Senior Reporter
Some residents still don’t believe the iconic Albert Frei & Sons Wal-
strum quarry has been sold. To many of those residents and business
people around Clear Creek and Gilpin counties, they are still shaking
their heads in disbelief.
For them and others, the news surrounding the unexpected sale was
the equivalent of an unexpected heavy snowstorm or rainstorm arriving.
However, as the adage about clouds goes, there is something of a silver
lining to the story: Neither Albert Frei Jr. nor the people at the Wal-
strum Quarry along Highway 6 are going anywhere – at least, not for a
while.
Frei Jr., whose grandfather, Albert, started the aggregate and rock-
mining business more than 60 years ago in Commerce City. He said he
would continue to serve as a consultant to Martin Marietta Materials
for at least one year to ensure the local business has a smooth transition
as it becomes part of the vast MMM Inc. empire stretching across the
U.S., Canada, and the Bahamas. Martin Marietta, listed on the New York
Stock Exchange, is a U.S.-based supplier of building materials, includ-
ing aggregates, cement, mixed concrete, and asphalt, that operates in 28
states.
Al Frei Jr. said he plans to continue to be involved with burro races and the
Clear Creek Rotary Club in the future.
Central hauls Of-Highway Vehicle plan of to junkyard
By Don Ireland
City is what we need. We need to
put our positives on something
everyone can agree on – not
quarreling on a project that we’re
not sure of.”
whole thing would’ve been costly.
I think that if there had been a
vote, it would’ve gone down. It
would’ve been a waste of our time
and money for a pilot program. I
think it’s a good decision to save
the money and stuff.”
ken voted against it. However,
the council hit the brakes on the
program recently, saying they
were busy dealing with the city’s
2024 budget and other matters.
At the time, they predicted that
discussion of the program would
resume in the early months of the
new year.
Senior Reporter
A controversial plan allowing
Off-Highway Vehicles to travel
along Central City streets won’t
happen anytime soon. At least,
not in 2024.
Fey said, “My hesitation in
backing down – so to speak, for
lack of a better term – was that
some people would see it as a
sign. It would be seen that if the
council made a decision they
disagreed with, they would only
have to come to the council or
have conversations on the street,
and we would reverse that [deci-
sion]. I didn’t want to set that
precedent. I hope the people –
especially
the Pros-
pector’s
Run folks –
won’t look
at this as a
conciliato-
ry measure.
It’s not that
we’re back-
ing down
from what
our opin-
ions have
been – we’ve just got bigger fish
to fry than whether we should
have side-by-side [vehicles] in
town.”
Alderman Todd Williams said,
“I would like to add that I ap-
preciate the conversations I’ve
had – both positive and not-so-
affirmative conversations – about
the whole program. Mr. Mayor, I
appreciate the time we’ve spent
talking about it, and I think we’re
in agreement on where we are
right now with it.”
Mayor Jeremy Fey said a pro-
posed pilot OHV program, which
had been eyed to begin this
spring, is no longer on the table
before the council. He announced
during the council meeting on
Tuesday night, Feb. 6, that sev-
eral other economic-related mat-
ters are a higher priority.
Since the discussion of the OHV
program surfaced last summer,
several residents turned out
to protest the idea. Aiken and
Enloe suggested at the time that
the proposal should be put to a
vote by residents. Residents who
opposed the plan said they were
concerned that trucks hauling
OHVs by trailer to the national
forest north of the city would
lead to speeding, noise and safety
issues for those who live along
Eureka and Lawrence streets.
While the short agenda indicat-
ed the council meeting wouldn’t
last long, a question about the
OHV program by resident Zane
Plzek led the council to slow
down the meeting and explain its
previously unannounced explana-
tion about stopping the effort.
Fey offered
the final word
on the sub-
ject, “I often
tell my four
girls that
wisdom is not
the ability
to get out of
trouble but
to avoid it
altogether.
