Turning Back the Pages

30 Years Ago - March 25, 1983 If the U. S. Congress enacts the Assets Management Program and President Reagan signs it into law, over 19,887 acres of national forest land in Gilpin County could be sold. The Clear Creek District includes the southern part of Gilpin County: the northern portion of the county, where the bulk of the 19,887 acres are, is in the Boulder District. The land being looked at in this area is part of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest. The Gilpin County Moms basketball team ran over the Nederland Moms 40-6 last Saturday night at the Gilpin County School gym in front of an enthusiastic crowd. It was just like the 50’s after the game at the Belvidere for the Booster Club sponsored dance complete with white sport coats, saddle shoes, pony tails, bubble bum, and rock n’ roll. Timothy and Carol Bartel won the old dance contest. Despite the fact that negotiations have been going on for seven years, Gilpin Commissioner Van Cullar remains optimistic that the 1.1 unpaved mile of Highway 46 (County Road 70) will be paved in the near future. The section of unpaved road is located from the southeast entrance of Golden Gate State Park to the Jefferson County line. The Gilpin County Board of Commissioners and the State Parks Department have agreed that the entire section of road should be turned over to the State Highway Commission. Central City’s controversial proposed amendment to its territorial charter was approved 9-0 by a committee of the Colorado House of Representatives, but only after the teeth in the amendment had been removed. The sections which would have permitted the city to pass ordinances to tax parking lots, exhibitions, shows and entertainments were deleted from the bill. Jay Joslin, an eighth grader, won the Gilpin County School spelling contest for the third year in a row. He correctly spelled “factitious” after runner-up Nahanni Warburton missed the second “i.” Joslin then went on to spell one more word to win the contest, “gabelle” which according to the Weekly Register-Call’s dictionary means “…a tax on salt levied in France prior to 1790.” The candidates for RE-1 School Board are incumbents Jim Peyrouse and Kay Lorenz; and challengers are Mike Murphy, John Rittenhouse, Martha Nelson, Jonathon Jordan, and Leone Nelson. Nederland High School’s hope of winning a state championship trophy was lost during the opening game of the state playoffs. The girls did, however, take sixth place with an outstanding performance of which Nederland can be proud. Gilpin County Disbursements: General Fund, $62,415; Road & Bridge Fund, $32,997; Fire Fund, $49; Retirement Fund, $862; Revenue Sharing Fund, $33,779; Solid Waste Fund, 4,174; and PILT, $00. Total, $134,276. The Point is a not well-known lot in the Severance Subdivision, which generally looks off to the west, but in fact allows about a 240-degree sweep from the south, across the Divide and then on up north to Longs and the Twin Sisters Peaks. In the summer, it has a profusion of flowers as magnificent as any seen in the county. The Point is private property, but every once in a while somebody is married there and people who know the Point visit it with an almost reverential attitude. Someday someone will build on the Point and chain a Rottweiler to guard the path against intruders. But until then, it remains as one of the most beautiful spots on earth. In the Personals: Carl & George - Let’s bowl in the daytime so you can get to bed after the 10 o’clock news. Bring plenty of Geritol and Grecian Formula. We won’t keep you old guys out too late. Don’t forget your checkbooks. - B & J 60 Years Ago - March 20, 1953 Dear Caroline (Bancroft): Your article for Colorado Wonderland Magazine was well written and replete with historical events, but wouldn’t it be so much more apropos to have headed it a little differently than, “From Ghost Town to Festival Crowds?” 