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History of Laramie
Laramie takes its name from a French-Canadian trapper who was both lucky and unlucky, named Jacques Laramie. He disappeared into the mountains that loom over the town and that would become the Laramie Mountains in the early 1820s and was never seen again, perhaps killed by Indians or bears. He was unlucky in this respect, but he does have many places named after him in Wyoming (the second most).
The town of Laramie was founded in 1866 as a "tent city" to meet the new Union Pacific transcontinental railroad. The first train came through in 1868 and after that the town began to grow, erecting more permanent structures. Wyoming became a territory in 1869, and one of the first things it did was give women equal rights. Laramie was at the center of this radical equality. Five Laramie women were the first to serve on a jury. Another, Louis Swain, was the first woman to cast a vote. This is where Wyoming takes its slogan "The Equality State." However, after this equality movement, Laramie prevented women from serving on juries for the next eighty years.
Laramie Today
Laramie today does not offer the rough and tumble life of the Wild West, but it is still not an easy place to live. Most jobs come fromt the University of Wyoming, founded in Laramie in 1886, and the other jobs are mainly minimum wage. One of the problems in Laramie seems to be, not unemploymnet, but underemployment. Many employers do not hire for full time work, so residents have to juggle two or three jobs to make ends meet. There even seems to be a divide in the city between the "university community" on the east side of town and the poorer west side of town. Many media members jumped on this to explain why Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney killed Matthew Shepard: they were simply mad over the status difference between them. Some people in Laramie, such as Bob Beck, news director for Wyoming Public Radio felt that Laramie was falsely represented. He said,
"They decided that the reason a murder like this happened was because those of us, including me, who live in west Laramie, the "other side of the tracks," are underpriveleged, don't have benefits, all this stuff. Because we're over there, we're obviously looking to get even with the good side of the tracks and are going to commit a crime like this...A lot of people got their impressions of the case from that.."
The people in the media were simply looking for a reason for the murder, just as the residents of Laramie were. Many could not believe that such a heinous murder could have taken place in Laramie. The fact is, Laramie is not different from other cities in the country today. Crimes happen, but it appalled people so much because of the fantasy attached to life in the west.
Why Live Here?
"Wide Open Spaces." Yes, even the Dixie Chicks have deep insight. The space is what draws people to Laramie. You can see it in the photo above of an area just outside of town: the beauty is all around you. Detective Sergeant Hing of the Laramie Police Department says, "It's a good place to live. Good people, lots of space...all you got to do is turn around, see the mountains, smell the air, listen to the birds, just take in what's around you." Theatre professor Rebecca Hilliker also says, "There's so much space between people and towns here, so much time for reflection."
Laramie is almost literally in the middle of nowhere. In one of the country's least populated states, there is open land in every direction. An hour to the south is Fort Collins, Colorado, where Doc O'Connor drove Matthew Shepard to so Matthew could go to a gay bar. To the east, there are fifty miles of lonely highway between Laramie and Cheyenne, the capital of Wyoming, devoid of strip malls and fast food restaurants. Casper, Wyoming is a few hours to the north. The space allows people to appreciate the beauty around them. One can simply enjoy the clear blue skies that "you'll never be able to paint" as Sgt. Hing puts it. Laramie is also a popular place for outdoor enthusiasts, such as runners, mountain bikers, fishermen, and skiers. In fact, it was Aaron Kriefels who was riding his bike when he happened upon Matthew Shepard's dying body. Also, Laramie is a popular vacation for the wealthy in order to get away from the crowded city conditions and experience the emptiness that Laramie offers.
Has the town changed at all?
andy_paris_interview.mp3 | |
File Size: | 1545 kb |
File Type: | mp3 |
This is Andy Paris, the dramaturg for The Laramie Project, speaking about Laramie 10 years after he and the other members of the Tectonic Theatre Project traveled there to investigate the murder of Matthew Shepard.