Petticoats & Pistols » History – General

Pearl Hart – The Arizona Bandit

Winnie Griggs — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:17:05 +0000

Hi! Winnie Griggs here. (pssst - look for giveaway info at the bottom of this post) I was thumbing through one of those 'infamous women of the old west' type books the other day and came across a listing for a woman named Pearl Hart. The heading of First Female Captured Stagecoach Robber caught my eye. And the more I read about this woman, the more fascinated I became with her story. I did some additional research and found a number of different, sometimes contradictory, accounts of her life. I’ll stitch together my favorites here. While there is very little know about her early life, we do know that she was born Pearl Taylor in 1871 and lived the early part of her life in Ontario, Canada. She was one of several children born into an upper middle-class, church going family. At age sixteen she was sent to a boarding school, but she had an adventurous spirit that couldn’t be contained. That, combined with her attractiveness and wit made her quite popular with the men of her acquaintance. While at school Pearl became infatuated with a young man named Hart and eloped at about age 17. Hart has variously been described as a rake, a drunk and a gambler. Far from this being the romantic adventure Pearl had hoped for, it turned out Hart was also abusive. She left him and then returned to him several times and it is reported they had two children together. During their last reconciliation, the couple worked odd jobs the Chicago World’s Fair. There Pearl saw Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and developed a fascination for the cowboy life that would stay with her her entire life. She also visited the Women’s Pavilion where she heard speeches by prominent women’s activists such as Julia Ward Howe. Finally leaving Hart for good, Pearl placed the children in the care of her mother and took up with a man named Dan Bandman, a gambler and dance-hall musician. The two eventually moved to Colorado. Later, when Dan left to fight in the Spanish-American War, Pearl moved to Globe Arizona, a mining town. There are various reports that she may have worked as a cook, a singer, a laundress and/or opened a tent brothel. It is also said that she developed a fondness for cigar and liquor at this time. Pearl described her life at this time in these words: "I was only twenty-two years old. I was good-looking, desperate, discouraged, and ready for anything that might come. I do not care to dwell on this period of my life. It is sufficient to say that I went from one city to another..." Whatever her employment, Pearl’s finances hit bottom when the mine closed. Trying to find a way to earn money, she took up with a man named Joe Boot and together they tried to work an old mine claim he owned. But by 1899 the pair found themselves short on cash and decided to rob a stage, though it appears neither had done anything like this before. One account claims they took this desperate measure because Pearl had gotten word that her mother was ill and needed money, though there is little to substantiate this claim. Pearl cut her hair and dressed up like a man. Both armed with revolvers, they stopped a stage running between Florence and Globe at the Cane Springs Canyon watering point. They collected 1 from the three passengers on board. Pearl then reportedly took pity on them and gave them back each .00 so they could buy a meal at the next stop. But their lack of experience did them in. They did a poor job of covering their tracks and within six days the law had caught up with them. One account states that they were sleeping when the posses caught up with them and that while Joe surrendered quickly but Pearl tried, unsuccessfully, to fight her way out. Joe and Pearl were locked in the local jail. But the notoriety and attention Pearl received as a female bandit, coupled with the lack of proper facilities, caused the sheriff to throw up his hands and send her to the jail in Tucson. Pearl’s notoriety grew, and she did all she could to fuel it. Her story about her reason for the robbery (her ailing mother) gained her sympathy, and her avowal that she "would never consent to be tried under a law she or her sex had no voice in making, or to which a woman had no power under the law to give her consent" gained her a whole new level of attention. Never one to give up on her options, within a matter of days Pearl had charmed some of the men at the Tucson prison and managed to escape. Unfortunately for her, a New Mexico lawman recognized her and sent her back to the Tucson prison. Joe Boot was eventually sentenced to 30 years in jail and Pearl to five. Pearl was given the dubious honor of being the first woman incarcerated into the Yuma Territorial Prison. But neither Pearl nor Joe served their full terms. Joe, apparently due to a show of good behavior, was given trustee status. He walked off while working outside the gates less than two years into his term and was never heard from again. Pearl, on the other hand, gained her freedom legitimately, well, sort of. The warden of the jail where Pearl was imprisoned like all the attention she was attracting from the public and the media. He provided her with a roomy 8 x10 cell as well as a small yard which gave her a space to entertain reporters, photographers and other guests. Pearl, who was the only female incarcerated in the facility, was not above using her wiles to play guards and trustees off of each other to improve her situation. In December of 1902, Pearl received a pardon from the governor and was released free and clear. The official reason for the pardon remains unclear, but it was given on condition that she leave the Arizona territory. Pearl herself claimed that she had been invited to play the lead in a play her sister had penned based on her life and this had played into her release. However, a later rumor emerged that she had became pregnant. The governor, wanting to spare the Arizona Territory the embarrassment of explaining how this could possibly have happened while she was imprisoned, pardoned her and set her free. While there is no proof that Pearl ever bore a third child, this doesn’t mean the wily woman didn’t use this as a ploy to secure her freedom. There are varying accounts of what happened to Pearl after she was released. Some say she parlayed her notoriety into a show business career, billing herself as “The Arizona Bandit.” One account says she traveled for a while with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. A less colorful theory is that she married a rancher named Calvin Bywater and settled down into a quite but happier life. If that last is true, then perhaps Pearl got her “happily ever after” after all. Folks who knew Mrs. Bywater described her as “soft spoken, kind, and a good citizen in all respects.” Mrs. Calvin Bywater lived well into her 80s. As I said earlier, there are a number of different accounts of Pearl’s life and this is only one of them. Her exploits have been featured in theater, film and pulp fiction. There was even a musical called The Legend Of Pearl Hart. And while we may never know the full true story of her life, there is no doubt that she lived it on her own terms. And, as promised I'm doing a giveaway today. In honor of my upcoming June release, A Baby Between Them, I'm giving away an advanced copy to one person who leaves a comment today. Here's a little about this book: For two months, Nora Murphy has cared for the abandoned infant she found on their Boston-bound ship. Settled now in Faith Glen, Nora tells herself she’s happy. She has little Grace, and a good job as housekeeper to Sheriff Cameron Long. She doesn’t need anything more - not the big family she always wanted, or Cam’s love... A traumatic childhood closed Cam off to any dreams of family life. Yet somehow his lovely housekeeper and her child have opened his heart again. When the unthinkable occurs, it will take all their faith to reach a new future together. Now avaiable for pre-order HERE

