2. Page 2
DayWeather Time, Temperature and Weather Forecast Line
632-5555Forecast frequently updatedAccurate, GPS time
burchettpubl.tidbits1@bresnan.net
All the news you never knew you never needed to know
Phone 307-632-7360
Fax 307-773-8654
1102 Crescent Dr.
Cheyenne, WY 82007
Published by Burchett Publishing Co. LLC
Contact for advertising or distribution information
DONNA’S DAY:
CREATIVE FAMILY FUN
By Donna Erickson
Repurpose Bottles for Earth Day Fun
This spring, as we near Earth Day on April 22, the
thought hits me how I’m actually very grateful for
recycling and the way my family, the neighborhood and
our city has embraced it. It was so difficult when we
started out, wasn’t it? But now, we do it as second nature.
I’m not sure if the world turns a little easier because I
no longer toss soup cans, pickle jars and newspapers into
the garbage bin. But the idea of recycling makes sense,
because it causes each of us, as members of families
and the larger community, to be responsible for what we
consume.
When we’re not sorting the recycled items for curbside
pickup, we’re scrubbing them out to be reused and
repurposed. If it’s a plastic deli tub, it may end up in a
lunch bag as a veggie container. A half-gallon milk carton
is easily transformed into a bird feeder, and cardboard egg
cups are perfect compartments for growing seedlings that
will be transplanted into the summer garden.
And then there are all those clear plastic bottles that juice,
peanuts and flavored waters come in. Peel off the labels,
wash them inside and out, and make some fun! Here are
some quick magnetic attractions that will captivate your
preschoolers.
FIREWORKS
Cut up brightly colored pipe cleaners into 1- or 2-inch
pieces and drop them inside a bottle. Twist and glue the
cap on tightly. Find a magnet in your toolbox (or pick
one up at your local hardware store) and let your child
discover the fun of moving the inside pieces around with
a magnet from the outside of the bottle. Sometimes the
pipe cleaner bits connect in clusters that burst out like
fireworks.
HIDE AND SEEK
Fill a bottle two-thirds with uncooked rice. Toss in several
metal paper clips. Twist and glue the cap on tightly. Shake
so that the paper clips hide within the rice. Move a magnet
around the outside of the bottle, twisting and turning it
slightly. The paper clips will come out of the rice as they
are attracted to the magnet. Drag the magnet this way and
that, and challenge your child to collect them all.
***
Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day”
is airing on public television nationwide. To find more
of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.
donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day
Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s
Fabulous Funstuff for Families.”
(c) 2015 Donna Erickson
Distributed by King Features Synd.
3. Page 3
Turn to page 4 for more Tidbits!
Cheyenne Audubon Field Trip - April 25 - 8
a.m. - Pawnee Buttes - Members of the
Cheyenne - High Plains Audubon Society will
lead a free birdwatching field trip to Pawnee
Buttes National Grasslands. Participants will
leave at 8 a.m. from the parking lot in Lions
Park, south of the Children’s Village, by the old
Community House and Beach House. Carpooling
may be available. The grasslands are about
1.5 hours southeast of Cheyenne. The trip
is open-ended so participants with their own
transportation may return at any time. Bring
water, lunch, binoculars and clothing for a wide
range of spring weather. Call Elizabeth Thums,
649-2477 for questions or to be on the contact
list for notification of any changes in plans due to
weather.
Thankful Thursdays - Every Thursday from
4:30 to 9 p.m. - Redwood Lounge - A different
local charity is featured each week. Come
learn more about a local organization, enjoy
the fun and enter to win cash and prizes. Over
$500,000 has been raised so far.
Seeking table captains for the Boys & Girls
Club’s Back A Kid Breakfast! The big day is
May 12. Be a table captain and invite seven
friends or family members to join you for
breakfast. Our keynote speaker is Keni Thomas.
Keni is an author, musician and the inspiration
for the movie Black Hawk Down. During 2015,
we plan to double the number of kids who
attend the Club. Each week, new kids are
attending the Club so they can be at a safe place
with supportive mentors who help them with
homework, teach them leadership skills, and
how to choose a healthy lifestyle all while having
fun. There are so many kids who need your
support! Call 778-6674 for information.
