Family
My husband, Bob and I love the Black Hills. We go over every year for the Independence Day celebration, which also happens to be right around Bob’s birthday. It is a kind of double celebration for us. Bob and I love to hike, and we have a number of favorite trails in the Black Hills. Some trails we take every year, some only in years that we are in tip top condition, and we try to find a new trail once in a while. There is so much of the Black Hills that most people never see. The back country of the Black Hills, deep in the forest, is just stunning. These Independence Day trips are such a sweet retreat for Bob and me. We especially love the ride on the 1880 Train, as the grand finale. That ride is so relaxing, and it really never gets old.
Bob is such a hard worker. Even in Retirement, he spends a lot of time working on cars for people. There are 
people who totally depend of his knowledge and ability to keep their vehicles running, and I don’t know what he would do with himself if he didn’t work on the vehicles of all his friends and family members. Since his retirement, he has kept busy and has thoroughly enjoyed the work he does…plus the fact that he is his own boss. All the years he spent working for the City of Casper were great, but there is nothing quite like being your own boss. You work at your own pace and take only the jobs you want to take, and since Bob is such a social person, there is the added benefit of meeting people and making friends.
Bob is such a kind and thoughtful person, who always has something nice to say about everyone. Its a wonderful trait to be able to find the good in people, and that is just what Bob does. I don’t think he has ever met someone he didn’t like. That is something I love about Bob…his easy manner with people. It makes people 
comfortable with him. From adults to little kids. Everybody likes Bob. His nieces and nephews are all very fond of him, and love to spend time with him. They love to tease him and make him laugh, and he feels the same about them. Little kids are the best ones to watch. They can usually tell if a person is someone they would like, and Bob always falls into the “we like you” category. I have to agree with them. I like him too. He’s a pretty great guy. I liked him from the moment I met him…and I still do. Today is Bob’s birthday. Happy birthday Bob!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My Aunt Jeanette Byer, is such a sweet person. She is easy to get along with and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love her. For a number of years we didn’t get to see her much, while she and my Uncle Larry were living in Louisiana, because he took a transfer with Texaco when things here in Wyoming were slower. I can imagine that it was a fun time for them, however, because it was near the Gulf of Mexico, and warm year round. There is the hurricane factor too, of course, and that might not have been so great. Nevertheless, my grandma, Hattie Byer and several other of my aunts and uncles went down for visits, as did my parents. I remember my mom, Collene Spencer telling me that it was so humid there that you couldn’t get dry, no matter how many times you dried off, and it was a little hard to breath through the humidity. Aunt Jeanette assured my mom that you got used to that after a while. Strangely, when my husband, Bob and I went to Louisiana years after Aunt Jeanette and Uncle Larry moved back to Wyoming, I don’t recall the humidity issues that my mother had experienced. Maybe I just liked summer and humidity more than my mom had, I really can’t say for sure.
I was glad when Aunt Jeanette and Uncle Larry moved back to Wyoming, because then we got to see them more…oddly it was most often in the hardware store. I guess we were both doing projects at that time, hahahahaha!! Nevertheless, we always stopped and visited before we each went back to our shopping again. They were always great to talk to, and they laughed often. Both of them had these wonderful, infectious laughs, and I often wondered if that was part of what attracted them to each other in the first place.
Aunt Jeanette knew Uncle Larry when they were kids in school. As sometimes was the case, and still is today, people knew each other for years, and even became high school sweethearts before they married. When you think about it, that isn’t a bad thing. Becoming friends before you start dating, means that you at least know if you can stand to be around the person for more than ten minutes at a time. Well, Aunt Jeanette and Uncle Larry knew that they most definitely could “stand” to be around each other for more than ten minutes, and in reality, for much longer. The could “stand” to be around each other for life, and it would be a life filled with laughter too. Today is Aunt Jeanette’s 85th birthday. Happy birthday Aunt Jeanette!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My Uncle Elmer Johnson, was a character. From what I’ve seen of men from that era, my dad, Al Spencer and his brother, Bill included, thee pranks Uncle Elmer and his brother, Les played were…a bit different from what we played as kids. The boys from their era might make their dad think they were going to run the outhouse over with a tractor, assuming no one knew that he was inside. Of course, they would be in trouble when he came running out with his pants down, in an effort to save his own life. Kids back then, living on a farm, thought nothing of driving a tractor or using dynamite, and there is no end to the ideas they might come up with to play a prank on someone with such items. While Uncle Elmer and his brothers were prone to pranks, it didn’t make them bad kids…just typical mischievous kids…especially in that era.
