"Klondike Kate" (Kitty Rockwell), known as the "Queen of the Yukon" during the Klondike Gold Rush, came to Bend in 1914. She made a small fortune in the Yukon as the region's leading singer and dancer, but fell in love with Alex Pantages, a waiter who used her money to open several theaters in the United States, some of which still bear his name. After Pantages abandoned her, Kate moved to Bend and became one of its most celebrated and colorful characters. Her home, across from nearby St. Charles Hospital, was a refuge for sick and elderly citizens. She died in 1957, and her ashes were scattered on the high desert east of Bend where she had earlier homesteaded.