Teller County Guide 2013 by Colorado Community Media

2013

A Supplement to

OurTellerCountyNews.com

T E L L E R C O U N T Y & U T E PA S S COMMUNITY GUIDE

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Cover and inside photography by Rob Carrigan

P R E SI D E N T E D I T O R & P U B L I SH E R A DV E RT I SI N G M A NAG E R N EWS A DV E RT I SI N G S A L E S L AYOU T & D E SIG N A DV E RT I SI N G D E SIG N A special publication of

• • • • • • •

Jerry Healey Rob Carrigan Barb Stolte Norma Engelberg, Pat Hill Joanne Horst, Laura Meyers, Karen Stensland Scott Andrews Erin Franks, Nick Elias, Sandi Austin, Tina Meltzer

1200 E. Hwy 24, Woodland Park, CO 80863 719-687-3006 | OurTellerCountyNews.com | ColoradoCommunityMedia.com

Colorado Community Media is the publisher of 23 community papers and 20 websites reaching over 400,000 readers. Publisher of the Pikes Peak Courier View and the Teller County Extra.

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2013 I N S I D E Ute Pass ...........................................6 Advertising Index ..........................8 Woodland Park ............................ 12 Divide ............................................ 16

Cripple Creek ............................... 18 Victor ........................................... 22 Characters of Teller County ...... 26 Teller County Services ............... 34

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Ute Pass By Rob Carrigan At least four different locations in Colorado bear the name Ute Pass but the ancient bison and Indian trail on the North flanks of Pikes Peak (now followed by U.S. High-

way 24 from Manitou Springs up though Woodland Park and on to Divide) has wound and weaved its way into the fabric of Colorado history. That particular Ute Pass, is the real deal. El Paso County – alternately

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the most populous or the second most populous county in the state for the last few decades – takes its name from there. The county, one of the original 17 territorial counties garnered the Spanish designation El Paso, or “the Pass” in 1861 when Territorial Governor William Gilpin asked the new territorial legislature to extend boundaries across the entire territory. The 1860 federal census put the whole territory’s population at 38,500 at the time. There is a good chance that the Ute Trail was first used by bison as the animals traveled from the lush, grassy valleys of South Park to milder winters on the eastern plains, notes Celinda Reynolds Kaelin in her 1999 book Pikes Peak Backcountry. The big, hard-hoofed animals could cut a 15-inchwide, four-inch-deep, smooth track that even the most directionally-challenged tenderfoot could follow up over the hill. As early as 1820, white folks had noticed the trail as well.

Major Stephen H. Long, as part of his topographical survey at the time, wrote in his journal: “A large and much-frequented road passes the springs and enters the mountains, running to the North of the high (Pikes) Peak. It is traveled principally by the bisons, sometimes also by the Indians who penetrate here to the Columbia.” By the spring of 1860, with Argonauts crawling all over the certain steams in the territory looking for recently-discovered gold, several Kansas fellows were ready to claim the road as there own. Under a charter from the Kansas Territorial Assembly, the group doing business as the Pikes Peak and South Park Wagon Road Co., set up tollgates above Manitou Springs and tried charging wayfarers to continue on up the already welltraveled path. By June of that year, according to dispatches in the Rocky Mountain News, local settlers resisted the company’s efforts and finally forcibly removed the tollgates deC ONTIN UED: Page 10

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UT E PASS: from page 6

claring the path a free road. “This route, from most indications appears to have been the earliest entry way in this part of the West from the plains to the mountain hinterlands,” observes Paul D. Harrison in a November 1962 paper for the Denver Westerner’s monthly roundup. “It was depended on and used extensively by the white people.” Harrison observes that, “Two years after the original and unsuccessful attempt of the Pikes Peak and South Park Wagon Road firm to establish a toll project on this route, another effort by local pioneers to organize and operate the Ute Pass Wagon Road Company was sanctioned August 8, 1862, by the Colorado Territorial Assembly. Among the prominent sponsors of this project were A.Z. Sheldon, Wm. H. Young and John E. Tappan. This endeavor did not get far.”

Sheldon was not quite ready to give up however, as he then enlisted the help of Rev. Wm. Hobart and others, and reformed the company 1864, but could not raise enough money. In 1865, with another group of associates, he tried again and got a mile and a quarter stretch of rockwork done before once again running out of money. Finally, in 1871, as other roads were beginning to be used and threaten the routes dominance, “the entire local community of business men and public officials got behind the wagon road project,” wrote Harrison. “Ostensibly as a private concern, but actually sponsored by and backed by the El

Paso County commissioners, a new Ute Pass Wagon Road Co. was incorporated on April 13, 1871 to complete and operate the enterprise.” A bond issue for $15,000 to build the road was put before the voters and carried June 20, 1871, by 153 votes to 92. By 1878, huge freight wagons, pulled by mule teams were hauling supplies and ore back and forth from the diggings in Leadville and Tarryall. “Great importance was attached to this highway in the pre-railroad phases of the Leadville mining boom.”

Soon the railroads would change the picture entirely. But that is another story. Interestingly enough, most of the pass is no longer in the county that bears its name. In 1899, as gold from Cripple Creek district gave rise to new influence and political clout, Teller County was carved out of western El Paso County and the tip of Fremont County. Most of the Ute Pass is now in Teller County.

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E L E VA T I O N 8,465 feet By Norma Engelberg Woodland Park has many jewels in its crown – Meadow Wood Sports Complex and a variety of other city parks, excellent shopping and dining opportunities, a thriving arts community and a number of community events – but one of its largest jewels is the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center, which opened May 28, 2004. Part natural history museum, part showroom floor, the center is a great way for visitors to see paleontology in action. Mike Triebold, owner of Triebold Paleontology Inc., is the driving force behind the dinosaur resource center. Every summer, he and several crews of “diggers” scatter to dig sites in Kansas, North and South Dakota and Montana to hunt for Cretaceous Period fossils.

For most of the Cretaceous, the Western Interior Seaway split the North American Continent down the middle. This

– a giant sea-going predator whose bones have been found on every continent including islands off the coast

seaway, which covered the Kansas dig sites, was populated by a vast number of marine reptiles such as the mosasaur

of Antarctica; and incredibly toothy fish, several of which swim through the air over the heads of center visitors. A va-

riety of turtles called the seaway home and several species of flying reptiles lived near its shores. Dinosaurs are more likely to be found in the Dakotas and Montana but they are all still from the Cretaceous Period. A few years ago, crews even brought back a small Cretaceous mammal called a Didelphodon. Also called Taz because of its resemblance to a Tasmanian Devil, this marsupial was big for a Cretaceous mammal, about the size of a modern river otter. Theory has it that it would feel at home in otter habitat and was so big because it competed with crocodiles. The crews bring their finds back from the field and trained fossil preparators spend months and even years painstakingly releasing the C ONTINUED: Page 14

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2013 TELLER COUNTY

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WO ODL A N D PA R K: from page 12

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fossilized bones and sometimes soft tissue from their stony overlay, all in plain view of the center’s many visitors. Once the fossils are released, casts are made of the most important specimens and full-scale, detailed replicas are made for sale to other museums around the world. While waiting to be bought and sent to their new homes, many of the cast replicas are on display in the center’s showrooms for the visiting public to ooh and aah over. Besides the casts, the center also has displays explaining the world in which they were found and the process of creating the models from hunting the bones “in the wild” to standing them in the center’s showroom. There are also actual fossils on display as well as guided tours and hands-on activities for adults and children. Preparators also spend many hours taking apart, cleaning, making casts and putting back together fossils sent to them by other museums. This process offers the center an opportunity to increase its cast inventory and reset the fossils in more modern posses as new scientific discover becomes available. The center can be found at “The Palms” on Woodland Park’s main street. Under the palms, which were at one time native to the area

when the local climate was warmer and wetter, are two dinosaur life-models – one is a meat-eating Daspletosaurus named Anita Snack, an ancestor of everybody’s favorite top predator T-Rex. The other is Morris Styracosaurus, a plant eating ancestor to everybody’s second favorite dinosaur the Triceratops. Other attractions and events in Woodland Park: Visit the city’s Midland Avenue art galleries for the Third Friday Art Walks 4-7 p.m. year round; Friday Farmers Market and craft shows all summer on Henrietta Avenue near Memorial Park; Old Fashioned Fourth of July in Memorial Park; the 31st annual Symphony Above the Cloud, featuring the Colorado Springs Philharmonic July 5 at the Woodland Park Middle School; the 26th annual Mountain Arts Festival, Aug. 6-7; the 22nd annual Woodland Park Mayor’s Cup 5K and 10K foot races and Kids Fun Run at the crack of dawn Aug. 13; the 20th annual Cruise Above the Clouds Car Show Sept. 10 in Woodland Park and Sept. 11 in Cripple Creek; the 14th Annual Rocky Mountain Oktoberfest Plus, Sept. 16-17; and a number of sporting events. For listings of events, check out the community calendar at www.woodlandparkchamber.com and the parks and recreation calendar at www. city-woodlandpark.org.

