Forty-five years ago tonight. September 24, 1973, two girls went to the neighborhood grocery store on an errand for their mother in the sleepy western town of Casper, Wyoming. Eighteen-year-old Becky Thomson and her eleven-year-old sister, Amy Burridge walked out of the store to find a flat tire on their car. Two men offer to help and then force the girls to get into their white chevy impala at knifepoint. That night changed everything for two sisters and one small town. That night ended with both girls thrown off a bridge and one of them dead. By the end of the next day, their assailants were in police custody, as much for their protection and the protection of the community. Forty-five years later and that night is still very much a part of the Casper community.
This summer my husband and I moved back to Casper Wyoming after being away for seven years. When family came to visit for Labor Day we did what we also do when we have out of town guests - we went exploring. One of our go-to places to take visitors is Fremont Canyon. The drive past Alcova Lake just illustrates the stark difference between Wyoming and the lush, rolling farmland that is the midwest. We had heard rumors that the canyon had a dark history, but it was the lone bench with a date on it that prompted me to investigate further. I cannot look at this bridge ever the same way. To know that those young women were thrown off this bridge in an effort to hide a crime. To know that Becky survived in that
canyon for an endless, starless night with nothing but her hair and sagebrush to keep her warm. The terror that she must have felt leaves me breathless. She lived through the night, but I am not really sure she survived. The demons of that night chased Becky for the rest of her life.
As gruesome as the subject matter was, it really gave me an insight into the history of my adopted town. The author gave the history of the cowtown, the wrath of the North Platte River helped to shape the "haves" and "have-nots" of the city. The history of the cow-town turned oil city had a lot to do with the development of the North Casper that produced the two hoods who ruined the city's innocence. The innocence lost that night just wasn't Becky's innocence, it was an entire town that lost its innocence. I wished that I could say that this story had a happy ending, but these stories rarely do.
Author Ron Franscell tells the story of his neighbors with a heart-aching lyrical manner. What happened to Amy and Becky was deeply personal to him. He knew them. They were his neighbors. He takes a risk by sharing his own vulnerability about that night, but it makes the whole book that much more "real" to me. They weren't just girls who lived and died 45 years ago. The pain of that night lives on in all who knew them.
Bottom Line - The Darkest Night is not usually the kind of book that I read. I am confident in saying that if it wasn't based in Casper truth, I probably would not have read it, but I am glad that I did. As I sit in my recliner on this windy, dark, Casper night, I sit under a blanket because of the evening chill. I know that what happened on that bridge forty-five years ago should never be forgotten. Becky and Amy's story should never be forgotten.
Details:
- The Darkest Night by Ron Franscell
- On Facebook
- Pages: 304
- Publisher: St. Martin's Press
- Publication Date: 3/4/2008
- Buy it Here!
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