Queen of the Paste Board Flappers
The year is the 1870s. The setting: Fort Griffin, Texas, a frontier town clinging precariously to the edge of civilization. The stagecoach rumbles into town, dust billowing behind it, carrying a passenger who will soon become a legend. This is the arrival of Lottie Deno, a woman whose name would become synonymous with skill, elegance, and daring in the world of frontier gambling. Fort Griffin, with its rough-and-tumble reputation, eighteen saloons, and a plethora of "soiled doves," was hardly the expected destination for a woman of her supposed breeding. Yet, Lottie Deno stepped off that stagecoach, ready to carve her own path in the heart of the Wild West.
Fort Griffin, also known as "The Flat," was a town forged in the crucible of the Indian Wars and fueled by the booming cattle trade. Situated at the crossroads of major cattle trails, the town had sprung up below the bluff where the U.S. military had established a fort in 1867. Its reputation as "the Toughest Town in Texas" was well-earned, a place where frontier justice often meant a quick draw and a shallow grave. This "gambling hellhole," as some called it, had already played host to legendary figures like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, John Wesley Hardin, Billy the Kid, Sheriff Pat Garrett, and Bat Masterson. These men, etched in the annals of Western lore, had all walked its dusty streets, adding to the town’s aura of danger and excitement. Now, a new figure was about to emerge, a woman who would become known as the Queen of the Paste Board Flappers.
Lottie Deno quickly established herself in a simple shanty in Clear Fork. She was a striking figure – a vivacious redhead with captivating brown eyes. Her presence in Fort Griffin was shrouded in mystery. She was rarely seen, except when procuring supplies or, more significantly, when she graced the Bee Hive Saloon with her presence. It was there, in the smoky haze and the clinking of glasses, that Lottie Deno truly came alive.
Born Carlotta J. Thompkins on April 21, 1844, Lottie’s journey from a privileged upbringing in Warsaw, Kentucky, to the gambling tables of the Wild West was a remarkable one. Other aliases she went by were Laura Denbo, Faro Nell, and Charlotte Thurmond. She was a child of wealth and status, raised on a prosperous farm in a region deeply intertwined with both the North and the South. Her father, a member of the Kentucky General Assembly, traded extensively with both sides, navigating the complex political landscape with shrewdness. From a young age, Lottie was exposed to a world of privilege and social grace. She had her own nanny, Mary Poindexter, a towering and fiercely loyal woman who remained devoted to Lottie throughout her life, even after the abolition of slavery.
The Warsaw region was a hub for the cultivation of tobacco and hemp, crops that were shipped both north to Detroit and south to New Orleans. Horse breeding, horse racing, and horse-trading were also prominent pursuits, and Lottie’s father was deeply involved in these lucrative endeavors. He was a man of business, but also a man of leisure, with a penchant for gambling.
Lottie received a formal education at an Episcopalian convent, alongside her younger sister. However, her education extended far beyond the confines of the classroom. She frequently accompanied her father on business trips to bustling cities like Detroit and New Orleans, and even ventured to Europe. These travels broadened her horizons and exposed her to a world far beyond the quiet farms of Kentucky. But it was in the vibrant and often morally ambiguous atmosphere of New Orleans that Lottie’s true education began.
New Orleans in the 1850s was a city of contrasts, a place where elegance and debauchery danced hand in hand. Known as the "Good time Town," it was a playground for adults, a magnet for those seeking pleasure and fortune. The city was also the racing mecca of the nation, drawing crowds of enthusiasts and gamblers alike. Lottie’s father, a keen gambler himself, frequented establishments like the St. Charles Hotel, Creole Orleans, Victor’s, and the Cafe de Quatre Saisons. He would visit the Gem on Royal Street, the most elegant drinking house in the city, and placed bets at the Common Street Gallery. He indulged in his passion for gambling, and he saw in his daughter a potential that extended beyond the traditional roles assigned to women.
He taught Lottie the intricacies of card playing, believing that a woman needed more than just social graces to survive in the world. He had no sons to inherit his business acumen, and he intended for Lottie to be strong, independent, and capable of caring for her younger sister. He taught her how to gamble on land and riverboats, imparting his passionate skill at cards, known as "flipping the pasteboards." This unconventional education would prove invaluable in the years to come.
As the political climate in the United States grew increasingly tense, the Thompkins family found themselves caught in the crossfire. The attack on Harpers Ferry by John Brown in 1859 further polarized the nation, and Kentucky struggled to maintain its neutrality. However, in September 1861, Confederate troops invaded western Kentucky, prompting Ulysses S. Grant to occupy Paducah and forcing Kentucky to align with the Union.
In this turbulent atmosphere, Lottie’s life took a dramatic turn. Her father, a southerner at heart, enlisted in the Confederate army in 1861. He was killed in battle, and Lottie’s mother’s health rapidly deteriorated. Faced with dwindling prospects, relatives decided to send Lottie to friends in Detroit, hoping that she would marry a wealthy man and secure the family’s future. They gathered enough money to pay for Lottie and Mary Poindexter’s passage north.
