Weekly Register-Call/ Gilpin County News

30 Years Ago – July 18, 1980

A 26 year-old man from Yuma, Michael Himes, collapsed while working at the Belvidere, and died Monday night, despite the best efforts of Search and Rescue EMT’s, Fight for Life helicopter crew and St. Anthony’s emergency medical personnel. It was learned later that he had a heart condition and had not been taking his medications.

Verna Esau is the latest addition to the courthouse staff. She is the assistant to the administrative assistant for the county commissioners.

Andrew Goodman of Golden reported that trespassers on his property in Lake Gulch took a 2 ½ ton dump truck from his property this week. Value of the truck: $700.

An officer of the law was called to the Gold Dust this week, on a report of people with no clothes on at the west end of the motel. The officer reported they were very “involved” when he found them behind their car. He advised them of possible places to stay after they told him they couldn’t find a room for the night.

Search and Rescue transported five people to Denver area hospitals from July 10^th to July 14th.

Over 230 people enjoyed the crab leg dinner served at St. James Methodist Church last Saturday night.

Denverite Janice Hall stars in “Lucia Di Lammermoor” the opera that promises the most electrifying mad scene in all of opera, the most famous sextet ever written for the stage and some of the most familiar and best-loved music ever sung.

While many parts of the country suffered from a heat wave, local residents donned jackets and rain gear to weather frequent thunder showers and cool temperatures.

The latest entertainment being enjoyed in Central is the carousel playing the old familiar tunes in the window of the Intrigue Gift shop on Lawrence Street. You know it’s a carousel, and not a merry-go-round, because it runs counter clockwise. Store operator, Pennie Riess says it is one of fifty carousels built by her father Norb Bartlett of Estes Park.

William Dansby, who sings Raimondo in “Lucia Di Lammermoor” at the Opera House this summer, leads the singing every Sunday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

Norm Blake has officially retired after more than 25 years with the Colorado Division of Mines. His party at Bernard’s Restaurant in Arvada drew 96 of his colleagues and friends.

Two trade names have been registered at the county courthouse so far this month. To M.L. James Paglione, “Clear Creek Acres.” To Victor Braecher, “Chateau Realty.”

Central City is requesting $375,000 of Block Grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for water system revitalization including repair and replacement of the water system in the Spring/Roworth Street and the High Street neighborhoods.

Daily Specials at Crook’s Palace in Black Hawk, Oldest Bar in Colorado, now serving food from noon on.

The Central City Association Guild’s annual walking tour of historic homes and buildings will include the McFarlane House, Thomas Billings House, Johnson House, Center House, Benoit House, various rooms in the Chain O’Mines hotel, the Lillian Gish apartment in the Penrose Complex, Belvidere Theater, Methodist Church and Gilpin County Historical Museum.

60 Years Ago – July 14, 1950

Over fifty horsemen on beautiful horses caused quite a comment as they rode up Eureka Street, stopping at the Teller House for a buffet lunch on Tuesday. They were members of the Rodeo Riders of the Rockies and on their way to St. Mary’s glacier where they intended to spend the night. Then they are on to Tolland, via Mammoth gulch, and then to the Van Fleet ranch where they will end their ride. Our own Honorable Mayor, John C. Jenkins, Jr. was among the riders, astride that memorable horse owned by Martin Nelson, who had won the race from Idaho Springs last week.

At the eleventh hour, President Truman signed the mine assessment bill giving holders of mining locations an additional three months to complete this year’s work.

The improvements and remodeling of the building adjacent to the old First National Bank building, have been completed by the local Post of the American Legion.

Mr. and Mrs. Buck Gregory are the proud parents of a new baby girl, born Monday afternoon in Denver and named Judy Marie.

Fred M. Bowden, a former resident of Central City, died Sunday at his home in Denver after a long illness.

Miss Caroline Bancroft, writer of western historical non-fiction will conduct a special tour of Central City for persons attending the 10^th annual Western Folklore conference in Denver.

Joe McCarthy, 63, has resigned as manager of the Boston Red Sox and retired from baseball because of his health.

Past Repast: Mustard Pickles – 20 medium cucumbers sliced, 1 quart tiny onions, 2 small heads cauliflower cut in pieces, 2 quarts green tomatoes cut in pieces, 6 green peppers, diced, 1 cup salt, 8 cups sugar, ¼ pound (1 ¼ cups) dry mustard, 1 cup flour, ½ ounce turmeric, 1 quart vinegar, 1 quart water-Place vegetables in separate containers and sprinkle the salt over them. Let stand overnight. Mix sugar, mustard, flour and turmeric; add vinegar and water and heat to boiling. Add vegetables and cook until they are tender and sauce has thickened. Seal in clean hot jars.

Mrs. Frances Adkinson, recent winner in a $10,000 radio contest, was here visiting her mother, Mrs. Emma Wiggins. Good luck seems to run in the family as Mrs. Wiggins recently won an automobile at a Denver theater.

