My grandmother is Isabelle Lyman Sanders. One of my favorite things to do when I was growing up was to visit Grandma Sanders. She owned a small country store on the highway that passed through Otto, Wyoming. Her house was attached to the store, and we thought it was delightful that she always served all kinds of store-bought treats. I loved her sandwiches on Wonder bread, chips and dip, vanilla sandwich cookies, and of course soda! My siblings and cousins and I loved sitting in the old metal chairs on the covered porch in front of the store on hot summer days.
A voracious reader, winter visits found me being entertained for hours by perusing the stash of magazines she kept on the end table in her living room. Another treat was the book section of her store. She was an LDS book carrier, and she always allowed me to sit between the shelves and read for as long as I wanted.
Apparently Belle’s Store was not just a favorite for the grandkids. Although I didn’t realize it during my childhood, my Grandma was quite well-known by travelers from all over the country who stopped in to stretch their legs, buy some snacks, and visit for a few minutes before continuing their journeys.
My Grandma’s notoriety was brought to the attention of Governor Mike Sullivan, Governor of Wyoming in 1992, and he proclaimed December 14, 1992 Belle Sanders–Belle of Wyoming Day.”
This proclamation is a wonderful tribute to the beloved matriarch of the Sanders family and paints a picture of her life and character:
WHEREAS, Belle Sanders, born in 1908, has devoted her life to her family and community of Otto, Wyoming; and
WHEREAS, in her spare time she has become widely known as a premier gardener, cultivating beautiful flower gardens and growing vegetables which she cans and sells at her small country store, “BELLE’S”, which she has been operating since the early 1950’s. “BELLE’S”, on the road to Yellowstone, is known the world over as a quaint little place with a charming lady proprietor; and
WHEREAS, this busy lady has also been a success as a mother of nine, a grandmother of sixty and a great-grandmother of seventy-eight, and still found time to work as a correspondent for three newspapers in the Big Horn Basin; and
WHEREAS, Belle has contributed greatly to the beautfication of Wyoming through her planting of wildflowers along the highway that runs through Otto. When a highway project threatened her efforts, this eighty-years-young lady decided to adopt this section of highway and treat the passersby to her tremendous gardening talents; and
WHEREAS, the Greybull Standard has named her “The Belle of Otto”;
NOW THEREFORE, I MIKE SULLIVAN, Governor of the State of Wyoming, do hereby proclaim December 14, 1992 as
“BELLE SANDERS—BELLE OF WYOMING DAY”
in Wyoming.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have herunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Wyoming to be affixed this 14th day of December, 1992.
Signed by Mike Sullivan, Governor
Grandma was featured in the local newspapers and was the Grand Marshall of the Big Horn County Fair Parade the next summer.
I’m so proud to be able to call Belle Sanders – The Belle of Wyoming – my Grandma! I’m remembering her on this special day.
Such a great tribute to Grandma on her special day!!
I remember visiting her a few times when I was very young on our family trips to Wyoming. When I was 15 Grandpa Sanders told me that if I could drive the 67 impala, (that was sitting in her yard) home to Michigan, I could have it. My Father and I only needed to do some very minor work to make it run, as she hadn’t driven it since 1996, as far as we could tell, this was in 2001.
The story my dad told me was that she would drive the impala all over the highways, and I mean all over, because she couldn’t see over the steering wheel, and she would just throw her wildflower seeds right out the window.
Hi what an amazing story my family is from Wisconsin we knew your grandmother is the gas station still across the street ? We used to come every summer last year we were there 1979 I think . Wow that’s crazy we used to stay down the road just past the bridge be hind Bell’s We know Walter Hebert I think his name was sugar beet farmer . I was 10 or 12 last time I was there.we swam in the river all the time we used to buy snacks from Bell’s all the time.