Local businesses celebrating the Roaring 20’s in style

Phillip Collins
Posted 1/2/25

NIOBRARA COUNTY - Lusk business owners were teleported back in time on Saturday, December 28. They didn’t require a Delorean equipped with a flux capacitor to achieve this feat of non-linear travel. Instead, the portal to the past was waiting for them at the Niobrara Country Club, where the Lusk Chamber of Commerce held the Roaring 20s New Year Celebration. Paradoxically, this return to a more traditional time period constituted a break from tradition for the Lusk Chamber of Commerce. According to Chamber Commerce Director Morgan Nolan, the standard Chamber event format was due for an overhaul.

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Local businesses celebrating the Roaring 20’s in style

Posted

NIOBRARA COUNTY - Lusk business owners were teleported back in time on Saturday, December 28. They didn’t require a Delorean equipped with a flux capacitor to achieve this feat of non-linear travel. Instead, the portal to the past was waiting for them at the Niobrara Country Club, where the Lusk Chamber of Commerce held the Roaring 20s New Year Celebration. Paradoxically, this return to a more traditional time period constituted a break from tradition for the Lusk Chamber of Commerce. According to Chamber Commerce Director Morgan Nolan, the standard Chamber event format was due for an overhaul.

“We knew we wanted to do something, but we didn’t want to do the traditional Chamber banquet where we just had a speaker who talks,” Nolan said. “We more wanted to highlight some of the changes we’re making to the Chamber and the new director and the upcoming board and some of the new events we wanted to do next year. So, we wanted a situation that would allow us to interact more one-on-one and not just have a seated affair where one person talks. This way, we get to know everybody, especially because I am fairly new here.”

And so, the theme of a Roaring 20s New Year Celebration took shape. Of course, such an event necessitates the procurement of the proper décor. After all, the selected timeframe for the event is well over a hundred years in the collective rearview mirror. Nolan stated that, while some of the requisite décor was readily available to her, she had to do some digging to find other period items. 

“We ended up finding most of what we needed,” said Nolan. “I knew we had certain things. We had playing cards and things from the office that would be neat to incorporate. I shopped a lot. There were some people locally that I was able to purchase things from. There was a wedding that happened that had a somewhat similar theme over in Newcastle. They had a lot of appropriate stuff that they sold to me at a very reasonable price. I was able to go to Casper and find what I could that was second-hand. I had to stay in a budget and my theme. It worked out pretty well.”

In addition to experiencing the nostalgia of the 1920s, local business owners had the opportunity to come together and talk shop. As Morgan previously mentioned, one of the chief purposes of the event was to familiarize local merchants with some of the revisions slated to be made to Chamber practices. Among those is a new set of 2025 membership plans, which range from the modest home-based business plan to the more elaborate Gold arrangement. Nolan explained that this revision to Chamber membership would be more tailored to individual business needs.

“We wanted to make it so that they could choose what services they wanted from us,” Nolan said.

In addition to customized membership options, Morgan also hopes to resuscitate some older community traditions that have lain dormant for years. These include the Fourth of July Celebration, the Farmer’s Market, and some small business summer events.

“We’re looking to do more community things to bring everybody together,” said Nolan.

According to Nolan, this blend of new practices with revived old ones has received an enthusiastic reception.

“So far, it’s been very well-received,” Nolan said. “Everyone has been very supportive. Fingers-crossed, we hope that support continues.”