History:
Lovell was named after Henry Lovell, a cattle rancher. It is a seemingly typical, small town of a little over 2,200 residents. About half of the population in Lovell attends the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, with a smaller percentage of residents attending Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Baptist Churches.
Also known as “Rose City Wyoming” because of the gardening skills of Dr. William Watts Horsely who planted rose bushes the 1940’s, 1950’s, and 1960’s before he passed away in 1971. God rest his soul, Dr. William Watts Horsely was also known for sexually molesting young boys and men in his office for 30 years.
Interestingly, in the 1980’s Dr. John Huntington Story of Lovell, Wyoming was also discovered to be sexually abusing patients. In 1985, he was convicted of six separate counts of sexual assault of his patients. According to one source, Dr. Story raped between 45 to 100 of his female patients over 25 years, pretending to be doing pelvic examinations while actually having intercourse with them. These women often had gone to see a doctor about minor, non-pelvic things like ear infections, or a flu bug only to be given a long and painful pelvic exam. But, the culture played a role in prolonging Dr. Stories odd examination activities. Many of the women that John Story raped were Mormon and terribly naïve about sex and what was actually happening to them. These were women who had been raised strictly to look up to males and never to discuss sex, no matter what the circumstances.
John Story served time in the Wyoming State Prison in Rawlins, Wyoming. He was given a whopping 15 years for his actions. Apparently, some local Lovellians still consider Dr. Story to be a trusted doctor. Story was a much revered Baptist in the community and he was held in high esteem among a number of the residents in the community. Indeed, some sources online indicate that a number of community residents are still a little raw about the fact that Story had to serve time at all. Yes, it’s true that despite the testimony nearly 50 women, many people in Lovell still think the whole thing was a “witch hunt” and that Story was wrongly convicted. Be prepared to be rejected and shunned by the lady at the Lovell Visitor’s Center if you ask her about Dr. John Story.
Jack Olsen wrote a book called, Doc: The Rape of the Town of Lovell which depicts the story told by the women who were raped by John Story as well as Story’s own story. Olsen’s “Doc” won the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime in 1990.
The Western Sugar Company, also known as the Western Sugar Cooperative, is a privately owned Beet Sugar and Cane Sugar Refinery that employs a staff of 100 to 250 people. Sugar Beets are harvested in the fall over a six week period and stored in large piles. Over the course of about 4-5 months, the Western Sugar Company employs individuals to work 24 hours a day to process these sugar beets that were harvested in the fall.
Paranormal Reports:
Reports of a white lady, a commonly reported apparition of a woman wearing white, gray, or black who is searching, usually for a child, but sometimes for a lost lover. In Lovell, the white apprarition of a lady is said to be searching for children who were drowned by or because of an abusive husband. Usually, at Omahaunt, we regard tales of “White Ladies Who Are Searching” as local mythology that probably has some basis in fact, but whether the root of it is in the paranormal event itself or in an historical event has not yet been determined.
Resources:
ePodunk (2007). Profile for Lovell, Wyoming. Retrieved December 2, 2009 from http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=23217
Olsen, J. (1990). Hooked on Crime.The Morning News Tribune. May 30, 1990. Retrieved December 2, 2009 from http://www.jackolsen.com/newstribune.htm
Manta.com (2009). Western Sugar Company. Retrieved December 3, 2009 from http://www.manta.com/company/mm3gx30
No Author (2006). Free Republic. Retrieved December 3, 2009 from http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1733779/posts
Shadowlord (1998). Shadowlands Haunted Places Index. Retrieved August 11, 2008 from http://theshadowlands.net/places/wyoming.htm
Western Sugar Cooperative, Inc. (2006). The Western Sugar Cooperative. Retrieved December 3, 2009 from http://westernsugar.com/
Wikipedia (2009). Lovell, Wyoming. Retrieved December 2, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovell,_Wyoming
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400 Great Western Ave. Lovell WY Wyoming United States