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D I V I D E as its name implies, its fossils. About 35 million years ago, Lake Florissant was formed by intense volcanic activity in the Guffey area. Anything that fell into the lake, leaves, insects and animals, over the next few million years ended up fossilized in layers of volcanic ash sediment. Many of the trails, with their interpretive signs, take hikers past ancient petrified red wood trees. For information about the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, visit http://www.nps. gov/flfo/index.htm. As with any outdoor activity in Colorado, be prepared for fast weather changes. Wear sturdy shoes or boots and bring plenty of water. For more information about activities in Teller County, visit www.tellerlinks.com. With its restaurants, gas station and grocery store, Divide also is a convenient place to

refuel and to restock between trips into local forests and mountains. Also nearby on Twin Rocks Road is the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center,

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where visitors can see rescued wolves, wolf-dogs, coyote-dogs and fox families in nearly-natural enclosures. For more information about this

nonprofit rescue organization and the animals that call it home, visit www.wolfeducation.org.

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Woodland Park: City Above the Clouds Woodland Park is a home-rule city and Teller County’s most populous municipality. The city has a population of about 7,600 but almost half of the county’s 23,000 residents live in the city or within a few miles of it. This position has helped Woodland Park become more than just a bedroom community for Colorado Springs in El Paso County. With a hospital, the Woodland Park RE-2 School District, Rampart Library District, a major department store, grocers, hardware, lumber and vehicle parts stores; lodging; entertainment, pharmacies, doctors, dentists and optometrists; and all the other the types of businesses residents need, the city is rapidly becoming a service hub not only for Teller County but also Park County and parts of Douglas and Jefferson counties. The city was incorporated in 1891 when its lumber was needed for mining and trains. At that time the area, previously called Manitou Park was well-known as a resort town and tourism is still a big part

of the city’s economy. With an elevation 8,465 feet, the city is often literally above the clouds as its long-time logo ”City Above the Clouds” states. Recently the city added “Elevate Your Attitude” to is moniker. Its proximity to Pike National Forest, nearby Mueller State Park, numerous hiking, biking and equestrian trails and campgrounds also makes Woodland Park a destination for people interested in nature and the great outdoors As a home-rule municipality, Woodland Park has a city charter that was approved by voters and a six-member city council and voting mayor. Its 2013 budgeted revenue is about $7 million. Departments include city administration, planning, public works, economic and downtown development, finance, public works, parks and recreation and utilities. For more information about Woodland Park government, call 719-687-9246 or visit www.city-woodlandpark.org. For visitor or relocation information call the Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce at 719-687-9885 or visit www.woodlandparkchamber.com.

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E L E VA T I O N 9,165 feet By Norma Engelberg Divide, known to its residents as “The Center of the Known Universe,” might not be the actual center of the universe but it’s certainly a hub for outdoor activities in Teller County. Located within this small unincorporated community is Hayden Divide Community Park. It offers a 2.6-mile easy hike for people new to the elevation – 9,165 feet. The Hayden Park Trail takes hikers through high prairie surrounded by even higher vistas. The park also has a modern playground; a baseball diamond, with a wind-powered scoreboard; and picnic tables. Near Divide, within a 30-minute drive, are many more miles of trails that vary in strenuousness from easy to difficult. Some of these trails are in Pike National Forest, including Aspen Grove Trail #712

(easy – handicap accessible in summer with Braille signs), Centennial Bicycle Trail #669, Crags Trail #664, Horsethief

trails in the National Forest, visit www.fs.fed.us and click on “Pike” in the “Find a Forest or Grassland” link. Pike

Falls and Horsethief Park Trail #704, Lovell Gulch Trail #706, Rampart Reservoir Trail #700 and the 45-mile-long Signal Butte Trail #717. For information about these and other

National Forest also has numerous improved and unimproved campgrounds that can be reached easily from Divide. South on Colo. 67 from Divide is Mueller State Park,

which also has many miles of easy hiking, biking and equestrian trails. Some also have handicap access. For information about Mueller State Park, including trail maps, campgrounds and park activities, visit http://parks.state.co.us/ parks/mueller/Pages/MuellerHome.aspx. Divide is fortunate enough to have two Colorado State Parks within hailing distance. The other is Eleven Mile State Park. This park includes a reservoir for fishing and boating and several campgrounds and trails. For information, including maps and driving directions, visit http://parks.state. co.us/Parks/ElevenMile/ Pages/ElevenMileHome.aspx. Information about all 42 Colorado State Parks is available at www.parks.state.co.us. Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument also has trails but its claim to fame is,

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E L E VA T I O N 9,494 feet By Norma Engelberg Gambling has been a part of Cripple Creek’s past since the first gold strike. Fortunes could be won or lost on the turn of a card or a roll of the dice and staking a gold claim was a gamble all by itself. Gold was discovered in 1890 by Bob Womack but he didn’t make much money. The big money was made by such men as Winfield Scott Stratton, the “Midas of the Rockies,” and Sam Strong, who struck it rich in mid- 1891 on a claim next to Scott’s Independence Mine and was shot down in a Cripple Creek gambling establishment 10 years later. By 1900, Cripple Creek had 70 saloons and gambling houses. After Strong died, Cripple Creek Mayor Dr. F.J. Crane ordered all the city’s gambling houses to shut down. This was neither the first nor last attempt to “cleanup” Cripple Creek. There were

crackdowns through the mid1900s – roulette wheels and “One Armed Bandits” were confiscated and destroyed

With its history of trying to get rid of gambling, reformers would be surprised to see legalized gambling in Cripple

(those that didn’t end up on the Black Market), gamblers were run out of town and gambling dens in saloons, backrooms and bordellos were closed down.

Creek. Limited-stakes gambling was first discussed in 1967. With the mines closing and the trains no longer running, some people thought

gambling would revitalize the town. Discussions continued through the 1980s but in 1989, when limited-stakes gambling was legalized in Deadwood, S.D., discussion became action – the push was on to legalize gambling in Cripple Creek, Black Hawk and Central City. Cripple Creek City Councilmember Terry Wahrer, serving on the council in 1990, chaired the Cripple Creek Gaming Association. “We were all sitting around on a cold winter’s day wondering where the next dollar would come from and then along came Deadwood,” he said. “At first Black Hawk and Central City didn’t want Cripple Creek to be a part of the (constitutional) amendment. We called them and told them we could go it alone. Their powers-that-be called us back and set up a meeting.” At first, Cripple Creek and

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its Gilpin County counterparts hoped the state legislature would be able to place a gambling initiative on the ballot but that didn’t happen, mostly because a lot of other small towns across Colorado wanted in on the action. “That would have defeated the purpose,” Wahrer said. “So we basically killed the legislative action ourselves and went for the grassroots effort.” The gaming associations needed 50,668 valid signatures to petition the amendment onto the ballot. They brought in more than 70,000 valid signatures. Amendment 4, as it was named on the ballot, passed in Teller County by a 70 percent margin. Statewide it won by a more modest 57 percent to 43 percent. With passage, it was then up to state legislators to craft

the enabling legislature, governing how gambling would work. They finished in May of 1991, giving potential casino owners less than five months to get ready for the Oct. 1 opening day. Casino owners worked seven days a week getting ready but the city also had a lot to do. The police department needed a new dispatch office, water and sewer lines had to be upgraded and the city planning department had to craft new building codes to preserve the city’s history while allowing new construction. Properties along the casino corridor on Bennett and Myers avenues were bought up at record prices. For example, the city’s only book store went for almost $500,000 in May 1991. C ONT I NU E D : Page 20

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Cripple Creek Heritage Center The Cripple Creek Heritage Center is like no other visitors center you’ll ever see. People don’t just walk into this center, pick up a few brochures about local attractions and walk out again. The heritage center is exactly what it says it is – more of a museum than a visitors center. This free attraction offers a spectacular view of Cripple Creek and the Sangre de Cristo and Collegiate mountain ranges beyond. Packed Inside the center is several hours of education and hands-on and interactive entertainment for the entire family plus a staff that is knowledgeable about the World’s Greatest Gold Camp’s history and other attractions in the area. The Heritage Center is located on Colo. 67 just before it drops into Cripple Creek and across for the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine. No visit to Cripple Creek is complete without a visit to the Cripple Creek District

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By Norma Engelberg

Museum, the Old Homestead Museum (a bordello museum still located in its original “parlour house”) and the Outlaws & Lawmen Museum.

