2016 Reunion in Skagway, Alaska!

JEFF. SMITH'S PARLOR
Opening 2016

(Click image to enlarge)

et's get two dupes with one bar of soap!

GRAND OPENING OF JEFF SMITH'S PARLOR
AND
SOAPY SMITH FAMILY and FAN REUNION
July 4-8, 2016

      The restoration of Soapy Smith's saloon in Skagway, Alaska is set for completion in 2016. My source at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park tells me that they are shooting for a July 4 grand opening but there is always the chance that the date may be postponed due to unforeseen delays. What more of a perfect time to have a Soapy Smith family/fan reunion in Skagway! The park service says they can arrange a private tour if the grand-opening is delayed. The last time the family was there in force was in 1998 for the 100th anniversary of Soapy's demise. 
      This idea is in the planning stages and I am creating a site devoted to this reunion trip. It is an expensive and time consuming trip so we need to plan early. Start saving your money! This will be a trip you will not want to miss!
      Personally, I have an idea of my trip schedule, and I invite anyone to tag along. My trip includes a day trip to Seattle, Washington where McGinty (Soapy's petrified man) resides. There are also interesting places to visit, such as the building which held the Owl Saloon where Soapy has an altercation. This location also holds the famed "underground tour" and the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park - Seattle Branch museum. Next is a stop in Juneau, Alaska where Soapy was arrested for selling his prize package soap. The state museum holds a few interesting Soapy related items, including a lock of his hair, and the only two known to exist, handbills of the famed vigilante Committee of 101, and Soapy's response handbill from the Law And Order Society of 317.
      Skagway has lots to do! We will be there for the July 4th parade and on July 8 for the Soapy Smith wake (held there since 1977).

ALL IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME!

 

      "I never knew anything about Jeff Smith only what my husband had said [about] his being the king of the gamblers, and that naturally made me afraid of him. Well, you remember that night when Parson Uzzell was giving out loaves of bread to all the hungry people? I went to the [People’s] Tabernacle one night, but I got there too late. Every loaf of bread was gone, and not a penny in the house. I don’t know what I was doing only standing alone when a gentleman came close up to me and … pushed a piece of paper in my hand, and before I could even talk, he said: Take that, lady, it will get you all the bread you want.
     I turned to say thank you, sir, but he was gone…. I am only a woman, but I have got a vote and so has my husband, and anybody who does an act like that for us shows that they have hearts that are in the right place, and I think that they are better than the people who abuse them."

— Alias Soapy Smith, p. 329.

SEPTEMBER 13

1878: Outlaw, James “Frank” Towle, of the Sam Bass Gang is shot dead during a stagecoach robbery. His body was hidden by the other unknown accomplices, and was found 3 months later by stage driver, Boone May, who cut off Towle’s head for evidence in order to claim an outstanding reward. Bad man Soapy Smith had witnessed the death of Sam Bass 2 months previous.

1884: Soapy Smith purchases a street venders license in Del Norte, Colorado to hawk his cash prize package soap.

The Soapy Smith Wake 2013

THE SOAPY SMITH WAKE(S)

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uly 8, 1898 is the date of demise for Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith. Of all events to remember, it is this day of death that family descendants gather together to toast the life and history of this amazing nineteenth century confidence man.

      It all started in 1977 when members of the Smith family, including Jeff, his brother and parents, visited Skagway, Alaska. With the cast of the Day's of '98 Show we created the first Soapy Smith wake. It has been called a "wake" ever since. With Jeff's assistance, the Magic Castle started up their own annual event in 2003, but they prefer to call it "Soapy Smith Night." On this website and with the Smith family it will always be known by its original namesake, the Soapy Smith Wake.

There are currently five "wakes" held annually within the United States,

1. Eagles Hall, Skagway, Alaska. 
2. Magic Castle, Hollywood, California. 
3. The Tivoli Club (a reproduction of Soapy's saloon in Denver, Colorado), Whitehorse Ranch movie lot, Landers, California. 
4. The Wizard's Club, Chicago, Illinois. 
5. The Lumber Baron Inn, Denver, Colorado.

For more information please visit my main website "wake" page here.

 








Key word search: wake

"Whenever men like you need to win, they turn to men like me."

