Colorado Central Articles From — August 1999

Column by Hal Walter

Wildlife – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

THE SPANIEL DOG is old now and growing deaf, and her jaw hangs slightly askew, neurological damage from a coyote attack years ago.

Sometimes when Spats barks with her nose raised into the emptiness I just ignore it.

Then sometimes I take her seriously. Read the rest of this article

Letter by Slim Wolfe

July 1999 edition – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Picking it apart

Ed:

‘Twas a fine journalistic coup in your July edition, enlisting Ed Abbey as a Conoco promoter. ‘Twas a fine essay you wrote on the right of property subdivision as well, but I would pick it apart here and there, just for the heck of it, laddie. Read the rest of this article

Letter by Clay Warren

July, 1999, edition – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Academese would keep secrets secret

Editors,

Yere inside the front cover piece ’bout how rafting ain’t fun anymore is about as representative as hit can get fer what happens when big government gets in the act. A bunch o’ our local cold-wet retail moguls now has similar views after being real gung ho ’bout the River Park. Ah’m tryin real hard not ta say ah told you so! Read the rest of this article

Letter by Harvey N. Gardiner

Rural Dialect – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

More about that “more ’bout” locution

Dear Editors:

I just received my July 1999 issue of Colorado Central which I enjoy reading every month. On page 33 is the letter, “More ’bout that issue.” I am not writing in response to the letter’s subject matter, but because of the phonetic/hick spellings used. I guess that the style is intended to underline that the letter was written by someone in “these parts.” Read the rest of this article

Letter by Charlie Green

Rural life – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

How fireflies might be invading Colorado

Editors:

It’s the Curmudgeon of Copper Gulch again. Now, don’t stop reading; I’m not gonna complain about the Fremont County Road 28 paving or the yuppies’ influx. I was actually kind’ve flattered the other day when a tourist couple stopped while I was reinstalling my mailbox because of the paving I’m not gonna mention, and asked me where Copper Gulch Road was. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Erik Moore

Changing West – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

THE BLACK CLOUD MINE CLOSES. It is hailed as the death of mining in the area.

Mining hasn’t died here. It only sleeps until those loveable Merlins of the market, playing spin-the-bottle with the world economy, once again create conditions conducive to profit. There are plenty of minerals left in these mountains and when we need them, we’ll go get them. Read the rest of this article

Article by Marcia Darnell

Virginia McConnell Simmons – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

GREAT HISTORIANS are like great teachers: they’re naturally able to convey their passion for the subject to their students.

Virginia McConnell Simmons has been passionately teaching history for 45 years, as a researcher, professor, and writer. Her newest creation is The San Luis Valley: Land of the Six-Armed Cross, a second edition of her 1979 book. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Martha Quillen

Salida Golf Course Expansion – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

SALIDA WAS FOUNDED as a division point on the railroad, so in some strange way it makes sense that even if the trains have gone, Salida remains in a state of division. At the moment, the main cause of division is a battle over nine new holes for the municipal golf course. Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]0961166290[/amazon-product]Review by Ed Quillen

Ghost Towns – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Ghost Towns, Colorado Style – Volume Two, Central Region
by Kenneth Jessen
Published in 1999 by J.V. Publications
ISBN 0-9611662-9-0 Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]0965715922[/amazon-product]Review by Lynda La Rocca

Poetry – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Letters From A Stranger
by James Tipton
Published in 1998 by Conundrum Press
Crested Butte, Colorado
ISBN: 0-9657159-2-2 Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]0966696204[/amazon-product]Review by Marcia Darnell

Novel – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Soul Like a River
by Jeff Stern
Published in 1999 by Rare Air Books
ISBN 0-9666962-0-4 Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Central Staff

Burro Racing – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Western Pack Burro Racing Association picked up some national publicity this year with a July 1 segment on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

The Fairplay World Championship Race, to the top of Mosquito Pass and back, got some statewide advance publicity, with a picture in the Denver Post of State Sen. Ken Chlouber — a pack-burro racer — tugging on one of his burros in front of the state capitol. Read the rest of this article

Article by Columbine Quillen

Pack-Burro Racing – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

I HAVE NEVER considered myself an athlete. Athletic yes, athlete no. My only dream to be an athlete was demolished when I was a little girl and dreamt of being a gymnast. Every day, I cart-wheeled, flipped, and somersaulted in Alpine Park, waiting for Bella Karolyi to find me — just like he found Nadia. But he never did. And eventually I found out that Olympic gymnasts often broke bones and had to perform with painful injuries. Read the rest of this article

Article by Lynda La Rocca

Transportation – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

EVEN THOUGH freight service between Cañon City and Leadville appears to have ended, two passenger excursion lines are maintaining the region’s railroading tradition.

The Leadville, Colorado & Southern Railroad Company and the Cañon City & Royal Gorge Railroad — the state’s only standard-gauge excursion lines — are wholly separate enterprises linked by the same natural feature: the Arkansas River. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Staff

Traffic – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

A corner that must be easy to miss

One Leadville intersection must be a tough one — or at least it was on the night of June 28.

At about 9 p.m., one William V. Cahill of Aspen was headed west on Mountain View Drive, which ends at a T junction with County Road 9. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Pets – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

When a dog saves a man, that’s not a story,

but when a man saves a dog …

We have often read about heroic dogs rescuing people. This time around, there were some heroic people rescuing a dog.

The dog, a six-month-old black Labrador retriever named Baxter, fell into Cottonwood Creek in Buena Vista on the afternoon of June 21. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Mining – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Leadville’s Last Mine Runs Out of Ore

It’s official. After 140 years of drilling and mucking, Leadville is no longer a mining town.

The announcement, which was no surprise, came on June 28 from ASARCO, operator of the Black Cloud Mine, which sits at timberline about a dozen miles east of town. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Don Olsen

Rural Life – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

JUNK: The West’s best friend

by Don Olsen

OUR LITTLE COUNTY in rural Colorado, like many in the mountain West, recently adopted a new junk ordinance that outlaws the accumulation of old tires, cars and trailers by people (mostly newcomers) who believe it’s a God-given property right to be able to transform their tiny ranchettes into Mad-Max-like post-apocalyptic junk zones. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Marcia Darnell

San Luis Valley – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Workin’ on the Railroad …

The feds are giving $800,000 to the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad for track improvements. That grant was matched with $200,000 by the owners of the railroad and tourist site. This is great news for Antonito, home of the tourist train, as it will create 19 construction jobs and preserve the 79 jobs there now. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Communications – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Life may be better here, but the profits are better elsewhere

Those “Life’s Better Here” ads on TV generally offer rural scenery to promote US West’s telephone service, but except when it’s shooting commercials, the local telephone monopoly prefers profitable population density to unprofitable scenery. It put 18 Colorado exchanges — among them Salida, Alamosa, Leadville, Buena Vista, Monte Vista, Crested Butte, Del Norte, Fairplay, Gunnison, and South Fork — up for sale last year. Read the rest of this article

Comic Strip by Clint Driscoll and Laura Ravenwood

Mountain Life – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine Read the rest of this article

Essay by Lou Bendrick

Outdoor Life – August 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

EVERY SUMMER, my husband and I head for the woods, flushed with optimism and giddy with anticipation. The maps are crisp, the Coleman fuel cans are full, and the road is open.

And every summer, I forget that the reality of camping is different than that pictured in Dodge Dakota commercials and my mind. Read the rest of this article