Ralph Witters Elementary School

The Ralph Witters Elementary School is for kindergarten through fifth grade, and it is located between the high school and the downtown area.

See also Thermopolis Middle School.

See also Hot Springs County High School, part 2, part 1.

link: index to photographs

Thermopolis Middle School (TMS)

The high school and elementary school are located on the northeast part of town, and the Thermopolis Middle School (grades 6 through 8) is on the southwest side next to the fire station.

Under each of these pine trees are rocks with inscriptions. Here are close ups:

See also Ralph Witters Elementary School.

See also Hot Springs County High School, part 2, part 1.

link: index to photographs

Hot Springs County High School, part 2

Next to the High School is the auditorium (including the administrative offices), the G.M. Hayek Vocational Building, and the football field.

The story behind the vocational center name is an interesting one. Gabriel Michael Hayek (1896-1974) was known affectionately as "Cookie" or "Gyp" to thousands of Hot Springs County High School's former students. He was reared and educated in Nebraska and moved to Thermopolis in 1923 as an industrial arts teacher, which he continued to teach until his retirement in 1968. He also acted as principal for many years and was active in many student activities throughout the years. This was his love, "working with the kids" as closely as possible. (taken from his obituary in the Independent Record, the Thermopolis newspaper)







"Home of a Bobcat" signs (below) can be found all over Thermopolis.

This enhances one of the downtown alleys:

See also Hot Springs County High School, part 1.

See also Thermopolis Middle School and Ralph Witters Elementary School.

link: index to photographs

Hot Springs County High School, part 1

The quality of the schools says something about the place. To learn more about the high school, click here.

If you're driving around town, the first thing you notice about the above building is the marquee which, along with announcing the date, time, and temperature, tells passersby about people and events. After parking my car and walking past the above sign, I noticed the engraved stone below which pays respect to those who lost their lives in the Columbine High School massacre of April 20, 1999.

As you walk around the well-groomed campus, the town's mascot, a bobcat, is dramatically depicted in this sculpture.

The statue is the creation of a former art teacher in Thermopolis Schools, Deak Dollard at the Eagle Bronze Foundry in Lander. The project was partially funded by the sale of scaled miniatures; one of which can be seen at the web site indicated with the artist's name.

All three schools, high school, middle school, and elementary school, use the bobcat as their mascot. This is why it is the town's mascot and is depicted in some of the lampposts which enhance the downtown.

See also Hot Springs County High School, part 2.

See also Thermopolis Middle School and Ralph Witters Elementary School.

link: index to photographs

mailboxes and USPS, part 2

The first photograph is from a group of homes about a mile outside of the city limits. All of these shots show how creativity varies from person to person.

See also mailboxes and USPS, part 7, part 6, part 5, part 4, part 3, part 1.

link: index to photographs

houses, part 2

Sometimes it's the attention to detail, the color, or the juxtaposition of things that makes me stop and look for a way of capturing in a photograph what I see.

See also houses, part 7, part 6, part 5, part 4, part 3, part 1.
See also houses with chimneys.

See also houses with stairs, part 2, part 1.

See also pink and rose, part 2, part 1.

link: index to photographs