Bisbee daily review., 1917-01-20
OLD TIMER OF CREEK ARRIVES IN WARREN
 DISTRICT FOR VISIT
Jack Kennessy Tells of Early Experiences During Gold Rush in Cripple Creek, Colorado.

Colorado.
 Jack Hennessey, one of the old tim
 CTS of Cripple Creek, and known tC
 nearly every resident of the Colorado gold country, is in Bisbee. He vii
 remain here for some days on visi and may decide to locate in this re
 zion of the country. Hennessey ha:
 many friends in Bisbee. who knew
 him in the Centenial State.
 The following article, taken from
 the Cripple Creek Times-Record, was
 printed on the eve of his departure
 from that city.
 Jack Hennessey, one of the early
 pioneers of Criple Creek, has an
 nounced that he will leave in the
 near future for Bisbee, Ariz., and from
 there he expects to travel through
 California, and then take an eXten
 sive boat trip on the Pacific. MT
 Hennessey is one of the best known
 and best liked men in the Cripple
 Creek district. He came here in Sep
 tember, 1891, and was the first build
 ing contractor in the district, and had
 the distinction of building the first
 building, in what is now Cripple
 Greek proper. It is the building
 known as the Branch" The 26th day of June, 1892, Mir Hennessey was appointed city policeman of the town of Fremont. At that time there were three separate towns, under three separate city governments, and all of them on the site now occupied by Cripple Creek, they were: Beau mont, Fremont and West Cripple Creek. Mir. ]. A. Whiting was the first mayor and was elected in May, 1892. Mir. Hennessey, besides being an officer of the law, was busily en- gagged in building Cripple Creek and had a force Of men, which ranged in number from fifty to one hundred car penters busy all the time. He was the first employer to pay his men S3 a day for eight hours work. He served fourteen consecutive years without a break, as policeman and desk ser geant in Cripple Creek, and recites many thrilling tales of the early days At one time he said Cripple Creek maintained a force of 24 policemen for the day shift alone, and business was so good that they were compelled to so about their beats in pairs for fear Of being shot in the back or get ting into some kind of a rough and tumble fight. That was when the gambling resorts were running wide open and as many as 1,5O0 gambling devises were being operated at one time. Hennessey stated that it was a common occurrence to see stakes to $10,000 piled on a table in a poker game. One of his first duties as an officer, he stated, was to call at one of the mines on pay day and serve D garnishees. MT. Hen nessey used to work side by side at a bench with William Strat- ton and they were great friends up until the time of MT. Stratton's death.
 Mfr Hennessey presented the with some very valua ble relics of the early days. One of them is a copy of the first newspaper printed here. It is the first paper that came off the press, and was printed in log cabin on Warren avenue. It was called the Cripple Creek Pros pector and was printed on the Sth day of December, 1891 The name of the editor was w. R. McCrea. Mir. Hen nessey stated that it was quite an event for Cripple Creek when the pap press and when the first paper came off he grabbed it, and yesterday it was presented to this office in a hand some gilded frame. While the ink was yet wet on the paper; it was sprinkled with gold dust, and the dust is still quite valuable. Another valuable present received from Mir. is a scrap book, which contains all the stories of the more events which took place turing the fourteen years of service Dn the police department. Some oi the stories tell of gruesome tales which were enacted here before the law had full sway.
 MT. Hennessey was secretary of the Redmen lodge of Cripple Creek for nine years. and at this time ana for the past ten years has been treas lrer Of the carpenters union. He is also a prominent member of the Moose and Homesteader lodges. Mir wife, who died on the I7th day of February, 1915. was prominent member and worker in the Pocahontas degree of the Redmen Odge.
 ''In losing Mir Jack Hennessey. Cripple Creek is losing one of her pest and most respected citizens. and he Times-Record wishes to join with lis hundreds of other friends in wish ng him much happiness and success n whatever surroundings ne may find himself"