Pass the Ketchup, Please

Tracy Garrett — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:05:05 +0000

With a need to eat more wisely as I age, I spend a lot of time in the grocery store reading labels. While I have eliminated some foods from my shopping list that used to be standards, one staple I still insist on having is ketchup. However, when I realized how much sugar and salt go into my favorite condiment, I wondered if I could make it at home. And because I love history—and the history of the American west in particular--the next thought was ‘where was ketchup created’ and did they have it in the old west? The origins of ketchup are thought to be in a Chinese pickled fish sauce or brine made in the late 1600s. The British brought the table sauce back from their explorations of Malay states—present day Malaysia and Singapore—and by 1740 it was a staple in their cuisine. The Malay word for the sauce was k?chap, which evolved into “ketchup” and became “catchup” and “catsup” in America. Original versions of “ketchup” were made from lots of different savory items. One very popular one in America was mushrooms. The 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary defines catchup as “a table sauce made from mushrooms, tomatoes, walnuts, etc.” Tomatoes weren’t used in making the sauce until the early 1800s. A recipe published in 1801 seems to be the first making what you and I would recognize as ketchup—although I doubt it would taste the same. Cooks didn’t begin adding sugar to the mixture until later in the century. Most families made their own ketchup. In 1837, a man named Jonas Yerks is credited with making tomato ketchup a national food by producing and distributing his product across the U.S. It wasn’t long before other companies joined the rush, including H.J. Heinz, who launched their brand of ketchup in 1869. Early versions were thin and watery, more like the fish sauce than the thick tomato product we’re accustomed to, but had less vinegar than the modern recipe. In fact, I doubt we’d recognize the jar of ketchup served by a Harvey Girl in a Harvey House Restaurant in the 1880s as the same product Americans have come to love--but it’s fun to know it was there.

