Heather Frey Blanton Finds Adventure in Cripple Creek!

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Serendipity Never Ceases to Amaze Me

One thing about history: looking back, it’s easy and almost scary to see how the tiniest change could have derailed entire destinies.

One of my favorite stories of serendipity is that of Mary Catherine “Mollie” Gortner. In 1890, she and her family moved to Colorado Springs from the gentle, rolling hills of Iowa. Her husband was on the scout for new opportunities and challenges. Mollie was always up for an adventure. She and her children, who were older, were eager to see some new sights.

After the Gortners were settled, the announcement of a massive gold discovery in Cripple Creek beckoned to her oldest son, Perry. He took a job there in the spring of 1891 as a surveyor. The burgeoning boom town turned wild and wooly almost overnight and Mollie worried about her young, innocent son. She arranged a visit for the fall, packed up some care packages for him and headed up the mountain. A 4-day wagon trip.

Mollie Gortner

During one of Perry’s surveying jaunts over the summer, he had spotted a huge herd of elk and knew his mother would want to see the magnificent animals. They often hung about only three hundred or so yards beyond the first gold strike in Cripple Creek—the Gold King Mine. Perry and his mother packed a lunch and struck out for a warm, September hike up to what had become known, ironically, as Poverty Gulch.

A worse name no one could have imagined.

A bit winded after the high-elevation walking, Mollie sat down on a rock to wait for the herd to pass by. Nothing in particular drew her to that spot. In fact, she gave it very little thought.

Then, glancing around, she noticed a rock that “winked” at her. Curious, she took another rock and struck off a piece.

A chunk of pure gold cut through with bits of quartz fell into her hand.

Has any discovery of gold ever been easier or more serendipitous?

Hearts pounding, hands sweating, she and Perry hammered free a few more chunks, hid them in her skirt, and raced to the assayer’s office to file the claim. The clerk balked at handing the paperwork to a woman. Perry was a little befuddled on how to respond to this objection. Mollie solved the problem for both men. Without a second’s hesitation, she snatched up the forms, signed her name on the dotted line and raised her chin defiantly.

In Colorado in 1901 a woman had the legal right to own land and file a claim. The clerk didn’t have a leg to stand on, other than his chauvinism. He had a choice at that moment. He saw the fire in Mollie’s eyes and filed the claim in her name. Henry, her husband, didn’t give a wit about whose name the mine was in. He was supportive of her ownership and, to say the least, delirious about the lucky discovery.

The Mollie Kathleen mine is still in operation to this day. Perry ran it for Mollie from 1901 until his death in 1949.

Mollie died in 1917 but she will forever be known as the first woman to discover gold in Colorado, and the first woman to own a mine in the state.

Just think, what if she had sat on a different rock?

Have you ever had a moment like Mollie’s? The kind in which the slightest hitch could have redirected your life from where it is now? What do you think about her serendipitous discovery?

Comment for your chance to win one of two copies of my book, A Lady in Defiance, which was recently optioned for a television series. One of the characters in the book is named Mollie. It’s a bit foreshadowing.

Thanks for reading!

 

A LADY IN DEFIANCE

Charles McIntyre owns everything and everyone in the lawless, godless mining town of Defiance.

When three good, Christian sisters show up, stranded and alone, he decides to let them stay. The decision may cost him everything, from his brothel…to his heart.

Naomi Miller, angry with God for widowing her, wants no part of Defiance or the saloon-owning, prostitute-keeping Mr. McIntyre. It would seem, however, that God has gone to elaborate lengths to bring them together. The question is, “Why?” Does God really have a plan for each and every life?

A romance based on true events, A Lady in Defiance deftly weaves together the relationships of the three sisters and the rowdy residents of Defiance.

Amazon Link

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41 thoughts on “Heather Frey Blanton Finds Adventure in Cripple Creek!”

  1. It’s nothing that huge, but while I was working as the secretary at a church we used to attend, every morning on my commute I drove right past the new branch of our bank that was going up right out here by our place. Every day the Lord seemed to speak to me that I should put my application in there. Each day, I’d think I could already be at work instead of having to drive ten more miles! Finally, the feeling was so strong that I spoke with the youth pastor about it and then the pastor and then I called and spoke to one of the bank secretaries. She said “get over here right now!”. So, I drove on over, had a short interview with the President and Vice President of the bank and they hired me within five minutes, to work at the branch office. So, in two weeks I was driving less than five minutes to get to my new job each day. It was definitely a God thing!!

  3. I met my husband by being online on a lonely Valentine’s Day. I could have done something else.

  5. Hello and welcome. Thank you for sharing Mollie’s story. I’ve visited Cripple Creek numerous time, went through the museum and road the train. It’s such an amazing town.
    Your book sounds amazing.

