The Last Eleven Days of Earl Durand

Thursday, the 22nd, Jerred Metz will be giving a reading from his book The Last Eleven Days of Earl Durand at 7:00 p. m. in FAB 70. The reading is the first in a series sponsored by the Northwest Writer's Series.

In 1939 Earl Durand, a native of Powell, focused national and international attention on northwest Wyoming. What began as a simple case of poaching eventually turned into an eleven day "crime spree," as the papers of the day called it, complete with jail break, shoot outs, kidnappings, a posse, and a bank robbery.

By the time it was over Powell was the center of a 1939 version of a media storm. To this day there is still considerable disagreement as to what motivated Durand. For some, Durand was something of a Robin Hood figure who willing shared the meat he poached with those who needed it. For others, he was an antisocial outcast who deserved his fate.

Metz' book is based on personal interviews with many of the central characters.

For more information on Durand's saga, see Rob Koelling's "Earl Durand" from First National Bank of Powell: The History of a Bank, a Community, and a Family