Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Some Questions for the Future

Post by Doris McCraw aka Angela Raines


Photo (c) Doris McCraw


We are getting closer to the middle of 2023. It is usually a time of reflection for me. I take stock of where I am in my writing, publishing, and marketing. 

In line with that concept, I would appreciate feedback on what you would like to read in my blog posts. As a student of Colorado and Women's History and pretty much an expert on Early Women Doctors in Colorado, which of these three topics would be the most useful to you?

Would you like more marketing information?


Photo (c ) Doris McCraw

Is there interest in joining together to create a series of short 'novels' that tie together on a theme, time frame, or event?

Where would you like to see Western Fictioneers go in the future? 

What can I do as I finish my time as President to help make sure this blog and the organization continue to be a vibrant community? Please know, it does take a village to make things happen. 

Your feedback will help me to craft the remainder of 2023. 

We are getting ready to announce the Peacemaker winners and I want to say, it was a banner year and judging was some of the hardest I've faced. I want to thank everyone who submitted their work. It tells me the genre of the Western is alive and well. We just need to make sure the rest of the world knows what we know, these stories are the stories of not only the past but are a glimpse into the lives we live now.

Thank you each and every one for a great first half of 2023.

Until Next Time: Stay safe, Stay happy, and Stay healthy.

Doris

 


Friday, May 19, 2023

Taking Charge of My Career



I've written a lot of books for a lot of publishers. I've been published by the biggest ones--Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillan--and by some of the smaller ones. I like the advance money from the big ones, and I still get some nice royalties now and again for a young-adult quartet I wrote for S&S. But beyond that, there can be some frustrations when dealing with the big guys.

I've also been published by smaller houses, which are usually friendlier. And honestly, the bigger ones aren't interested in Western fiction anymore. Five Star folded up its tent, except for the occasional large-print book for library sales. Kensington hasn't said what'll happen there when Gary Goldstein finally retires, but I don't have high hopes. I wrote six novels in 18 months for Wolfpack Publishing, which--along with a very demanding day job and family responsibilities, wore me out. The best novel-publishing experience I've had lately was when your friends and mine, the wonderful Livia Reasoner and Cheryl Pierson at Sundown Press, published my Peacemaker-finalist novel Blood and Gold: The Legend of Joaquin Murrieta.

But I was itching to take matters into my own hands. Talking with a friend in the same boat--Howard Weinstein, whose wonderful historical Western Galloway's Gamble, a Peacemaker winner, was published by Five Star (which wanted a sequel, but then closed the door on him before he could finish it)--we decided to try something a little bit different. We have another batch of friends who run a writer's cooperative publishing outfit called Crazy 8 Press, where they mostly published science fiction, fantasy, and "New Pulp" adventure fiction. They had never published Westerns, but they're lovers of genre fiction, as are Howard and I. So we all decided to launch a new Western imprint through Crazy 8, and Silverado Press was born!

Silverado Press officially launches on May 30, which is the publication date for its debut title, my short-story collection Byrd's Luck & Other Western Stories.
The book contains my Peacemaker and Spur finalist story "Byrd's Luck," first published by the Western Fictioneers, and a sequel to that story, "Byrd's Law," that teams Byrd up with Cody Cavanaugh, the protagonist of my Wolfpack series. There are some other reprints, several of which have been published in anthologies from our fine organization, and some from other anthologies. Half of the stories are traditional Westerns and half are weird Westerns, a subgenre I've been associated with since the mid-1990s. The book's final story is a prose story based on a weird-Western comic book series I wrote called Desperadoes, which ran from 1997 to 2007.

It's kind of hybrid publishing, I guess--essentially self-publishing, but within the established infrastructure of Crazy 8. Everybody helps promote everybody else's work, in-house people handle book design and some of the marketing, but I get to make most of my own decisions and sink or swim on my own abilities. Howard's Galloway's Gamble 2 will be along in a couple of months, the sequel to Galloway's Gamble. After that, who knows? Silverado Press isn't just the two of us--anybody who's interested can submit a proposal to the Crazy 8 gang (Howard and I don't have editorial control over anything but our own work) and see if it flies. Ideally, we'll be another outlet for Western fiction, in a field that's been contracting faster than it's growing.

I'm indebted to the Western Fictioneers for jump-starting my moribund Western writing career when you published "Byrd's Luck" to such acclaim, and for the friendships I've found here. I wanted to be sure to get my somewhat-monthly blog post in this time, to ensure that you'd all see the news, and to invite you to join us at Silverado Press if it seems like something you're interested in. I don't know if we'll make any money...but if not, it won't be for lack of trying!

