By Rick Ewig

Book Information
• $24.00 paperback
• 206 pages, 6×9 in
• 22 black and white photographs
• Published June 2026
• ISBN: 979-8-9939600-3-6
• Subject: US History, Wyoming History, Crime

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Only two months after taking office in 1944, the newly elected mayor, Ira Hanna, along with the chief of police, a captain, and a sergeant, began demanding that African American club owners offer gambling and prostitution and pay “protection money.” Shortly after the extortion began, several Black businesspeople, led by club owner Lola West, approached the Cheyenne Police Department and the prosecuting attorney, Byron Hirst. A sting operation was arranged. The four were arrested, tried, and convicted, and all served time in the Wyoming State Penitentiary.

Historian Rick Ewig’s research into WWII-era Cheyenne uncovers the city’s many colorful residents, many of whom were exploited by a dishonest mayor and his chief of police.

Their corrupt racket was brought to a dramatic end by a young county attorney and a group of business owners, led by an African American woman.

About the Author
Rick Ewig is a former Associate Director of the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming and has worked at the Wyoming State Archives, Museums, and Historical Department. Editor of the Annals of Wyoming, the state’s historical journal, Ewig has served as both secretary and president of the Wyoming State Historical Society. He holds a master’s degree in history from the University of Wyoming

Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: Cheyenne: A Wartime Boomtown
Chapter 2: Only Six Square Blocks.
Chapter 3: Unsavory Moral Conditions Created by the War
Chapter 4: Prostitution and Disorderly Houses
Chapter 5: Good Clean Government
Chapter 6: Round-the-Clock Mayor
Chapter 7: We Are Running The Show
Chapter 8: An Invitation for Graft
Chapter 9: We Are Going to Open This Town Up
Chapter 10: The Raid
Chapter 11: The Trial
Chapter 12: To Prison?
Epilogue
Bibliography

Interview:

The book is about more than the corruption of the mayor. Ewig said he tried to portray the whole atmosphere of Cheyenne during that time in the war. “I’ve done a lot of Wyoming history, and this one was so Cheyenne specific that it was fascinating about life in World War II Cheyenne,” he said. “It’s not only the story about Ira Hanna and Lola West, I also look at what Cheyenne was like during World War II. It was a boomtown, and there was a housing shortage, and all these issues come up.”

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/05/31/that-time-cheyennes-mayor-police-chief-convicted-of-extorting-black-bar-owners/