Uncle Elmer loved holidays. My cousin, Elmer…his dad’s namesake, tells me that his dad literally spoiled the family at Christmas, which was his favorite holiday. I can understand that. Don’t we all wish we had the money to spoil our kids to the max at Christmas. There are so many cool new things out, every year, and you want to give your kids that latest toy or gadget. Every year, someone invents some new cool item, an every kid wants one. It would be awesome to be able to give your kid every great new thing they wanted, and I know that Uncle Elmer wanted to do just that.
Uncle Elmer loved his Harley Davidson motorcycle, and he and his brother “terrorized” the cops in Evansville, 
racing around, and if I guess right, getting multiple speeding tickets for it. They didn’t worry too much about that, because as we all know, motorcycles are meant to go fast. Uncle Elmer and his brothers, Les and Tom, loved their machines…of any kind. Uncle Elmer drove semi-trucks for many years. He loved the open road, a trait that fit well into his past of tractors, motorcycles, and trucks. Today would have been Uncle Elmer’s 88th birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Uncle Elmer. We love and miss you very much.
These days, my brother-in-law, Chris Hadlock has much in life to love. He and my sister, Allyn now own the property east of Casper by the Platte River that had belonged to his parents Chris has always loved that place, and when his mother passed away, and the property was offered to them to buy, they jumped at the chance. Chris loves taking care of the place, and can often be found mowing, snow removing, or some other form of improvement on the place. The love he has for the place is very obvious in all the wonderful care he gives it. He is often out in the garage fixing things too. Chris loves his job too. He is a retired Casper Police Officer. His new job for Motorola is going well and he is relaxed and happy in it. Police work can be challenging, and although he loved it, it takes its toll.
They went fishing out at Pathfinder Reservoir on Father’s day. It was a perfect day. They took the 4 wheeler out 
and just rode far back off the beaten path and he fished all afternoon. It was super nice and relaxing.
Recently, they went fishing in the Big Horn Mountains, something they haven’t done for a couple of years. From there they headed to Laramie, where their daughter, Lindsay Moore and her family live to spend Independence Day with them; daughter Jessi Sawdon and family; son, Ryan Hadlock and family; and daughter, Kellie. Chris was like a kid in a candy store about the fireworks. The guys went and bought a bunch of them and Chris couldn’t wait to set them off! Sparklers, those black snakes that you light and they grow out of a small pellet, smoke bombs, fountains. He kept things going all evening!
Chris loves being a grandpa. He recently got to watch as his grandson, Ethan Hadlock caught his very first fish that is such a big moment in the life of a kid. His granddaughters, Aurora Hadlock, Adelaide Sawdon, and Mackenzie Moore, as well as Kellie’s boyfriend’s daughter, Jolene, have him wrap ones around their little fingers, 
and he doesn’t mind it a bit He really enjoys his sons-in-law, Jason Sawdon, Shannon Moore, and Kellie’s boyfriend, Tim Williams, as well as daughter-in-law, Chelsea Hadlock. Everyone in his family is a perfect fit in the family.
Chris plays the guitar, and is always composing beautiful new songs on his on it. Chris us quite talented in the area of music, and his family loves listening to him play. He loves his guitar so much, he sleeps with it!! Hahahaha!! Today is Chris’ birthday. Happy Chris!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My sister-in-law, Marlyce Schulenberg lives only in our memories since her passing at the young age of 39, on August 13, 1989. Those were sad days leading up to and following her passing. The cancer stole so much from her. She was skin and bone by the time she died. Marlyce was developmentally disabled, and in most was she was an adult-kid. She loved candy. It was a vice she really had to have, and if that was the worst bad habit she had…well, that’s not bad. In the end, I suppose it was the extra weight she carried from the candy, that kept her alive as long as she hung on. Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is a horrible disease. In Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, white blood cells called lymphocytes grow abnormally and can form growths (tumors) throughout the body.in Marlyce, they tumor was in her esophagus, and she couldn’t swallow much. She ate baby food in the end.
