Judges' historic photos framed

They were placed in a cardboard box and stored in a maintenance storage facility.

Even though some knew where they were at, they were forgotten by most.

However, recently retired Third District Court Judge Nena James didn't forget and was on a mission to get a project taken care of before she officially retired Oct. 18.

The items in the box were old photos, some in deteriorated frames and some without, of former Third Judicial Court judges who presided over Green River.

"Judge (Jere) Ryckman and I talked about this years ago and just never got to it," James said.

Ryckman was a Third District Court judge who served in Green River and retired in 2012.

According to James, the photos that were poorly framed were hung in the district court until renovations took place. The photos were then taken down and put into storage. They never came out of storage until she asked about them.

"Nobody was doing anything with them," James said.

The judges in the frames weren't identified nor were the years they served in Green River included on the frames.

"What good is it if you don't know who they are," James said.

She set to work tracking down the history of each judge in each photo. She needed to properly identify them and find out what years they served. She worked looked through Wyoming State Archives and visited with the Wyoming Supreme Court to find out as much information as she could. James discovered the first judge in Green River served when Wyoming wasn't even a state yet. Judge Samuel T. Corn served the Wyoming territory from 1886-1890 and presided in Green River.

"I was kind of fascinated with it," she said.

James said judges traveled throughout the state and often would only stay in one place for about three days a month. They were called the traveling judges. She also discovered the Sweetwater County wasn't always in the Third Judicial District. At one point, it was in the Second Judicial District and then moved back to third as boundaries changed.

James wanted this project to be done before she left and worked on it whenever she had time to collect all of the information.

What pushed James was the history that would be lost if she didn't get it done.

"I thought if I don't do this, I don't know if someone ever will," James said.

Once James had collected all of the information, her next step was asking the Sweetwater County commissioners for funding to frame and label the photos at their Oct. 15 meeting. She also asked them if she could have them hung in a hallway in the Third District Court building.

During the meeting, James told the Commission she anticipated 15 to 18 frames being needed and figured it would cost about $61 per frame. She also had to get the photos cleaned because they were dusty and not in the best of condition. She asked the commissioners if they could find a way to pay $1,300-$1,400 for the framing and labeling.

"I'm hoping you'll pay for it," James said. "If not, I will."

All of the commissioners agreed they would find the money somewhere to pay for the project.

They also thanked James for her dedication to preserving Sweetwater County's history through her research.

So far, five of the judges' photos have been framed and placed on the wall in a prominent hallway at the Third District Court building and more will follow.

James was excited to see just how quickly everything was being done and is happy to accomplish something she'd always wanted to do.

"I should have done it 10 years ago," James said.