The Unsinkable Miss Brown

Winnie Griggs — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:22:57 +0000

Hi! Winnie Griggs here. A little over a week ago we marked the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. It got me to thinking about its most famous tie to the American west, the “Unsinkable Molly Brown”. The only things I knew about her were fuzzily remembered scenes from the movie so I figured I’d do a little quick research to find out more. I learned she was born in Hannibal,Missouri on July 18, 1867 and christened Margaret Tobin. Her father was an Irish immigrant employed as a ditch-digger and the family was on the very low end of the social and financial spectrum. As a teenager she followed one of her brothers to Leadville, Colorado where he hoped to make his fortune in the silver mines there. She served as cook for her brother and found work as a seamstress in a local store. Eventually she met J.J.Brown, a mining superintendent and the two were soon an item. Of the courtship, one source credits Margaret as saying

“I wanted a rich man, but I loved Jim Brown. I thought about how I wanted comfort for my father and how I had determined to stay single until a man presented himself who could give to the tired old man the things I longed for him. Jim was as poor as we were, and had no better chance in life. I struggled hard with myself in those days. I loved Jim, but he was poor. Finally, I decided that I'd be better off with a poor man whom I loved than with a wealthy one whose money had attracted me. So I married Jim Brown.”

They were wed in 1886. They had a son, Lawrence, in 1887 and their daughter Catherine made her appearance two years later. In the early years, Margaret and J.J. struggled financially. But J.J.’s instrumental involvement in a silver strike in his employer’s mine changed all of that and the Browns became very wealthy indeed. The family eventually moved to Denver where Margaret, in a nod to the societal conventions, familiarized herself with the arts and became fluent in several foreign languages. Alas, their love match did not last forever. In 1909, after 23 years of marriage, J.J. and Margaret separated, though they never divorced and it appears they remained amicable for the remainder of their days. As part of the separation agreement, Margaret received a very generous settlement and allowance, which allowed her to continue her travels and social work. Which brings us to her being aboard the ill-fated Titanic. Margaret was one of the lucky ones who made it aboard a lifeboat. It is said she helped in the evacuation and that she took up an oar herself to help row the boat away from the wreckage. She also strongly urged the crewman in charge of the lifeboat to go back to try to see if more people could be saved. Her exhortations were met with strong opposition due to fears that the boat would be swamped by desperate swimmers. Reports vary as to whether they did in fact eventually go back and whether or not anyone was rescued. What’s not in doubt, however, is that when the survivors were rescued by the crew of the Carpathia, she worked tirelessly to help provide physical and emotional comfort to the other survivors. By the time the ship reached New York, Margaret had established the Survivor’s Committee and raised nearly ,000 for those survivors who lost everything. She helped erect the Titanic Memorial in Washington D.C but to her annoyance found that as a woman she was barred from participation in the Titanic hearings. Margaret was also a philanthropist and activist in other areas. Some of her more notable contributions:

Helped establish the Colorado chapter of the National American Woman Suffrage Association
She worked in soup kitchens to help the families of miners
Was a charter member of the Denver Woman’s Club
Assisted in the fund raising for Denver’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Worked with a judge to come to the aid of indigent children and to establish the nation’s first juvenile court - this helped form the basis of the current day U.S juvenile court system
She twice ran for the U.S Senate
During WW I she worked with the American Committee for Devastated France, helping to establish a relief station for soldiers. She was later awarded the French Legion Of Honor.

Oh, and one last interesting fact that I learned - during her lifetime she was called Margaret, Margie and Maggie, but never Molly!

