Turning Back the Pages

30 Years Ago - July 15, 1983 Almost every kind of fashion from tuxedos to halter tops was visible on the streets of Central last Saturday night when the Central City Opera House Association officially opened the 1983 festival. U.S. Representatives Pat Schroeder and Ken Kramer were among the attendees. Just to ensure everyone would be in the mood for a grand evening, the Opera Association provided free entertainment in Williams Stables, the Opera House and Teller House Gardens and along Eureka Street, including mimes and jugglers. Tempers were short at the Black Hawk City Council meeting Tuesday night with the city manager demanding fiscal responsibility and several residents threatening a lawsuit. Circuit Riding City Manager Linda Martin said the police budget is way out of control and things cannot continue the way they are going. Residents Norman Blake, his wife Mildred, and son Kent sent a letter to the council giving it 30 days to inform them as to its plans for repairing the damage to their property on High Street or they will sue. They believe the damage was a direct result of the water project. Other residents of that area have expressed interest in joining the suit. Dave and Zelda Carter of Black Hawk became the proud parents of a baby boy, Vincent Redmond, born July (date is unreadable, possibly “8”), 1983. An overabundance of never used, and never to be used dental floss got Charlie Wilkinson to thinking about all the other stuff in her house that she has but never uses, or uses but never reuses - like bottles and jars. Products come in all the lovely glass jars and when she’s emptied them, she, of course, thinks, “I must save these. They’ll surely come in handy someday.” Then, one day whilst trying to find room to put the groceries, she finds herself indiscriminatingly throwing out all the shiny bottles and jars that she has never ever used, so that she can make room for the food, which is contained, naturally, in more glass bottles and jars. The Colorado Sierra Volunteer Fire Department is having its annual fair and flea market on July 23 at Station 1, seven miles north of Black Hawk on Highway 119. Gilpin County did not get a new millionaire this week. Phil Whitsell, one of the 10 finalists in the million dollar state lottery drawing Tuesday night, failed to come up a big winner. Whitsell said he was disappointed, of course, that he didn’t win a million, but he met a lot of people and came away $10,000 richer than he started. This summer the Black Hawk Theatre has something for everybody. Starting tonight at the old church-gym in Black Hawk, the company proudly presents one of the most popular comedies of our time, starring John Brown Chesebrough as Oscar the poker player and Richard Emmert as the suffering, overly fastidious Felix in The Odd Couple. They weren’t exactly equal in size, but they were equal in spirit. The Central City Opera Stars took on the Gilpin County Little League in a baseball game, and the game was close - 32 to 22 in favor of the Little League. The county commissioners were armed with large graphs and charts, and a table piled high with papers and records, but only a handful of people showed up at the courthouse to discuss the proposed county sales and use tax. A flash flood last Sunday made some permanent changes in the landscape along Clear Creek. After two inches of rain fell in 20 minutes in mid-afternoon, a wall of water which had previously been a trickle from under a culvert carved a pathway 40 feet wide and eight feet deep. Several people on a Sunday outing along Highway 6 were stranded on the far side of the creek when a foot bridge was suddenly under water. “Nobody learned anything from Big Thompson. They all just stood there,” said Colorado State Trooper Mark Anello, the first official to arrive at the scene of the flash flood in Clear Creek Canyon. Reuben Schluntz, former Central City councilman, died July 8, 1983, at his home in Golden. He was 77 years old. He and his wife owned and operated the Golden Trunk gift store in Central City from 1972 to 1980. Grand Opening. Black Hawk Hardware & Supply. 