The Yellow Hotel in Lusk, WY

[frogmarch]

http://www.chadrad.com/newsstory.cfm?story=24452

Infamous Yellow Hotel burns in Lusk

By: John Thayer

LUSK, Wyo. - Many people noticed a fire in Lusk on Friday afternoon. Some may have recognized the burning building as a piece of history.

The old Yellow Hotel.

The building is rich in history. And although the bright yellow paint eventually faded and the building has since burned, it's memories will live on for many Lusk residents.

It's packed with the name Dell Burke, who ran one of the most successful brothels in the area for six decades. She passed in 1980 at the age of 92 and was one of the most respected residents of the community. She was known for getting girls that "weren't too shiny" and turning them into desirable ladies.

The property sold in 2007. It was broken down into nine properties and four people purchased various parts of the property.

On Friday the building was up in flames as part of a controlled burn, according to the Lusk Police Department.

The building has burned to the ground, but the memories of Dell Burke and her girls will continue to burn in the minds of many.

Photo taken in 2005

Deadwood Magazine article about Dell Burke:

http://www.deadwoodmagazine.com/archivedsite/Archives/Girls_Lusk.htm

I don’t know why they burned down the Yellow Hotel. Maybe it was so decrepit they had no choice, but it makes me sad when a historical building is destroyed.

[xchrom]

1. du rec. nt

[leveymg]

2. Just a reminder that places like WY and ID used to be anything but conservative.

The much underrated film, Heaven's Gate, about the class war inside the range wars tells that forgotten tale. Liberal icons, Frank Church and George McGovern are another reminder that the Western states weren't always dominated by the Cheneys and the Bible Thumpers.

[frogmarch]

5. You are so right.

I've never seen Heaven's Gate, and part of the reason is that it got such bad reviews - but now I want to. Thanks for your post!

[leveymg]

7. Main reason it got bad reviews was because it dealt candidly with class warfare in the Old West

and the land-enclosing Cheneyites were the major villains in Heaven's Gate. If you liked Legends of the Fall and McCabe and Mrs Miller, you'll love this gem. Another common feature of these three films, is they also treat frontier prostitution and non-monogamous sexuality in a non-judgmental way.

[frogmarch]

8. Thanks. It's good to

have this background info on the film.

[leveymg]

10. Most of McCabe & Mrs Miller is on YouTube, but Heaven's Gate is conspicuously missing.

Just a few extracts. So, please buy or rent the film. I'm sure you've already seen Legends of the Fall. Enjoy.

[frogmarch]

11. Thanks again. I'll

rent Heaven's Gate and watch some of McCabe and Mrs. M on You Tube. Yes, I've seen Legends of the Fall - several times.

[oldhippydude]

13. originally from Idaho...

i had the honor, to work on Frank Church's campaign in 68.. in 72 worked for McGovern there, as well as a Congressional candidate (Willy Ludlow, who today would be about where Greyson is, of course that was a Republican year when the whole ticket when down)..

one fact may amaze people today, in 1966, Idaho passed a 3% sales tax by referendum..largly to finance education.. in that same election they elected, a governor (Don Samuelson) that would have fit in well with todays tea partiers.. i look back fondly to those days, even though at the time, Idaho had the highest per capita membership in the John Birch Society, liberal politicians could still get elected, and re-elected

[cali]

3. neat old building. too bad it's gone

having said that, I don't much like glamorizing life in a brothel

[frogmarch]

6. I don't either, especially

since many of the women may have had little or no choice but to be prostitutes.

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/sd-deadwoodpaintedladies.html

"Working girls” in Deadwood were as prominent a fixture as that of the many miners in the bustling boom camp. Though these "ladies”most likely arrived almost as soon as the first man, the first record of prostitutes coming to Deadwood was in July, 1876. Arriving with Charlie Utter's wagon train, along with Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, were several "professional” women, including two madams who went by the names of Dirty Em and Madam Mustachio. The two seasoned veterans had previously worked in many of the California and Nevada mining camps. The miners were so pleased to see the women that they lined up along the street and cheered.

A thriving industry in the camp dominated almost entirely by men, in 1876, it was estimated that approximately 90% of women of the camp were "painted ladies.”

Difficult for a woman to make a living in the American West during these times, many single women or those who had lost husbands or fathers to provide for them were almost forced into prostitution in order to support themselves.

~~

[frogmarch]

4. photo of Dell Burke (book cover)

The Life of Dell Burke, Lady of Lusk

http://www.amazon.com/Frontier-Madam-Life-Dell-Burke/dp/0762744391



“Miss Dell, a petite redhead, born Mary Ada Fisher, arrived in Lusk from Casper in 1919, setting up in a tent.” ( from http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/lusk4a.html )

During the late 1970s I played brothel madams and dance hall queens in summer musicals in Deadwood, and during that time I learned much about the real history of not only the Black Hills, but of Wyoming. On a side note: Mr. froggy’s great-aunt Agnes had been a “girl” at a saloon in the Klondike in the late 1800s, and when we visited her at her home in Colorado in the 1960s, she had many fascinating stories to tell of her Klondike adventures. I don’t think the lives of these women should be glorified, but neither should they be forgotten.

[Comrade Grumpy]

9. I travel through Lusk occasionally. I remember that builiding.

Didn't know the history behind it, though.

[frogmarch]

12. I didn't either till

my husband told me about it one time as we were passing through Lusk on our way home to Torrington WY after visiting his mom in western Nebraska.

Lusk has the strangest weather of anywhere I've ever been. I think (and others agree) that it was probably founded when pioneers on their way farther west got stranded for weeks as the result of a late May or early June blizzard where Lusk is today.