By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The lights of the Brass Rail flickered off for the last time on Saturday after more than 70 years in business.
The owner of the longest-continuing operating bar in Hays has sold the building.
Although the number of patrons frequenting the bar has waned in recent years, the bar was packed on Saturday with many customers wanting to say one last goodbye to their old haunt.
Bob and Sharon Huston of Hays cuddled in a booth together on Saturday. The couple met in the bar 47 years ago.
All those years ago, Bob was sitting at the bar, and the bartender said he would need to buy a drink in order to stay.
He bought a round of beers for Sharon and her friends and then another and another.
"I thought there was a pretty girl right there," Bob said.
The couple dated for four years and have been married for 43 years.
"We used to come every weekend," Bob said.
"It was an institution," Sharon said.
"We are absolutely heartbroken," Sharon said of the closing. "It's sad. I can't believe it."
Bob Wasinger recalled coming to the Rail when he and his wife were first married. They walked to the bar from their home on 14th Street.
But Bob's history with the Rail went farther back then that. He said he first came to the rail when he was a sophomore in high school with a group of senior friends.
Back then, the Rail's basement was a dance hot spot.
Jason Basgall recalled organizing a beer pong tournament in the basement of the rail for St. Patrick's Day during the tenure of the current owner, Eric Schutte.
Basgall said the news of the event was initially spread to about 20 people through word-of-mouth. Somehow the news made it on the radio, and 400 people showed up at the bar.
"There was green beer and fights," Basgall said.
The rail used to offer $20 pitchers of white Russians, kamikazes or Long Island ice teas, he said
"I got so messed up," he said.
Amy and Brent Normandin of Hays spent a lot of time at the Rail in the 1980s and early '90s. Brent was in a band called Zion. There was a practice hall near the Rail and he and others would hit the bar after practice.
"We would be here two or three times a week," he said. "It was a neat hangout."
The downstairs of the rail still has the shuffleboard that many people recall spending hours playing.
During the '80s, the downstairs was lit with black lights and decorated with art depicting famous rock stars. The only one remaining is a depiction of Bret Michaels of Poison in the stairwell.
Those were the days when smoking was still allowed in bars. And everyone smoked, Amy said. You could hardly see across the room because the smoke was so thick, she said.
Brent said he has even been reminiscing with his mom recently about her time at the bar.
"It is the last night," Amy said. "We had to say goodbye. ... It's sad."
Eric Schutte, the Rail's latest owner, has been trying to sell the bar since at least 2019. He has owned the Rail for about 17 years. Schutte said selling the Brass Rail was bittersweet.
Even in 2019 when he put the bar on the market, he said the bar was not making money.
According to Ellis County Historical Society records, AJ Schueler began construction on the bar in March 1950. The bar was later owned by Robert Gottschalk and then his son, Kenny Gottschalk.
Schutte announced the last night for the Rail in an Oct. 17 Facebook post, and 675 comments were made on that Post.
Many people also recounted on Facebook meeting their husbands or wives at the bar or experiencing significant life events there, including hearing the news that John Lennon was shot and killed.
Schutte said he sold the bar with contents to the new owners, but he did not know what they planned to do with the building.
Schutte said he will continue to operate the Sip 'N' Spin in Hays.