr. fled Belgium when World War I broke out in 1914.

Janice Harris, English Professor:

Vice President Hannibal Hamlin was her Great-great uncle. Hamlin, Abraham Lincoln’s first Vice

President, was relieved not to have been included on the ticket when Lincoln ran for re-election in 1864. Speaking of Lincoln, Harris remembers her great grandmother telling her about an episode from her childhood in Illinois when she walked down the road to watch Lincoln’s funeral cortege pass by.

Phil Roberts, History Professor:

His great-grandfather, a Swedish emigrant whose last name remains unknown, died after

being kicked in the head by a horse in Fort Robinson, Neb. According to Roberts, the rest of the family was an equally unremarkable collection of ranchers, farmers, railroad workers and small business operators: “The usual sorts who settled Wyoming.” Perhaps his most notorious ancestor was a great-uncle from Buffalo, Wyo. who did time in jail for bootlegging during prohibition.

Matt Caires:

When he started his job at UW, Caires was often asked if he was related to football captain Leo

Caires. The two compared notes. Matt’s family came from Oahu, Leo’s from Maui. “Come to find out, we’re fifth cousins, 1/2 removed.”

Notable ancestorsof people at the University of Wyoming


one with sufficient original proof that there is no question.”

According to Hildreth, genealogical research has helped him and Dorothy gain a new perspective on American history.

“We find ourselves reading a lot of history because we need to know what was going on in the area.

“We look at reasons why somebody moved. Where did they move? How did they go, why did they go there? … What did they do when they got there? That’s how people moved across this country.”

Maki agreed.

“You go back into the 1900s and start looking

at the people there, well, they did not have cars, they did not have electricity and they did not have airplanes.

“I think it’s interesting as you go back and find where people live to keep in mind the conditions those people were living under ... Families are big – had 10 people, 12 people in a family, but only six survived to adulthood because of disease.”

Eloise Wilhelm, a Genealogy Trainer with the Laramie LDS Family History Center, said that sense of connection to the past is healthy.

“It’s nice to know, it gives people a sense of their roots and their belongings and helps them understand why they are the way they are. It just helps you root you in your life.”

My ancestorsGreat-grandparents Peter Weber and Julia Mable Beppler When they were first married, they typically moved every months or so. This was because New York law prevented landlords from charging rent for the first month.

Great-great grandfather Arche GilliamOwned a saloon in Sacramento, Calif., in the early part of the 20th century. Prohibition drove business into the back room. The feds never busted him, perhaps because he kept his personal motto close to heart: “Keep your coils clean.”

Great-great-great grandfather Thomas GilliamCouldn’t handle the stress of parenthood — abandoned his family.

Great (x6) grandfather Jonathan WoodardGot lost on the way to battle during the French and Indian war — didn’t get killed.

Great (x6) grandfather John PhillipsTory soldier captured by Washington’s army during the American Revolution. Spent the rest of the war as a POW after he failed to show proper respect to General Washington.

Great (x10) grandparents John Woodson and Sarah WinstonImmigrated to Virginia in 1619. John was a surgeon to a company of soldiers sent over to protect settlers from Indian raids. Killed in Chief Opechancano’s uprising in 1644. Sarah not only survived but also killed nine of Opechancano’s warriors herself. Her sons Robert and John were hidden in a potato patch and a washtub, earning the young boys the nicknames of “Potato Hole” and “Tub.”


Patrick Banks


Frontiers MagazineUniversity of WyomingStudent PublicationsDept. 36251000 E. University Ave. Laramie, WY 82071

Editor Victoria Sæland

Layout & Graphic Design Kevin Wingert

Assistant Editor Carrie May

Photo Editor Shannon Valenti

Writers:Patrick Banks, Andy Kaiser, Carrie May, Robert Townsend, Shannon Valenti and Kevin Wingert

Advertising Barbara Thorpe

Special thanks to the University of Wyoming’s News Service and the Centennial Singers.

Frontiers is produced biannually by students of the University of Wyoming.

The editor wishes to thank Kevin Wingert for his hard work.

To my family in Norway: Your constant support and encourage-ment is invaluable.

Copyright © 2005 by Frontiers and Student Publications. All rights reserved.

Victoria SælandVictoria Sæland is an international

student from Norway. She is a senior majoring in journalism with a minor in economics. Sæland has been the news editor for the Branding Iron since 2003.

Kevin WingertKevin Wingert is a senior majoring

in Journalism. Born in Keflavik, Iceland, Wingert served 5 years in the U.S. Navy before returning to school. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Branding Iron.

Carrie MayCarrie is a junior majoring in

journalism with a minor in creative writing. Carrie grew up in Casper, and moved to Laramie in 2002. She loves to write, especially personal essays and feature news stories.

Shannon ValentiShannon is a senior majoring in

International Studies with an emphasis on International Development. She has minors in Spanish and Journalism. Shannon grew up in Papua New Guinea, Australia and California. She is passionate about photography and has been shooting for Student Publications since 2001.


Patrick BanksPatrick Banks is

a senior majoring in journalism. He is also an amateur genealogist.

Andy KaiserAndy Kaiser is an avid

outdoors person. He is finishing the last of a few majors at the University of Wyoming.

Robert TownsendBob herded jets

as an Air Force air traffic controller. Now he wrangles words in UW’s departments of journalism and English. He doesn’t know what he wants to be if he grows up.

Spring 2005 #1

Documents

Transcript of Spring 2005 #1