Atlantic City, Wyoming 1868-2018: Voices From a Powerful Place
[Atlantic City, Wyoming?] : Atlantic City Historical Society, Inc., [2017]
The entire 150-year history of a patch of earth high on South Pass is laid out in this work. Bob Townsend and the Atlantic City Historical Society compiled this trove of stories and photographs from folks for whom Atlantic City holds a special place in their hearts and lives. The photographs alone are worth a perusal, but the stories will make you long to have been a part of such a powerful place. Early on, people came to Atlantic City for rumored gold. Some faded away as their dreams died, others stayed on and made a community. Atlantic City has ridden the cycle of boom and bust for years, but always managed to hang on with a few locals even during the most lean times. Although it was riches of the earth which called to the founders of Atlantic City, it’s the treasure of place which keeps the town going today.
Leslie C. Tribble, Technical Services Manager
Park County Library
Gathering from the Grassland: A Plains Journal
Linda M. Hasselstrom
Glendo, WY : High Plains Press, [2017]
I was entranced to read Linda M. Hasselstrom’s bounty of a book, Gathering from the Grassland. This paean to the prairie lands of South Dakota is a journey completely and lyrically human. Hasselstrom’s 1987 journal Windbreak explored her complex ties to family and homeland. She now returns to that format in a move that feels as inevitable as the Wheel of Time. Linda is living on the ranch, poring over old journals, and daily divining the unpredictable weather and the constant wonder of nature that surrounds her. She struggles to reconcile past wounds while searching for small signs along the trail for the way to carry her beloved land safely into the future. This book will speak to those who cherish small towns and our western way of life, those confronting their mortality and that of ill and aging parents, and to anyone examining their history in an effort to release long-held pain after a loved one has passed. This is a beautiful book, not to be missed.
Tamara Lehner, Circulation/Adult Programming
Glenrock Branch Library