https://caspercollege.cvlcollections.org/files/original/88390afa2276835e9d343ef5b0acc1c6.pdf 0584178f01a9760d69a9c8f33614d394 PDF Text Text of' Wyoming ilVES AND Volume 48 n |>ICINO Fall, 1976 Number 2 Cheyenne Rawlins Evanston Buffalo Worland Moorcroft Lander Ca.sper Cheyenne •llSTORiCAL .....................Director ecior. State Museums . Historical Research •'iihlications Division .nd Records Divixivn Katherine A. Halverson Editor John C. Paige William H. Barton Ellen E. Glover Editorial Assistants . the spring and fall Historical Society. or sale to the public I The Editor does Pinion made by the -.‘d in J Life vcs and Published biantuially by the WYOMING STATE ARCHIVES AND HISTORICAL DEPARTiMENT Official Publication of the Wyoming Slate Historical Society 3< 'PW •s'" •c �•M* >3 ft ft' ft Im a; ft (7) H O ft ft ft m CZ) 2 o o ntfirtiMnifciiwr '^irti jwu ■■■iwwi n. ... Ik ..... ft f. ♦f.'i -. 'L^r- lit A __Courtesy of Waller R. Jones lined ,l,c wcsl side of Cnspc- S Cenlcr 5„cet (ri»hl si.lc of picoel I his pholngraph taken circa 1917 shows the saloons that the Prohibition era. before o O 3 =• re ._j <’ e o ■'' g re 2 ft) TT o. < 3 O rn =r _ re o r* D(/) O S’ ‘ ST re CS. 3 re 0 w '7^35 « 3o 2 STS « -2 2 3 re CL?j yl 5C rz. < r» « 5 2? 2j o '^J?2 § S ’ -rt °>^«^§ 2** ft“ « 3“• § -tJo ■ re g ? V bj a □" re • re . 93 M 're 3' ■ 3 o Oa S3 O rt S' o o d:i‘re 3 Si’ ftf Vt re c, n O w rT S re o rt ft) </> < ft) o 3 ^?r-5'5”55"’ “• '^S^o.o §--3§3^32e Q. a* & !3 ' Si bo ’ J; -. <3 fra 3'^ 2:< li u re o o o c n rt ore O 2 Q 3 c/^ O O-8 re �Casper’s Prokibltloa years Walter R. Jones Casper greeted the dawning of Prohibition with a quietude that belied fourteen troubled years ahead. At midnight, June 30. 1919, the nine saloons operating legitimately along Center street either closed their doors or turned into soft drink parlors, and the newlyopened brewer}' of which Casper’s citizens were so proud shut down its operations.* But beneath the calm a dark force was fermenting to give shape to the history of Prohibition in Casper. A. J. Mokler, Natrona County pioneer newsman and historian, recorded For several months previous to the closing of the saloons a thriving business in the liquor traffic was done, many truck loads of whiskey, wine, and beer being hauled to the residences of those who desired to lay in a supply.- Casper did not want Prohibition, and for its refusing to accept the law, it suffered as deeply the ills of lawlessness as did any city in the United States. The liquor supplies “laid in” were first tapped by local author­ ities when members of the city police department raided a house on the Sandbar and found a closet full of whiskey and beer.-* Bootlegging on the Sandbar was soon to become as commonplace to that locale as was prostitution and gambling. When firemen arrived at a blaze spreading through several Sandbar shacks one afternoon, they discovered the source of the fire to be an over­ heated stilt. The still’s owner could not be found, so the firemen turned the moonshine equipment over to the police department.■* It is not recorded that anyone visited the police in an effort to retrieve the apparatus. The fine for selling or manufacturing bootleg liquor was set at SlOO, a sum not sufficient to discourage many of the Sandbar bootleggers. One individual, proprietor of a notorious dive called ’The saloons alone the west side of Center street were as follows: Mid­ west Bar, Grand Central Bar. The Wyoming, The Buffet. Stock Exchange, Elkhorn, The Inn. Parlor Car. and Burke’s Place. Alfred James Mokler, History oj Natrona County. Wyomins. 1S8S-1922. pp. 187-188. The brew­ ery was located east of town, and, in 1975 it housed the Cook’s Potato Flake Company. -Mokler, History, p. 188. ^The Casper Dailv Tribune, July 22, 1919, p, I. Hbid.. March 10,’1921, p. I. �266 )» I!: i'Vh t!' X^^TS-.