lyndon b. johnson

Savino C. Lopez arrived in Cheyenne in 1943 after years as a farmer and labor organizer in New Mexico, Colorado, and South Dakota. In Wyoming, he founded and led a network of Latin American organizations that fought for civil rights and political recognition from 1948 until his death in 1978.

Wyomingites are well acquainted with the legendary stretch of Interstate 80 between Laramie and Walcott Junction. We have our own white-knuckle memories of that road or know of someone who has been caught in white-out conditions. This 77-mile stretch of Interstate 80 is notorious for fierce winter winds that blow the snow across the highway creating treacherous conditions.

With the question of Vietnam deeply dividing both parties, Democratic Senator Gale McGee of Wyoming was a leading hawk—strongly pro-war. At the same time, he strongly favored a U.S. Senate committed to civil discourse and compromise, where all sides had room to air their disagreements.