Wolter’s Bakery bread truck to be on display at Annual Meeting

A bread truck dating back three generations and in the Casper community will be among the exhibits at the Wyoming Pioneer Association’s upcoming Annual Meeting. Truck owner Herman Wolter, grandson of the original truck owner also named Herman, will be receiving the award.

Mr. Herman A. Wolter immigrated to Casper, Wyoming from Germany in 1925. He went to work for United Bakers owned by Mr. Kamboris and operated from the back of a local grocery store. In 1934 Mr. Herman A. Wolter purchased the bakery from Mr. Kamboris and Wolter’s Backery was born. In 1943 the business began operating at 270 W. First Street in Casper.

When he purchased the bakery, Mr. Herman Wolter bought a 1934 Dodge panel truck for deliveries. In 1938 he bought another Dodge Humpback panel truck. In 1940 he traded the 1934 for a 1940 Dodge truck. As time passed, they kept the 1938 truck. The 1940 model was traded on for different trucks.

Fritz and Ernie, sons to Mr. Herman Wolter, inherited the bakery and the truck with the passing of their father in 1955 and their mother, Marie, in 1964. When Fritz died in 1972, Ernie called his nephew (also named Herman Wolter) and gave him the truck. Herman is the third generation to own the truck and has slowly made repairs and kept the truck in running condition. Herman plans to pass the car onto his daughter, Sue Carr, who will become the fourth generation owner.

Lance Creek History Preserved Through Miller’s Efforts

The guest register at Lance Creek, Wyoming’s museum includes the signatures of school children, locals, passersby, history enthusiasts and people with a connection to the community that was once a bustling hub for oil production.

“Lance Creek was on Hitler’s bombing list because of the amount of oil produced here,” says Tiffany Thurston. Her father, the late Pat Miller, opened the museum in 2008 and with the help of local families set to work growing the collections and preserving local history. While Miller passed away in 2017, his family remains committed to continuing the museum. Thurston, her mother Bev, and a couple of local historians, host school groups and visitors at the museum by appointment. The Wyoming Pioneer Association, recognizing their collective efforts, selected the museum as its 2020 Historic Restoration Award recipient.

Simultaneous to Thurston’s son participating in high school rodeos, past Vice President Dick Cheney’s granddaughter was competing. Upon meeting the former VP at one of the rodeos, Lance Creek was discussed. “He knew right where it was and recalled playing baseball here,” says Thurston. While today’s population sign reads only 43, the community is part of many family histories.

On March 13, 1918, according to an article by Rebecca Hein on WyoHistory.org, an oil well that produced 80 barrels in 24 hours was struck. “Seven months later, on Oct. 6, 1918,” she writes, “the Ohio drilled deeper and this time the well flowed at 1,500 barrels in the first 24 hours. This was recorded as the discovery well.”

The growth that ensued is well documented on the walls of the Lance Creek Museum. “A lady who grew up here and was a photographer took many of these pictures,” says Thurston. “Jack and Carolyn Hammond worked with my dad to identify the photographs.”

Oil derricks dot the skyline in many of the images. Clusters of Cottonwood trees, says Thurston, typically indicate the location of an oilfield camp. Relics within the museum share the story of ranching, rodeo, homesteading, and what could be a challenging life on Wyoming’s plains.

As a young man, Thurston says her dad worked for a time as a house mover. He put those skills to use relocating both a homestead house and a company house to the museum site. The homestead house, once occupied by a man called Scotty who emigrated to the area from Scotland, looks much as it would have when Scotty and his mother called the two-room building home.

Of the “company home” at the museum Thurston says, “There was no insulation. All of the gas you could want was piped right into the home and free. That is what was used to heat them.” Many homes across the community, including a couple of the Miller family’s ranch homes, are remodeled and expanded buildings that once arrived in the Lance Creek community as cookie cutter company homes.

Those who wish to tour the Lance Creek Museum are encouraged to contact Thurston at 307-334-3498 or 307-334-3151.

Jones Recognized For Restoration Of 1950s Model Chevrolets

“TEC1” reads the license plate on Frank Jones’ 1956 Chevrolet 150. The letters are the first initials from the names of his three children – Tammy, Eric and Cathy. The “1” signifies the first project in Jones’ 32 car collection featuring primarily model 1955, 1956 and 1957 Chevrolet cars. Jones’ work has earned him recognition by the Wyoming Pioneer Association’s 2021 Historic Restoration Award recipient.

“I started when I was in high school, playing around with them like everybody does,” says Frank who was raised on a ranch near Glendo and graduated from Glendo High School in 1959. He enlisted in the service, serving stateside for four years, before returning to Wyoming to attend law school. In 1967 he opened his law practice in Wheatland, Wyoming, raising his family there.

“I always liked them,” says Frank of the cars, noting that they are the cars of his generation, “but raising a family I never had time to work on them. In the early 1980s I decided I wanted to find a 1955 Chevy. I found a 1956 in Meeteetse. It didn’t really need restored. It was pretty much original, sitting in a calving shed with about the back third exposed.”

The ranch’s cow foreman, who signed the car over to the ranch prior to his death, ordered the car new from a dealership in Cody, Wyoming. Frank has the original title for the car that now has around 30,000 miles on it. “In the trunk was what I believe to be the original spare tire, and a set of chains. It was the most basic model you could buy. He was a smoker and the only thing extra on the car is the cigarette lighter. It has one sun visor and no armrest or radio,” says Frank. Some of the man’s belongings including a book of matches and two unspent rifle cartridges stamped with a 30, remain in the glove box. “We painted it and redid the interior. Other than that, the car is pretty much original.”

Following that first car, Frank’s passion for the Chevrolets took him to nearly every state across the region. A trip to Butte, Montana once resulted in several cars from a collector where a car was retrieved from a cellar-like dug-out. Another purchase required a chainsaw and the removal of a tree from the engine compartment before the car could be loaded.

According to Frank, the 1950s model cars came with trim packages including the most basic 150, the 210, and the fancier Bel Air and the Nomad. Examples of each model, plus a police car and an ambulance from the era, can be seen in the collection. “We do have three pickups,” says Frank, but the cars are his greatest interest.

Original colors, short a couple that Frank describes as horrible, and parts are typically retained when restoring the cars. “Surprisingly easy, “says Frank when asked how hard it is to find parts. Original parts, if they can be saved, tend to be of higher quality. “If you had a frame and enough money, you could pretty much build one of these cars.”

“The interiors are usually a mess and have to be replaced,” says Frank. Upholstery is ordered pre-sewn and stuffed and put in place at Frank’s shop near Wheatland. A shop employee aids with painting, mechanical and keeping the cars ready to roll. Frank does the electrical work.

In the yard surrounding Frank’s shop, around two dozen cars stand in a row. Some have been the source of parts, others are cars that just haven’t been restored. While Frank isn’t interested in selling any of his restored cars, numerous project cars are available.

If you see Frank on vacation, chances are he’ll be traveling in one of the classic cars. 2021 will mark the twenty-seventh year that he and a group of friends will take a portion of the cars to Deadwood, South Dakota for the Kool Deadwood Nites gathering. “We are going to take 25 cars this year and have a block of 30 rooms,” says Frank of the fun outing with friends. While Frank doesn’t enter car shows, he says he does enjoy seeing them going down the road. A pickup and 32-foot trailer accompany the group so a car can be loaded in case of a breakdown, but Frank says that has only happened once over the years.