It was so sad, but I want to concentrate on the good memories. Marlyce worked at Wood’s School, which was for the handicapped at that time. They ran a laundry service there, and she worked in that laundry. She was so proud of her job. Marlyce was very dedicated to her job, and would go on sick, if need be. She was very proud of making money.
Marlyce was also a great baker of Chocolate Chip Cookies, and I loved them. They were the best I ever had…now or then. When we went out to the house to visit, I always hoped Marlyce had been baking. She made 
other kinds of cookies too, but when I came in the door, I was always happiest when she said, “Caryn. I made Chocolate Chip Cookies!!”
Marlyce also made knitted stocking caps. She sold them at craft fairs, and they sold very well. These were talents that not every developmentally disabled person could do, but Marlyce excelled in those areas. I love the sweet memories of my sweet, gone-too-soon sister-in-law. Today would have been Marlyce’s 71st birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Marlyce. We love and miss you very much.
Not many wars can be called…peaceful, but the Dutch-Scilly War is one that definitely can. Some wars start over borders, some over principles, and some over…well, who remembers. The Dutch-Scilly War lasted 335 years. That’s an amazingly long time in any war, and even more so when you consider that it had no battles or deaths. Oliver Cromwell had fought the Royalists to the edges of the Kingdom of England. Cromwell was an English general and statesman who, first as a subordinate and later as Commander-in-Chief, led armies of the Parliament of England against King Charles I during the English Civil War, subsequently ruling the British Isles as Lord Protector from 1653 until his death in 1658.
In the West of Britain, Cornwall was the last Royalist stronghold. In 1648, Cromwell pushed on until mainland Cornwall was in the hands of the Parliamentarians. The Royalist Navy was forced to retreat to the Isles of Scilly, which lay off the Cornish coast and were under the ownership of Royalist John Granville. Before fleeing Cornwall, the Royalists raided a few Dutch shipping vessels as an act of revenge, then escaped to the Isles of Scilly. With that, the war was on. The Dutch turned up in Scilly demanding reparations from the Royalists. The Royalists refused and the Dutch declared war. The whole point of the war was to get restitution for the damage done by the Royalists, but the Dutch quickly realized that the Royalists were “dead broke!!” They didn’t have a penny to their name. Well, as we all know, you can’t get blood from a turnip, so going to war to receive money that could never be paid would do no good. In the end, they decided to call it a day and go home. A smart move if you ask me. The problem with the whole 
thing is that they never declared peace with the Isles. They just completely forgot they were at war.
In 1986, Roy Duncan, historian and Chairman of the Isles of Scilly Council, decided to investigate. He wrote to the Dutch Embassy in London. Research proved that that no peace treaty had ever been signed, so Duncan invited the Dutch ambassador Jonkheer Rein Huydecoper to visit the islands and officially end the “conflict” at last. Peace was declared on April 17, 1986, exactly 335 years after the supposed declaration of war. The Dutch ambassador joked that it must have been horrifying to the Scillonians “to know we could have attacked at any moment.”
As my grand-niece Audrianna “Anna” Masterson’s birthday approached, I talked to her sister, Raelynn, who tells me that Anna is “quirky.” That is a fact that anyone who knows Anna knows quite well. Anna has a very unique personality and Raelynn loves to see how she reacts to certain things. Anna is very strong willed and stubborn, and as kids will, they disagree about some of the strangest things. Nevertheless, sometimes they get into “joking” screaming matches about book or movie characters we may see differently. They live to banter back and forth, and it usually ends up in a giggling match.
As she has grown, Anna has changed a lot, and these days, style matters…but it has to be her own style. So, Anna has been experimenting with different styles. Recently, she wanted a “Wilbur Soot” style outfit. For those, like me, who don’t know who “Wilbur Soot” is, he is a YouTuber they both watch, so when she asked Raelynn at the events center yesterday, if she had achieved the look and Raelynn said, “yes,” Anna was ecstatic.
