Discover Magazine Fall 2023

Director’s Welcome

Eighty-five years ago, many local citizens were concerned that Golden’s history was not being preserved and that the generation of early pioneering families was vanishing. These citizens—many of whom were wives of Jefferson County Commissioners—applied for and received a $6,000 grant from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to establish the Jefferson County Museum. They collected artifacts to display in a single room in the Jefferson County Courthouse.

Today, Golden History Museum & Park has blossomed into a multisite, multiacre cultural campus that houses some 15,000 objects. The museum boasts award-winning educational programs and classroom outreach, a robust conservation program, and marquee events and programs. As we near Colorado’s 150th anniversary in 2026, the Museum is embarking on two significant research and exhibition projects. The first is the expansion of our ongoing Indigenous Connections Project—a commitment to elevate Native American history, culture,

Staff

voice, and representation in our collections, exhibits, and programs. The second is an exploration of the genesis of the Colorado Territory and Golden’s role as capital and influential power center in the formative years of the mid-nineteenth century. Importantly, we will also examine the intersectionality of the creation of the territory and its impact on the region’s Indigenous peoples.

Finally, we invite you to join us in celebrating the 150th birthday of Golden High School—Colorado’s oldest continuously operating school, with the new exhibit Old School: Golden High Turns 150, on view through 2024. Be certain to check out the breadth of programming we offer this season including brand new after-school and break programs for children. See you soon!

THIS ISSUE

DISCOVER I FALL 2023 IN

Golden High School Yearbooks

Old School Golden High Turns 150

Indigenous Connections Project Programs

Education Roundup

Bob Hayes: A Golden Legend

Staff & Volunteer Profile

New Acquisition

Donors

Membership

Summer Camp

Nathan Richie Britton Taylor Stephanie Gilmore Vanya Scott Director Education Assistant Curator Curatorial Assistant

Jesse Gagnon Kathleen Eaton Doug Skiba Bianca Barriskill

Student and Interpretation and Development and Programs Assistant

Family Programs Visitor Experience Communications Coordinator Coordinator Editor (Discover)

Cover image: Golden High School class of 1899.

Photo © Golden History Museum & Park, City of Golden Collection

Nathan Richie, Director

Golden High School Yearbooks

Now Online

Golden High School (GHS) has a momentous anniversary this year—it is turning 150 years old! As the oldest continuously operating high school in the state of Colorado, it has produced thousands of graduates since its inception in 1873.

With the cooperative efforts of GHS, the GHS Alumni Association, and GHM&P, along with critical funding from the Golden Civic Foundation, 90 yearbooks are now online for your viewing pleasure.

We are still missing most issues from before about 1940. If you have any pre-1940 yearbooks that you are willing to lend to be digitized (or that you wish to donate), please contact our curator, Stephanie Gilmore, at SGilmore@GoldenHistory.org.

Please stop by the museum to see Old School: Golden High Turns 150 throughout this year and next. We look forward to seeing you in person!

Photos © Golden History Museum & Park, City of Golden Collection

Golden High Turns 150

Go Demons! Almost as old as the town itself, Golden High School (GHS) has existed since 1873. As the oldest continuously operating high school in Colorado, GHS has many stories to tell. Here are some highlights from our newest exhibit, on view until August 2024.

Built in 1873, South School was the first official high school building in Golden. It stood between today’s 13th and 14th Streets near Arapahoe Street, which is now part of the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) campus. Due to a lack of space, for its first six years South School housed the high school grades upstairs and the primary grades downstairs, as it was the only graded school in the county. The South School building was sold to the Colorado School of Mines in 1936 and served as the geophysical laboratory and storage facility until it was torn down in 1965.

Built in 1879 to alleviate crowding at South School, North School housed grades 1 through 6. It stood near the corner of 6th Street and Washington Avenue. Mrs. Gertrude Bell (for whom Bell Junior High School at 1001 Ulysses Street is named) served as the first principal. In 1937, Jefferson County purchased North School and used it for the ration boards of World War II and later the Jefferson County Welfare Department. It was demolished in 1965 to make way for Highway 58.

Photo © Golden History Museum & Park, City of Golden Collection

Photo © Golden History Museum & Park, City of Golden Collection

Seven plaster relief maps once graced the walls of South School. Believed to date to approximately 1880, the maps appear in a photo depicting the class of 1899. These maps were lost for several decades after South School was purchased by CSM. They were rediscovered and rescued in 1965 by CSM physics professor Frank S. Mathews, prior to the demolition of South School. In 2021, Mathews’ daughter, Lisa Mathews-Bingham, donated the maps to Golden History Museum & Park.

