Mike Enzi: “I thank the Senator. I got to meet this delightful lady in Thermopolis, WY, some 70 years ago. I need to tell you a…”

“I thank the Senator. I got to meet this delightful lady in Thermopolis, WY, some 70 years ago. I need to tell you a little bit about Thermopolis, WY, and how I wound up there. During the war, my dad was a welder on ships, and after the war, he moved around the country doing different welding projects, one of which took him to Thermopolis, WY. He welded on the dam there. Dams in the West are used to control floods. They are big projects, and they have a huge impact on communities. This particular one not only controlled floods, but it turned into a great fishery. My folks went to Thermopolis, WY, and they also built a trailer park. It was the first modern trailer park in Thermopolis. By ``modern,'' I mean there was a central building that had indoor showers and flush toilets. You need to understand a little bit about Wyoming. We are small. At that time, there were two cities in Wyoming. To be a city, you had to have more than 3,000 in population. As soon as you had 3,000 in population, you could declare yourself a first-class city. In those early days, Casper--the energy capital at that time--and Cheyenne--the State capital at that time--exceeded 3,000. What effect did that have on the communities? The Presbyterians, the Methodists, and the Congregationalists got together and divided up the towns that were small, realizing that they couldn't support all three churches. There was one town that was so small that they actually got together and formed a community church.…”