Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
The artwork for this year's Pony Express commemorative envelope was done by Candy Treanor.
TEN SLEEP - A great local tradition returns Saturday, July 4 when the Ten Sleep/Hyattville Lions Club will offer residents an opportunity to mail a letter by Pony Express.
For at least 25 years, the club has organized this fundraiser in conjunction with the Ten Sleep Fourth of July celebration.
Longtime riders and this year's organizers, Lyle and Shelley Spence, said that between 15 and 20 intrepid riders will run a relay beginning in Hyattville, and concluding in Ten Sleep, arriving for the start of the parade, which begins at 10 a.m.
The riders will be toting a mail pouch stuffed with letters carrying a commemorative Pony Express cancellation stamp. Those letters will be merged into the U.S. mail for delivery anywhere in the world.
RIDERS WANTED
"Several riders have volunteered already, but we'll need more," said Lyle Spence.
Anyone interested in being a sworn express messenger can call Spence at 307-272-2477.
He said they will officially be sworn in by the Hyattville postmaster. Riders need to arrive at the Hyattville Post Office by 7 a.m. and ready to head to their designated riding spots. The express run begins at 8 a.m.
Riders will each carry the mail pouch about a mile on the high lope over open country in the foothills between Hyattville and Ten Sleep, Spence said, adding that they use the gravel back road between the two communities, which is about 17 miles. He said the prefer to have more than 17 riders and families can ride together.
"Both horse and rider need to be prepared and conditioned for the task in order to complete the relay on time, when all the express riders will join the Independence Day parade in Ten Sleep. Safety is paramount, but the mail must go through, and we have a deadline to meet", said Spence.
He said markers will be placed along the route and riders will be assigned certain spots where they can drive and set up to await their leg of the run.
COMMEMORATIVE
ENVELOPES
Commemorative envelopes can be purchased beginning Saturday, June 20 in Worland at the Big Horn Cooperative Marketing Association farm and ranch store on U.S. 20 South, Cloud Peak Veterinary Clinic at 801 North Tenth Street, at the Ten Sleep and Hyattville Post Offices, and from some of the Lions Club members.
Envelopes with your letters enclosed can be returned to the point of purchase no later than noon on July 3 to be merged into the Pony Express batch,or brought to the Hyattville Post office no later than 7 a.m. on July 4. The envelopes are a standard sized letter with first class postage stamp affixed. If your letter exceeds one ounce, or is addressed to a destination outside the US, you will need to affix appropriate additional postage.
This year's envelope depicts artwork from Candy Treanor, the Spences said. The rider depicted in the artwork is based on a photo that Shelley Spence took in one of the first years they attended, with an 35 mm Pentax film camera.
Lyle said he was trying to photograph the riders with their first digital camera and it was booting up as the rider rode past. It was a few years before they would remember to get Shelley's film developed and she had captured rider Doug Hamilton perfectly.
The artwork, at the Spences' urging, changed Hamilton's face to depict longtime organizer Dave Greer.
The Spences reported that in 1860, the Pony Express carried mail via a relay of horseback riders between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, at a cost of $5 for a first-class letter.
"One hundred sixty years later in 2020, the cost of a letter in this re-enactment is still $5," said Lyle Spence. "That's actually a bargain and a good cause, because $5 in 1860 is equivalent to $155 in today's dollars, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and 100% of the proceeds from this event will go to support the community service programs of the Ten Sleep / Hyattville Lions Club."
SPENCE
INVOLVEMENT
Spence continued, "Shelley and I have supported this event for many years, and mailed hundreds of letters to friends and family all over the country, and internationally. Each year in June we start getting calls, messages and emails from friends and family asking if they're going to get a Pony Express Letter again this year. Folks really get a kick out of it."
As for organizing this year's Pony Express ride, Spence said, "Dave Greer of Hyattville has organized the event for many years. Last year Dave asked if he could pass the reins over to us as event organizers, and we are delighted to be involved."
The Spences have been involved with the Pony Express ride for at least 20 years. They said they read about it in the newspaper and thought it would be a fun thing to do on their anniversary. This year's ride will signal their 27th wedding anniversary July 4.
After watching and photographing the event for a couple of years they became riders.
"Think about whether a grandchild, grandparent, other relative or an old friend would enjoy getting a letter delivered by Pony Express, and consider joining in this fun tradition," the Spences said.
Anyone can follow the development of the event by visiting a Facebook page at "HTS Pony Express".