— “Nuckey” Thompson, Boardwalk Empire.

JUNE 8

1786: Commercial ice cream is manufactured for the first time in New York City.

1790: The first loan for the U.S. is repaid. The Temporary Loan of 1789 is negotiated and secured on September 18, 1789 by Alexander Hamilton.

1861: Tennessee votes to secede from the Union and join the Confederacy during the Civil War.

1867: Indians fight the 7th Cavalry in Chalk Bluffs, Kansas.

1869: Ives McGaffey receives a patent for the vacuum cleaner.

1872: The penny postcard is authorized by Congress.

1874: Chiricahua Apache Indian Chief Cochise, age 62, dies of natural causes on an Arizona reservation.

1878: Billy the Kid signs an affidavit against the Seven Rivers Gang in the murder of Frank McNab, New Mexico.

1885: Three guards protecting a supply train are killed by Indians in Guadeloupe Canyon Sonora, Mexico.

1890: Unknown outlaws stop a Northern Pacific train in New Salem, North Dakota only to find the safe is empty.

1892: Robert Newton Ford, killer of outlaw Jesse James, is shot and killed inside his tent saloon by Edward Capehart O’Kelley in Creede, Colorado.

1904: U.S. Marines land in Tangiers, Morocco to protect U.S. citizens.

First annual Soapy Smith Wake at the Wizard's Club of Chicago.

he year 2012 had four "wakes" held in Soapy Smith's honor. The newest wake, the first, and hopefully, annual, Soapy Smith wake was held in Chicago, Illinois at the Wizard's Club, in combination with the organizations 80th Anniversary Party. The Wake was hosted by professional magician, and big Soapy fan, Keith Cobb, who attended the annual event every year at the Magic Castle. Keith decided Chicago needed its own event, and considering Soapy had traveled to Chicago on several occasions it certainly warrants a party of its own.
      The above video was edited and placed on Youtube by Keith, who stated that it was late due to technical issues with the video. We are happy to see that Keith was able to fix the problems and show us how much fun everyone had in Chicago. Keith is such a big fan of Soapy's that he used to travel from Chicago to Hollywood just for the Soapy Smith Night event held annually at the Magic Castle. We here at the Soapy Smith Preservation Trust are very proud of Keith's accomplishments in his personal business ventures as well as his honoring Soapy in such a grand way. If you have not done so yet I think some encouragement and thanks are due him!
      I would like to personally thank Keith Cobb for his wonderful devotion. He had some magnificent plans and saw them through. I would also like to thank the Wizard's Club of Chicago for allowing the Soapy Smith wake to coincide with their own anniversary. I hope we can work together to make this event an annual one.   

Links and sources
The Grifter: Home
The Grifter: Soapy wake advertisement
The Grifters Gameroom: Home     

The Wizard's Club of Chicago: Home

 








Keith Cobb
June 2, 2012
December 31, 2011
June 15, 2011
June 29, 2010
July 16, 2008

"He is genial and generous, enjoys a fight, pays his debts, gives his last dollar to whoever wants it and steals the first dollar the next man is rash enough to expose to view."

—Henry James, San Francisco Call, February 27, 1898.

Great additions and more Soapy Wake photos.

Roger Smith drew this wonderful rendition of Soapy

h boy do I have a lot to catch up on! Here are a few items I hope you enjoy.

Skagway held their Soapy Smith Wake on July 8 just as they have for 35-years. Below is a picture of the cast and crew of the Day's of '98 Show with Soapy's 4th grave marker.

DAYS OF 98 SHOW
(back row left to right) Daniel Paun, Jeff Strong, Aliasha Suitor, Afton Toler, Kaitlyn Casanova, Allison Graham, Michael Baish, Austin Fry
(front row left to right) Tegan Baldwin, Jonathan Baldwin, Jon Erdman, Jonathan Hays, Briona Daughtery

Some more photos from the Magic Castle event
(click the images to enlarge)

 

Family members Gini Dalton, Jeff, Ashley, and Jefferson Smith

Gini Dalton giving the traditional toast

Great-great-grandson Jefferson R. Smith

Oh those ladies!
Shari Wendt, Janet Dean, and Karin Mckechnie

Honest John and Lucky Linda

The faro tables are always packed.
Greg Worley and Phil Spangenberger play to win

Doc Holliday, alias Stephen Keith deals blackjack

There was even grand hazard to play

Whit "Pop" Haydn prepares to wow the crowd
and he did

AUGUST 6

1787: The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia begins. The articles of the U.S. Constitution draft are debated.

