Jim Jam Jems was an independent, muckraking magazine published from Bismarck, North Dakota, beginning in 1912 and continuing into the late 1920s. It presented itself as a blunt, truth-telling journal with a flair for sensationalism. Each issue was a small booklet, typically around sixty pages, and sold for twenty-five cents. Its content mixed exposés, moral and social commentary, satire, political criticism, and vivid human-interest narratives. The magazine frequently tackled topics considered taboo at the time: prostitution, “white slavery,” corruption, medical abuses, wartime politics, and perceived moral decline. Its voice was deliberately provocative, aiming to jolt the reader rather than maintain journalistic decorum. The February 1914 issue (when the actual events were still fresh in the news) presented a sordid and moralistic rendition of the story of Adelaide and Melvin in the village of Monticello, Sullivan County, New York.

Sites in Monticello from the story of Adelaide Branch, as they appeared then and today.