LARAMIE, Wyo. -- Wyoming shoppers choosing to buy gifts at local mom-and-pop stores this holiday season can sample cookies with Mrs. Claus and refuel at Santa's Saloon, and kids can send letters to the jolly old elf via Pony Express riders.

Trey Sherwood, executive director of the Laramie Main Street Alliance, acknowledged most of the money shoppers spend at corporate chains ends up out of state, but when people buy local, they support their neighbors, and 68 cents of every dollar stays in the community.

"And it turns into payroll for local jobs, and it turns into support for our little-league teams," Sherwood outlined. "Because small businesses are often the sponsors for our youth sports."

Historic downtown Laramie, founded as a railroad town, is celebrating small businesses all week, capping off with a holiday parade. Instead of a traditional tree, officials will light up the city's historic train.

In addition to Santa, the "Old West Holiday" in downtown Cheyenne also features lights and decorations on architecture dating back to Wyoming's territorial days. Many buildings are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Haylee Chenchar, vice president of the Cheyenne Downtown Development Authority, said small businesses have turned downtown into a festive winter wonderland.

"Everyone who comes to downtown, they will not only get to do their holiday shopping and support local businesses, but they really get a one-of-a-kind holiday experience that can't be replicated anywhere else," Chenchar explained.

Sherwood pointed out folks also can support most local businesses, and avoid big-box store supply-chain logjams, from the comfort of your sofa.

"Supporting local through online, you can sit in your pajamas at home and know that you are still making an investment in your downtown by shopping local, not having to worry about it being shipped late," Chenchar concluded.

Summer brings plenty of opportunities to get out and discover hidden historic treasures in your community, and preservation advocates are encouraging Wyoming residents to dig deeper.

Clint Gilchrist, chairperson of the Sublette County Historic Preservation Board, recently led an effort to survey some 50 of the county's historically significant places, which found thirteen properties were eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

"What I think this survey did was not only bring out the importance of those community buildings," Gilchrist observed. "All of a sudden it's not just a building you drive by anymore, it's a building that represents those people who used to live in the community, and some of the people that were important to building the community."

Gilchrist said the national spotlight has increased interest in preserving historic buildings and other sites.

Sublette County Commissioners got on board after learning federal funding was available to survey sites constructed before 1940, identified by local tax assessors. They applied for grants through the state Historic Preservation Office, secured matching funds, and hired a professional to do the work.

Cultural research specialists, which can include historians, historical architects or archaeologists, travel to each property and assess its historical integrity. Gilchrist explained they then make a determination on whether it should be added to the National Register of Historic Places.

"Does it still look like when it was built?" Gilchrist outlined. "Has it been greatly modified? Has it not? What are the historical features that represent the era it was built? So if it was built in 1930, what are the features on the building that are still part of that 1930 feel?"

One site near Big Piney is still in use today by oil and gas companies. Belco Village, named after the petroleum company that set up shop in the 1950s, sits on a site established through a depression-era New Deal program which put men to work building national parks, bridges and other infrastructure.

"When they brought the CCC program here, the Civilian Conservation Corps, they built a whole series of barracks for the men who were here to work," Gilchrist pointed out. "And those barracks are located at the exact site that this Belco Village is now located."

Congress is considering a new bill to establish a national historical park honoring union organizer Cesar Chavez and the farmworker movement he led.

The new park would include the existing national monument in Keene, plus the site of the first headquarters in Delano and the Santa Rita Center in Phoenix, Arizona. U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz - D-CA - co-sponsored the House version of the bill.

"Growing up the son of farm workers in Coachella, I remember seeing Cesar Chavez organize our parents," said Ruiz. "And he was an inspiration to all of us then and he continues to be an inspiration to me to this day and to many of us."

McDonnell Hall in San Jose is likely to be added to the park in the future. The bill also would establish a national historic trail along the 300-mile march route taken by farmworkers between Delano and Sacramento in 1966.

Ruiz said part of the National Park Service's mandate is to tell the nation's story - and all groups should see their achievements honored.

"It's so important to elevate the voices of individuals and the movements like the farmworkers who are such an essential part of our nation's history, our culture, our economy," said Ruiz. "And that's why it's so important to tell their stories as well."

Right now only a small percentage of the nation's national historic sites honor Americans of color.

Five properties are newly added to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places this Historic Preservation Month.

The list includes two cemeteries, an old academy building and town firehose house, a 1720s Colonial-style home and what used to be a dairy barn.

Lake View Cemetery in Center Harbor overlooks the Bay, and is known as a well-preserved example of an early 19th-century rural cemetery. Union Cemetery in Portsmouth is smaller and urban, and was established in 1844.

Ben Wilson - state historic preservation officer and director of the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources - noted that cemeteries can be some of the most valuable historical resources.

"Cemeteries are sort of a microcosm of society, and they have a lot to tell us about our local communities - about fashion, about art," said Wilson. "A lot of cemeteries contain public sculpture and really speak about who we are as a people."

Wilson said the Boscawen Academy structure represents the age of academy building - he said academies in New England were the predecessors of today's public and private school systems.

From the 1720s, the John Gregg House is the only remaining home of the original 20 Irish-Scottish families who settled in Nutfield. And New Hampshire's farm heritage is represented in the Houston Barn on the outskirts of Hopkinton.

Wilson added that preserving some of New Hampshire's older buildings can bring environmental benefits.

"We often talk about how we become more energy efficient and try to find ways to conserve energy, deal with climate change," said Wilson. "And really, one of the most energy-efficient buildings is the building that's already built. "

Renovating existing buildings for energy efficiency almost always uses less energy than building from scratch, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Wilson added that the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources has launched a 'historic highway marker quest' - if folks visit at least ten highway markers this month, they can fill out a form on the website and receive a prize.