Work resuming on Floyd Hill; expect overnight closings

PAGE 7 WEEKLY REGISTER-CALLFebruary 13, 2025

Hills Cares non-profit organiza-

tion.

Lincoln Hills’ decline

According to historical ac-

counts, the passage of the 1964

Civil Rights Act was a turning

point for African Americans in

the United States. “With the

passage, African Americans

gained access to a wider range

of recreational opportunities,

reducing the need for dedicated

spaces like Wink’s Tavern. Fol-

lowing Hamlet’s death in 1965,

the tavern, along with other

resort-related activities in Lin-

coln Hills, came to an end.”

In 1971, Eileen and Guy Dart

bought the property, which, in

turn, was purchased in 1978 by

longtime Lincoln Hills’ resident

Jennie Rucker’s sister, Bertha

Calloway, a Camp Nizhoni

alumna. In 1985, Rob and Mar-

tha Tomerlin purchased and

used the property as a religious

retreat.

However, a renewed interest

in Lincoln Hills began in the

early 2000s by some people

who grew up while regularly

traveling to the neighborhood.

Among them was Pitt’s grand-

son Gary Jackson, who later be-

came a senior judge in Denver.

Jackson, whose family still

owns the Zephyr Cabin, joined

the James Beckwourth Moun-

tain Club decades ago. The club

was named for James Beck-

wourth, a former slave who be-

came an American fur trapper,

western trailblazer and scout for

the Army Calvary. The club was

a group of urban people who

would gather to recreate in the

Colorado mountains.

Judge Jackson recalled, “We

also purchased Wink’s Lodge

from a couple in Texas who had

owned it. That’s how I became

directly connected with Wink’s

Lodge. We tried to maintain and

preserve the lodge from about

2007 until 2012, when we sold

it to Robert Smith.”

Smith, a Denver businessman

and philanthropist, has invested

his time and resources in orga-

nizations that uplift underrep-

resented communities. Smith,

a founder, chairman and CEO

of global investing firm Vista

Equity Partners, has donated

millions to various organiza-

tions.

In 2008, Smith and Matthew

Burkett, CEO of the Flyfisher

Group, co-founded Lincoln Hills

Cares, a Denver-based non-

profit organization. Since its

inception, Lincoln Hills Cares

has served more than 100,000

youth, young adults and fami-

lies. The organization’s goals

include to “ensure that barri-

ers to the outdoor experience

and the many careers that will

allow us to continue to enjoy

the outdoors are irrevocably

erased.” The Lincoln Hills Cares

Foundation “provides phil-

anthropic support to develop

the next generation of leaders

through outdoor and environ-

mental education, cultural his-

tory exploration, and workforce

[Part 2 of this series will

discuss the current and

future hopes and plans for

Services for Dr. Charles

“Chip” Smith will be Sunday,

Feb. 16 beginning at 10 a.m.

with a funeral mass at St. Paul’s

Episcopal Church 226 E First

High Street, Central City, and a

Celebration of Life noon in the Gilpin

School Auditorium, 10595 Highway 119,

Black Hawk. A potluck lunch will then be in the school

cafeteria at 1 p.m.

He was , of course a member of Saint Paul’s and a volun-

teer with the Timberline Fire department. He was involved

in Peak to Peak Players, a theatre group up and the high

country auxiliary.

Chip was born on Nov. 5, 1953, to Charles Max Smith

and Beverly Arlene Smith in McCook, Neb. And passed

away on Jan. 30, 2025, with friends and family by his side.

Chip attended The University of Nebraska starting out

playing football before changing his focus to music and the

arts, eventually earning a doctorate in music. He taught

for many years at Hastings College and developed lifelong

relationships with his students and fellow teachers.

After retiring from Hastings College, the mountains

called and he moved to Rollinsville. He worked for Timber-

line Fire and immersed himself in the community, building

relationships with neighbors, artists in the community, and

the firefighters.

While in college, he met his life partner Donna Harler.

He was preceded in death by his mother and father. Sur-

vivors include his wife Donna, sister Cherril Serdy, broth-

er-in-law Joe Dehner, sister-in-law Noel Julnes Dehner,

nephews Jesse Craig, Matt and Kevin Serdy, nieces Holly

Julnes-Dehner and Sarah Julnes-Hayes and his the many

friends in the communities he touched.

