Why we call it a wake 2Wake  n  1: a watch held over the body of a dead person prior to burial and sometimes accompanied by festivity.       When the widow of Jefferson R. Smith III (the wife of Soapy's son) passed away in 1971 she started a family tradition. In her will she requested the family members, those who wished to attend, come to her home and remember her fondly. An addition to the will requested that the adults bring alcoholic beverages and drink them in an informal "Irish Wake." This caused a stir with some of the more conservative members of the family but all respected her last wishes. Although to young to drink Jeff said he remembers everyone having a nice time; some more than others. Jeff's father, John Randolph Smith, asked that the same be done for him and it was. When some of the family members went up to Skagway, Alaska the very first time we created the first Soapy Smith "wake." It has been called a "wake" since 1974. The Magic Castle started up their annual event in 2004 but they prefer the word "party," over the word "wake." On this website and with the Smith family it will always be known by its original namesake, the Soapy Smith Wake.  Click on photo for a larger view The very first wake (l to r) Joanne McNelis, Dorthy Richards, James Richards, Jeff Smith, Greg Smith, Dorthy Smith, Tad, John Randolph Smith, Jeff Brady The  Toast Many of Soapy's friends and business associates were very loyal, even decades after Soapy was killed. The toast, "Here's to Soapy's Ghost," came from one of these old-time members of the gang visiting the family home in St. Louis in the 1920's. As a young boy, John Randolph Smith recalled the visit. He remembers the con man talking and drinking with Soapy's widow. During a drunken lull in the conversation, the con raised his glass and blurted out, "Here's to Soapy's Ghost." The famous Magic Castle There are currently three Wakes held within the United States, 1.) Eagles Hall, Skagway, Alaska. 2.) Magic Castle, Hollywood, California. 3.) The Tivoli Club (a preproduction of Soapy's saloon in Denver, Colorado), Whitehorse Ranch movie lot, Yucca Valley, California. If you are unable to physically join us at one of the wakes, please, no matter where you are on July 8th, at 9:15 p.m., raise your glass and give the toast quoted below.  It is the toast used by the Smith family, started 32 years ago! Relatives and Friends of "Soapy", raise your glass.*   "Here's to Soapy's Ghost" Official Time Remaining for the Soapy Smith wake

 

Jeff and Ashley Smith
Soapy Wake, 2007

Photographs of the 2007 Wake
Click Here

Skagway, Alaska is where the Soapy Smith wake originally started. It was 1974 when members of the Smith family, along with the cast of the Days Of '98 Show (The Soapy Smith Play) started the tradition. The newspaper in Skagway at the time reported on the event. Champaign was un-corked and consumed. Before long there was a general need for the revelers to relieve themselves of the bubbly thus began a horrid tradition that accompanied the Wakes. There were no restrooms, so some "wakers" decided to go pay their respects to Frank Reid, the man credited with the killing of Soapy. The reporter defined it as the "sprinkling of Frank." The family and some residents of Skagway thought it was funny back then. The Smith family continued to send up money to purchase Champaign for the wake until it was finally banned from being held at the cemetery.

Frank Reid's memorial
(not the urinal)

At one time the Smith family condoned, and yes, even participated in, "the sprinkling of Frank." The family no longer sanctions or approves of the activity. One might ask why the Smith family would treat Reid's grave as we did. Let me try to explain. In 1974, the Smiths had known for many years that who really killed Soapy had been covered up in various ways. Research shows that Soapy did not die in a fair fight but rather, by definition, was murdered. Over the years we learned the history of the real Reid. Frank had a not so clean past of his own. We knew that he was not the knight in shining armor that so many historians have painted him to be. Soapy's family was tired of hearing the same old "good" versus "evil" stories when it came to Skagway history. The truth is that very few in Skagway of 1897-1898 could be defined as innocent. Most of the businessmen who were so "against" Soapy after he was killed were so happy that he and his men had been keeping the money in town, and in their pockets, when Soapy was alive. "Good friends," however, quickly turned into self-professed "bitter enemies." None of Soapy's friends in Skagway dared stick up for him, and no one can really blame them. To have stuck up for Soapy after he was killed would mean the loss of everything one owned and a ticket straight of town. It was only after they had left the city would some of the residents and friends discuss their true feelings about what had occurred. In 1974, after decades of turmoil over the covered-up murder of their grandfather, the grandchildren's exasperated resentment came pouring out ... literally. Our revengeful grudge should not have been pointed specifically at Reid, but he had been put up on such a high pedestal that he was an easy target to aim at. There are several other targets more deserving. Their names will be discussed in detail in Jeff Smith's upcoming biography on Soapy. Our revenge will be the truth.

An Apology I am one of the two remaining family members who were        present at the first annual Soapy Wake in 1974. Though but sixteen, I remember that the Smith family knew of no        surviving relatives of Frank Reid. Over the next thirty years, I was introduced to several members of his family        and have come to realize how upset the Reids must be        with my family and me for the tradition that began over a        generation ago. I know how upset I would be were I to        find that people were doing to Soapy’s grave what we had        begun doing to Frank Reid’s in 1974. So it is, without        expectation of being forgiven, that I apologize to the        descendants of Frank Reid and express most humbly my        deep regret that the horrid tradition of “sprinkling” his        memorial was ever started.     Jeff Smith, President       The Soapy Smith Preservation Trust

The 108th Anniversary Soapy Smith Wake July 8, 2006 Poster by Whit Haydn