Museum event looks at history of bars

Mandee Leonhardt, Herald Reporter
Posted 6/13/17

Museum kicks off Brown Bag Thursday series

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Museum event looks at history of bars

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EVANSTON — More than 40 people attended the first Brown Bag Lunch of the season on Thursday, June 1, at the Beeman-Cashin building in Evanston. The series of events is sponsored by the Uinta County Museum.

Presenter Dan Wheeler discussed the history of old Evanston bars. He told stories from his younger days, and things that occurred at the old bars before they became what they are today. 

For example, before the bar located on 936 Main St. was Kate’s, the building was Lloyd’s Liquor store. Two blocks of Front Street was nothing but bars, Wheeler said. And Pete’s Rock-n-Rye Club was the place to be.

Wheeler told his audience a story about the beer company, Anheuser-Busch, and what they did during Prohibition. 

“They knew the prohibition was going to end at some point, so they got permission from the government to make and store 55,000 barrels of beer which is equivalent to about 1.7 million gallons. So once the prohibition was over, they were ready to go,” Wheeler said. 

Wheeler said that because Prohibition was repealed, from 1934 on there was much gambling, prostitution was still prominent, and there was lots of drinking. The mines were gone, but the railroad was still around. 

Before Prohibition, there were just a couple of people who knew how to make beer, wine and spirits, Wheeler said. 

“After Prohibition [was] repealed, there were hundreds of people who knew how to drink,” said Wheeler.

Wheeler discussed the places people could go to drink in Evanston. The VFW, and the American Legion were types of clubs that became significant after WWI because when the veterans came home, it was the only place to drink.

It wasn’t against the law to go to those places to drink; it was against the law to distill alcohol, ferment it and distribute it. 

Wheeler said that Prohibition made everybody break the law. 

“One thing I found was that,” Wheeler said, “yes, it did increase the consumption of alcohol, but it [also]  increased the crime rate.”

At the state line there used to be a café and bar located at the old Utah Port of Entry. The bar was in Wyoming, and the café was in Utah. 

“There was a line right through the middle of it,” said one participant. 

They sold fireworks and alcohol on the Wyoming side, and you could buy a hamburger on the Utah side.

Wheeler’s uncle started the Jolly Rogers (now the Painted Lady Saloon) in 1946. It was a restaurant and night club. 

“But he did not have a liquor license, so business was tough,” said Wheeler. “It was hard to generate enough income on just what he was doing.” 

When Wheeler’s dad got home from WWII in January of 1946, a liquor license became available through the city. He said his dad and uncle got together to apply for it. 

Wheeler’s father went to the city council to try to get the liquor license, but one other person had also applied for the license. The council asked each one what they had to say. Wheeler’s father said “Well, I spent three years in the South Pacific fighting for my country; what’d this guy do?” 

“And that’s how they got the liquor license,” said Wheeler.