Monday, May 15, 2023

13th Annual Peacemaker Awards Finalists and Lifetime Achievement Peacemaker

THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT PEACEMAKER

Larry J. Martin

 


 

13th Annual Peacemaker Awards Finalists

For Western Novels and Stories Published in 2022

 


 

 

BEST NOVEL

 

THE END OF NOWHERE, Patrick Dearen (Five Star) 

ALL MY SINS REMEMBERED, Rod Miller (Five Star)

FALLEN CHILD, Kathleen Morris (Dunraven Press)

COLDWATER RANGE, John D. Nesbitt (Five Star)

BONE NECKLACE, Julia Sullivan (Brandylane Publishing Inc.)

 

BEST FIRST WESTERN NOVEL

 

RAWHIDE JAKE, J.D. Arnold (Five Star)

A MAN CALLED JUSTICE, John Deacon (Self-Published)

BONE NECKLACE, Julia Sullivan (Brandylane Publishing Inc.)

 

BEST WESTERN SHORT FICTION

 

“No Quarter”, Kathleen O’Neal Gear (REBEL HEARTS, Wolfpack Publishing)

“On the Trail With Packer”, Ben Goheen (SADDLEBAG DISPATCHES, Oghma Creative Media)

“Run For Ruby Camp”, Vonn McKee (OVER WESTERN TRAILS, Western Fictioneers)

“Buckskin Trail”, John D. Nesbitt (Speaking Volumes)

“Irish Kelly and the Heartbreak Kid”, Sharon Sala (REBEL HEARTS, Wolfpack Publishing)

 


 

 

Winners will be announced June 15, 2023 on the WF website (www.westernfictioneers.com) and on this blog.

 

Western Fictioneers (WF) was formed in 2010 by professional Western writers, to preserve, honor, and promote traditional Western writing in the 21st century. Entries were accepted in both print and electronic forms.

 

The Peacemaker Awards are given annually. Submissions for the Peacemaker Awards for books and stories published in 2023 will be open in July, 2023. Submission guidelines will be posted on the WF website. For more information about Western Fictioneers (WF) please visit: http://www.westernfictioneers.com

 

Western Fictioneers would like to thank the judges and James Reasoner for being Awards Chair and for the excellent job they have done.


Thursday, May 11, 2023

On This Day in the Old West: May 12

May 12 was a little sparse as an anniversary date for the 1800s, but in 1901, President William McKinley paid an historic visit to San Francisco. From the time California joined the Union until the 1920 census, San Francisco was the largest and most prominent city on the West Coast. Of course, this encouraged US Presidents to make the cross-country trip from Washington, DC to court the local power brokers and seek votes and influence. McKinley wasn’t’ the first president to make the trip—that was Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880—but his visit garnered a good deal of support for the president.

A Stereoscope of a young lady photographing the President

 

The original plan was that the president’s grand six-week “victory lap” around the country to celebrate his second term would begin in Washington at the end of April, head west by the southern route, and return home via the Northwest. San Francisco on the Pacific Coast and Buffalo on the East were to be the highlights of the trip. Unfortunately, by the second week of May, the First Lady took ill, and the official touring party of 43 (cabinet members, executive staff, friends, servants, and newspapermen) called a halt in the City by the Bay. For days, Ida McKinley hovered between life and death. When she finally regained consciousness, the entire city breathed a sigh of relief.

 

The presidential itinerary was, of course, delayed during Mrs. McKinley’s illness. Events were rescheduled for May 19 through the 24th, and the presidential party returned to the East Coast on May 25th. The highlight of his visit, apparently, was his visit to the Presidio for the dedication of General Hospital (later renamed Letterman Hospital). McKinley addressed veterans and patients from the Philippines on his visit. The San Francisco Call gave this account of the event:

 

President McKinley's visit to the Presidio yesterday will live long in the memory of the gallant soldiers who were greeted by the commander in chief. Three-thousand strong, the recently returned volunteers from the Philippines listened to stirring words from the head of the nation, while the wan and wasted faces of the sick soldiers in the General Hospital brightened as the President passed through the wards and gave a kindly word to the men who lost their health in faraway jungles while fighting for the stars and stripes.