Tuesday Figure Drawing Class - Tuesday
evenings - 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. - Art Corner
Co-Op, 1726 Capitol Avenue - Sharpen your
skills in a fun and supportive group. $15.
Learn the Harp - A new community group is
being formed for those wanting to learn the harp.
Sponsored by Niemann Music. For information,
call 637-5222.
If your organization has an event you would like to have
published here, please contact us. Space is limited but we
will make every effort to list special events. Please send your
information no later than 14 days prior to the event.
Email: burchettpubl.tidbits1@bresnan.net
• J.C. Penney lost nearly all his personal
wealth in the 1929 stock market crash, but
borrowed against his life insurance policies
to make payroll until he could recover the
company. By 1941, there were 1,600 stores
in all 48 states. Penney’s introduced their
own credit card in 1959. At their peak in
1973, the company operated 2,053 stores.
Today, that number is 1,107. The original
“mother store” in Kemmerer is still in
operation, and has been declared a National
Historic Landmark.
• The J.C. Penney Company motto
was, “Honor, Confidence, Service, and
Cooperation.”
• J.C. Penney built Anchorage, Alaska’s
first public parking garage in 1968, following
the destruction of their store in the 1964
earthquake there.
• Nordstrom’s started out as a small shoe
store in Seattle, Washington, in 1901. John
Nordstrom had emigrated to the United States
from Sweden in 1887 at age 16, arriving with
$5 in his pocket. Although he didn’t know a
single word of English, he managed to work
his way to Seattle. In 1897, he headed north
to Alaska to search for gold. Two years later,
Nordstrom returned to Seattle, $13,000
richer. He partnered up with a shoemaker he
had met in the Klondike, and the pair opened
Wallin & Nordstrom in 1901, with first day
sales of $12.50. Within four years, annual
sales had increased to $80,000. In 1923,
they opened a second Seattle store. By 1929,
both Wallin and Nordstrom had retired and
sold their shares to Nordstrom’s sons.
• By 1960, Seattle’s downtown Nordstrom’s
shoe store was the largest shoe store in
America, and there were eight locations
4. Page 4
Turn to page 7 for more Tidbits!
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
A cookie jar just isn’t well-stocked unless there’s
something chocolate in it. This one’s for people
who like a little decadence in their afternoon
snack.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks), softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch
chunks
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease large cookie
sheet.
2. On waxed paper, combine flour, baking soda
and salt.
3. In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed,
beat butter and sugars until creamy, occasionally
scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Beat in vanilla,
then eggs, one at a time, beating well after each
addition. At low speed, gradually add flour
mixture; beat just until blended, occasionally
scraping bowl. With spoon, stir in chocolate and
walnuts.
4. Drop cookies by heaping measuring
tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie
sheet. Bake cookies 10 to 11 minutes or until
lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire rack to
cool. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about
3 dozen cookies.
* Each cookie: About 170 calorie, 10g total fat (5g
saturated), 3g protein, 19g carbohydrate, 1g fiber,
26mg cholesterol, 130mg sodium.
For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our
website at www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/.
(c) 2015 Hearst Communications, Inc. All rights reserved
DOLLARS AND SENSE
By David Uffington
“Promposals”
Don’t Come Cheap
Not long ago, a high-school kid would ask his
favorite girl to the prom. She’d say yes, then
the expensive parts would start ... limo, dinner,
flowers, tickets, tux or dress, pictures, after-party.
Now the simple act of inviting has risen to the
level of a marriage proposal, complete with all
the hoopla and expense. Visa’s annual survey
says that just asking someone to the prom will
average $324 this year, approximately one-third
of the $919 total cost.
A Google search for “promposals” reveals
447,000 results. On Twitter, @ThePromposal
has over 24,000 followers, many of whom have
attached a photo or video showing how they
did it. Sometimes the request is written inside
the lid of a pizza box. Others are as simple as a
cake with “Prom?” in the icing. More expensive
proposals include rented restaurant signs,
highway billboards, even Jumbotrons.
Spending on a promposal and the prom isn’t
equal across the country.
