And don’t miss Wyoming’s 125th statehood anniversary conference

This month we offer profiles of a late 20th century legislator whose work went a long way to further Wyoming’s tradition as the Equality State, and, 100 years earlier, a Wyoming lawyer and jurist whose remarkable career tied in with some of the main political and legal issues of his time.
 
We also recall one of the Wyoming Legislature’s least savory moments—a riot on the floor of the House of Representatives in 1913 when House members, almost equally divided between Democrats and Republicans, came to blows over who should serve as speaker.
 
And a reminder—registration is still open through Friday, June 5, for "Our Place in the West ... and Beyond," a special 125th anniversary celebration sponsored in part by the Wyoming State Historical Society that will be held soon in Laramie to commemorate Wyoming’s becoming a state. Hope to see you there!

“Our Place in the West” conference celebrates Wyoming’s 125th statehood anniversary 

Register now if you plan to attend the upcoming conference “Our Place in the West … and Beyond,” celebrating the 125th anniversary of Wyoming’s statehood, which will be held in Laramie at the University of Wyoming’s Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center June 11-13, 2015.
 
Registration deadline is June 5, 2015. Full registration costs $150 for Wyoming State Historical Society members or certified local government representatives, and $175 for others. One-day registration for Thursday, Friday or Saturday is $60 per person. Registration forms, schedules and information about speakers can be found at http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/Preservation/HPPresentations.aspx.
 
Conference sponsors include the Wyoming State Historical Society, University of Wyoming Libraries, the UW American Heritage Center, the State Historic Preservation Office and the Wyoming Humanities Council.
 
Read more about it in “UW Conference Celebrates 125 Years of Wyoming Statehood” at http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2015/05/uw-conference-celebrates-125-years-o... or visit the “Our Place in the West” Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ourplaceinthewest.

Liz Byrd became first black woman in Wyoming’s Legislature

Cheyenne schoolteacher Harriett Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd, Wyoming’s first black woman legislator, served in the Wyoming House and Senate from 1981-1992. She concentrated on social justice issues, and nine times sponsored a bill to make Martin Luther King Day a state holiday before it was finally adopted in 1990. Read more in WyoHistory.org Assistant Editor Lori Van Pelt’s article “Liz Byrd, First Black Woman in Wyoming’s Legislature” at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/liz-byrd-first-black-woman-wyomin....

Wyoming legislators came to blows in 1913 

In 1913, members of the Wyoming House of Representatives—almost equally split between Democrats and Republicans—came to blows during a 45-minute fracas in the House chamber over who should serve as speaker. Learn more in historian Gregory Nickerson’s article “Riot at the 12th Wyoming Legislature: Fisticuffs on the House Floor” at http://www.wyohistory.org/essays/riot-12th-wyoming-legislature-fisticuff....

Lawyer Melville C. Brown had role in many historic cases 

Laramie lawyer M.C. Brown tried thousands of cases during his legal career. President William McKinley’s appointment of Brown to a federal judgeship in Alaska in 1900, however, proved disastrous for the attorney, who returned to Wyoming where he continued to practice law, but on a much smaller scale. Historian Kim Viner’s article “Wyoming Lawyer Melville C. Brown: A Man for his Time” provides more details at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/wyoming-lawyer-melville-c-brown-m....

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