Monthly Archives: June 2022

Lola and her Grizzly Bear

In this contemporary picture of Lola’s cottage on Mill Street in Grass Valley, you can see a bear and a lady on the right. Lola Montez was fond of animals and kept a grizzly bear cubs in her yard. You … Continue reading

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Lola Montez in Grass Valley

From San Francisco and Sacramento, Lola took her performances to Marysville and then up into the foothills to Grass Valley and Nevada City. She drew appreciative crowds wherever she went, always to see her famed Spider Dance and sometimes in … Continue reading

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A Little More about Lola

I’ve been meaning to write more about Lola Montez in California, but first I had to do some research. I checked out a biography from the library — Lola Montez: A Life, by Bruce Seymour. This is the definitive biography, … Continue reading

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Black Bart in Butte County

On this date — June 21 — in 1879 the notorious stage robber Black Bart held up a stage coach near Forbestown in Butte County. It was his first robbery in the year 1879 and his ninth robbery since he … Continue reading

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Happy Juneteenth!

Juneteenth (June 19th) is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. Although only created a national federal holiday in 2021, it has been celebrated annually on June 19 since 1865, marking the date when … Continue reading

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Lola in California

In 1848 Lola left Bavaria for Switzerland, but when King Ludwig failed to join her there, she went on to London and a second marriage. The marriage to a young army officer with a recent inheritance lasted only two years. … Continue reading

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Lola Montez in Bavaria

At Nymphenburg Palace, whom should I run into but that famous adventuress on three continents, Lola Montez. Lola is featured among 36 other beautiful women in the “Gallery of Beauties,” a collection of portraits commissioned by King Ludwig I of … Continue reading

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Bavarian Adventure

I am back from a tour of Bavaria. I saw fairy-tale castles and palaces, lovely Alpine lakes and meadows, medieval towns and baroque churches. The centerpiece of the tour was the Passion Play at Oberammergau, a dramatization of Christ’s last … Continue reading

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