WHEATLAND – The world really does seem small sometimes. Or at least well connected. In the Oct. 23 edition of the Record-Times there was an article about Ray Hunkins’ book signing at the Platte County Library. Across the country in Charlotte, N.C. a gentleman was reading through his email he receives daily from the Washington Post with articles from around the nation and down near the bottom was a link to that very article in the Record-Times. After reading it, he promptly bought a plane ticket to Wyoming to attend the book signing.
“On the Wednesday after the book signing was canceled because of inclement weather, our doorbell rang about 9 a.m. My wife answered but did not recognize the visitor. He said that he came to have a book signed as the event in Wheatland had been canceled,” said Ray Hunkins. “Debby brought him into the house, but I didn’t recognize him until he showed us a photo of two men and three University of Wyoming cheerleaders taken in 1968. I was one of the men and the visitor was the other. My wife was one of the cheerleaders. The visitor was an old and dear friend, Ken Haines, who was in our wedding in 1969. I lost track of him because he was drafted and went to Vietnam a few months after Debby and I were married. I had not spoken or heard from him since 1969.”
A remarkable story of how something as simple as a small-town newspaper article can reach across divides to bring two friends together who were separated 50 years ago.
More photos of the well attended, postponed book signing may be seen on A11.