THE SAGA OF GREAT GRANDFATHER KNATZ
BY
LOIS ANNA (GALLANGER) KNATZ
(Written for her granddaughter Kristin Rimkus)
Oh, Great Grandfather Knatz was a gambling man
He roamed the West
Played his best
With dice and cards his fortune he did seek
From Red Lodge, Butte, Tonapah
He won and lost and loved it all
Shoot out, bushwhacking, and whiskey
Life in a mining camp was risky
Poker was the game
He was the best gambler you could name
The bets were so great
For a game he was never late
Black hair, brown eyes, a handsome gambling man
Great Grandfather Knatz was a gambling man
1874-1880
His father’s voice he had heeded
A baker’s trade what was he needed
Bread, cakes, and pies
He so despised
1880
Chucked it all
To answer the call
Go West young man
Go West and do what he loved best
In Leadville, Colorado,
free crackers with a five cent bowl of soup
Great Grandfather Knatz was a gambling man
He roamed the West
Poker was the game
He was never late
and
Would draw to an inside straight
Great Grandfather Knatz was a gambling man
1889
Gold was the word
The only thing he heard
With his cards he traveled North
He toiled, sweat and swore
The Chilakoot Pass he climbed
Lake Bennett, then the Yukon
Gold was the word
The only thing he heard
Great Grandfather Knatz was a gambling man
Oh, the rip roaring town of Dawson at the Gold Hill Hotel
He staked the miners
He played the cards
Diamond Lil was quite a thrill
His poke was full of golden dust
The nights were long and cold
An egg was hard to find
and
Love was on his mind
Great Grandfather was a gambling man
October 1899
To Spokane Washington he did ride
To take Annie Carstens for his bride
1900
With his blonde bride, Annie, by his side
By train and ship they did ride
Gold was the word
The only thing they heard
Gold Hill Hotel, Dawson, Yukon that’s where their fortune would be found
He stake the miners
Some struck it rich
He was a gambler of fame
and
Poker was his game
May 1901
Came their first born
and
They named him Dawson
The nights were long and cold
At a dollar a piece, an egg was hard to find
Sunshine was on their minds
and
With a gambler’s luck
They left with a quarter million bucks
Great Grandfather Knatz was a gambling man
1902
They traveled to California, Nevada, Montana and in between
Oil stocks came high
and
Diamonds he did buy
There was oil in Texas
He bought the stocks they printed
Mining shares of silver and gold
Great Grandfather would hold
He was a gambling man
April 5, 1903
Butte, Montana
His name sake was born
But the oil wells were dry
There was not silver and gold
For those mining shares he would hold
Now, I sure as heck don’t give a dang
For those framed and worthless stocks that on my wall do hang
With a sigh
I lift my voice and cry
“There will never be another Gambling Knatz”
1907 Nevada
Oh, Great Grandfather Knatz was a gambling man
1908
They rode the train to Kent Washington
But here it was so tame
and
Great Grandfather Knatz loved that poker game
To Nevada, they rode that train again
His sons and Annie pleaded
A place to rest they needed
1910
On that train again to Phillipsburg, Montana is where he settled them
He looked and found a building
So on Main Street from a afar
You could see the sign, “Charlie’s Bar”
From the door
You could see sawdust on the floor
He had a gambling table
and
Took a cut from every game that was played
Beer, wine and whiskey you could order at Charlie’s Bar
With a sigh, I life my voice and cry
“There will never be another Gambling Knatz!”
Oh, Great Grandfather Knatz was a gambling man
From Charlie’s Bar his gaze would wonder
There was gold in those hills yonder
On a claim he did file
A shaft he did sink
A sluice box build
An assay on that order was made
and
The newspaper did proclaim
“Great Grandfather Knatz was rich again at lastl”
Oh, those big mining companies how craftily they work
They angled in a shaft
They took his silver
and
They took his gold
To a court of law he brought them
The lawyers, they had many
and
Grandfather Knatz was running low on money
Oh, that worthless mine
The patent Woodrow Wilson did sign
and
Now I hold the deed and patent on that worthless mine
With a sigh
I life my voice and cry
“There will never be another Gambling Knatz”
1915
The mine and bar were left behind
and
A farm was purchased at Enumclaw, Washington
Then Dawson joined the army
Charles, Jr., liked cars better than cows and chickens
So he left to seek his fortune
1919
Grandfather Knatz and Annie came to Seattle
Purchased a home by Greenlake
and
Decided to just enjoy their friends
The wonder lust couldn’t be contained
1925
The gambling man shuffled the cards
and
Worked as a dealer in Aqua Calenti, Mexico
1928
Reno Nevada
Still shuffling cards
and
Throwing the dice as a dealer in a Reno club
1931
Retired to Seattle
Shuffled the cards
and
Play solitaire
January, 1937
Seattle
Pneumonia struck him down
The brown eyes were bright
The hair had grown white
January 19, 1937
Gabrial blows his horn
The gambling man answered the call
and
Entered the gates of heaven
This story so old is true as it is told
With a sigh I lift my voice and cry
There will never by another gambling Knatz
This is the story of Charles Edward Knatz
Born: November 18, 1862
Died: January 19, 1937
Mother’s Name: Elizabeth Weigan Knatz
Father’s Name: Henry Knatz
Birth Place: Lanoconing, Allegheny County, Maryland, U.S.A.
Married Annie Carstens, Spokane, Washington, October 4, 1899
FirstSon: Dawson, born May 5, 1901, at Dawson, Yukon Terrritory, Canada
Second Son: Charles E. Knatz born April 5, 1903, at Butte, M