Their Blood
Is in This Iron
Every mile of rail, every ton of coal, came from somewhere — from someone. Their ancestors immigrated from other countries to do this work, and built communities and lives here in Wyoming. The descendants who carry these stories forward are not historians looking in from the outside. They are family. What follows are the panels they designed and the stories they chose to share — in their own words.
Stories From
Cheyenne
Descendant storytellers who call Cheyenne home today. Their families settled directly in Cheyenne, while some arrived by way of the coal camps of western Wyoming. Their panels and memories anchor High Iron's Cheyenne residency.
Maren Kallas
Cheyenne, Wyoming"The Greeks in Cheyenne were known for owning confectionaries and restaurants — places where travelers could have a meal, and friends could meet and feel at home."
Frank Profaizer
Cheyenne, Wyoming"The man was Remo Beghetto, owner of Wyoming Tile and Terrazzo in Cheyenne. He asked my father if he wanted a job. My father had one question: Where's Cheyenne?"
![Frank Profaizer panel 2](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/6663a013fc2a2526018d2bf0/a52d0fe5-a93c-4fa2-b51c-9ef5f0897f10/CheyenneIntroPanels-02.png?content-type=image%2Fpng")
Rick Giovale
Cheyenne, Wyoming"To understand why Silvio J. Giovale, M.D. became one of Cheyenne's most beloved family physicians…you have to start here, in the coal camps."
![Rick Giovale panel 1](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/6663a013fc2a2526018d2bf0/e1ba2d17-3183-460a-b829-f7fc233a4d48/CheyenneIntroPanels-05.png?content-type=image%2Fpng")
![Rick Giovale panel 2](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/6663a013fc2a2526018d2bf0/d19c9246-81b4-40f7-87fb-399f57c9af80/CheyenneIntroPanels-06.png?content-type=image%2Fpng")
Stories From
Laramie
Descendant storytellers who call Laramie home today. Their families may have first settled here, or elsewhere in Wyoming — but each of them is a Laramie community member, and their panels and memories anchor High Iron's debut residency.
Brigida (Brie) Blasi
Laramie, Wyoming"Back then,
dropped in this impossibly Red Desert,
they shipped in water to make the flowers and the vegetables, and the children, grow.
Coal dust on their faces, coal dust on the babies' bottoms, scooting across the floor.
É così, che sarà."
Lena Newlin
Laramie, Wyoming"I am a DJP (Descendant of Japanese Pioneers). I came from Wyoming, not Japan. DJPs are not immigrants. We are Americans. Americans come in many colors."
— Susan Sunada, Lena's grandmother
Chris and Rubel Vigil
Laramie, Wyoming"The railroad was a life source for many Hispanic families in Wyoming. It built and strengthened our families as we helped to build and strengthen it."