The funeral and celebration of life will be live streamed

and recorded for those who are not available to attend.

Patti Navilio invites those to a scheduled Zoom event with:

Chip’s Funeral Mass and Celebration of Life, Feb 16, 19

a.m., us02web.zoom.us/j/89693012750, Meeting ID: 896

9301 2750, Passcode: 387719

Weekly Register-Call

City eyes spending $458,650

for rebuilding historic home

National Historic District.

City aldermen were sched-

uled to approve a $30,000

contract with WCG Construc-

tion to study rehabilitating a

home at 150 Chase Street dur-

ing their meeting yesterday

(Wednesday, Feb. 12). The

Joan G. Spitznagel Revocable

Trust owns the house.

According to city documents,

the council could expand WCG

Construction’s initial study for

the home later this year, result-

ing in a $458,650 effort that

would include an exterior reno-

vation, interior reconstruction

and associated site and utility

work at the property, which is

one of 61 residential homes in

Black Hawk. The documents

said restoration on the home

could begin late this summer on

the 1,061 square feet of living

space.

The single-family home

was built in 1889 and in-

cludes three bedrooms on

the upper half-story. The

building wasn’t built using a

specific architectural style but

“exhibits elements of Greek

Revival architecture, such

as pedimented lintels,” the

documents said, noting parts

of the structure may need to

be changed to comply with

modern building codes.

Spending large sums of

money to preserve its historic

homes isn’t anything new in

Black Hawk, which receives

state-collected taxes on the

city’s 15 casinos, some of

which are earmarked for his-

toric preservation efforts.

In September, the coun-

cil approved spending up to

$1.478 million with WCG to

refurbish the interior and exte-

rior of the historic home at 311

High St., on the street above

Gregory Plaza. The single-sto-

ry, 583-square-foot residence,

built in the 1890s, is owned

by Lloyd Larson. The ongoing

project includes rebuilding the

structure, a new roof, windows,

exterior siding, stone retaining

wall and other work.

Council approved a $1.527

million contract last spring

with WCG, formerly White

Construction, to rebuild

another tiny historic home at

121 Marchant St. The house

is on a 372-square-foot parcel

owned by the Branecki Fam-

ily LLC. In August 2023, the

aldermen authorized spend-

ing $1.579 million to overhaul

a home at 187 Clear Creek St.,

near the Black Hawk Post Of-

fice. The house, owned by the

Fellowship Benevolent Corp.,

is 878 square feet.

Two years ago, the alder-

men gave Roche Constructors

the green light to conduct an

assessment to rehabilitate

the Lace House historic home

on Gregory Point, between

Gregory Plaza and the Red

Dolly Casino. Council said it

wants to use the building as

a tribute to the area’s mining

past after replacing wallpaper,

carpets, plumbing fixtures and

improving the structure’s elec-

trical system. The city’s 2023

budget included $250,000 for

the project. According to city

documents, “the Lace House

is Colorado’s premier example

of Carpenter Gothic Architec-

ture. It was restored in the late

1970s and opened for tours.

In 2008, it was moved from

its original location on Main

Street to its current location in

Gregory Point.

The Lace House Museum is

near Black Hawk’s $8.879 mil-

lion Bobtail Mine restoration

project. In 2026, the complet-

ed Bobtail will offer visitors

an opportunity to travel more

than 3,000 feet into the mine,

where they can see how early

settlers mined gold ore.

Yesterday’s council agenda

also included spending $350 a

month for Great Plains Com-

munications to provide broad-

band communications service

to Gregory Point (formerly

called Mountain City). The

small historic district includes

several small homes – includ-

ing the Lace House – used by

artists and small businesses.

The historic home at 150 Chase St. is schedule to be re-

habilitated by the City of Black Hawk later this summer.

Photo courtesy of Black Hawk

Margaret Darrow Haagenstad

Margaret D. Haagenstad, 91, of Black Hawk, a retired

medical technologist, died Feb. 7. Private family services

will be held. M.P. Murphy & Assoc. Funeral Directors of

Boulder are in charge of arrangements.

Work resuming on Floyd Hill; expect overnight closings

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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