30 years ago – October 14, 1983
Harry Snyder has plowed snow, run loaders and cats and everything else for the past 16 years while working on the Gilpin Country road crew. Yesterday was his last day on the job. He retired. Now that he won’t be running the big county machines, Snyder says he plans to do a little traveling and to do a lot of work on his ranch. His wife, Nadene, who is “delighted” about her husband’s retirement, says they “will sit back and watch it snow this winter.” Taking his place as assistant road supervisor is Kent Black who was appointed by the County Commissioners.
Three men were charged with disturbing the peace following a bar fight at the Gold Coin Saloon on September 25. Approximately $220 damage was inflicted on a player piano and a glass display case, and the mother of one of the men was cut on the arm by broken glass when she attempted to intervene. Police Officer Dirk Vaughn said that one of the men has voluntarily made restitution to the Gold Coin.
The Central City Fire Truck Fund had a balance of $2,201 as of Tuesday. The fund is a joint project of local businessmen, Coors, Wano Company, and the City of Central. The fund was established as the end of May. Local bars have contributed 25 cents for every case of Coors, Coors Light, Herman Joseph, and Killian’s Red sold in the establishments. Coors and Wano, the beer distributors, have each added 50 cents for every case sold. The city plans to purchase a 210 Class A pumper truck with a 500 gallon capacity.
On October 7, 8, and 9, Virignia Unseld attended the annual Colorado Art Education Association conference near Florissant. This year’s theme was masks and included workshops in paper casting, Muppet masks, plaster life masks, computer technology and how it is influencing the arts, as well as seminars on motivation, evaluation, and art appreciation. The highlight of the weekend was a masquerade in which all the art teachers wore masks that they had made. Unseld came in first place and won a cash award from CAEA. She was also pleased to be one of the recipients of the 1983 “AERTY” awards (Art Education Really Touches Youth).
Due to lack of interest, the High Country Fire Department Auxiliary will no longer be holding bingo games.
Harry LeBarr from the Gilpin County Chamber of Commerce gave a brief overview of the chamber’s proposed Dickens Festival which will take place in November. Numerous events and festivities have been or are in the planning stage including choral groups, ensembles, readings, ballets, mimes and jugglers, a bazaar, puppet show, a fashion show, etc. Residents are encouraged to dress as their favorite Dickens character. A schedule will be forthcoming.
Law enforcement officers uncovered four freshly slain deer and an antelope in a Central City garage Monday. Allegedly, the deer had been poached, but the antelope was bagged legally. Central City police officer Daniel Boone, accompanied by Steve Yamashita of the Colorado Division of Wildlife, was investigating a tip when the animals were found hanging in the garage. Yamashita confiscated the deer, but returned the antelope to the resident According to the police report, two other men were charged with possession of two deer and possession of one. The men said the animals had been shot in Wyoming.
60 years ago- October 9, 1953
The typical Colorado motorist has a completely false idea as to how quickly he can stop his car in an emergency the Rocky Mountain AAA Club has found in a recent survey. Even with power braking, it’s still impossible to “stop on a dime,” a popular expression which shows the faith some drivers in the stopping ability of their cars. At 20 miles per hour, the auto club found, the minimum stopping distance in ideal conditions was 44.8 feet. At 40 miles per hour, in ideal conditions, the total stopping distance was 124.9 feet. At 70 miles per hour it is 280 feet, which is more than the average city block.
In Nigeria, a couple with a houseful of daughters is assured a comfortable old age. When a native Nigerian girl marries and leaves her folks, the groom must pay them for the loss of her services. In addition, the groom must pay his wife’s folks a “service charge” for each child she bears him.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, male natives of Dahomey, West Africa were sold as slaves at such a rate that it became necessary for Dahomey women to become professional soldiers. For generations thereafter, women made up one third of the Dahomey army of 15,000; and each generation was tougher than the preceding one. Finally, these female soldiers became so ferocious that their king ordered them to wear bells so that civilians could hear them coming and get out of harm’s way.
