Ottley’s book series is outstanding

Clarence Vranish, Evanston Resident
Posted 3/22/19

Letter to the editor from Clarence Vranish

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Ottley’s book series is outstanding

Posted

Editor:

I recently attended Dennis Ottley’s book signing at Uinta Realty and purchased his five-volume set of “Evanston Wyoming: Boom-Bust-Politics.” Denny told me he put four years into writing it and I believe him. It is well done, easy reading and I would definitely recommend it to everyone who might be interested in the history of Evanston.

It brought back some very fond and warm memories of incidents and people — many of them had been forgotten. I was especially proud when Denny took a strong stand to let Daniel Johnson and his hate group know they were not welcome here. As I recall, there was a very large street rally in protest against them.

Denny’s love for the community really came out. I wasn’t aware that he had paid $1,100 out of his own pocket, at a time when he didn’t have money, to rescue some canvas paintings by Billy Fields. Sandy and Denny cleaned them, and they now hang in the Beeman-Cashin Building, preserved for all to enjoy, complete with a bullet hole.

I know everything Denny did was for the betterment of Evanston; he really loves this community. I failed to realize how severe his money problems were at the time and that he had lost his personal vehicle, which forced him to temporarily drive a city vehicle for personal use. After all, he had done much for the city at his own expense.

The lesson learned again is we all need to be kinder to each other. Those books are wonderful, I know you will enjoy reading them. I am.

Clarence Vranish

Evanston