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PAGE FOUR PERCY H. SHALLENBERGER ONE OF BEST LOVED OF OL One-Time Resident of Casper Village, Now in Sheep Business at Lost Cabin, Writes Autobiography For The Tribune ‘There are many persor ing in N and w H. Shalle is of lit enjoy and ag to love in friend ember him nan but to so crave his compahionshi him is, indee ships. F as a re table ge occa: any After all days, hearts grand. dict And those tobfographical sketch ed in Casper on the even ember 9, 1895. One train from Chadron, Neb., and of the local freight nd day coach attached. Casper was even then a good town, put travel was light that day “Two r besides myself were the only passengers for Casper. After leav there were only The other three six on the tra were Mrs. DeForest Richards, her @aughter, Inez, and Mrs. Ed. David, bound for Douglas and Careyhurst They talked of the difficulties with oooks and of the high cost of living, Those are 1 engaging topics. “Miss Inez wished for a lend pencil. The ld find none in their hand ba Mrs. David told her in a low ce to ask me for one. She hesitated, whereupon Mrs. David said, “Go ahead and ask him, he won't bite you." Few can realize what a humilnation this was to me. Just then I was tryt acquire a fierceness of I had always been | termination and_ self-assertiveness. “I had resolved that when I stepped off tho train at Casper I would assume the alr of a bold bad bandit. I would cultivate ar rogan acity. Yet here Was a before I well over the line, writing my number down in her catalogue of the meek and lowly. She knew at a glance that I wouldn't bite. “Walking up Center street from the train I stoppe Joe Ford's barber shop for a shave. His son, Bobby, took me tn hand. As he drew the glittering steel across my pallied cheek he disengaged him- self from a tangled mass of infor mation. “He knew I was a stranger. He told me if I wanted to shine socially I should make haste to meet the Misses Lipson as they were so cfety’s queens. He grew fervid as he described how Miss L eould tear the “Mord Ww a" cut of the mahogany bosom of a Pianoforte. He told me that Mrs Will Madden was the best dancer fn town. He said Professor Daniels sould furnish nee music in the whole Further I 25 OES could get to board Barnett’s. over at Nell I would surely get some | swell meals; if I wanted to buy nifty togs he advised me to go © Culver at Metcalf’s store, as to I Lee was a tasty dresser and knew what to buy. As a vocal com- pendium of valuable information Bobby had the largest city directory ng like a Sunday school leaflet. “A month's sojourn in the town sufficed to show me that Bobby's information was not only exhaustive but accurate. Some persons have tten of Casper as a dead town oll boom came. Others of it as a little cow ver was a cow town. » haleyon days of the cow bust- ness possing when Casper She was the center of the industry in central Wyoming always a goed, live town. she was surpassed in nly by Cheyenne and 1d she was a livelier un either of them. was only one thing the 1. That was a swell player. I was hurrying ward to supply that de f y. C. H. Townsend was one of the organizers of the local band and he was endeavoring to get to- gether en aggregation of world beaters. T had written to him that I was in a class with Jules Levy and Walter L. Clark. He offered to assist me to get some sort of honest employment in the town. He was very kind and helpful to me but 1 1 were started was finally obliged to take a job in a bank “I went to work for W. A. Deneche and company, a bank with $5,000 capital. The other bank in the town, that of Richards & Cun- ningham, groaned under the same ation. “I did all the work in this bank without any assistance for years. This included washing the windows and scrubbing the floor. I also kept the stcre books of the allied firm of N. S. Bristol and com- pany. I often clerked in this store mornings and nights. Bookkeeping methods were those that belonged to the days of top buggies and kero sene lamps. The monthly bills were 1 written and fn long kand. The lave commenced on them about the fifteenth of the month and kept in high until the end, adding to them each day. As an appreciation of your services in making out these bills you were also permitted to col- lect them. “I was first paid $60 a month. I was later raised to $75 and when I quit had reached the apex of $100. I had several side lines beside my bank and store work. For a time I was city clerki I also filled out the term of Frank Bull as county treasurer, doing this work after four o'clock of each day. One sum- mer I did the office work at the old refinery while Dr, Salathe was in Europe. “I attended two band practices a week; I played the organ in the Methodist or Catholic churches and etimes in both. That forced me attend choir rehearsals. I gave piano lessons every working and four on Sunday. I was spe- cial writer and trouble-brewer for the two newspapers of the town, ‘The Natrona Tribune and The Wyo- ming Derrick. Any spare time I two da it Pays in the End to