Knothole in the Family Tree

Here is some interesting family history, a bit on the shady side...I've waited what I hope has been a respectful amount of time since Esther's passing to continue the story of her mother, Mary.

After Esther had been born, Mary left her infant in the care of her in-laws, got a divorce and hit the road with some questionable characters.
Hey, the divorce alone was scandalous enough in the day!


One of those questionable characters was Eber "Sid" Siddons. I must say, I'm not certain if this is fact or fable; but it has been reported from reliable sources and family tales that he ran a very profitable bootleg whiskey operation!

To get his product into the little communities without too much trouble, two things were of utmost importance:
1) Know who the local authorities were and know their routines.

2) Have some really fast cars capable of transporting the whiskey!

Now Mary was a very attractive young lady! She was sent into the town first to find a "camp." Motorcourts would have been perfect. These were small roadside bungalows with parking right alongside.

She would then get acquainted with the police and spend enough time to get them talking. It was never said right out loud, but it was implied that she would use her "feminine wiles" ...

Then Sid and his fellows could come in with the merchandise he was bootlegging.

Seems he made enough money from this setup he purchased a car dealership and made an honest woman of Mary. They married and brought Esther with them to the Rapid City area. Mary got to live with all the extras she loved and have her daughter with her, too!

So goes this branch of the family tree...a few twists and knotholes. Interesting, to say the least!

Here is a picture we took last summer of the garage he owned in Belle Fourche, SD.

(c) CHRobinson June 2010