Putt-Putt Golf Tournament July 28 to Benefit James Reeb Memorial Park in North Casper

Quick history lesson:   James Reeb was a Casper native whose death became a pivotal moment in the history of the civil rights movement back in 1965.   He grew up here, met his wife at Natrona County High School, attended Casper College, and eventually became a minister and moved to Boston.  Along with the rest of the nation, he watched the "Bloody Sunday" events of March 7 on television, when protesters in Alabama were brutally beaten by law enforcement as they attempted to march across the Edmund Pettus bridge from Selma to Montgomery.

Reeb was moved, and heeded the call of Dr. Martin Luther King, flying to Alabama with other ministers and social workers, and ended up being beaten severely himself by several men wielding clubs and yelling racial slurs.  He died two days later in a clinic in Birmingham - his murder spawning national outrage, and an emotional plea by then-president Lyndon B. Johnson to Congress to urge passage of the Voting Rights Act, as Dr. King eulogized Reeb at Browns' Chapel.

There's a park dedicated to his memory in North Casper - adjacent to, and owned by the Winter Memorial Presbyterian Church.  It's in dire need of restoration, and the Rotaract Club of Casper Young Professionals Network (CYPN) is raising funds to tackle the project with their inaugural Putt-Putt Golf Tournament on Thursday, July 28 from 6-10pm.  It'll be held at the Mike Sedar Park Putt-Putt Course at 785 College Drive.

Admission is $20 for adults, kids 10 and under are free - and includes all-you-can-play green fees, plus a BBQ dinner and beverage.   For more info on the CYPN and a list of their upcoming events, visit casperyoungprofessionals.org.