30 years ago – June 12, 1987
If you haven’t visited Gray’s Park or seen the restoration work at Clark Annex – you should. All of Gilpin County and especially Central City can be proud of the recently completed work at the historic building located off of Lawrence Street. Chairwoman Leslie Williams of the Board of County Commissioners conducted the dedication ceremony at Clark Alex on June 7. The park was named in honor of Morgan and Maxine Gray of Central City, who have both resided in Gilpin County all of their lives. Maxine Gray taught school and was principal at the school on two occasions. Her first term as principal was in 1934 through 1936 and then again in 1967 through 1969. While teaching, she was known to be a strict disciplinarian, but earned and received respect from her students. Morgan Gray’s grandfather helped build Clark in 1901. His father was the school’s janitor from 1907 until he retired in 1936. Morgan was Gilpin County Clerk & Recorder from 1961 until 1980. The Grays have been married for 51 years. Kay Lorenz, former school board president, gave a brief history of Clark School. It was a school for kindergarten through eighth grade students. The last year Clark was used as a school was 1979. Van Cullar, former County Commissioner, explained that grant funding was obtained from the state to renovate Clark and purchase the property from the Gilpin County RE-1 School District. Cullar was instrumental in obtaining the funding, along with Jerry Ward and Don Diltz, the other two former commissioners. Clark was purchased in 1984 and will be used for additional courthouse offices, among other things. Commissioner Alan Baird pointed out the various achievements made by the contractors who worked hard to renovate Clark. He explained the many planned uses of Clark Alex, including the community room that he hopes will be used by everyone. Commissioner Carroll Beck presented a bouquet of red roses to the Grays and unveiled the plaque which dedicated the park to the Grays. The ceremony was concluded by the Grays, Williams, Baird, Beck, Cullar, and Diltz signing their names in cement. The event was well attended by a number of Gilpinites including Central City Mayor Bruce Schmalz and Gilpin County Court Judge Frederic Rogers.
Letter to the Editor: To the Complainers of Gilpin County: In February, we spent a week in Gilpin County visiting our daughter and house hunting. It snowed the entire week, but we drove everywhere with our realtor, Howard Raduechel, and never had a problem on the well-maintained roads! We found our “dream” home and plan to move there in September. I’ve been so very excited, but my delight is ebbing as I read all the idiot letters in the Register-Call. I totally agree with letters written by Shirley Logan and Blanche Giggey. Gilpin County must be filled by an overabundance of complainers. I wish you could all live in Mahoning County, Ohio, where the roads are still very poor from all the salt used in the winter! In fact, all Colorado roads are far superior to any of the Midwest states. If the beauty of the area doesn’t compensate for a few minor drawbacks, why don’t you do something to help alleviate your woes or, better still, move! An Ohioan in body – a Coloradoan in spirit. Shirley Brothers, Youngstown, Ohio.
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