Brides used to be sold (see previous blog entry--thus the
reference here.)
Some of my family and friends are concerned about my
interest in prostitutes as maybe being not quite, umm, healthy. But, good
grief, they’ve been with us for a long time. Shortly after the population increased
(post-Garden of Eden), we find reference to “harlots” in the Old Testament.
Sex for sale. Old, old story still being retold today.
We even have a family story about it. My maternal
grandmother died when my mother was five, and the family was split up for a
while. Then Grandpa married Lily1 (Lily2 was the stuff of horror tales, but
Lily 1 was a good guy except for one little thing!)
This was the teeth of the depression in one of the most
depressed states even in good times: West Virginia. Grandpa married Lily1 and
brought the family back together, and purportedly, she was a good stepmother,
keeping the passle of kids clean and fed. But money was always tight. Grandpa
worked nights in the mines. And that’s when Lily1 worked, too. Oh, dear. Grandpa
divorced her, a really big deal in those times, and the family was dispersed
again.
But, I’ve always had sympathy for Lily1. I wish I could have
met her because she was clearly a pragmatist. A girl’s got to do what a girl’s
got to do for survival of her new family. I even admire her, but perhaps I
shouldn’t go so far.
So when I came across the name of Dolly Arthur (Arthur being
my maiden name), I was intrigued. Here was a contemporary of Lily1. And do both
sides of my family include sporting women?
Well, I don’t know. I haven’t seen her on any branches of
the family tree, but it could be. Even if not true, I’ve done some reading up
on old Dolly. For some reason Blogger won't let me upload a picture, but you can Google her. She was quite the looker!
Born in Idaho in 1888 as Thelma Dolly Copeland, Dolly knew
she couldn’t make the same money from serving men in a restaurant as she could
if she served them relative to their baser tastes. She left Vancouver, where
she was working at the time, and headed for Ketchikan, AL in 1919 where she
opened her establishment catering to fishermen, loggers, miners, and town
residents. Interestingly, at the time, drinking was illegal in Ketchikan but
prostitution was not.
Dolly’s place, and Dolly herself, was known for providing
companionship, not just sex, in an isolated area with far fewer women than men.
And men paid well for both. She charged $2 for each, and she is said to have
made $100 a day--a huge amount at that time.
In keeping with the location, Dolly’s house wasn’t an
elaborate Victorian affair such as you might equate with San Francisco. Her
furnishings were simple and durable rather than ornate.
Dolly had a long-standing relationship with a man who
wandered in and out of her life over the course of 26 years. She knew he was
unfaithful (wasn’t she?), but she could always count on him coming back. You
can still see Dolly’s house at 24 Creek Street, which is now a museum. When she
died at age 87 (in 1975), big West Coast papers carried her obituary in tribute
to one of the real pioneers of the Pacific Northwest. She was quite a gal. And
not that much older than Lily1. Circumstances and location make all the
difference.
Is this fascination with prostitutes was where Streetwalker came from? Could be. Could
be.
Want to read more? Check out:
http://www.margaretdeefholts.com/dollyarthur.html
http://www.prettypleaseme.com/labels/prostitution.html
http://dollyshouse.com/page7/book.html
http://www.sitnews.org/JuneAllen/050702_dolly_arthur.html
nice
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