This photo depicts the Golden High School (GHS) class of 1899 while they practiced the class ode (note the woman playing the piano). The young lady in the front row wearing the striped blouse has been identified by her grandniece as Daisy Adair. Also pictured (not in order) are Paulina “Lena” Barnes, Bessie Brown, Sarabella Bryant, Myrtle Cottier, George Devinny, Mary Gow, Blanche Jameson, Minnie Johnson, Walter Olmsted, Vera Parshall, John Prout, Jr., Thomas Prout, and Genevieve Rockwell.

Photo © Golden History Museum & Park, City of Golden Collection Continued overleaf

Photos © Justin LeVett Photography

Sandi Jones (nee Hampton) wore this letter sweater before graduating from GHS in 1962. She was part of a longtime Golden family, as her grandfather was Dr. Leslie Anderson, a dentist who served Golden for 50 years starting in 1912. Jones was a very active student at GHS and participated in pep club, drill team, cheerleading, German club, and the prom committee. She was also part of the 1961 homecoming court when Anita Tait was homecoming queen.

This dance card from the 1925 GHS Junior Prom belonged to Lucille Duvall, a graduate of that same year. Dance cards were common for girls and women to wear to social dances in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They listed dances with blank spaces next to them, in which boys would “pencil in” their names to reserve the dance. If a girl brought a date, he could pencil in his name or “XX” to reserve spots. It was customary, however, for girls to mingle and

Golden High School changed locations several times over the years. In 1924, high school students moved from South School to this building at 10th Street and Washington Avenue (today’s American Mountaineering Center). It operated as the high school until 1956 when the present-day location was completed near 24th and Jackson Streets.

Photo © Justin LeVett Photography

Indigenous Connections Project

N

ative American history and connections to the Clear Creek Valley and table lands of the central Colorado Front Range extend back for more than 12,000 years. Contemporary Native American communities continue to view this place as an aboriginal homeland and a living landscape. However, today’s historical narrative of the region largely excludes Indigenous people and their values. To address this disparity, the City of Golden formed a partnership between its divisions of Museums and Planning, with the additional support of the Historic Preservation Board, to engage Native American tribes and ethnographic researchers to help tell the story of indigenous people in this region. The study involved cultural advisors from six American Indian tribes and a review and synthesis of relevant ethnographic literature. Together, the oral historical and documentary records provide a robust narrative about Native American connections to Colorado’s Front Range and create a foundation for future collaborative research with tribal communities.

Situated within the ancestral territory of multiple tribes, the Clear Creek Valley can be understood as a place where multiple Indigenous lifeways were practiced. All the components that make up this area—including viewsheds, night skies, soundscapes, trails, plants, animals, waterways, landforms, archaeological sites, and historical events—have value

and significance to contemporary Native American people. Topography and habitats are some of the indicators of a homeland and cultural landscape to Indigenous people, as they provide physical and spiritual sustenance. The Clear Creek Valley provides an access corridor between the interior Rocky Mountains and the Plains. As an ecological transition zone, over 180 plant species found within the Golden region have documented Indigenous uses and names, and these serve as a foundation for Native American continued use and connections to the area. Ancestral sites have cultural and historical significance related to Indigenous lifeways and values on the landscape.

Tribal oral traditions and cultural activities continue to reinforce the long-standing connections tribes have to the region. In the oral histories of the Núuchiu (Ute), the area now called the City of Golden is located within the origin places of the Moghwachi, Tabeguache, and Uncompahgre bands and has been significant since time immemorial. The oral histories and documentary record of the Tsétsėhést hese or Tsistsistas (Cheyenne) and Hinono’ei (Arapaho) reveal a history that began in the eighteenth century or earlier, and encompassed the Front Range of Colorado. Painful tribal histories, including the forced removal of the Utes from a large portion of their ancestral lands, and the removal of the Cheyenne and Arapaho from Colorado following the Massacre at

Sand Creek, are historically linked to the development of the City of Golden and are therefore essential components of Native American interpretation of the area. The City of Golden today recognizes that these oral traditions are an integral part to cultural identity and cannot be trivialized.