Events include the annual Ice Festival, Donkey Derby Days, the Salute to American Veterans Rally, the Cruise Above the Clouds Car Show and the

annual Gold Camp Christmas. For more information about Cripple Creek and its many attractions and events go to www.visitcripplecreek.com.

On Oct. 1, 1991, seven casinos opened to great fanfare, six more casinos opened a few days later and that first month, the casinos took in more than $2.5 million. Tax money started rolling in and the city paved its streets, received grants to build a visitors center and added other amenities. The school district also expanded its schools to accommodate higher enrollment. In the first decade of the 21st century, Colorado casinos faced competition from reservation casinos and cheap flights to Las Vegas. If things weren’t bad enough, along came the Great Recession. It’s no surprise that gambling took as big an economic hit as the rest of the nation’s businesses. To counter the com-

petition and increase revenue, voters were asked on the November 2009 ballot to allow higher stakes, bigger games and longer hours for Colorado’s limited-stakes casinos. When it passed, Amendment 50 changed the maximum bet to $100, added roulette, craps and poker and allowed casinos to stay open 24 hours a day. Wahrer said he thinks that raising the stakes and adding games were good ideas that should have been done in increments from the beginning but that 24-hour gambling probably won’t add new revenue because state liquor law prohibits alcohol sales from 2-7 a.m. “In a lot of ways, I’m happy with the way things have turned out,” Wahrer said.

“Without big-money casinos we wouldn’t have the infrastructure we have now. Do I think gaming has ruined the character of the town? Yes, a little – I used to know everybody here – but I am mostly glad for what it has done for the town.” Compared to Black Hawk, Cripple Creek has done a great job preserving its history through the gambling boom, he said, adding, “We’ve stuck to our guns and stuck to our history and we’ve restored a lot of historic buildings using gaming funds.” Of course, gambling isn’t the only reason to come to Cripple Creek. For information about amenities and activities, go to www.visitcripplecreek.com.

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“I was a little naïve in those days,” Wahrer said. “I envisioned mom-and-pop shops with a few slots – something that would keep them open through the winter. I was surprised when big money hit town. A lot of property owners said they sold out because of higher taxes but many of them had been trying to sell out for years.” That same summer, the 100-year-old Teller County Jail was deemed no longer adequate and, although Cripple Creek is the county seat, county commissioners built the new jail in Divide. Other big ideas also didn’t happen, including a five-story hotel on Myers Avenue, a train from Colorado Springs and even regular helicopter rides for tourists.

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Cripple Creek: A city built on gold

Photo by Norma Engelberg

Before gold was discovered in 1890 by Bob Womack, a ranch hand with a yen for prospecting, the Cripple Creek area just had a handful of homesteaders and ranchers. By 1900, however, there were 50,000 people living in what was being called the World’s Greatest Gold Camp, an area that also included the city of Victor, the unincorporated town of Goldfield and several smaller towns that have disappeared since 1918 when the easy-to-get gold was no longer available: Anaconda, Independence, Altman, Gillett and others. During its heydays, more than $300$500 million ($4.6 billion-$7.6 billion in 2013 dollars) in gold removed from the hard volcanic rock. After the boom was over, the city started advertising itself as a tourist destination and did its best to preserve its mining history. In the 1990s, AngloGold Ashanti opened the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Co. surface mine and state voters legalized gambling. These factors have revitalized the city while helping

to preserve the city’s rich heritage. Cripple Creek is governed by a fourmember city council and a voting mayor. Its 2013 budget is $14.2 million. City departments include building, planning and historic preservation; police, fire and emergency services; public works, finance, parks and recreation, special events and marketing and water and wastewater. According to 2012 U.S. Census estimates, the city’s population is about 1,200 but another 800 have Cripple Creek zip codes. City amenities include the Cripple Creek-Victor RE-1 School District, the Franklin Ferguson Public Library, the Cripple Creek Medical Plaza, museums, shops and casinos, melodrama and stage entertainment and numerous events throughout the year. Also visitors and potential residents should watch for a new city shuttle service scheduled to start in March between Cripple Creek and Victor. For more information about Cripple Creek, call 719-689-2502 or visit www. cripplecreekgov.com. For information about Cripple Creek events and attractions, go to www.visitcripplecreek.com.

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E L E VA T I O N 9,693 feet By Norma Engelberg When people hear the phrase, “The World’s Greatest Gold Camp,” they often think of Cripple Creek but what many don’t realize is that some of the richest and largest mines in the Gold Camp were actually located in or near Victor. Much of that rich mining history is still visible in this small mountain town that has called itself the “City of Mines” since the early 1890s. The town was founded by Warren, Harry and Frank Woods in 1892. No one knows for sure why the Woods brothers named the town Victor but theory has it that they named it after one of the area’s first pioneers, Victor Adams. In 1894, while digging the foundation for a hotel, the Woods brothers struck gold and opened the Gold Coin Mine – the hotel had to wait.

The Gold Coin’s hoist, shaft and some of its buildings remain in Victor at 4th and Diamond. The brothers also

voir provided power for towns from Victor and Cripple Creek to Pueblo. The Gold Coin is now part

owned the First National Bank of Victor and Golden Crescent Power and Light Co. In fact, the hydroelectric dam they built at Skagway Reser-

of the Trails of Gold hiking and biking trail system that surrounds Victor and gives visitors a glimpse of its richest mines. Each trail has interpre-

tive signs with historic photographs and information, not only about the mines but also local mining towns, ghost towns and mining structures and techniques. Some of the trails are handicap accessible. Coming into Victor from Gillett Flats on CR 81, visitors can follow the signs at CR 381 to the American Eagle Overlook. Not actually part of the Trails of Gold system, the overlook offers a great view of modern gold mining, the historic gold camp, Pikes Peak, the Continental Divide and Sangre de Cristo and Collegiate mountain ranges. The overlook also offers an opportunity for visitors to explore an 1895 mining complex, complete with the shifter’s office, superintendent’s house, blacksmith shop, headframe and hoist. C ONTINUED: Page 25

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Teddy visits Victor On a campaign trip for President William McKinley in September of 1900, Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Victor in the hopes of polishing the shine in the gold camp with his candidate’s support for the permanent gold standard. Many Coloradoans, however, did not approve of McKinley’s stance and favored instead a bimetallic monetary system and the free coinage of silver. Newly-formed Teller County in fact had been named in honor of the most ardent supporter of “free silver,” Henry Teller. Teller and 22 other Republicans had walked out of 1896 Republican convention because of McKinley’s selection and his gold affectation. Most miners in the district leaned toward “free silver” and another of its champions, William Jennings Bryan for president. “To make matters worse, senators Lodge and Wolcott, outspoken opponents of Bryan, were to accompany Roosevelt.” notes Brian H. Levine, in his 1982 book “Lowell Thomas: Victor: The Man and the Town.” “Rumblings of trouble were

