Dear editor:
This is in response to recent articles about the Wyoming Historical Society.
As a long-time member and past president, I am one of those who received a “Formal Cease and Desist” letter from the society, because I joined with others to question what is transpiring within the society.
I and others were threatened with legal action, because what we wrote “could be construed as libelous, slanderous, and defamatory in nature.”
At the end of the letter, it added “We hope that our professional relationship can continue to remain respectful and constructive.” Strangely, I do not feel respected.
Also, I mailed my renewal check in July 2024, and it took months for it to be cashed. This has happened to many others.
It was good to know (in reading the first article, that the fault for delay was because of “the mail.”) Yet more excuses and a ploy by the current executive director to blame others.
I became a member of the then called Wyoming State Historical Society in 1982. Throughout that time, I served as treasurer and four years as president.
I also edited the state historical journal, Annals of Wyoming, more than 20 annual Wyoming History calendars, and served as the Wyoming History Day coordinator for five years and supervised the educational program for many more.
Twenty times I escorted Wyoming History Day students from across the state to the national contest at the University of Maryland.
Ann Noble, president of the Wyoming Historical Foundation, and referenced in the first of two Cowboy State Daily articles, is an author and has dedicated herself to the study of Wyoming history.
She is from Sublette County, and besides being a noted historian, she is also a rancher and small business owner. Throughout her career she has served on statewide boards and committees, many dealing with the history of the state.
According to Ann, she is dedicated “to giving voice to other people’s stories — stories that would otherwise never be told — is my driving passion.”
Also mentioned in the first story is Leslie Waggener, another past president of the Wyoming Historical Society and one who has accomplished splendid work in studying and preserving the history of Wyoming.
She is a faculty member at the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming and is the archivist for the Alan K. Simpson Institute for Western Politics and Leadership.
She is an expert oral historian and has designed and led several important oral history projects at the center.
Two of them are “Wyoming Energy Boom, Sublette County Natural Gas Oral History Project, 1974–2014,” and “Wyoming Energy Boom Niobrara Oil Play Oral History Project, 2011–2014.”
Also an author, she published an exhaustive and outstanding article about the second Ku Klux Klan in Wyoming in Annals of Wyoming.
Linda Fabian, also included in the article, has contributed decades to the well-being of the society. Like mine, her membership also dates to 1982. Linda served as board secretary and president of the organization. She served as Wyoming History Day coordinator and escorted hundreds of Wyoming students to the National History Day contest.
For many years Linda was the Executive Secretary and then Director of the Society and edited “Wyoming History News.” She is a notable example of what an outstanding leader of an organization does.
Linda led by example, making it clear to everyone the importance of the study and preservation of Wyoming history and assisting in any way she could to benefit the WHS and its members to ensure that it was always productive and an important part of the study of the state’s history.
Unlike current society leadership, Linda never would have considered leading by division and threats.
Finally, I would be remiss in not mentioning Lucille Dumbrill, referenced in the first story as the 96-year-old historian (Lucille is now 97).
Her contributions and dedication to the society and the study and promotion of Wyoming history are endless. There are so many I could mention.
One effort of hers, which to me is so important, was her idea to create an endowment for Wyoming History Day in 1990.
Her efforts and those of her late husband, Dick, led to a substantial endowment designed to support many Wyoming students in grades six through 12 in their study of Wyoming history and history in general.
Ann, Leslie, Lucille and Linda are only a few of the members who have been instrumental in the long history of the Wyoming Historical Society and yet, are now outcasts and who also have received “Formal Cease and Desist” letters.
In my estimation, these are the ones who have contributed for decades to the society and have done amazing things to study and preserve the history of Wyoming. Of course, there are many others who deserve mention for their roles in the society since the 1950s.
To conclude, let me ask the following: To the current Executive Committee members and the current executive director, what have you done to advance the study of Wyoming history and build unity in the society, instead of ripping apart this member-driven organization and stripping those very members of any voice in their society?
By asking such a question I am tempting fate and might receive another “Formal Cease and Desist” letter, but I am willing to chance it!
Sincerely,
Rick Ewig