121 Gregory Street, Black Hawk. Deputies David Martinez, Steve Foellmer and William Palmer, Undersheriff Eric Klemp, along with Central City Officers Dirk Vaughn and Mike Shephard, responded to a complaint of approximately 100 members of the Sons of Silence motorcycle gang trespassing on private property. Upon investigation, the ownership of the land appeared to be in question and possibly a civil matter, though the subjects did, when asked, vacate the particular piece of property in question. West First High Street resident John Rittenhouse appeared before the Central City Council and suggested the city adopt a “for-residents-only” parking policy for residential streets. The council listened politely to Rittenhouse and his neighbor, Police Chief Pat Warkentin, but did not appear to think there was much merit in the idea. Rittenhouse then suggested the city lease him 10 feet on either side of First High Street. Warkentin thought that was a great idea and said Rittenhouse could then post it for private parking so the police department could ticket anyone who parked there. Council members said they would have the city attorney look into it. The strong taste of chlorine in the Black Hawk water recently is due to efforts to eradicate an “algae bloom” in the raw water holding pond. What looked like a sheet-covered body lying in a mine shaft turned out to be something quite different when law enforcement personnel were finally led to the shaft after about three hours of climbing up and down hills. A hiker said he had seen a body in the shaft that was covered by something white but that he could make out the formation of the head, even though the body was 15 feet down the shaft. He left his jacket beside the shaft so would have no trouble leading officers to the hole. Unfortunately, he couldn’t lead officers directly or indirectly to the spot. When it was finally located, Deputy Sheriff David Martinez looked down into it with binoculars and officially determined that what looked like a body was really snow. Black Hawk Deputy Marshal Rusty Hardy also peered through the binoculars and seconded Martinez’s opinion. He said the snow formation really did look like a body with the arms out-stretched. Sheriff Rosetta Anderle said the search turned out to be quite a fact-finding expedition since it pointed out conclusively which sheriff’s officers are in excellent physical shape and which are not. 60 Years Ago - July 10, 1953 Noticed the flag floating from the pole atop the Opera House. It reminded me of a postage stamp, a two-cent one. Surely, the Association can afford a little larger one of Old Glory and one that will wave majestically in the breeze, instead of being wrapped around the flag-pole, as it is at the present time. This summer I have noticed more bald-headed men without hats than ever before. It appears the men who are shorn of their wavy locks enjoy going without a hat, (and this, also includes this writer.) The Opera House Association rectified a great mistake of last year, when they brought back Millicent DeBell to perform at the piano at the Golden Nugget. She is one of the most versatile of piano artists, and her talents and personality was sadly missed last year. Come up, tourists and visitors to this city of enchantment, inhale the pure ozone of the Rockies, and return to your homes with a knowledge that you have spent a few hours in the city and county that made Colorado. Attorney Leroy J. Williams hied himself to his cabin in Tolland Wednesday to later cast his line in the waters of the South Boulder stream in anticipation of some foolish fish grabbing the bait thereon. He returned Thursday and his creel was not full of the finny beauties, so that this worthy barrister was not denied a fish dinner, Ada opened a can of sardines for him. If Colorado’s traffic-death toll for last month is an indication of what we may expect for the rest of the season, this summer will be one of the bloodiest yet recorded for this state’s highways. Thirty-six persons met death in traffic mishaps in Colorado last month. Kathryn and Barney Olsen, owners of Heidi Chalet, are very busy these days due to the Opera Festival and eastern tourist trade. The Western Art Museum across the street from the Teller House opened last week. An unprecedented crowd flocked into the museum in the first hours, and it appeared that there was suddenly great enthusiasm for art on Eureka Street; then it was discovered that Kenneth Smith was inviting the feminine tourists to see the etchings. 