Victor: City of Mines, dreams At an elevation of 9,780 feet, the city of Victor ranks among some the Colorado’s and the United States’ highest cities. It was platted in 1893 when the Woods brothers discovered gold while digging a hotel foundation in what would soon be called Victor. This was three years after Bob Womack found gold in Cripple Creek’s Poverty Gulch. No one knows how the city got its name but, while Cripple Creek got the glory, Victor was where the richest mines in the World’s Greatest Gold Camp were located. Victor is governed by a four-member city council and a voting mayor. Its departments include city administration, streets and public works and water/wastewater. The fire department is all-volunteer and Teller County Sheriff’s Office takes care of city law enforcement through its Victor

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By Rob Carrigan

felt up and down Victor Avenue,” according to Levine. “When Roosevelt appeared at 5:15 p.m., he was greeted by cheers, music and pro-Bryanite banners.” “Democratic hoodlums” interrupted his speech and fight broke out later when Wolcott leaned out the carriage and snatched a Bryan campaign sign away. “The Republican Marching Club was quickly attacked. Free coinage demonstrators charged Roosevelt. Women and children joined the fight. The Gold Coin Band continued playing patriotic tunes,” writes Levine. Roosevelt was barely able to scurry to the awaiting Midland train. In fact, he did have his pince-nez knocked from his face he might have been beamed by two-by-four wielded by a Bryan supporter if Danny Sullivan had not intervened. Sullivan reportedly received a red sapphire ring later as a measure of gratitude. But the close call did not stop Roosevelt from returning to the district in August of 1901 as Vice President. He was welcomed this time in Vic-

tor and toured the Portland and Gold Coin mines, power lunched with Irving Howbert, Jimmy Burns, Spencer Penrose and Warren and Harry Woods, and shook thousands of hands at a reception in his

Substation. During the heydays of mining, the gold camp had a population of about 50,000. Victor’s population now, according to U.S. Census Bureau is about 450. The drop in population has left many of the city’s fine old Victorian-style brick buildings empty but city officials and local organizations are doing their best to preserve the buildings and local history. One of those efforts is called Victor Downtown Revitalization and Economic Acceleration Movement. Shortened to its acronym, DREAM is more than a movement; it’s where this small town is hitching its future. DREAM is a partnership between the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, which took over the Colorado Main Street Program that is also part of DREAM and the city. The DREAM started with a community assessment in June 2010 and a kick-off later

that year in November. The outcome of the assessment was a push to focus and coordinate local organizations, business owners, residents and the city’s energies into the path of revitalization. Councilmember Veldean Petri said the city has high hopes. “We have lots of elbow grease,” she said at the kick-off , adding that the city will be relying on public input and community involvement to accomplish its goals. Some of those goals, the low-hanging fruit, are already being accomplished through the city’s façade painting program. At least 14 downtown Victor businesses have benefitted from the new paint and repaired facades. The program will continue with the help of local donors. Other improvements are being funded through grants, including several from the State Historical Fund for the preservation of the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum, named

honor. The $500 worth of gold that the Vice President mined himself at the Gold Coin was sacked and presented to him as a present. after one of Victor’s most famous sons; Colorado Department of Transportation and Community Development Block grants to pave streets and fix drainage and water/ wastewater issues and Great Outdoors Colorado grants to repair and update the city’s outdoor ice-skating rink at Brian’s Park, home of the Victor Penguins Hockey Club. The town is also the home of the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Co., which with its many grants and in-kind services has helped the city revive its historic Sunnyside Cemetery and other projects. Mine personnel also work with Cripple Creek-Victor RE-1 School District students on a variety of science and environmental projects. The mine also sponsors the annual Mining Games at Victor’s Gold Rush Days celebration, one of the state’s oldest continuing festivals. For more information about Victor, call 719-689-2284 or visit www.victorcolorado.com.

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V ICTOR : from page 22

On the way to the overlook is one of the Trails of Gold trailheads – the Vindicator Valley Trail. Its other trailhead is at the Theresa Mine turnoff on CR 81 at Goldfield. The Vindicator Valley Trail is a 2-mile loop that takes hikers and cyclists past several of the mining district’s largest and richest mines. Outdoor enthusiasts who want a longer hike can take the Golden Circle Trail that connects the Vindicator Valley Trail to the Battle Mountain Trail and the Independence Mine and Millsite that opened in 2005. Both the trail and millsite are located at the north end of Victor. The Downtown Victor Trail takes visitors on a self-guided interpretive trail on city streets and sidewalks. Sights along the way include the city’s 1899 buildings, the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum, the Victor Gold Camp Ag & Mining Museum and the fully restored Victor City Hall and Visitors Center. Little Grouse Mountain Trail is located on Colo. 67 across the highway from the modern Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company’s Cresson Mine facility. A short hike up the mountain offers visitors a 360-degree view of the picturesque surroundings. At the trailhead, brochures describe the old mining equipment that was relocated there from mines all over the area. Between Victor and Cripple Creek on CR83 just west of the Hoosier Mine is the Gold Camp Trailhead where more old mining equipment is located. The Gold Camp Trail’s other trailhead is at the Cripple Creek District Museum. It passes through some of the area’s most important historical sites – Poverty Gulch where Bob Womack struck the gold

that put Cripple Creek and Victor on the map, the Mollie Kathleen Mine, the Gold King Mine and the C.O.D. Mine. If you hike the trails, wear sturdy shoes or boots, a hat and sunscreen; bring plenty of water and a snack and dress for inclement weather with wind and waterproof gear – at 10,000 feet the weather can change quickly. For more information about the Trails of Gold, as well as the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum, the Victor Gold Camp Ag & Mining Museum, other local trails, the Golden Loop Driving Tour and other his-

torical sites, visit www.victorcolorado.com. This site has maps to Victor, American Eagles Road, the Gold Belt Na-

tional Scenic Byway, Golden Loop, Trails of Gold and the Historic Victor Walking Tour. Maps are also available at the Visitors Center and the Lowell Thomas Museum. The Trails of Gold and Golden Loop are sponsored and maintained by the Southern Teller County Focus Group with help from the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mining Co. To make a tax deductible donation for trail maintenance, signage and other trail needs, visit the website listed above and click on the S.T. County Focus Group link. For further adventure, on May 28 celebrate the Lowell Thomas and Ag & Mining museums’ opening day and the seventh Annual Historic Mine Tour to the Ajax Mine, June 1-Sept. 3 take the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Co. modern mine tour, July 15-17 check out the Victor Gold Rush Days and Mining Games, Sept. 3-5 come to Victor Celebrates the and take in the fall colors the last three weeks of September. Also Phantom Canyon Road is a scenic, if narrow drive, to Cañon City while Gold Camp Road takes visitors on the route to Colorado Springs about which Pres. Theodore Roosevelt said descriptions of “bankrupted the English language.” Both of these roads start near Victor.

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TELLER COUNTY By Rob Carrigan

Henry Moore Teller When Teller County was carved out of the western portion of El Paso County and the northern limits of Fremont county in March of 1899, officials paid homage to Colorado’s colorful Henry Moore Teller. As one of the state’s first United States Senators, Teller’s efforts in support free coinage of silver and other “silver question” policies, made him a hero in this mining community. In fact, with his bi-metallic focus, he emerged as silver’s leading proponent throughout Colorado, the Western United States, and among lawmakers in Washington. The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress describes Teller’s rather unique party affiliation record and political career. “ … Upon the admission of Colorado as a State into the Union in 1876, (Teller) was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate; reelected, and served from November

15, 1876, until his resignation on April 17, 1882., to accept a Cabinet position, … appointed Secretary of the Interior in the Cabinet of Chester Arthur 1882-1885; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1885 and 1891, a Silver Republican in 1897, and as a Democrat in 1903, and served from March 4, 1885 to March 3, 1909; declined to be a candidate for nomination…” In addition to Teller County, his namesake graces Teller Mountain, near the headwaters of the Platte and Swan Rivers, Teller City ( a ghost town presently) in North Park, Teller House in Central City, and Teller Harbor, the most northerly harbor on the American side of the Bering Sea in Alaska, as well as the village of Teller, about 60 miles northwest of Nome, Alaska.