-T ANNALS OF WYOMING the Texas Lunch, having been fined the cusiomaiy $100, returned to his business establishment and continued selling moonshine in hopes of quicklv making up his loss of revenue. But, as The Casper Dofiv Tribune announced, lhe bootlegger “figured without lhe police, however. A w-aich was kept on his place last night, and with the appearance of lhe goods, (he) was placed under arrest."'' Feeling the sling of a second $100 fine, he stated, “Me no do it no more?’’' which "was not really lhe truth because he went on to compile a case history of liquor violations. Another Sandbar booiieg’jer ran a second-siory “coffee house” called the Saddle Rock Tavern. Being arrested for bootlegging, he claimed he was merely making “Sacrificial wine.’ The -Judge looked down at the defendant and asked, “600 gallons of sacrificial wine?” The bootlegger replied, “Well. I ship it to Rock Springs, Cheyenne, and Sheridan.” The Judge, “with a wry humor, fined the wine-maker $100 and confiscated the sacrificial wine-making still.”’ , , Many of lhe prostitutes on the Sandbar sold whiskey in their cribs or parlor houses for fiftv cents a shot or seventy-five cents mixed. Red Fenwick, a reporter for The Denver Post, stated that “in a few cheaper places, a ’shot and ditch’ could be had for 25 cents—take vour own chances.”^ Bootlegging was too profitable and popular to remain confined to the Sandbar for verv long. Annoyed by the spreading of moon­ shine joints to lhe heart of Casper's business district, county offi­ cials launched a major raid in November, 1921. The results were that “twelve Casper business institutions said to be involved in traffic in bootleg whiskey, violation of the state liquor and drug laws, and illicit gambling, are defendants to the charges.” The list of businesses, while it contained some found on lhe Sandbar, read much like a directory of businesses located along lhe west side of Center street. The newspaper quoted the county attorney as stat­ inc he desired to extend the raids to ever,' part of Casper where bootlegging and gambling existed.*' City and countv law enforcement agencies both extended their policinc up Prohibition violators, but such activities were of little consequence in a city where bootlegging w’as so thoroughly accept­ ed. Robert David, a prominent Casperite who left his raemoirs to Casper CoDege, once told of his making the rounds with a Casper bootleg delivery boy during the 1920s. bootlegger He was ir contained : W e drove houses sio garage bel would ope inside the floor. A ■ door woiii on to anoi ■ H H H H H H H ™ So perva; thai even yt has remark another of there to sell., Violabor just court fir risk related in his mem accompantt Sandbar. 1 the sound • beheld tw > the effect alcohol), from the the effect Sometim November. alleged boc Calling for a volley of officers ihc two of lhe during the feeling iha: - < s .' To begi: ; the raid fc < though the ■ strong aga Working through a friend, I was inviied one night to accompany a '-Jhid.. October 21, 1921, p. 1. ^Jbid.. October 23, 1921, p. 8. 'Casper Siar-Tribune, April 26, 1969. p. 8a^The Denver Posi. December 16, 1973, p. 64. ’•T/jr Cfljper Daily Tribune. November 9, 1921, pp. 1 & 2. >‘'Robert -•' 1110-1111. 7 iiConver. : and Norma i-David. • i-‘Thc Ca’ ■*. �Zfn casper-s prohibition years .u. rinrk of a downtown alley, trunk bootlegger's^iis^Co:e 8 coupe whose SI00, relumed moonshine in But, as The igured without ,ace last night, placed under :ie stated, “Me ecause he went •coffee house booilecging, he •’ The Judge ins of sacrificial Rock Springs, -y humor, fined al wine-making vhiskcy in their veniy-five cents Post, stated that i be had for 25 remain confined ending of moonrict, county offiThe results were , be involved in liquor and drug .arses.” The list ne '’Sandbar, read the wesi side of attornev as siaiof Casper where th extended their .lies were of little noroughly accepileft his memoirs ie rounds with a to accompany a «nXi”piled boxes of the bigger.. and —J ric^c’’ j smp 550? bbehind u big ive up to the southi par would We drove up to . The garage door j^ble home, and stop. - find u houses stood, then ®Uh'’me crack in the garage behind inside the door,• ,ould close silently, and the legge door wclife style Casper's4 life on lo another door. So pervasively was trom^ii. '^More than one person So pervasively was More than one person that even vouncsters made a profit trom ^^\^b:?