We’d been looking for Sam for nine years — he was the only Blonger whose final resting place had not been determined. But apparently we weren’t looking nearly hard enough. Turns out this photo has been on the Find-a-Grave web site for the last three years, thanks to researcher Scotti McCarthy. For some reason (that […]
Amy Reading on Focus 580
Amy Reading, whose new book “The Mark Inside” has been the subject of several posts here, will be interviewed on Illinois Public Radio tomorrow (Wednesday, April 25). If you happen to live in central Illinois like we do, you can listen live on WILL, AM 580. Elsewhere, you can listen in almost real time to […]
Happy Blonger Day!
Nine years ago today, April 22, 2003, I walked into my office at work with an idea. The previous night I had discovered that my great-great-grandfather’s long-lost brothers had apparently used the surname “Blonger” instead of the family spelling “Belonger”. Using that clue, I’d also been able to find them in census records in several […]
A Word From Our Sponsors
It’s curious we have so few advertisements for the various joints owned by the Blonger Bros. Grouping together their saloons, gambling halls, theaters and whorehouses, we count six businesses confirmed before their arrival in Denver (but probably twice that number or more), and at least ten in Denver alone, not counting policy shops, cigar store candy stands and various and sundry […]
Killer Kate Fears For Her Life
First of all, I’d like to mention for the record that, although Scott agrees with me that Sam’s second wife Sadie Wilson, and gun-slinging prostitute Kate “Kitty” Blonger, are likely the same person, he cautions, correctly, that this is not the only possible conclusion. But at present it remains the most obvious one. Which brings us to […]
Burglars, Umbrellas & Punchbowls
A few new odds and ends: LOST AND FOUND September 1, 1914, Denver Post. This day the Lost and Found column had two curious items in a row. The first concerns a pearl pin, duck-shaped, with diamonds, lost at Tabor’s Grand Opera about 8:00 pm on Saturday night, and belonging to Lou’s old friend, Harry Tammen, co-publisher […]
The Widow Viles
We’ve long known that Joe’s only marriage to widow Carrie (Winsor) Viles didn’t last long. A new article from the Albuquerque Daily Citizen, by way of the Las Vegas Optic, colorfully describes just how short it was. UNLUCKY NUMBER Couple Were Married in Room Thirteen of a Hotel. The Pecos Valley Correspondent of the Las Vegas […]
The Mark Inside on WILL
Sounds like Amy Reading will be doing another interview about The Mark Inside, this time in our old stomping ground, Urbana, on WILL-AM, the local NPR affiliate. Listen in on April 25th, or check it out afterward on the net. Amy says her recent interview on NPR’s Saturday Edition was much longer than what was broadcast, […]
Great New Photos
Amy Reading came up with a few photos for her book that are new to us. These two photos, for instance, of Blonger gang members Adolph Duff and George Belcher. “Kid Duffy” managed the big store for Lou; as a matter of fact, Lou tried to throw him under the bus at trial, claiming they […]
Amy Reading on NPR
Amy more than held her own with Scott Simon last Saturday. You can listen in here: http://www.npr.org/2021/10/24/149148112/the-big-con-if-you-cant-avoid-it-avenge-it True, she didn’t get around to Lou (it was only a seven minute segment), but we forgive her. Great job, Amy! We’ll have more to say on her book, The Mark Inside, soon.