History
On July 8, 1951, the city of Paris, the capital city of France, celebrated its 2,000th birthday. While 2,000 is an amazing feat, the reality is that Paris was probably much older than that. In fact, it is believed that the “City of Lights” was most likely founded around 250 BC. If we accept the 2,000-year mark in 1951, the city would then be 2,074 today. If we accept the “roughly” 250 BC date, then Paris would be 2,275 today.
The history of Paris dates back to around 250 BC, when the Gallic tribe known as the Parisii settled on an island in the Seine River, now called Île de la Cité. By 52 BC, the Romans, led by Julius Caesar, had taken control of the area and named it Lutetia, meaning “midwater dwelling” in Latin. Over time, the settlement expanded to both banks of the Seine, and the name Lutetia was replaced with “Paris.” In 987 AD, Paris became the capital of France. As the city developed, the Left Bank became known as the intellectual hub, while the Right Bank was known as the business district.
Paris became more like the city we know today, when during the French Renaissance period, from the late 15th century to the early 17th century, it became a center of art, architecture, and science. In the mid-1800s, Napoleon III enlisted the help of civic planner Georges-Eugène Haussmann to modernize Paris. Haussmann’s designs transformed the city with wide, tree-lined boulevards, expansive public parks, a modern sewer system, and other infrastructure projects. Paris continued to flourish as a major center for arts and culture. The French Impressionist movement emerged In the 1860s, showcasing the works of Paris-based artists like Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
Currently, Paris is home to around 2 million residents, with an additional 10 million people living in the surrounding metropolitan area. The city continues to shine as a hub for food, fashion, commerce, and culture. 
It remains one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, famous for landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, which was built in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elysees, Notre Dame Cathedral, built in 1163, Luxembourg Gardens, and the Louvre Museum, where Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” is displayed.
Every year, my husband, Bob Schulenberg and I take a week and head to the Black Hills over the week of the Independence Day holiday. It is a week of relaxation and hiking. One of our favorite hikes starts at the Calumet Trailhead on Sheridan Lake. It winds around the lake giving us incredible views from far above the water. One year, we saw a group of Turkey Vultures sitting in the trees. These are incredibly big birds, that resemble turkeys a little bit, and you tend to wonder how they are able to fly at all…they are so big. The trail also has Chipmunks, Downy Woodpeckers, and many other birds.
At the far end of the trail, you cross over an earthen dam, to the opposite side of the lake, where there are a 
set of stone stairs and other stone structures. The trail then winds down to a dam and at some point, winds on to points unknown…at least to us. That part of the trail is steep and almost more of a rock-climbing event…not the kind of trail we like to hike. The trail actually splits of at a couple of different points and ends up quite far from the trail we are hiking on. Maybe, someday we will take one of those spurs and see where it takes us. The Black Hills is full of trails that cross each other and even share the same space for a short distance.
Our all-time favorite trail in the Black Hills, however, is the trail to Black Elk Peak (we always knew it as Harney Peak). I won’t go into my thoughts on the name change, because it won’t do any good anyway. The hike to 
Harney Peak was a difficult one. It takes three hours one way, but it was worth every step. The view from the top is absolutely amazing. You can see five states from up there. The chipmunks up there are really friendly, or they like to beg for some of your lunch. Either way, I have had them com right up to me to get a chip and even climb over my leg like it wasn’t attached to a human, supposedly their enemy. We haven’t been able to hike Harney Peak for a number of years now, and I really miss it. Nevertheless, our trips to the Black Hills will always be a treasured time for Bob and me.
During World War II, Winston Churchill had little choice but to focus all of his attention on winning the war against Hitler. While that was a necessary situation, the people of England, as people will do, felt like he was ignoring their struggles. The reality is that if he hadn’t done things the way he did, they would have been living in a very different England, more likely known as part of Germany. Winston Churchill was Prime Minister in the United Kingdom from May 10, 1940, to July 26, 1945, when he was replaced with Clement Attlee, who was more focused on social services and free services, which came about because the people were feeling put out and broke during the war years.