In the South, promposals will average $305,
with the prom itself costing $544, totaling $937.
In the Midwest, those figures are $218 and $515,
for a total of $733.
In the Northeast, promposal will average $431,
with prom costing $738, for a total of $1,169.
Out West, they’re looking at $342 and $596, for
a total of $937.
Most disturbing, however, is the incomes
of families handing over these amounts. In a
family with an income under $50,000, cost of
prom and promposal will average $1,109. Under
$25,000, and the family will spend an extreme
$1,393. But those making over $50,000 will
spend only $799.
With parents expecting to pay 73 percent of
the costs, teens don’t have much incentive to
cut expenses. The free Plan’it Prom app helps
students and parents make and stick to a budget
for the prom (or any other event) by tracking
spending as they shop. Look for it on iTunes,
Google Play store or www.practicalmoneyskills.
com/prom. The app has timeline, budget and
cost-cutting tips. It’s worth considering.
(c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.
in Washington and Oregon. In 1963, the
company branched out into the women’s
clothing business. Today, the fourth
generation of the Nordstrom family heads up
the company. From its humble beginnings of
one small shoe store, Nordstrom’s operates
289 stores in 38 U.S. states and one in
Canada, with annual sales exceeding $12
billion.
• Kohl’s didn’t start out as a department
store. The first Kohl’s was a Wisconsin
supermarket, founded by Maxwell Kohl in
1946. In 1962, his chain was the largest
of its kind in the Milwaukee area, and Kohl
branched out, opening his first department
store in Brookfield, Wisconsin, in 1962. It
is now America’s largest department store
chain, (having surpassed J.C. Penney in
2012), operating stores in 49 states.
• Aaron Montgomery Ward launched the
nation’s first mail order business with a
catalog of 163 items in 1872, a full 16 years
before the Sears catalog appeared. By 1904,
Ward was mailing a 4-lb. (1.8-kg) catalog
to three million customers. He started his
business in the loft of a Chicago livery stable,
with $1,600 he and two partners had saved.
• Sears represented serious competition,
and overtook Ward’s sales in 1900 with $10
million in sales compared to Ward’s $8.7
million. Sales had dramatically slipped by
the 1960s and 1970s, and in 1985, after 113
years, the catalog division was closed. Today
the Montgomery Ward brand is owned by
Swiss Colony, Inc.
• A Montgomery Ward’s staff copywriter
was responsible for the creation of Rudolph,
6. Page 6
English High Tea at the Nagle Warren Mansion every
Friday and Saturday, seating at 1:30 and 3:40 p.m. For
reservations call 637-3333.
Municipal Pool and Spray Park - Daily - Hours vary
between 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. - Visit CheyenneCity.org or
call 637-6455 for information.
Cheyenne Botanic Gardens - Monday through Friday -
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday - 11 a.m. to
3:30 p.m. Call 637-6458.
Cheyenne Ice & Events Center - Ice skating, laser tag and
video games. Monday to Thursday - 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.,
Friday and Saturday - 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday - Noon
to 8 p.m. - 1530 W. Lincolnway. Visit CheyenneCity.org or
call 433-0024 for information.
Bingo
Am. Legion 635-7213
Bingo AMVETS 632-2999
Grandma’s Pickle Parlor 637-3614
Movie Theaters
Frontier Nine 634-9499
Lincoln Palace 637-7469
Capitol 12 638-SHOW
Country Western Dancing
Redwood Lounge 635-9096
Outlaw Saloon 635-7552
Top 40 Music
Crown Underground 778-9202
Governor’s Residence Tours - Free - 5001 Central Avenue -
Tuesday through Thursday - 9 a.m. to Noon. Call
777-7398.
Visit the Famous Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West
Museum - Monday through Friday - 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 778-7290.
Terry Bison Ranch - Daily tours to the bison herd and
horseback rides. Sunday lunch train includes meal on
old-fashioned dining car (reservations needed). Call for
departure times: 634-4171.
Cheyenne Depot Museum - A National Landmark with
railroad history exhibits and gift shop. Monday through
Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday - 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call
638-6338.
Big Boy Steam Engine 4004 - Worlds largest steam
locomotive. Located in Holliday Park.