Easter Egg Art

Stacey Kayne — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:23:31 +0000

Spring is definitely in the air and on the ground with green grasses coming back to life and vibrant flowers bursting through. The orchards around my place are gorgeous with miles of trees in full bloom with pink and white blossoms. The colors of spring brings Easter eggs to mind, which are a symbol of new life, fertility and rebirth. The tradition of painting hard boiled eggs in the spring dates back to the Saxons, who regarded the egg as proof of the renewal of life, used eggs in festivals dedicated to Eastre, the goddess of fertility. Easter wasn't widley practiced in the US until after the Civil War. Churches and commmunities were moving on with a rebirth of their nation and Easter parades were held, and I've read that egg decorating was a tradition introduced by German immigrants. There are many other decorating techniques and numerous traditions of giving them as a token of friendship, love or good wishes. In the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, Easter eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ, shed on the Cross, and the hard shell of the egg symbolized the sealed Tomb of Christ — the cracking of which symbolized His resurrection from the dead. Easter eggs are a widely popular symbol of new life in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine. A batik (wax resist) process is used to create intricate, brilliantly colored eggs, the best-known of which is the Ukrainian pysanka and the Polish pisanka. I loved dying eggs as a kid. Though, compared to the coloring kits available today, ours was pretty basic. Six cups of vinegar, six colored tablets, one clear wax crayon we'd all fight over, along with the one egg dipper ;-) My boys got far more creative with tie-die kits, markers, shaker bags and glitter. An option I didn't care for then and now are those plastic covers that slip on the egg and shrink in hot water--they're impossible to peel for those who like to eat the eggs. This is the first year my kids, well, young men as they are, won't be coloring eggs. The only eggs I'll be making are deviled egss. I'll be looking forward to seeing what the younger neices and nephews have created this year. Here's some cool eggs and a great way to use old wire hangers to display them ;-) Will you be coloring eggs this year? Have any decorating tips or stories to share?

Bunco in the West!

Winnie Griggs — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:17:05 +0000

Pass the Ketchup, Please

Tracy Garrett — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:05:05 +0000

The Unsinkable Miss Brown

Winnie Griggs — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:22:57 +0000

Helped establish the Colorado chapter of the National American Woman Suffrage Association
She worked in soup kitchens to help the families of miners
Was a charter member of the Denver Woman’s Club
Assisted in the fund raising for Denver’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Worked with a judge to come to the aid of indigent children and to establish the nation’s first juvenile court - this helped form the basis of the current day U.S juvenile court system
She twice ran for the U.S Senate
During WW I she worked with the American Committee for Devastated France, helping to establish a relief station for soldiers. She was later awarded the French Legion Of Honor.

Oh, and one last interesting fact that I learned - during her lifetime she was called Margaret, Margie and Maggie, but never Molly!

Easter Egg Art

Stacey Kayne — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:23:31 +0000

Bunco in the West!

