National Park ServiceWhat bird could compete with the meadowlark in the Cowboy State?
Louis Freudenthal suggested the meadowlark in 1926. Freudenthal was a student in the Belleview school on Owl Creek, near Thermopolis. He wrote an essay on the meadowlark as part of a contest. His teacher, Mrs. Olga Hett, brought it to the local newspaper, the Thermopolis Record. It was published, then copied in other state papers, receiving much favorable comment.
The meadowlark was strongly endorsed by Dr. Grace Raymond Hebard of the state university. Such organizations as the Wyoming State Federation of Women’s Clubs and the Wyoming Motor Club also supported the meadowlark.
The western meadowlark was officially adopted on February 5, 1927. The meadowlark, cottonwood and bison are the most popular Great Plains states symbols. But only Wyoming and Kansas adopted all three.
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