Anna often asks Raelynn, and her brother, Matt about what would look good with what and what kinda clothes to wear to what events. Raelynn often lends her clothes so she can achieve just the right look. Matt will always be brutally honest, which some may think is a bad thing, but you never want to go out looking bad, simply because your siblings 
didn’t want to hurt your feelings about how you really look. People have to be able to trust their siblings about these things.
It is so hard to believe that fashion matters to Anna, because it wasn’t that long ago that Anna didn’t care about things like that. She used to put on sweat pants and a t-shirt, and she was good to go. It didn’t matter if she was going to school or somewhere else, she was comfortable in sweats and a t-shirt, and that was it. She rarely even combed her hair in those days. Not so now. Now the whole look matters. Anna is growing up. Today is Anna’s 14th birthday. Happy birthday Anna!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
A couple of days ago, my husband, Bob Schulenberg and I went for a hike through a South Dakota ghost town called Spokane. It was founded in 1890 to extract precious gold, the mine proved richer in silver, copper, zinc, mica and graphite. The town hit its stride in 1927 with its biggest year ever totaling $144,742 in profits which helped fund the school building whose bones can still be seen, at least for now. The tow is rapidly deteriorating, so they won’t be around much longer. By 1940, the mine and town were all but abandoned. The town limped along, with the manager’s house being the last one to be abandoned in the 1970s. The Spokane Mine was discovered in 1889 by Sylvester Judd more or less by accident. As the story goes, “he had placed a rock (likely galena or cerussite) from the outcrop on his wooden stove. He was amazed when he found molten lead coming from the mineral.” The town was formed the same year the mine began operations, in 1890, but it was not the town or it’s dilapidated buildings, but rather the tragic history of the place that caught my attention.
A man named James Shepard, or Jim as he was know to family and friends in Spokane, heard about the gold rush in the Black Hills and decided to take his family from North Carolina, to the town of Spokane to stake his claim. A local man named Frank Cox had not kept up assessment work on the Spokane Mine, which he himself had “jumped” when it had been neglected by someone else. It isn’t the best way to stake a claim, but it is legal apparently. Jim had enough to stake his claim to the mine, so he claimed it and on June 21, 1908, when he drove his stake at the site. Jim was well liked and since he did things right, people respected him and his family.
Frank Cox’s wife, the Sunday school teacher, observed the staking of the claim by Shepard while riding to the schoolhouse and informed her husband. Then the real trouble began. That evening, Jim rode his horse to bring his free-roaming milk cow back to the house. According to his account, when he had his guard down, Frank and his son Henry stepped out from behind some trees. Frank yelled, “You son-of-a-bitch, you have driven your last stake!” and shot Jim with a shotgun. He was able to ride home, where his wife, Jessie, frantically helped him into bed and rode for help.
Jessie went to the Hoffman home and told them that Jim had been shot. Edgar H. Hoffman, who was 12 years old, never forgot that night. “Mrs. Shepard was a tall, dark mountain woman. Her clothes and the saddle were soaked and spotted with blood,” he said. A neighbor rode to the nearest doctor, but that was 17 miles away in Custer. It was an awful stormy night with heavy rain and lightning flashes. Not an easy way to make such an important trip. The next morning, the doctor and sheriff arrived to just in time to hear hear Jim’s dying words…words that incriminated Frank and Henry. The town was horribly shaken by the murder. The crowd could only be described as “angry and hostile” at Jim’s funeral.
“In order to prevent violence, the minister had the congregation point the finger of guilt at whoever they felt had committed the murder. Everyone pointed the finger at the Cox house. From then on, the Coxes were ostracized by the Spokane community and they sent their son away to relatives,” wrote Inez Shepard Shafer, Jim Shepard’s only surviving child.
