Includes bibliographical references (p. [109]-110).
Contents
Early growth and the reign of terror -- Sinful sirens : Dutch Em and the two Mollies -- Lizzie Bobbitt and the "enticing" of Kissie West -- Straight whiskey with an edge like a buzz saw -- Twisting the tiger's tail -- Raising hell generally -- A.S. and Cora Johnson and the Vaudeville Variety Theatre -- From Jayhawker to Joplinite -- The boss beer man and other founding fathers -- Joe Thornton : a desperado of the worst character -- The infamous House of Lords -- One of those hot spots you get into and can't get out of : Bonnie and Clyde's Joplin shootout -- Epilogue: Joplin's reputation through the years.
Summary
A strange sort of pride tends to embellish infamy -- like the notion that Frank and Jesse James robbed every bank in Missouri. But the citizens of Joplin need not exaggerate their community's unsavory past. Founded in the 1870s as a booming lead-mining camp, Joplin was a wide-open town from the start, and its wild reputation persisted into the mid-twentieth century. A neighboring town's newspaper aptly described Joplin as a "naughty place." Join author Larry Wood on a colorful tour of the city's raucous past.