The reasons for Churchill’s loss in the 1945 election are listed as 1. Churchill’s loss of focus on people’s mood as he concentrated solely on winning the war; 2. The Labour 
Party’s promise of social reforms that Churchill delayed, causing a gain of public support in post-war Britain; and 3. The Labour Party’s strong messages and the Tories’ past failures. These things all shifted votes away from Churchill’s war successes. Churchill really had no other choice, but to do what he did, but people get tired of war and the hardships that can come with it. They don’t see the reasons that these things are necessary.
The Labour Party, led by Attlee, achieved a massive victory in the 1945 general election with their post-war recovery agenda. They took over a nation nearly bankrupt after World War II, facing shortages in food, housing, and resources. Attlee formed the first Labour majority government, aiming to ensure full employment, a mixed economy, and expanded state-provided social services. They nationalized public utilities and major industries, introduced key social reforms like the National Insurance Act 1946 and National Assistance Act 1948, established the NHS in 1948, and increased subsidies for council housing. The government also reformed trade union laws, working conditions, and children’s services, created National Parks, passed the New Towns Act 
1946, and set up town and country planning. In foreign policy, Attlee focused on decolonization, overseeing the partition of India (1947), the independence of Burma and Ceylon, and the end of British mandates in Palestine and Transjordan. Attlee and Ernest Bevin urged the U.S. to play a strong role in the Cold War, supported the Marshall Plan to rebuild Western Europe, and helped establish NATO in 1949 to counter the Soviet bloc. After narrowly winning the 1950 election, Attlee sent British troops to support South Korea in the Korean War.
By 1951, the Labor Party and Attlee were losing their support from the people. Socialist policies really don’t work, even though they sound good at first. In the election, Winston Churchill was returned to the office of Prime Minister. The people now understood that he was always the best choice for that office. Churchill held the office until April 5, 1955, when he retired. He was replaced by Anthony Eden.
Independence Day is always a special day for those of us who are patriots, but under some presidents, it is much better than under other presidents. This year, we have a wonderful president in charge. Yes, I’m a conservative, a patriot, and I’m a Trumper!! And…yes, I am unapologetic about it. I was in Keystone, South Dakota when President Trump came to Mount Rushmore, and I would have been inside, if I could have won the lottery on the tickets. That would have been a fantastic moment. Either way, the fireworks at Mount Rushmore that year were awesome. The reality is that Independence Day is a day for patriots…the ones who love this country and the conservative values the United States has always stood for. We will continue to fight for the United States, now and forever.
My husband, Bob and I love to spend the Independence Day week in the Black Hills, and almost always do. In fact, I can only think of one year that we haven’t in decades. The fireworks display in Custer, South Dakota is amazing. The whole show is very patriotic, and everyone has a great time. The event takes place on Pageant Hill, and people get there early. Music is played for a couple of hours while waiting for it to get dark enough for the main event…the fireworks display. Of course, the real meaning of the fireworks display is to remind us of the battles that took place to win our freedom for the British during the Revolutionary War. People think of Independence Day as one big party, there is a much deeper meaning to it.
Nevertheless, we can celebrate this day, because with the battles that took place to win our freedom, came the celebration when we won our freedom. That is a cause for celebration, and it is a reason to continue to fight 
against those who are trying to change the United States from the dream our forefathers had in mind for this nation. We have to protect the values they set for us, the protections they put in place, and the Constitution we live by. These things are as worth fighting for as our freedom from British rule was in 1776. Happy birthday to the United States!! Happy Independence Day everyone!!
Sometimes, even the smallest of towns can find themselves the center of attention of a nation or even the whole world. Nevertheless, I seriously doubt if tiny little Medicine Bow, Wyoming thought it would amount to all that. At its peak in 1990, Medicine Bow had a population of 408. The lowest population was a stable 238 between 2000 and 2023. With these small numbers, I’m sure that Medicine Bow, while loyal to its small-town vibe and to it population, never thought it would be a well-known place.