Harry Orchard Orchard’s real name was Albert Horsley and he grew up on an Ontario farm with seven brothers, but was prob-

ably best known as the “Mad bomber of Cripple Creek.” Working eventually in a silver mine in Burke, Idaho, Orchard joined the WFM and was among the thousand or so miners that hijacked a Northern Pacific train and then blew up the Bunker Hill concentrator, killing two men. According to his own admission, he was one of two who placed the dynamite and then lit the fuse. “Orchard’s career as a paid union terrorist began in 1903 when he blew up the Vindicator mine in Colorado, again killing two men, for a fee of $500,” according a biography by faculty of the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law. “Six months later a bomb planted by Orchard at Independence train depot exploded, killing 13 non-union miners.” In the same testimony, he also told of unsuccessful efforts to kill the Governor Peabody of Colorado, and two Colorado Supreme Court Justices. Also he admitted additional murders including deputy Lyle Gregory, of Denver, and the attempted poisoning and then successful bombing of Bunker Hill mining manager Fred Bradley in San Francisco. Orchard was tried and convicted in March 1908 for the murder of former Gov. Frank Steunenberg. He received a death sentence but it was commuted to life in prison by Judge Fremont Wood and the Board of Pardons and he served out

his life sentence, raising chickens and growing strawberries, in Idaho State Penitentiary until his death in 1954 at age 87.

Big Bill Haywood The son of a former Pony Express rider, Haywood was born in Salt Lake City in 1869. His dad died when he was three and after he punctured his right eye in accident involving a pocket knife and a slingshot, he was forced by family economics to go to work in the mines before he was ten years old. As an adult, the six-footthree-inch, gruff, imposing and sometimes-volatile figure with a thunderous voice, and a milky dead eye that he never replaced with a glass one, became one of the most feared radicals in the American labor movement. In 1902, Haywood and Charles Moyer assumed leadership of the Western Federation of Miners. In his own words from a speech in 1911 in New York City, Haywood noted

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the importance of the Cripple Creek strike. “Then came the general strike in Cripple Creek, the strike that has become a household word in labor circles throughout the world. In Cripple Creek 5,000 men were on strike in sympathy with 45 men belonging to the Millmen’s Union in Colorado City; 45 men who had been discharged simply because they were trying to improve their standard of living. By using the state troops and the influence of the Federal government they were able to man the mills in Colorado City with scab millmen; and after months of hardship, after 1,600 of our men had been arrested and placed in the Victor Armory in one single room that they called the “bullpen,” after 400 of them had been loaded aboard special trains guarded by soldiers, shipped away from their homes, dumped out on

the prairies down in New Mexico and Kansas; after the women who had taken up the work of distributing strike relief had been placed under arrest--we find then that they were able to man the mines with scabs, the mills running with scabs, the railroads conveying the ore from Cripple Creek to Colorado City run by union men--the connecting link of a proposition that was scabby at both ends! We were not thoroughly organized. There has been no time when there has been a general strike in this country.” Haywood would wind up the striking miners with thunderous shouts of “Eight hours of work, eight hours of play, eight hours of sleep — eight hours a day.” Haywood often had to travel in secret through the mining camps and he is widely blamed for inciting much of Colorado violence that culminated in the 1904 bombing of

2013 TELLER COUNTY the railroad platform at Independence in which thirteen died. Then, according to Faces of Protest web site, “Shortly after Christmas in 1905, former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg was returning to his home in Caldwell after a day in his nearby office. As he opened his garden gate a bomb exploded, shattering the forty-four-yearold Steunenberg’s body. He died within hours.” Under grueling questioning by law enforcement and Pinkerton private detectives, Orchard confessed to being an assassin hired by the Western Federation of Miners. Orchard claimed the hit had been ordered by Charles Moyer, “Big Bill” Haywood and former board member George Pettibone. The Pinkerton men secretly arrested the three in no-knock raids in Denver in 1906 and “extradited” them to Idaho. (It

was reported at the time, Haywood was found sleeping with his sister-in-law.) Billed as “the trial of the century,” Haywood was able to secure Clarence Darrow as his defense attorney, and pay for it with small donations from union members around the country. During the trial, Orchard also confessed to killing two men with a bomb in the Vindicator Mine, as well as many other murders for hire and sport. Despite that testimony and amid suggestions that the trial was rigged, Haywood was acquitted. Darrow depicted Haywood as victim of mineowners conspiring against him in order to silence him. Leaving the Western Federation of Miners in 1908 to work with a more aggressive union, he channeled his efforts into Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the “Wobblies.” By 1915 he had become the C ONTINUED: Page 28

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leader of the IWW and managed strikes in New Jersey and Washington State. From the head of “Wobblies,” Haywood was said to advocate sabotage or “direct action” against employers refusing to recognize union organization efforts. “Wobblies were explicit about their eventual goal of toppling capitalism, and many of their leaders, including Haywood, expressed open admiration for the young Soviet Union,” according to PBS documentary “The West.” Haywood, in addition to his reputation as a solid socialist, was also known for his atheism. Christianity, he said, “was all nonsense, based on that profane compilation of fables called the Bible.” Arrested during World War I and convicted of violating the federal espionage and sedition act by calling a strike during wartime, Haywood served a year in Leavenworth. While out on bail pending an appeal of that conviction, he fled the country and went to Moscow. There, he became a “trusted advisor” of the Bolshevik government. He was often used as spokesman for worker advancements claimed by Vladimir Lenin and other Marxist but some historians claim he soon became disenchanted with corruption and abuses of power.

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him that morning, and maybe with T.E. Lawrence during that commission were the basis of it did. “That reminds me of a sto- a series of films, lectures and his book, “With Lawrence in ry,” he would say. Thomas was the Forest Arabia.” Gump of the 20th Century. The man was everywhere. According to the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans (HAADA), Thomas earned four college degrees, one each at Valparaiso University, University of Denver, Kent College of Law and Princeton University. He also received 25 honorLowell Thomas ary degrees from other institutions. In addition to HAADA, “Good evening everybody.!” That is how a favorite Colo- Thomas’ achievements landed Ralph L Carr rado Newspaper character him in such varied institutions as the Radio Hall of Fame, Colopened his trademark reports orado Ski Hall of Fame and the Ralph L, Carr cut his teeth in for decades. Lowell Thomas, former edi- National Aviation Hall of Fame. the news game in the rough President Ford awarded him and tumble streets of turn-oftor of the Victor Daily Record and Victor News, died of a the Medal of Freedom in 1976. the-century Cripple Creek. At As pioneer of radio journal- the same time, he matched heart attack in 1981, two weeks after last visiting his boyhood ism, newsreel services and wits with friendly competihometown in the small Colo- then television news, Thomas tion and rivalry of the caliber established himself as the rado mining hamlet of Victor. of Lowell Thomas. You would Both of those Victor news- voice of world travel and adthink that the publishing busipapers eventually merged into venture in his long and prothe Cripple Creek Gold Rush, a lific career. He wrote 52 books, ness would have been his leg1,000-circulation, paid weekly many of them best sellers, was acy. Carr became more famous the first reporter to enter Gerthat I once published. Recognized for offering many following World War I, for his politics. After viewing one of Thomas news during World lectures, or Television or radioyoubroadcast But it didn’t affect his friendexcellence. reports, listeners often experi- War II from a mobile truck be- ship Recognized with world-renowned for offering Recognized for offering tofront J.D. lines Power and hind the and flew newsman Lowell Thomas. The enced a sense, or distinct feel-According you excellence. over Berlin inagency a P-51 Mustang youour excellence. ing, that they were listening toAssociates, offers “An two were steadfast buds up a very eloquent friend, telling during the final battle between According to J.D. Power and Death in 1950. They According to J.D.Experience.” Power and until Carr’s Outstanding Customer stories that actually happened Russians and Germans. ourdays agency offers “An Associates, ourout agency offersRecognized “An Associates, became pals in their as rifor offering today toWoodrow find more. President Wilson to the storyteller personally. Call me Outstanding Customer Experience.” Outstanding Customer Experience.” val newspaper editors, coveryou excellence. Thomas to creHe would often break into a commissioned Call me today to find out more. Call me today to find out more. ing much of the same news. ate a historical record of World yarn in some fascinating exotic According to J.D. Power and Carr edited a rival paper in location as if was telling about War I battles. Associates, our agency offers “An His experiences in Arabia Cripple Creek, The Times, at something that happened to

