1970 Cheyenne Frontier Days – Part 4

Today, we’ll continue our look-see at pages from that 1970 Cheyenne Frontier Days souvenir book.

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The two-page spread with all of the small ads is fun to look at. Sadly, many of the businesses have ridden off into the sunset in the last 50 years.

Griff’s Burger Bar is still around, sort of.

Sometime in the 1970s, Griff’s Burger Bar was replaced by Burger Inn, which was a chain. Although the chain seems to have disappeared, Burger Inn keeps on grilling at Griff’s location at the northwest corner of West Pershing and Snyder Avenue.

On the other hand, Taco John’s has become quite a success story.

From those two original locations in the ad, a Cheyenne-based chain of more than 400 restaurants in 27 states has grown. You can read more about the company here.

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The Little America travel center ad was a source of fascination to me as a kid, because of the penguin advertising mascot. 

We also had a Little America travel brochure about the various locations. I remember that we drove by one of the two Wyoming resorts, and saw the sign from the highway. Staying at a Little America resort is still on my bucket list.

Here’s a vintage postcard of the Cheyenne resort sign.

Unfortunately, the penguin is no longer used on the signage. Here’s how the Cheyenne sign looks today.

But the penguin hasn’t been put on ice yet. He’s still appears on some social media sites.

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The Night Arena Show notes the appearance of comedian Don Rice III. I did find a photo of him online circa 1970 with a Chicago Daily News clipping about him taped to the back of it.

Don Rice was married to Carmen Rice. At the time of her passing in August 2010, her obituary noted that she had been preceded in death by her husband, Don Rice III. She was a professional dancer and had appeared in many nightclubs and theaters across the country. 

According to her obituary, “Carmen and Don met in the entertainment business in Chicago and were married over 40 years. Don Rice III was a comedian and they performed in shows together.”

1970 Cheyenne Frontier Days – Part 3

Today and tomorrow we’ll take a look at some of the pages of that Cheyenne Frontier Days souvenir book that my parents saved.

Inside Front Cover

You might remember Miss Frontier and the Lady-in-Waiting from their parade photos, which I posted yesterday. They both were descendants of Cheyenne pioneer families.

Here’s an ad for an iconic Cheyenne store: Western Ranchman Outfitters, “The Nation’s Finest Western Store.” The business dated back to the early 1930s.

I don’t remember that we went to the Chuckwagon Breakfast (although it sounds like my kind of grub). We probably had breakfast at the campground that morning, right out of the Kel bowl pak as usual.

Next: More Frontier Days Fun

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Remember the ad for The Wrangler with the cartoon cowboy tycoon? Here’s a vintage photo of the store from about that time.

Courtesy of Wyoming State Archives Digital Collections

Happily, the store is still there at 1518 Capitol Avenue and looking good, too. Wish I could amble in there right now.

Western Ranchman Outfitters, the other iconic Cheyenne store with an ad in the program, did a lot of advertising. It’s not hard to rustle up old postcards, matchbooks and catalogs of the place on Bay. 

It later became known as Cheyenne Outfitters and primarily did mail order. Sadly, it closed in 1998.

1970 Cheyenne Frontier Days – Part 2

One of the reasons that Cheyenne Frontier Days left such a big impression on me is because my parents saved the souvenir program from our July 1970 trip. (More on that tomorrow.)

The program included a schedule of all the events, including the big, colorful Downtown Street Parade. As the program noted, “The Cheyenne Frontier Days parades are without a doubt one of the most outstanding features of the entire week’s events. The parades are held in downtown Cheyenne on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

“They represent authentic western Americana – history passing before your eyes. They are unlike anything else on earth."

Mom was wielding the Argus Seventy-Five camera while we watched the parade that day. Here are a few of her shots.

Miss Frontier, Carol Powers

Lady-in-Waiting, Patty Berry

The famous Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Clydesdale Horses

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Looking at these old photos, I wondered if it was possible to determine where we were watching the parade from that day. Surely it'd be easy to ‘drive’ around Cheyenne today (via Google Maps), and find that big gold building with the buffalo on it.

I was wrong. The building seemed to have disappeared.

But there were other local landmarks visible in the photos to help with my search. Off in the distance at the far left hand side of the majorettes photo was a tall, distinctive building that looked like a church.

And on the right hand side of a few photos, there was a unique brick building that looked also like a church.

It didn’t take too much Googling to figure out that the building with the tall tower was St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral (on Capitol Ave.), and the red brick one was First United Methodist Church (on W. 18th St.).

So the Bradys were watching the parade at the intersection of Capitol Avenue and 18th Street. Here’s the modern view (below) of our parade vantage point.

So what happened to the gold building with the buffalo on it in the 1970 photos?

Well, I’m pretty sure it’s the same building in 2020 – but with the gaudy false front removed. Vintage aerials show the same size building there, year after year. Plus, the street level doors and windows seem to match.

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UPDATE (January 18, 2021)

I spoke via email with Esther Gonzales, the Business Development & Relations Specialist with the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce recently. She informed me that the building seen in the photo with the gold front was a bank building. Eventually, as Esther pointed out, “They took the 50’s facade off.

“The building is now individual office spaces. It has been preserved very well.”

I agree. It looks great, especially in the photo that Esther sent me (below).

Next: More Frontier Fun

1970 Cheyenne Frontier Days – Part 1

The Coronavirus is certainly taking its toll on summer fun, with countless festivals cancelled.

Here in Ohio, there have been many big events called off, including the Ohio State Fair; the Woollybear Festival; and the Milan Melon Festival. And in other parts of the country, big once-a-year celebrations vital to their home city’s economic fortunes have also been voluntarily called off due to safety concerns.

One big cancellation that hit the newswire was particularly sad. The city of Cheyenne, Wyoming announced that it would not be holding its annual Frontier Days celebration. It’s the first time the 10-day western event – which includes the world’s largest outdoor rodeo – has ever been canceled since it all began back in 1897. (Here’s the story.)

So why am I disappointed? Because my family loved the West, and our visit to Cheyenne Frontier Days was one of the highlights of my family’s annual camping vacation back in 1970. Since this is the week during which the 2020 edition was supposed to take place, I’m sure there are a lot of unhappy people.

But you, lucky reader, can experience some of the frontier fun without leaving your Coronavirus quarantine. Stop back here tomorrow, as the blog saddles up and heads West for Cheyenne Frontier Days circa 1970. I’ll even throw in some Then & Nows.

In the meantime, here’s a brochure and a few postcards from our 1970 visit.

Frontier Park, where the rodeo is held

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The blog has gone Out West before. Back here, I featured my family’s 1965 trip to South Dakota.