Monthly Archives: February 2025
My grandson, Chris Petersen, the boy who made me a grandma, and the man who made me a great grandma, continues to make me proud of his accomplishments every day. Chris initially went to culinary school at Sheridan College after graduating from high school, but when he realized that he couldn’t effectively support a family in Casper, Wyoming as a chef, he chose to switch careers and now is a store manager for Auto Zone here in Casper. Mechanics has always been his main hobby, and since changing careers, he is genuinely happy. Just because a person has a degree in something, doesn’t mean that they can’t change their mind when opportunities arise. Chris is an excellent manager, and that is what matters most…plus, with a family, a job of straight nights isn’t always the greatest thing to have. Chris works well with his people, and they respect his knowledge and abilities.
Chris is a great daddy. His wife, Karen and their kids, Cambree, Caysen, and Cyler are his top priorities, and his 
greatest accomplishments. He loves spending time with each of them and creating happiness for their whole family. Cambree is his little princess, and he enjoys spoiling his only girl just a little bit…not that she acts spoiled, because she doesn’t. Recently, he has taken up the sport of golf and has really enjoyed taking Caysen to be his golfing buddy. Of course, to ask Caysen, he is usually the one to beat his daddy. Cyler, thinks his daddy hung the moon. He loves playing chase with him, hoping Daddy won’t be able to catch him. For Chris and Karen, their family is the most important part of their lives. They are very devoted to each other and to their kids.
Chris is becoming quite the handyman. In the past they owned their home, and they will again, but with the market as it is, they will wait. When they moved into their current home, the back yard was really bad, but 
Chris went to work on it, and before long the yard looked really great. He takes care of the snow removal and mowing. And he has even put in a new dishwasher when it was needed. Of course, Landlords love tenants like Chris, because the place is well taken care of. some tenants just don’t care what the place looks like, but Chris is not one of those tenants. The yard is especially important to Chris, because his kids have to play there, and he wants it to be nice for them. When it comes to the yard, the kids and the dogs are the priority. Today is Chris’ birthday. Happy birthday Chris! Have a great day! We love you!
My mother-in-law, Joann Schulenberg was a hard-working woman most of her life. It wasn’t necessarily that she did hard physical labor, but she always had busy hands. Having a garden vegetable garden all her life, she spent the harvest seasons canning vegetables to provide food for her family. She also canned meat whenever they raised a cow or purchased a side of beef. When she wasn’t canning, she was baking. Her house always had cake, cinnamon rolls, cookies, or some other such goodies for the snacking pleasure of her family. If you didn’t get your “sugar fix” you had only yourself to blame. Of course, that wasn’t always a good thing, because it was easy to overindulge on those fattening treats. Nevertheless, they were delicious, and always homemade. She was one to begin making dinner right after lunch, or sometimes even before. She was an excellent cook, and if you were a “meat and potatoes” kind of person, you were sure to get your fill.
When she wasn’t canning, baking, or cooking, my mother-in-law kept busy sewing, knitting, or crocheting. She made a living sewing clothing for a number of people, including my uncle, Jack McDaniels’ mom, for whom she sewed for a number of years. I only knew about that connection when I announced my engagement to my husband, Bob Schulenberg. My mother-in-law crocheted many afghans, that she sold at craft fairs and then received numerous orders for more. Those craft fairs left her with months of jobs and many referrals. One of 
my favorite items that my mother-in-law made was the “sweaters” she knitted. I use the word sweater lightly, because the ones she made were of a heavy yarn and equipped with a zipper, making them a coat. We all had one, and trust me, you didn’t need a coat.
Even after my mother-in-law developed Alzheimer’s Disease, she didn’t slow down. Yes, there were some things that went by the wayside. Things like finding store-bought cookies in the house, and less jar canned food, meaning that there were more store-bought canned foods in the house. She just couldn’t do those things so much anymore. We missed those things, but there was no help for it. Nevertheless, her crocheting remained. She had long been able to crochet “in her sleep” and never miss a stitch. That always amazed me, but when she had to be moved to a nursing home, because she required 24-hour care, she still crocheted. Of course, she didn’t use yarn at this stage, but she knew that her hands should be busy, so she would simply “crochet” with her oxygen tubing. The staff had no idea what she was doing, but after all those years, I knew what she was doing. When she would forget to hang on to her walker, because she was “fiddling” with her oxygen tubing, the concerned staff would panic, because they couldn’t get her to hang on. Upon seeing it in action, I simply asked her if I could hold her crocheting while she walked, all she said to me was, “Don’t lose a stitch!!” Once I “held her crocheting,” she would take hold of her walker, and proceed down the hallway…to the utter amazement of 
the staff. Of course, eventually the use of the walker went by the wayside, because she just couldn’t grasp the use of it anymore. That was sad, but she was perfectly content in her recliner wheelchair, because she never liked walking anyway. While her legs were no longer in use, her hands remained busy until the day she passed away. Today would have been my mother-in-law’s 94th birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Mom. We love and miss you very much.
