Doors slammed shut and strange noises sounded years after the notorious Blue Goose brothel in Shoshoni was shut down by a young Gerry Spence, and years after the girls who worked there faded into history.
The Blue Goose was known to be a house of ill repute for decades in Shoshoni, in its two-story log structure on the eastern edge of town.
Alma Law, a self-proclaimed collector of stories, said he was told a local legend that might explain the strange noises heard at the Blue Goose after it was shut down.
“One of the madams of the house, years prior, had been required to jump in and stop an altercation,” Law said. “One of their patrons was being rather loud and abrasive with her employee.”
Law was told the madam pushed herself between them and scolded the patron.
The man shot the madam, killing her.
Law said the madam apparently was still around the Blue Goose, trying to keep things in order long after her death.
“Here's this madam who was trying to keep the peace,” Law said. “She didn’t want anything disrupting the vibe of the night and her profession.”
Except, of course, for herself as she slammed doors and rattled the building, according to witnesses.
An Active Business
Even into the 1960s, folks could order a meal at the counter of the Blue Goose, which marketed itself as a café, and then quietly ask for other services that were delivered upstairs.
Don M. Ricks wrote in his book, “A Wyoming Kid: Memoirs of Growing Up in the 40s and 50s,” that as a teenager he had visited the Blue Goose. He said one morning he pulled off the highway and parked his truck next to a big rig with Casper plates, “intent on committing an act of teenage curiosity and bravado.”
He described the whorehouse as a blocky two-story building that stood alone outside Shoshoni and conveniently announced itself as a cafe. He ordered pie and coffee and sat watching the interactions around him.
“I was surprised, first of all, by the demur attractiveness of the woman who filled my cup,” Ricks wrote, “She’d be a strong candidate for Miss Fremont County.”
Ricks said she wore light makeup and was “shower fresh.”
“Her shapeliness implied under a crisp waitress uniform, she was the girl next door,” Ricks said. “I was also unprepared for the ease with which business was conducted.”
Ricks said when the Casper truck driver finished his ham and eggs and drained his coffee cup she asked in a quiet voice, “Do you want to go upstairs?” The truck driver nodded and they went upstairs.
“Another woman, older and plainer, appeared from the kitchen and refilled my cup,” Ricks said. “Just some folks making a living, others having a good time.”
The town of Shoshoni began as a wild gold mining camp in 1906 with more brothels and saloons than any other business. The Blue Goose brothel, masquerading as a cafe, remained in business until the 1960s when lawyer Gerry Spence declared war on prostitution and gambling. (Wyoming Archives) 
A stroll down the streets of Shoshoni would take people past several saloons and hidden houses of ill repute. The Blue Goose brothel was a two-story log building located at the edge of town that marketed itself as a cafe that served more than just a hot meal and coffee. (Wyoming Archives) 
Shoshoni's Main Street. (Interfoto via Alamy)
Closed Down By Gerry Spence
Law said the Blue Goose was one of the last of the brothels in Fremont County to close its business. Ricks wrote that it closed because of an up-and-coming attorney who was seeking clout and decided to declare war on the brothels.
Gerry Spence, a new lawyer in Riverton with a struggling practice, brought the brothels to the forefront of political conversations, demanding they close. In his autobiography, “The Making of a Country Lawyer,” Spence wrote he wasn't much interested in being a county attorney.
But the job paid regularly.
He was a recent graduate of the University of Wyoming Law School, brash by local standards and his new practice was not thriving, according to Ricks. Spence promised that, if elected, he would clean up gambling and prostitution.
It was an empty promise that candidates had been saying for years.
“Unlike others in this story, he was still learning his trade,” Ricks said. “Fremont County didn’t have any real issues a local politician could hang a campaign on.”
After winning the election, Spence took on gambling and prostitution. However, those who ran the county would have none of it, Ricks wrote.
They believed community leaders in business and politics should not meddle in each other’s leisure activities.
The sheriff told Spence that anyone charged would not be arrested and the judges informed the young lawyer that anyone arrested would not be convicted.
The tension got so high that someone passed Spence on the highway one night and put a bullet through his car window.
“Nobody was interested for a few different reasons,” Ricks wrote. “Spence theorized with some evidence that one of the reasons is, they themselves enjoyed the fruits of the business.”
Undaunted by even the attempt on his life, Spence wrote that he paid someone to stake out the Blue Goose for a weekend and record license plates.
He then privately showed the list to those in power and told them that unless they started enforcing the laws the license plate numbers would be published in the Riverton and Lander newspapers.
The gamblers and the prostitutes disappeared from Fremont County.
A Slumber Party at the Blue Goose
According to Law, shortly after the Blue Goose shut down, it was sold to a family in Shoshoni that moved into it as their primary residence.
One night, the daughter of the family held a slumber party. One of the girls told Law that they were just hanging out, having fun.
Their giggles and laughter kept getting louder and the louder they got, the more the house seemed to shudder.
“There was a commotion, even though they seemed to be alone in the house,” Law said. “There were rushes and creaking.”
The girls heard stomping but ignored it. They continued to carry on with their loud antics. Then, the door to their room opened and slammed shut.
“They freaked out and got out of there,” Law said. “They were scared out of their mind and never had another slumber party in this girl's house.”
Eventually, the Blue Goose was torn down by the family and the ghosts faded into history, leaving behind a dim memory of a café that served more than pie.
Contact Jackie Dorothy at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