In the July 10, 1909 edition of the Keystone Record, it was stated that the trial was “one of the longest and hardest fought preliminary hearings ever held in Custer County. It was thought at first by friends of Cox that he would have no trouble in proving an alibi, as he was at the Ideal [mine] all day Sunday and slept there that night. This is true, but there was about an hour and a half in the evening he was unable to account for, and about the time the shooting was supposed to have taken place. It is unfortunate for all concerned, and if Cox proves his innocence, and many believe he will, the chances are we will never know who killed James Shepard.”
Historians, who have studied the lives of Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, agree that while the two men were friends, they also had a long history as “frenemies.” It is fairly common with politicians, because each one has definite ideas about how things should be run. So, the two rivals always had a volatile relationship.
Their friendship began in the early days of the nation, despite their vastly different political views. Adams was a strong believer in a strong central government, and Jefferson championed states’ rights. I would imagine that there was a measure of frustration for Adams, as he watched his administration being dismantled in the early years of the Jefferson administration. Nevertheless, as a Conservative, I have to agree with the Thomas Jefferson way of government.
Adams preceded Jefferson as president friend 1797 to 1800. During the Adams presidency, it became very apparent that the two men were very different, and their political views were just as different. The hot-tempered Adams was a firm believer in a strong centralized government, while the genteel Jefferson believed federal government should take a more hands-off approach and defer to individual states’ rights. They clashed loudly and often. As Adams’ vice president, Jefferson was horrified by what he considered to be Adams’ abuse 
of the presidential power…particularly his passage of the restrictive Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. Jefferson abandoned Adams and Washington for his estate at Monticello. There, he plotted how to bring his Republican faction back into power in the presidential election of 1800. After an exceptionally bitter campaign, in which both parties engaged in slanderous attacks on each other in print, Jefferson emerged victorious. It appeared the former friends would be eternal enemies. The former revolutionaries went on to resume their friendship over 14 years of correspondence during their golden years.
On July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of The Declaration of Independence, these “frenemies” died on the same day and within five hours of each other. Jefferson and Adams were the last surviving members of the original American revolutionaries who had stood up to the British empire and forged a new political system in the former colonies. When Adams died at the age of 90, his last words, as the country celebrated Independence Day were, “Thomas Jefferson still survives.” Adams was wrong. Jefferson had died five hours earlier at Monticello at the age of 83.
This year, mostly because of the year of the Covid-19 lockdowns, Americans are so ready to get out there. Whether we choose to wear a mask or not, we are done with staying home, small groups, missed holidays, and mostly…Covid-19!! Bob and I were blessed in that we were able to travel to the Black Hills for the Independence Day holiday last year, but many states didn’t allow it. Now…suddenly, many states are open. Of course, there are those who want us to keep things to small groups, or better yet, just stay home and don’t celebrate at all. Our answer to that, “No!! We are done with giving up our freedom!!” This nation, “One Nation Under God,” was founded on the principles of “liberty and justice for all” and “let freedom ring.” Our soldiers died to make sure that we continued to have that freedom. And we are not giving it up now!!
The Covid-19 lockdowns were never designed to make us healthier, but rather to take our freedoms, and we aren’t going to take it anymore. They still want us to stay home, but everyone I know of has opted to go out and celebrate or have people in to celebrate. We all agree that our forefathers never intended for the people of this nation to give up their rights to “kowtow” to the government!! Especially when the disease has a 97% survival rate!! And believe me when I say that no one is saying that it didn’t kill people, but that many of the people in lockdown would not have become sick, much less died. The Lockdown did nothing but hurt our economy, and rob us if our freedom.
This year is a “new year” for this nation. We are ready to take back our country and our freedom. We know who stole it, and we know who didn’t. We are excited about getting back out there and celebrating our nation’s birthday again!! 
This is a great nation, and we will not allow it to be stolen from us. We are ready to fight for our freedom again, and we refuse to be pushed back.
From the brave men and women who fought for the freedom of this nation in the Revolutionary War, to the brave men and women who will fight for it again, I honor you!! You are the epitome of greatness!! You don’t give up. This is our nation and this is our Independence Day!! I pray that each of you has a wonderful holiday with family and friends. Let’s get out there and be independent again!! God bless you all and God bless America!!