90 Years Ago - July 13, 1923 One of the heaviest electric storms of the year visited this section on Sunday afternoon last, and while no damage resulted in this immediate vicinity, the railroad line below the Forks of Creek on the main line and the branch to this city suffered considerable. At Beaver Brook the heavy rain washed out the bridge and filled several cuts above that point, so that no train was able to get through until Tuesday morning. At Bates cut, about a mile above the Forks on our line, the cut was filled for a distance of over 1,000 feet with rock and sand to a depth of from six to eight feet, and with a small force the railroad company have been working, there is no telling when the main line will be in shape for the operation of through trains. Black Hawk’s Polar Star mill is running on a lot of ore from the Wain and Jupiter mines. Mr. Charles Ferguson, superintendent of the Spur Daisy mine, above Central, is having a 40-ton lot of ore concentrated at the Midwest concentrator. Early to bed and early to rise is a motto now used only by flies. The first ripe strawberry was picked last Saturday by your Apex correspondent, the only one in the patch. The strawberry and huckleberry blossoms are numerous, and with favorable weather the prospects are fine for a large berry crop. The Cornucopia Mining Company, Black Hawk, are loading a carload of high grade concentrates at the depot for shipment to the Leadville smelters. Earl Quiller and Henry Schultheis spent Sunday in Mammoth Gulch and report good success at fishing. Expenditures totaling $325,824 of forest road funds for the construction of roads within or adjacent to the national forests of Colorado have been approved by the Secretary of Agriculture. One of the projects calls for the extension of the Berthoud Pass road from the end of the highway completed last year to Fraser, a distance of six miles. The sum of $66,000 has been appropriated for this work, making the total for the entire Berthoud Pass project amount to $192,134. Contractor John Stroehle has completed the two walls of the flume in Black Hawk to a point in front of Neil Burroughs establishment, and has a good force excavating and laying stone beyond that point. Norma Talmadge in “Love’s Redemption” will be the picture at the opera house on Saturday. The Denver News of Wednesday said that W.C. Head, father of W. B. Head, the young jeweler who disappeared in the forests near Idaho Springs, yesterday authorized a reward of $100 for the finding of the lost man. The Moffat Coal Company broke its previous best record last Thursday by loading out one hundred railroad cars of coal in one day, putting one thousand and twenty-seven tons of coal over the screens. The new hoist is being put in place at the Evergreen Mine in Apex. It takes a married woman to recognize the good qualities of another woman’s husband. “John Barleycorn” was responsible for some queer acts on Tuesday evening, when a gang of young men forgot themselves and imbibed too freely of “moonshine.” They filled the streets of Black Hawk with timbers, old mine buckets and a lot of rubbish from the refuse pile at the Stroehle boiler works, making the streets impassable. Several of them were arrested and had a hearing on Wednesday evening when they donated to the city treasury for their experience. 120 Years Ago - July 14, 1893 For the past thirty years Gilpin County has produced over $125,000,000 in gold, and little Gilpin is not a gold-bug county either. All the stamp mills in the county are well supplied with ore. Central City Alderman Belcher from the police committee reported that they had concluded to sell the lot on Spring street now occupied by the calaboose to the Sauer-McShane Mercantile Company, and the erection of a new calaboose, and on motion the report was received and recommendation adopted. A heavy fall of rain of an hour’s duration occurred in Central mining district last Friday evening. It was a god send to the crops of that section. The building, called a railroad freight depot, in this city, is receiving a new roof. It now should be covered with old tin cans, as there is an unlimited supply nearby in Nevada Gulch. H. M. Griffin of the Seven-Thirty Mine above Georgetown, has lowered the wages of his men to $1.50 per day, stating that if silver advances in the next sixty days and the smelters resume, he will return to the old standard, $3.50 per day. Water Commissioner Michael Lewis this week secured a number of the joists upon which the floor or covering to the main water reservoir in Eureka Gulch rests. The heat from the iron roof and the condensation of the water below had caused the floor to warp in a very bad manner. He now has them pretty well secured. McFarlane & Co. bright and early last Monday morning put men at work in the Roworth building on Main Street, the front of which is to be replaced by an iron one, with extra heavy French plate glass windows. Born: In Central City, July 9, 1893, to the wife of Robert Davey, a son. Born: In Central City, July 9, 1893, to the wife of Gabriel Rachofsky, a son. Born: In Central City, July 11, 