So, how did Medicine Bow get its “15 minutes of fame” moment? It wasn’t anything Medicine Bow did, but rather it was thrust upon the small town. In February 1931, advances in radio technology reached tiny Medicine Bow allowing pilots to fly coast to coast regardless of weather conditions. How could such a tiny place become such a big deal for the world of aviation? It was actually a surprise to many. While its significance went largely unrecognized at the time, historians now compare the event to the of the golden spike that marked the completion of the transcontinental railroad 62 years earlier.
The completion of the Medicine Bow low-frequency radio signal, linking the radio beams from Springs and Cheyenne, Wyoming, completed the route from San Francisco to New York. This advancement enabled pilots to traverse the country with unprecedented safety and efficiency. The achievement marked a transformation for aviation and the trans airmail system, paving the way for the airlines that we all rely on today. Prior to the radio advances, there were flights, but it was more difficult for pilots to find their way across the country. During 
those years, the railroad had played a part in navigation. From the air, early U.S. Mail pilots followed the tracks, referring to them as “the iron compass.” Frequently, mail was transported part of the way by airplanes and then transferred to trains for land-based delivery. A system of beacons and concrete arrows, visible from the air, was installed to guide the pilots day and night so-called contact flying.
Transcontinental airmail originated during World War I, as a result of an initiative by U.S. Post Office executives. The war had spurred significant progress in aircraft design and reliability, so airmail was the next logical step. But flying even over short distances with unreliable compasses, inadequate maps, and no ground-based navigational aids, caused pilots to get lost often. Contact flying helped, but night flight or flying during storms was still dangerous. Despite the hazards, the mail got through, and in fact, the completion rate gradually improved to 95 percent or better. By 1921, the U.S. Airmail Service had established its role as a daytime-only operation between New York and San Francisco, commonly known as Columbia Route or the T Route. Mail planes would land each evening at designated locations, where the mail was transferred to a waiting train for further transport. In the morning, another plane would retrieve the mail to continue the journey. This leapfrogging system provoked criticism from congressional appropriation committees and disdain from rail officials, as it offered only a negligible commercial benefit.
With the threat of cancellation of the program by Congress, Colonel Paul Henderson, Second Assistant 
Postmaster General, decided to stage a daring night flight, to prove the value of the airmail program. So, on February 22, 1921, a daring night flight began, flying from coast to coast. Only one pilot got through. Jack Knight, who braved treacherous winter weather in a heroic night flight between North Platte and Chicago, succeeded in convincing congressional members of the value of the airmail system. That proved that something had to be done to make it safer for the pilots. So, they began to come up with ways to make night flight safer. The resulting “something” was the radio technology that was put in place when radio technology came to tiny Medicine Bow, Wyoming.
You can live in a town all or most of your life, and somehow never really know all about it or its history. I knew where Casper, Wyoming got its name…I think most people do. A local hero, named Caspar Collins who was killed near Fort Casper in 1865. By Special Order 49 dated November 21, 1865, Major General John Pope changed the name of Platte Bridge Station to Fort Casper, misspelling the fallen lieutenant’s name. Pope chose the lieutenant’s first name because there already was a Fort Collins in Colorado named for his father. The misspelling of Fort Casper was corrected to Fort Caspar in 1936, when the fort was reconstructed. The reconstruction project, funded by the Works Progress Administration, corrected the spelling, and also creating the discrepancy in the names that exists to this day.
Casper is located at 5,150 feet above sea level, on the banks of the North Platte River on Wyoming’s high plains, and it is the seat of Natrona County. While the fort existed for many years prior, the town actually began when the tracks of the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad arrived in June 1888. The town was named after the fort, which was still carrying the misspelled name, and so became Casper. The fort itself had deteriorated to ruins by then and wouldn’t be rebuilt until 1936.
