Hidden History Of Denver

When prospectors set up camp on Cherry Creek in 1858, Denver emerged as a lightning rod for the extraordinary. Time has washed away so many unusual stories—from the dark days of nineteenth century Law and Order League lynchings and the KKK’s later rise and fall to the heroism of suffragettes and the touching plight of the gypsies. Elizabeth Wallace knocks the dust off these details and introduces readers to characters like world heavyweight boxing champion Charles L. “Sonny” Liston, hit-man turned rodeo promoter Leland Varain, aka “Diamond Jack,” and the city’s daring wall dogs, whose hand-painted building advertisements are fading reminders of a bygone Denver.

Series statement from publisher's website.

Home to long-forgotten mining towns, defunct fisheries and neglected cabins, the turbulent headwaters of the Upper Rio Grande conceal a largely unknown history. Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys brought their legendary Texas swing to Crooked Creek Canyon's S Lazy U barn dance, while a comedy of errors unfolded around the ranch's secret still. Obstetrician Dr. MaryAnn Faunce, the daughter of an abolitionist and suffragette, made house calls as a real-life Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Rough-and-tumble miners drawn to Creede's silver boom found accommodations ranging from the primitive to the opulent, though none as enduring as the Creede Hotel. Upper Rio Grande native Carol Ann Wetherill and author Sandra Wagner preserve and celebrate the pioneering spirit that defined the early days in this obscure corner of southern Colorado.

Twin Cities sports fans are well-versed in disappointment, but the last 120 years of Minneapolis and St. Paul sports have also produced forgotten milestones. Most know of the Vikings' Super Bowl woes and the Twins' record-setting postseason losing streak. Few know that the first full-time college basketball coach originated here and that a Babe Ruth home run record supplanted a local player's achievement. Fewer still know about near misses like John Wooden almost becoming the University of Minnesota basketball coach in 1948 and Billie Jean King turning down an offer to join the Twin Cities' World Team Tennis franchise. Longtime Twin Cities journalist Joel Rippel documents these subjects and other forgotten or unheralded stories.

Elko County in Nevada's remote northeastern corner has long attracted independent, spirited individuals determined to carve out lives of their own. Born to former slaves, Henry Harris worked his way from John Sparks's house hand to one of the most respected buckaroos in the region. Pete Itcaina, the unlikely millionaire, once bought a local bar on the spot just to fire the bartender, who mistook Itcaina for a bum and refused to serve him. The beautiful cattle rustler Susie Raper charmed her way out of numerous arrests and trials, despite her trail of dead husbands. Local author Claudia Wines excavates sagas buried in the dust and probes conventional wisdom surrounding local legend.

"If you think the history you were taught in school was accurate, you're in for a big surprise. This group of researchers blows the lid off everything you thought you knew about the origins of the human race and the culture we live in"--Cover p. [4].

Colorado's Front Range, Western Slope, eastern plains and southern approaches were home to some of the state's stranger people, places and events. Meet Mike the Headless Chicken from Fruita and a Fort Collins architect who designed a university building to house his wife--after he killed her. Learn about Florence's "The Alcatraz of the Rockies" or Doc Holliday's final breaths in Glenwood Springs. Dig into the odd conspiracy theories and underground city connected to the Denver International Airport. Walk alongside dinosaur tracks, scout out old mines and ancient petroglyphs or climb into Mesa Verde's shaded, mysterious cliff dwellings. Author Cindy Brick shares quirky, odd and intriguing episodes in Colorado history.

Take a trip back in time to revel in the scandal, murders, infidelities, financial misdeeds, and just plain bad behavior from Colorado's past. Public respectability does not always translate into tidy private lives, and our interest in the naughty behavior of the rich and famous will never be satisfied. Former Denver Post reporter Dick Kreck takes us back through Colorado's history to show that the foibles of people—rich or poor—remain the same. Included are socialites such as Louise Sneed Hill, who created and ruled over Denver's "Sacred 36" circle of society; Jane Tomberlin, who met and fell in love with a "prince" in an elevator at the Brown Palace Hotel; Irene Nolan, who cavorted late into the night with her family priest; and prominent Denver clubman Courtland Dines, who was wounded during a frolic with two silent-screen stars in his Hollywood apartment.