Do You Remember Using Cheyenne’s Incinerators?

Do you have an incinerator at your house?

Driving down some alleys in Cheyenne, I noticed how many of the old incinerators or ash pits are still standing.

Growing up in Cheyenne during the 1960s, everyone was still allowed to burn trash in the city limits. We'd always have to make sure that none of the neighbors had their clothes hanging on the line first before we asked if we could go light it. It was one of the few times we were given permission to play with fire.

When we first moved in to the house on West 31st Street, our ash pit was large and cylindrical, but it had been there a long time and had many large cracks in it. So the old one was knocked down and we soon had a new square cement incinerator put in.

As you drive through the alleys of Cheyenne, take notice of all the different shapes and sizes of ash pits still around. Most are in various states of disrepair and often are filled with trash. Do you have one in your alley? Have you ever heard of anyone turning one into anything else? They are definitely a piece of Cheyenne's history.