Wyoming State Museum - Monday through Saturday - 9
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Free exhibit of Wyoming history. Call
777-7022.
If your organization has an event you would like to have published here,
please contact us. Space is limited but we will make every effort to list
special events. Please send your information
no later than 14 days prior to the event.
Email: burchettpubl.tidbits1@bresnan.net
Million Dollar Quartet - April 15 - 7:30 p.m. -
Cheyenne Civic Center - This musical is
inspired by the famed recording session that
brought together rock ‘n’ roll icons Elvis Presley,
Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins
for the first and only time. For information,
contact cheyenneciviccenter.org or 637-6363.
Thankful Thursday: Grace For 2 Brothers -
April 16 - 4:30 to 7 p.m. - Redwood Lounge -
Join the fun and raise money for wonderful
causes! Also, leave each event a winner.
Giveaways, drinks and a good time every
Thursday! This week’s Thankful Thursday will
be raising money for the Grace for 2 Brothers.
An educational organization, dedicated to
the advocacy of suicide prevention through
awareness and education.
Chocolate Indulgence - April 17 - 6 to 9 p.m. -
Little America - Attendees will judge the nine
competitors’ chocolate samplings and will be
treated to other chocolate offerings. Silent
auction and live entertainment throughout the
evening. Proceeds of the event benefitting
numerous youth programs in Cheyenne.
Tickets are available Niemann Music, Bouquets
Unlimited, Wyoming Trophy & Engraving and the
Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce. $15.
Western Spirit Art Show and Sale - Through
April 19 - Old West Museum - Over 100 artists
from across the Western U.S. with 300 pieces of
original Western art, including oil, bronze, pastel,
watercolor, ceramic, photography, printmaking,
mixed media and pencil pieces. Art sales
support year-round arts and education programs
at the CFD Old West Museum.
Cheyenne ActivitiesUpcoming Events
• On April 29, 1429, 17-year-old French peasant Joan of Arc
leads a French force in relieving the city of Orleans, besieged by
the English. At the age of 16, “voices” of Christian saints told
Joan to aid Charles, the French dauphin, in expelling the English
from France.
• On April 27, 1805, in North Africa, a small force of U.S.
Marines marches against Tripoli’s port city of Derna to depose
the ruling pasha. The phrase “to the shores of Tripoli,” from
the official song of the U.S. Marine Corps, has its origins in the
Derna campaign.
• On April 28, 1916, Ferruccio Lamborghini, the founder of the
company that bears his name, is born in Italy. After experiencing
mechanical difficulties with a Ferrari, Lamborghini decided to
start his own rival sports-car company, even hiring a former
Ferrari engineer.
• On May 3, 1933, James Brown is born. Known as “The
Godfather of Soul,” Brown honed his musical talents in prison,
where he was to serve 8-16 years for stealing at the age of 15.
The Georgia parole board was impressed enough to release him
after only three years.
• On April 30, 1945, holed up in a bunker under his
headquarters in Berlin, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler commits suicide
by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the
head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the
Allied forces.
• On May 1, 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower proclaims Law
Day to honor the role of law in the creation of the United States
of America, followed by Congress passing a joint resolution
establishing May 1 as Law Day. The idea of a Law Day had first
been proposed in 1957 by the American Bar Association.
• On May 2, 1972, after nearly five decades as director of the
FBI, J. Edgar Hoover dies. By 1921, the former librarian had
amassed a list of 450,000 radical leaders, organizations and
publications in the United States. By 1969, Congress had grown
suspicious that the FBI might be abusing its authority and passed
laws limiting the tenure of future FBI directors to 10 years.
(c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.
Chess Live Music
Laramie County Library - Wednesdays - 4:15 p.m. -
All skill levels - Call 634-3561
Godfather’s Pizza - Thursdays - 6:30 p.m. -
All Skill levels - Call 634-5222
The Bunkhouse - Friday and Saturday - 7 to 10 p.m.
Drunken Skunk - Friday and Saturday - 9 p.m.
The Crown Bar - Friday - 7 p.m.
Outlaw Saloon - Nightly - 8 p.m.
