I-90 Wyoming: Hundreds In Gillette Attend ‘People’s Convoy’ скачать в хорошем качестве

I-90 Wyoming: Hundreds In Gillette Attend ‘People’s Convoy’

Hundreds Turn Out In Gillette To Send Message Of Freedom At ‘People’s Convoy’ By Jennifer Kocher, Cowboy State Daily An American flag snapped in the breeze on the back of Kenneth Durn’s wheelchair as the long line of semi-trucks creeped by the cheering crowds at Gillette’s Cam-Plex on Thursday. Durn was one of hundreds of spectators who turned out to greet one leg of the nationwide “People’s Convoy” traveling from all over the country to meet in the nation’s capital this weekend to protest for an end to all COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates. But for Durn, it’s much more than vaccine or other mandates. He sees it as a much-needed call for freedom against what he considers to be tyranny on the part of the government and those in power. The truckers, for Durn, embody this movement. “These are our soldiers in that fight, right here and right now,” he said. He wouldn’t have missed this for the world, he said, and his companion Tammy Burke agreed. “We just want our country back again,” she said. “We want the mandates to be gone and to be able to see family again. That’s why we’re here. To show our support for the truckers who are standing up for us and taking the fight to Washington.” Those sentiments were shared by many from all over the state who converged in Gillette to show the truckers a little Wyoming hospitality. Activities that day went beyond banners and flags along the highway and cheers from overpasses as hundreds of residents and several business owners staged a stop to pass out gas and gift cards, homemade baked goods, pallets full of provisions and complimentary burgers and brats cooked by Pokey’s BBQ and 307 BBQ. Pokey’s owner Ric Schuyler said typically he steers clear of getting roped into “political stuff” out of fear of alienating customers, but made an exception in this case because he saw the event as a pro-America statement that everyone could get behind. “There’s so much bad stuff going on, and it’s ruining America,” Schuyler said, ticking off a list of events in the last two years where he sees the country going downhill, from the Afghanistan withdrawal to critical race theory and other issues. “This is America, you know, and this is Americans coming together,” he said. “I don’t care what flavor you are because everyone has the right to be who they want to be.” Schuyler’s sentiments were repeated by many who saw this not as a partisan issue but rather an opportunity to join together under a common flag, a message that clearly resonated with the hundreds of people who turned out and the various groups which coordinated the event Thursday. The turnout defied even the truckers’ expectations. One trucker from Montana walked through the crowds with a burger in his hand, thanking everyone for the hospitality that he said so far has been unbeaten at any of their stops along the northern leg of the convoy. “You people really know how to make a guy feel welcome,” he said to several residents who stopped to greet him and hand him various bags of candy, snacks and $100 gift cards. “This is the most support we’ve seen yet.” The event was organized by groups in Sheridan, Casper and Gillette who coordinated their efforts with the help of Brandon Younkin, owner of Dump Truck Services. Younkin was helped by his 16-year-old son Grady in working with Cam-Plex and other businesses like Powder River Construction that brought in the cranes holding up the massive American flag in the parking lot. Bridging the divide Bar Nunn resident Laura Redmond, one of the organizers and founder of the Facebook page “Freedom Convoy – Wyoming Group,” coordinated with local volunteer Patty Junek and her group to bring her pickup truck full of donated homemade goods from dozens of Casper residents. She also worked with her five children to set out for display the handmade cards her family had made for the truckers. Redmond, a photographer and wife of a trucker, saw supporting the nationwide convoy as an opportunity to show her children the importance of freedom as well as bridging the gap in what she sees as a vicious partisan divide. She said she was amazed by how many people responded to her Facebook page, asking what they could do to help. “I put out a call to the people of Wyoming, and they responded,” she said, pointing to plastic crates full of homemade cinnamon rolls, banana and pumpkin bread, cookies and more conated for the truckers. Apart from her rallying call for freedom, Redmond’s intention was to teach her children that it’s OK to have varying opinions and tolerance for other points of views. “I've watched friends and family stop talking to each other over a difference of opinion,” she said. “It has hurt my heart. Everyone should be able to have an opinion. We used to say agree to disagree. Now people are blasted if you don't have the same opinion as they do.” Redmond’s 24-year-old daughter, Liz Bowers, likewise talked about the divides driving the country apart.