The publication Indigenous Connections: Native American Ethnographic Study of Golden, Colorado and the Clear Creek Valley can be downloaded free from the Museum’s Past Perfect Online Collection (GoldenHistory.org/PPO). This report is intended to be the very first step in cultivating strong relationships with Indigenous communities who continue to call Colorado home. We hope that this educational resource will be used widely and that other communities and cultural institutions will embrace and build upon this work for the greater understanding of the Indigenous presence in our region. Together we can share resources, ideas, and networks to work collectively to lift Indigenous voices in our communities. Community members are also invited to respond to a short, fourquestion survey to help guide our future work and help us prioritize what projects and initiatives the Museum should undertake next in this journey.

Indigenous Connections Project

The following is an abbreviated excerpt of chapter three of Indigenous Connections: Native American Ethnographic Study of Golden, Colorado and the Clear Creek Valley.

Núuchiu (Ute)

The Núuchiu, or “Ute-Indian people,” are represented today by three federally recognized Indian tribes: the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. Historically, 12 or more Ute bands traveled seasonally across a vast territory that includes the modern states of Colorado and Utah and parts of Kansas, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Texas. Ute bands were social groups that cooperated in land use activities and shared a common language and lifeway. The City of Golden is located within the traditional territory of three Ute bands: Moghwachi, Tabeguache, and Uncompahgre. Cassandra Atencio of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe explained that band affiliation is diverse across the three modern-day Ute tribes because of the intermarriage between bands. Consequently, it is necessary to include the cultural perspectives of all three Ute tribes in studies of Ute aboriginal territory.

The Ute language is part of the Numic branch of the Shoshonean subgroup of the Ute-Aztecan language family. Other Numic-speaking groups include the Paiutes, Hopis, Shoshones, and Comanches. There are dialectical differences between various Ute groups. Presently, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe uses an orthography developed by Thomas Givón (2016 and 2013) as the official orthography of the tribe. When the tribal origin of a Ute term is known, the Ute term is accompanied by a superscript with the following abbreviations: Southern Ute Indian Tribe= [S], Ute Indian Tribe= [N], Ute Mountain Ute Tribe= [M]. Ute terms from two bands of the Ute Indian Tribe are abbreviated here as White River Band= [W] and Uncompahgre Band= [U].

Traditional Territory

According to Ute oral traditions, Ute people have resided in Colorado since the time of their Creation and Ute bands have been associated with the Front Range since time immemorial. The Utes say that the Creator, Núumaroghomapugatu[S], created the world and everything in it, including the animals, plants, trails, and places for people to use (Conetah 182:2; Goss 2003:9). Ute people have no oral history of migration. Ute traditional history explains that when the people were created by Sinawavi[S] they were placed on high mountain tops in the region of modern-day Colorado. In an earlier study, Alden Naranjo, Jr., explained that all Ute bands have their origin spots on

mountain peaks, and that Tavakáavi[S] or “Sun Mountain” (Pikes Peak) is the origin place for the Moghwachi band. He described Tavakáavi[S] as “the center of our world,” (Alden Naranjo, Jr., in Kelley and others 2017: 4.3-42). Other prominent mountains tied to Ute creation include Rio Grande Pyramid, Uncompahgre Peak, Mount Blanca, Spanish Peaks, and Longs Peak (Goss n.d.:29–30).

The Ute cultural landscape is defined by mountains. Ute landscapes have been studied by the late Clifford Duncan, an elder from the Ute Indian Tribe (Duncan 2003). Betsy Chapoose of the Ute Indian Tribe explained Mr. Duncan’s perspective on landscapes:

Cliff loved these landscapes. He’d see an area like this and he’d just walk around

Ute territory and band locations during the early nineteenth century as mapped by Southern Ute elder Alden Naranjo, Jr., in 2019, in relation to the City of Golden.

Ute Place Names Located Within the Golden Region

Ute Place Name(s) Locations

Translation Source

‘avatu páa[S] Arkansas River “Big Water” Naranjo 2019

Manitukhwa[S] Manitou Springs Not specified Givón 2013

Niapaganti[S]; Niapawaatsi[S] Mount Blanca “Snow Mountain” Goss Nd. 29

Panakáavi[S] Longs Peak “Shining Mountain” Naranjo 2019

Perroradarutz[S] Mount Blanca “Head of the Serpent” Naranjo 2019

Perroradarath[S] Sangre de Cristo “Serpent’s Back” Naranjo 2019

Tavakáavi[S] Pikes Peak “Sun Mountain” Naranjo 2019

Tia-pu(S); Tíiapu[N] Denver Unspecified Givón 2013

Unyyooweechyugwi-y[S] Rocky Mountains “They Sit in a Row” Naranjo 2019

Waata’wagharuru(S) Spanish Peaks “Two Leaders Sitting” Naranjo 2019

[S] denotes a Southern Ute term, provided by Alden Naranjo, Sr. (2019) and transcribed by Dr. Stacey Oberly (2020); [N] denotes a Northern Ute term.

and say, “Did you hear that? Listen to the wind. Can you feel that?” He would say, “This is where language came from; this is where that song came from; these landscapes are our [Ute] personal and cultural heritage.” We are in Ute territory. We do not have migration stories—we did not move from somewhere else; we didn’t go anywhere. This is our homeland [Betsy Chapoose in McBeth 2019:23].

