How active/inclusive is the Jewish community in Wyoming? (Cheyenne: homes, school)

[simpsonsrule]

How active/inclusive is the Jewish community in Wyoming, particularly Laramie and Cheyenne? Thanks.

[sunsprit]

Cheyenne's Mt Sinai Synagogue had a fairly large/active membership for many years, but has seen a declining membership in recent years. They've been using a rabbi and cantor from Denver on a part-time basis for the last few years, although recently announced that they'd hired a new rabbi ... but again, it's a part-timer who will be commuting to Cheyenne twice a month from Los Angeles.

The Synagogue is very open to all Jewish affiliations, and the core membership is very active.

It's a rather unknown story of the development of the West, that there was a significant Jewish presence in the frontier areas ... such as Cheyenne, starting in the 1860's. The first building was completed in 1915, and replaced with the current structure built in 1949.

Laramie has a much smaller community, and is not as active as the Cheyenne group. But you're not exactly comparing apples for apples ... Cheyenne is a much larger town.

[Kristynwy]

I have heard there is a big Jewish Community down in Denver especially also... as well as in Cheyenne.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by simpsonsrule

How active/inclusive is the Jewish community in Wyoming, particularly Laramie and Cheyenne? Thanks.

Here's a link to the Laramie Jewish Community Center, and Mt. Sinai synagogue in Cheyenne. You can contact them directly.

[WyoMama]

Yes - there is DEFINITELY a large Jewish community in Denver, even their own college (Temple Buell - although I BELIEVE they have changed the name since my mom worked there in the 1970's). Was / is a women's college. Anyway, I know the few I know in Cody go to Billings for their worship when they DO go. They may meet locally in their own homes at this point but not sure how many Jews we have in the Big Horn Basin. I know there are some.......

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by WyoMama

Yes - there is DEFINITELY a large Jewish community in Denver, even their own college (Temple Buell - although I BELIEVE they have changed the name since my mom worked there in the 1970's). Was / is a women's college. Anyway, I know the few I know in Cody go to Billings for their worship when they DO go. They may meet locally in their own homes at this point but not sure how many Jews we have in the Big Horn Basin. I know there are some.......

This is the biggest bunch of Bull**** misinformation I've ever read on the forum ..... and the facts aren't changed just because your Mom worked there many years ago.

FYI, WyoMama ... "Temple Buell College" was founded in the late 1880's by Dr. Robert Cameron, a Baptist minister, as the first non-Catholic Women's College West of the Mississippi. It was slated to be the "Vassar of the West", with a two-year degree program for Women's higher education. In the early 1900's, a campus was built as the "Colorado Women's Baptist College". Sometime later, the school's name was changed to "Colorado Women's College".

In more modern times, a generous Denver benefactor endowed the financially ailing college with a very large amount of money, with the requirement that the college be re-named after him. His name was Temple Buell, and the Colorado Women's College changed the school's name per his request. There was certainly no change of the college to anything to do with Jewish studies in this naming.

A few years later, again in financial distress, the college was acquired by Denver University, and operated as The Colorado Women's College at Denver University. With a new campus being built in the 1990's, it has been again re-named as the Merle Catherine Chambers Center for the Advancement of Women. They have IT studies, Women's Business degree programs, etc.

There are, of course, many actual Jewish synagogues in the Denver area, with various focus on their activities depending upon your affiliation. But CWC, as a Baptist foundation, was not ever a "Jewish College".

[suzco]

Originally Posted by suzco

Here's a link to the Laramie Jewish Community Center, and Mt. Sinai synagogue in Cheyenne. You can contact them directly.

While you said you're particularly interested in Cheyenne and Laramie, here are another couple of links:

Casper has a synagogue: Temple Beth-El Casper
Jackson: Jackson Hole Jewish Community; and Chabad-Lubavitch of Wyoming has a location in Jackson.

[WyoMama]

Originally Posted by sunsprit

This is the biggest bunch of Bull**** misinformation I've ever read on the forum ..... and the facts aren't changed just because your Mom worked there many years ago.

FYI, WyoMama ... "Temple Buell College" was founded in the late 1880's by Dr. Robert Cameron, a Baptist minister, as the first non-Catholic Women's College West of the Mississippi. It was slated to be the "Vassar of the West", with a two-year degree program for Women's higher education. In the early 1900's, a campus was built as the "Colorado Women's Baptist College". Sometime later, the school's name was changed to "Colorado Women's College".

In more modern times, a generous Denver benefactor endowed the financially ailing college with a very large amount of money, with the requirement that the college be re-named after him. His name was Temple Buell, and the Colorado Women's College changed the school's name per his request. There was certainly no change of the college to anything to do with Jewish studies in this naming.

A few years later, again in financial distress, the college was acquired by Denver University, and operated as The Colorado Women's College at Denver University. With a new campus being built in the 1990's, it has been again re-named as the Merle Catherine Chambers Center for the Advancement of Women. They have IT studies, Women's Business degree programs, etc.

There are, of course, many actual Jewish synagogues in the Denver area, with various focus on their activities depending upon your affiliation. But CWC, as a Baptist foundation, was not ever a "Jewish College".

Well kick my ass - I am sorry that I had the fact that it was apparently baptist & not jewish - was 35 or so years ago!!! Please accept my apology & I think I mentioned that I don't know what the scoop on Temple Buell is. Perhaps I knew that at least 2 of the prof's she worked with WERE Jewish (we were not Baptist either), and so perhaps I THOUGHT it was Jewish. Sorry it is so much bull****. Easy killer - didn't mean to rile you up so much!!!

[ken_&_nikki]

Almost unheard of.

[emeraldsky]

I hope there's a significant presence here in WY. Some of the finest people I've known have been Jewish.