Winnie Griggs — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:17:05 +0000

Hi! Winnie Griggs here. (pssst - look for giveaway info at the bottom of this post) I was thumbing through one of those 'infamous women of the old west' type books the other day and came across a listing for a woman named Pearl Hart. The heading of First Female Captured Stagecoach Robber caught my eye. And the more I read about this woman, the more fascinated I became with her story. I did some additional research and found a number of different, sometimes contradictory, accounts of her life. I’ll stitch together my favorites here. While there is very little know about her early life, we do know that she was born Pearl Taylor in 1871 and lived the early part of her life in Ontario, Canada. She was one of several children born into an upper middle-class, church going family. At age sixteen she was sent to a boarding school, but she had an adventurous spirit that couldn’t be contained. That, combined with her attractiveness and wit made her quite popular with the men of her acquaintance. While at school Pearl became infatuated with a young man named Hart and eloped at about age 17. Hart has variously been described as a rake, a drunk and a gambler. Far from this being the romantic adventure Pearl had hoped for, it turned out Hart was also abusive. She left him and then returned to him several times and it is reported they had two children together. During their last reconciliation, the couple worked odd jobs the Chicago World’s Fair. There Pearl saw Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and developed a fascination for the cowboy life that would stay with her her entire life. She also visited the Women’s Pavilion where she heard speeches by prominent women’s activists such as Julia Ward Howe. Finally leaving Hart for good, Pearl placed the children in the care of her mother and took up with a man named Dan Bandman, a gambler and dance-hall musician. The two eventually moved to Colorado. Later, when Dan left to fight in the Spanish-American War, Pearl moved to Globe Arizona, a mining town. There are various reports that she may have worked as a cook, a singer, a laundress and/or opened a tent brothel. It is also said that she developed a fondness for cigar and liquor at this time. Pearl described her life at this time in these words: "I was only twenty-two years old. I was good-looking, desperate, discouraged, and ready for anything that might come. I do not care to dwell on this period of my life. It is sufficient to say that I went from one city to another..." Whatever her employment, Pearl’s finances hit bottom when the mine closed. Trying to find a way to earn money, she took up with a man named Joe Boot and together they tried to work an old mine claim he owned. But by 1899 the pair found themselves short on cash and decided to rob a stage, though it appears neither had done anything like this before. One account claims they took this desperate measure because Pearl had gotten word that her mother was ill and needed money, though there is little to substantiate this claim. Pearl cut her hair and dressed up like a man. Both armed with revolvers, they stopped a stage running between Florence and Globe at the Cane Springs Canyon watering point. They collected $421 from the three passengers on board. Pearl then reportedly took pity on them and gave them back each $1.00 so they could buy a meal at the next stop. But their lack of experience did them in. They did a poor job of covering their tracks and within six days the law had caught up with them. One account states that they were sleeping when the posses caught up with them and that while Joe surrendered quickly but Pearl tried, unsuccessfully, to fight her way out. Joe and Pearl were locked in the local jail. But the notoriety and attention Pearl received as a female bandit, coupled with the lack of proper facilities, caused the sheriff to throw up his hands and send her to the jail in Tucson. Pearl’s notoriety grew, and she did all she could to fuel it. Her story about her reason for the robbery (her ailing mother) gained her sympathy, and her avowal that she "would never consent to be tried under a law she or her sex had no voice in making, or to which a woman had no power under the law to give her consent" gained her a whole new level of attention. Never one to give up on her options, within a matter of days Pearl had charmed some of the men at the Tucson prison and managed to escape. Unfortunately for her, a New Mexico lawman recognized her and sent her back to the Tucson prison. Joe Boot was eventually sentenced to 30 years in jail and Pearl to five. Pearl was given the dubious honor of being the first woman incarcerated into the Yuma Territorial Prison. But neither Pearl nor Joe served their full terms. Joe, apparently due to a show of good behavior, was given trustee status. He walked off while working outside the gates less than two years into his term and was never heard from again. Pearl, on the other hand, gained her freedom legitimately, well, sort of. The warden of the jail where Pearl was imprisoned like all the attention she was attracting from the public and the media. He provided her with a roomy 8 x10 cell as well as a small yard which gave her a space to entertain reporters, photographers and other guests. Pearl, who was the only female incarcerated in the facility, was not above using her wiles to play guards and trustees off of each other to improve her situation. In December of 1902, Pearl received a pardon from the governor and was released free and clear. The official reason for the pardon remains unclear, but it was given on condition that she leave the Arizona territory. Pearl herself claimed that she had been invited to play the lead in a play her sister had penned based on her life and this had played into her release. However, a later rumor emerged that she had became pregnant. The governor, wanting to spare the Arizona Territory the embarrassment of explaining how this could possibly have happened while she was imprisoned, pardoned her and set her free. While there is no proof that Pearl ever bore a third child, this doesn’t mean the wily woman didn’t use this as a ploy to secure her freedom. There are varying accounts of what happened to Pearl after she was released. Some say she parlayed her notoriety into a show business career, billing herself as “The Arizona Bandit.” One account says she traveled for a while with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. A less colorful theory is that she married a rancher named Calvin Bywater and settled down into a quite but happier life. If that last is true, then perhaps Pearl got her “happily ever after” after all. Folks who knew Mrs. Bywater described her as “soft spoken, kind, and a good citizen in all respects.” Mrs. Calvin Bywater lived well into her 80s. As I said earlier, there are a number of different accounts of Pearl’s life and this is only one of them. Her exploits have been featured in theater, film and pulp fiction. There was even a musical called The Legend Of Pearl Hart. And while we may never know the full true story of her life, there is no doubt that she lived it on her own terms. And, as promised I'm doing a giveaway today. In honor of my upcoming June release, A Baby Between Them, I'm giving away an advanced copy to one person who leaves a comment today. Here's a little about this book: For two months, Nora Murphy has cared for the abandoned infant she found on their Boston-bound ship. Settled now in Faith Glen, Nora tells herself she’s happy. She has little Grace, and a good job as housekeeper to Sheriff Cameron Long. She doesn’t need anything more - not the big family she always wanted, or Cam’s love... A traumatic childhood closed Cam off to any dreams of family life. Yet somehow his lovely housekeeper and her child have opened his heart again. When the unthinkable occurs, it will take all their faith to reach a new future together. Now avaiable for pre-order HERE