Ute traditional territory is conceptualized as Núuchiu Tuvupu[S] (“Ute Lands”) or Noo Tavweep[N] (“Ute Indian Lands”). Band territories were fluid and often overlapped with the territories of other bands. This is evident in a map of band territories drawn by Alden Naranjo, Jr., in 2019, based on his knowledge as a Kapúuta[S] and Moghwachi[S] elder (O’Meara and others 2021:26).

According to Garrett Briggs, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, and Cassandra Atencio, Deputy Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, internal band boundaries within Núuchiu Tuvupu[S] or Noo Tavweep[N] were not absolute. Individuals from bands could access resources and sites within another band’s territory based on preexisting relationships and familial bonds. Whereas internal Ute boundaries were fluid, the external boundaries of Ute land were carefully guarded and access to places within Núuchiu Tuvupu or Noo Tavweep[N]

had to be negotiated between Ute bands, other tribes, and non-Indians. Mr. Briggs noted that historical records and Ute oral histories document battles that broke out between Ute bands and other tribes when those negotiations did not occur.

Ute place names are embedded with cultural information and Indigenous knowledge. There are many places in Colorado named after Ute leaders or that have Ute cultural connections, referred to here as Ute legacy names. Ute legacy names in the project area include: the town of Tabernash, Ute Spring west of Boulder, Ute Pass west of Colorado Springs and include multiple places in eastern and central Colorado (Elliot 1999; O’Meara and others 2021:181).

The Núuchiu[S] were traditionally organized into regional bands. In the early-nineteenth century, 12 bands were recognized (Burns 2003:16–17; Callaway and others 1986 228–339; Conetah 1982:19–25; Southern Ute Indian Tribe 2022). Bands were often named for a notable geographic feature, an important associated traditional resource, or a well-known leader. Early-nineteenth century bands included: Moghwachi[S], Kapúuta[S], Uncompahgre, Tabeguache, Yamparika, Parianuche, Wíinúuchi[S], Moanunts, Uintah, Sampits, Pahvant, and Timpanogots. The Moghwachi[S] band was associated with the Colorado

Front Range and eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, extending from the Wyoming-Colorado border southward to Tucumcari, New Mexico, and eastward to the plains of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. In the region around Golden, Moghwachi territory overlapped with Uncompahgre and Tabeguache bands who primarily occupied the central Rocky Mountains of Colorado, with their ancestral territory extending eastward to the Front Range around Denver and westward into Utah. Another band whose traditional territory includes the Front Range is the Kapúuta[S] band. The Kapúuta[S] band’s ancestral territory overlapped with that of several other bands and extended from the San Luis Valley southward to northern New Mexico and the southern portion of the Sangre de Cristos, including the area around Raton Pass and Cimarron. The Yampa and Parianuche bands primarily occupied the northern portion of Ute territory along the Yampa, White and Grand rivers and also traveled along the Front Range (O’Meara and others 2021:24). While bands maintained a presence across a large region, family groups travelled independently within that territory, each having their preferred routes, camping spots, and significant places. These travels were previously described by Terry Knight, Sr., the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, as mee ah-vah-ghat-knee[M] which translates to “moving from place to place” and can be understood as a seasonal round (Kelley and others 2019:4.3-2; O’Meara and others 2021:47-48). The Golden region was included in the seasonal rounds of several bands, especially during the late summer months when hunting on the plains most often occurred (Goss n.d.:29). Regardless of the specific routes, Utes collectively traveled across their entire aboriginal homelands on a yearly basis, connecting the interior mountains with the plains.

GoldenHistory.org/ethnography

Programs

Programs are subject to change.

Visit our website for full details.

ONLINE

Purchase advance tickets:

1) online (includes processing fee), 2) by phone during business hours, 303.278.3557, 3) in-person.

