Beverly Snodgrass made a lot of poor choices. Once a prostitute in the old mining town of Butte, she later became a madam running two of the most popular brothels. She fell deeply in love with a crooked politician, whom she nicknamed "Dimple Knees." When corrupt cops in uniform came to her businesses, it usually wasn't to serve and protect but rather to collect payoffs. Butte is sometimes described as a town that "drinks her liquor straight," but things never were the same after Beverly told her story to a newspaper reporter. That reporter, John Kuglin, recounts the scandal that rocked The Richest Hill on Earth and for a time made Dimple Knees the most famous name in Montana.

Avoid The Tourist Herds. What could be more uninspiring than seeing the identical attractions that everyone else has for decades? This Twisted Tour Guide escorts you to the places locals don’t want to talk about anymore…the same places people once couldn’t stop talking about. Long after the screaming headlines and sensationalism has subsided, these bizarre, infamous and obscure historical sites remain hidden awaiting rediscovery. Each visitation site in this guide is accompanied by a story. Many of the narratives defy believability, yet they are true. The profiled cast of characters feature saints and sinners (with emphasis towards the latter). Notorious crimes, murders, accidental deaths, suicides, kidnappings, vice and scandal are captivating human interest tales. The photography from each profile showcases the precise location where each event occurred. The scenes can seem ordinary, weird and/or sometimes very revealing towards clarifying the background behind events. If you’re seeking an alternative to conventional tourism, this Twisted Tourist Guide is ideal. Each directory accommodates the restless traveler and even resident looking for something unique and different. BOZEMAN Founder John Bozeman, Lady Mary Blackmore, Vigilante mob hearings and hangings, Grave robbers, Last standing brothel, Justice and public lynchings, Idaho Pole Company superfund and Downtown gas line explosion BUTTE Dynamite Explosion of 1895, Galloping gallows, Dumas Brothel, Apparitions of Fire Station #1, Adventuress Eva Hart, Blue Range Building, Copper King William Clark, Venus Alley, Butte Tin Shop, Chinatown, Royal Parlor House, Silver Dollar Saloon, Metals Bank Building, Temperance Icon Carrie Nation, Local miner’s union unrest, Anaconda Road Massacre, Martial law, Granite Mountain Mine Memorial, Execution of Labor agitator Frank Little, 1918 Spanish Influenza, Berkeley Copper Mine disaster, Board of Trade Saloon, Journalist Howard Rushmore, Dimple Knees, Evel Knievel, M & M Saloon, Elementary school shooting of Jeremy Bullock and the fatal aircraft crash inside Holy Cross Cemetery. HELENA Guardian of the Gulch lookout tower, Lime Kilns graffiti, Doomed prisoner escape on the Governor’s mansion stairwell, Refuge for unwed mothers and reforming prostitutes, Doomed Victorian Madames and their brothels, Montana Club swastikas, Phantom of the Greenstreet Theatre, Thomas Cruse, Helena Cathedral, Confederate soldier memorial fountain, Canary Bird Moonshiner, Gangland retaliation murder, 1935 Earthquake, Tragic inspiration for A River Runs Through It and 1989 Train collision. MISSOULA: Mercantile Building, Oxford Café, Murder of Maurice Higgins, Madame Mary Gleim, House of piercing screams, Wilma Theatre, Florence Building, Missoula Mauler, Merry Prankster Edith Greenough, Cold Case arrest and suicide thirty years after, University of Montana paranormal spirits and sex scandal, Acid bath murders and Party motel killings. SMALL TOWN STORIES Unabomber’s Sanctuary, Shoebox Annie the serial killer, Erasing father existence in Alberton, America’s largest toxic railroad spill, A Belgrade amateur execution, Actor Patrick Duffy’s parents murder, Nyleen Kay Marshall abduction, Jesse James Montana Days, Prison Warden Frank Conley, Mass murder in a beauty salon, Sheila Jordan’s unsolved killing, Casino abduction and precious metals killings, Morrisite sect church, Thermal hot springs hotel becomes mental institution and the ill-fated marital reunion murder…plus many more.

Throughout the development of the American West, prostitution grew and flourished within the mining camps, small towns, and cities of the nineteenth-century Rocky Mountains. Whether escaping a bad home life, lured by false advertising, or seeking to subsidize their income, thousands of women chose or were forced to enter an industry where they faced segregation and persecution, fines and jailing, and battled the hazards of disease, drug addiction, physical abuse, and pregnancy. They dreamed of escape through marriage or retirement, but more often found relief only in death. An integral part of western history, the stories of these women continue to fascinate readers and captivate the minds of historians today.