Thousands of citizens flocked to the Presidio yesterday morning to witness the ceremonies. The big parade ground facing the General Hospital, was the spot where the volunteer soldiers gathered to listen to the words of the President.

Suddenly the thunder of the guns told of the approach of the commander in chief and a tumult of applause greeted him as his carriage and escort swept past thousands of sightseers. The band struck up "Hail to the Chief" as the President's carriage drew up at the reviewing platform. As he walked along, the President glanced with pride at the 2000 stalwart men who stood rigidly at attention. The soldiers wore blue coats and trousers, brown leggings and brown slouch hats and carried no arms. As the President advanced to the front of the platform, the buglers sounded the salute and the cheers of the soldiers rent the air in mighty volume. The President raised his hand in salute, and when the cheering subsided addressed the men in terms of glowing praise.

"I count myself very fortunate to have been in the city of San Francisco upon the arrival of your two regiments. I join with my fellow citizen of this city in giving you a welcome home, and at the same time express not only my own thanks as President of the United States but the gratitude of the American people for the splendid service you have rendered to your country in the past two years. Our hearts have been with you, our hopes have been with you; and we have realized in large measure peace as the result of the splendid work you performed in the Philippine Islands."


If your character was in San Francisco in 1901, they could have been in the crowd during one of McKinley’s appearances or speeches. They may even have voted for the man in the recent election.

J.E.S. Hays

www.jeshays.com

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Classic Country Ballads of Lost Love – Cross the Brazos at Waco #westernfictioneers #countryballads #classiccountrymusic


I grew up in the late 50s and 60s listening to the country music of that era. I stuck with country music through the 70s. I made it into the 80s but, by the late 80s, country music as I knew and loved was headed in a direction that, with a few exceptions, I wasn’t interested going. So I didn’t. (Get off my lawn.)

The old west gunfighter and trail ballads, drinking songs, and revenge songs had an influence on me that was, and still is, every bit as strong as the impact Louis L’Amour’s books left with me. My lifelong interest, perhaps fascination bordering on obsession, with everything old west—truth, legends, and myths alike—have roots in those old cowboy and country songs.

I’m inviting you to read along with me this year as I post one or two nostalgic-for-me country ballads on the first Wednesday of each month. I will share a snippet of trivia about each song along with a YouTube video.

Each month, I will include a link back to the previous month’s article as reference to those songs. The common thread that runs among the songs I’ve chosen for this musical memory lane excursion is tragic lost love.

January – Marty Robbins – El Paso and Feleena
February – Faron Young – TheYellow Bandana
March – Willie Nelson and Ray Charles – Seven Spanish Angels
April – Marty Robbins – San Angelo

This month’s song is Cross the Brazos at Waco by Billy Walker.

Cross the Brazos at Waco was first recorded (May 1964) and released by Billy Walker (August 1964). The song was written by Kay Arnold, who also wrote his song Matamoros.

Here we have a story of an outlaw who chooses to put his guns away for the love of Carmela. 

His reputation as El Bandito had been too much for her, and she’d walked away from him. 

Time passed. Love endured. An opportunity to reunite came along when someone saw Carmela in San Antone, and that someone got that message to the outlaw. He interpreted her presence there as a sign that she wanted to see him. He sent a return message for Carmela to meet him on the banks of the Brazos River that very night. 

He rode toward San Antone with one eye on the trail ahead and one eye on the trail behind. He was guardedly hopeful that posse wouldn’t find him, but he’s a realist. He’s watching out for pursuit.

Ride hard and I’ll make it by dawn
Cross the Brazos at Waco
I’ll walk straight into old San Antone

He made it to the banks of the Brazos, saw Carmela waiting for him, and he dropped his gun belt to the ground to show his love for her and that he’d changed his outlawing ways. 

But, tragically, a Texas Ranger and a posse were waiting for him.

Then the night came alive with gun fire

He died in Carmela’s arms. His last words were, ironically... 

Cross the Brazos at Waco
I’m safe when I reach San Antone

I’m safe when I reach San Antone

 


Cross the Brazos at Waco, San Angelo, and Seven Spanish Angels have a common thread of the man being hunted and then killed by Texas Rangers or a posse.

Until next time,
Kaye Spencer
Lasterday Stories - writing through history one romance upon a time
www.kayespencer.com


Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Emma F. Langdon and the Power of Words

Post by Doris McCraw aka Angela Raines

Photo property of the Author

THE state of Colorado ceased under the administration of James H. Peabody, to be republican in its form of government, and became a military oligarchy. The expressed will of the people was ignored by their chosen representatives; thus bringing upon the state a series of calamities, the magnitude of which may now readily be seen.”