In 1873, the US Congress decided to follow the lead of many European nations and stop buying silver and minting silver coins. Silver was becoming relatively scarce, and it was thought that this new plan would simplify the monetary system. Several other factors exacerbated the situation, and a financial panic quickly set in. Silver prices began dropping rapidly when the government stopped buying silver, and many owners of primarily western silver mines were immediately hurt. The owners of silver weren’t the only ones effected. Farmers and others who carried substantial debt loads attacked the so-called “Crime of ’73.” Theirs might not have been an exact reason, but they believed that it caused a tighter supply of money, which in turn made it more difficult for them to pay off their debts.
Most Americans today wouldn’t really understand the problems surrounding the elimination of the coinage of silver. Nevertheless, in the late 19th century, it was a topic of keen political and economic interest. Our money, these days is basically “secured” by faith in the stability of the government, but prior to that time, money was backed by actual 
deposits of silver and gold, the so-called “bimetallic standard.” The US also minted both gold and silver coins. The fact that we went away from the “bimetallic standard” or for that matter, the “gold standard” has been a detriment to this country since that time. When money can be made without any gold or silver backing, it weakens the money.
Enter the Bland-Allison Act, which provided for a return to the minting of silver coins. A nationwide drive to return to the “bimetallic standard” began sweeping the nation, and many Americans began to place their undying faith in the ability of silver to solve their economic difficulties. Missouri Congressman Richard Bland led the fight to remonetize silver. Bland was no stranger to the struggles of the small farmers, but his background was in mining. Bland became a fervent believer in the silver cause. William B Allison was a US representative 
from 1863 to 1871 and senator from 1873 to 1908 from Iowa. He was also the cosponsor of the Bland-Allison Act of 1878. Both men were against the “faith in the stability of the government” form of currency.
The best part of Bland’s part in this was that he had the backing of powerful western mining interests. He quickly secured passage of the Bland-Allison Act, which became law on February 28, 1878. Although the act did not provide for a return to the old policy of unlimited silver coinage, it did require the US Treasury to resume purchasing silver and minting silver dollars as legal tender. Americans could once again use silver coins as legal tender, and this helped some struggling western mining operations. Other than that, however, the act had little economic impact, and it failed to satisfy the greater desires and dreams of the silver backers. The battle over the use of silver and gold continued to occupy Americans well into the 20th century.
My grandmother, Harriet Elizabeth “Hattie” (née Pattan) Byer was a tiny woman, just under five feet tall…in her tall days, but if you think that made her a “weakling” you had better think again. This tiny mother of nine children ruled her roost quite well, thank you. Anytime one of her kids, young or older, thought they could get the best of her, they quickly found out that they would be picking themselves up off the floor. One time, her daughter, my Aunt Bonnie McDaniels jokingly told her mom that she couldn’t take her anymore. Aunt Bonnie was a grown woman by then, but her mom quickly reached down and grabbed Aunt Bonnie’s ankles, lifting her feet off the floor. From her new, now seated on the floor position, Aunt Bonnie’s mouth dropped open in shock. Of course, Aunt Bonnie wasn’t actually being disciplined. They both knew they had been joking, but Aunt Bonnie knew that her mom could “take her” down.
In those days of raising children, women didn’t just go down to the store to buy bread and such. One of the first things done in the mornings was to get the bread set so that by afternoon, it was ready to bake. If the bread didn’t get set, there would be no bread with dinner, or for any other meal. Of course, with nine children, sometimes, Grandma’s bread making task was a little bit delayed, while she nursed a hungry little one. Then, there was the laundry to do. With a large family, I would imagine that the laundry was also a daily task. There had to be mountains of laundry to do each day, and then, mountains of clean clothes to hang on the line to dry. Then, there were the meals to prepare. Soup was often the meal of the day, and the best soup simmers for a long time. After the meals, there were mountains of dishes to wash, a task which found all the kids singing while they worked. While there was a lot of work to be done in a household with so many people, the result was a lifetime of sweet memories for those who lived there. And memories is whhat it’s all about, right.