How to take a dollar for a long ride – drive the new Ford V-8!

The cold war, which has caused one crisis after another in recent months, has flamed into a hot war on one front. Soviet sponsored armies of North Korea invaded South Korea using ground forces totaling as many as 40,000 men plus 90 tanks. Americans are being evacuated from Seoul by sea with U.S. air protection.

Alden Megrew, Director of the Department of Art at the University of Colorado will give this week’s free program of the Gilpin County Arts Association. His topic is Contemporary Art.

Good citizenship, like charity, begins at home, with the children growing up in homes to which the Register-Call goes each week. Everyone who reads the “Good Citizen” series will come to an even deeper realization of the unutterable value of his citizenship.

When the lights of the Opera House are dim and the shadows come over the ceiling, you may see a patch there at the spot where “Peg” Flynn fell through. One year he and a pal had sneaked up to that vantage point in the attic to watch a show and ended up moving the climax of that play ahead by 2 acts!

High speed crack railroad connections to the Chicago gateway, air lines from eastern cities and great driving conditions have made Colorado a top competitor for tourists, stealing them away, even from Florida.

A two day search for the season’s first lost fisherman, a man from Edgewater, in the rough country northwest of Ward, ended Thursday when the man made his way safely to a group of persons searching for him. He had become separated from his companions while fishing along Coney creek.

90 Years Ago – July 16, 1920

Of the initiated measures to appear on the ballot, the most important is for a constitutional amendment providing for the construction of the three railroad tunnels by the state. These tunnels are to pierce the Continental divide under James peak, to connect Denver with Northwestern Colorado via the Moffat road, and under Monarch and Cumbres passes, for the benefit of the San Juan section, reached by the Denver and Rio Grande.

Central City’s new physician, Dr. Struple and wife, arrived from Denver Monday morning and have rented the Ashbaugh house, back of the Teller House, where he will reside and have his office.

The census of 1920 shows the population of Central City at 552; Nevadaville, 51; Russell Gulch, 153; Black Hawk, 374; Rollinsville, 102; Apex, 49; and Tolland, 83. In 1900 there were 3,114 residents in Central; 1,200 in Black Hawk; and 823 in Nevadaville.

Even the lowly but useful angleworm has not escaped the high cost craze. Twenty-five cents per dozen is a modest price at some fishing resorts.

Central City’s marshal has notified owners of manure heaps to remove same.

Dorothy Gish in “Peppy Poll,” and a Ford weekly will be the picture program at the opera house on Saturday.

Central City’s council agreed and decided that the City of Black Hawk should be supplied with water until further notice at a rate of one dollar per day.

On Sunday afternoon the firemen of this city, called to Third High street by neighbors, broke in the back door of Mrs. John Segna’s residence, and soon had the flames under control. The cause of the fire remains a mystery as the home has been unoccupied since last month, but it was found the fire started between the kitchen and the bed-room, and burned out a large section of the floor and part of the partition between these rooms.

“Harding, Harmony and Prosperity,” is the watchword of the Republicans in the coming national election.

In Apex, the Evergreen Mines Co. are rebuilding the Wenger cottage on the Avenue, and when completed will be occupied by the Riggs family.

Gold coinage, which was stopped during the war, has been resumed and in the year 1920, 787,250 double eagles and 126,500 eagles were coined. Their total value was $16,990,000.

Don’t worry over the troubles of your neighbor. The modern way is to let him worry over yours.

Henry Peeck has signed a contract for the erection of a shaft building over the Clara Marie shaft, one of the claims in the Daisy group of mines. A gallows frame, 24 feet high, and a plant of machinery will soon be completed and installed.

Died: In Central City, July 13, Robert Davey, aged 62 years.

Monday evening a couple of men at the Lakeside resort between Golden and Denver, secured a bottle of home brew which was rather heavily surcharged with wood alcohol, the effects of which were undoubtedly much beyond their fondest hopes. A crowd of several thousand people gathered around for a glimpse of the pair as they frothed at the mouth, stood on their heads and climbed trees backward before attendants at the resort carried the pair out feet first to a waiting ambulance.

Colorado voters must give permission on the ballot to create Limon county out of portions of Lincoln and Elbert counties; and to create Flagler county out of portions of Lincoln and Kit Carson counties.

Life holds a barrel of Joy for you if you want it. But it expects you to pull the plug out of the bunghole.

120 Years Ago – July 18, 1890

Thank God there are only five states in which a schoolmaster can now legally flog a pupil. One of these is Massachusetts where teachers flog an average of two boys per day per capita.

The president has approved the designs for the new treasury notes provided for by the new silver bill. These notes will be in the denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, and $1,000. They will be printed in black on the face and green on the back with a new feature, the printing of their value in big black letters across the back, to dissuade raising or alteration of the notes.