1850: Louis Vasquez becomes the first Postmaster at Fort Bridger, present day Wyoming.

1860: Major Sedgwick and six companies of the 1st Cavalry battle a combined force of Kiowa and Comanche Indians on Cottonwood Creek, Kansas.

1873: Vigilantes lynch four suspected murderers in the Court Plaza, Tucson, Arizona Territory.

1874: James Reed, first husband of female outlaw Belle Starr, is shot dead by Deputy Sheriff J. T. Morris in Lamar County, Texas.

1880: “Buckskin” Frank Leslie marries Mary Killeen (who he had made a widow in June) in the lobby of the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Tombstone, Arizona Territory.

1895: Bad man, Jim Clark is shot outside the Colombo Saloon in San Antonio, Texas while in the company of a man known only as Mexican Sam. An errant bullet pierces Clark's heart and he dies within the hour.

1896: Lawmen, including Frank King, fight a gun battle with the outlaw Black Jack Ketchum gang when it attempts to rob a bank in Nogales, Arizona Territory. The outlaws are driven off.

1902: Outlaw Harry Tracy commits suicide rather than face prison during a gun battle with lawmen on a farm in Creston, Washington. During the fight Tracy dashed into a wheat field. The posse fired volleys of shots into the field and heard Tracy fire only one shot in return. The following morning, Sheriff Gardner of Lincoln County and his deputies find Tracy dead. One of his legs had been shattered by two of the rifle balls fired by the posse. He had attempted to stop the flow of blood with a bandage, but when it became obvious he could not escape, Tracy apparently decided to make good on his promise that he would never be caught alive, and shot himself in the head. His body was returned to Salem prison for identification and was displayed to the inmates as an object lesson in the rewards of a life of crime.

Soapy Smith Wake: Magic Castle, 2012

The kids and I
Soapy Smith Night (Wake) at the Magic Castle 
(left to right) Jefferson R. Smith, Jeff Smith (me), Troy Hall, and Ashley Smith
Hollywood, CA.

aiting for details from the Magic Castle and writers block has kept me from posting here for a few weeks. I hope posting this today will get me out of that rut.

This year's Soapy Smith wake at the Magic Castle (they call it Soapy Smith Night) was fantastic. They just get better every year! It was for me, perhaps the best in the nine years the Castle has been putting them on. Although the event was on a Sunday evening I had twice as many guests on my membership card than in previous years. The problem for me has always been writing about the event afterwards. I get so hyped up and excited before the event, and then when the day finally arrives it's all within a few seemingly shorter hours. It usually takes me a few days to unwind. This year was harder than previous years as I was laid up in bed the following day.

So much fun!

 (Click image to enlarge)

Whit Haydn, the man behind the event tells me there were a total of 420 guests that raised $2,520 for the Dai Vernon Fund. Once again, my friend, Phil Gessert brought in his fantastic gambling collection and set up a gold rush era gambling hall. Actually, the crowd loves the play gambling (with $100 in Soapy money) that the gambling hall was enlarged and separated into two locations on each end of the downstairs room. Guests played roulette, faro, chuck-a-luck, and black-jack. There were also short cons operating around the Castle, such as the shell and pea game, three-card monte, and fast and loose. Once again, prizes were given to the most successful dealer and player. Cheating is not only welcome, but encouraged.

Jeff Smith talks about the history of the wakes
(note the cased grave marker in the background)

(Click image to enlarge)

The Soapy Smith wake at the Magic Castle is one of the few times guests can come in 1890s costume and every year more people come dressed and enter the costume contest. Prizes were given out for the most authentic male and female, the funniest male and female, and always the favorite, sexiest female. This year we also added sexiest male costume. Live period music was provided by Professor Dave Bourne and the Medicine Show Band. Very popular at each annual party is Chef Anton, the two-time national trick shot champion at pool, presented his incredible demonstration of billiards wizardry. The auction of Soapy and magic memorabilia always brings in a lot of money for the charity. Every year or so I clean out the case holding Soapy's 2nd grave marker and donate the larger splinters of wood to Whit Haydn. He picks a nice piece or two and puts them in a nice shadow box. This year the splinter sold for $96 with all the proceeds going to the charity.

