The Buckaroo Club — also known as the Buckaroo Bar or Buckaroo Nite Club — was once a lively fixture in Van Tassell, Wyoming, a town that now has fewer than 30 residents but a surprisingly rich past. The club added a splash of glamour to the community by serving gallons of beer and spirits across what was claimed to be the longest bar in Wyoming. It was part of a bustling scene in the early 20th century, when Van Tassell boasted cafes, a hotel, a jail, and even a weekly newspaper.
About Van Tassell, Wyoming
Van Tassell offered the perfect conditions for a club like the Buckaroo to thrive, despite its modest size. It’s located on the border of Wyoming and Nebraska (and not far from South Dakota). Its founding in 1886 was tied to the expansion of the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad, positioning the town as a key depot stop that funneled in travelers and freight. This accessibility made it a natural destination for entertainment geared toward a transient audience, particularly railroad workers, ranchers, and visitors seeking relief from the monotony of remote life. The town experienced a brief but energetic boom, evolving from cattle country into a lively hub complete with hotels, cafes, a bank, and electric lighting — all signals of modernization and indulgence.
In that context, venues like the Buckaroo Club likely served as rare outposts of spectacle and escape, offering alcohol, music, and dancing acts that catered to locals and passersby alike. Its isolation may have fueled its allure, as newspaper advertisements used terms like “exotic” or “dancing girls” to suggest striptease or burlesque in ways that tiptoed around conservative social norms.
It was a frontier town flirting with glamour — a place where dusty boots met feathers and fringe, if only for a night.
The 1940s
In 1947, Harvey and Georgie Boner purchased the Buckaroo club on Highway 20, east of Lusk. At this time the club was being called “the finest night club west of Omaha” and was popular with southeastern Wyoming residents.
1950s
Matches from the 1950s references the Buckaroo Nite Club alongside the Excel Cafe.
Buckaroo Burlesque
Exotic dancers became a prime source of entertainment at the Buckaroo Club in 1962 and 1963. Not only did they bring in new exotic dancers weekly, they also hosted Stag Nites and featured live bands. Every Friday and Saturday night the club hosted 2 floor shows. They also served food like steaks, seafood and chicken (their specialty).
Exotics Who Performed:
- Donna Dare from Denver, CO
- Pixie Regan “The Cutest Little Nudist in the Land”
- Miss Dusty Ryan
Many advertisements simply listed “exotic dancer” and no stage name.
IRS Raids the Buckaroo | 1963
After watching the Buckaroo Club for months, special agents of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) raided the Club during a Friday night stag show. The agents entered the club at 10:30pm where they found 40 men, most from Nebraska, being entertained by “exotic dancers.” The IRS confiscated six slot machines and ten punch boards. The operator, Harold Manders, was arrested on the charge he failed to pay the annual $250 federal tax on coin-operated gambling devices. He was released on $1500 bail. None of the patrons were arrested at the raid.
According to the IRS, the Buckaroo Club had failed to file returns and pay annual taxes. At this time, any person who operated a business in which “wagers were accepted”, must register with the IRS and pay an annual 40% federal occupation tax. Violators were subject to fines up to $10,000 and imprisonment for up to 1 year on each count of “gambling device tax convictions.”
The Niobrara County authorities also participated in the raid. They reportedly seized a crap table, 21 card tables, and $145 in cash from gambling machines. The Niobrara County attorney, William Taylor, stated at the Herald’s press meeting that he planned to charge the Club with being a public nuisance and therefore shutter its doors for 1 year and have a special tax of $300 a year added to it.
Harold Manders was sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $500 when he was convicted on two counts of failing to pay the special federal gambling taxes. Later that month, Manders also plead guilty to charges that he accepted bets without paying tax and failed to pay tax for using and maintaining gambling devices. The “gambling room” at the Buckaroo Club was ordered to be closed for 1 year.
Final Thoughts
The Buckaroo Club’s “exotic” dancers and stag parties weren’t just anomalies in a quiet corner of Wyoming — they were part of a larger story about how rural America flirted with glamour, performance, and identity in the mid-20th century. Van Tassell once pulsed with the same desire for novelty and escapism found in larger cities, like Omaha. Its advertisements hint at a hidden nightlife and a community that welcomed — or at least tolerated — spectacle on its own terms. To uncover that history is not only to reanimate a forgotten stage, but to invite new questions about visibility, mythmaking, and the kinds of stories that deserve remembrance.
Sources
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- The Alliance Daily Times. Buckaroo Club Advertisement. August 1, 1962
- The Alliance Daily Times. Buckaroo Club Advertisement. August 15, 1962
- The Alliance Daily Times. Buckaroo Club Advertisement. July 18, 1962
- The Alliance Daily Times. Buckaroo Club Advertisement. July 25, 1962
- The Alliance Daily Times. Buckaroo Club Advertisement. June 20, 1962
- The Alliance Daily Times. Buckaroo Club Advertisement. March 13, 1963
- The Alliance Daily Times. Buckaroo Club Advertisement. May 30, 1962
- The Alliance Daily Times. Buckaroo Club Advertisement. October 17, 1962
- The Alliance Daily Times. Buckaroo Club Advertisement. October 10, 1962
Articles
- Casper Star Tribune. “Guernsey Men Purchase Night Club Near Lusk.” Page 11. April 24, 1947
- The Lusk Herald. “Federal IRS Agents Raid Buckaroo Club Friday Night.” Page 1. March 21, 1963
- Casper Morning Star. “Buckaroo Club is Padlocked.” Page 8. March 27, 1963
- Casper Star Tribune. “IRS Agents Raid Van Tassell Club.” Page 8. March 17, 1963
- The Lusk Herald. “Manders Given 30 days, $500 on Federal Charges.” Page 13. April 25, 1963
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