The railroad brought with it a need to have a town in that location. So, soon after the railroad arrived the area became an important shipping point for cattle and wool. Casper’s earliest buildings stood at about the present-day intersection of what are now A Street and McKinley Street. As soon as the railroad’s land company started plotting residential and commercial sites, the inhabitants of the fledgling town relocated approximately a mile west. By the autumn of 1888, the town’s center had shifted to the intersection of Center Street and Second Street, where it continues to be located today.
On April 9, 1889, residents petitioned the officials of Carbon County for permission to incorporate the town of Casper. The following year, Natrona County separated from Carbon County. The petition was granted, and on July 8, 1889, voters elected George Mitchell as mayor along with Robert White, Peter Demorest, Alexander McKinney, and John Adams as councilmen. Casper is home to three courthouses. The first, on David Street, was a wood-framed structure covered with seam iron, constructed in 1895 at a cost of $477. The second courthouse, built in 1908 was situated in the middle of North Center Street at A Street. The current county building, completed 1940, stands on Center Street between A Street and B Street. In its early years, Casper was a bustling and unruly town. The west side of Center Street featured numerous saloons, fostering a wild and boisterous culture. Early law enforcement faced the challenge of maintaining order amidst rowdy cowboys, jubilant sheepherders, and the constant presence of prostitutes.
The town leaders immediately set about making changes to guarantee a more stable and permanent city. While the population could not really be changed, they knew that a proper town needed things like water, streets, schools, a fire department, a library, and other amenities, if it was going to survive. On July 7, 1890, the town government established its first headquarters in a two-story brick structure on Center Street, featuring a spacious central hall and bell tower. By the 20th century, they had expanded the town hall due to community growth and increasing municipal affairs. A new building was constructed and completed on May 29, 1919. It is located at the northwest corner of Center Street and Eighth Street. This two-story brick building featured a section dedicated to the fire department. For many years, the fire department operated as all-volunteer. The first paid firefighter was employed in 1912 with a monthly salary of $100 a month. In 1920, the city constructed a new station on the west side of David Street, north of Midwest Avenue. During this period, law enforcement also underwent changes with police officers gradually replacing the town marshal.
Water was and still is a constant problem. Between draughts and the need for bigger lines, the city is always removing and replacing the lines. At first, centrally located wells provided water to residents living close to downtown. Those living further out had to dig their own wells. Alkali and bacteria often made the water unpalatable or unsafe. That continues to be a problem to this day as well. Waterborne diseases took their toll on residents, especially children. Thankfully, that problem has been solved over the years. Nevertheless, at that time, the epidemics caused the town physician and marshal to force people to clean up their properties, improving sanitation and thus improving the water supply. Like any “Old West” town, Casper has evolved over 
the years, and it has become great place to live. While crime does exist, we have a much lower crime rate than many big cities. We are big enough to have many of the amenities people want and need, but enough of a small town feel to make the atmosphere relaxed and comfortable. While we are a mid-sized city, the feel is more like a small town, and most of Casper’s 58,823 residents, especially the long-term residents, like it that way.
The Civil War was a bloody war that threatened to divide the United States. North fought against South, and brother fought against brother. In any war, fear is a constant companion, even for the bravest of soldiers. During the Battle of Mechanicsville, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee Army of Northern Virginia launched an attack on Union General George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac, marking the start of the Seven Days’ Battles. Despite suffering significant casualties and failing to achieve a decisive victory over the forces, the battle did succeed in unnerving McClellan. Over the course of the following week, Lee pushed McClellan from the outskirts of Richmond Virginia, back to his base along the James River.
Lee had replaced Joseph Johnston on June 1, 1862, and this was his first battle as commander of the army. Johnston had been severely wounded at the Battle of Fair Oaks, and Lee was eager to show his prowess. He saw this as his best chance. McClellan had been on the offensive, but his operation had stalled about five miles from Richmond. Nevertheless, his army was still there until late June. While McClellan was regrouping outside of Richmond, General J.E.B. Stuart and his Rebel cavalry made a reconnaissance ride around McClellan’s force. Following their ride, the spies brought back information that indicated that McClellan’s right flank was “in the air,” which means unprotected by natural barriers. On June 23rd, Lee told his commanders that he was going to attack the flank, which was occupied by Fitz John Porter’s V corps. They saw that Porter’s group was separated from the rest of the Union army by the Chickahominy River. Lee’s plan could have been viewed as risky, because it meant leaving a skeleton force to face the rest of McClellan’s army south of the Chickahominy River. It was an early indication of Lee’s bold and daring style.