^<^':hVcitvs"S:nc^ Xe 10 sell back to some t’OoHegger^ Violation Prohibition in Casper h,^^ consequential just court fines handed phvs^ical danger to i^e violator risk related to the crime was that o p in which he had -emoKS Robert Dav,d>old^c. a accompanied Sandbar. r apartments came Then the door opened and the effects ot dr.nk.ng S.erno prohibition. In early Sometimes the innocenthPoI sheriff deput.es surpr.sed severa Sl^^ot^isVT^^-P - - - - fr& a'^voheJoVeunS?^^^^^^^ kiHed officers” then'rushed two of the suspects. The even dep^^^ proceeded^Io beat ‘’elating tS thts raid thm followed Caspentes with a bitter durins the next feeling that justice foXving filed the charges m anome, College Collection). Vol. 22, PPvRoberl David. Narrative. HlO-imttusiaiu uConvcrsanons ... oill Jones BarberofShop. February 28, 1975. and Norman Murphy of v„ mi, vol. 22. p. 1111, .QIQp. «I. 1. vJDavid. Narrative. November 3, 1919. y-tThe Casper Daily Trihune. 1 & 2. 3 �OF WYOMING suhrisL!H»LRW’>^®MB;“'’. ^Wyommg State Arches a nd Historical Department Photo ,, .he Prohlbluon las forced lo ^fXged bootleggers was h"“^?”l‘^Xre Corrur” govemnte^ in Caspe: on south his wife. V were reie._. 1 reiease. hj was critic, should m ‘ picion O' '-’ he could s rnan's dis', cheap an ered a ftit; cin couBk 10.' Con\. councilnni county ia'^ citizens aji convicted ship. periies sti • Wherea',. gai pos‘ 1 which a ■» we. the T. non lor ", counciSr <. The defcC;' constiiutu counciini. np5S’‘>' witness a irav . '“ '^' *°“^ ” j^ocner of the verdict had faded peojle^ .n ^Casp^^^ Before the ° goals. The most o,ed bootleggers. began booking tor scap g^ two susp Tribune and the deput> • competence, The ^pd accused SS. f»? "i.X'iS-S”-«“ " ;:?;^^pncelf.isdef.ance. uMoUer. v-Tbe Casper Daily in April 20, 1920, p. 1- The citj.;. and corrt-i^; forcemeni^'; found a sf'i payments. . the city's;:the noteb .*^ to be -11 f protectee^ with the st: if-lnforr-;.. Casper D-. ■ April 20. I'lnfon-.; Daily Trii..- �269 CASPER'S PROHIBITION YEARS >hin citv and county D UP 0^ fh* C'ly rs; Tali corruption and government in Casper. £arly i on south Walnu ^street his wife, were arresteh ^ere released the sheriffs a man and occupants of Uquor. but ^evcjal gah ^he.r cilman signed tne at a city council meeting, release. , another J^who have was criticized by □ councilrnen question replied that should not t>e ^n /the ^Much to this alderpicion over Lv's bonds he pe satisfied with so he could sign any o j^igtory would n men uncovman's distress, cgveral months later, belonging to the ver cheap an answer. Se warehouse be § wanted ered a large cache o hquor laws, the ^hy councilman who felt^h^^^^ months m the to. Convicted o fo qq sentenced to t iment Photo December 8, ra. the .nBa.ed Cas- "SigiWiB nv attorney licned on a igias, where ’ J. Mokler >per but a •mg ii was e jurymen, (ihers conV the jur>’, mpelled to -sship Hung ■5 J in Casper e the sheriff bootleggers, ji/y Tribune arid accused 3h.”i5 This presence of beginning to non Ion to rem courts on councilman. „»n5ed the petition tO , The defendant. constitutional e resign his se Casper's graft councilman was tore of Casp The city counctlma late’ November 19-^0 they and corruption a house on west F ..protection forcement notebooks making to members of found a set j bootleggers had ths '' Implicated by pavments ^^rtment for several months said the city’s ^tailed columns was a P the most elabomtely the notebooks .,,rpr and pavoff ma Cnsoer Along .. •• rinformanon on Du,7y Tnnwne, Feoruaiy ^3^. 'USS" 14, 1924. -/V=»Z.