Petticoats & Pistols » History – General

Winnie Griggs — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:17:05 +0000

Pass the Ketchup, Please

Tracy Garrett — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:05:05 +0000

The Unsinkable Miss Brown

Winnie Griggs — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:22:57 +0000

Helped establish the Colorado chapter of the National American Woman Suffrage Association
She worked in soup kitchens to help the families of miners
Was a charter member of the Denver Woman’s Club
Assisted in the fund raising for Denver’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Worked with a judge to come to the aid of indigent children and to establish the nation’s first juvenile court - this helped form the basis of the current day U.S juvenile court system
She twice ran for the U.S Senate
During WW I she worked with the American Committee for Devastated France, helping to establish a relief station for soldiers. She was later awarded the French Legion Of Honor.

Oh, and one last interesting fact that I learned - during her lifetime she was called Margaret, Margie and Maggie, but never Molly!

Easter Egg Art

Stacey Kayne — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:23:31 +0000

Bunco in the West!

Tracy Garrett — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:05:05 +0000

Petticoats & Pistols » History – General

Winnie Griggs — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:17:05 +0000

Pass the Ketchup, Please

Tracy Garrett — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:05:05 +0000

The Unsinkable Miss Brown

Winnie Griggs — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:22:57 +0000

Helped establish the Colorado chapter of the National American Woman Suffrage Association
She worked in soup kitchens to help the families of miners
Was a charter member of the Denver Woman’s Club
Assisted in the fund raising for Denver’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Worked with a judge to come to the aid of indigent children and to establish the nation’s first juvenile court - this helped form the basis of the current day U.S juvenile court system
She twice ran for the U.S Senate
During WW I she worked with the American Committee for Devastated France, helping to establish a relief station for soldiers. She was later awarded the French Legion Of Honor.

Oh, and one last interesting fact that I learned - during her lifetime she was called Margaret, Margie and Maggie, but never Molly!

Easter Egg Art

Stacey Kayne — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:23:31 +0000

Bunco in the West!

Winnie Griggs — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:22:57 +0000

They were wed in 1886. They had a son, Lawrence, in 1887 and their daughter Catherine made her appearance two years later. In the early years, Margaret and J.J. struggled financially. But J.J.’s instrumental involvement in a silver strike in his employer’s mine changed all of that and the Browns became very wealthy indeed. The family eventually moved to Denver where Margaret, in a nod to the societal conventions, familiarized herself with the arts and became fluent in several foreign languages. Alas, their love match did not last forever. In 1909, after 23 years of marriage, J.J. and Margaret separated, though they never divorced and it appears they remained amicable for the remainder of their days. As part of the separation agreement, Margaret received a very generous settlement and allowance, which allowed her to continue her travels and social work. Which brings us to her being aboard the ill-fated Titanic. Margaret was one of the lucky ones who made it aboard a lifeboat. It is said she helped in the evacuation and that she took up an oar herself to help row the boat away from the wreckage. She also strongly urged the crewman in charge of the lifeboat to go back to try to see if more people could be saved. Her exhortations were met with strong opposition due to fears that the boat would be swamped by desperate swimmers. Reports vary as to whether they did in fact eventually go back and whether or not anyone was rescued. What’s not in doubt, however, is that when the survivors were rescued by the crew of the Carpathia, she worked tirelessly to help provide physical and emotional comfort to the other survivors. By the time the ship reached New York, Margaret had established the Survivor’s Committee and raised nearly $10,000 for those survivors who lost everything. She helped erect the Titanic Memorial in Washington D.C but to her annoyance found that as a woman she was barred from participation in the Titanic hearings. Margaret was also a philanthropist and activist in other areas. Some of her more notable contributions:

Helped establish the Colorado chapter of the National American Woman Suffrage Association
She worked in soup kitchens to help the families of miners
Was a charter member of the Denver Woman’s Club
Assisted in the fund raising for Denver’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Worked with a judge to come to the aid of indigent children and to establish the nation’s first juvenile court - this helped form the basis of the current day U.S juvenile court system
She twice ran for the U.S Senate
During WW I she worked with the American Committee for Devastated France, helping to establish a relief station for soldiers. She was later awarded the French Legion Of Honor.