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the same time Thomas was at the Victor Record and News. But, between 1939-1943 Colorado had one of the most courageous and independent governors ever to be elected, by many accounts. In 1939 a struggling Republican Party supported Carr as their gubernatorial candidate, and won. Within the first halfhour of his term, Carr proposed a plan for a balanced budget by transferring state income taxes from public schools to the state’s general fund. These immediate fiscal measures helped to save our state from imminent bankruptcy. Also due to Carr’s leadership, the Legislature passed the State Reorganization Act, which greatly increased the efficiency of state government. As a result, Carr is one of the few governors known for making the Colorado bureaucracy more operative. One of the few voices of reason during wartime was Governor Carr, who continued to treat the Japanese-Americans with respect and sought to help them keep their American citizenship. He sacrificed his political career to bravely confront the often-dark side of human nature. At one time, the New York Times consider him as being on the path to become president of the United States. “If you harm them, you must harm me. I was brought up in a small town where I knew the shame and dishonor of race hatred. I grew to despise it because it threatened the happiness of you and you and you.” Carr’s selfless devotion to all Americans, while destroying his hopes for a senate seat, did in the end become extolled as, “a small voice but a strong voice.”

W.S. Stratton Wealth and power can be a burr under the saddle to someone that is not used to taking that seat. At the end of his life, Cripple Creek’s first, and greatest, millionaire Winfield Scott Stratton, couldn’t touch something without it turning to gold or money. It made him very unhappy. “This wealth came to a man who had spent most of his life working as a carpenter for $3 a day,” wrote historian Kenneth Jessen in a recent newspaper article in Loveland Reporter Herald. The Independence Mine contributed the bulk of Stratton’s wealth. “At today’s gold prices, the Independence yielded over $2 billion and when Stratton sold the mine, he received nearly a quarter of a billion dollars,” noted Jesson. But that is not the interesting part. The perennial ‘nice guy’ who never forgot where he came from, ended up giving most of it away. His fortune, born on the Fourth of July, was pretty much spent and/ or handed out as gifts by the carpenter-turned-miner at the Christmas of his life. “On July 4, 1891, Stratton was prospecting on the side of Battle Mountain. Based on geology, he reasoned rich ore could be found there,” says Jesson. “As he searched for gold, Stratton could hear shots fired into the air as miners began their celebration of the Fourth of July. That day, Stratton found

2013 TELLER COUNTY and staked out the Washington and the Independence claims. That claim, and other subsequent moves, made him tremendously wealthy. “He would eventually own one-fifth of the mining land in Cripple Creek and Victor,” writes historian Tom Stockman. “He was extremely generous, he bought bicycles for the local washer women to use on their rounds, and when Cripple Creek burned in an allto-common fire, he helped the town rebuild in brick.” According to Tom Stockman, “Disdaining the common practice of building a mansion, Stratton lived in one of the houses he had previously built as a carpenter. His many charitable acts actually drew public disapproval. He eventually attracted so many false applicants for aid that he withdrew from society, becoming a heavy-drinking eccentric recluse.”

Emma Langdon The Record was considered “the voice” of the WFM and Langdon and a crew of replacements barricaded themselves inside the Record when martial law was declared and produced a morning edition. This, she accomplished after the arrest of her husband, brother-in-law (both Record typesetters) and the editor George Kyner. “Somewhat Disfigured, But Still In The Ring,” screamed C ONTINUE D: Page 30

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the headline on that forbidden edition. Later, martial law activities and deportation by Colorado Governor James H. Peabody prompted The New York World to telegraph the Governor and demand answers. The World asked Peabody for a “statement of your reasons for permitting Colorado troops to dump 91 union miners on the Kansas line, leaving them destitute on the prairie, miles from habitation. No explanation of this action has reached the East.” Peabody answered, “The reason for deporting the strikers and agitators from Cripple Creek was the dynamite outrage of June 6, whereby fourteen non-union miners were instantly killed, and the subsequent street riots and killing of two non-union miners by the same element … Rioting, dynamiting, and anarchy has had its day in Colorado.” “Big Bill” William D. Haywood, secretary-treasurer of the WFM, answered the answer. “There has been no insurrection in Colorado except that emanating from the occupant of the capitol building. Nowhere in the United States will you find a higher class of working men than this Commonwealth … And it must be remembered that no violence of any description had taken place until after the governor

had ordered out the troops, and in the language of George Bell, then ‘hell began to pop.’” Advertisements from the labor side of the fight during the conflict complained “Habeas Corpus suspended in Colorado, Bull pens for union men in Colorado, Soldiers defy the courts in Colorado, Union men exiled from their homes and families in Colorado, Corporations corrupt and control administration in Colorado, and Citizens alliances resort to mob law in Colorado.”

Jack Dempsey In January of 1928, having recently lost the heavyweight championship of the world title, the fighter know as Jack Dempsey announced his retirement because he was having “trouble” with his left eye muscle. It has been a long tough road from the mining camps of Colorado. The Associated Press reported in April that Dempsey

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C H A R A C T E R S would not attempt a comeback a comeback – not even for $50 million dollars. “I have enough money,” he told newspapers at the time and still had his health. “I can still walk around and tell time.” In 1931 and 1932, Dempsey did fight over 100 exposition fights but after his poor showing against “Kingfish” Levinsky, he confirmed his decision not to make a comeback. William H. Dempsey, the Manassa Mauler, was billed as “one of the toughest men to ever come out of the West. The moniker originated from Dempsey’s birthplace in the San Luis Valley town of Manassa, Colorado. His dad knocked around various Colorado mining camps, and eked out a living in low level mining jobs for years. Barely able to scrape by, the young Dempsey worked as a mucker in the Cripple Creek District’s Portland Mine before he and his brother hit on a scheme in which they would go into the local saloons and offer to whip anyone in the house for the amount they could collect by passing the hat. Both he and his brother fought in the saloons under the name of Jack Dempsey, which was borrowed from an eighteenth-century Irish brawler. Though he appeared slight and non-threatening as a 16-year-old kid, according to the legend, Dempsey never lost one of these bare-knuckle brawls. The Cyber Boxing Zone says that because of this, his record is still incomplete. “As a hobo from 1911 to 1916, Dempsey had many ‘fights,’ most as ‘Kid Blackie,’ in various Colorado mining towns. His first fight was at 140 pounds during the summer of 1912, a KO of Fred Wood, the ‘Fighting Blacksmith.’ Later that year he Kayoed his future manager, Andy Molloy; It is possible that Dempsey had as a many as 100 unrecorded

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fights.” According to Hickok Sports, Dempsey went to New York in 1916 but met with limited success and returned to the west after suffering broken ribs by a more experienced fighter. Hopping freights and picking up occasional bouts to earn money, he met Jack “Doc” Kearns who reportedly taught him to box and matched him against a series of lesser fighters to build his reputation. “The 6-foot, 190-pound Dempsey met with the 6-foot 6-inch, 250-pound, heavyweight champion Jess Willard on July 4, 1919, at Toledo, Ohio. Dempsey won a third-round knockout. Promoter Tex Rickard immediately began calling him ‘Jack the Giant Killer’ because Willard was known as the ‘Pottawatomie Giant.’” Dempsey defended his title only six times in the next seven years and finally lost it to Gene Tunney in a 10-round decision on September 23, 1926 in Philadelphia. In the rematch in Chicago a year later, Dempsey knocked Tunney down in the seventh round. It took Dempsey several seconds to go back to his neutral corner (a fairly new rule prompted by actions by Dempsey in his 1922 legendary win over Luis Firpo). Tunney got to his feet at count of nine and held on to win a 10-round decision. It became known famously as “The Long Count,” and Referee Dave Barry had to suffer through derisive fans shouting from one to 14 in unison between rounds in which he refereed – based on Dempsey’s belief that Tunney had been down for 14 seconds, not nine. A 1950 Associated Press poll named Dempsey “the Greatest Fighter of the half century.” Of his available record of known fights, he logged 63 wins, seven losses, 10 draws, five no decisions, one no contest. Of his wins, 50 were by knockouts. Dempsey died in 1983 at the ripe old age of 87.