The plan was probably a good one originally, but it quickly fell apart. McClellan had been alerted to the vulnerability of his flanks by Stuart’s ride two weeks prior, which had apparently not been as secret as they thought. So, McClellan shored up his left flank and moved Porter’s men to high ground with a deep creek in front of them. The new location gave them much better security. Lee’s plan had called for several smaller forces to overwhelm Porter’s men, but it required precise timing. Unfortunately, for Lee, when the assault came, the coordination did not materialize. A major problem was General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s corps, which was slow to move into place. Jackson was just back from his brilliant campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, but 
didn’t show the same vigor and speed at Mechanicsville.
Lee had planned to bring about 55,000 troops against Porter. Unfortunately, because of the mistakes made by Jackson and others, there were only about 11,000. Vastly undermanned, Lee lost 1,475 men in the battle, while the Union losses were only 361. Nevertheless, Lee had stunned McClellan, who then began to fall back away from Richmond. Lee continued to hammer on McClellan for the next week, and the Yankees had to retreat to the James River. For some reason, McClellan did not threaten Richmond again. Instead, and he eventually sailed his army back to Washington, D.C. in what could be viewed a retreat.
Christopher Latham Sholes was an American inventor who invented the QWERTY keyboard, that most people are would recognize today. Also, along with Samuel W Soule, Carlos Glidden, and John Pratt, he is said to be one of the inventors of the first typewriter in the United States. In addition, Sholes was a newspaper publisher and Wisconsin politician. Sholes was born February 14, 1819, in Mooresburg, in Montour County, Pennsylvania, to Orrin and Catherine (Cook) Sholes. He later moved to nearby Danville and worked as an apprentice to a printer there. I rather don’t think he liked his first name, because over the course of his life, he went be a number of names, including, C. Latham Sholes, Latham Sholes, or C. L. Sholes, but never Christopher Sholes or Christopher L. Sholes.
In 1837, after completing his apprenticeship, Sholes moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and later to Southport, Wisconsin (now named Kenosha). On February 4, 1841, in Green Bay, he married Mary Jane McKinney. Together they had ten children, Charles Latham Sholes born 1843, Clarence Gordon Sholes born 1845, Mary Katherine (Tyrrell) born 1847, Frederick Sholes born 1847, Louis C. Sholes born 1849, Elizabeth (Gilmore) born 
1852, Lillian (Fortier) born 1856, George Orrin Sholes born 1859, Jessie Sholes born 1861, and Zalmon Gilbert Sholes born 1864.
He became newspaper publisher and politician, serving in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1848 to 1849 as a Democrat, in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1852 to 1853 as a Free Soiler, and once more in the Senate as a Republican from 1856 to 1857. He played a pivotal role in the successful effort to abolish capital punishment in Wisconsin. His newspaper, The Kenosha Telegraph, covered the trial of John McCaffary in 1851. Then, in 1853 he spearheaded the campaign against capital punishment in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Equally significant was Sholes’ involvement in the massive railroad corruption scandal that engulfed the legislature 1856. He was one of the few decent legislators who rejected the bribe that was offered.
While Sholes did not invent the keyboard, itself, he integrated and innovated upon the work of prior inventors in this area. The QWERTY layout on the typewriter was designed to slow typing so as to prevent the jamming of typewriter keys from too-fast typing. What strikes me as funny is that this design has continued, despite the fact that jamming is no longer a problem for computer keyboards. Some have suggested alternative keyboards 
would be more efficient…for instance, the Dvorak keyboard. While that keyboard might be more efficient, the time and work that would be involved in the changeover from QWERTY would be something akin to changing from inches to the metric system. Some people have embraced the metric system, but many, including myself, have not. I just can’t begin to imagine switching from QWERTY to Dvorak.