Oh, and one last interesting fact that I learned - during her lifetime she was called Margaret, Margie and Maggie, but never Molly!

Petticoats & Pistols » History – General

Winnie Griggs — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:17:05 +0000

Pass the Ketchup, Please

Tracy Garrett — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:05:05 +0000

The Unsinkable Miss Brown

Winnie Griggs — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:22:57 +0000

Helped establish the Colorado chapter of the National American Woman Suffrage Association
She worked in soup kitchens to help the families of miners
Was a charter member of the Denver Woman’s Club
Assisted in the fund raising for Denver’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Worked with a judge to come to the aid of indigent children and to establish the nation’s first juvenile court - this helped form the basis of the current day U.S juvenile court system
She twice ran for the U.S Senate
During WW I she worked with the American Committee for Devastated France, helping to establish a relief station for soldiers. She was later awarded the French Legion Of Honor.

Oh, and one last interesting fact that I learned - during her lifetime she was called Margaret, Margie and Maggie, but never Molly!

Easter Egg Art

Stacey Kayne — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:23:31 +0000

Bunco in the West!

Stacey Kayne — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:23:31 +0000

Petticoats & Pistols » History – General

Winnie Griggs — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:17:05 +0000

Pass the Ketchup, Please

Tracy Garrett — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:05:05 +0000

The Unsinkable Miss Brown

Winnie Griggs — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:22:57 +0000

Helped establish the Colorado chapter of the National American Woman Suffrage Association
She worked in soup kitchens to help the families of miners
Was a charter member of the Denver Woman’s Club
Assisted in the fund raising for Denver’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Worked with a judge to come to the aid of indigent children and to establish the nation’s first juvenile court - this helped form the basis of the current day U.S juvenile court system
She twice ran for the U.S Senate
During WW I she worked with the American Committee for Devastated France, helping to establish a relief station for soldiers. She was later awarded the French Legion Of Honor.

Oh, and one last interesting fact that I learned - during her lifetime she was called Margaret, Margie and Maggie, but never Molly!

Easter Egg Art

Stacey Kayne — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:23:31 +0000

Bunco in the West!

Stacey Kayne — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 10:27:43 +0000

So, I was at Bunco on Sunday, my once-a-month dose of social activity and one of my favorite days of the month because I get to spend time with my mom, mom-in-law and the best bunco bunch around. There's lots of laughter, dice rolling, and quite a bit of teasing the local rooomance writer and much-appreciated prodding about the new series I'm working on. The question came up of whether I'd have bunco in the new series and that got us to talking about how long bunco has been around. Some gals remember their mom's moms' being bunco players. Of course, I had to do some digging---was there bunco in the old west? Indeed, Bunco was played in the old west! In fact, the dice game was introduced in the United States during the Gold Rush! Seems a shady fellow making his way from the east to west coast in 1855 brought a dice game from England he called "Banco" into gambling parlors as he made his way to California gold fields. The game originating in England was called 8-dice cloth, though our English traveler, also known as a crooked gambler, had made several changes to the game. As its popularity spread across San Francisco, Banco became known as Bunco. According to the World Bunco Association (that was news to me too!), bunco was also played by groups of women, school children and couples throughout the 1800's. The game was repopularized in the 1920's during Prohibition, Bunco often being associated with those notorious speakeasies--so much so that the law enforcement squads sent to raid these clubs became known as "Bunco Squads". This movie poster on the right is from a 1950's film. Quite the rip-roaring start for what I always thought of as a rather innocuous ladies game--though I will admit we might tend to spike the punch ;-) These days bunco isn't limited to living-rooms and club rooms, there are Bunco Cruises! There's even a bunco app for iPhones. I think I'll be sticking with my monthly gathering of friends. How about the rest of y'all? Ever been part of a bunco bunch? Any bunco cruises in your past or future?