Rounder, the Airedale belonging to Charles “Dick” Marlow, owner of the rebranded Mint Bar in 1911.  Rounder was such a staple at the bar, he was the subject of at least three articles in the Sheridan Post, including his obituary.  According to a July 11, 1911 article in the Post, Rounder was by far “the brightest, keenest, wittiest, and altogether the most remarkable dog in Sheridan—perhaps in all the state of Wyoming.”

Rounder could be found any day in front of the Mint. “No, he isn’t a handsome dog—he runs more to brains than beauty—but that’s to his credit rather than otherwise.” Rounder was known as a civil dog, but he reserved all his enthusiasm for Dick Marlow. Reports say Rounder could take a message over the phone and carry out the orders given, or any other verbal request made by his master “as well as the average human being.”

His tricks included hiding things for a game of hide and seek and closing the door if you said it was cold. Rounder was so well known many dogs were named after him.

In 1919, Prohibition shut the mint down, at least to the public. The front of the building became a dress shop and then a real estate office. Finally under the new owner, Oran Moore, it rebranded as “Mint Cigar Company and Soda Shop”. It operated as a pharmacy and cigar and soda shop in the front. In the back, was "one of the coziest little bottle joints around” for those who disagreed with the 18th Amendment and Volstead Act. In 1930, Oran Moore closed the Mint due to other economic concerns.

Archie Wilson and Robert Thirlwell obtained their liquor license on March 30, 1935. They added slot machines and tables for poker, craps, roulette and 21. Expanding the bar into a gambling parlor.

Gambling was still illegal so the city periodically shut the bar down. It was a $100 fine plus $4.70 in court costs. The owners would pay the money and a new County Attorney would shut them down until they found matters more pressing than enforcing the anti-gambling laws and the bar would re-open.

Top Photo: Provided by Judy Robinson Armstrong. Willis Pointer, is the 2nd bartender on the right. The man on the horse is Red Tate.

Bottom Photo: A Frontier Gambler playing Faro. (stock)

Jack Kane installed the now-famous neon bucking horse sign. This sign is immediately recognizable from up and down Main Street. It's rumored acclaimed Western artist, Bernard Thomas, painted and designed it. The HT brand on the sign’s bucking horse stands for “hard times".

The phrase “meet you at the Mint” began soon after the neon sign was installed.

The Mint was redecorated in the late 40's in the rustic style seen today. With knotty pine paneling, cedar booths and gnarled pine burls make up the back bar. The cedar shingle brands adorning the walls of the Mint were the idea of L.L. "Mac" McVean, who with partner Wayne Elkins, owned the bar from 1943-1974.

He paid a guy named Tuffy, in shots of whiskey, to burn the brands into planks of wood with a soldering iron, an electric needle, and a brand book. The story is that Tuffy would burn the brands until they would start getting crooked because he drank too much whiskey, and then they would send him home for the day.

Much of the wild game in the bar was a result of Mac and local entrepreneur Sam Mavrakis' trip to the Yukon in the 50's.

The two Dall Sheep, along with the black Timber Wolf, Wolverine, and two Caribou all came from one 18 day hunting trip. The remainder, including the deer, antelope and elk, came from this area. Others have been addded over time.

A picture today and a little note about the deer with the interlocked horns displayed in the Mint Bar.

Photo: Lucille Kendrick White photo collection.

Kenny Rogers filmed at the Mint Bar in 1985 for the movie “Wild Horses.” The movie premiered on November 12, 1985.

It features a scene in the Mint and can also see other landmarks such as the Kendrick Mansion, City Hall, Main Street downtown, the fairgrounds, and Eaton's Ranch.

Photo: Kenny on the set of "Wild Horses." Photo Courtesy of CBS and the Kenny Rodgers Team