- �annals of WYOMING nllecedlv involved cvcle policeman and a P’“'\‘^'°X"ev could bring a' case to court • , t rinc Before the county attorney cou c T»: sMBBS’Sigs rA*- ' i‘5 ‘ - •'. XtV' 1^' ^a^^t^^; d-ntt^ed nom t^^l-,, , .ell-kno™ it -A ‘W >• *2 permittee SIOO. To sub their "sia had beer collected and that < The nt Natrona < between" that the s those of n 270 1'^ made the mistake of T police were staging a raid, boollegcing establishment wh» P nothing more The above examples of corrupuon -t the climactic events th7n a prelude, however, m comp announcements that il ROU! ?e7eral'crand^'jurt'S^d “la’u nlSat SbiuSria°"' Among citizens had conspired mavor. chief of police and s:,;s.srss^-‘s;s.;?;cs5 ■penerXloVsp^^^^^^ "^“"^^^eTof' Tavino/opS^a' Sr^as I?;IP: defendants good enough C,Xdl'X ma^^, pohce chief opening the ^d- e^‘^"'bvSX* ? ;Xtion monev would jr;sr tL anorne°: charged, one largeFurers and retail dealers^ upj-ed to operate in Casper, the ^calc manufacturer was -nrotection pavment of 5.1UUU, su* a privilege being an ^^sSon. however, a secBiilbsss on ,be -se nb^raaed fro^“ I X "* C <■ -Si** ** he resicnc warn the The form sheriff vis Tne formi afraid of death of t whiskey r In deve produced of the aU« ifThc all gangland si also had sc edge conce and David. �CASPER'S PROHIBITION YEARS 271 to stay in bus.ness for a monthly fee of from $25 to ivolved I court, ise was jse the bout a Casper : made known -■ to the ebooks he had -known aid." ig more events nts that would that a Casper Among ice and ■i grand having •r, while -very in ng “The asms in it had 'periies. endanis :he fedviolate hen the vhereby anufacc iargefee for SI 000, a secag busidecided .rs were ng: The . 21, 22, ’•?o substantiate the » tt« then -star witness he He ela.med that he had " £'se of m^mbem ofTe'emsp,ra'cy. “He'f^r'ther's'mmd thm belom ROAD HOUSLFESTIV'TIES HALTED I'' *'**" MrU S«r*«*** U CloM £tur; G»«tl —Wyoming Siau Archives and Historical Department Photo Casper Daily Tribune. December 22. 1923 he resigned ; TtefomeTund^shLiff clamed that tV:, ^^e he was not whiskey ring s liquor?' i»The alleged hijacker was|jaken 'h'^ria^on^uial^o^^conspirac^ 1 tA <Tn with ±e muJder^ o"r a\' least had iniimtue knowl?!f,V“on«rmng'if. T:,e C«.per TriP,,,,e^^ October -3. 193-. p. 1. and David. Nurronve. Vol. PP- �ANNALS OF WYOMING t:: .‘JI Ki C’ s < conducted The vici:: with the. still wes: involved ; because ing civil r. leted bootlegger, testified that he had paid the “star witness a sum of $100 a month during the year 1931. Another witness, a brother of an alleged bootlegger, claimed that his brother had originallv been paying $25 a month for protection, but when to d the' payments would be increased to $100 a month, he refused to make anv further donation. After this, according to iesiimon>, the brother s bootleg joint was raided. Other witnesses testified to having purchased whiskey from one or the other of Casper s two large-scale whiskey manufacturers. The defendants’ attorneys first tactic of defense was to discredit the government witnesses’ testimony by questioning the integriiv of the witnesses themselves. The state s “star witness was proved to be an ex-convict from Nebraska, and the former undersheriff was claimed to have been bitter about the sheriffs dismissing him. Further, the defense attorneys produced evidence to the cited that one of the federal agents had been drunk while conducting his investigation. Following the assault on the government witnesses, the defense attomevs then brought forth their own witnesses. The first to testify was Casper's mavor who denied having ever [®ceived a penny of the supposed protection money. He claimed that he had made everv effort to clean up Casper, and that he had never made anv form of agreement to allow vice to find protection withm the shelter of his^office. He further denied having ever made an Wf in o; law enf< a^ed iliv ncls . . orders fi Casper'j • must