10/28/2026
Today's patient roster from our historic hotel when it was the Teller County Hospital focuses on "French Blanche" LaCroix, who had reason to visit the hospital several times. The lady has quite the story to tell:
Born in France in 1880, Blanche told others she was kidnapped as a young woman and brought to America to work as a pr******te in New Orleans. In about 1910 Blanche met Marius Durand, a Cripple Creek saloon owner who talked Blanche into coming to work for him. Durand was already married to Josephine Emery, herself a former b***y house girl. Notable is that Blanche was not working in the red-light district during 1910; the census identifies her as working as a cook for a private family.
Blanche remained involved with Durand and apparently had an affair with him. When Mrs. Durand discovered this, they say, she confronted Blanche and threw acid in her face, scarring her for life. What is known for sure is that Blanche’s daughter, Katherine, was born in Cripple Creek on December 21, 1918, likely here at the Teller County Hospital. At the time, Blanche was living at The Idaho rooming house on Masonic Avenue, within half a block of the red-light district. That Duran, or possibly a man named William Chuckman, was Katherine’s father was never ascertained.
On May 5, 1922, Sheriff Henry Von Phul was called to a rooming house on Masonic Avenue on a welfare check. Blanche was not there, but a woman named Bessie Myers was. Whatever Von Phul saw, he arrested Bessie and took Katherine and three other children to the Teller County Hospital for safekeeping. Katherine remained in care of the hospital staff until she was discharged on May 14.
On October 2, 1923, Katherine was admitted to the hospital again, this time with a case of severe eczema. She remained a charge at the hospital for nearly three weeks and was discharged on October 22 “by order of the county judge” to someone other than Blanche. The story goes that Blanche was able to secure the help of attorney Daisy Barbee, the first female attorney in Missouri whose clients were nearly all pr******tes, to get Katherine back. Barbee won the case, but a celebration party that turned into a drunken brawl caused Blanche to lose Katherine for good. The child was adopted by unknown parties.
Blanche, still bearing the horrible scar on her face, eventually moved to the whistle-stop of Midway above Victor, where she lived for many years. Plenty of folks knew, or knew of, Blanche since she often walked to Victor for groceries. Sometimes someone would give her a ride back to Midway but Blanche remained aloof and did not have many visitors. She wore a dark veil to hide her scars should anyone happen by and see her. Only a handful of local children, including Steve Mackin, were known to visit Blanche now and then. Steve remembered the delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies Blanche would give he and his friends.
When Blanche fell and fractured her shoulder in 1938 a neighbor, Ned Blackburn, brought her to the Teller County Hospital once again. The injury was serious enough for Blanche to stay for nearly a month. Afterwards she returned to Midway. Eventually Edna McCready of Victor offered lodging to the elderly woman, and talked Victor city officials into giving Blanche $35 per month because she wasn’t a U.S. citizen and had nothing to live on.
In 1959, Blanche contracted pneumonia. By then the Teller County Hospital was working primarily as a nursing facility, so Blanche was taken to Hilltop Clinic at the old St. Nicholas Hospital in Cripple Creek. Blanche died on November 23. Two years later, Katherine came looking for her mother. Unfortunately, Blanche’s thick French accent when pronouncing her last name led many to believe her name was Blanche LeCoq, which hindered Katherine’s search. She did finally meet Edna McCready, who was able to give the woman a photograph of Blanche and a few of her belongings.
Today, Blanche lies at rest in Victor’s Sunnyside Cemetery, and her cabin from Midway is on display at the Cripple Creek District Museum. Here at our historic hotel, we honor Blanche as one of the hardy immigrants who did her best to make it in a harsh world.
CCHospitalityHouse.com