The Paramount Cafe - Saturday - 7 p.m.
DJ Music
Scooter’s Scoreboard - Friday - 9 p.m.
Cadillac Ranch - Friday and Saturday - 9 p.m.
Tuskers - Saturday - 8 p.m.
The Crown Underground - Daily - 9 p.m.
7. Page 7
http://www.tidbitsmedia.com
• It was 20th-century American author and motivational
speaker Leo Buscaglia who made the following sage
observation: “Never idealize others. They will never live
up to your expectations.”
• If you’re planning a visit to the Netherlands, try to
make time for a stop in Giethoorn. This village has no
roads; its buildings are connected entirely by footbridges
and canals.
• According to the Global Language Monitor, every 98
minutes a new word is created somewhere in the world.
• You could be forgiven if you’ve never heard of Pope
Formosus, but the details of his career are fascinating.
In 872, while serving as Cardinal Bishop of Portus, he
was a candidate for the papacy, but due to some political
issues, he left Rome later that year. Pope John VIII
ordered Formosus’ excommunication for, among other
things, deserting his diocese without papal permission,
despoiling the cloisters in Rome and conspiring with
“certain iniquitous men and women for the destruction
of the papal see.” The excommunication was lifted in
878, but Formosus had to agree never to return to Rome
or exercise his priestly functions. This would seem to
be a career-killer, but in 883, Pope Marinus I restored
the disgraced cardinal to his diocese. Finally, in 891,
Formosus’ rehabilitation was complete, when he was
unanimously elected to succeed Pope Stephen V.
• Neil Armstrong may have been the first human to
walk on the moon, but Buzz Aldrin was the first to
urinate there (using the system built into his space suit,
of course).
• Most people, upon seeing a bunch of deer together,
would call it a herd; however, you also could call the
group a bunch, a mob, a parcel or a rangale.
***
Thought for the Day: “All progress has resulted
from people who took unpopular positions.” -- Adlai
Stevenson
(c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.
the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Each year at
Christmas, the chain gave away children’s
coloring books to customers. In 1939,
they wanted something new, an original
Christmas storybook. Copywriter Robert May
was asked to come up with a story, and
“Rudolph” was the result. Two million copies
were given to Ward’s customers that year. It
wasn’t until 10 years later that May’s brother-
in-law Johnny Marks set the story to music.
In 1949, singing cowboy Gene Autry, made
it the second most popular Christmas song in
history, second only to “White Christmas.”
• Barney Pressman opened his first store
in Manhattan with $500 he received from
pawning his wife’s engagement ring. The
Pressman family retained a small percentage
of the luxury store Barney’s until 2004,
when, $500 million in debt, they sold out to
a Dubai-based company
• It should be no surprise that Walmart is
the #1 retailer in America. Oklahoma-born
Sam Walton went to work at a Des Moines,
Iowa J.C. Penney store as a management
trainee at age 22, just three days after his
college graduation. Earning $75 a month,
Walton stayed about 18 months before his
World War II military service. After the war,
he borrowed $20,000 from his father-in-
law and purchased a Ben Franklin variety
store in Newport, Arkansas. By the early
1960s, Walton and his brother owned 15
Ben Franklin stores. In 1962, Walton opened
his first Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas.
Five years later, the family owned 24 stores,
with $12.7 million in annual sales. Five years
after that, there were 51 stores, with sales of
$78 million. In 1980, there were 276 stores,
and in 1989, Walmart became the nation’s
#1 retailer. Today, the company employs 2.2
million people worldwide, ringing up more
than 200 million customers each week in
11,000 stores in 27 countries.
• Sebastian Kresge was working as a
traveling salesman, peddling to all 19
Woolworth’s stores in the late 1800s. He
made the decision to open his own store
and invested $8,000 (about $227,000 in
today’s dollars) to open a five-and-dime in
Memphis, Tennessee. By 1912, there were
85 stores, and by 1924, Kresge was worth
about $375,000,000, which translates to
nearly $5.2 billion today. In 1962, Kresge
opened his first K-Mart store in Garden City,
Michigan, a store still in operation today. In
2005, the K-Mart Corporation purchased
Sears for $11 billion.