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Groucho Marx Groucho actually began his career as a female impersonator, according to the March, 1974 issue of Playboy, playing a singer in a smalltime vaudeville troupe, The LeRoy Trio, in 1905. “With the onset of puberty, and subsequent change of his voice, he was left stranded by the troupe in Cripple Creek, Colorado, and you can’t get any more stranded that,” said the magazine article. Groucho told the tale in

his book, “Groucho and Me,” which was first released in 1959. He went looking for the leader of the act, Gene LeRoy, only to find out he had been abandoned. “I returned to our boardinghouse to question Larong (LeRoy) about our future plans, only to discover that the master showman had had hastily packed his blue kimono, his evening gown and his mascara and had taken it on the lam, never to be seen or heard from again,” according to Groucho. After the LeRoy Trio fell apart, he tried work driving a grocery wagon between Cripple Creek and Victor. “Though he had never seen a horse, he wrangled a job as a wagon driver until Miene or ‘Minnie’ (his mother) could send him his train fare home,” according to the Playboy article. His next engagement ended almost as abruptly in Waco, Texas, when the Englishwom-

2013 TELLER COUNTY an who had hired him, ran off with a lion tamer who shared the bill. “He then found a job cleaning actor’s wigs, which he describes as a ‘hair-raising experience.’” His mother decide to take matters into her own hands and organized an act called the ‘Three Nightingales,’ which featured him, his brother Harpo -- who couldn’t sing at all, and a girl who sang off-key. They became the ‘Four Nightingales’ when brother Chico, who had lost his job as a lifeguard (he had to be saved from drowning by another guard). His brother Gummo, eventually replaced the musicallychallenged girl, and they became the ‘Four Marx Brothers. Gummo was later replaced by Zeppo, a younger brother. The Four Marx Brothers knocked around vaudeville for years, finally hitting it big on

Broadway in the two –year run of “I’ll Say She Is.” Other successes followed with “Cocoanuts,” and “Animal Crackers.” Translated from Broadway to film, these and other monster smashes secured the Four Marx Brothers commercial success. Groucho created his own solo success in radio programs like “You Bet Your Life,” which lasted until 1963, and with his brother Chico, playing the comic lawyers of ‘Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel.’

Bert Bergstrom When Woodland Park’s legendary figure “Big Bert” Bergstrom died on March 12, 1986, more than 500 people filed past his casket a few days later at Woodland Park Saddle Club Arena in the center of town. A fitting tribute for the C ONTINUED: Page 32

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C H A R A C T E R S

CHAR AC T E R S: from page 31

founder and main benefactor of the Woodland Park Santa Claus Club, the man who donated the ground for the Saddle Club itself, and the owner of several area gambling dens and houses of ill repute. Even today, stories swirl around in the thin mountain air about the “big Swede” with heart of gold and a community conscience, along with the farreaching illegal operations to help finance them. “Through the generosity of Bert Bergstrom, new rodeo grounds were made available in the fall of ’49. The new grounds are located in the center of town, south of the business section. With the cooperation of the people of the county and active members of the Saddle Club, the new grounds are being completed with a race track and a grand stand to be built later,” reported the View. A few years ago, in a conversation with Oscar Lindholm, who was 93 at the time, Bert Bergstrom was remembered as a “big, rough, tough Swede, saloonkeeper at the Ute Inn, 231 pounds, that could drink quite lot of beer.” Oscar acknowledged, at the time, he could go through a fair amount of beer himself. But Big Bert and Oscar were not alone, especially when the Stampede was in town. “… With the casino blaring away, all the local night spots

lit up (and others?) and the square dance at the school ‘fillin’ up the floor’, Everybody had a GOOD TIME,” according the 1950’ article in the paper. Cowboys and spectator alike agreed, “It is the best arena in the state and so beautifully situated with Pikes Peak and the breath-taking mountain scenery in the background,” reported the View. Gabe Brock, longtime owner of the Crystola Inn, remembered and verified gambling in Woodland Park in the late 1940s and the early 1950s. “He had 75 slot machines and I had 75 slot machines. We pooled them and put them out all over the county. We had sanction from Teller County Sheriff. We went along there for about four years without any trouble. We would rake a little off each week and with that we build the Woodland Park Community Church. The VFW was in trouble, and Bert bought them a building behind the Ute Inn,” remembered Brock, as quoted by Marron of the Courier. The Eldorado Club, which later became Preschool in the Pines, was also one of Bert’s gambling clubs, Brock told the paper. “The proceeds from gambling built a lot of Woodland Park,” he said, but it all ended in 1952 when a new mayor closed things down, according to Brock.

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Adeline Hornbeck She married in 1858 at the age of 25. Her first husband, Simon A. Harker, a clerk in the office of Adeline’s brother, an Indian trading post located in now what is the state of Oklahoma. Simon Harker filed a claim for 160 acres under the new Homestead Act, but his claim was contested. and ended up with 80 acres. In 1861, the family moved to a point north of Denver along the South Platte River. Simon died in 1864, partly as a result of the Cherry Creek flood, leaving Adeline with three small children. Adeline purchased the 80 acres two years prior to “proving up” the homestead. She then married Elliot Hornbek and to them a son was born. It is not certain what happened to Mr. Hornbek, but by 1875, he had disappeared. In 1878 at the age of 44, Adeline Hornbek moved to the Florissant Valley on land that was to become part of the Florissant Fossil Beds National

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Monument. According to Colorado historian Kenneth Jessen, “On her land, she had native grass, water and timber -- ideal for ranching. She cultivated two acres for potatoes and vegetables. She cut the hay from the native grass and had a herd of over 100 cows. She also had horses, pigs and poultry. While raising her four children, she found time to work on the Florissant School Board and at a local store.” At the age of 66 she married for the third time to the much younger Frederick Sticksel, a German immigrant who was working for her. Adeline Warfield Harker Hornbek Sticksel died five years later. Her children stayed in the Florissant area, and son Elliot Hornbek became a deputy sheriff in Rio Blanco County.

Wood Brothers The city of Victor, was founded in 1893 by the Woods Brothers and named for Victor Adams who fathered the town of Lawrence, southwest of Victor on Wilson Creek in 1892. The Woods Brothers made their original fortune with the Gold Coin Mine in Victor, which they discovered while digging a basement for a hotel. With some of their fortune they built mansions in Colorado Springs on Wood Avenue and other Cripple Creek district miners

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followed suit to create a “Millionaires Row” that is still partially intact today. Despite many other impressive projects in the district, Warren, Harry and Frank Woods’ largest project was probably the power plant that supplied Victor, Cripple Creek and Pueblo with hydroelectric power. Impressive, because such projects are measured against the founding of the town itself, the development of the Gold Coin, United Mines Transportation Tunnel, and other mining interests and the foundation of the First National Bank of Victor and the Golden Crescent Water and Light Company. Southern Colorado Power Company and is a descendent of Pikes Peak Power Company. The company was formed on Sept. 2, 1899 and was located on Beaver Creek, according to an article penned Kenneth W. Geddes for Pikes Peak Westerners Posse in 1979. “All in all, eighteen miles

of stream were covered. The area is some of the most rugged, inaccessible terrain in Teller and Fremont Counties, and the streams are noted for extreme differences in elevation in short distances,” wrote Geddes. Original plans contemplated the construction of a dam and three power stations but only the first was ever built and operated. Geddes says that no expense was spared in the construction of the dam and plant and it involved, among other things, the building of its own railroad and the blasting off of an adjoining hilltop with a car of powder. Also the cable car was the only means of accessing the plant other than climbing. “A trip on the Short Line might bankrupt the English language, but it was almost a prairie run in comparison to the Skaguay cable car trip,” noted Geddes. “The isolation from the outside world created a real life Shangri-La.”