Grandma was the seventh child in a family of ten children, born to George and Estella (née Shaw) Pattan on February 26, 1909. She also had an older half-sister, making the family total eleven children. She was named after her grandmother, Elizabeth (née Schuck) Pattan, which was an honor to be sure. Tradition is big in most families, and Grandma Byer’s family was no exception. Today is the 116th anniversary of Grandma Byer’s birth. Happy birthday in Heaven, Grandma Byer. We love and miss you very much.
It seems to be a tradition to give nicknames to just about anyone, but especially to characters that have a unique or excentric way about them. Often, like the case of John Eli Perrett the nickname simply comes from the location where they live or where some event in their life happens. Known as Potato Creek Johnny, John was an American frontiersman and gold miner, best known for having discovered one of the largest gold nuggets ever discovered in the Black Hills in 1929. Born on February 9, 1866 or 1868. His father was Thomas Perrett, but as of this day, his mother’s name remains a mystery. Perrett was born in Abergavenny, Wales. In 1883, the family immigrated to the United States, planning to participate in the gold rush in the Black Hills. They were very focused in their plan. They arrived in New York City, took a train to Sidney, Nebraska, and then took a stagecoach to Central City, South Dakota.
Like most people who headed West in search of the gold, the hunt didn’t start immediately for Perrett, who initially worked various jobs in the area, including as a wrangler at Dorsett Ranch. Then he started panning for gold with other prospectors in streams and rivers. Finally, he chose to file a claim on Potato Creek, a tributary of Spearfish Creek. It was here that he got his nickname. Potato Creek Johnny later began working in the pumphouse of the local tin mine but became unemployed after the mine closed in January 1929. After that, he resumed prospecting in Potato Creek.
Potato Creek Johnny wasn’t a big man, standing only 4’3″ tall, but on May 27, 1929, he managed to “hit big” when he found the largest gold nugget ever discovered in the Black Hills. The nugget, measuring 228.5 grams, which was in the shape of a leg. It was big news, and very valuable. In 1934, local businessman W E Adams bought the nugget from Johnny for $250, which would be valued at $5,888 in 2025. Adams put the nugget on display in the Adams Museum, but due to theft concerns, the original nugget was removed and placed in a safe deposit box. It was replaced with a replica, so people could at least see how big it was. In 2014, a secure case was installed in the museum so the original could be placed on permanent display.
Of course, as with any unique find, there were skeptics, so the authenticity of Potato Creek Johnny’s gold nugget has been the subject of debate. Some of the local residents suspected that Johnny had created the nugget by melting down smaller quantities of gold into one piece, and some even accused him of having stolen the gold to do so. Nevertheless, analysis of the nugget by various gold experts have determined the nugget is likely to be authentic, due to the presence of natural quartz crystals inside.
As for Johnny, he became a local folk hero. He grew out his hair and beard and dressed in old clothing, capitalizing on the stereotypical appearance of a 19th-century placer miner. He participated in tourism efforts, being made an “ambassador by the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce and became a feature of Deadwood’s Days of ’76 celebrations” in subsequent years. In 1939, Life magazine picked up on him and did a feature 
article on him. On March 13, 1907, Johnny married Molly Hamilton of Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Unfortunately, they had no children and divorced in September 1928. Potato Creek Johnny died on February 26, 1943, at the age of about 77, after a two-week illness. His funeral procession on March 3 passed by the Adams Museum, and a bell tolled 77 years, once for each year of his life. He is buried next to Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood.
My niece, Christina Hockenbrocht has had a busy year. Christina got engaged and married her husband, Colin Hockenbrocht on February 11, 2024. On that day, Christina became a wife and also a stepmom to Colin’s son Matt Hockenbrocht. The kids didn’t have a formal wedding, but in the not-too-distant future, they are planning to have a reception. For anyone who has never hosted one, the reception can be as much or more expensive than the wedding itself. It takes planning and finances. Since that time, Christina has been settling into married and family life.
