What makes a Molly Queen?

MURRAY — Sadae Lortz’s grandfather left his country music band behind to strike for his fortune as a gold miner. During Saturday’s festivities, she honored that family history by teaching kids to pan for gold in a booth at the Molly B’Damn and Goldrush Days.

Lortz, much like her grandfather, also has a fondness for objects found in the ground and turned to geology as a profession. Clad in a red dress, a feather boa and a purple hat, she made a colorful spectator if not an official Molly Queen.

“I’ve always dressed up for it, but I’ve never entered it,” Lortz said of the Molly Queen contest.

There’s much more to becoming a Molly Queen than just the 19th-century costumes during the celebration of Molly B’Damn’s life. The Molly Queens were introduced by Emily Denney on Saturday afternoon as she invited Dave Miller to “sing us a bit of history.”

Miller’s song was originally written by his father to honor the legacy of the “patron lady” of Murray.

Jeanie Hetrick, of Caldwell, said she enjoys visiting the town for the celebration of Molly B’Damn’s life and legacy. Because of Molly’s status as a prostitute and madam during the gold rush days, she found other ways to engage with her community. The social mores of the time meant that she wasn’t valued on her own individual merit, so she overcame prejudices and took care of the sick and tended to miners when they were ill or injured.

“She couldn’t be good, but she couldn’t be bad, and she started helping the sick and she’d go out to the mines and help,” Hetrick said. Molly B’Damn survived the local smallpox epidemic, but eventually succumbed to consumption and died in 1888.

A grand total of $8,593.60 was raised between this year’s Molly B’Damn Queens.

“Seven is the most Molly Queens we’ve ever had,” Emily Denney said.

Only five women wound up being able to be honored for their fundraising for the community in person this year due to personal emergencies, but the impact will help provide vital funds for town projects and residents in need over the next year through the Molly B’Damn board.

Dawn Terherst was the second-place Molly Queen for the Molly B’Damn Days and has been raising money for the community aid fund for months through the Tipsy Pine.

She has become invested in the community and was thrilled to do her part to pitch in to support community resources such as the local park, cemetery, and residents in need.

2023 Molly Queens:

Keely DiPietro — Pritchard Tavern

Dawn Terherst — Tipsy Pine

Teresa Christensen — Bedroom Goldmine Bar

Christina Masterson — Metals Bar

Rylie Milholland — Spragpole Bar

Juliana Reid — Timbers Roadhouse

Meegan Marshall — Hooks Landing