The last thing
I ever wanted
to do was to put the residents –
or anyone – or the tourists on
these vehicles in harm’s way. I
didn’t want to bring conflict. That
really was the end of decision-
making for me. I wouldn’t want
to put any resident who would
be up in arms about it in a place
where they think they’d have to
confront a wrongdoer on a vehi-
cle. It wouldn’t be a healthy thing
to do. That’s one thing I wanted
to avoid – conflict.”
“It’s not that we’re
backing down from what our
opinions have been – we’ve
just got bigger fish to fry than
whether we should have side-
by-side [vehicles] in town.”
Several residents who de-
nounced the proposal told the
council they were nearly struck
by speeding vehicles traveling
up Eureka Street toward the U.S.
Forest Service lands. Among
those who voiced opposition were
Plzek and other Prospector’s Run
residents, whose HOA is near the
upper end of Eureka.
Fey gave a detailed explanation
of why the council is abandoning
the OHV plan for the foreseeable
future. He said he had discussed
the pilot program with aldermen
Kara Tinucci and Todd Williams,
who voted last August to move
ahead.
— Mayor Jeremy Fey
“It wasn’t an easy decision to
make,” said Fey about postpon-
ing the plan for the foreseeable
future. “We have decided to table
the issue for now and not move
ahead with the pilot program.”
Some opponents cited a similar
situation in the southern Colo-
rado town of Silverton. Residents
there voted to ban OHVs from
community streets in 2021. How-
ever, several businesses said the
ban caused them to lose revenues
from visitors and asked for an-
other vote. In October, residents
again rejected the concept of per-
mitting OHVs in the community.
“To anyone who’s in favor of the
program, please call on me. There
were some people and busi-
nesses who were excited to see
what those results could be. Let’s
talk about it. At a future date, if
there’s a strong sentiment from
the residents or businesses, we’ll
reconsider it. For now, the coun-
cil has made the decision – and I
think [aldermen] Marsha [Enloe]
and Jeff [Aiken] would concur
– that it’s not worthy of further
consideration at
this time.”
“I want to be clear that our
decision was not based on a clear
understanding that it’s not the
right thing to do, one way or the
other,” continued the mayor. “We
just formed a Downtown Devel-
opment Authority and an Urban
Redevelopment Authority. We’re
looking at economic development
around this town. Not everyone
may be on the same page, but
nobody knows if the program
would’ve had a net positive or net
negative. The three of us believed
that it would be positive, and
that’s why we voted that way. We
don’t know. We do know that
further development in Central
Last fall, Fey, Tinucci and
Williams voted to move ahead
to study an OHV pilot program
for 2024, while Enloe and Ai-
Even neighboring Black Hawk
weighed in against the plan
last fall. Mayor David Spellman
warned that his city’s police
would immediately issue
tickets to any OHV that
ventured off Central City
streets into Black Hawk.
Charles H. Briggs and his brothers arrived in Black Hawk on May 9, 1860. Like thousands of others, they came to try their hand at mining. The brothers discovered and worked the Briggs Mine, which was on the Gregory Lode near Central City. The mine was repeatedly referred to by newspapers of the time as one of the best mines in Gilpin County. Its ore was regularly displayed at state (more…)
(Editor’s note: This is the final installment of a series regarding the ongoing Black Hawk renaissance, including planned developments and attractions.)
When the Gregory Street Plaza officially opens in July, it will offer the opportunity for people to step into the past and experience Black Hawk’s rich history. (more…)
Merna (Obersler) Slater was born in May 1945 to a miner in Central City, Colorado, and has experienced many good family times while living in a historic mining town in the mountains of Colorado. She has also seen her share of challenges, although she seems to become stronger with each trial. This is her story of life and times growing up in Central City and Colorado. Merna’s father’s, Joe Obersler, and his family knew poor conditions for Colorado miners, being in southern (more…)
Axe & Snax is ready to fight an early wildfire season. Join us to help cut, pile and haul slash to help mitigate the wildfire potential.
