Article by Montrose County

Rural Life – October 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editor’s Note: Earlier this year, Montrose County on the Western Slope began considering a new comprehensive master plan, much as some counties in Central Colorado are now preparing to do. Read the rest of this article

Article by Martha Quillen

Local Historian/Writer – October 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

When you meet Eleanor Harrington, it’s hard to believe that she arrived in Central Colorado forty-five years ago with a husband and two sons.

Only Eleanor’s stories give a clue to her age. Tall and attractive, she looks like she could still easily walk a country mile and more — but she hates to have her picture taken. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Eleanor P. Harrington

Ghost story – October 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

A cry from beyond

Can the spirit of a child cry out from her grave long after her death? At a little known cemetery in Chaffee County, we have just such a mystery. Read the rest of this article

Article by Eleanor P. Harrington

Local History – October 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

IT’S THE CEMETERY of four knolls. Four distinct knolls, one each for the Jewish, Protestant, and Catholic religions, and a fourth knoll, Boot Hill, for nondenominational burials and violent deaths. It is the Tin Cup, Colorado, Cemetery, and well over a thousand people visit it each year from early June through late fall. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Dick Scar

Wildlife – October 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Skunk Remedy Works

Dear Martha & Ed:

For some reason, when I read your September issue I happened to notice the recipe on page 4 for deskunking a pet. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Bruce A. Collins

Growth – October 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

How Silt Happens

(After he read about Salida’s adventures with a proposed comprehensive master plan, Bruce Collins sent this letter about how plans have developed on the Western Slope.) Read the rest of this article

Brief by Sharon Chickering

Recreation – October 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Cyclists, joggers and in-line skaters in Lake County can now use a paved recreation path without fear of being run down by passing motorists. The first three and one half mile segment of the Mineral Belt Trail was recently blacktopped by county crews and is open for use. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Communication – October 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

First anniversary

Just a year ago, the Internet was an expensive long-distance call from most of Central Colorado. Now there are two local service providers.

First on the scene was Rocky Mountain Internet, which opened a Buena Vista node in late October of 1995. As of this August, Colorado Supernet is also serving the area. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Transportation History – October 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

On Sept. 12, the Union Pacific began its takeover of the Southern Pacific, and so the trains that rattle through here (until they manage to abandon the Tennessee Pass line) will be UP trains.

The UP has been here before, though. The story starts in 1873 with the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

American trends – October 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Ahead of the Curve?

The usual observation is that America happens first in California. But maybe Central Colorado is taking over the leadership role. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media coverage – October 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Another Top 10 List

Planning to homestead somewhere? Some parts of Colorado, even Central Colorado, made it onto the “10 Best Places to Live the Good Life” in the August/September edition of Mother Earth News. Read the rest of this article

Column by Hal Walter

Rural construction – September 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Rising above the din of circular saws and pneumatic hammers in Custer County this summer has been the yammering of local contractors and do-gooders about the lack of a uniform building code outside the Silver Cliff-Westcliffe metropolitan clusterplex. Read the rest of this article

Article by Jan Badgley

Education – September 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Thanks to the Internet, you can attend an accredited public high school without leaving your house. My 16-year-old daughter, Kelsey, did it for a semester last year. Read the rest of this article

Article by Karen Young Rokosz

Education – September 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

September has arrived and with it students everywhere begin once again that love/hate relationship with SCHOOL. For some, summer vacation has been a respite from the daily grind in school. It may have been filled with exciting vacation trips, swimming lessons, work, sporting events and unscheduled hours of time with nothing to do. Read the rest of this article

Article by Clint Driscoll

Education – September 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Darren Patterson Christian Academy has been part of Buena Vista’s education scene since 1982. The beginning of the fifteenth school-year this September is a landmark for the academy since classes will be held in a new schoolhouse. Built almost entirely with volunteer labor, the building — like DPCA itself — has been a labor of love for parents, faculty and members of Buena Vista’s First Baptist Church. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Ed Quillen