1893, to the wife of Charles H. Gibson, a daughter. Born: In Nevadaville, July 13, 1893, to the wife of Martin Roberts, Jr., a daughter. Died: In Nevadaville, July 8, 1893, of pneumonia, George Ellis, aged 41 years, native of England. Died: In Central City, July 8, 1893, Elizabeth, wife of Samuel Ede, aged 49 years, native of England. Died: In this city, yesterday afternoon at his residence on Lawrence street, Mr. John B. James. Silver = 70; Lead = $3.65 Last Tuesday the Kent County Mine in Nevada district, which has remained idle for the past 8 years, changed hands. The name of the new company is the Pittsburg Central Gold Mining Company, whose capital stock is $1,000,000. After getting a new 7/8 steel wire rope, 1,200 feet in length on the spool, and replacing of the slack belt, steam was raised Wednesday and the work of relieving the mine of accumulated water commenced. This will require a couple of months as the water stands between the 600 and 500 foot levels, with considerable ground open below that point, which is filled with water. From James A. Gilmour, who paid the miners on Perigo Mountain a visit a few days ago, the information is derived that the 25-stamp mill of Col. John Q.A. Rollins is now running on dump material from the Perigo Mine. For the past year and a half the Fiske Gold Mining Company has been paying quarterly dividends of 6 per cent on its capital stock of $200,000. The last quarterly dividend was increased from the fact that after the company had paid for a new 70-horse power boiler and a 60-horse power new and improved Hendrie & Boltoff hoister, there was still a surplus in the hands of the treasurer to permit of declaring 12 percent instead of the regular 6 per cent. Mr. Samuel Mellor, who owns a 15-stamp mill which is situated in the head of Silver Creek, north of this city, last Tuesday paid a visit to the new gold prospects that are being opened up in Elk Park. Should he find encouragement and a favorable point, he may conclude to remove his mill to some convenient point in the immediate vicinity of these new locations. In Gilpin County we have a population of say 6,000 people, 2,000 of them are miners and keep all the rest going. Mr. W. C. Stevens of Black Hawk, who is working the Modoc Mine on Quartz Hill on Monday afternoon, while relieving a hoisting rope, his left hand got caught in a sieve, injuring the thumb and forefinger, and the third and little finger. He came down to Central from the mine and stepped into Dr. Davidson’s office, who amputated the top of the little and third finger and dressed the thumb and forefinger. While being painful, no serious results are anticipated from the injuries he received. Clouds with only silver linings are too cheap now to attract attention. Golden hues are all the rage. Many of the recently suspended banks throughout the country have resumed business, while others will soon. The Interstate Commerce Commission has decided that celery must be classed by the railways with vegetables, and not with berries. Watermelons will probably next be classed with soft drinks. The mistrustful Golden depositor who withdrew his money from the Jefferson County Bank and deposited it in his stable, to be promptly gnawed up by the rats, will probably buy a rat-trap for his next safe-deposit. Times are hard. I therefore reduce the price of hearse and carriages to follow hearse at the following rates: Team and hearse, $6.00; team and carriage, $4.00. Safe drivers and no balky teams. (R. B. Williams, Proprietor Pioneer Livery Stable) Joseph Hicks, a young man who was working in the German Mine this city, last Friday afternoon fell in a backstope of that property a distance of 80 feet, and was badly cut up about his head. Dr. John Davidson was called, who took twenty stitches in the cut, and he is now getting along very well. At the drilling contest at Magnolia, Boulder County, on the Fourth, John Martin and Rep. Rea drilled 20 ½ inches in solid granite in ten minutes. There is now an exodus from the valley to the mountains. Fishing and camping parties are arriving daily along the South Boulder and over at Peterson’s lake. The Black Hawk city fathers have made a tax levy for the current year: School fund, 10 mills; sinking fund, 3 mills; bond-interest fund, 2 ½ mills; city purposes, 2 ½ mills – total of 18 mills on the dollar. A man in Denver died the other day from water on the brain, and his friends are wondering how it got there, they say it never went in his mouth.

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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