Episode Details

Wendy Corr:

Well, hey there, folks, welcome to The Roundup. We are a Cowboy State Daily podcast that features really interesting people from the Cowboy State. And oh my gosh, I know I say this, it seems like I say this every time, but I cannot tell you how interesting this person is.

Our guest today is Clay Gibbons. He's a Wyoming historian. He is a Wyoming native born and raised in the Worland area. Clay has devoted so much of his life to telling Wyoming stories.

And today, Clay is going to tell us some really great Wyoming stories that have captured the imagination of Americans for generations. And so I am so tickled today to be able to introduce to the podcast audience, Clay Gibbons!

Clay, hello. It's been so long since you and I have had a chance to visit and it's just so good to have you on the podcast today.

Clay Gibbons:

I appreciate that, Wendy, it's good to see you again. We go back a long way. But we haven't seen each other for a long time.

Wendy Corr:

Exactly. Which is why it's so much fun to be able to connect and be able to really feature your interesting life and your interesting - I can't even say it's a hobby anymore. This is what you do - you tell the Wyoming story.

And you tell the Old West stories, you talk about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to anybody who will come to your ranch. You have an Airbnb there, you lead tours - Clay, tell us about your interest in the very unique Wyoming history of your area. Tell us where this interest started.

Clay Gibbons:

My interest in history started from my dad, he was always interested in history and loved it. And so I went everywhere with him. We had an implement dealership, and he was on the road a lot. And of course, several times - I'd be with him all the time. So I learned stories from him.

And of course, he had historical books and things around all the time. So I read that. And so I would say that my love of history started at a very early age, much younger than most people.

The majority of the talks that I've given throughout the years, you know, the age is fairly old. Seems like people don't really get into it until they get older. So appreciating that history.

But I remember when I was 16, in high school, on December 21, 1966 - I just gave my age away - it was the day before my birthday. And it was the 100th anniversary of the Fetterman massacre. And I had read so much about that, that I didn't get anything done in school that day. I stared at the clock and thinking, 'Okay, right now Fetterman is doing this, right now Crazy Horse is doing this,' you know, I mean, going through the whole thing.

The whole day, I was just mesmerized by the whole talk. So at 16 years old, you know, I had that whole thing right down. So my interest goes way back to a young age in my life.

Wendy Corr:

I guess Wow. Yeah, not very many 16 year olds are thinking about what happened 100 years ago on this day. But you mentioned your dad and the implement business that you guys had, that your dad had - your roots in Wyoming go so deep. Tell us about your family's heritage in the area. And about when you first came to the area.

Clay Gibbons:

Well, my dad, or my grandpa, Clay Gibbons, came here in about 1913, settled here from Missouri. And he actually settled just across the river from where I live now. And so my dad was born and raised here. And I was born and raised here. So we go back, you know, I'm the third generation, Wyoming Gibbons family.

So it's, I tell you, there's hardly a day goes by that I don't think my grandfather was settling here in Worland because it's such a neat p