By Shawn Parker
For The Sheridan Press

Over New Year’s Eve dinner, my wife and I reflected on how much in our lives has changed in the last 10 years. A decade ago, we rang in the new year on a beach in Thailand — for several sleepless days in a row. This year, we hurried to put our 2-year-old twins to bed at a reasonable hour just so that we could drink a reasonable amount of champagne and make it to bed before 10 p.m.

We’ve grown up, maybe, gotten a little older, certainly, and come to appreciate things a little differently. This got us talking about how much Sheridan has changed, and how much it has stayed the same.

My first visit to Sheridan was in December 2010. I was immediately awestruck by the beauty of the Bighorn Mountains. I was stunned by the breadth and scope of the region’s frontier history. And I was enthralled by cowboy culture and the hardscrabble way of life that ranchers embrace. And while Sheridan was a fantastic place to visit, especially during the holidays or during a major event, I wasn’t convinced at the time that I could make a go out of living here.

Craft culture as we know it today was nascent; Black Tooth had only just opened, and the craft beer boom had just recently begun reverberating throughout Wyoming. The community calendar featured a smattering of events. The energy crisis and the state of the national economy had folks on pins and needles, while digital shopping trends had people wondering whether small town America could survive into the next decade.

But this was still Sheridan. It was a beautiful mountain town that simply hadn’t yet realized its potential to be one America’s most incredible small towns. There was the best downtown in the Mountain West, with plenty of room for new shops, boutiques and galleries to open alongside beloved legacy businesses; there was steady growth in the light manufacturing sector that did much to steel Sheridan against energy industry slowdowns; there was the craft boom, and the growth in dining, outdoor recreation and the arts. There were improvements to air service that helped businesses thrive. There were new events every weekend, each showcasing a different aspect of Sheridan’s cultural identity. There were new companies interested not just in the Wyoming way of life, but in Sheridan’s lifestyle.

Sheridan began looking at itself a little differently — not as Jackson or Bozeman or Fort Collins, but as something even better. Something more authentic, something wholly Wyoming. A place dedicated to community and citizenry, not just growth and revenue. By the close of the decade, Sheridan had become the best place to live in America.

Maybe it had been all along.

Here’s to health and happiness and to growing on our own terms in 2020.

Shawn Parker is executive director of Sheridan Travel and Tourism. He occasionally writes columns for The Sheridan Press.

About The Sheridan Press

The Sheridan Press has served Sheridan County, Wyoming, since 1887. The award-winning independent newspaper offers print and online news delivery platforms to the thriving community, which boasts a college; a lively arts, culture, and music scene; a bustling downtown; and many other amenities, including unlimited outdoor recreational opportunities. To subscribe to The Sheridan Press, click here.