Education – September 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Every fall, we think about devoting the September edition to “back to school,” with a detailed examination of education in Central Colorado, from pre-schools to Colorado Mountain College and Western State College, along with private endeavors in everything from horse-shoeing and dance to oil-painting and computer programming. Read the rest of this article

Review by Ed Quillen

Mining – September 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Climax – The History of Colorado’s Climax Molybdenum Mine
by Stephen M. Voynick
published in 1996 by Mountain Press Publishing Co.
ISBN 0-87842-354-0 Read the rest of this article

Review by Ed Quillen

Mining – September 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Great Coalfield War
by George S. McGovern and Leonard F. Guttridge
Originally published in 1972
Republished in 1996 by University Press of Colorado
ISBN 0-87081-381-1 Read the rest of this article

Essay by Ed Quillen

Drug laws – September 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Not a day has passed recently without someone asking me “What do you think about Ray James?”

Well, I think Ray’s a talented writer, but not always great about deadlines. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Marcia Darnell

Local arts – September 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

I learned two things at the second annual Saguache County Handmade Tour last year:

1. There is an abundance of creative talent in Saguache County, particularly in the visual arts.

2. There is a dearth of organizational talent in Saguache County, particularly in promoting the Handmade Tour. Read the rest of this article

Article by Marcia Darnell

Local artists – September 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Eight llamas, seven sheep, a dog, a couple of cats, two kids, assorted rabbits, and a home that can, and often does, sleep 20. The household of Jeff and Amber Shook is in constant turmoil and they thrive on it: “We just had 25 kids here for a week,” says Amber Shook, laughing. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Hal Walter

Burro racing – September 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dolan wins pack-burro Triple Crown Race

Twin Lakes resident Barbara Dolan and her burro Sailor hitched down Pack-Burro Racing’s Triple Crown this summer as the top female competitor at races in Fairplay and Leadville, and the overall winner in the final leg of the series in Buena Vista. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Transportation – September 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

You want the big story on the UP-SP merger and its effect on the Mountain West? Don’t look for it in Colorado Central, even though we have close connections with the guy who wrote it, Ed Quillen. Read the rest of this article

Column by Hal Walter

Coffee – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

One thing I’ve noticed is that it takes water to make coffee.

Now this surely is a less-than-astute observation. But it’s one that takes on a certain irony here in Central Colorado, right in the heart of what early explorers like Major Stephen H. Long called the “Great American Desert.” Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]0871088754[/amazon-product]Review by Ed Quillen

Attractions – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Colorado’s Hot Springs
by Deborah Frazier
published in 1996 by Pruett
ISBN 0-87108-875-4 Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]0963479911[/amazon-product]Review by Ed Quillen

Outdoor recreation – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Arkansas River Guide – Granite to Cañon City, Colorado
by Thomas G. Rampton
Published in 1996 by Blacktail Enterprises
ISBN 0-9634799-1-1 Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]0941270882[/amazon-product]Review by Ed Quillen

History – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

People of the Red Earth – American Indians of Colorado
by Sally Crum
Published in 1996 by Ancient City Press
ISBN 0-941270-88-2 paper
0-941270-89-0 cloth Read the rest of this article

Article by Lynda La Rocca

Leadville – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Leadville continues to cling defiantly to its image as a miner’s mining town. Despite some polishing around the edges from a few trendy cafes and fern bars, it pretty much remains a rugged, blue-collar community where a handful of men and women still make their living drilling, blasting, and mucking metal ores from the earth. Read the rest of this article

Letter from John Walker

Trapping – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Trappers don’t perturb only urbanites

Colorado Central:

Re: “Require geographic diversity…” by Ellen Miller in the July, 1996, edition.

Ellen Miller’s condemnation of anti-trapping initiatives sounds like the work of an urban-dweller (Grand Junction) trying to ingratiate herself to people who work the land. She assumes only city folks disapprove of trapping. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Sam Mamet

Politics – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Local control fares ill at Statehouse

Dear Ed:

I continue to enjoy the magazine greatly. Lots of great stuff, and always well written.