n(>' While order of f history of its resulU; 1933. gow chiicisin Ir: lawlessnes. In dealing v won by tho> short, was n agreement with sheriff. One after another, the defendants took the stand and demed particioatinc in anv sort of a liquor conspiracy. Summing up their case, the defense'attorneys stated that the prosecution had not proved that a conspirac\ had in fact existed in Casper, and that not as much as one defendant had admitted making protection payments. The accused officials, the attorneys claimed, had made ever\- effort to uphold the law faithfully. “The whole case, one attorney for the defense charged, “smacks of the graveyard. Let the dead past bury' its dead. ’ After eight davs of testimony and two days of deliberation, the iurv returned a verdict of not guilty in the case of each and everv defendant. Announcing the verdict to ns readers, T/te Casper Tribune-Herald quoted the sheriff as having stated that he was “glad the case had come to trial because it will quiet the rumors that have been in circulation since the federal investigation started.*’ Thus the conspiracy case fizzled while, in like manner. Prohi­ bition went down the drain. But in no way did the passmg these two events bring an end to corruption and bootlegging in Casper. It was not uniif 1950 that the true winds of reform were felt in the citv. In June, 1950, two rookie policemen and a pair of veterans, one of whom had been on the police force since 19-o, ^^The Caspc ■ -^The Caspc ; ■^5 �A r CASPER'S PROHIBITION YEARS 'ss” a ess, a r had n told ^ed to mony, stified ispers .scredit tegrity proved /sheriff ig him. -•Cl that ing his defense first to eived a he had jr made ihin the lade an J denied up their had noi and that roiection /ad made ise,” one .rd. Let ibcraiion. each and iers, The ated that quiet the .estigation er, Prohising these n Casper, ere felt in a pair of ince 1926, 1 273 20 conducted a Hquor raid on a ••rooming-house^.)«" fo'c^hTem s ability to catch them The victims, surprised by he pm (he booze at a wi‘h their ntoonsh-'’?a,S there would be no protection money still west of Casper. This time there wouia bootleggers "^:^er .«•.“ young attorney who. promts- other devious chan- law enforcemeni most of our S;?:,f^amhl,n. anu Illegal endeavor X^^^tZ'wordsel— - Caspe? was a^i^ ,ts resultant companion corruption.-^^ and drew 1933. government within the c y the weight of criticism from a result of the 1917 oil boom, lawlessness bear down on them p hibition, few honors were county. Prohibition, in short, was not Casper’s finest hour. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Walter R. Jones Manuscripts and Other Writings Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Description An account of the resource Manuscript versions of Walter R. Jones's Sand Bar and other pieces of his writing, published or unpublished. Language A language of the resource ENG Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Walter R. Jones Papers, NCA 01.v.1996.01 US WyCaC. Casper College Archives and Special Collections. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context NCA 01.v.1996.01 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Annals of Wyoming Fall, 1976 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Date Created Date of creation of the resource. Fall 1976 Subject The topic of the resource Casper (inhabited place) Description An account of the resource Article written by Walter R. Jones on Caspers prohibition years. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Walter R. Jones Language A language of the resource ENG Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Walter R. Jones Papers, NCA 01.v.1996.01 US WyCaC. Casper College Archives and Special Collections. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context NCA 01.v.1996.01_AnnalsofWyomingfall1976 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Extent The size or duration of the resource. 11 pages