Since November 2016 marks another election year, this month’s artifact of the month comes from political advertising for elections. This artifact is a matchbook advertisement from John Warden Opie’s re-election campaign for County Coroner around the 1940s. The matchbook reads, “Let’s all vote for & support your present County Coroner J. Warden Opie, Democratic Candidate, The Logical Man For The Office.”
Opie originally hailed from Oroville, Wash., where he started his career in the funeral business. He moved around to other towns such as Wenatchee and Spokane, Wash., working for the local funeral homes.
In the 1930s, he moved to Butte, Mont., where he met and married his wife, Betty. Shortly after, the couple moved to Rock Springs where Opie purchased the Rogan Funeral Home. It was during this time that Opie was elected as the Sweetwater County Coroner.
Wyoming operates on a county coroner system, as opposed to a centralized state medical examiner system; county medical examiner system; or a mixed county medical examiner and coroner system. So, what does it mean when we elect a county coroner?
The county coroner is responsible for confirming and certifying deaths in the county that were not anticipated, as according to state law, such as accidents, apparent drug or chemical overdosing, and apparent suicide.
Why did people use matchbooks as a form of campaign advertising? Before recent smoking bans, smoking was a prevalent habit among many people. Back in the 1940s, many people smoked and advertisers knew this. In a sales brochure from the Gem Match Company in 1944, it acknowledges that smoking was “one of the most widespread habits in the world…you hardly ever hear of anyone refusing a book of matches when it is offered. Everyone is glad to get them.” Matchbooks were regarded as a low-cost way of advertising a campaign, especially as a necessary product in everyone’s lives.
However, in today’s society, the use of matchbooks as a form of any kind of advertisement is nearly obsolete. Candidates running for office do not want to associate themselves as a supporter of smoking, especially when it is scientifically proven that smoking is a major health risk.
Today, the State of Wyoming does not consider small objects, such as matchbooks, as part of a candidate’s campaign literature, which means it is not required to bear the “paid for by” message on it.
The last election for Sweetwater County Coroner was in 2014, where Dale Majhonovich won the election.
John Warden Opie’s campaign matchbook will be on display at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum during the month of November. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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