W. D. Curtis is the leading produce broker of the state of Wyoming and is accounted one of the most progressive residents of the city of Laramie. In a word, he is a typical western man, alert, energetic and progressive, displaying those sterling traits which have ever been a dominant factor in the rapid and substantial upbuilding of this section of the country. Mr. Curtis is a native of Kansas, his birth having occurred in Paoli on the 28^th_of August, 1886. He is a son of C. N. and Rosa Curtis, who were also natives of the Sunflower state, whence they removed to Leadville, Colorado, where the mother still lives.
    W. D. Curtis, who was the only child of their marriage, attended the schools of Leadville, Colorado, after which he learned the business of assaying. He continued in Leadville for a time as an assayer and then turned his attention to the produce commission business, in which he was actively engaged in Leadville for nine years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Cripple Creek, Colorado, where he continued in the same line of business for a year. He next came to Laramie as manager for the Lawrence-Hennesy Fruit Company, conducting their interests in Laramie until 1914, when he decided to embark in business on his own account and did so. He has met with a substantial measure of success during the intervening period, for he had already become widely known, and soon secured a liberal patronage. He is today regarded as one of the most prominent and successful brokers in this section of the west and is the only broker in his line in Wyoming and the state's only member of the Fruit Jobbers' Association of America. In business affairs his judgment is sound, his discrimination keen and his enterprise unfaltering. Whatever he undertakes he carries forward to successful completion, for his energy and enterprise allow him to brook no obstacles that can be overcome by persistent and earnest effort.
    On the 10^th of May, 1905, Mr. Curtis was united in marriage to Miss Lillian Tracey, of Denver, Colorado, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Tracey, now living in Longmont, that state. Mrs. Curtis holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and they are well known socially.
    In politics Mr. Curtis maintains an independent course, voting for men and measures rather than for party. Fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and has taken the Royal Arch degree in Masonry, being also a member of the consistory and a Shriner. He is a very active, valued and prominent member of the chamber of commerce and is now serving on its executive committee. He does everything in his power to promote the welfare, growth and progress of the city, to extend its trade relations and to advance its improvements along all civic lines. He is indeed a stalwart champion of the west, its opportunities and its possibilities and his study of the situation enables him to speak with authority upon the question. He is a man possessed of many sterling qualities and characteristics. Self-made in every respect, his advancement is attributable entirely to his individual efforts. He stands for nothing but honest dealing and through straightforward business methods and unfailing enterprise he has built up a large and profitable produce brokerage business, selling only to the wholesale trade.
    His record should serve to inspire and encourage others, showing what may be accomplished when there is a will to dare and to do, and when effort is based upon honorable principles.