Colorado Central Articles From — August 1997

Column by Hal Walter

Mountain Life – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

I used to work the night shift at a daily newspaper that did not have a telephone-answering device, and whenever there was a major boxing bout it was routine for the sports editor to get a late-evening call from a fellow who always asked, “Who beat the fight?” It became a regular joke in the newsroom. Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]0393304973[/amazon-product]Review by Ed Quillen

Western History – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Legacy of Conquest – The Unbroken Past of the American West
by Patricia Nelson Limerick
Published in 1987 by W.W. Norton
ISBN 0393304973 Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]1576010031[/amazon-product]Review by Martha Quillen

Mountain life – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Living on the Spine – A Woman’s Life in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains
by Christina Nealson
Published in 1997 by Papier-Mache Press
ISBN 1576010031 Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]0942576039[/amazon-product]Review by Ed Quillen

Local History – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

History of Leadville and Lake County, Colorado – From Mountain Solitude to Metropolis
by Don L. Griswold and Jean Harvey Griswold
Two Volumes
Published in 1996 by the Colorado Historical Society in cooperation with the University Press of Colorado
ISBN 0942576039 Read the rest of this article

Essay by Martha Quillen

Trees – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Readers,

Recently Ed got an E-mail from a friend who passed on this impenetrable little Zen koan:

If a man speaks in the forest and there is no woman to hear him, is he still wrong?

Columbine and I both answered “yes,” immediately. After all, wrong is wrong. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Ed Quillen

Father Dyer – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

You won’t find the site of the 1875 Lake County War in today’s Lake County — it’s in Chaffee County, and to add to the confusion, present-day Chaffee County was officially known as Lake County for a while. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Ed Quillen

Father Dyer – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Elias F. Dyer, 39 years old in 1875, was a son of the Rev. John L. Dyer. Elias was also the probate judge for Lake County, and he was murdered in his own courtroom at the county seat in Granite. Elias Dyer’s murder was part of a general conflict known as the Lake County War, and though many suspects have been named over the years, the case remains unsolved. Read the rest of this article

Article by Joanna Sampson

Regional History – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

In 1860 Colorado was lightning-struck with the excitement of newly discovered wealth. “Gold fever” reached epidemic proportions as soon as word got out that there was gold lying around on the ground just waiting to be picked up. Symptoms of the affliction were easy to spot: a far away look in the eyes, itchy feet, and an uncontrollable compulsion to head for the hills! Read the rest of this article

Essay by Lynda La Rocca

Roadside attractions – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Although the Burma Shave signs that entertained and enlightened travelers cruising the nation’s highways have gone the way of the Edsel, modern motorists need not despair.

The wacky road sign is alive and well. Informal research conducted by my husband Steve and me during a recent 3,800-mile round trip from the Colorado high country to the New Jersey shore (accompanied by our puppy Twink and box turtle SunSpot, but that’s another story), confirms that this dinosaur of the advertising age continues to lure tourists off the interstates for a glimpse of an oddity or the acquisition of a yard-long pecan log. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Eugene D. Lorig

Growth – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Valley of the Shadow

Ed and Martha:

All right, all right, you don’t have to hound me, here’s my twenty for another year.

We are leaving the I-70 Corridor, the so-called Vail Valley, which now stretches from Georgetown to Glenwood Springs. We are leaving the Valley of the Shadow of Greed, and henceforth shall fear no evil, for the shanty peddlers are not with us. Or only a few. Read the rest of this article

Letter from a Salida Subscriber

Salida growth – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Changing, but not better

Editors:

Here’s a list of things not possible in Salida anymore:

Going for a walk in the mountains without running into no trespassing signs.

Leaving your car unlocked and finding your tape deck still there.

Planting a garden without having to water it at midnight. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Trout Creek Ponderist

Colorado Central – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine – No. 42 – Page 18

So far, so good, but CC should have more

Editors:

Your subscription renewal encouraged comments regarding your magazine — so please be patient with a non-professional ponderist’s point of view.

First the gush:

Great magazine, you provide several active hours of entertainment each month. When the magazine arrives via the P.O. box the very evening is spent perusing thoroughly — even when our special “tourists” have come to visit. I even enjoy the small print. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Joseph F. Pennock

Over the River project – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Christo the carpetbagger should go drape himself

Editors:

When Northerners went south after the Civil War and exploited the poor residents, they were called carpetbaggers. When venders of worthless potions traveled the countryside selling their bogus wares, they were labeled quacks. When a person commits cheap practical jokes or otherwise deceives seemingly willing victims, he’s known as a buffoon. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Clay Warren

Pack-Burro Racing – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Beware the Burro Lobby and its cleverly hidden agenda

Editors:

Ah was all set to ignore them two essays in Issue #41 [July, 1997], the ones about how real men enjoy the outdoors, as jest another example o’ two extremists train’d to put a happy face on their own personal vices. Then hit occurred to me, “Clay” this little voice says (that’s how things occur to me). Clay, it says, how often does somebody with yere attitude get to play the part of the voice of reason, the guy in the middle, the man o’ moderation, etc., etc.? Read the rest of this article

Letter from Jim Ludwig

Essay in July edition – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

5 years before voting may not be long enough

Editors:

I am intrigued by Christina Nealson’s advocating a five-year probationary, non-voting period for all new residents to our small mountain communities. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Laird Campbell

Salida – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Forever Amber won’t work

Editors:

It seems unlikely that mining, lumbering, or the railroad will ever again contribute to Salida’s economy. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Wallace Williams

Restoring old machinery – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Arkansas Valley Flywheeler club, which also sponsors the tractor pull at the fair, is always seeking new members.

