As we come upon the 127th anniversary of the famous Oct. 13, 1896, Meeker Bank Robbery [attempt], I would like to take a different slant on the event. With exception of our Ute conflicts, sheep wars, and the various Roosevelts, Meeker and Rio Blanco County did not get much ink in newspapers outside Northwest Colorado. The robbery of the Hugus building hit the newspapers all the way back East.
“I GOD MOLLY!” Before you accuse me of taking God’s name in vain, just let me explain that I am giving you the nickname earned by a fiesty “lady” named Molly Rink. Molly was well known in the area as a rough, outspoken woman. Molly was prone to public tantrums. She liberally sprinkled her conversations with the phrase “I god.” Maybe she considered “My god” too weak of a curse, or maybe she just shortened the curse to her own liking. Whatever, it seemed to fit her personality. The March 4, 1928, the Rocky Mountain News carried a feature article highlighting Molly’s more colorful events. You can read the original article on the wall of the White River Museum.
I usually do stories about Rio Blanco County, but I fudged the boundaries a bit to include someone who later lived just over the line in south Moffat County around Axial Basin and Iles Dome. This was during the period just after the demise of the cattle barons of the open range and the early 1920’s when the first wave of oil boom people was starting to make a noise in Northwest Colorado. Big and small oil companies were sending out armies of lease men to tie up as much of the mineral rights as cheaply as possible. The early lease men were much like some of the 1970’s used car salesmen. The difference was no polyester leisure suit and the fact that they were buying the right to drill, not selling worn out Chevy Vegas. Let us just say that both were famous for exaggerating the advantages.
Molly Rink signed a lease agreement with Thomas McLaughlin and David C. Ahearn on Oct. 2, 1923. The story goes something like this: the Company man offered her a cash settlement plus a 1/8th royalty on any oil extracted. Well, Molly had already talked to her neighbors and knew that some of them had received a 1/16th royalty. Molly exclaimed that she was no fool and demanded that she full 1/16th share, not the measly 1/8th offered. No amount of explaining by the company man would persuade Molly that mathematically 1/8th was a bigger share than 1/16th, so that is what the contract was written for. Molly discovered her mistake later.
In June of 1924, Molly sued to cancel the leases on the grounds that the agents had taken advantage of her illiteracy and told her she was getting double what her neighbors got. All of this to set the stage for the show down between Midwest Oil Company and THE Molly Rink, jilted wife in possession of a homestead and ranch house in Moffat County. The estranged Mr. Rink had wandered afar and collected a stray redhead in town, so Molly was taking care of the ranch. In September 1924, a fleet of trucks belonging to the Midwest Oil Company approached the gate of the Rink Ranch expecting a warm welcome for the drilling crew. What they got was a close and personal view down the barrel of a six-shooter, with Molly holding it steady. Molly commanded the first truck driver to stop and informed him of his rights to be shot if he forced his way past the gate. The drivers all pulled over out of respect for this convincing argument from this formidable woman. This began a two day standoff while a Company man was called into renegotiate the lease out of court. The incident was recorded in the Sept. 17 and 24, 1924, issues of the Craig Empire. The gate opened and oil began to flow.
By ED PECK
