Evanston Wyoming: Boom-Bust-Politics Success Story

Summary

• This is the story of the old Union Pacific railroad tent city, commonly referred to as “Hell on Wheels.” The tent city eventually grew to become an amazing community in southwestern Wyoming, and this story is one man’s experience as a city official. Evanston survived and thrived through many boom and bust cycles by having a good strong base of loving, committed citizens.

  Told through the eyes of Mayor Ottley, who served Evanston as a three-term city council member and a three-term mayor, and meticulously documented his experience using city council minutes. Mayor Ottley shows how this role affected his life and family and the hell he went through trying to keep the community together through one of the most challenging boom periods in Wyoming history.

  The story gives a full account of the best and worst of politics in a small town and how untruths, innuendo, partisan politics, and downright vicious lies came close to splitting the city. But Mayor Ottley was dedicated to the people and driven by his love for his community, and with much effort, he was able to keep the economy strong and the community united.

Challenge

• Wanting to preserve the history of the city from 1967-1995 from primary-source documents, including newspaper clippings and council meeting minutes as well as his own experiences, Dennis Ottley, the author and mayor of the city for many of those years, brings the city of Evanston to life for the reader. Dennis kept detailed notes, original letters, and newspaper articles, and we wanted them included in the book so people could read them. Izzard Ink collected the files from the author and did an archival scan process, retouching in Photoshop to make the images fresh and clear. Izzard Ink documented each of the photos and determined where they should go in the book. Izzard Ink made sure the originals were then delivered back to the author in the same condition as received.

Our Role

• Project Management
• Collection of archival information
• Documentation and placement of all photographs

Results

• Five volume series now on file at the Library of Congress to be preserved for generations to come.
• “I appreciated the professional and personal care that everyone at Izzard Ink Publishing took for my book. From finding the best cover designers, book designers, editors and even archival quality scans I am happy that Izzard Ink Publishing helped to preserve Evanston Wyoming history for generations to come.” —Dennis Ottley