Mills brothers’ donation funds memory kiosks

Thanks to a generous donation from brothers Chris and Craig Mills, Weston County School District No. 1 will soon install two digital memory kiosks. These kiosks will commemorate the athletic and other extracurricular accomplishments of Newcastle students and alumni, as well as feature other related items, such as the alumni hall of fame and senior class portraits.

Chris is a graduate of the Newcastle High School class of ’77 and Craig the class of ’79. They are the sons of Ronald “Ronnie” and Mary Mills and are funding the kiosk project to honor their parents’ memory. Ronald and Mary were heavily involved in the school district for many years, and each kiosk will have a slide dedicated to them.

“As devoted alumni and advocates for public education, (Ronald and Mary) helped guide and strengthen the district for future generations. (Ronald) drove school and activity buses for 32 years, served with distinction as a school board trustee for 22 years, and is a 2014 inductee into the Newcastle High School Hall of Fame,” the slide says.

According to Craig, his father’s passing, after his many years of service, inspired an outpouring of support from the community.

“The community (honored) him with monetary awards … between $12,000 and $13,000,” he said.

Moved by this show of support, the brothers decided to match the amount contributed by the community, together donating $25,000 to WCSD No. 1.

Before the donation, the school district faced a couple of issues related to its display of class portraits and student honors. Superintendent Brad LaCroix told the News Letter Journal that, in 2002, class portraits were removed from school walls due to a fire code violation. These were relocated to the Weston County Senior Services building, where they currently reside. More recently, some athlete honors on display became problematic too. LaCroix said that about five years ago, the American Civil Liberties Union of Wyoming brought a complaint to the school district about the honors being inequitable.

“What happened was most of the sports that were represented were male-dominated. Women were not represented equally, and some sports were not represented equally, and … the school was mandated to take that all down,” Craig said.

The removal of the honors went against Ronald’s values.

“One of Dad’s favorite things was having people honored and visible,” Craig said.

Initially, the school district planned to bring the traditional displays into compliance, and Chris and Craig were fund-raising to support this effort. However, LaCroix approached the brothers about switching to a digital kiosk approach.

After a vendor was chosen, the brothers considered the digitization of the Newcastle High School Hall of Fame, whose inductees are recognized with a wall plaque. They learned that after the purchase of a first kiosk, the vendor would reduce the price of a second from $25,000 to $10,000. As a result, Chris and Craig donated this amount on top of their initial $25,000 contribution.

The first kiosk will be placed in the commons area that is shared by the high school and middle school in the spot where a flip-rack display of class portraits is located. The second will be installed against the wall where the NHS Hall of Fame plaques hang.

Craig said that there is no firm deadline for installation of the kiosks but that the school district hopes to have at least one up and running in time for the All-School Reunion so that returning alumni can stop by the school and see the technology.

The kiosks will require maintenance, which will cost roughly $1,500 per year. Craig said that a fundraiser to cover these costs is being considered but will not likely be launched at this year’s reunion to avoid conflicting with other campaigns.

The fundraiser, though not set in stone, could involve soliciting $20 donations at future reunions and providing donors with raffle tickets and the opportunity to win a prize. According to Craig, accomplished photographer and NHS alumni Dee Mann Aust has already donated two photos to be used for this purpose.

With the kiosk project, Craig and Chris are not only enabling the school district to honor students and alumni in accordance with their father’s wishes but also hope to celebrate their parents’ legacy.

Playing a role in the Mills legacy

Ashlynn Mills, Chris Mills’ granddaughter and Craig Mills’ great niece, is also showing initiative and generosity similar to that of her grandfather and great uncle.

With the assistance of her father, Tyler Mills, Ashlynn, who is 13 and entering the eighth grade this fall, has designed and sold Newcastle-themed board games akin to the game Monopoly. In 2024, the father-and-daughter team designed, had printed and sold most of an initial run of 500 copies of Newcastle-opoly. Instead of the iconic locations associated with the classic game, such as Boardwalk and Park Place, the board is composed of local businesses that sponsored the creation of the game.

This undertaking was meant primarily to fund Ashlynn’s costs for a school-sponsored Washington, D.C., trip. However, she sold enough copies that she was able to cover the luggage costs of the 34 fellow Newcastle Middle School students who also went on the trip. According to her father, this expense was about $1,200.

Encouraged by the success of this endeavor, Ashlynn and Tyler decided to put together a new version–Newcastle-opoly: History Edition. Unlike the first version, this one features Newcastle businesses that are no longer in operation. 

“(We included) businesses that aren’t here anymore … businesses that helped define Newcastle,” Tyler said.

Ashlynn said that she has enjoyed the process of putting together the new edition.

“It has been a very fun experience because I got to meet people who grew up here and who told me stories about what the town used to be like,” she said.

She noted local historian Leonard Cash as being particularly helpful and said that he provided some of the historic pictures used in the game.

Like the first edition, the new one may be purchased for $25.

“(The kiosks) represent a proud family tradition of service, leadership and loyalty to Newcastle and Weston County,” Craig said.

A related theme of the displays will be “Once a Dogie, always a Dogie.”