Retired housewife takes role of 'madam'

From her flashy feathered hat to her high-heeled boots, Mary Gleim presented herself to the library audience as an entrepreneur – a smart, law-abiding businesswoman who must be the most persecuted woman in the entire world.

Much to her irritation, historical documents characterize the sassy 1800s character as a no-nonsense madam of a large prostitution ring in Missoula. 

“They always get it wrong!” Gleim lamented over old Missoulian articles to her amused audience Tuesday at the Libby Public Library. 

Gleim’s alter ego, present-day retired housewife Kim Kaufman of Lolo, has binders full of historical records of the woman who became known as the “Madam of Missoula.”

Gleim, who “fell in love” and married a wealthy man, is known to have owned seven “boarding houses” of ill repute on Missoula’s Front Street, a couple of ranches and a brick company, among others, according to Kaufman.

To add a local touch, Kaufman revealed that Libby itself had a madam or, at least, it appeared so. Though historical records don’t usually contain terms like prostitute and brothel, Kaufman found Helen Hunter and her questionable boarding house in the 1910 census. Hunter housed a number of young, single ladies from different parts of the country and world who registered under names like Lola, Fawn and Birdie.

Regardless of whether it’s true or not, it did get a chuckle out of attendees.

Research on Missoula’s madam has taken Kaufman to Gleim’s husband’s hometown near St. Louis. Her re-enacting has led her to people who knew Gleim’s descendants and to descendants of people who Gleim knew.

Kaufman admits that she had never acted before taking up the hobby. She said it has not only been fun, but it’s also “a really great way to learn community history.”