The above is taken from the introduction to Emma's book “The Cripple Creek Strike, A History of Industrial Wars in Colorado 1903-4-5”. Regardless of your belief in who was right or wrong during this tumultuous time, this book is considered the definitive work on the region and events of the time and area. That it is written by a woman makes it even more amazing.

Here then is the story of Emma F. Langdon.

Emma was born September 29, 1875, in Tennessee. She married Charles Langdon, born June 9, 1870, in 1896. She also became a stepmother to Lucille M. Lockett with this marriage. In 1900 the family was residing in Junction City Kansas.

In 1903 Emma and her husband moved to Victor, Colorado, and worked at the Victor Daily Record. Although Emma had said a woman belonged at home and not in public life, her sentiment was not to be.

On May 15, 1893, in Butte Montana, the Western Federation of Miners was born. It was comprised of forty delegates from fifteen unions from the states of Colorado, Utah, Montana, Idaho, and South Dakota. Approximately six months later the unions negotiated shorter work days (eight hours) and an increase in pay ($3.25 a day) in the Cripple Creek-Victor area. In 1903 the tensions between miners and mine owners increased. The union supported the smelter workers who were working long hours and less pay.

The situation became so volatile that the mine owners censored and arrested anyone who opposed their edits. This resulted in the workers at the Victor Daily Record being rounded up so that this pro-union newspaper could not put out the next issue. When Emma was told of the 'arrest' she went to the paper and that night barricaded herself in, set type, and put out the paper on schedule. When she delivered the issue to the men who had been taken to the 'bullpen' the laughter of the captors changed and the incarcerated rejoiced.

In 1904 when the strike ended those who had supported the union were requested to leave. Emma moved to Denver Colorado where she remained until her death on November 30, 1937. She continued her work on behalf of the union.

The story of the Labor Wars in Colorado is full of people from both sides that made their mark on the region's history. From 1893-1914 and the Ludlow massacre, Colorado was a hotbed of conflict between the haves and have-nots with errors in judgment on both sides. Not an easy read, but a fascinating one.

Until Next Time: Stay safe, Stay happy, and Stay healthy.

Doris



Wednesday, April 19, 2023

A NEW RELEASE--LOVE UNDER FIRE--by Cheryl Pierson



Hi everyone! I've got a new book releasing tomorrow, a sweet romance story that takes place in Indian Territory in 1899. It's part of a series with several other authors who blog at PETTICOATS & PISTOLS.

My story is third in the series and was a lot of fun to write. The series involves a legendary pink pistol--the grip is a pale shade of pink mother-of-pearl, and the legend is that the woman who grips it will fall in love--a true, lasting forever love. Is it true? Does it work that way? There are ten of us writing our own versions of what happens when the pistol comes along to the heroine in our stories, and the series spans the years from when Miz Annie Oakley is given the pistol by the maker and passes it along. The pistol is handed down through the years from that time to present day, and there are some wonderful adventures and great reading.

Tomorrow is my release day and I am so excited!
In my story, LOVE UNDER FIRE, Johnny Houston is a cavalry captain who is only a few days from mustering out of the military. Because he's a scout and is very familiar with Indian Territory, having been raised there, he is given the assignment of escorting the sharpshooting Krissy Donovan to an orphanage for a benefit she's giving for the children. Johnny is not happy about the assignment, but he understands he's the best man for the job. Krissy just wants to get home to North Carolina and plan her wedding. As it turns out, their journey together is the best thing that's ever happened to either of them. Have you ever had a dreaded situation that turned out to be something you were thankful for instead? What was it? (I'll go first--mine was having to move to West Virginia my senior year in high school after living in Oklahoma all my life. BUT--I met my future husband there and we've been married 44 years now!)

LOVE UNDER FIRE AMAZON LINK: https://tinyurl.com/4ax46m6x
Krissy was actually trained by Miz Oakley, in my story. Did you know that Annie Oakley taught over 15,000 women to shoot during her lifetime? Krissy is coming west from Raleigh, NC, to put on a shooting exhibition. Her father has inadvertently put her in danger, and when he realizes it, wires Ft. Smith to ask for an escort for her. Johnny Houston is chosen, since he spent a few years at the orphanage when he was young. And, of course the pink pistol manages to come along and...everything changes.
Wish me luck on this new venture!