Many members do not have tractors or engines, just an interest. The only qualification for membership is the annual dues: $16 single, $20 family. Read the rest of this article

Article by Wallace Williams

Restoring old machinery – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

A steam whistle broke the silence of an early summer morning at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds, and the odor of wood smoke wafted down the valley.

The weather was too warm for a fire, and steam whistles have been obsolete around Salida since about 1956. The noise and smoke came from an Advanced Romley steam tractor, vintage 1920 or so. Read the rest of this article

Article by Laurie Wagner Buyer

Rodeo – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

People driving through Jefferson — a small settlement on U.S. 285 in South Park which consists of a post office and general store, a few houses, and an abandoned railroad depot restored into an abandoned real estate office — can’t help but notice the sign on the east side of the settlement: “Jefferson, Colorado. Home of Ginger Greene. Miss Rodeo Colorado 1991″. Read the rest of this article

Article by Leah Lahtinen

Local Artists – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

To study the history of Karen LeBlond, a Westcliffe potter, is to study the history of pottery in Colorado. She learned her craft here, and grew as an artist even as her art grew and stretched.

When Karen studied at the Chicago Art Institute, she found the pottery program there “meager,” she says. Everything she learned about contemporary pottery was in Boulder at the University of Colorado and Boulder Parks and Recreation, under world-renowned teacher Betty Woodman, who was trying to assemble a coterie of potters at the Parks and Rec. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Salida Politics – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Salida got a few minutes of fame on a Denver newscast, and the mayor wasn’t happy about it.

The annual cross-state bicycle tour, “Ride the Rockies,” stopped in town on June 18. KCNC-TV of Denver is one of the tour’s sponsors, and during the tour, the station airs an “Eye on Colorado” segment each evening from that night’s stop. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Rural Life – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

In Custer County, the traditional privy is living on borrowed time — until the end of this year.

In 1994, the county commissioners agreed to ban outhouses, but gave property owners until the end of 1997 to comply. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Outdoor recreation – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Continental Divide Trail gets going after 30 years

The concept of a 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail, akin to the Appalachian Trail in the East and the Pacific Crest Trail in the Sierra Nevada, has been around for years without much activity. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Almanac comes back

The San Juan Almanac–”Your Cattleguard on the Information Superhighway” — is back in business after a year or so of hibernation, with the goal of “establishing a sense of place in the Western San Juan Mountains by affirming the value of public lands and supporting sustainable communities.” Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

US 50 – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

U.S. Highway 50, which traverses Central Colorado, has been called “America’s Loneliest Highway.” The editors of Time figured that a two-lane blacktop could tell “the Inside Story” of America, and thus a cross-country bus trip this spring and 60 pages of text and photos.

And how do we fit in America’s inside story? Along the “backbone of America,” Time found: Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Politics – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Park County Commissioners Don’t Want Any Advice

If you have some advice for the Park County Commissioners, you might as well keep it to yourself — they don’t want to hear from you.

Or at least, it appears that way this summer after the commissioners abolished two advisory boards: the Park County Planning Commission and the Park County Advisory Board on the Environment. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Local art scene – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

We’ve lost track of how many art galleries Salida has, and any count would be obsolete before we could publish it anyway, since new ones appear constantly.

It must be a considerable number, though, as evidenced by a short article in the June edition of Lapidary Journal, a national monthly magazine which covers gems, jewelry arts, beads, and minerals: Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Pack-Burro Racing – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Triple Crown Series

Pack-burro racing is the only sport indigenous to Central Colorado, and the schedule is at its peak now, with the Triple Crown series:

1) World Championship Pack-Burro Race on July 27 in Fairplay, 29 miles to the summit of Mosquito Pass and back.

2) International Pack-Burro Race on August 3 in Leadville, 20 miles to the top of Mosquito Pass and back.

3) Gold-Rush Days Pack-Burro Race on August 10 in Buena Vista, 11 miles into the Mosquito Range and back. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Transportation – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

GO BACK 60 years or so, and the arrival of a steam locomotive pulling a passenger train through Salida would not have been a special occasion — it happened several times every day.

But it certainly drew a crowd on June 22, 1997, when an excursion train powered by the Union Pacific’s No. 844 stopped for lunch on its way to Tennessee Pass after threading the Royal Gorge. Read the rest of this article