I’ve enjoyed the past few articles on the problems facing small community law enforcement agencies, especially the one recently written by Clint Driscoll. Peace officer training, especially for reserves and part-time officers, has been a major concern for many of our smaller communities around the state. Read the rest of this article

Article by Steve Voynick

Mountains – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Most of us climb 14ers for reasons that are, at best, abstract. All we bring back are memories, feelings of accomplishment and, for those of us approaching middle age, the comforting reassurance that we can still do it. Read the rest of this article

Article by Dick Dixon

Local History – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Jasper mine, near the hopeful gold camp of Turret, was about five years old and headed for its heyday when tragedy struck shortly after the turn of the century. Miner Frank Carpenter frantically tried to climb the greasy cable of a stalled mine bucket and fell about 70 feet down the shaft to be “blown to pieces by the explosion of seven shots.” Read the rest of this article

Article by Lea Lahtinen

Local artists – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Legend has it that glass was first discovered on an otherwise unlucky Mediterranean voyage of antiquity. The ship wrecked and the travelers swam to shore amid the flotsam. They built a fire on the beach, and some of the fuel included crates from the cargo — crates that included potash. Heat potash and sand together, and you get glass. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Transportation – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

The train keeps a-rollin’

for a while, anyway

Despite opposition from the Anti-Trust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the merger between the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads was approved July 3 by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board. On Aug. 12, the board will issue a written report explaining its decision, and the two systems will start combined operations on Sept. 12. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

New Paper

Lake George now boasts a new weekly free-distribution newspaper, The Mountain Independence, which started May 1. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Transportation – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Get to the pile-up faster

The Colorado Department of Transportation has proposed raising the speed limit from 55 mph to 65 on U.S. 24 and U.S. 285 between Buena Vista and the Colo. 291 junction. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Salida politics – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Back to the planning board

Salida’s proposed comprehensive master plan (the one reviewed in the July Colorado Central) was turned down by the planning commission at a July 8 hearing. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Invasion – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Shopping for Cool Mountain Towns

The August edition of Men’s Journal featured “America’s 25 coolest mountain towns.” Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Climate – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

We’re not cool. We’re a Disaster Area.

Although afternoon thunderstorms are no longer a novelty, they haven’t cured the effects of a dry winter and spring — a drought. Read the rest of this article

Column by Hal Walter

Pack-Burro Racing – July 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Some jackasses never go away. Just ask the folks in Buena Vista, where the third leg of the Triple Crown of pack-burro racing is about to resume after a three-year hiatus. Read the rest of this article

Article by Lynda La Rocca

Local Winery – July 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

In vino veritas. In wine, there is truth. And in Salida, there’s truly good wine, thanks to Mountain Spirit Winery, Ltd., one of the region’s newest enterprises. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Martha Quillen

Salida Plan – July 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

The revised plan has policies, but no actions; the city plans to store the actions in a drawer for future use. However, the policies are hard to interpret without the actions, as with this example:

POLICY: Improve the quality of industrial development and lessen the impact on surrounding land uses. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Martha Quillen

Salida Master Plan – July 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

The wordy water depletion analysis and other water information included in the Salida Comprehensive Plan may make sense to an engineer, but it doesn’t make decisions easy for citizens and civil servants. Read the rest of this article

Review by Martha Quillen

Salida – July 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

City of Salida Comprehensive Plan
Prepared for: Salida City Council
Salida Planning & Zoning Board
Volunteers Planning Committee
Citizens of Salida, Colorado
prepared by: Leland Consulting Group
HOH Associates, Inc. & Gorsuch Kirgis Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]1555661343[/amazon-product]Review by Ed Quillen

Mountain Life – July 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Up at Altitude – A Celebration of Life in the High Country
by M. John Fayhee
Published in 1994 by Johnson Books
ISBN 1-55566-134-3 Read the rest of this article