Thursday, April 13, 2023

On This Day in the Old West: April 14

 On April 14, 1841, the very first detective story was published. As we’re writers, I thought this would be interesting to learn about—and your characters might even have read the story, which was called “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and was written by none other than the famous Edgar Allen Poe.


The story was published in Graham’s Magazine and Poe described it as one of his “tales of ratiocination.” The detective, C. Auguste Dupin, is from Paris. As the very first fictional detective, Dupin displays traits which later became literary conventions for detectives such as Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. Many later characters, for example, follow Poe’s model of the brilliant detective, including the sidekick narrator and the “big reveal” where the detective first spotlights the villain, then explains his rationale for the choice.

 

The story opens with an explanation of the analytical art of deduction by the unnamed narrator. He then explains how he met Dupin and shared a house with him, during which time Dupin showed his deductive reasoning by deducing the narrator’s thoughts based on clues from the man’s previous words and actions. They then read about a baffling murder case in the newspaper. A woman and her daughter were found murdered at their home on the Rue Morgue. The murders took place in a fourth-floor room locked from the inside, and within the room were found a bloody straight razor, tufts of bloody gray hair, and two bags of gold coins.

 

Several witnesses say they’d heard voices in the room at the time of the murder. One, male, spoke French, but the second voice spoke an unknown language. The bank clerk who’d delivered the coins to the women is arrested, despite no further evidence linking him to the crime. Dupin, remembering a service the clerk had once performed, determines to prove him innocent.


Dupin decides that the unknown voice (the one not speaking French) is not a human voice at all. He and the narrator examine the scene for clues and Dupin points out that robbery was obviously not a motive because of the coins left behind. He also says the murderer had to have superhuman strength because of the condition of the bodies (one was stuffed up a chimney). He also had to enter and exit the house via the open fourth-floor windows, which involved an agile climb up a lightning rod. Based on the tuft of hair he finds, Dupin concludes that an orangutan is the guilty party and advertises in the newspaper for someone who has lost one.

 

A sailor shows up, looking for the primate, and even offers a reward for its capture, but Dupin is interested only in solving the crime. The sailor tells him that the orangutan had been trying to imitate his shaving routine with his straight razor, then escaped and fled down the Rue Morgue, where it clambered into the women’s apartment and tried to shave one of them. She, naturally, resisted, so the orangutan murdered her, then turned on her daughter before the sailor managed to climb up to the rooms himself. The voices witnesses heard were those of the sailor and the orangutan.

With the true villain unmasked, the bank clerk is freed from jail and Dupin emerges victorious, his brains having outwitted the brawn of the orangutan and, to a lesser extent, its cruel owner. This paved the way for the intelligent detective, relying on clues and motive rather than brute force. 

 

Poe explains the method used by his detective, ratiocination, as follows: "the extent of information obtained; lies not so much in the validity of the inference as in the quality of the observation.” This method also relies on the written word. Dupin’s curiosity is aroused by reading a newspaper account of the murder, and he recalls information about orangutans he has previously read in “an article by Cuvier” (probably Georges Cuvier, the French zoologist). This also includes the reader, who follows along by virtue of the written story’s clues. Poe also emphasized the spoken word, having Dupin interview the sailor as to the facts of the crime.


“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” created many of the tropes used in modern mysteries: the brilliant (but eccentric) detective, the bumbling police officers, the narration by a close friend, and the device of presenting the solution first, followed by the clues leading to that solution. This is also the first “locked room” mystery story. The Pennsylvania Inquirer printed that "it proves Mr Poe to be a man of genius... with an inventive power and skill, of which we know no parallel."  Poe, however, downplayed his achievement in a letter to Phillip Pendleton Cooke: 

These tales of ratiocination owe most of their popularity to being something in a new key. I do not mean to say that they are not ingenious – but people think them more ingenious than they are – on account of their method and air of method. In the "Murders in the Rue Morgue", for instance, where is the ingenuity in unraveling a web which you yourself... have woven for the express purpose of unraveling?"

 

Your characters could well be familiar with the writing of Edgar Allen Poe, if not with this particular story. They could also read “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” in the newspaper in 1841, wherein you can record their reactions to the tale. At any rate, the invention of the modern detective story makes for interesting reading.