Encased sliver from Soapy's grave marker donated
for the charity auction brought a winning bid of $96.00

I spend the evening talking with people and every year I run into people with great stories. This year one of the full-time Castle employees told me she chooses to work every event except for the Soapy Smith Night. It's the one event she attends as a guest, "because it's so much fun." I certainly can't argue with her.
  

Family member Ginni Dalton gave an eloquent toast this year 

I had the pleasure of having my two children, Ashley and Jefferson, there again. They are hooked. I also had a few first-time family members attend. It was also the first time ever meeting them. They are Shelagh Moriarty and son Aron and Ginny and Russ Dalton. Shelagh brought old photographs of her grandmother and Soapy's son, my grandfather. We will be getting together soon as she has a lot of history regarding the family. Ginny helped me with giving the toast.

More photographs of the event can be seen on Pop's Soapbox

A special thank to Whit "Pop" Haydn, the man behind this event. 

Our family is forever grateful.

JULY 13

1585: A group of 108 English colonists, led by Sir Richard Grenville, reach Roanoke Island, North Carolina.

1754: At the beginning of the French and Indian War, George Washington surrenders the small, circular Fort Necessity in southwestern Pennsylvania to the French.

1787: U.S. Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, enacts the Northwest Ordinance, which establishes the rules for governing the Northwest Territory, for admitting new states to the Union and limiting the expansion of slavery.

1812: The first pawn-broking ordinance is passed in New York City.

1832: U.S. Indian agent and explorer Henry Schoolcraft discovers the source of the Mississippi River. Its 2,552-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico begins at Lake Itasca, Minnesota.

1835: John Ruggles receives patent #1 from the U.S. Patent Office for a traction wheel used in locomotive steam engines. All 9,957 previous patents were not numbered.

1863: Opponents of the Civil War draft riot for three days in New York City, which results in more than 1,000 casualties.

1866: Construction begins on Fort Phil Kearny in Wyoming, between the forks of the Little Piney and Big Piney Creeks. Red Cloud, Ogalala Crazy Horse, Black Shield, and High Backbone of the Minneconjous Indian tribe, seal a pact and over the next six months kill 154 soldiers and settlers in 51 skirmishes.

1867: Lieutenant Goodale and the 23rd Infantry report five Indians killed and two captured on the Malheur, Oregon Territory. One soldier is killed.

1871: The 21st Infantry reports killing fifteen Indians and one soldier killed, Clenega de Los pinos, Arizona Territory.

1872: The 5th Cavalry reports killing four Indians in a battle in the Whetstone Mountains, Arizona Territory.

1875: David Brown patents the first cash-carrier system.

1882: George Hackett, driver of a Wells Fargo stage nine miles outside of Strawberry, California shoots at stage robber Charles Earl Bowles, alias “Black Bart.” The shot scars Bowles forehead, but he escapes into the woods.

1891: William Oliver is swindled for a second time in the Tivoli Club and gets into a fight with bunco man, John Goodfellow.

1896: Philadelphia’s Ed Delahanty became the second major league player to hit four home runs in a single game.

1898: Deputy US Marshal Taylor is officially relieved of duty by US Marshal Shoup after the death of Soapy Smith. Taylor was in Soapy’s pay.

1898: Sheriff Pat Garrett of Dona Ana County, New Mexico and four deputies attempt to arrest Oliver Lee and James Gilliland at Lee’s ranch for murder. The lawmen were greeted with gunfire from Lee and Gilliland. Garrett receives a slight wound in the side and Deputy Kent Kearney is mortally wounded. The lawmen retreat, but both men later surrender. Lee and Gilliand are acquitted of the murder charge. Garrett loses his job as sheriff. Lee returns to ranching and is eventually elected twice to the New Mexico legislature.