October 28, 2023, 10 a.m. – noon (drop in)

Corn Dolls Craft

Location: Golden History Park

Free for everyone (No registration required)

Stop by the Pearce/Helps Cabin to make your own festive corn dolls! Learn how to make a standard corn doll, but feel free to add a spooky twist. Supplies will be provided.

November 2, 2023, 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Indigenous Connections Project Update

Location: Golden History Museum

Free for everyone (No registration required)

In 2021, GHM&P embarked on a new project to elevate Indigenous voice and representation in the Museum’s exhibits, collections, programs, and interpretation. Learn about the progress made in the past two years as well as plans for future exhibits, research, and outreach.

December 9, 2023, 9 a.m. – noon

Holiday Bread Baking Class

Location: Golden History Park

$12 members, $20 non-members

Join expert Lynette Vann in a bread baking workshop using the historic Pearce/Helps Cabin woodstove. Participants will make their own tasty treat of handmade holiday bread dolls. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Space is limited.

December 16, 2023, 9 a.m. – noon

Winter Survival Class with Aaron “Hutch” Hutchings Location: Golden History Park

$20 members, $30 non-members

Join expert survivalist and instructor Hutch to learn basic winter survival skills in an outdoor class setting. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Space is limited; plan to wear appropriate clothing.

December 16, 2023, 2 – 3:30 p.m.

Dancing in the Schoolhouse

Location: Golden History Park

$8 members, $15 non-members

Learn the polka and country dancing from dance teacher Mary Eiberger. Just like the pioneers and ranchers of the 1800s, we’ll be using the Guy Hill Schoolhouse as a dance hall for the holidays! Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Space is limited.

January 12, 2024, 6 – 7:30 p.m.

Victorian Networking Event

Location: Golden History Museum

Free for members, $10 non-members

Bring your top hat and calling card. It’s time to speed-network the old-fashioned way! Inside the Golden History Museum guests can expect a meet-and-greet, don Victorian garb, and have a chance to get chatty. Light snacks and soft drinks will be provided.

Photo © Povy Kendal Atchison

Photo © Golden History Museum & Park, City of Golden Collection

February 6, 2024, 6 – 7:30 p.m.

Colorado Purveyors of Vice

Location: Golden History Museum

Free for members, $10 non-members

Looking to learn the history of bad whiskey recipes, shady ladies, gambling, and con men of Colorado?

Returning presenter and author Randi SamuelsonBrown will talk about vice in the old west of Colorado and the people that helped make it wild.

Photo © Golden History Museum & Park, City of Golden Collection

February 10, 2024, 10 a.m. – noon (drop-in)

Victorian Valentine’s Craft

Location: Golden History Museum

Free for everyone (No registration required)

Stop by the Golden History Museum to make your own Victorian Valentine’s card! Mix and match supplies (provided for you) to make a heartfelt greeting.

March 5, 2024, 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

History of Indigenous Psychedelic Medicine Use in Colorado

Location: Golden History Museum

Free for members, $10 non-members

Join University of Colorado Denver’s Dr. Otañez to learn about how it became illegal in the United States to use the active ingredients in some of the region’s plants and fungi. How did healers and medicine people who carried the traditional knowledge work with the substances after criminalization? What active ingredients and compounds are now legal again nationally or at the state level? This lecture covers historical uses from an anthropological discipline.

April 2, 2024, 6 – 7:30 p.m. Teatime on the Frontier Location: Golden History Museum

Free for members, $10 non-members

How did pioneers make tea without tea leaves? Join us to learn about tea and tisanes on the frontier and make your own herbal blend. Supplies will be provided.

Roundup Education

By Jesse Gagnon

Program Spotlight: Silent Stars Summer Camp

S

ilent Stars first debuted as a halfday program in 2011 and allowed campers to get a taste of what it was like to make a silent film using the Golden History Park as their stage. Colorado has a long history of silent film production and Golden was an ideal location for westernthemed movies. East Coast filmmakers moved many of their productions to Colorado in the early 1900s because the clear air and temperate weather allowed for filming year-round. Not only was the weather more agreeable, but the authentic scenery of Colorado’s landscapes and towns reduced the studio’s costs for set construction.

The museum’s Silent Stars camp theme was a hit from its inception, with the camp transitioning to a full-day option in 2018 so that participants could explore even more aspects of the filmmaking process. Today, campers build their movies over five days of activities:

• On Monday, campers explore Golden’s history of silent films, watch silent films from previous camps for inspiration, begin their initial brainstorming, and choose their roles and costumes.

• On Tuesday, campers work out the details by creating a storyboard, scouting locations, and most importantly, completing a film-basics boot camp.