Christina and Colin have moved into a “cute” rental house, and Christina is setting it up to their liking. She is really getting into the “nesting” thing. She has also been getting into gardening and house plants. Her favorite plant is Clawdeen the Monstera. I don’t know much about plants, having a “brown thumb” and all, so I looked it up. “Monstera deliciosa, also known as the split-leaf philodendron or Swiss cheese plant, is a tropical plant often kept as a houseplant. This easy-to-grow climbing evergreen provides a dramatic focal point due to its size and unique shape. Monstera deliciosa has glossy, heart-shaped split leaves and is relatively easy to care for. It is a fast grower, about 1 to 2 feet a year, and takes about three years to reach full-grown maturity.” One thing I do know is that Christina’s Clawdeen the Monstera looks very healthy, meaning that she does not have a “brown thumb” like her Aunt Caryn.
Chistina was educated as a dental hygienist, but when Covid hit, the job she had pretty much dried up. People couldn’t even go to the dentist in those days, unless it was an emergency. Christina went from hygienist to 
medical and dental billing, and then to insurance billing. In fact, that is what she is doing now. The only thing that is different now is that she is working from home. She is doing insurance billing for multiple companies, working under the umbrella company called Cher, LLC.
Colin was a military operations analyst in the military. He and Christina met through her stepdad, and the rest is history. Before long, they were engaged and soon after they were married. He is no longer in the service, and he works as operations analyst as a separate contractor. His son Matt has the choice of where he lives, and for now spends much of his time with his mom. He comes to stay with Christina and Colin for holidays and summers. Sounds like they have a real nice life. Today is Christina’s birthday. Happy birthday Christina!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My brother-in-law, Ron Schulenberg was the youngest of six children, and the second boy in the family. He was often told what to do by his older siblings, and especially his sisters, because, well…that’s what older sisters do. We were raised taking care of the younger siblings, and that just naturally included babysitting them and in general, telling them what to do. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the younger children appreciated that “influence” from the older siblings. In fact, most times, the younger kids, didn’t appreciate that bossiness of their older siblings…especially as they got a little bit older.
My brother-in-law was always being told what to do, but not quite as often by his older brother, Bob, my 
husband. Maybe it was because Bob understood how it was to be the boy among multiple sisters, or maybe it was because Bob was fourteen when his brother was born, so by the time Ron could be much trouble, Bob was already grown up and out of the household…having moved out when he was eighteen. That also gave Ron a little different relationship with his brother, who didn’t mind have his “kid brother” tag along, even on some of our daytime dates, like Dairy Queen and such. We took Ron a number of places with us, and I’m sure my mother-in-law enjoyed the break very much. I didn’t mind the “tag-along” either, since I never had a brother, just four sisters, it was ok with me…and, Bob might have thought that brothers should stick together.
These days, Ron and Bob are still close, helping each other as needed. They are both mechanics, so they work on their own cars and the cars of friends. Ron has an extensive shop, so many of the tools Bob or their nephews might need are available through Ron. Sometimes, you have to have a little help working on a car. Ron has a pretty lucrative “side hustle” with his mechanics work, and it keeps him busy too. He spends a good portion of each day working on someone’s car. No bad for a part-time gig. Today is Ron’s birthday. Happy birthday Ron!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
As our tenth year without our mom, Collene Spencer approaches, and in fact, it’s ten years without parents, I think my sisters, Cheryl Masterson, Caryl Reed, Alena Stevens, Allyn Hadlock, and I have been thinking a lot about her. Time doesn’t seem to go by so fast, until it is passing without a loved one. Then you just wonder, how could it be ten years already? And yet it is. Ten years without Mom’s goofiness, her laughter, her zest for life, and mostly…her presence, just seems impossible. I think that is what I miss the most…her presence. Just knowing that I could call her to ask a question, or to tell her about her new little great great grandchildren. Mom loved being a grandmother. She loved being a mom too. Her home and her family were her pride and joy. I know that while she is in Heaven, she still knows and sees how much her family has grown, and I know that she is so happy and so proud. I think we have all tried to live lives that would make our parents proud. From the oldest to the newest great great grandbaby, Mom would be so proud.
Mom met our dad, Al Spencer, when she was just a girl. Mom knew immediately that he was the one for hr. She 
remembered thinking, “What a handsome man!!” They married when she was still 17 years old. They immediately moved to Superior, Wisconsin and began a family. Ten months later my sister, Cheryl was born. I followed two years later. My sister, Caryl was born three years after I was. My sister, Alena followed two years later, and my sister, Allyn two years after that. Of course, we moved back to Casper before Caryl was born and have lived here since that time. Wyoming was where Mom’s family was, as well as part of Dad’s family, so moving here was logical. They loved Wyoming, and they thrived here.