Spy cases are always filled with intrigue and mystery, but the Hollow Nickel Case proved to be a particularly odd version. The FBI investigation grew out of the discovery of a container disguised as a US nickel, containing a coded message. On June 22, 1953, fourteen-year-old Jimmy Bozart, a newspaper boy was collecting for the Brooklyn Eagle, at an apartment building at 3403 Foster Avenue in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. One man paid him with a nickel, but it felt too light to Bozart. Curious, he dropped it on the ground, to see how it sounded, and it popped open. Inside was a microfilm containing a series of numbers. Knowing this could be big, Bozart to his friend who was the daughter of a New York City Police Department officer. They told her dad, and he told a detective who, in two days, told an FBI agent about the strange nickel.
After agent Louis Hahn of the FBI obtained the nickel and the microfilm, the agency tried to find out where the nickel had come from and what the numbers meant. “The coin had a 1948-dated obverse (the heads side) with the usual copper-nickel composition, but the reverse was minted sometime between October 1942 and the end of 1945, based on the copper-silver alloys used during this period. On the microfilm, there were five digits together in each number, 21 sets of five in seven columns and another 20 sets in three columns, making a total of 207 sets of five digits. There was no key for the numbers.” The FBI tried for nearly four years to find the origin of the nickel and the meaning of the numbers.
Finally, when KGB agent Reino Häyhänen (a.k.a. Eugene Nicolai Mäki) chose to defect in May 1957. With information received through that defection, the FBI was able to link the nickel to the KGB. That, in itself, should be something to make everyone cringe. Häyhänen had been operating in the US for some time, but when he was recalled to Moscow for good, he knew that he did not want to go. As he was on his way back to Russia, he defected on a stop in Paris.
Amazingly, the nickel was an item that Häyhänen had collected from a dead-drop. The amazing, and truly unbelievable part is that Häyhänen accidentally spent the nickel before opening it. I suppose he could have somehow not realized that it was the special nickel he was spending, but it seems odd, nevertheless. Once he was caught, Häyhänen gave the FBI the information needed to crack the cipher. The deciphered message in the nickel turned out to be a message to Häyhänen from the KGB in Moscow, welcoming him to the United States and instructing him on getting set up. The Translation is as follows (Translation was in all caps).
“1. WE CONGRATULATE YOU ON A SAFE ARRIVAL. WE CONFIRM THE RECEIPT OF YOUR LETTER TO THE ADDRESS `V REPEAT V’ AND THE READING OF LETTER NUMBER 1.
2. FOR ORGANIZATION OF COVER, WE GAVE INSTRUCTIONS TO TRANSMIT TO YOU THREE THOUSAND IN LOCAL (CURRENCY). CONSULT WITH US PRIOR TO INVESTING IT IN ANY KIND OF BUSINESS, ADVISING THE CHARACTER OF THIS BUSINESS.
3. ACCORDING TO YOUR REQUEST, WE WILL TRANSMIT THE FORMULA FOR THE PREPARATION OF SOFT FILM AND NEWS SEPARATELY, TOGETHER WITH (YOUR) MOTHER’S LETTER.
4. IT IS TOO EARLY TO SEND YOU THE GAMMAS. ENCIPHER SHORT LETTERS, BUT THE LONGER ONES MAKE WITH INSERTIONS. ALL THE DATA ABOUT YOURSELF, PLACE OF WORK, ADDRESS, ETC., MUST NOT BE TRANSMITTED IN ONE CIPHER MESSAGE. TRANSMIT INSERTIONS SEPARATELY.
5. THE PACKAGE WAS DELIVERED TO YOUR WIFE PERSONALLY. EVERYTHING IS ALL RIGHT WITH THE FAMILY. WE WISH YOU SUCCESS. GREETINGS FROM THE COMRADES. NUMBER 1, 3RD OF DECEMBER.”