400 residents join me in saying “Mene, Mene, Tekel Upharsim.” You have desecrated all the ideals you have held and become now a writer of the amateur school, and not the brilliant author your name portrays. Central City is NOT a ghost town and we 400 ghosts of Central City object to your implications. (Editor Rae Laird) The sun was bright and fairly warm and there was a hint of Spring behind the ‘snap’ which came with the breezes. In Cottonwood Canyon, a couple of early butterflies were spotted winging by like wisps of an abstract painting. The Earl Allen family was happy to receive word that Billy Allen had arrived in the States after eleven months in Korea and is expected on furlough sometime the first of June. Negotiations are pending relative to the sale of the Harris Block on Main Street in this city to a prospective buyer from Denver. The building is owned by L. Ohlander of Georgetown. Mr. William H. Werner was found dead, seated in a chair in the apartment of Mrs. Maude Russell, on her return from Denver, Monday evening. He had been reading a newspaper and obviously suffered a coronary attack, as he suffered from a heart condition for the past several years. He has been a resident of Central City for the past eight years, being affiliated with Mrs. Russell in the operation of the Gold Chief group of mines in Silver Creek. Plans have been completed for the annual county spelling contest, and the children in the five upper grades are busy studying lists of words, and learning “’i’ before ’e’ except after ‘c’ or when followed by ‘g’ as in ‘neighbor’ and ‘weigh”! All children who receive a grade of 70 or over in the written tests, which will be given in the morning, will be eligible to compete in the oral spelldown in the afternoon. Cash prizes will be awarded to the three winners in the oral contest. These prizes are again being given by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Stanley Nelson Post 7563. A new service station under the operation of Robert Lehrer and Charles Ringer is in operation at the junction of the main highway in Black Hawk. Colorado is one of 26 states which rank travel among their three biggest dollar-earning industries, according to the new edition of “America’s on the Highway,” just published by the American Automobile Association. Dear Mr. Laird: I was born in Central City in 1883, my parents having lived there for seven years. Will it be possible for you to send me, or publish a recipe for the old-fashioned pasty and saffron cake? Thank you very much. (Anna Geisert, Pekin Ill.) 90 Years Ago - March 23, 1923 One of the new stamps being issued by the post office department is of twelve-cent denomination and bears a portrait of President Cleveland. The others are a thirty-cent stamp, bearing the picture of a buffalo; a two-dollar stamp with a picture of the United States capitol, and a five-dollar stamp bearing the head of “America” taken from the statue on the capitol dome. The average annual cost of education per pupil in Colorado public schools, based upon average daily attendance, is $129.98. In dealing with foreign nations our government should keep a stiff upper lip and keep its powder dry. But first it should get the powder. Joe Casper has been on the sick list for a week, and the citizens of Russell were fortunate in having snow to melt to get a supply of water. The last shipment from the Two-Forty Mine, Russell District, made by Frank Vivian and Robert Griffith, ran 5 ounces gold to the ton and they have another lot ready for shipment to Idaho Springs. Apex was visited by the worst blizzard of the season last Friday. Charles Robins came within a mile of town, but on account of the deep drifts could not get through, and had to return to Black Hawk. Since then he has been bringing the mail on horseback. Three of the drifts had to be shoveled out so a saddle horse could come through. Thermometers fell to 18 degrees below on Sunday, being the coldest day of the season. A rock slide on the Colorado & Southern Railroad some four miles this side of Golden on Saturday morning necessitated the cancelling of all the trains on the Clear Creek division for that day, and passengers and mail did not arrive until Sunday evening. Some men wonder who their true friends are until they run for public office, and then they wonder if they ever had any. Notwithstanding that the large mining companies, particularly those producing principally gold, copper or zinc, have been in the doldrums for several years, there has continued to be a fair amount of interest and activity in new and developing mining enterprises. Charlie Ferguson, working at the Cornucopia Mine, in the Silver Creek section of the county, was badly bruised on Monday morning last by a slide of rock in the tunnel. The first reports received here were that he had been seriously injured, but later ones were more encouraging and we are glad to know he escaped so fortunately. Chronic loafers are firm believers in the rest cure. Jimmie Retallack, of Gilpin, who has been working in the Atlantic Mine, at Hughesville, fell a distance of 14 feet in the shaft on Friday last, and fractured the bone at the ankle. He was engaged in fixing the bell line, and made a misstep with the