Hidden History of Denver by Elizabeth Victoria Wallace

Author:Elizabeth Victoria Wallace
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2013-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Forty years after the very successful River Front Rodeo, Chicago gangster Leland Varain—aka “Louis Alterie” (perhaps his favorite alias), “Diamond Jack” and “Two Gun Louis”—requested permission from C.D. Vail, manager of Improvements and Parks to hold a rodeo at Overland Park on August 6, 7 and 8, 1925. Varain told the manger that he was “pulling together a crack outfit” using his Jarre Canyon ranch as a base to get it organized. Vail told Varain that he would get together at a later date with his decision on the rental of the park.

According to Randy Varain, great-nephew of Leland Varain—who incidentally took a completely different path to that of his notorious relative by serving twenty years in law enforcement and a further twenty years as a judge—commented:

I’ve heard from family members that Leland was a good horseman. Growing up on a ranch in Merced Falls, California, he learned to ride at an early age. He was a tall man, around six feet, with dark hair. He was also a strong man and quite muscular. He used to carry two firearms for protection—two .45s in fact, one under each arm…and yes, I can confirm that he liked diamonds. There was nothing he liked to do more than spending time on his ranch. He loved the outdoor life, horses and Colorado. When things got really hot for him in Chicago, he went to Colorado first and from there on to Merced Falls, where the family still owned a ranch. He was part of a very large family and was always welcome there.

For many years, Leland Varain had been a hit man for the North Side Gang in Chicago. When the leader of the gang, Dean O’Banion, was shot to death by rival gang members in his florist shop on November 24, 1924, Varain wanted immediate payback. He was incensed and demanded retribution. The new boss of the North Street Gang, Hymie Weiss, took control of the situation and told Varain to leave town for a while. The next time we hear of Varain, he is living at his ranch at Jarre Canyon, close to Sedalia, just south of Denver.

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