Green River gets first penny press

"We came to check out the penny press." 

This is what Cambria Menasco said as she, her husband, and their daughter walked into the Green River Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center Tuesday afternoon. 

They aren't the first to be eager to see the Chamber's penny press machine. The new feature has already been getting lots of attention and excitement. 

While the penny press has only been at the Visitor Center a little over a week, having arrived on Tuesday, January 23, the idea of bringing a press to the Chamber has been in the works for almost half a year. 

Lisa Herrera, the Chamber CEO, credits Office Manager Jesica Hunter as the inspiration behind the idea.

Hunter explained that one of her family's favorite pastimes is to collect pennies everywhere they go. She said a penny press machine is always the first thing they look for when they travel and visit places like parks and visitor centers. 

"A few months after I started at the Chamber I knew it was something we needed to have there," Hunter said. "I knew if my family loved doing it that there had to be more families out there that loved it also."

Hunter brought the idea to Herrera, who brought it to the board, and everyone wanted to make it a reality. 

From giving the go ahead to actually receiving and setting up the machine, the whole process took about five months. Herrera explained that everyone was so excited, it was hard to keep it a secret. Still, they wanted to make sure everything worked out before announcing it, so the arrival of the penny press was largely a surprise. 

The Chamber worked with a company out of Minnesota that makes presses and helped them throughout the entire process. The hardest part, according to Herrera, was choosing what images to have on the pennies since there are "so many cool things" in the area that represent the community. 

The first image that the Chamber knew they wanted was something to showcase the Greater Green River Intergalactic Spaceport, especially since they regularly have people come in to ask about it. 

"We thought that was something that would be popular with the tourists since they're always asking about it, and with the locals since it's something quirky and fun," Herrera explained. 

For the other penny designs, the Chamber picked out some images the press machine company already had that they felt fit the community, and Chamber Staff Member Nicole Fleet helped with other artwork to represent things unique to the area. 

The five images that can be pressed onto pennies in the machine represent the spaceport, wild horses, the railroad, trona mining, and local rock formations, specifically with the image of Castle Rock. 

"It was hard to choose," Herrera said of the images. "But I feel really good with the ones that were chosen to be able to represent our area." 

So far, the spaceport and horse pennies have been the most popular designs. And the machine has already been proving its popularity as well. 

"We had a guy just today, he came barreling through the door and was like 'Ok where's the penny machine?'" Hunter said. "We've had people from Rock Springs even come over for it."

Hunter's children were also among the very first visitors to want to use the machine as soon as it arrived at the Chamber. 

"To watch a dream like this come true is amazing," Hunter said. "I love watching everyone come up and enjoy it."

The penny press machine is also one more thing that puts Green River on the map, literally. 

"Now we'll be on the National Penny Finder," Hunter explained. "They have a website that you can go on and find the towns that have them."  

"I think it's just a fun thing that anybody can collect," Herrera said.

The machine has multiple options for pressing pennies. It can take a dollar bill and give out a shiny, uncirculated penny from inside the machine. Or, visitors can use four quarters and bring their own penny to press.

"There's some people that are the true collectors that want to press a certain one," Herrera said, explaining people may bring pennies that have personal significance. 

The Chamber also has small books available that can be used to display the pennies, and the machine itself has instructions for how to use it. 

One of the best features of the penny press machine is that it's a perfect fit for both locals and travelers, according to Herrera. She explained that lots of visitors who come through want a small souvenir that doesn't take up much space, and lots of locals that stop by are looking for a memento to take to events like conferences, conventions, and tournaments to give away, or looking for a gift to send to someone in a card, that represents the area. She thought a penny would be a perfect option that's available at a lower cost and is easy and convenient. 

Herrera also pointed out that the new penny press is "a nice way to kick" off this year's celebrations for the Chamber's 60th anniversary. 

"It's been fun and we're excited to be able to share it with everybody, with the visitors to our area and our community," Herrera said of the penny press.