WELCOME
I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, then followed my mother’s advice to go somewhere “different” for college. In 1965, I moved to Boulder, Colorado. Now, more than five decades later, my roots are still in the East, but my heart –– and my passion for researching and writing about history –– is in the West.
Colorado has remained my home.
Here, you will learn more about my books, current projects, articles –– and about me. Thanks for visiting my website.
In 1978, I started freelancing (followed by a history column) for the Boulder Daily Camera. My last Camera column was published on August 25, 2025. I now write for the Boulder Reporting Lab.
I’m also working on a new book –– Caribou, Colorado: Lure & Lore of a Mining Town, about the (now ghost) town and its people, mines, and cemetery in Boulder County, Colorado. Former readers of cariboucemetery.com, are redirected here. Soon I will be updating the “Caribou Cemetery Project” under “Related Interests."
Stumped on a cold case? Need historical context for a research project? Looking for people or places in Boulder County, Colorado? Email me via the CONTACT page for more information. Silvia Pettem © 2026
NEW & NOT TO BE MISSED –– THERESA BAKKEN’S DESIDERATUM INTERVIEW WITH SILVIA PETTEM
PODCAST ON THE BLONDE TIGRESSSEPARATE LIVES: UNCOVERING THE HIDDEN FAMILY OF VICTORIAN PROFESSOR MARY RIPPON
SOMEONE’S DAUGHTER: IN SEARCH OF JUSTICE FOR JANE DOE, UPDATED EDITION
IN SEARCH OF THE BLONDE TIGRESS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ELEANOR JARMAN
NOW ACCEPTING SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS ––
in the Boulder, Colorado area. Presentations include SEPARATE LIVES (MARY RIPPON), THE BLONDE TIGRESS (ELEANOR JARMAN) and SOMEONE’S DAUGHTER (BOULDER JANE DOE). For more information, email me via the CONTACT PAGE.
MORE PODCASTS, INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES
MARY RIPPON
Silvia Pettem recounts the affair between groundbreaking CU German instructor Mary Rippon and her student Will Housel. Rippon kept her private life well-hidden, Colorado Sun, August 4, 2024, Read HereSILVIA PETTEM TALKS ABOUT THE SECOND EDITION OF HER BOOK ABOUT MARY RIPPON, 5280 Denver’s Mile High Magazine, August 21, 2024, Read HereTHE SECRET LIFE OF MARY RIPPON, by Christie Sounart (Coloradan, published by the University of Colorado Boulder Alumni Association, 7/17/25) READ MORE...BOOK TALK WITH DIANA KORTE –– KGNU RADIORIPPON, in CU’s Colorado Arts & Sciences Magazine
SOMEONE’S DAUGHTER
Comments from "The West London Witch” (PODCAST ABOVE):
Every now and then, a story grabs me and won’t let go.
That’s what happened with the Boulder Jane Doe. After reading about the case and discovering Silvia Pettem’s powerful book, and her appearance in Web of Death, Jane Doe episode (Hulu documentary, 2023), I knew I had to speak with her.
Silvia isn’t just a gifted author—she’s a masterful storyteller whose passion radiates both on the page and on screen.
Her dedication to giving the Boulder Jane Doe her name back after 50 years of anonymity is nothing short of remarkable.
Please enjoy this beautiful journey to give justice to Someone's Daughter.
BLONDE TIGRESS
BLONDE TIGRESS: (FOR RESEARCHERS & GENEALOGISTS), SLIDE PRESENTATION FOR ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARYKGNU COMMUNITY RADIO –– BOOKTALK: BLONDE TIGRESSMOST NOTORIOUS! Eleanor "The Blonde Tigress" JarmanColorado Sun, SunLit Interview, CEMETERY REENACTMENT HOOKED SILVIA PETTEM ON TRACKING MISSING PERSONS…..POLKA-DOTTED DRESS — Thursday August 8, 1940, started out like any other day at the Oakdale Reformatory for Women near the small town of Dwight, in rural Illinois…READ MORE…
RELATED INTERESTS
CARIBOU CEMETERY PROJECT
The CARIBOU CEMETERY PROJECT is a community effort to restore respect to those buried in the small mountain cemetery in Caribou, Colorado, once home to silver miners from Cornwall.
THIS SECTION WILL BE UPDATED SOON.
Left, A small cross used to hang near the cemetery’s entrance.
HISTORY COLUMNS
IN RETROSPECT (Boulder Daily Camera)LOCAL HISTORY (Boulder Reporting Lab)
For many years/decades, in addtion to writing books, I wrote a monthly local history column (“In Retrospect”) for the Boulder Daily Camera, in Boulder, Colorado. Hundreds of these columns can be read via the “In Retrospect” link, above.
I now write my local history column for the Boulder Reporting Lab. See my most recent articles in the link, above.
When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Every man has two deaths –– when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name. (Attributed to Ernest Hemingway)
RESEARCH SPECIALTIES:
Long-term missing persons
Unidentified remains
Cold case homicides
Boulder County, Colorado, history