Edgar Wilson "Bill" Nye (August 25, 1850 – February 22, 1896) was an American humorist. He was also the founder and editor of the Laramie Boomerang. Nye was born in Shirley, Maine. He was educated at River Falls, Wisconsin, moved to Wyoming Territory, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1876. He began early to contribute humorous sketches to the newspapers, using the pen name of "Bill Nye" after a character in a famous poem by Bret Harte popularly known as "The Heathen Chinee". He was connected with various western journals, and afterward settled in New York City.[1]
The Boomerang was founded while Nye was the postmaster of Laramie City, Wyoming Territory. It launched him to national fame, gaining subscribers in every state and some foreign countries. Late in his career, he was briefly associated with James Whitcomb Riley with whom he wrote two books. They also appeared together on the lecture circuit. He also traveled and lectured with Luther Burbank.
James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. His poems tended to be humorous or sentimental, and of the approximately 1,000 poems that Riley wrote, the majority are in dialect. His famous works include "Little Orphant Annie" and "The Raggedy Man".
There are many memorials dedicated to Riley, including the James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children.
Riley lived in his parents' home until he was 21 years old. At five years old, he began spending time at the Brandywine Creek just outside Greenfield. His poems "A Barefoot Boy" and "The Old Swimmin' Hole" referred back to his time at the creek.
Many of Riley's poems are filled with musical references. Riley had no musical education, and could not read sheet music, but learned from his father how to play guitar, and from a friend how to play violin. He performed in two different local bands, and became so proficient on the violin he was invited to play with a group of adult Freemasons at several events.
The Boomerang was founded while Nye was the postmaster of the city (then in the Wyoming Territory). It launched him to national fame, gaining the newspaper subscribers in every state and many foreign countries. While he attended college, Richard Honaker, later a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives and an unsuccessful nominee for the U.S. District Court, was the night editor of the Daily Boomerang.
Richard Henderson Honaker (born March 10, 1951) is a lawyer in Rock Springs, Wyoming who was nominated on March 19, 2007, by U.S. President George W. Bush to serve as one of three U.S. District Judges for the District of Wyoming.
Honaker was one of two children adopted by Hayward E. Honaker (1911–2001) and the former Faola Henderson (born 1917) in Laramie, the seat of Albany County in southern Wyoming.
Honaker graduated in 1969 from Laramie High School and was the first member of his family to receive a college degree. He procured his Bachelor of Arts with honors in English and government in 1973 from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At Harvard, he and future U.S. Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, washed dishes together as work-study students. Still another classmate of Honaker's was the assassinated Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan. At Harvard, he was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club.
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letsdothis3 ago
Bill Nye is Edgar Wilson Nye https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Wilson_Nye
James Whitcomb Riley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Whitcomb_Riley
Laramie Boomerang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laramie_Boomerang
Richard Honaker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Honaker