When Manus Hand was 9 years old in 1973, he noticed that many places — towns, cities, counties and townships — around the country shared the name of his home state, and he wondered where the word originated.
His father, James, a Laramie attorney, suggested he write to the postmasters in every "Wyoming" he’d located, and ask them what they thought.
It was a win-win for the youngster, his dad explained. He’d get the answers he wanted and also some neat postmarks for his stamp collection.
As it turned out, Manus' love of stamp collecting, American history and atlas reading would converge three years later for America's bicentennial to lead him on a nationide odyssey with his parents and five sisters that ultimately took him to the White House.
Manus, to his surprise, received friendly replies from everyone he wrote, plus information about the other Wyomings. There was no consensus, though, about the origin of the word.
As the nation’s 200th birthday drew closer, his dad had an idea to pitch to Wyoming’s Bicentennial Commission in Cheyenne.
The father-and-son team told the group that as a goodwill gesture the Equality State could make plaques that would convey Wyoming state citizenship to the residents of every other Wyoming.
And they’d be hand-delivered by Manus, whose first name actually is Latin for "hand" -- effectively making him Hand Hand. Manus describes it as an example of his father's finely honed sense of humor.
The Bicentennial Commission agreed to provide a grant of $1,200, if Manus could raise a matching amount for the trip. The elder Hand solved that problem, too.
Herschler Kicked In $1,200
“Dad just dragged me over to the other wing of the Capitol, straight to the governor’s office, and I did my presentation again,” Manus, now 62 and a professonal web designer in Parker, Colorado, told Cowboy State Daily.
Gov. Ed Herschler provided the matching $1,200 on the spot.
Word spread quickly about what was soon dubbed “The Wyoming Trip” as Manus gave newspapers in the state details about the project. He was at a friend’s house in Laramie when he saw Walter Cronkite talk about the upcoming event on the “CBS Evening News.”
Like most people, Hand remembered, America’s most trusted newsman mispronounced his name (it’s MAWN-us). Still, any publicity was good publicity.
On June 11, 1972, the Hand family packed into its station wagon with the appropriate “5-WYOS” license plate and headed for their first official stop in Wyoming, Minnesota. With two adults, six kids, luggage and boxes of plaques and other gifts to give to more than two dozen Wyomings, Manus said, “We were pretty danged packed.”
“My mother hated every minute of it,” he added, though she didn’t confess that until recently. Manus, a parent and grandparent now, understands: “Imagine what it’s like to have all six of your kids yelling and screaming.”
His parents wanted to keep a strict schedule, but their hopes were quickly dashed. If there’s a common thread to the 25-page journal about the trip compiled for the commission by Manus and his folks, it’s that something always made them late on every leg of the journey, especially car troubles and illnesses.
This wouldn’t have been much of a problem if Manus’ initial vision had come to fruition.
“I had no clue what we were in for, honest to God,” Manus said. “I just thought we’d say ‘hi' to the postmaster, hand them the plaque, and off we’d go to the next town.”
Royal Treatment
It didn’t happen that way. A call ahead of their Minnesota destination revealed there was already a TV news crew ready to interview Manus. When the car was near the city limits, a police escort directed them to a park where there was plenty of food to eat and a stage with singers and city officials.
This royal treatment continued when Manus was summoned to the stage and given a certificate signed by the governor of Minnesota, making him an honorary Minnesotan.
Then he was presented the key to the city by the mayor, who noted that Wyoming, Minnesota, had a big boating community where ships were manufactured. He gave Manus a 4-foot canoe paddle that is now on display at the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming, along with the nonedible gifts the family received.
The scene was repeated in nearly every place on their itinerary. Their station wagon remained full, its load lightened each ceremony only to be replaced by scrapbooks, flags, chocolates, cheese, and proclamations naming it “Manus Hand Day.”
“That was a total shock to me,” Manus said.
He recalled wearing his “little boy, lime green leisure suit” to every event. “I thought I looked pretty sharp,” he added, chuckling.
Manus said in addition to the honorary Wyoming citizenships, one of his important missions was to tell people about his state. He gave many press interviews, did question-and-answer sessions with audiences, and met with countless local officials.
As he traveled to Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts, there were other firsts. Included was his initial trip to Canada, where the family visited Wyoming, Ontario.