1937: Outlaw Emmett Dalton dies. He was a member of the train and bank robbing Dalton Gang in Indian Territory. He survived the ill-fated Dalton raid on two banks in Coffeyville, Kansas, despite receiving 23 gunshot wounds. After serving 14 years in prison for the crime, Dalton capitalized on his notoriety to author books and become an actor in Hollywood. Emmett Dalton died in Los Angeles, California. It is believed that Mary, the wife of bad man Soapy Smith was a cousin to the Daltons.

A toast to Soapy Smith's ghost.

uly 8 is a big day for the family and fans of bad man Soapy Smith, aka Jefferson Randolph Smith II. It was on July 8 1898 that Soapy was shot and killed by Frank Reid and Jesse Murphy on Juneau Wharf, Skagway, Alaska. In 1977 my family and I visited Skagway and there, with the cast of the Days of 98 Show, we held the first "wake" over Soapy's grave. This year marks the 114th anniversary of Soapy's death, the 35th anniversary for Skagway's wake, and the 9th anniversary for the Soapy Smith Night (wake) held at the Magic Castle.

I hope you are able to attend one of the events being held across the U.S., but even if you are unable to, I would like to invite all of you join us, no matter where you are, no matter what you might be drinking at the time, to raise your glass at approximately 9:15 p.m. (your time) and drink a toast to this amazing character of the old west.

I enjoyed and wish to share with you what Friends member, Hyam A. Shyster, a magician, had to say today on Facebook.

"The next week for me are officially declared Soapy Smith days and will be dedicated to the memory of the best bad guy you ever wanted to like, Jefferson R. Smith. ... My birthday is July 12 between now and then I will honor Soapy as all my shows will be tributes to him. ... Soapy Smith is one of my hero's and is an icon of American history. I'm glad to honor men like him. Soapy inspired the name Hyam A. Shyster (say the full name to yourself) has also been the inspiration for the type of shows I do."

Thank you very much for that fine offer of tribute Mr. "Shyster." Soapy would be proud.

JULY 7

1754: Kings College (Columbia College) opens in New York City.

1846: U.S. annexation of California is proclaimed at Monterey after the surrender of a Mexican garrison.

1862: The first railroad post office is tested on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad in Missouri.

1867: The 8th Cavalry reports one soldier wounded in action against Indians at Beale's Spring, Arizona Territory.

1875: Indians kill three members of the 7th Infantry near Camp Lewis, Montana Territory.

1876: Jesse and Frank James, Cole, Jim and Bob Younger, Clell Miller, Charlie Pitts, and Bill Chadwell stop and rob the Missouri Pacific train of $15,000 as it slowed to cross an old railroad bridge east of Otterville, Missouri.

1879: Caldwell, Kansas lawman, George Flatt, along with Constable W. C. Kelly, Deputy John Wilson and W. H. Kiser shoot it out with George Wood and Jake Adams in the Occidental Saloon. Flatt is credited with killing the two men.

1885: G. Moore Peters patents the cartridge-loading machine.

1898: The U.S. annexes Hawaii.

1898: Rev. John Sinclair takes a photo of Soapy Smith on his horse. It is the last known photograph of Soapy alive as he is killed in a gunfight the following day.

1898: John Stewart arrives in Skagway with a poke of gold. The following day he will be robbed of his gold by the Soap Gang, which causes a chain reaction leading to Soapy Smith’s death.

1903: A shootout in Parachute, Colorado on July 5 ends in the suicide of a man authorities claim is Harvey Logan, alias “Kid Curry.”

Soapy Smith to aid Colorado fire victims!

Soapy would be honored and proud!

ust received some amazing news. Dave Elstun, Friends of Bad Man Soapy Smith member and mastermind behind the annual Soapy Wake in Denver, Colorado came up with the brilliant and very humane idea of donating proceeds from this year's event (July 8, 2012) to victims of the Colorado fires that have wreaked havoc on the state and it's occupants.

