Local History
-
100 Years Ago Today: White Gold Saves Colorado Economy
All hail the sugar beet, aka white gold, a crop that can actually grow in Colorado’s arid climate and rocky soil! In 1919 the sugar beet reached an all time high price of $10.02 per ton paid to beet farmers, which was two cents per ton higher than the national average. No wonder growers were Continue reading
-
100 Years Ago Today: Forest Service Issues Booklet for Vacationist
As late as the 1860s, the noun ‘vacation’ was used almost exclusively to describe the time in a school year when class was not in session. It was a time when the schoolhouses and universities were literally vacated. The other use of the word was to describe when an elected official left their position, e.g. Continue reading
-
100 Years Ago Today: Football Claims 9 Victims This Year
Football is, and always has been, one of the most violent sports in the United States. That’s not a hot take. The players know this. The fans know this. People who do not care about football at all know this. Even 100 years ago, newspaper readers knew this. Now here’s a take: 1919 marks the Continue reading
-
100 Years Ago Today: Sell Your Extra Large Coyotes for $15
Who knew that furs were all the rage back home (shoutout to my Interpol stans) in Colorado circa 1919? From what I’ve read about Jim Bridger and his ilk back in the 1850s, the trap(per) game had become so unprofitable during that decade that many trappers turned in their skinning knives for hardrock pickaxes and Continue reading
-
100 Years Ago Today: Influenza Pandemic Waning, Still Deadly in CO
The flu pandemic of 1918-1919 (aka La Grippe, aka Spanish flu) was responsible for the deaths of at least 50 million people worldwide, which was more than 3% of the world’s population at that time. It is estimated that 1/3 of the world’s population was affected by flu symptoms during the pandemic. In Colorado, at the height of Continue reading
-
100 Years Ago Today: Bootlegger is Fined $100
BOOTLEGGER IS FINED $100; FOUND WITH BOOZE AT GRANITE J. J. McEachern of Leadville arrived in Granite Friday with a trunk and an eye for business. G. W. Herendeen, special agent for the D. & R. G., was suspicious of McEachern’s trunk and asked to see inside of it. McEachern had it filled with booze Continue reading
-
The Hermit of North Table Mountain
It’s the 4th of July, and ominous fireworks are about to fly on J.B. Lycan’s ranch, situated 30 miles northeast of Boulder, Colorado, where 27-year-old Calvin Phillips and his new bride, 16-year-old Lulu Bainbridge, live with Phillips’ mother. Lulu’s parents are no longer happy with their teenage daughter’s marriage, especially to a much older man, Continue reading
About Me
Local history enthusiast curious about how Colorado’s present is informed by the people and places of its past
Pick and Sledge 