I’ve been sitting on this for a while. A few years ago, our colleagues down New Mexico way sent us a little gift. The husband and wife team of Bob Alexander and Jan Devereaux were engaged in their own research — in this case, regarding the husband and wife team of Frank Thurmond and Carlotta […]
Author: Craig Johnson
Ain’t Life Wonderful!
Dr. James
Sacramento Daily Union, March 23, 1864
Stroud Theatre, Phoenix, 1883
Another piece of the puzzle — Blonger & Co. goes to Phoenix. We have reams of information on Sam and Lou in 1882, when Sam was marshal of New Albuquerque, and the brothers had numerous and varied exploits, dutifully chronicled by the town newsmen. The years that directly follow have been a bigger mystery. The […]
Sam and the Austin Stage
Details of Sam’s exploits during the Civil War years are few and far between, which is a real shame. The California Trail! An infant Denver! Driving a stage over the Sierras! And that’s just about all we know. Imagine the epic story that’s just out of reach! And then consider how much more Sam went […]
Soapy Gets All The Breaks
Except maybe that one time in Skagway. Ridley Scott’s Klondike starts Monday, January 20 on the Discovery Channel. The miniseries follows two young men into the heart of the Yukon gold rush. Ian Hart plays Soapy. If we’re lucky the writers will throw us a bone and have Soapy say a little something about Denver. […]
Blonger Day, cont.
As you may know, Blonger Day also includes the ritual “airing of grievances” – no, sorry, that’s Festivus – rather, it includes a recounting of the past year’s events (as bountiful or scanty as they may be), not to mention a peak at the year to come. The Mark Inside In April, author Amy Reading […]
The Drunken Orgy
To commemorate the Great Raid on the Blonger gang, we present this cartoon from the Denver Times, March 27, 1923. Scott photgraphed it on a recent trip to Denver. The original clipping was found in the papers of Robert Maiden, part of the collection at the Denver Public Library. Maiden was working for the Federal […]
Blonger Day, Belated
Now that Scott has had his say, I’d like to add my two bits. In past years (though I missed last year) I’ve taken this opportunity to review the finds of the preceding twelve months, and talk a bit about the future. Back to it. Good Old Mountain Dew In 2011 I got my first […]
Beehive Ranch
Speaking of Lou’s cherry orchard, the Beehive Ranch, here’s Lou outstanding in his field in 1917: This picture of Lou seems to have made other appearances over the years. You decide: