Green River trip very informative

Hearing stories about the past is one thing, but to actually have a chance to see some artifacts from the past gives one a whole new perspective.

This was true for Deer Trail Assisted Living residents who ventured from Rock Springs to Green River Friday afternoon. Their destination -- the Sweetwater County Museum.

Connie Cudney, Deer Trail Life Enrichment Director, said Sweetwater County Museum representatives, including exhibits coordinator Dave Mead, were always visiting with the residents and sharing historical stories about the exhibits at the museum.

The residents decided they wanted to see just exactly what Mead was talking about.

Cudney said that is when Deer Trail employees decided to line up a field trip to the Sweetwater County Museum, so their residents could do just that.

Once the residents arrived at the museum, Mead was there to greet them and give them a quick presentation about what items were in the museum for them to see.

"Every significant trail came through here," Mead said.

This is maybe why Sweetwater County has so much history. He said the Pony Express also went through this county.

One topic Mead touched on is why Green River is the county seat. He said many people do not know the real history behind it. Originally, Sweetwater County was one fourth of Wyoming. He said Sweetwater County extended all the way from Sweetwater River to South Pass, where the original county seat was located.

"We always had a boom and bust even then," Mead said.

They moved the seat to Green River because of the railroad lines and Green River. Coal was just next door in Rock Springs, he said.

"Everybody in Rock Springs thinks they should carry the seat," he said.

Back then, representatives from South Pass and Green River argued back and forth about the county seat.

Mead said when South Pass was declared the county seat it was really booming, but like all booms it eventually went bust. South Pass didn't want to give up the county seat, but it had no choice.

Mead then pointed to one of the museum's collection, which was about the railroad history. Not only did they have all kinds of items from the trains, but one that stood out - it was a set of China that was from one of the train's dining cars.

Other artifacts Mead discussed included John Wesley Powell, ranching and sheep herding items, musical instruments for various eras of American entertainment, including a ventriloquist doll, a jukebox and a record player. 

Mead touched on another topic - how technology has changed over the years.

He explained how it used to be when he made a phone call. Mead said he would hurry up and go pick up the phone to call his friend in school only to hear the sound of his neighbor's voice.

He said back when he was young, there was only one line for the entire neighborhood so he would have to wait for his neighbors to finish their gossiping before he could call his friend.

Now, cellular phones are used for virtually everything, but calling anymore. Mead said they are a camera, a computer and a video game all rolled into one.

"It's even worse now because we don't know how to use those things," Deer Trail resident Jane Wilson said.

Mead thanked the group; and they dispersed to look at all of the interesting things Mead had discussed. Some of the residents had a hard time reading the print on the information provided, but others helped them out.

Information on the Chinese Massacre and exhibits about the coal mines were also on display. The visiting residents did not linger in front of the Chinese Massacre information, they did however, take much delight in looking at the fossilized palm tree that was found on a rock in Sweetwater County.

While looking at the items on display the residents would recall some of their past, whether it was happy or sad. One lady's whole day was made when she was able to locate a map in the gift shop showing the various trails used by settlers to travel across the United States. She said a relative of hers was one of the first white women to make it all the way to California. She had information about that trip, but never a map to go with it; and thanks to a trip to the museum she did. She was excited to add this map to her family history.

After their trip to the museum, the group had one more stop before leaving - Arctic Circle, where they had ice cream and visited about their trip.