Detroit offered Lottie a taste of high society. She embraced the social scene, attending parties and dances with enthusiasm. However, her heart was not set on finding a suitable husband. Instead, she found herself drawn to Johnny Golden, one of her father’s former jockeys, who had become a gambler himself. It was rumored that Lottie and Johnny had been involved in a secret affair in New Orleans, a scandal that prompted her family to send her away in the first place.
Defying her family’s wishes, Lottie, Johnny, and the ever-faithful Mary Poindexter embarked on a life of adventure on the Mississippi River. They became skilled gamblers, working the riverboat parlors and tidewater towns. This period of Lottie’s life remains shrouded in mystery, but one anecdote reveals the depth of Mary Poindexter’s devotion. According to legend, while walking along a sandbar, Lottie was about to be struck by a rattlesnake when Mary threw herself in front of her mistress, saving her life but suffering a bite that necessitated the amputation of a finger.
As the Civil War drew to a close, Lottie decided to head west, making her way to San Antonio, Texas. There, she continued to hone her gambling skills. On one occasion, a young Union soldier accused her of cheating, and Mary Poindexter once again intervened, throwing the soldier overboard into the river. Lottie Deno’s reputation as the Queen of the Paste Board Flappers was on the rise.
On the frontier, it was widely accepted that every professional gambler cheated to some degree. Lottie was an expert card player, capable of winning a significant percentage of the time. However, that was not enough for a woman who depended on gambling for a living and aspired to maintain the standard of elegance she had known since childhood.
San Antonio was a wide-open gambling town, and Lottie was soon hired as a dealer at Frank Thurmond’s University Club. She received a percentage of the winnings, and her charm and skill quickly attracted a loyal following of cowboys eager to test their luck against the pretty lady.
Lottie cultivated an image of social distinction. She wore the latest fashions and insisted on maintaining a refined atmosphere at her table, prohibiting smoking, drinking, and swearing. Mary Poindexter sat behind her, watching for cheaters and unruly losers. Lottie’s dress and manners disarmed suspicions of cheating, and she became known as the "Angel of San Antonio."
Lottie fell in love with Frank Thurmond, her part-Cherokee boss, and remained loyal to him, rejecting other admirers. One night, during a poker game, Frank got into a fight with another player and killed him with his Bowie knife. To avoid a bounty on his head, Frank was forced to flee town.
Lottie soon followed, gambling her way across West Texas, from Fort Concho (where she was known as "Mystic Maude") to San Angelo, Denison, Fort Worth, and Jacksboro. Eventually, she found Frank working at the Bee Hive in Fort Griffin. Lottie secured a job dealing cards there, and it was in this rough-and-tumble saloon that she met Doc Holliday, a friend of Frank’s who became an admiring customer at her faro table. On one occasion, Doc lost $3,000 to the lady. Lottie Deno was solidifying her status as the Queen of the Paste Board Flappers.
The Bee Hive Saloon, with its welcoming rhyme above the door, was a hub of activity and intrigue. Legend has it that Doc Holliday’s girlfriend, Big Nose Kate Elder, once arrived at the saloon in a jealous rage, accusing Lottie of trying to steal Doc’s affections. An argument ensued, and both women drew their guns, forcing Doc to intervene.
Johnny Golden, Lottie’s former lover, also reappeared in her life at Fort Griffin, but his presence was short-lived. He was shot dead on the street behind the saloon the next day. Lottie paid for his burial suit and coffin but did not attend the funeral, choosing instead to remain in her house with the curtains drawn.
One of the most famous stories about Lottie during her Fort Griffin days involves a deadly quarrel between two tinhorn gamblers. According to the tale, after the shooting, Sheriff Bill Cruger found Lottie coolly counting her chips. When asked why she had remained at the scene, she simply replied, "But then you have never been a desperate woman." The money on the table disappeared that night, and most witnesses believed that it ended up in Lottie’s purse. This is just another reason why she was known as the Queen of the Paste Board Flappers.
After five years in Texas, Lottie and Frank left for New Mexico, where they finally married. They swore off gambling and settled down in Deming. Frank found success in mining and real estate, eventually becoming vice president of the Deming National Bank.
Lottie, now known as Charlotte Thurmond, became a respected member of the community. She quit dealing cards, but legend has it that she hosted a poker game with Doc Holliday in attendance, with the $40,000 winnings going towards the original structure of St. Luke’s frontier church. She even made one of the altar cloths used by the church.
Frank and Lottie remained together for over 40 years, until his death in 1908. Lottie lived another 26 years, passing away in 1934. She was buried beside Frank, her headstone set a few inches behind his left shoulder, "in the lookout seat."
In the realm of entertainment, the character immortalized as the beautiful, redheaded Miss Kitty who ran the Longbranch Saloon in the famous "Gunsmoke" radio and television series was based on Lottie Deno.