A pair of clumsy spectacles with crude lenses cost $40 to $75 at the end of the sixteenth century. Today, scientifically made glasses plus professional eyesight examinations cost a fraction of those figures.
In Denver, citizens filed a petition asking the city government to replace the spittoons in the west side courthouse, since removal was unconstitutional.
Officer Newland warns against speeding and improper passing. Figures released by State Patrol Officer Newland show an increase in the number of fatal traffic accidents caused by speeding and improper passing. The report covers the January-August period this year with the same for 1952. “Although we reduced the total number of fatal accidents from 175 to 165, we show an alarming increase in highway deaths caused by speeding and improper passing. For the period covered 75 fatal accidents were caused by speeding this year compared with 62 for last year.” Over 10,000 citations were written by State Patrol Officers for these two violations during the eight month period reported and this represents nearly 30 percent.
George “Cap” Eustice was taken ill last Monday Afternoon, while working with Frank Eccker at the Laird home, and was immediately taken to Denver to Rose Memorial Hospital, where it was found he was suffering from a coronary condition, and for several days his condition was serious. Mrs. Eustice accompanied him to Denver, and returned Wednesday evening, and reported George only in fair shape, and that he would have to remain in the hospital for a few more weeks. We hope the weeks mean days, and that he will be back here within a very short time.
The week of October 4-10 is Fire Prevention Week as proclaimed by President Eisenhower. It marks the advent of the fall fire season and the big game hunting season. Fore Supervisor George K. Brown announced that the Arapahoe Forest in an extremely dry condition, and everyone is urged to be extremely cautious.
90 years ago- October 12, 1923
Peter Sorenson, a farmer living at Hugo, is in a critical condition at Mercy Hospital in Denver as the result of a fall from the top of a haystack onto a pitchfork at his farm.
Completion of twenty-four miles of the Berthoud Pass road from Empire to Fraser was announced by the Federal Bureau of Roads here a few days ago. This highway, which is known as a forest road, will be thirty miles long.
Equine bluebloods of Colorado will offer the attraction at the five-day race meet and horse show, staged under the auspices of the Gentleman’s Riding & Driving Club at Overland Park, Oct. 9-13, as the finale to the state’s racing and show season.
With the filing of incorporation papers for $40,000,000, involving a fee of $8,015, the largest ever paid to Colorado, to Secretary of State Carl Milliken, the merger was completed of the Denver Gas & Electric Light Company and the Western Light & Power Company into the Public Service Company of Colorado.
There is slightly less land under cultivation in Colorado this year than last, according to reports of county assessors to the State Immigration Department. Complete reports show a total of 5,422,100 acres planted for harvest this year, compared with 5,713,651 acres planted for the 1922 harvest. On account of the favorable weather this season and more favorable prices for farm products, however, the acreage harvested this year actually will exceed that harvested last year and the value of the crop will exceed that of last year by 10 percent.
Favorable action toward the standardizing of mine equipment was taken at the annual convention of the American Mining Congress in Milwaukee, according to Dr. Victor C. Alderson, president of the Colorado School of Mines, who returned from the convention last week.
The desperate fight for freedom of Glenn Stitt, who was convicted of murdering Carl Liebers, near Henderson, Colo., on Sept. 20, 1920, was rewarded, when Justice John Cambell of the Supreme Court handed down a decision granting him a new trial.
Six men were killed and one man was burned seriously in a gas explosion which wrecked the coal mine of the Midwest Coal Company, two miles east of Palisades, Colo. The dead are R. P. Scott, superintendent of the mind; J.B. Keys, miner, and his three sons, Harvy Keys, R. B. Keys, Gerge McKee, miner. James Benda, the only one out of the party of seven in the mine to be saved, had gone toward the entrance for some railroad ties when the blast came. He was stunned and badly burned, but he managed to crawl to the entrance toward some railroad ties when he was seen by rescuers and brought out of the tunnel. It is believed he will live. The smoke and fumes prevented the recovery of the other bodies for several hours. Mine officials stated that in view of the fact that the mine was known to be free from gases it is probable that the blast was caused by coal dust, but nothing definite can be known until the mine inspector makes his investigation.