Dave told me that the idea came to him because of Soapy's history as a charitable man, which he indeed was. I think this is a wonderful way to advertise the Wake, which will hopefully bring in tons of money for the victims. Soapy would be so proud to know that even in the grave, he can still help those in need. The following is from Dave Elstun

The Lumber Baron Inn and Garden's is pleased to announce "Denver's Second Annual Soapy Smith Wake". A special event to raise money for victims of Colorado wildfires. Soapy's Wake takes place at 7:00 PM, Sunday July 8th, 2012 at The Lumber Baron Inn, 2555 W. 37th Ave., in Denver's historic Highlands Neighborhood. The show features the talents of the Three Soapy's, Magician Dave Elstun, Comedian's Darrin Ray and Matt Vander Muelen also featured Lumber Baron Owner and Historian Walter Keller, Songbird of the west Laura Powers and Physical Comedian and Juggler Reid Belstock. Tickets are now on sale at The Lumber Baron Inn (303) 477-8205 for only $15.00 per person. For more information please visit http://www.magicindenver.com/The-MagiCabaret-.html.

Soapy Smith was a scoundrel! He was a Con Man and one of the countries earliest Crime Bosses. Soapy operated In Denver from approximately 1879 to 1889. He was also said to be a large a generous contributor to charities. Soapy Smith is also an important part of the history that creates Denver's unique western character. It is in this spirit that The Lumber Baron Inn is producing "Denver's First Annual Soapy Smith Wake". The Wake is a recreation of and old fashioned Saloon Show just the way Soapy would have liked it. Imagine if in 1890's a group of Soapy's friends had gathered at Denver's infamous Tivoli Club to toast their friend.

Stay tuned as more develops.

JULY 1

1847: The U.S. Post Office issues its first adhesive stamps.

1861: Confederate forces, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John B. Baylor, occupy Mesilla, New Mexico Territory.

1862: President Lincoln signs the Pacific Railroad Act, which authorized the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroads to build the first transcontinental railroad. The two railroads were loaned capital at the rate of $16,000 per mile over prairie land and $48,000 over mountainous terrain. The act also granted them ten sections of public land per mile for the track that linked Omaha, Nebraska and Sacramento, California.

1862: The U.S. Congress establishes the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

1863: A victorious Colonel Williams leads 800 members of the 1st Kansas Colored along with 500 Indians against a force of Texas Confederates lead by Cherokee chief and Confederate general Stand Watie at Cabin Creek, Kansas

1863: The first day of fighting at Gettysburg begins, during the Civil War.

1865: Camp Tyler is established on the South Platte River Road in Colorado. It is later renamed Fort Morgan.

1871: Grayson County, Texas - Richard Johnson, a Texas cowboy who sided with the Lee faction in the bloody Lee-Peacock Feud that raged during the 1860s, shoots and kills Lewis Peacock ending the feud. Johnson was never apprehended for the murder.

1874: The Philadelphia Zoological Society zoo opens the first zoo in the United States.

1875: The 2nd Cavalry reports killing two Indians in a battle at the Little Popo Agie River in Wyoming.

1876: The first news of the Little Bighorn battle reaches Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory when Crow scouts, Speckled Cock and Horned Toad, tell the Indians there of a big fight and of a white leader (Custer) who committed suicide.

1877: Soapy Smith’s mother, Emily Dawson Edmundson, dies in Round Rock, Texas.

1883: The stage running through Black Canyon, Arizona Territory is robbed for the second time in three days.

1887: Gunman and rancher, Clay Allison dies in a freak accident. He was returning from Pecos, Texas, with supplies. Allison toppled from his buckboard he was driving and fell beneath the wheel of the heavily laden wagon. The horses jerked forward and the wheel crushed Allison's head killing him instantly.

1890: Prohibition goes into effect in North Dakota.

1892: The outlaw Dalton Gang stops a train, near Red Rock, Cherokee Strip. They force the express car door open taking $11,000 from the safe.

1893: The first wooden bicycle race track in the U.S. opens in San Francisco, CA.

1898: Theodore Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders" wage a victorious assault on San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

1898: U.S. forces attack Spanish troops entrenched at El Caney and on the San Juan heights, east of Santiago-de-Cuba. The Americans win tactical victories, driving the outnumbered Spanish defenders to the outskirts of Santiago.

Annual Soapy Smith wake 2012

Poster for the Magic Castle event

t's that time of year again! Come July 8, 2012 it will be the 114th anniversary of Soapy Smith's demise.

This year's annual Soapy Smith wake will be held in four states!