Häyhänen, code name “Vic” told the FBI about a number of Soviet operatives in North America. These included “Vitali G Pavlov, a former Soviet embassy official in Ottawa; Aleksandr Mikhailovich Korotkov; and U.S. Army Sergeant Roy Rhodes, code name ‘Quebec,’ who had once worked in the garage of the U.S. embassy in Moscow. The Soviets were able to get to Rhodes because they had ‘compromising materials’ about him.” 
In addition, and more importantly, Häyhänen helped the FBI uncover the identity of his two main contacts in New York: Mikhail Nikolaevich Svirin (a former United Nations employee) and William August Fisher, whose code name was “Mark.” Svirin had returned to the Soviet Union in October 1956 and was not available for questioning or arrest, but Fisher was still working in the United States, principally seeking information on the U.S. atomic program and U.S. Navy submarine information. With Häyhänen help, they eventually found information on the espionage activities of William August Fisher, who used the code name of Rudolf Ivanovich Abel.
Like it or not, travelers of Route 66, during its heydays had to deal with the infamous Jericho Gap that was known to trap numerous visitors on its 18-mile swath of muddy black soil. In the 1930s, much of Jericho Gap was bypassed due to the problems it presented. These days Jericho Gap’s original stretch is missing segments and is partly on private property.
While the Jericho Gap area was a frustration to travelers, the locals often benefited from the many stranded vehicles on this stretch of the Mother Road. They found themselves with the job of pulling stranded cars out of the quagmire, for a profit, of course. It was even rumored that some locals watered down the road to increase their business. The whole thing rather reminds me of the speed traps on the “Dukes of Hazard” show…if they actually watered down the road, that is.
Today, when you travel beyond Johnson Road, located at exit 132, you will find that old Route 66 continues paved for a while before turning to gravel, then turning paved again, and back to gravel for about two miles. At that point, it becomes a rutted dirt road and enters a private ranch. It would seem that slowly, but surely, Jericho Gap is disappearing. Nevertheless, Jericho’s old site can still be accessed by taking exit 124 south on Highway 70 about one mile. In that location, you can see the endings of both the Jericho-Alanreed and Groom-Jericho sections of the Jericho Gap at County Road B Jericho Gap Road.
The town of Jericho, now a ghost town, was once a village and train station in the late 1880s, along the stage route that carried passengers and mail from Saint’s Roost (now Clarendon) to Fort Elliott (now Mobeetie). There was very little there when the station was built…just a dugout and drinking water that had to be hauled in from a nearby spring. The Jericho Cemetery was established after the Indians were removed to reservations and more people began to settle the area. In 1894, an unusual outbreak of Malaria killed several settlers. Construction on the Choctaw, Oklahoma, and Texas Railroad brought even more people to settle there. The town of Jericho was officially established in 1902 when the railroad built a station and a post office there, and the town was named for the biblical city in Palestine. In the Bible, the name “Jericho” represents a symbol of victory, faith, and the power of God. It signifies overcoming obstacles and entering into a promised land.
Jericho began to quickly flourish. Cattle were shipped from there and passengers could take the train to the area. When Route 66 was established through Jericho, it brought several gas stations, stores, and a motel. It was then that the town gained its infamous reputation as the Jericho Gap, which helped the locals to prosper. The town of Jericho peaked in the 1930s when it had a population of about 100, a post office, three stores, a grain elevator, a tourist court, a service garage, and a filling station. Unfortunately, when Route 66 was moved one-half mile north of Jericho, completely bypassing the town. By 1939, its population had dropped in half to just 50 people. The post office was discontinued in 1955, and by the 1980s, little remained at the townsite. 
Today, Jericho is a ghost town surrounded by cattle and ghost farms. The ruins of the old tourist court can still be seen. One house and another unidentified brick building can still be seen, as can the little bit that is left on County Road B, just west of Highway 70 and the cemetery located about two miles west of the old townsite, south of County Road B.