Buy the Best ! And there’s no end of paying when you don’t buy the best! IIS is especially so in respect to roofing. Ap Such a good or roof eats up money in maintenance le a good roof eats up the years at roof is composed of FLEXSTONE ASBESTOS SHINGLBS AJohns-Manville Shingle at a Popular Price Surfaced with a red, green or blue-black crushed slate or with feldspar (gray), or refinishing, made of asbe: price In , and never will. os rock fibre, these shingles resist fire nd the elements as no other roofing can, at the they need no painting Because they are ist on Flexstone Asbestos Shingles and it 1 be the best investment you ever made in your You can take our word for that. and further details drop in, write or - Asbestos Roofing & Insulating Co. 237 East First Street Phone 2087 five | D PIONEERS had was devoted to borrowing money to run our sheep or to romp- ing with the girls. “It 1s with some hesitation that I add to the lst of my activities a mention of my career as Casper's sole vaudeville entertainer of that time. I put on numerous shows in which I appeared -as vocalist, pianist, reciter and classic dancer, featuring the, Dance of the Seven Vells—one for each day in the week. I usually started my offensive in the early autumn, pushing the same with vigor until the heat of summer put an end to the carnage. It is small wonder that there was a uni- versal addiction to strong drink. ‘The thirteen saloons had formerly been @ comfort and a solace. I made them a necessity. ‘The bank was the only place where I could rehearse these pro- grams and familiarize myself with the technique of contemplated crime. One evening a passerby, hearing my theatrical gaspings and screams, gave an alarm that the bank was |being robbed. ‘The privacy of re- |hearsal was broken by a valiant and |heavily armed populace. “Casper hed many saloons and open gambling houses but never de- served the name of a tough town. [It was a town full of good people, orderly, alert and progressive. Most of the professional gamblers were gentlemen, quiet and companionable. ‘They were not noisy either in their conversation or attire. I was one of the few men fn the town who never took a drink yet no one ever tried to force one on me, nor did I meet with a word of ridicule or in- solence because of it. Business took me to the saloons in day and curiosity at night. Saloon keepers and bartenders were as courteous to me as if I had been their best cus- tomer. “When I came to Casper I was a stranger to all. No one was obli gated to me either by blood or in- terest, yet I was treated by every one with the greatest kindness and |hospitality during the many years I lived there. I don't think I shall live to forget it. “The sheep trade was the main- stay of the business houses in Casper jin those days. A mere list of the sheepmen on the books of N. S. | Bristol company when I came there may interest many. There was Tom Hood, Dan Ralston, Joseph W. Moore, Leigh Kerfoot, B. Conk lin, Charles K, Bucknum, Hackett Brothers, Lew Gantz, Henry Hay- worth, Dermot D. Crum, Kieran Murray and Joo Ja: “In 1898 Thomas Cooper and my: self formed a partnership and bought 1,200 Oregon ewes from Car son Adams who had trailed them in from that state. Tom took charge of the sheep and I remained at my work in the bank that we might have a little ready money for ex- penses. We later filled out the herd by taking on shares the sheep of Mrs, Minnie Vedden, A great deal of private money Che Casper Sundap Cribune was loaned in Casper in those days. Cooper and I borrowed most of ours from C. H. King and Jim Nelson. We have reason to be grateful to these gentlemen for their kindness and confidence. In August, 1900, I went to Lost Cabin to work for J. B. Okie. Tom Cooper still ran the sheep. He was to have $60 a month. My half of this I was to pay him in cash monthly out of my wages and I recall that my instruc- tions were usualy to send this $30 to hls mother and sisters in Doug'as. If he had any money to spend he got it by picking wool or trapping an occasional coyote. “Since then I have had four other partners in the sheep business, Carl Shumaker, Thomas Elliot, H, M. Johnson and Frank Rate. Some one has said that the devil made part- nerships, I have not found it so. These five partners are still about the five best friends I have. The sheep business is full of vexations and unexpected losses, but I have many pleasant memories of {t and of the men who have been associated with me in it. “I stood behind bank counters for 17 years. Much praise fs due the early banks of Casper for their steadfast and determined assistance to the sheep men of that day. Sheep loans were nominally due in the spring and fall, but they were never paid in thelr entirety. A man paid what he could and the balance was extended indefinitely, Risks were taken that no eastern bank would have considered. If the man on the range was staying with his sheep and keeping reasonably sober his bank would not desert him. The banks practically staked many young fellows to a band of sheep and put up the