Derek Everett - Colorado Day by Day

Derek R. Everett

U NIVERSITY P RESS OF C OLORADO

Louisville

H ISTORY C OLORADO

Denver

2020 by University Press of Colorado and History Colorado

Copublished by University Press of Colorado and History Colorado

University Press of Colorado

245 Century Circle, Suite 202

Louisville, Colorado 80027

History Colorado

1200 Broadway

Denver, CO 80203

HistoryColorado.org

All rights reserved

The University Press of Colorado is a proud member of the Association of University Presses.

The University Press of Colorado is a cooperative publishing enterprise supported, in part, by Adams State University, Colorado State University, Fort Lewis College, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Regis University, University of Colorado, University of Northern Colorado, University of Wyoming, Utah State University, and Western Colorado University.

ISBN: 978-1-64642-006-3 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-64642-007-0 (ebook)

https://doi.org/10.5876/9781646420070

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Everett, Derek R., author.

Title: Colorado day by day / Derek Everett.

Description: Louisville, Colorado : University Press of Colorado, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019036776 (print) | LCCN 2019036777 (ebook) | ISBN 9781646420063 (paperback) | ISBN 9781646420070 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: ColoradoHistoryChronology. | ColoradoSocial life and customs.

Classification: LCC F776 .E84 2020 (print) | LCC F776 (ebook) | DDC 978.8dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019036776

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019036777

This publication supported in part by the Josephine H. Miles Trust.

C OVER PHOTO CREDITS . Denver Public Library, Western History Collection, call number X-33812 (top left); History Colorado, Stephen H. Hart Research Center, Denver, object I.D. 2001.149.9 (middle left); History Colorado, Stephen H. Hart Research Center, Denver, object I.D. 89.451.3383 (bottom right). All other photographs by Derek R. Everett.

In the late 1990s, as a student in the humanities program at Arvada West High School, I started each day by copying the This Day in History column from the Denver Post on the whiteboard, inflicting a daily dose of the past on my peers. This book echoes my high schoolera curiosity, and to that end I thank my teachers Teresa Neal and Monica Sparks for tolerating my youthful obsession, as well as the 1998 A-West Honors Humanities class, the finest of them all.

This book would not exist without the tireless efforts of Steve Grinstead at History Colorado and Charlotte Steinhardt at the University Press of Colorado, whose dedication, effort, and enthusiasm make it difficult for me to put into words the extent of my gratitude. For their help in securing images from the History Colorado collections for the book, I thank Aaron Marcus, Darren Eurich, and Jason Hanson. For their assistance in accumulating images, I am also indebted to Coi Drummond-Gehrig of the Denver Public Library Western History Collection, Francisco A. Gallegos of the Colorado Society of Hispanic Genealogy, Katalyn Lutkin of the City of Greeley Museums Hazel E. Johnson Research Center, Rachel W. Smith of the Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center, and Leah Davis Witherow of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum. This book is the result of countless invaluable contributions by many folks at the University Press of Colorado including Laura Furney, Dan Pratt, Darrin Pratt, Beth Svinarich, copyeditor Cheryl Carnahan, and the two anonymous, thoughtful reviewers who backed my cause.

For fostering a love of history and affection for my native state, I am indebted to my parents, Dave and Sandy Everett, my grandparents, Don and Glenita Emarine and the late Claire Everett , and my aunt, Sue Everett. Similarly, the visitors services staff and volunteers at the Colorado State Capitol, where I have given tours and conducted research since 1997, have encouraged and shared my enthusiasm, especially Edna Pelzmann, Theresa Holst, Simon Maghakyan, and Erika sterberg. My time as either a student or a professor at Western State College, Colorado State University, and Metropolitan State University of Denver has offered myriad opportunities to explore and impart my passion for Colorado history both in and out of the classroom. Finally, I owe special thanks to my wife, Heather, and my daughter, Louisa, who endured this all-consuming project with love and good humor. Louisa, youre the best research assistant a daddy could want, and I treasure the memories of our many weekend afternoons in the library and office.

Here, where the great backbone of the Continent rears and rests itself; here, where nature sets the patterns of plain and mountain, of valley and hill, for all America; here, where spring the waters that wash two-thirds [of] the western Continent and feed both its oceans; here, where mountains are fat with gold and silver, and prairies glory in the glad certainty of future harvests of corn and wheathere, indeed, is the center and the central life of America,fountain of its wealth and health and beauty.

Samuel Bowles, a Massachusetts newspaperman, wrote these words after spending a summer holiday in Colorado Territorywhich he called the Switzerland of Americain 1868. The opportunities he saw in the prairies, peaks, and plateaus of Colorado have inspired countless people over the centuries. Colorado offers fascinations, challenges, rewards, frustrations, catastrophes, and glories. This book explores many of Colorados facets through distilled tales of the people, places, events, and trends that have shaped and continue to shape the region.

All too often, history can feel like little more than one damn thing after another, a dismissive mind-set this book seeks to challenge in both blatant and subtle ways. Offered in a day-in-history format with a cross-referenced index and sources, Colorado Day by Day allows the reader to explore and comprehend the states heritage as individual threads or as part of the greater tapestry. It was researched and written with academic rigor but intended to appeal to readers of diverse backgrounds, ranging from those whose ancestors have resided here for many generations to those who arrived yesterday. Sources at the end provide avenues to pursue more detailed information to supplement these daily entries. This book also hopes to combat other stereotypes about history generally and Colorados past in particular. Far too often the state is viewed as the Rocky Mountains alone, with the Great Plains and western plateaus included as afterthoughts, or Denver and Colorado are considered synonymous, with places outside the metropolitan area overlooked or dismissed. In Colorado Day by Day, however, entries incorporate tales from each of the states sixty-four counties, ensuring that all regions receive credit for contributing to the communitys broader story. It is difficult to deny Denvers often overwhelming influence; nonetheless, the pages that follow seek to demonstrate how the Centennial States past has unfolded from places cosmopolitan and humble alike. Throughout, stories of infamy and sorrow are interspersed with ones of innovation and triumph, reflecting the spectrum of experiences in Colorado. The reader can expect to smile and laugh at times, to seethe and weep at others. But thats life, after all, and history is life.