No masks at County Transfer Station; free Rec Center access for seniors
By Jaclyn Schrock
The Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) had their bi-monthly meeting June 15, 2021, beginning at 9 am and closing to go into executive session at 12:36. In Gilpin County’s historic 1900 Courthouse at 203 Eureka Street, (more…)
Black Hawk homeowners participate in city house painting program
By Randy Beaudette
Black Hawk Police Chief Michelle Moriarty rang the bell to kick off the Black Hawk City Council regular meeting on May 12, 2021 to discuss a site development plan for the Golden Gilpin Mill, several construction (more…)
Why run a race leading a burro packed for prospecting? How did we get to the place where burro racing became Colorado’s Summer Heritage Sport? For eons of time on earth, the only way to sustain bread of life and shelter is to just do it. Living at all, took great effort and wisdom, and was most effective when working together with others in your home, (more…)
In 1909 the Gilpin Observer referred to Russell Gulch resident Fred W. Dolley as a “gentleman of varied experience” and “one of the most versatile fellows in this section.” By then he had already been a roller-skating rink owner, farmer, miner, and railroad builder after having been in the county only a few years. (more…)
With Historical Photographs in Vacant Storefront Windows
By Mary Peery
You may have seen some interesting developments taking place in some of the vacant storefront windows in the downtown Central City area. Instead of vacant windows staring back at the frequent guests, now there will be large historic photos displayed that are pertinent to that building. This is a project that Eric Miller has initiated to help present historic downtown Central City in a better light. (more…)
Council approves Golden Gilpin Mill expansion of gold ore milling operations
By Randy Beaudette
Black Hawk City Council held their first Regular online meeting of 2021 on January 13, 2021. Highlights of that meeting include a Restated Option and Lease Agreement with Vertical Bridge Development, LLC for the Installation and Maintenance of a Cellular Tower Facility on City Property on Miners Mesa, a Resolution Conditionally Approving the Golden Gilpin Mill Site Minor Subdivision, and boatload of agreements for professional services. (more…)
Sports always played an important role in the social life of Gilpin County’s residents during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Perhaps the best known sports stars in the county were the members of the Central City (more…)
After the Central City Opera House’s grand opening on March 3 and 4, 1878, the Pueblo Democrat wrote that while the Opera House was grand, it would be more impressed when Central City and Black Hawk built equally grand schools and churches. With town rivalries alive and well, Central City’s Evening Call responded with the following editorial on March 11, 1878: …is it possible that a gentleman of your (more…)
Edith James came to Nevadaville as a child. She eventually became the first woman city clerk and treasurer of Nevadaville. Her husband passed, while their children were relatively young. Edith raised her children, as a single mother in Nevadaville. In this article, two of Edith’s children tell the story of growing up in Nevadaville, during the early 1900’s. A minimal amount of editing was used, to preserve her children’s (more…)
Consequences shut down Rec Center and 25% employee layoffs
By Jaclyn Schrock
Gilpin County $25 million budget generally receives the largest funding of the year from tax revenue accumulated during the months everyone was in lock-down. Consequently, the loss of tax revenue forced the County Commissions to make nearly a 25% reduction in (more…)
Council supports letting voters choose whether to increase betting limits and add games
By Randy Beaudette
The online Black Hawk City Council meeting covered topics such as the Special Use Review for the Golden Gilpin Mill, a stealth telecommunications tower, and a certain devise tax forgiveness for the month of May. (more…)
Gilpin Historical Society
The Future of Black Hawk, Part 3
Surviving polio in Central City and loving life
Black Hawk homeowners participate in city house painting program
Georgetown and Idaho Springs Burro Races 2021
From the Gilpin Historical Society
With Historical Photographs in Vacant Storefront Windows
Council approves Golden Gilpin Mill expansion of gold ore milling operations
From the Gilpin Historical Society
Gilpin Historical Society
Nevadaville history – Part 1
Council supports letting voters choose whether to increase betting limits and add games