Every January, the City of Denver regresses back to its Wild Western roots, during the National Western Stock Show. Sometimes, this time of year brings frigid temperatures and blizzards to Colorado. This year, the sun shown brightly in the crispy cold air while the blizzards stayed in the high country. Plenty of ranch folks came to town to show off their best livestock. The Old West was alive and well during the exhibitions of beautiful…
My research route took me once again to the Denver Post Card Show. Do not overlook post cards as a fun and fabulous source for historic images from the past. Another Denver Post Card Show is scheduled for April 30 and May 1 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall. Be careful. Collecting historic post cards can be addictive. Check E-Bay and online sources as well. There is a movement afoot to rebuild the Denver…
During the holidays, we can enjoy many opportunities to revisit and exercise traditions. They provide important links to the past, and a foundation for future generations to relate to their family history. These important historical links take the form of celebrations, decorations, rituals, and routines. When past rituals no longer work, we make up new ones. This year, we celebrated the week before Christmas, the actual day, and New Years weekend with those who were…
While researching a Colorado pioneer character for an upcoming biography, I had difficulty finding her “voice”. Other people had plenty to say about her, good and bad. It was not until the final years of her life that she spoke out for others to hear. Unfortunately, by then, her thoughts were dominated by a spirit and dream world, leaving us with a jumble of disjointed perceptions. As I waded through archival files, I was amused…
If Thanksgiving is upon us, it must be time for CAL – the Colorado Association of Librarians Conference. Every year, publisher Filter Press hosts a booth for this event in Denver, allowing the authors to meet and greet librarians, teachers and readers. It is always illuminating, and a mixed bag of good news and bad news comments. The bad news is predictable … more book buying budget cuts, more social studies programs slashed, more demand…
Transitional shoulder months in Colorado are full of beauty and surprises. One minute, a blizzard sends you scurrying toward the hearth and a pile of quilts, then the sun pops out and lures you outdoors to linger among crunchy leaves and inhale the warm breath of Indian Summer. As shadows lengthen and the days grow shorter, activities related to collecting, preserving and enjoying pioneer history return indoors. During a recent snowstorm, I set aside research…
History researchers in Denver beware and be aware. As of Oct. 31, the Colorado Historical Society is closing its library for the next two years while they move and reconstruct their museum. Yes, I said two YEARS!! Realization of this closure has thrown my research schedule for my next biography into panic mode. The subject for the next book is Elizabeth Tabor, known around Colorado as “Baby Doe”, the Silver Queen of Leadville. Although…
Sometimes as I explore Colorado, I stumble across a historic treasure. A few weeks ago, while visiting Grand Junction on the West Slope, I drove south in search of history and new outlets for my books. In Montrose, about an hour from Junction, I was drawn into a museum on a side street by an impulse fondly recognized by writers and researchers as serendipity. Housed in a restored Denver & Rio Grande railroad station was…
This past week, I attended a screening at the Colorado Historical Society of Dearfield: The Road Less Traveled, with commentary by producer, donnie l. betts. The video, which was outstanding, was especially meaningful to me as I had visited the ghost town of Dearfield a few weeks earlier. Located thirty miles east of Greeley, Colorado, Dearfield was a colony settled by African American pioneers between 1910 and 1940. At one time, the community, founded by…
Nobody puts on a Western parade like Leadville, Colorado during Boom Days. This festival is a celebration of historic Leadville’s mining past as a boom town, at an elevation of 10,200 feet above sea level. The parade and festival, which take place during the first weekend in August, are the perfect excuse for the inner cowboy and cowgirl to come out and play in the cool, fresh mountain air. I was in town, with my…