• Wednesday is exclusively a filming day. Campers have one day to shoot all the scenes at the History Park

• On Thursday, campers become experts at editing by piecing together their scenes into a coherent story line.

• On Friday, campers learn how music and sound effects can change the dynamics of their film before getting ready for their Friday afternoon in-person movie premiere at the Golden History Museum for their families.

One of the unique aspects of this camp is that participants have a hand in every aspect of their film’s production, including utilizing different technologies. Campers explore the history of film using the museum’s extensive online collection, they complete their filming using iPads, and learn how to use a MacBook and iMovie to put the final touches on their movie. Silent Stars has the additional benefit of teaching campers 21st century skills such as creativity, collaboration, technology literacy, and leadership.

In 2023, Silent Stars received some technology upgrades through the generosity of a Golden Civic Foundation grant, which provided funds to purchase two iPads, iPad tripods, storage upgrade, and new props. Check out our full slate of Silent Stars Summer Camp movies using the QR code!

Scan the code to watch our Summer Camp movies!

Upcoming Youth Programs

Historical Concoctions

November 20, 2023; 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Experiment with mixing and matching materials and ingredients as you learn about important Colorado companies like Jolly Rancher.

Pricing (per day) is $65 for members; $80 for non-members

Design and Build

November 21, 2023; 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Explore historical examples of architecture and engineering in Golden and Colorado while also using creativity and problemsolving skills to design and build your own structures.

Pricing (per day) is $65 for members; $80 for non-members

Special Two-Day Program

Winter Skills with Hutch

December 20 – 21, 2023; 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

During this two-day program at the start of the JeffCo Winter Break, participants will revisit some favorite skills from other programs, but this time with a specific winter theme. Learn how to make a fire when everything is soaking wet, build warm shelters out of just snow, design Inuit sunglasses, and more. Students who have attended our other programs will be able to see how the concepts need to be adapted to the winter season. By the end of this class, adventurers should be eager to safely enjoy a host of winter adventures.

Price for Two-Day Program (Wednesday & Thursday): $150 for Museum members; $175 for non-members.

Save the Date for Summer Camp

Registration

January 9, 2024

Registration opens to members (exclusively).

January 23, 2024

Registration opens to the public.

Member prices require a current Household membership or higher.

GoldenHistory.org

Bob Hayes:

A Golden Legend

By Stephanie Gilmore

The president of the Golden High School (GHS) Alumni Association, Bob Hayes, bleeds maroon. That’s because he is a Golden Demon, through and through. Born May 1, 1949, he has lived in this town all his life.

Bob’s mother, Virginia Van Winkle, moved here from Missouri in 1918 at the age of three. She would later graduate from GHS in the class of 1933. She was appointed Miss Golden that same year and got to travel with other girls from the Rocky Mountain region to Chicago, New York, and New Orleans. Bob’s father, Clem G. Hayes, graduated first in his class from Colorado School of Mines (CSM) in 1941 after growing up in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Virginia and Clem met

in Arizona just after World War II and were married in 1944. They moved to Golden in 1946 and raised four children together— Virginia, Bob, Greg, and Sue. Clem would return to CSM to earn his master’s degree in engineering in 1950.

Sadly, Clem died of Hodgkin’s Disease in 1960 when Bob was just 11 years old. This left Virginia to raise the kids as a single mother, thankfully with help from relatives and many kind and giving Golden neighbors. As a result, Bob and his siblings were truly children raised by the community. Bob and his brother Greg played football, basketball, and baseball together in little league where they both earned all-league honors in each sport. Both were on the first Golden little

league football team in 1959. Bob and Greg would continue to play sports at Golden High School, where they graduated in 1967 and 1968, respectively. Virginia and Sue graduated GHS in 1971 and 1972, respectively.

After high school, Bob attended Claremont McKenna College (CMC) in southern California on a scholarship from Coors based on community service, academic achievement, and leadership. Greg joined him a year later and they would again play football and baseball together. A talented football player, Bob made it into the CMC athletic Hall of Fame. After college, he returned to Colorado to earn his master’s degree in math education from University of Northern Colorado.