This edition showcases the effects and consequences of human depravity, frailty and criminal activity. The showcased and photographed remaining structures generally appear nondescript and ordinary, masking their significance and infamy. Throughout the western United States, these commonplace buildings silently testify to events involving violence and individuals whose acts have scarred others, society and sometimes simply themselves. Their stories remain compelling evidence towards the fragility of the human experience and lives severed abruptly. Once you’ve absorbed the history behind each building, you will never view them with indifference again. Paranormal activity within their confines is commonly reported. OREGON Famous/Obscure Murder Cases and Suicides Franck Akin, Ashley Benson, Nancy Bergeson, Bowden Bombed Residence, Jerry Brudos, Dark Stranger Serial Killer, Pioneer Murder, Veronica Dolan, Oregon Prison Director Michael Francke, Michele Dee Gate’s Legacy, Diane Hank, Brittany Maynard’s Assisted Suicide, Lloyolla Miller, Tim Moreau, Roma Ollison and The Zone Nightclub shooting. Bizarre Buildings Crime Boss Jim Elkins Hangout, Erickson’s Saloon, Golden West Hotel, Kell’s Irish Pub, Kelly’s Olympian Bar, White Eagle Saloon, Merchants Hotel, The Open Door Buildings and Oregon State Hospital. WASHINGTON Famous/Obscure Murder Cases and Suicides Ted Bundy, Green River Killer, Jake Bird and his Fatal Hex, Brides of Christ Founder, Café Racer, Ann Marie Burr, Fairhaven Werewolf Murder, Maurice Clemmons, Singer Kurt Cobain, James Elledge, John Fiori, Charles Goldmark Family, Teresa Butz, Capital Hill Massacre, Little Willie John, Judge Gary Little, Lee Boyd Malvo, John Considine, Edwin Pratt, Rafay Family, Red Barn Tavern, Seattle Pacific University, Layne Staley, Wah Nee Gambling Club, Justice Tom Wales, Radio Activist Mike Webb, Timothy Alioth and Donna Plew, Louis Bellessa, Turid Bentley, Doug Carlile, Lil Danger, Fred Cohen, Dan Lane, Zachary Craven, Sexual Offender Vigilantes, Michael Feeney, Billy Gohl, Patrick Kevin Gibson, Edward Weed, Lynn Heimsoth, Barbara Hickey, Seattle Jewish Federation rampage, Peter Keller, Geneva MacDonald, Donna Perry, Jimmy Smith, Trang Dail Massacre, Wilson Family and Otto Zehm. Bizarre Buildings Alfred’s Café, Lou Graham Block, People’s Theatre and G. O. Guy’s Drugstore, Davenport Hotel, Kirkland’s Life Care Center, Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church, Old Town Café, Patsy Clark Mansion, Starvation Heights, Sycamore Square Building and Waterfront Tavern NORTHERN IDAHO Bizarre Buildings Fatty Carroll’s Variety, Wilson Pharmacy, Bates Motel and Oasis Bordello Museum MONTANA Famous/Obscure Murder Cases and Suicides Phil Nebeker, Lauren DeWise, Actor Patrick Duffy’s Parents, Tom Sing, John and Florence Sprouse, Marjorie and Nancy McQuiston, Julianne Stallman, Paul Maclean, Sheila Jordan, Missoula Mauler, Verna Joy Kvale, Jackson Wiles and Marilyn Picket, Beverly and Greg Giannonatti and Tina Schowengerdt. Bizarre Buildings Butte Sheriff’s Office, Dumas Brothel, Butte’s Fire Station #1, Copper King’s Mansion, M & M Cigar Store, Montana Territorial and State Prison, Hair Gallery, Governor’s Mansion, Lillie McGraw’s Bluestone House, Mollie Byrnes residence, Montana Club’s swastika entrance, Grandstreet Theatre, Helena Cathedral, Helena Stone House and Lime Kilns, St. Louis Block, Mercantile Building, Oxford Café, Gleim Building, House of Screams, Florence Building, The Keep Restaurant, University of Montana’s Main and Brantly Halls, Missoula’s Mountain Valley Inn, Jackson Creek Saloon and Casino, Racetrack Morrisite Church and Montana State Hospital

