up slope THE CANYON COURIER’S WEEKLY MAGAZINE
WEDNESDAY MARCH
23
AROUND TOWN
EHS instrumental music fund-raiser
The Evergreen High School instrumental music department had a great fall, placing sixth in the Colorado State Marching Band Championship, and is now looking to ride that wave into the spring. Under the leadership of director Wiley Cruse, the orchestra and symphonic bands will be competing for the first time. But the spring competitions were not in the budget, and students need help to pay for transportation and entry fees. The students will be at Safeway performing in solos, duets and groups and taking donations on Saturday, April 2, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
‘Mexican Cartels vs. Colorado’
The Mountain Republican Women’s Club will host a program called “Behind the Drug Scene: Mexican Cartels vs. Colorado,” on Thursday at Hiwan Country Club. Social time starts at 6 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey and Deputy District Attorney Matt Durkin will discuss how drugs get across U.S. borders and into Colorado. Cost is $20. R.S.V.P. to 303-674-1956 or visit www.mountainrepublican women.com.
Spring Egg Decorating Contest
The Evergreen Downtown Business Association is holding its fourth annual Spring Egg Decorating Contest on Friday. All ages and skill levels are welcome. Three divisions are offered: professional artist, $50 per egg; amateur (13 and older), $25 per egg; and amateur kids (up to 12 years old), $15 per egg. Prizes will be awarded for the amateur and amateur kids divisions. Eggs will be displayed at Evergreen National Bank during April. Ceramic eggs can be purchased at Go Paint! Ceramic eggs must be painted by March 25. For more information, visit www.Heart ofEvergreen.com or call Go Paint! at 303679-3089.
Beautiful Junk Sale
The Jeffco Action Center’s Beautiful Junk Sale: Turning Unwanted Household Goods into Food will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the exhibit hall at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, 15200 W. Sixth Ave. in Golden. A special early-bird shopping event will be held at 7 a.m. March 25. Proceeds from this sale generate additional financial resources that provide food, clothing and shelter to those in need. The sale helps struggling families fulfill household needs with bargainpriced merchandise, and it allows donors, who may not be able to make financial donations, the opportunity to contribute to the community. For more information, call the Jeffco Action Center at 303-2377704 or visit www.jeffcoac.org.
Great Decisions program returns
Great Decisions, a global affairs discussion program, will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Evergreen Library. A 30-minute segment of “Great Decisions” television program will be shown, followed by a group discussion. Discussion groups will run through June.
EAPL thrift store volunteer Vicky Rosa, left, and store manager Dana Snider look over celebrity photos donated to the store. The photos have attracted a lot of attention as people try to guess who they are.
Pictures from the past
Donation to EAPL thrift store puts yesterday’s celebs in today’s spotlight
M
embers of the Cartwright family from the TV series “Bonanza” faced many foes during the popular show’s -year run starting in , but in they were almost done in by a squirrel. Evergreen resident Loretta Willis donated a box of old black-and-white photos of movie stars — including the Cartwrights — to the Evergreen Animal Protective League thrift store after a pesky squirrel bent on making a cozy nest in Willis’ attic forced her to take action. The box contained about individually printed images of movie stars such as Richard Chamberlain, Vince Edwards as Ben Casey, James Drury, Raymond Massey, Michael Landon, Buddy Merrill, James Garner, Robert Taylor, Benny Goodman, Johnny Mercer, Van Williams, Bill Cullen, Frankie Avalon, Robert Stack from “The Untouchables,” and George and Gracie Burns. Willis, an EAPL volunteer for years, said the photos were once the collection of a Miss Alexander, who had an antique
Dana Snider reads the back of one of the celebrity photos.
shop in Denver that Willis and her mother frequented. When Miss Alexander’s husband died, she passed the time by writing to various magazines that offered -by-, -by- and contact sheets of photos of famous stars. For a small fee, the requested images were printed
and shipped to the enthusiastic fan. Miss Alexander kept her mostly male retinue in a scrapbook that Willis remembers became tattered from all the adoring attention. Somehow, Willis’ mother came into possession of the scrapbook somewhere around , and it was retired to the attic. “It’s like yesterday,” Willis said. “I remember everything about (that time).” A box of photos of old stars might not seem significant, but in the age of non-electronics, pictures cut from magazines were as important as portable -rpm record players, orange juice cans for hair rollers, bigger-thanlife pompadoured dreamy demi-gods, and glamour-goddess movie stars bedecked with jewels. Watching favorite TV programs was an event. With no recording devices, viewers had to pay attention — there was no rewind, pause or replay. Vicky Rosa, a volunteer at EAPL, said watching TV was family entertainment back then. Growing up, the ritual was the same each Saturday night. “It was popcorn, freshly caught crab, Ed Sullivan and -Up floats,” she said. “TV was better back then.”
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY BARBARA FORD | STAFF WRITER
Please see PHOTOS, Page 12B