It was the first time he saw the Atlantic Ocean. The first time he ever heard a tornado siren was in Wyoming, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids with 70,000 people — more than any city in his state. Fortunately, the twisterthat landed that day only took out a few trees.
Running On Empty In Times Square
Then came New York City, where they became stuck in a huge Times Square traffic jam.
“We were just amazed to see a fire truck get on the sidewalk with sirens blazing because no one could get out of its way,” Manus said.
That happened, he added, about the time their car ran out of gas.
“All of the drivers around us were really pissed when they realized our car wasn’t going to be moving at all, Manus said.
He and his father jumped out of the car with a 5-gallon gas can, looking for a station.
“Nowadays that’s just crazy,” Manus said. “We left my mom and all these girls in the middle of New York City while we males took off.”
Once mobile again, Manus discovered they were only a few blocks from “the only store on the planet” devoted to selling “Star Trek” merchandise.
“It was a little hole-in-the-wall place, so it didn’t match my expectations,” he recalled. “But I was happy, I found a few things to add to my collection.”
Not every excursion was to see a Wyoming municipality or county. One stop was at Bath, Maine, where the “Wyoming” — the largest wooden schooner ever built — was constructed.
There was definitely a connection between the ship and the state of Wyoming. Gov. Joseph Carey was a major shareholder in the Percy and Smith shipbuilding company. The ship sank off Boston in the early 1900s, and the only thing that floated ashore was its “WYOMING” wooden nameplate.
Whirlwind D.C. Tour
The Hands packed a week’s worth of sightseeing in Washington, D.C., into a single day, thanks to a schedule arranged by Wyoming U.S. Sens. Cliff Hanson and Gale McGee. It started with a tour of the Capitol, where they watched the Senate in session.
Then it was on to the Library of Congress, where he and his father had a quest, according to his journal: “We talked our special guide into showing us how to find the January 1865 bill which first proposed the name of Wyoming for the territory which is now our state. Of all the books in that great library, the one we needed was mysteriously missing!”
At the then-new FBI Center, they had a long tour that ended with an agent giving what Manus described as an impressive shooting demonstration. Lunch was in the Capitol cafeteria, followed by a ride on the congressional tram through a tunnel, and a chance meeting where he posed for a photo with former Vice President Hubert Humphrey.
At the White House, the family had a V.I.P. guide who showed them the Rose Garden, the Red Room, the Crystal Room and the Gold Room before taking the group to the office of White House Chief of Staff Dick Cheney of Wyoming.
From Manus’ 50-year-old report: “Mr. Cheney is a very personable fellow (as all Wyomingites) and we enjoyed meeting him.” His mother knew the future vice president from when they both went to Natrona County High School in Casper.
“They had a class together, but she didn’t travel in the same circles that he did,” Manus said. “But she did have a double date once with Cheney and his future wife, Lynne.”
President Gerald Ford was busy handling an international crisis over the murder of an American ambassador in the Near East. But walking by the Oval Office, Manus said he caught a glimpse of the president at his desk reading a newspaper.
The rest of the day was spent visiting the Washington Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial and the Smithsonian.
Back in Laramie
Manus and his family were back in Laramie just in time for the Bicentennial.
“The strange thing is that the only memory I have of the actual day of July 4 is sitting in the front room of our Laramie home watching the much-hyped parade of wooden sailing ships in New York Harbor,” he said. “I’m sure that Laramie held a fireworks display and perhaps more, but I sadly don’t remember.”
Manus graduated from the University of Wyoming and became an internet pioneer and professional web designer. He created the first internet webzine, “The Diplomatic Pouch,” which is still devoted to his favorite hobby, playing Diplomacy, a strategic board game that requires players to negotiate and form and betray alliances with other players.
Manus proudly says he finished fifth in the Diplomacy world championship and was a member of the championship team.
His father created a special room in the basement, where all of the artifacts from “The Wyoming Trip” were displayed. When Manus’ parents decided to downsize and sell their house, they donated all of the room’s contents to the American Heritage Center.
“I’m really glad they did, and that it could be used for an exhibit that helps commemorate America’s 250th,” said Manus, who added that the honorary state citizenship he helped share with everyone he met is still valid, and when the State of Wyoming promised its “eternal friendship,” that's exactly what it meant.
Kerry Drake can be reached at: Kerry@CowboyStateDaily.com
