Central City festivities honor famed madam

By Penny Parker

The life and times of Lou Bunch, Central City’s most notorious madam who operated a house of ill repute in Pine Street’s red light district at the turn of the 19th century, are legendary, but local historian Tom “Dr. Colorado” Noel has his favorite story – even if its veracity is in question.

As legend has it, one night a bishop from Utah showed up at the Bunch house, and requested that the madam parade all of her girls (reportedly she had four residents) in front of him so he could select a companion for the evening.

“He selected one and disappeared with her,” Noel said. Unbeknownst to the bishop, Bunch’s cat, Pluto, slipped into the room with the couple as the door was closing.

“All of a sudden there was this blood-curdling scream coming out of the room,” Noel said. “The cat had pounced and dug his claws into the bishop’s private parts. Someone had to come in and detach the cat.”

As the story goes, several days later two men in black suits appeared at Bunch’s place of business asking for Pluto. But Bunch immediately suspected they were sent to exact revenge on her kitty, and she told them he was dead.

The town of Central City has celebrated Madam Lou Bunch Day and Brass Bed Races for more than 35 years to honor the storied lady. This year’s festivities take place beginning at noon Saturday.

“It’s a celebration of the last legal madam in Central City,” said Joanne Lah, executive director for the Visitor and Convention Bureau for Black Hawk and Central City. “Everybody dresses up for the day. It’s certainly a unique event.”

Costumes consist of dapper bowler hats and pocket watches for the gents, and bustles and bustiers for the gals.

At 3 p.m., Main Street is the site of the Brass Bed Races where teams of bed heads hit the sheets and set sail for the finish. The Deal magazine team took top honors last year (I’m just sayin’).

The day ends with the Madams and Miners Ball, a bawdy street festival, at 8 p.m.

Bikes banned. Wynkoop Brewing Co. marketing maven Jamie Webb and three fellow bicycle enthusiasts found out the hard way recently that Black Hawk banned bike traffic on city streets in January.

“When we rode through Black Hawk to get to the Peak to Peak Highway, we were each ticketed $68!”

Signs warning about the biking ban are posted on Gregory Street, Main Street, Richman Street, Mill Street, Miner’s Mesa Road, Bobtail Street and Selak Street.

Bob’s the boss. Womacks Casino & Hotel in Cripple Creek has named Robert P. Jeffries the new general manager.

Jeffries brings roughly 20 years of gaming industry experience to Womacks, including a stint as president of the Cripple Creek Casino Association and a board member of the Colorado Gaming Association.

“We are very happy to welcome Bob to our senior management team,” said Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger, co-CEOs of Century Casinos, Womacks’ parent company, in a statement. “He is a great asset to lead our team at Womacks Casino & Hotel and we look forward to benefit from his considerable experience across the Colorado and Cripple Creek gaming industry.”

- Penny Parker is a columnist for The Denver Post. She’s always on the prowl for tidbits and tips from Colorado’s gaming communities. Call her at 303-619-5209 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.