expenses where they had made a record on the range for industry and saving. We went through many hard winters and eras of low prices, but no sheep- man was ever forced out of the buisness. “I never worked in the Casper National Bank, but always for its competitors. This, however, did not blind me to the fact that A. J. Cun- ningham was entitled to much honor and praise for his help and conti- dence in the sheep industry in Natrona county in those early days. It is to be hoped that those who look back upon his help and trust through the mists of 80 years, are not unappreciative. “I was in the employ of J. B. Okie for a total of eight and a half years. Three of these years were spent at his store at Moneta. Moneta now seems to moe the dear- est of “tank towns,” yet my stay there was singularly pleasant. This was largely due to my association with A, R. White in that store and to the good meals and many unpaid for courtesies handed out by Adolph Hanson, then the owner of the town, “I hve met many men and women in Wyoming who enjoyed reputa- tions lurid enough to fit into the bloodiest and wildest western novel. But to me they all seemed disap- pointingly quiet and decent. Among them were train robbers, bank rob- bers, murderers, wife-beaters, cattle thieves, horse thieves, shell men, na b (Fim faro-dealers, ‘a ahvwa isdot-Rr wild women, red-light long and list-making piano thumpers, round-up cooks and saxophone players. ‘i “Meeting all these desperate characters un-professionally they seemed to me to be very mild and modest. We all have varying stand ards of morality, My early train ing and vocations had been such that any man looked good to me who peid his grocery bill promptly the red. I did not care {f he occas- To them I can only say that I have a remarkably good memory and constantly exerciso it.” Bathing Costume Of Rubber Worn and kept Wis bank acocunt out cl By “Miss Akron” jonally robbed a train, killed a cow- boy with a skillet, or put the shell- game over on a sheep herder. man {gs utterly depraved. Most crimes are due to booze or to a weakness of Intellect rather than to any settled schedule of villiany, “Some readers would deem this sketch weak and insipid without a mention of some one of the horrible crimes which spot the pages of our early annals. For lovers of the sensational and those who find a srewaome pleasure in the horrble and the atrocious I will say that the most cruel, hardened and depraved wretch I ever knew in the state of Wyoming was a man who slept on the floor of the store at Lost Cabin one night with myself and five others. He squirted tobacco juice heavenward throughout that long, | long night. He spit at the ceiling but it fell alike on the covered and on the uricovered. He put on a|/ colorful imitation of the Old Faith-| ful geyser. He did not attempt to! reach us by direct fire but his mouth | worked on the style of a German howitzer, Hig trajectory described a high curve. Since that dark night of terror I, even as a sheepman, have had @ prejudice against nico- tine dips. | “For the sake of the record I will say that I worked five years for! W. A, Deneche and company, two years in the Stockmen’s National bank, one year as deputy county clerk for M. P, Wheeler, and eight! years for J. B, Okle. Since 1914 I have lved on the ranch formerly owned by Joseph W. Moore on Bridger creek nar. Lost Cabin. This {a one of the oldest ranches tn the vicinity, For many years :t was stage station on the road from Casper to Thermopolis. “I have an inherited taste for agriculture. Farming is not re- munerative but my tastes are sim- ple and my wants are few. I am fond of my animals and find pleas- ure in my gardens, The cattle mar- ket may take @ slump but if a new dahlia comes into bloom I can for-| get it. “I can lose the cares of a jarring ay in the pages of a good book at nightfall, My Iterary enjoyments range from Raulelgh’s Almanac to The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a’Kempis, iy parents put $50 into my mu sical education; I have checked out a million dollars worth of pleasure | from that bank. I can work an irrigation shuvel all day and still play the plano at night® Sir Francis Bacon wisely said that ‘he is happy whose nature sorts with his voca- tion.’ | “In conclusion I would lke to| make a list of the many friends in Natrona county who by thelr hos- pitality, appreciation and kindnesi taught me to like the state of Wyo ming. But the list would be too is invidious. Captive Sunlight—at Your Service Day or Night Imagine that you were able to capture the sunlight — bottle it up and use it wherever and whenever you wanted it. What wonderful comfort it would be to use this captive sunlight in your fireplace—in those chilly bedrooms before retiring and when you want quick warmth in the morning—to have it handy when the furnace goes out or when the fire is low. Don’t wish for captive sunlight. Have it. You get the same pure, wholesome, satisfying heat from a Radiantfire that you get from the sun. 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