Requirements are different from desires. Some things are absolute necessities, and necessities range from the tangible such as food and shelter, to the abstract such as knowledge, respect and love. Needs were in the news for the first week of January.

100 years ago

The number of sheep afflicted with a lip and leg disease around Casper was greatly exaggerated by newspapers in Cheyenne, or so claimed the lead article in the Jan. 6, 1909, Natrona County Tribune.

State Veterinarian Pflaeging set up a temporary headquarters in town and was working with sheep operators to stop the spread of the disease and cure infections.

A front-page ad was juxtaposed next to the article for Chloro-Naptholeum Dip, which said, "Cures Leg and Lip Ulceration.

Let it go: The Tribune took yet another swipe at Lander under the headline, "EXCUSABLE IGNORANCE," devoting a fifth of the front page to insulting the residents of that town.

The article began by describing the founders of Lander as country folk coming from hardscrabble beginnings from places like Arkansas. The white inhabitants, said the Tribune, lived in blissful ignorance to the ways of civilization.

After setting the scene, the Tribune made its point with a truly offensive, racist rationalization.

Because Lander inhabitants were so accustomed to playing games with the Native Americans, who supposedly had a duplicitous style of sport, of course Lander residents couldn't be expected to play fair in any sort of competition.

Yes, the Tribune was still dredging up the football game between high school teams of Casper and Lander that ended in a 6-6 tie.

County board: The Natrona County Commission seated C.C.P. Webel, David Kidd and James B. Grieve as the new commissioners, with Kidd as the chairman.

Kill on sight: A week after J.A. Delfelder, president of the Wyoming Wool Growers Association, urged the government to protect animals by exterminating predators, the association took matters into its own hands.

The association offered a $2 bounty on coyotes and a $4 bounty on wolves and wildcats.

Accomplice: A.J. Mokler, editor and publisher of the Tribune, brought in an associate editor. E.L. Barker was from Valentine, Neb., and was entrusted to act in all capacities, including collections, in the absence of Mokler.

75 years ago

The top headline of the Jan. 5, 1934, Casper Tribune-Herald announced, "HOUSE VOTES $2 LIQUOR TAX," with the "House" in question being the one in Washington, D.C. Lawmakers were anticipating $300 million in tax revenue during the first year of taxing distilled spirits at $2 per gallon.

Irresponsible: Mrs. Missouri Van Stevens, 78, was languishing near death in a hospital bed in Cheyenne. Even worse, Van Stevens was the only adult to look after 10-year-old Mary Alice Russell.

Authorities became aware of the situation when Denver Police Chief Albert Clark received a letter imploring him to help find her "daddy." The man Mary Alice was referring to was her foster father Craj Van Stevens.

Craj Van Stevens went to look for employment four months earlier, leaving the girl alone when his mother was hospitalized.

"But right now I've got to find daddy," Mary Alice wrote, "because grandma wants to see him so bad before she…. " The girl was unable to finish her statement.

Dark of night: Postmaster Verne W. Mokler tallied up postal receipts at the post office in Casper and came up with the figure $103.094 for 1933.

Great Depression: The trainer at the Longfellow Zoo in Minneapolis quit his job out of frustration. A.M. O'Reilly couldn't take it anymore after Pedro, the lead lion, died.

The problem was the zoo didn't have enough money to properly feed the animals. O'Reilly described the remaining lions sleeping in tight huddles to retain body heat.

50 years ago

The second headline in the Jan. 6, 1959, Casper Morning Star predicted, "Martial Law To Be Lifted Soon In Havana," referring to the Cuban revolution that culminated when Fidel Castro's rebel group stormed the presidential palace on New Year's Day.

False Epiphany: The Jan. 6 Morning Star ran a correction saying the Twelfth Night bonfire would be held that evening. An erroneous report said the bonfire was to be held Jan. 5.

Held under the joint auspices of Casper's sanitary, police and fire departments, residents would bring their Christmas trees and burn them in a huge bonfire on the Twelfth Day of Christmas.

New executive: Joe Hickey was sworn in as Wyoming's 23rd governor Jan. 5, 1959. Hickey was elected as the state's first Democratic governor in 10 years.

Hickey was forthcoming with his opinions and in one early public statement he said it would be a disservice to Wyoming to get another 4-year university.

25 years ago

The first story in the Jan. 5, 1984, Casper Star-Tribune highlighted the tension between utility providers and the Public Service Commission. Utility officials were complaining that the PSC sided with consumers in a spate of recent decisions.

Big britches: The second story in the Star-Tribune was a counterpoint, sort of, with an official of the PSC saying the Casper City Council had no authority to ask Northern Utilities to lower its natural gas rates.

Ugly deja vu: Israeli fighter jets hit pro-Iranian guerilla bases in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. Casualties reports included nearly 100 killed and some 400 wounded.

"A Look Back in Time" is made possible with the help of Western History Archivist Kevin S. Anderson at the Casper College Western History Center, which is open to the public.