This edition profiles 75 illustrated murder cases committed within California, Oregon, Washington, Northern Idaho and Montana. Accompanying photography returns the reader to the scene of the crime with precise listed locations. The most daunting dilemma of a murder investigation is typically uncovering proof beyond a reasonable doubt that a perpetrator committed a killing. The evolution of forensic technology has enabled investigators to match DNA profiles from evidence obtained at a crime scene with specific individual samplings. This development has resulted in several high profile cases ultimately achieving resolution. Some of the accompanying profiles have developed promising suspects and probable perpetrators, but lacked the tangible evidence or persuasive courtroom presentation to convict. In a few instances, due to the notoriety of the trial, the court of popular opinion did convict the defendant, yet they remain free of incarceration. Other cases have simply lacked accompanying evidence from the outset and subsequent clues or confessions have never materialized. For a victim’s immediate circle of family, acquaintances and even society in general, a lack of closure becomes an accompanying torment. Stolen lives deserve accountability and one cannot fully understand the enormity of loss without concrete explanations of motive. Given time, some of these cases may one day find closure. Some murderers do have a conscience and scientific advancements may one day piece together the fractured incoherency of inconclusive evidence. CALIFORNIA Unsolved Murders: The Zodiac Serial Killer, Black Dahlia, Rapper Notorious B.I.G>, Gangster Bugsy Siegel, Bonnie Lee Bakley, Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ronald Goldman, Joseph The Animal Barboza, Kevin Collins, Actress Virginia Rapp, Gangster Fung Little Pete Jing Toy, Film Director William Desmond Taylor, Actor Ted Healy, Sleepy Lagoon Killing, Geneva Elroy, Vic Weiss, Crib Founder Raymond Washington, Wonderland Murders, Karen Mitchell Disappearance, Susan Berman, Kristin Smart, Eastside Salinas Gang Killings, Santa Rose Hitchhiker Murders, Bob Domingos and Linda Edwards, Kym Morgan and Ramona Irene Price. Extended Cold Cases Resolved: Lindsay Cutshall and Jason Allen, Mickey and Trudy Thompson and Golden State Serial Killer OREGON State Prison Director Michael Francke, Diane Hank, Roma Ollison, Anne Jeanne Tingry-Le-Coz, Old Town Pizza Phantom, Alice Wells, Frank Akin, 1946 Willamette River Murder, Larry Peyton and Beverly Allan and Kyron Horman Extended Cold Cases Resolved: Federal Public defender Nancy Bergeson WASHINGTON Ann Marie Burr, Edwin Pratt, Judge Tom Wales, Chalisa Lewis, Louis Bellessa, Labor activist Laura Law, Charles Mattson, Nathan Trigger Gilstrap, Marsha Weatter and Katherine Allen, Tacoma’s Puyallup Avenue Prostitutes, Oleg Babichenko, Roseanne Pleasant, Susette Werner, Timothy Alioth and Donna Plew, Tia Hicks, Fred Cohen and James Jimmy Smith Extended Cold Cases Resolved: Barbara Hickey, Brian Cole, Michella Welch, Jennifer Bastian and Serial Killer Donna Perry NORTHERN IDAHO Remains of Fatty Carroll’s Murder Victims MONTANA Union agitator Frank Little, John Bozeman, Marjorie and Nancy McQuiston, Julianne Stallman, Florence Beauty Salon Massacre, Paul Maclean, Sheila Fallang-Jordan, Bobby Kelly, Mrs. John Dougherty, Nyleen Kay Marshall, Dr. Henry Cayley and Eva Hart Extended Cold Cases Resolved: Verna Joy Kvale and Donna Meagher

This is the first book devoted to Montana's long history of industrial newspaper ownership and the consequences for democracy. The work also reveals the costs paid by owners and their journalists, whose credibility eroded as their increasingly constricted newspapers lapsed into ambivalence and indifference. The story offers a timeless study of the conflict between commerce and the notion of a free and independent press.

The first fire lookouts in the Glacier National Park region were simply high points atop mountain peaks with unimpeded views of the surrounding terrain. Widespread fires in the 1910s and 1920s led to the construction of more permanent lookouts, first as wooden pole structures and subsequently as a variety of one- and two-story cabin designs. Cooperating lookouts in Glacier Park, the Flathead National Forest, and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation provided coverage of forests throughout Glacier National Park. Beginning in the 1950s, many of the lookouts were decommissioned and eventually destroyed. This volume tells the story of the rise and fall of the extensive fire lookout network that protected Glacier National Park during times of high fire danger, including lookouts still operating today.