Lance Creek Post Office to Celebrate 75th

A special pictorial cachet/envelope with an equally special cancellation will be offered for sale at the Lance Creek Post Office on Saturday, Nov. 19. These special envelopes are are being offered by the Lance Creek School Association.

An open house will be held at the post office from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. that day. Local historian Gloria Johnson will be on  hand to talk about the history of Lance Creek and have early day pictures of the area.

Lance Creek is an oil field. It was never incorporated. Oil was discovered there and a boom started, bringing many to this area.

 Lance Creek grew to be the largest oil producing field in Wyoming during WWII and was the fourth largest producing field in the Untied States in the late 1930's and early 40's.

The special cachet envelope features an ink drawing of a wooden oil derrick and will have a special Lance Creek station cancellation. The envelopes will be offered for sale that day. Those wishing to order the specially cancelled envelopes are asked to do so by Nov. 19 from Vickie Miller, Lance Creek Postmistress, 82222 or the Lance Creek School Association, c/o Sandra Johnson, treasurer, RTE 338a, Lance Creek, Wyo. 82222. Cost of the the envelope with the special cancellation is $1.25 each.  The Lance Creek Post Office was put into service on Nov. 19, 1919. Those having served as postmasters over the years are Frances J. Ragen, O.H. Gehlert, Opal Templeton, Thomas Stokes, Ina Gentry, Beryl Dickinson, Gladis Mangis, Bonna J. Blaney, and the current postmistress Vickie Miller.

Other post offices served out of the one at Lance Creek over the years were Deuel-March 21, 1918 to Dec.. 6, 1923 -  Postmaster Warren F. Deue. Nmae was changed to Leverette Dec. 7, 1923, with C.A. Johnson as post master. When discontinued on June 16, 1942, mail went to Lance Creek.

Mrs. Reta Butler (later Swope) was postmistress at Dogie from Feb. 12, 1929, until May 31, 1939, until it closed and the mail went to Leverette.

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The Lusk Herald, November 30, 1994

Post Office fetes 75th with open house

By Jeanne Peterson, Staff Writer

The Lance Creek Post Office was a busy place on Saturday, November 19, as patrons and visitors celebrated the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of its existence. 

Seventy people signed the guest book including Blanche McGrew Rueber from Lytle Creek, California, who resided there as a young woman from 1936-1941.

Gloria Johnson designed the oil rig featured on the special cachet envelopes sponsored by the Lance Creek School Association, and Postmaster Vickie Miller provided a special pictorial postmark for the event. Requests came from 23 states outside of Wyoming for the envelopes, from Hawaii to Vermont, as well as 15 in-state locations.

The Lance Creek students were on hand to sell the commemorative envelopes with the assistance of their parents: Will Johnson and his mother, Sandra; Heather and Kyle Hamilton and their mother, Randi; Bradyn  Bruegger and his mother, Teri; Vanessa and Sarah Greet and their mother, Brenda; and Natali and Aydaly Juarez and their mother Cleosas.

The Lance Creek Post Office opened its doors on Nov. 19, 1919 with Frances Regan as its postmaster. Oscar H. Gerlert assumed those responsibilities on Feb. 2, 1921, and was succeeded by N. Opal Templeton on June 30, 1923. Thomas Stokes, Ina Gentry, Beryl Dickinson, Gladys Mangis, and Bonna Blaney, now of Lusk, also served in that capacity. The current postmaster, Vickie Miller began as postal relief under Blaney on August 17, 1982; became the officer in charge on May 15, 1986; and postmaster of July 27, 1991.

The post office once served 2,000 residents of the immediate community as well as outlying routes. Over recent years the post office dropped its revenue to a fourth class office, but in 1992 was once again restored to a third class status. 

Refreshments included a white sheet cake featuring the cachet envelope extending from a country mailbox complete with the pictorial postmark. Gloria Johnson, resident historian, shared her photo album collection of scenes and residents from Lance Creek's history. Many of the photos include old time ranches and the oil companies in the area. Winnie Mosier won the Centennial sweatshirt in the drawing. 

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