My mom was a great Christian woman. While she loved her family, and especially our dad, her first love was for her God. She accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior many years ago, and she never looked back. She told anyone who would listen, just how important it was to receive Jesus. Through her, countless numbers of people were saved. My sisters and I never really felt as comfortable as Mom with witnessing to people. And in our teen 
years, we often wished she wouldn’t witness when we were around. We were embarrassed, but she wasn’t. She knew that her work was important, and she was right. I know that when she entered Heaven, our Father told her, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. We are so proud of her and hope to live up to her example. Today is the tenth anniversary of Mom’s graduation to Heaven. Mom, we love and miss you and Dad very much and can’t wait to see you when we all get there.
When I met my sister-in-law, Debbie Cook, over 50 years ago, we became friends right away. We both worked at Kmart then. She was in the Deli, and I was in the Millinery Department (handbags, gloves, and wigs, in case you didn’t know). In fact, it was at Kmart, where I met my future husband, Bob, who is Debbie’s brother. As our friendship grew, we decided to make each other our maid of honor at our weddings. Debbie and her husband, LJ were married first, on June 8, 1974. Bob and I were married on March 1, 1975, nine months later. As we had planned, I was her maid of honor, and she was my matron of honor. At that time, as with any marriage, there are no guarantees, but both marriages made it to our fiftieth anniversaries. Debbie and LJ celebrated theirs on June 8th, 2024, and we will celebrate ours on March 1st.
Our lives took turns that were the same and turns that took us in different directions. We both had daughters. 
Bob and I had two daughters, Corrie Petersen and Amy Royce. Debbie and LJ had three daughters, Machelle Moore, Nancy Cook (who passed away shortly after her birth), and Susan Griffith. The girls spent a lot of time together…until Debbie and LJ moved first to Thermopolis and then to Powell. After that, while the girls were still friends, they didn’t see as much of each other as they had before. That part made us sad, but life takes us in different directions sometimes. The moves to Thermopolis and Powell were what was best for Debbie, LJ, and their girls. In fact, they still live in Powell today.
There were some other differences too. Bob and I had three grandsons and one granddaughter, while Debbie and LJ had two grandsons and two granddaughters. Bob and I also have one great granddaughter and five great grandsons, while Debbie and LJ don’t have great grandchildren yet, but that day will come too. There 
could well be more great grandchildren in all our futures. Life has taken us in different directions over the years, but it has also taken us to the same place too…our golden anniversaries. We have remained sisters and brothers-in-law. And we have remained friends. We have shared a family, her family, my in-laws. We have shared history, experiencing many of the same things. We may have taken a few different paths, but we have arrived together. Today is Debbie’s birthday. Happy 72nd birthday Debbie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Most Christians have heard about the Biblical battle of Jericho. If you know the story, you know that the Israelites marched around the city walls once a day for six days, then seven times on the seventh day, and the walls of Jericho fell after they shouted, and the priests blew their trumpets. That was one of the epic battles that the Israelites were involved in. Jericho took a beating that day, but since then Jericho hasn’t always lived a peaceful life since then either.
On the morning of February 21, 1918, the combined Allied forces of British troops and the Australian mounted cavalry captured the city of Jericho in Palestine. The capture came after a three-day battle with Turkish troops. 
The Allied troops, commanded by British General Edmund Allenby, began the offensive on Tuesday, February 19th, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. The operation was plagued by adverse weather conditions and the very determined Turkish enemy. Nevertheless, the Allies were able to move nearly 20 miles toward Jericho in just three days.
Despite their determination, it was apparent by the morning of February 21, that the Turkish line had been broken, and the Allied forces entered the holy city of Jericho without much resistance at just after 8am. When they realized that they had lost control of the city, the Turkish troops chose to retreat rather than fight, meaning the three-day battle with the Allied troops ended much like the Biblical battle…Jericho simply surrendered. The Allies captured 46 Turkish prisoners, on that fateful day.
Just as it had been in Biblical times, the capture of Jericho proved to be an important strategic victory for the Allies. They now controlled some of the most important roads in the region, including the main road to the coast and the mountain highway leading to Jerusalem, and they had reached the northern end of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth at 1,290 feet below sea level.