The anticipated advance in lead prices carried quotations to a high of 6.95 cents a pound in the “outside” market for New York delivery of spot metal. Copper has shown further indications of weakness, sagging abruptly to new low quotations at 13.30 cents for electrolytic.
We would like to pull that one about the mouse trap, but it’s too snappy to tell.
120 years ago- October 13, 1893
This property, the First Centennial Lode, is situated in Chase Gulch, above the property of the Bonanza Mining Company’s property and just below the Belden Tunnel, is owned one-third by Robert s. Haight of this city, one-third by L.C. Snyder of Black Hawk, one-sixth by J. B. Ballard of Black Hawk, and one-sixth by Richard W. Mosley of Denver. In the shaft sunk on the mountain side, Mr. Haight took out mill dirt that ran from nine to twelve ounces of gold to the cord.
Bennie Kimber has been at work for the past month or more, fixing up the shaft on the Whiting property, which was badly caved and filled in from the giving way of stulls between the 200 and 250 foot levels. The stulls not being loaded, and coming into the shaft, were crushed by immense scales from the hanging wall, all of which, with the timbers, went into the shaft. It was a bad mess, but at the time of our call, the debris had been nearly all removed, and the shaft put in good shape again.
The location of the Gladstone Lode property was made last fall, and is owned by John Brohl, Michel Flynn and John Bruhl. The shaft is only 55 feet in depth, showing yellow, gray and peacock copper iron, by the side of a good streak of mill dirt. A shipment made last week to the smelters of 1,245 pounds of first class mineral, returned $175, or at the rate of over 15 ounces of gold to the ton.
Mr. A. Abbott, superintendent of the Alice Mine at Silver City, accompanied by Mr. Moritz Stockder of Aspen, made a short call at this office on Monday last. Mr. Stockder is the proprietor of the famous concentrating plant at Aspen, which is treating 160 tons per day of low grade ores of that camp, and to whom was sent a shipment of ore from the Alice Mine, upon which he was requested to make a thorough test. He has completed his tests, and the results were successful beyond the greatest expectations of the owners of that property, showing that his system of concentration can be used on the ores of this section and they made to yield greatly in excess of that obtained from the stamp mills.
The suit of the Little Josephine Mining Company, against Wm. Fullerton and others, commenced before the Court of Appeals in St. Paul, Minn., on last Wednesday. A decision will hardly be reached before the first of next week.
In the suit of the City National Bank of Denver, vs. the Clay County Mining Co., Judge Bentley gave a judgment on the demurrer for the plaintiff in the sum of $10,560.30 and sustained the attachment. The bank holds the stock of the company, on which the attachment is sustained.
The Kokomo Mine beyond Russell Gulch and owned by E.W. Williams and others, is to be started up shortly and thoroughly developed, by an eastern syndicate, under the superintendence of John Withington of Boston.
Perhaps the most unique homemade stamp mill that has ever been evolved from the fertile brain of a miner is the one which was erected by Sam Kennedy, up Ute Creek, some years ago. Same became dissatisfied with the returns he was getting from the mills and cast about for a scheme to do his own milling. In some manner he came into possession of a large sized beer keg and after placing an old stamp die in the bottom and suspending a stamp shoe from spring-pole he had as cheap a stamp mill as has ever been erected in this county. Sam operated his mill as long as his streak lasted and claims to have obtained satisfactory returns except when the mill man “knocked down” on him.
Three men working at placer mining on Clear Creek, below town, took out $37 one day last week. If that rate could be kept up regularly, they would have something of a bonanza.
Born: To the wife of Charles Symons, of Nevadaville, on Tuesday night, a son.
Born: In Nevadaville, on Tuesday Oct. 3rd, to the wife of Ed. Trembath, a daughter.
Married: October 9th, Mr. Edward Trembath and Mrs. Grace Boyes, both of Nevadaville.
Married: October 3rd, Mr. Frank H. Wright to Mrs. Anna B. Moore, both of Idaho Springs.
Died: October 9th, Mrs. Anne Jenkins, wife of the late David Jenkins, aged 63 years.