Photos © wedlake.com

Bob student-taught at Golden High School under teachers Elaine Fitzgerald, Darrel Hafling, and Ed Herber. He would go on to teach for one year at Drake Junior High School in Arvada, but as his heart remained in his hometown, he returned to Golden and taught there for the next 37 years. Not only did he teach math, but he also coordinated the Junior Raft and Senior Seminar programs. Considered one of the top experiential education programs in the country, Senior Seminar at Golden High School started in 1972 and is still going strong today. Ever the athlete, Bob also coached football, boys’ and girls’ basketball, baseball, and softball at GHS. He retired from teaching in 2010, but would continue to coach there until 2016, and after that, continued as a little league coach in football, basketball, baseball, and softball. It’s no surprise that, after he gave so much to the GHS sports program, Golden High School’s current gymnasium is named after him.

Bob met his wife, Randa, through her sister Gail, a fellow teacher at GHS. Randa and Bob were married for 25 years and had three children together—Amber, Becky, and Ryan. A United Airlines flight attendant, in 2001 Randa started the candlelight walk in Golden to honor the flight crewmembers who were killed on 9/11, many of whom she knew personally. Tragically, Randa passed away from brain cancer in 2005, but her candlelight tradition has grown into one of Golden’s largest community Christmas events that is still going strong over 20 years later.

Bob was unfortunately diagnosed with throat cancer in 1999, which is thankfully in remission now. Citizens of Golden rallied for Bob during his illness; many volunteered to drive him to his treatments, and the GHS faculty and community even provided meals for the whole family for 6 months. Due to adverse and lingering effects of the radiation treatments, he lost part of his jaw, but in spite of his health battles, Bob remains positive and very active in Golden. Regarding his cancer experience, he remarked, “I am very fortunate to live in Golden, such a tight-knit community that is so caring about people!”

Near the end of his teaching career, Bob met his current wife, Loana. Loana, who goes by Amber, is the athletic secretary at GHS, and she and Bob met while chaperoning a junior rafting trip several years ago. Through their mutual love of teaching, sports, and

Golden, Bob and Amber really hit it off and were married in 2014. Amber had three children at that time, Gavin, Dart, and Mya— all three of whom graduated from GHS. Bob and Amber added a 7th child to their family when they welcomed son Augustus “Gus” Hayes in 2014. Gus looks forward to following in his big brothers’ and sisters’ footsteps when he attends GHS in 2028.

We at the Golden History Museum & Park wish to thank Bob for his many contributions to the Golden community; he is truly a Golden legend.

Bob and Amber have graciously donated and loaned many of the artifacts featured in our exhibit, Old School: Golden High Turns 150.

Staff Profile

Bianca Barriskill

Bianca joined GHM&P in 2023 as Programs Assistant. Bianca worked at the History Colorado Center as both the publications intern and as their Koch Fellow from the summer of 2022-2023. She formerly interned at Discover Denver conducting architectural

surveys and research and volunteered at Golden History Museum as a guest lecturer. Bianca has a BA in Political Science from Metropolitan State University of Denver and a MA in Public History from the University of Colorado Denver.

Volunteer Profile

Rosalie Galasso Caputo

Iwas born and raised in Los Angeles where my family owned an Italian and French bakery. I moved to southern Colorado when I married my husband, who was from Trinidad, Colorado. We were both high school teachers in Pueblo, Colorado, where I taught Italian and French for 30 years. Then, we moved to Lakewood, Colorado, after retirement.

We fell in love with the area when our daughter, Regina, went to Colorado School of Mines and we just loved Golden. I enjoyed the little museum walk and the Guy Hill Schoolhouse. I said, “If we move close by, I’d love to volunteer and be the schoolmarm there.”

I have volunteered primarily at the schoolhouse at the Golden History Park. I just love that school – it has such a loving

feeling to it. Everyone who enters the school seems to be transported back to life during its days as a school and it brings fond memories to all.

I just love the field trips with so many students coming and going into the school and other places at the museum. I also used to love being at the Astor House for the teas and Night at the Museum.

I must have been a schoolmarm in another life as I enjoy being in costume and interacting with visitors.

Thank you to Golden History Museum & Park for letting the West live on.

New Acquisition: Victorian

Ice Water Service Set

Cold water consumption saw quite the upturn in the mid-to-late 19th century. This is in part due to the increased water intake during the temperance movement, and also due to the Victorian belief that cold water had restorative and healthy qualities. Therefore, the need arose for a home device to keep water cool, but as it was a time of

conspicuous consumption and imperialism, there was also a desire to show visitors to your home that you were a temperance-abiding household. This brought about the invention of silver-plated, delicately designed cold water service sets, like the one you see here. Leave it to the Victorians to make something so very simple, so very decadent! But, there is more to this pitcher set than meets the eye.

