Lectures to focus on state prison

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

Rawlins is to Wyoming as the wheel is to your pickup.

Tuesday’s “The Power of Place: The Legacies of Carbon County” lecture should show that, at least in so far as the prison relates to the big picture. The lecture, dubbed “Prisons and Lawmen of Carbon County,” should be held at CCHEC’s main campus on Rodeo Street at 7 p.m.

Tina Hill, director of the Old Pen, and Duane Shillinger, former Wyoming State Penitentiary warden, plan to lay out the rich history of how Rawlins came to be the seat of the state prison and what happened behind its walls once it was established.

“Rawlins has the reputation in the state as being a prison town, when in fact that is not the case,” Carbon County Higher Education Center Director Dave Throgmorton said. Pointing out that each state has its institutional needs and different cities that host them, he said “Rawlins particular work here is a bit grittier. We’re graciously providing a service to the state.”

Manifest destiny is a buzz word for Shillinger, who believes much of the events in pre-territorial and territorial Wyoming hinged on the free spirit fostered by the philosophy. Manifest destiny was thought up by an East Coast journalist named John L. O’Sullivan and is generally defined as the belief that the United States was destined to span “from sea to shining sea,” by having both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans as its borders. Over time, and particularly with the tidal wave of Americans flowing west, it fostered a sense of freedom for conquest and became the justification for many heinous acts.

American Indians were slaughtered, as were a massive number of wild animals. According to Shillinger, pioneers believed their actions were protected by the idea of manifest destiny. The wild West was wild indeed, as prostitution sprang up alongside alcoholism, theft, fighting and killing.

Shillinger should expand on the Wyoming territory’s early years, illustrating what law enforcement was up against and its efforts to combat the surge of crime. In particular, he should hone in on the evolution of the prisons and law enforcement. He plans to focus on Carbon County, but “you can’t look at Carbon County without looking at the rest of the territory,” he said.

Hill should complement Shillinger’s presentation with anecdotes of particular law enforcement officials and notorious criminals who passed through the area. Between the two, the importance of Rawlins as the home of corrections should be reflected.