• Skagway, Alaska: Where it all began in 1977, which makes this the 35th annual. This event is now mostly a private event held at the Eagle's Hall but if you happen to be in Skagway I'm sure you could get in and celebrate with the locals.
• Denver, Colorado: This will be the 2nd annual event held at the Lumber Baron Inn. I have no details for this event yet but they will be posted here on the blog when I get them. I suggest you can in advance if you wish to attend.
• Chicago, Illinois: The Wizard's Club of Chicago will be celebrating their 80th anniversary and the Soapy Wake in one evening for the first annual event which will actually be taking place on July 27th. Only 100 tickets will be sold at $30 which will include
  
  • A two hour Western Buffet Dinner.
  • Old west gambling and con games played with our own Soapy Money.
  • A Champaign toast to Soapy.
  • Gambling themed magic presentations.
  • Western Costume Contest.
• Hollywood, California: This marks the 9th annual party held at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. This has been a huge success for the Castle and people come from all over the country to attend. So far everyone I know who has attended over these last nine years has returned year-after-year. In fact, the president of the Wizard's Club of Chicago, Keith "Grifter" Cobb, flew out from Chicago to California every year just for this one night. After years of doing this he decided he should create his own event, and he did (see Chicago, Illinois above). The poster at the top tells of some of the special action for this night but failed to mention the period gambling (play gamble with $100 in Soapy money) set up by my very good friend Phil Gessert and family. This is very popular with attendees. I am already receiving more family names to attend this year and that really makes me happy because our family should be involved. This is a private club so if you wish to go please contact Jeff Smith.

Something to think about: If you are a big fan of Soapy's but just can't travel to one of the parties mentioned above...why not create your own! All of the wakes started out small. The first one at the Magic Castle was advertise with a hand-done black marker and Xeroxed. It can be a public affair or completely private. "Build it ... and they will come." If you do create a Soapy wake Please let us know here and we will advertise it.

MAY 2

1774: The Quartering Act, which required American colonists to allow British soldiers into their houses, is reinstated. 

1851: Maine becomes the first U.S. state to enact a law prohibiting alcohol. 

1860: Colonel Hayes and his troops engage Paiute Indians near Pyramid Lake, Nevada Territory. 

1865: Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith surrenders the Trans-Mississippi Department to Union forces in Galveston, Texas. 

1875: Comanche Chief Quanah Parker leads his people onto the reservation near Fort Sill, Indian Territory. He becomes a respected and well to do rancher and businessman. 

1876: Outlaw Charles Earl Bowles, more commonly known as “Black Bart,” robs the Roseburg, Oregon and Yreka stage nine miles from Yreka, California. 

1883: The first baseball game under electric lights is played in Fort Wayne, Indiana. 

1884: Lilly Langtry plays a return engagement at the Opera House in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. 

1885: New Orleans World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in Louisiana closes to the public after a six month run. Soapy Smith states he attended the affair. 

1886: Grover Cleveland becomes the second U.S. president to get married while in office. He is the first to have a wedding in the White House. 

1889: Thirty-four Sioux surrender on the Missouri River, Dakota Territory, to Captain Sprole of the U.S. Army. 

1896: Guglieimo Marconi's radio is patented in the U.S. 

1896: The steamer Utopia docks in Seattle with Soapy Smith on-board. Upon disembarking he registers at the Butler hotel. 

1899: The outlaw gang “The Wild Bunch,” rob the train at Wilcox, Wyoming. The gang consists of Butch Cassidy, George "Flatnose" Curry, Elzy Lay, Harvey Logan, Lonny Logan, Ben Kilpatrick, Harry “The Sundance Kid” Longbaugh (or Longabaugh), and Ben Beeson. The bandits stop the Union Pacific's Overland Flyer on a small trestle which was barricaded. Cassidy ordered the engineer, W. R. Jones, to uncouple the express car. He refused and Harvey Logan pistol-whipped the engineer. He still refused and Lay took the controls in the engine's cab and forced the train forward. The gang ordered the guard to open the express car door and come out but he refused. Dynamite was used which tore the car in half, injuring, but not killing the guard inside. The bandits ran about, picking up more than $30,000 in bank notes and securities which had been blown from the car. 

1924: The United States Congress grants full citizenship to American Indians.