This insulated ice-water pitcher was first patented in 1854 by James Stimpson of Baltimore, Maryland. Not only is it doublewalled for insulation, but it also has a flap on the spout that is meant to keep warm air out. It sits on two knobs that protrude from the center of its body, allowing it to hang from its stand, so that water can be poured into the goblet by tipping rather than lifting the pitcher—a feature that smacks of Victorian indulgence. A tray beneath the pitcher collects dripping condensation. By the looks of it, the set seems extravagant.

However it is silver-plate, which was far more affordable to the average person than solid silver pieces of the same time period. We know the date of this set is 1869-1875 by its maker’s mark from the Aurora Silver Plate Manufacturing Company. Read more about this fascinating addition to our collection in our blog!

We are excited to have this amazing new acquisition from the First Presbyterian Church of Golden.

Golden History Museum & Park

Donors January — December, 2022

Dale and Linda Baker

$10,000+

Colorado Humanities Scientific and Cultural Facilities District City of Golden

Community First Foundation

Suzy McKee

$1,000 — $9,999

Pat Spieles

Anonymous

The Denver Foundation, Greenwood Fund

Downtown Development Authority

Steve and Cynthia Enger

Mark and Nancy Foster

Chris E. Albrecht

Darryl and Cheryl Annett

James and Joy Bauman

Nancy Bell

Robbie and Gary Berlin

Bill and Carol Bleau

Shelly and Nick Bleckley

Betty Bloom

Jennie and Charles Boeder

Robert Bolt

Grace Bonar

Jack and Joy Brandt

Merv and Judi Chapman

Linda Churches

Thomas and Julie Clark

Linda Condron

Jim and LouAnne Dale

Ingrid Depta

Jane Diggs

Pat Donahue and Kevin Skeate

Linda and Preston Driggers

Ewers Architecture

Sheryl and Steve Fassino

Kristine and Kevin Fletcher

Richard Flint

William and Frances Fraser

Norma Fricke

Dorothy and Michael Gleason

Friends of Golden History Museum & Park

Golden Civic Foundation

Victoria Reigns

Danielle and Louis Samuels

Kathleen Weller Horky and Kevin Horky Statewide Internet Portal Authority

Elaine and Joseph Marolla

John and Andi Pearson

$100 — $999

Wendy and Rick Goad

Golden Lions Club

Martha Gould

Jay and Rogene Green

George Griffin

Elnore and Ron Grow

Lynne Haigh

Travis and Sarah Hartsburg

Margaret B. Henderson

Steve Hughes and Sue Cornish

Joyce Jennings and William Cox

Janet Johnson

Paul and Karen Jones

Justin LeVett Photography

Sabrina Keller

Sharon and Robert Kirts

John and Karen Lynch

Mary Anna and Walter Madden

Pat and Judy Madison

Kelly Mayhew

Tara Meininger

Elizabeth and Karl Merritts

Bob Metz

George Meyers and Merrill Wilson

Jan Monnier and Mike Fehn

Barbara Morris

Carl and Anne Mulay

Vicki and Daniel Olson

Dan Orcutt and Teresa Mills

Justin and Sarah Wade

Karen and Leon Oxman

Bryan Palmintier and Michele Minihane

Don and Mary Parker

Mark and Cathy Pattridge

Mary and Charlie Ramstetter

Deborah Richardson

Steven Schwartz and Alice Tariot

Kermit Shields

Clare and Daniel Shier

James and Melanie Smith

Victoria Smith-Campbell and Gary Campbell

Susan Speer

Tall Pines Painting, Inc.

Michael and Marla Tamburro

Finnuala Tessier

Robert Thresher

Jim Geis and Beverly Walter

Barb Warden and Frank Blaha

Tom Weimer

Laura and Michael Weinberg

Angela and Tom Wheaton

Jeanne Whittaker

Mike and Mary Wood

Alan and Elizabeth Woodard

Frank Young and Terre Deegan-Young

Jeramy and Alicia Zimmerman

Monica and Craig Zorman

Summer Camp

S

ummer Camp at Golden History Museum & Park is a day camp for kids aged 6–12. Tucked against the foothills, just seconds from downtown Golden, camp is offered for eight weeks using a flexible half-day format, operating Monday through Friday. Most families create full-day schedules by selecting both a morning and afternoon theme. Full-day schedules operate from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Extended care (early and/or late) options are also available. The very popular Silent Stars theme is only offered as a full day.

Registration opens exclusively to CURRENT HOUSEHOLD (and higher) members on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, via email. Call 303.278.3557 to check membership status if you’re unsure, or to renew or join.