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Show Volume XI Issue VII THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 9 January 15, 2005 The Shooting Star Saloon Contributed by Stanley Historian Wangsgaard, e beginnings of the Shooting Star Saloon in Huntsville is difficult to determine. However, the ownership of the property was in the hands of William Halls in 1873 and he sold it to Soren Petersen in 1881, who then sold it to William Slater on April 4, 1890. Now enters Hoken Olsen, who married Maria Slater, a daughter of William Slater, on November 1, 1890. Hoken entered in partnership with Baltzer Petersen, Jr. on July 13, 1891 and purchased the piece of property on which the saloon sits, which measured 24 feet x 60 feet. fe have no record to show when the building was constructed. However, it has been told that the brick in Hoken’s Saloon was made by Niels Lofgreen in Huntsville, and his brick making operation started in 1892. This is an indication that Hoken Olsen and Baltzer Petersen built the saloon around that time. The saloon has had a rocky history as Hoken Olsen was constantly being arrested for selling liquor without a license. Hoken Olsen was arraigned before Justice Anderson in Huntsville, February 8, 1895 and charged with selling liquor without a license. The testimony relied upon could not be obtained and the defendant was discharged. Standard, on March 19, 1895 in Random References, reported that Deputy Sheriff Sullivan, “. . . took a flying trip to Huntsville this morning and brought back Hoken Olsen, arrested for selling liquor without a license.” The reports in the Standard made the court case into a regular In one article they called him Slippery Olsen. In the end, the jury found him not guilty because the testimony showed clearly that the case was one of “spitework and hatred.” The Standard, May 9, 1899, Random References reported, “Hoken Olsen is now an inmate of the county jail where he is serving out his thirty days for selling of liquor without a license. Hoken will also pay a fine of $150. It is cheaper to take out a license. Selling ee without a license is not cheap at the ots e skip to October 6, 1909. By this time, “Huntsville and Weber County were dry and selling liquor was against the law. The Standard reported. n Olsen and his wife, Maria, were sentenced yesterday by the district court for having sold liquor in the city of Huntsville. Olsen drew three months and a fine of $100, and his wife was fined $90. Olsen will do time in the city jail at Huntsville.” Olsen was brought to the county jail to serve his sentence from Huntsville. When Olsen was sentenced to the Huntsville jail, he was required to board himself to which he strongly objected. He said if he were to serve time in jail, the city of Huntsville or the county of Weber would have to board him. There being no provision made in Huntsville for feeding prisoners, Olsen was brought to the county jail at Ogden where he served out his sentence. In February and March 1912, Hoken and Maria Olsen were convicted of disturbing the peace when their place of business and residence was searched; they were sentenced to two months in jail. Deputy Sheriff James G. McKay persisted in calling their place of business a saloon and the defense designated it as a candy store. McKay said both Olsen and his wife cursed him and that when he went to search their residence, locked the door, which he was obligated to break down in order to gain entrance. Deputy Sheriff John W. Grow stated that one bottle of whiskey was found in the store, but in the The Shooting Star in Huntsville. excitement of the search, was lost and was never seen since. At the home, he found three gunnysacks of bottled beer. Deputy Sheriff James G. McKay said he saw one Hyrum Peterson run from the Olsen home with the whiskey and alcohol, and that he stopped him and took the goods. The defendant denied any knowledge of the liquor found in the possession of Peterson, and protested that the beer found in his cellar was not kept for unlawful purposes. The judge placed Hoken Olsen and Hyrum Peterson of Huntsville under a ban of the court that . they shall not be privileged to purchase intoxicating liquors in any quantity in Ogden, or anyone acting as agent for Mr. Olsen. We are determined to stop the sale of liquor in Huntsville,” said Judge Howell, “if it is within our power to do so.” March 20, 1913, Hoken Olsen was convicted by a jury of illegal selling of liquor and sentenced to pay a fine of $399 on two counts of selling liquor at his home in Huntsville. Hoken’s wife, Maria, died in 1914. In 1915, Hoken received three convictions of selling liquor without a license Hoken’s son Clarence Olsen received title to the property on June 19, 1916 and operated on the ground floor as Clarence’s Place, a confectionary and grocery store. Hoken used the basement for a pool hall and for a place for playing cards. It was generally known that Hoken had a still in the basement of the building, and sold liquor under the table, but ms =e been found in the newspaper to confirm Clarence purchased the building next door to the saloon in 1935 and moved his confectionary and groceries there. Hoken moved to the main floor and operated his saloon until his death in 1945, at which time Clarence operated the saloon while his wife Ruth took care of the grocery store. Alice Hislop Wessman said in an oral history session that her son Maun Hislop heard that Hoken’s Saloon was for sale and had decided that he wanted to buy it. He asked her to loan him the money to finance the deal. Alice hesitated because he was still young and she wasn’t sure if he knew what he was getting into and whether it would be his chosen profession. Finally he convinced her and she mortgaged her house in 1951 and Maun became the new owner of the saloon. It was fine for a year or so, but it became a burden for a young man who wanted some free time to do other things. More and more Maun would ask his mother to watch the saloon for him because he had a date or wanted to go with some of the guys to do this or that. So it turned out that since Alice was the bartender most of the time. Maun agreed that Alice should take title to the place and she became the owner operator of the Shooting Star for over 20 years until early 1976 Walt Prothero purchased the Shooting Star about February 1976. In October that year, it was burglarized. Stolen was a five point deer head, two full kegs of beer, three cases of beer, a 20-gauge shotgun, snowshoes, a tanned deer hide, and $35 in cash. It was reported in the Rocky Mountain News, September 21, 1978, that Walt Prothero had the recent addition of a St. Bernard’s head, sporting the traditional keg from its neck and a not so traditional straw hat. About a month before, a customer told Prothero about a 400 pound St. Bernard that was reputed to be the largest dog that ever lived. It was destroyed some 40 years ago after having torn the arm offa little girl—so the tale went. Prothero said he thought it was just another bar story, so the guy came back with the head. This is still part of the décor today. Walt Prothero was the first to state that the bar dates back to 1876—before there was a town. We know that the town was first settled in 1860, but no one knows for sure when the saloon got its start. However, the information on hand indicates it was in the early 1890's. After Walt Prothero, William and Addie Dickson owned it and when Bill was killed in an automobile accident in 1986, Addie put the Shooting Star up for sale. John Posnien purchased the Shooting Star Saloon in 1986 and it has been a thriving business since. The Shooting Star is known worldwide for its famous Star Burger. There have been articles in newspapers, travel magazines, and gourmet magazines everywhere heralding the Star Burger as the best to be found. John and his wife Heidi are to be congratulated on how well they have been able to conduct their business. Believe it or not, on January 1, 2005, the Shooting Star was the only retail business to survive in the downtown business district of Huntsville, Utah. Historical Photo Roy Hardy and his 1929 Model A Ford. Photo courtesy of Gordon K. Madsen of Granada Hills, California. 801-745-4000 2555 WOLF CREEK DR. 1 NestleCandy Bars . 5 for $1.00 Limit 10 per coupon nave Pnteriatyyou would like to share. Celeste C. Canning PLLC Attorney at Law 2590 Washington Boulevard, Suite 200 Ogden, Utah 84401 Local: 801 791-1092 Office: 801 612-9299 Email: ccanninglaw@aol.com Meeting the Legal Needs of Small Business and Their Owners FREE Initial Thirty Minute Consultation. Appointments in Ogden Valley upon request. 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