  7. My favorite serendipitous moment is how my husband’s parents officially met. They’d seen each other, but never introduced. On a group activity, my mother-in-law was getting irritated with her date and decided to hop in the first vehicle she could to get away from him. She hopped in with my father-in-law who kind of blinked at her. She said, “Sorry, do you mind giving me a ride back?” Not one to turn down a lady in distress, he said sure. And the rest is history.

  8. Good morning. Welcome your book sounds interesting. I will add it to my list to read. Have a good day.

  9. Heather, I loved this story! Yes, another rock would have re-written history. Mollie was meant to find that gold, and I hope she lived a very happy and prosperous life afterward.

    I think life is filled with serendipity. We just don’t think about these events in our lives as such, but God has a hand in directing us.

    One example for me is when we were preparing to move to eastern Nebraska. A big move for us since my husband and I had both lived in western Nebraska for most of our lives. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant, and we wanted to find a house asap so that we could move as soon as the baby was born. I came here and looked at literally a dozen houses with our realtor and just couldn’t find anything. Dejected, I had to leave since I was already treading on thin ice with my delivery date so close. The very next day, my husband (who stayed behind to work) looked at only 1 or 2 houses with our realtor. He knew as soon as he saw this one, it was IT. It was perfect – and from a man I didn’t even trust to buy groceries for me. LOL.

    Anyway, 34 years later, we are still living in this house and will be for as long as we can. I guess I just needed to go home and let him do the house-hunting. 🙂

  11. Good morning, Heather! I simply loved this book and the series that follows. With each next story I was so anxious to find out what happened next. It was thrilling to say the least. Charles is pictured as a very handsome and trust worthy man even with the profession he had. That all changed gradually as he met “the lady of Defiance”.
    My serendipity was also with my second husband. He had been in the air Force and previously married. As we spoke of our past life’s we supposed he maybe had re-enlisted in the service we would never have met. If I had made a different decision in my life we would never have met. Actually a cousin of his was a good friend of mine. I was visiting with her and a couple other ladies and he happened to stop by on his motor cycle one day and the rest is history. Special things can and do happen to change a person’s life. Thank the LORD for providing that situation. So nice to have you here. Have a blessed day.

  12. An interesting story. A woman who owned a mine when women couldnt own property. I met my husband by taking another girls option to meet him. We were married for 43 years. Saw him at 1st sight and as they say your toes curled.

  13. Hello Heather! See, I told you that you always have such cool historical stories! I find most of my life is these moments of surprise and realizations that a simple choice leads to something big and answers to prayer. So far all of our vehicles have been found by random spur of the moment ideas of travel. For my daughter, she had been searching hard for her next vehicle and coming up with nothing. I kept telling her God will put the right one out there for her in His timing. (reminding her our previous vehicle stories, lol) We had a free Saturday so she says let’s go to this old apple orchard (an hour away) and see if it is open. We hadn’t been there in years. A couple miles from this orchard we see the vehicle. We turned right around and checked it out – it was exactly the truck she had wanted and had been searching for. I love those kinds of stories! (don’t enter me – I already own this amazing book!)

  14. Good Morning! I really enjoyed that story of Mollie. Did you know there’s a Cripple Creek, Virginia, my Mom and Grandparents are from Cripple Creek, Virginia and instead of gold mining there was iron mines. My grandfather worked those mines, until they moved. I have had a serendipitous moment myself, meeting my husband. We both had been in not so great marriages before and we meet online. I decided I was not giving up on love so I began talking to him online, something told me he was the one. After talking I went to his work to find him very busy and in that moment I knew he was the one. Even after living in a small town and having so many of the same friends, we had never meet. We were supposed to meet on his birthday but I unfortunately had a migraine and couldn’t meet that night. We finally got our schedules clear and a month later we meet at his house for dinner and some of the best conversations I’ve ever had with anyone. I could have choose to stay with my mom that evening but she told me to go. So if I had stayed with her I would have never meet my husband of 10 years now! ??

  15. Heather, welcome back! What a story. One time when I was broke and had my kids to feed, I found a twenty dollar bill on the ground lodged next to a rock. I’ll never forget that. I love Cripple Creek and my time spent there a few years ago. The atmosphere of the place tucked up on that mountain was like inhaling history. I felt the presence of long ago people with each breath. Huge congrats on your TV series option!! That’s fantastic.

  19. Great story! I’ve had a few serendipitous moments in my life, usually small things that led to other things working out so well.

  20. thanks for sharing this wonderful story of a woman who knew what she wanted and got it. she sounds like a woman of grit and love. I have had some small things that were in this category. congratulations on the movie contract

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