AD: Ship your Ores and Tailings through Kellerup’s ore agency. Black Hawk’s office in P.O. Building.

It is seldom that the Register-Call makes a kick, but when the mining reporter of the Denver Republican copies mining items from the Register-Call and credits them to the Gilpin County Observer, it is high time for the manager at the Republican to purchase a pair of spectacles for Shannon, its reporter.

Five miners have been put to work continuing development of the Gold Dirt Mine in Independent District.

The stench arising from some of the waste pipes emptying onto Lawrence street is worst against property-holders residing in Denver, who draw their regular monthly rental from parties residing here. Those landlords are fully able to bear their proportionate expense in establishing a proper system of sewerage down that street to the main flumes in Gregory and Eureka gulches.

One party of tributers reported returns this week of $125 per ton for smelting ore of the Bates-Hunter property. That mine is running ten stamps continually on its own product and from five to ten stamps on tribute output.

Mr. Pressler who lives on North Clear Creek, opposite Nagle Hill on the ranch formerly owned by Mr. Clapp, informs us that a movement is on foot whereby a term of public school will be held in that district. A building has been secured, ample enough in its dimensions for the thirty children of school age who reside there.

Col. J.Q.A. Rollins has had a force of men at work in reopening that portion of the Rollinsville wagon road into Middle Park leading down Ranch Creek. Many of the large boulders washed in by heavy rains have been removed, as also the fallen timber. The road is now in splendid condition for travel for conveyances.

An extra train will leave Central on Saturday, carrying the St. James M.E. Sunday School children and others to the delightful mountain resort at Graymont. Round trip tickets at $1.50 each.

Silver has advanced to $1.06 ½ per ounce. Lead still remains firm at $4.42 ½ per 100 pounds. Copper is quoted at $16.50.

Hundreds of people in Minnesota perished on July 15 as cyclones tore through that state. Seventy-one bodies have been recovered at Lake City. The entire village of Vadnais, six miles north of St. Paul, is wrecked, not a building left standing, and eleven residents dead.

A few days ago there arrived in this city a woman who registered at one of the hotels as a married woman and two daughters. A man, claiming to be her husband, had arrived several days before. Securing rooms in one of the temples of illicit love, he moved the woman and girls there. One of the little girls, who has not yet reached the age of puberty, last evening, through the “father,” was to have met a man at this temple although she was most strenuous in her objections. Hearing of the affair, City Marshal Teague found the woman and girls quarters more congenial to a life of virtue and likely saved the little girl from being forced into a life of shame. The presumed husband skipped out sometime before dawn this morning.

A reporter of the Register-Call was shown rich specimens of float quartz from the vicinity of Pine creek, yesterday, picked up by wood-choppers. A piece weighing five ounces was pulverized in a mortar and panned. Six grains of free gold were extracted. Parties are now looking for the source.

The mosquitoes on the Jersey coast this year are reported so big that they have to get down on their knees to drink out of a tin cup. On a great many accounts Gilpin county is one of the most desirable and attractive points in the United States in summer.

Mr. C.F. Barker will erect a line of telephone poles from his place of business on Main street to his residence on Nevada street, said poles to be placed on Pine street so as not to obstruct that street nor infringe on the rights of property-holders, if city leaders permit him.

This forenoon the Gilpin Tramway train made a complete round trip of all of the principal mines along the line, the first round trip for some length of time.

Born: In Denver, July 10, 1890, to the wife of B. W. Sweet, a son.

Died: In Denver, July 11, 1890, Major Samuel Y. Smith, aged 60 years, a former resident of Black Hawk, Central City and Gilpin County.

Sunday evening Deputy Sheriff W.W. Williams took charge of a miner who lives in Packard gulch and is insane. It appears that he has a hallucination that someone is trying to murder him. He was found undressing himself for the purpose of jumping down a shaft near by. He is now at the county jail for safe-keeping until Sheriff Hopper can take him to the asylum in Pueblo.

Last week a local favorite canine pet, “Jip,” followed Mr. B.J. Smith as he was going over to the Williams Mine in Lake District. Reaching the summit of Bobtail mountain, Jip spied a chipmunk, which he pursued, and came to grief by stepping into a prospect hole about 20 feet in depth. Several hours afterward, surveyor E.E. Chase happened along, heard Jip barking, secured a ladder and released him. Jip returned to Central wagging his tail at being found and raised to the surface.

Company D, Fourth Battalion, Colorado National Guards, recently organized, held their first drill last evening at their headquarters at Armory hall. This company will soon receive their uniforms and muskets.

A Jefferson county farmer had a gang of tramps in his yard a few days ago who refused his order to “move on.” He showed remarkable presence of mind when he overturned a hive of bees. The suffering tramps disappeared.

There must be plenty of people in the lunatic asylum who were driven there because they were neighbors of those learning to play the piano.