GREEN RIVER — “The Cold War at Home” was the subject of a special Sweetwater County Historical Museum presentation at Green River High School this week.
Aidan Brady, the museum’s public engagement coordinator, spoke to nearly 50 of Ruth Ann Foerster’s U.S. history students about the Cold War and its effect on Wyoming and Sweetwater County.
The topics included popular culture during the Cold War era, generally defined as 1945-1991, how pop culture remembers the Cold War now, and how the status of Warren Air Force Base as a potential target of a nuclear attack impacted Sweetwater County.
Brady also spoke about Wyoming’s U.S. Senator Lester Hunt, an outspoken adversary of Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his notorious “Red Scare” campaign and tactics that grew increasingly vehement from 1950 to 1954. Hunt died by suicide in 1954 when his son was arrested in Washington D.C. and charged with soliciting sex from a male undercover male police officer and McCarthy threatened to use the information against him in his re-election bid.
Before his election to the Senate, Hunt served as Wyoming Secretary of State, then as governor. As secretary of state, he commissioned artist Allen True to design the bucking horse and rider that first appeared on Wyoming license plates in 1936 and remains there today, as mandated in state law.
Educators, parents, and parent-teacher groups who are interested in learning more about museum programs for students grades K-12 are encouraged to contact the museum at 872-6435 or via email at meadd@sweetwatercountywy.gov.
