From our files: Jim Bridger’s nephew, ‘Starkey’ Teeples, visits Cowley in 1926

100 years ago, Feb. 26, 1926

The Cowley Progress

George B. “Starkey” Teeples, who enjoys the unique distinction of being the first white man born in Wyoming, of being a nephew of Jim Bridger, of having been born in Jim Bridger’s cabin in the state before there was a Wyoming and who for many years resided in Big Horn County on a ranch on Gyp Creek but who now resides on the Bluewater in Montana, was an over Sunday visitor, greeting his many Cowley friends and making new ones. 

Mr. Teeples, though now nearly 72 years old, is younger in action than many men and is gifted with a memory that is fairly astonishing. He enjoys the distinction of having driven the last Overland Stagecoach between the Missouri River and Salt Lake City before the advent of the railroad, which put that particular stage line out of business. He ran a stagecoach for many years through the then uninhabited Indian infested territory. For a number of years he was a scout with Buffalo Bill.

75 years ago, March 1, 1951

The Lovell Chronicle

John Muller announced this week that he had completed the puchase of Gordon’s Shoe Shop from Gordon Hoffman and is now the owner and operator. Mr. Muller is well known to Lovell people, having operated a shoe shop in the town for nine years at a previous period. He will change the name of the shop to Muller’s Shoe Shop and will specialize in the same work he has been doing for years, with emphasis on quick delivery while you wait when it is necessary. The shop is located in the Denton Hotel building.

50 years ago, Feb. 26, 1976

The Lovell Chronicle

Three five-year-old vandals broke into a Byron house last Saturday, upsetting and scattering personal belongings. Several packed boxes in the Charles Hessenthaler Jr. house were opened and their contents strewn about, according to deputy sheriff John Hampton. The Hessenthalers were planning to move to their farm and had many of their belongings packed in the boxes. Mrs. Hessenthaler said the vandals ruined a valuable insect collection, which her husband worked on in college.

The youths entered the house by breaking a window with a stick, Hampton said. A class ring, which has since been returned, was apparently the only thing taken from the house. The trio also broke into an automobile near the house, damaging the interior and painting portions of the vehicle.

“It scares you when you think five-year-old kids are capable of that,” Mrs. Hessenthaler said.

25 years ago, March 1, 2001

The Lovell Chronicle

As the Rocky Mountain wrestling season came to a close so did the wrestling careers of the four senior team captains. As anticipated Rocky’s big man, senior Drew Peregoy, dominated his 215-pound weight class and eased his way to the state championship.

10 years ago, Feb. 25, 2016

The Lovell Chronicle

On Saturday, a helicopter hovered over a herd of bighorn sheep in the Devil’s Canyon area. In a matter of seconds, a net dropped, capturing an unsuspecting ewe. Moments later a wrangler jumped from the helicopter as it hovered precariously several feet above the ground. The wrangler blindfolded, hobbled, administered a mild tranquilizer and carefully placed the ewe in a bright orange padded bag designed for the sheep’s safe transport to a nearby staging area. The operation took place in a matter of minutes.

The wild sheep gather plucked 25 bighorn sheep from the Devil’s Canyon herd that were transported that very same day across the state to Rawlins. The sheep were set to be released the morning after their arrival to join the herd in the Ferris-Seminoe Mountains.