By Jim Stanford on June 22, 2009
(click on photos to enlarge)
Earlier this spring some friends bought a house in east Jackson and began remodeling it. I asked them how old the old part of the house was, but they weren’t sure.
After peeling up wood and then six or seven layers of linoleum, they found their answer: The very last layer was newspapers … dating to 1936.
The front page of the Dec. 31, 1936 Jackson’s Hole Courier (a precursor to the Jackson Hole Guide) featured stories on the tally of elk killed during hunting season; the migration of elk to the refuge; the Christmas tree on the Square being adorned with new lights (and fresh snow); and construction of the new fish hatchery on Flat Creek nearing completion.
And this journalistic gem, about the quality of the skiing.
The writer, Fritz Brown, waxes about the relative ease of ski touring, presumably on Snow King and Teton Pass:
A little acquaintance with the fundamentals of level running, climbing steps and low speed turns will greatly facilitate the first few weeks progress, but once this knowledge has been drilled into the legs, one is as well prepared for ski touring, up and down hills and thru the flats, as for hikes and outings in the summer.
He could just as easily have been writing the first post for Teton AT.
The papers were from around the state — Wyoming State Tribune, Rawlins Republican-Bulletin, Lander Evening Post, Dubois Frontier, Wyoming Labor Journal — and whether they had been spread out for insulation or buried as a time capsule, they offered a window into history.
Consider, for instance:
• The U.S. Army still had Rough Riders.
• Joe DiMaggio had just been given a $7,600 raise.
• The Union Pacific Railroad was advertising “winter fares never so low as now — round trip rates of 2 cents or less a mile.”
In Jackson Hole, the Snake River Ranch was raising not golf courses or real estate but “Selected Turkeys for Your Feast! 30 cents per pound dressed.” The phone number was listed as 08R3.
Front pages from May blared Italy’s conquest of Ethiopia. Hitler and Mussolini had just recognized Franco and the Fascists as victors in the Spanish Civil War.
“Ethiopia Occupied by Romans,” read the banner atop the Wyoming State Tribune. “Il Duce Promises Peace,” trumpeted the Gillette News-Record.
A new Studebaker could be purchased from salesman Gus Fleischli in Cheyenne for $30 per month. The car was touted as “solid” and “economical” with the “official A.A.A. economy record of 24.27 miles per gallon.” (Detroit, take note.)
The ads are hilarious:
Camel cigarettes were hailed for their beneficial effect on “digestion.”
This ad, nearly half a page, touted a testimonial from Kelly Petillo, “winner of the 500-mile Indianapolis Classic,” as well as those of a homemaker, businessman and master welder, all praising the virtues of smoking (presumably to keep you thinner).
Petillo says: “Camels hit the spot. I’ve found that smoking Camels — driving and after meals — goes a long way in helping keep my digestion in good shape.” The ad concludes, “Camels set you right!”
Some of the Wyoming papers held a tabloid fascination with the bizarre. The May 1936 Wyoming Stockman-Farmer featured this headline: “Strange Cult in Remote Utah Desert Waits Woman’s Resurrection.” The lede is priceless:
About the body of a woman, lying in graceful repose in a casket, clusters one of the strangest religious cults ever developed in Utah, which has seen a great many.
On New Year’s Eve in Jackson Hole, the news was more mundane.
Prominent billing was given to “Exceptionally Good Ice is Harvested on Beaver Dick.” This ice on Leigh Lake was “reported to be exceptionally clear and at least ten inches thick.”
A late migration of elk across the Buffalo Fork gave rise to “Appearance of Elk Dispels the Theory They Had Vanished.” Teton Pass was said to be “probably closed for winter,” with mail delivery by sleigh, while another story declared the Hoback highway “plowed full width.”
Mike Yokel was a city commissioner, and Buchenroth, Simpson, Hagen, Mercill and Van Vleck were other names in the news.
Amidst reports about domestic politics and the economy was a brief titled, “Germany Adds New Ship to Growing Navy.”
America was still in the depths of the Great Depression. Then, as now, the news was rife with headlines about government spending programs.
“Wyoming Homeowners Borrow Heavily Under Housing Act,” read a story about legislation to assist people in modernizing and repairing dwellings.
Veterans were promised quick payment when cashing “baby bonds.” Multiple articles reported weak progress in “reemployment,” as workers nudged toward a six-hour day.
In the midst of this gloom, Fritz Brown marveled about the joy of skiing and the cool ski outfits “skooting over the trails.” Some things never change.
The papers themselves bear a striking resemblance to their modern offspring. Seventy-three years later, the print product looks nearly exactly the same.
Given the woeful state of the industry, perhaps I should bury a few copies of today’s Jackson Hole Daily in my basement so a future generation may discover what a newspaper was.
The library has an awesome new scanner/microfiche/microfilm machine if anyone wants to look at more copies of old newspapers from Jackson. You can also print from the machine, or save files to a flash drive.
More old newspapers are online with the Wyoming Newspaper Project also. Here’s the link:
http://www.wyonewspapers.org/
Cool find! Thanks for sharing!
Sooz
very interesting. i have found many examples of old houses that were lined with old newspapers in the wall cavities. i recall them being pasted to the wall sheathing usually.yes they do look remarkably like the papers we still read today however most of use a mouse to turn the pages now.