Gillette histories

From the Dec. 12, 1940 News Record:
In spite of the fact that rattlesnakes were supposed to have denned up months ago, O.A. Gilkey, rancher in the Savageton community, reported killing a large 4-foot rattler on the Fred Christianson range north of the Pumpkin Buttes, December 5. Mr. Gilkey, with a companion, was riding horseback when suddenly his mount shied away and to his surprise, Mr. Gilkey saw a rattler streaking away over the frozen ground. He dismounted and killed the reptile, which had eight rattles.
From the nov. 22, 1973 News Record:
“Word has been received by the American Legion Department of Wyoming that some 440 veterans will be trained for jobs in the environmental protection area under a recent $1.85 million Department of Labor contract with the Environmental Protection Agency,” stated E.M. “Gene” Hirsch, department adjutant, the American Legion. “The terms of the one-year contract call for 40 percent of the authorized 2,200 trainees be new hires, with half of those drawn from the ranks of unemployed Vietnam era veterans,” Hirsch said. Labor Secretary Peter J. Brennan, in announcing the contracts, said that “developing jobs in pollution control is significant because it attacks two basic problems facing Americans today — providing work for veterans and the disadvantaged, and improvement and maintenance of a clean environment for everyone.”
From the Nov. 16, 1981 News Record:
Are you ready for another bum rattlesnake story? Those Nebraskans around Lincoln aren’t. They’re up in arms because they think Wyoming rattlesnakes from Gillette are bumming rides to Nebraska on the coal trains. Regular hobos, they feel, riding the rails via the coal cars and then swinging off as the trains slow into the Greenwood-Ashland area. Both Union Pacific and Burlington Northern are disclaiming such an invasion. There are no Wyoming rattlesnakes on our trains, they claim. The railroads have even sent men out to check all the reported sightings. No confirmation. As nearly as we can determine after diligent checkings with numerous persons in both Nebraska and Wyoming, there have been no confirmed reports of sightings or rattlesnakes. Apparently one rumor started a flood of them and now many Nebraskans are positive Wyoming is shipping out more than just coal on those long, black trains. They’re sure that riding along on top of the lumps are some Wyoming Hobos with forked tongues.