Billy Mitchell's defense was considering subpoenaing Calvin Coolidge.
It was Halloween, and the Mills Tavern was having a party, with lots of elk.
That's a real curiosity, as generally it'd be very difficult to find a restaurant in Wyoming serving elk now. Hunters can't have their elk served in restaurants, and market hunting as well as game farming is illegal in Wyoming. Market hunting was illegal in Wyoming at the time, and in fact by 1925, was pretty much everywhere in the U.S.
An oddity of advertising in Casper appears here, I'd note. At the time, advertisers routinely failed to note their addresses. Where was the Mills Tavern, other than in Mills?
It's actually a little hard to find out.
The tavern seems to have opened, or reopened, in 1924. It was operating as a restaurant, and it had private dining rooms. By 1930 its focus may have changed, as it issued cigarette books with illustrations of scantily clad women on the jackets, although that was quite common at the time and at least into the 1950s. Early on, however, it emphasized nightly dancing and chicken dinners. Apparently the bands were good enough that a band appearing in Glenrock noted that it was "from" the Mills Tavern.
The focus may have changed sometime prior to that, actually, as it was hit in a prohibition raid in 1926, although only a small amount of alcohol was found. Given that the amount was small, not too much can be presumed.
When the tavern opened in 1924, it noted that it was in the former Mills Hotel. That provides a pretty good clue as to its location. An old hotel building still exists in Mills, no longer used for that purpose. That was likely the location, and would explain why it had private rooms.
The new Ajax was out:
Ajax automobiles no longer exist, of course. Neither does the town of Salt Creek.
Ajax was made by Nash and was offered only in 1925 and 1926.
And, well, Coolidge looked safe.
It was a Saturday.
Last edition:
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