 

J.E.S. Hays

www.jeshays.com

www.Facebook.com/JESHaysBooks

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Classic Country Ballads of Lost Love – San Angelo #westernfictioneers #countryballads #classiccountrymusic


I grew up in the late 50s and 60s listening to the country music of that era. I stuck with country music through the 70s. I made it into the 80s but, by the late 80s, country music as I knew and loved was headed in a direction that, with a few exceptions, I wasn’t interested going. So I didn’t. (Get off my lawn.)

 The old west gunfighter and trail ballads, drinking songs, and revenge songs had an influence on me that was, and still is, every bit as strong as the impact Louis L’Amour’s books left with me. My lifelong interest, perhaps fascination bordering on obsession, with everything old west—truth, legends, and myths alike—have roots in those old cowboy and country songs.

I’m inviting you to read along with me this year as I post one or two nostalgic-for-me country ballads on the first Wednesday of each month. I will share a snippet of trivia about each song along with a YouTube video.

Each month, I will include a link back to the previous month’s article as reference to those songs. The common thread that runs among the songs I’ve chosen for this musical memory lane excursion is tragic lost love.

 January – Marty Robbins – El Paso and Feleena

 February – Faron Young – TheYellow Bandana

 March – Willie Nelson and Ray Charles – Seven Spanish Angels

 This month’s song is San Angelo by Marty Robbins.

 San Angelo was written and recorded by Marty and released in September 1960. San Angelo’s story of the outlaw riding into town to be reunited with his lover, Secora, because she’s sent him a message to meet him there. Unbeknownst to him, Rangers have somehow intercepted her message, and they are laying in wait for his arrival with intent to kill him.

 When Secora sees the outlaw, she breaks free of her Ranger-captivity and runs onto the street to warn her man to get out of town before the Rangers kill him. But it’s too late. A Ranger shoots her, and she dies in her man’s arms. Grief, rage, and vengeance consume the outlaw, and he makes his last stand—

 The ranger that killed her is standing there waiting for me
I rise to meet him, my one thought it beat him
He deserves death and I swear that this ranger will die
I beat his draw and I shot him six times

 This song has a theme similar to that in Seven Spanish Angels. The couples in both songs make their final fight against the authorities, and they die together with confidence in their hearts and minds that they will be reunited in the hereafter.


Until next time,
Kaye Spencer
Writing through history one romance upon a time
www.kayespencer.com

 

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

JOSEPH LESHER AND THE 'LESHER DOLLAR'

 

Post by Doris McCraw aka Angela Raines

Victor Colorado
photo (c) and property of the Author

Some may have heard of Joseph Lesher, especially if you are into numismatics. Many may have not.

Lesher was born in Ohio in July of 1838 according to records. When the Civil War broke out he joined the Union Army. 

After the war, like many others, Lesher headed West. He mined in various areas of  Colorado, including Georgetown, and Leadville along with sites in the San Juan mountains. He may have owned a silver mine near Central City but would have lost much of his wealth during the 1873 demonetization of silver. 

When gold was found in the Cripple Creek/Victor area Lesher headed up that way and settled in Victor. Some stories say he found work, first as a miner, then eventually as a shift boss, and later getting involved in politics. Other stories have him amassing his wealth by investing in real estate.  


Regardless, Lesher believed in silver and in 1900 he launched the production of his own silver coinage. He called his dollar-sized coins of varying value the 'referendum souvenir' medals. They were eight-sided to help distinguish them from the U. S. currency. He had minted about 100 of these coins when the federal government said they were counterfeit and confiscated his dies. This is despite the businesses that accepted them as money.

Lesher then consulted the U.S. Attorney's office to make sure his new coinage would not add further legal trouble. This time he stamped the name of a grocer in Victor who agreed to accept them for merchandise. 

For the remainder of 1900 and part of 1901, Lesher produced five types of  'dollars' using the names of various businesses not only in Cripple Creek and Victor bug Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Salida, Denver, and Grand Junction.

In 1901 Lesher discontinued his production, but now over a century later his coins are worth more to coin collectors than you would believe as only around 1,800 of the coins have been found. 

Joseph Lesher died around 1918 in his home in Victor, Colorado but what an unusual legacy he left. For those who would like to know more you may like the following book: "Forgotten Colorado Silver: Joseph Lesher's Defiant Coins" by Robert D. Leonard Jr., Ken Hallenbeck, Adna G. Wilde Jr.



Until Next Time: Stay safe, Stay happy, and Stay healthy.

Doris