The story of Vena Blanchard: Employed by Soapy Smith. Part II

Early postcard
circa 1900-1915

March 24, 2012

n March 24, 2012 I posted a story about the possibility of  Vena Blanchard, a madam supposedly employed by Soapy Smith in Creede, Colorado in 1892. Since then I was able to locate and contact Gary and Gloria Meier, the authors of the book, Those Naughty Ladies of the Old Northwest, where Friend's member, Leah found the information. To initially contact them I had to use the USPS ("snail mail"), and I feared being that the book had been published 12-years ago, there was a chance they had moved. Not only was I in luck, but Gary and Gloria have the internet so their response was quick. Unfortunately it was not what I hoped to hear. Following is the response I received.

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the letter.

We regret to report that we no longer have any of our research material for the book. Over the years it has all been distributed to various historical societies.

We lived in Skagway in the early 1980s, and we both seem to recall that our Soapy info came from the museum there. (But it was a long time ago.) Perhaps you could contact them and find what you are looking for.

Skagway Museum and Archives
Box 521
Skagway, AK 99840

Wish we had more for you.

Regards from Oregon,
Gary and Gloria Meier

I emailed and thanked them for the quick and honest reply, and I thank them here again. At this time I have not located this particular story in the archives of the Skagway Museum but I will forward the story and see if I missed something.

JUNE 15

1607: Colonists in North America complete James Fort in Jamestown.
1752: Benjamin Franklin experiments by flying a kite during a thunderstorm to show the relationship between lightning and electricity.
1775: George Washington is appointed head of the Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress.  
1836: Arkansas is admitted into the Union as the 25th state.
1844: Charles Goodyear is granted a patent for the process that strengthens rubber.
1846: Great Britain and the United States agree on a joint occupation of the Oregon Territory.
1864: An order to establish a military burial ground is signed by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. The location becomes Arlington National Cemetery.
1867: Indians and the 3rd Infantry battle at Big Timbers, Kansas.
1877: General Howard reports four civilians are killed by Nez Perces Indians at John Day's Creek, Idaho Territory.
1877: Henry O. Flipper becomes the first African American to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
1878: A military escort takes Jesse Evans from Lincoln to Mesilla, New Mexico Territory to stand trial for the murder of John Tunstall.
1881: The James-Younger gang robs the Chicago and Rock Island train of $1,000 in Winston, Missouri. 1883: The first eastbound Northern Pacific train arrives in Helena, Montana Territory.
1898: The U.S. House of Representatives approves the annexation of Hawaii.
1898: The White Pass and Yukon Railway begins laying track rail in Skagway.