above result. Greater New York, having annexed pretty much everything in sight that does not belong to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut and thereby accumulated a population of about 6,000,000 is going to celebrate its tercentenary. The Dutch West India Company founded a permanent settlement on Manhattan Island in 1623. Mr. Cavnah, superintendent of the Atlantic Mine, Hughesville, shipped a carload of mill ore and nearly three tons of high grade ore, to the sampling works and concentrator at Idaho Springs the first of the week. The deepest shaft in Colorado is the Portland at Cripple Creek, 2,650 feet, with an additional 130 feet under way. The geyser shaft at Silver Cliff is 2,623 feet. A lot of ex-congressmen are looking around for a soft place to light. But this office has no suitable opening - we already have a “devil.” 120 Years Ago - March 24, 1893 The ten cent social held at the residence of Mrs. W. Dennis, in Nevadaville was the most successful one held this year. The amount taken in being $16. Mr. Grimm of the Buell Mine shipped a 15-ton lot of smelting ore to the valley smelters last Monday morning. He informs the Register-Call that he is now sinking a winze in a level of one of the veins adjacent to the Buell. Sufficient mill ore is being produced to keep 20 stamps dropping at the New York company’s mill in Black Hawk. There was crushed from the Corydon Mine at the Hidden Treasure and Polar Star mills last month, 63 2/3 cords of mill ore, which yielded 155 ounces of gold and 96 tons of tailings or concentrates. The latter netted $11.50 per ton or $1,094 for the lot. The mill gold brought $17.25 per ounce, or $2,673.75 in currency - a total production for the month of $3,767.75 which left the pool a very nice dividend. Twenty-six cars of ore were received in Denver from Black Hawk for the week ending March 13 th . At an average of 15 tons per car the total number of tons received was 390. In this statement the shipments made to Argo are not included. It is proposed to organize a company to be known as the Boulder Smelting Company with share capital of $500,000 and stock at $1 par, the incorporators and board to be selected from among the subscribers hereto, and it is proposed to build a preliminary plant of 20 tons per day an estimated cost of $6,000 in Boulder County at such convenient place as the subscribers may select. Thos. Burgess and E. P. Ingersoll have reached bedrock in their placer diggings at the mouth of Clear Creek Canyon and had to go thirty-two feet through gravel. Mr. Al Hawks of Yankee Hill, was in the first of the week, and reports that the new 20-stamp mill in the head of Cumblerland Gulch will be ready to start up in two weeks. This will give that camp a brighter appearance and will prove an incentive for claim-owners to work their prospects. Born: In Nevadaville, March 19, 1893, to the wife of Nick Semmens, a son. Died: In Nevadaville, March 18, 1893, of miners’ consumption, Edward Jones, native of Cornwall, England, aged 47 years. Died: In Central City, March 21, 1893, Andrew Washie, in the 53 rd year of his age, native of Wurtemberg, Germany. Died: In Central City, March 22, 1893, J. B., infant son of Mr. and Mrs. R. Williams, aged 2 months. Died: In Central City, March 22, 1893, after several weeks of illness of dropsy, Mary Ellen, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Driscoll, aged 12 years. Last Friday, St. Patrick’s Day, dear to the heart of every son and daughter of Erin, wherever they are, was celebrated by Central Division No. 1, Ancient Order of Hibernians, who gave a reception at Turner Hall that was a delightful success. The grand march was formed at 9 o’clock with some fifty couples, and from that time on until three o-clock the following morning, a jollier, better behaved and happier gathering of people has never before assembled in Central on a similar occasion. A Black Hawk fat man points proudly to the fact that he can give his seat to two girls in the hack. Mr. George Stroehle is manufacturing a 40-foot smoke stack which is to be placed on the Rialto Mine in Central City. There will be lots of Democratic appointments soon - and many more disappointments. 135 Years Ago - March 23, 1878 A gold brick weighing 1,251 ounces and 51 dwts, and valued at $23,500 was on exhibition at the First National Bank today. A silver brick worth $2,000 was brought over from Nederland today by Geo. Spencer. It is shipped by the Caribou Company.

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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