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2013 TELLER COUNTY

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TELLER COUNT Y

S C HO O L S By Norma Engelberg

Schools are an important part of any area, whether urban or rural but in rural areas, such as Teller County, schools become community hubs. Both Teller County school districts along with the Lake George Charter School and Colorado Springs Christian Schools have become gathering places for student plays, information meetings, community dinners, fairs and bazaars, electronic recycling, citywide garage sales, Fourth of July fireworks, Symphony Above the Clouds and the Teller County indoor Relay for Life.

ics. Initiatives for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years include continuing to develop

Woodland Park RE-2 School District RE-2 covers an area that includes Woodland Park, Divide, Florissant and smaller subdivisions in between. The district has three elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. According to the official October pupil count, the district has 2,447 students. Its 2011-12 budget is $26.24 million. With few exceptions, students perform at or well above state averages in most subjects. This high quality of learning is directly related to the district’s 168 highly-educated instructors; 61 percent have master’s degrees. There is also a strong emphasis on the STEAM subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathemat-

are active in service-learning projects, raising funds for an orphanage in India, for local animal rescue organizations

Photo by Norma Engelberg

aligned curricula for kindergarten through 12th-grade students that emphasizes skills they will need in the 21st century. Toward that end students K-10th grade will be administered Measures of Academic Progress assessments three times a year for “quick, detailed information about student achievement and growth,” according to the school’s latest shareholders’ report. The district also serves the homeschool community with its Cottage/Online School located at Gateway Elementary School. Each of the district’s five schools has its own personality. For example, Columbine Elementary School students

and other worthy causes. Summit Elementary School students, starting as early as kindergarten, also take part in service-learning projects. Kindergarteners involved in the Kindershare program work to help students in Guatemala, for example. Students also take part in before- and afterschool programs in journalism, astronomy, and other fields and every year at least 35 students take part in the Summit Sky Skippers Jump Rope Club. Gateway Elementary School students also take part in a number of before- and afterschool programs including Junior Master Gardener, the Kiwanis International K-Kids,

Chess Club and Harvest of the Month Cooking Club. Because of its strong science curriculum, for the past four years eighth-grade students at Woodland Park Middle School state assessment scores have been at least 16 percent higher than the state average. More than two-thirds of the school’s approximately 450 students participate in some form of extra-curricular activity, including both clubs and sports. New at the middle school this year is the Woodland Park Panther Recycling Depot run by Woodland Park High School students. Three mornings a week for a small fee of 30 cents a pound, the depot at the middle school collects electronic waste, anything with a cord but especially computer monitors, laptops and towers. Because they usually have valuable components that can be easily recycled, towers and laptops are taken for free. The program, which is a collaboration of the district and Blue Star Recyclers in Colorado Springs not only teaches students business skills and ethical e-waste recycling practices but also gives special education students opportunities to learn work skills as they “de-manufacture” computers. High school freshmen and sophomores can also take part in the Panther Enterprise program, which is part of the school’s Business, Marketing and Public Administration pathway. According to the

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Woodland Park High School 2013-14 course description guide at http://wphs.wpsdk12. org/files/Course_Description_ Guide_2013-2014%282%29. pdf, Introduction to Panther Enterprises teaches students how to design and produce pamphlets, posters, and products for the souvenir industry using the commercial equipment in the Panther Enterprises production lab. They will acquire a working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and CorelDRAW. The curriculum also offers vocational, honors and college-credit courses. For more information, visit www.wpsdk12.org.

Cripple Creek-Victor RE-1 School District The Cripple Creek-Victor RE-1 School District was organized in 1896 and its first high school was built in 1897. There were school located in most of the Cripple Creek Gold Mining District by 1899 and by 1905 the district had 120 teachers. During the height of the goldmining era, just one school in South Goldfield had 600 students. Most of the mines have closed and now gold is in the casinos but the district is still teaching students the skills they need to thrive. The district’s annual budget is $6.1 million. It has a total of about 450 students in Early Head Start/Head Start, Cresson Elementary School and Cripple Creek-Victor Junior High/High School and about 50 teachers and para-educators. More than 65 percent of CC-V teachers hold masters of education degrees. The district has classes Monday through Thursday. The district not only emphasizes academic instruction with a state-of-the-art technology lab, a small teacher to student ratio and small-group instruc-

Photo by Norma Engelberg

tion, it also focuses on the mental and physical wellbeing of students through its Soaring Without Limitations Program, Project Respect, Rachel’s Challenge and the district wellness program. With its new geodesic dome greenhouse students learn about plants and growing their own food. An education at CC-V schools costs less than it does at many public schools. The district charges no fees for athletics, science lab, art materials, transportation, music, field trips, drama and tutoring. All elementary children, regardless of family income, are served a free breakfast. The district’s Mountain Health Center, in partnership with Peak Vista Family Health Centers, also provides free physical and behavioral health services, athletic physicals and dental referrals year round to all children enrolled in the district and their siblings from prebirth to age 21. The district accommodates students who need alternatives to traditional education

through its Mountain Alternative School Program and it also offers an online curriculum for homeschool students. The district not only offers Head Start for children ages 3-5 years old and Early Head Start for infants and toddlers up to 3 years old but it also has a brand-new, state-of-the-art Early Head Start building that was just completed at the end of 2012. For more information about Cripple Creek-Victor schools, visit www.ccvschools.org.

Lake George Charter School Lake George Charter School, a preschool through sixth grade school with online curriculum up to eighth-grade, is part of the Park County RE-2 school district but many of its students live in Teller County and will likely attend schools in Cripple Creek or in Woodland Park after leaving the charter school. The charter school is located C ONTINUE D: Page 36

(719) 686-7707 www.tcrascolorado.com 308 Weaverville Rd. • Divide, CO • 80814

2013 TELLER COUNTY

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SCHO OL S: from page 35

Photo by Norma Engelberg

in a brand new building, just built last summer using a state grant and a voter approved bond issue. It features green construction, large and airy

classrooms and the latest technology. The school has a four-day week, small class sizes, free breakfast for all students,

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home-cooked breakfasts and lunches, physical education, art, music and piano lessons. The student population is about 80-90 students and there are 17 teachers and paraeducators. Because of its position in rural Park County, Lake George Charter School students get to know the great outdoors better than most students. The land where the new school is located has hiking and nature trails where teachers and students can learn about the local ecology. For more information, visit www.lakegeorgecharterschool.org.

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The idea for Colorado Springs Christian Schools began in 1966 when five men met weekly to pray about their vision for a Christ-based school in the Pikes Peak region. The school idea took form and took off in 1971 and with two

campuses and more than 800 students it is now one of the biggest Christian schools in the state. According to the CSCS Foundation, the school’s mission is “to provide an excellent education from a Christ-centered and biblical perspective. Along with a strong academic program, young people are encouraged to explore the fine arts and athletic programs, and to develop strong character and values with the focus on meaningful lifelong service.” One of Christian Schools campuses is in Woodland Park, a K-fifth-grade school that is housed in an imaginatively converted automobile manufacturing plant, which gives the school plenty of room for classrooms and activities. Students have plenty of opportunities to excel and students who go through the entire K-12 curriculum score high on academic assessments and last year the 78 high school graduates earned $5.5 million in scholarships and more than 94 percent of graduates pursued higher education. The school charges annual tuition rates that range from $3,330 for half-day kindergarten to $8,610 for high school. Financial aid is available and 38 percent of the current student body uses some level of financial support. For more information about Colorado Springs Christians Schools, visit www.cscslions. org.

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Youthful offenders given second chance By Pat Hill In Woodland Park, teenage offenders have a second chance at following the straight-and-narrow pathway to adulthood. Thanks to the city’s Teen Court, a program sponsored by the Woodland Park Police Department, kids charged with misdemeanors escape the blot on their permanent record but still fulfill sentences imposed by a jury of their peers. At 13, Amber Woodside, a prosecuting attorney, is the youngest member of the court. She’s tough. “I want to let them know they’ve done the city a great injustice because

that’s who I’m representing, the community of Woodland Park,” Woodside said. “Maybe they’ll think twice before committing another crime.” The only adults on the court are the judge, a police officer, and the bailiff; otherwise, the students fulfill the roles of prosecuting and defense attorneys as well as the jury, composed of previous offenders. “As of right now, I’m the only regular prosecuting attorney,” she said. “The judge is usually one of the police officers.” The court only prosecutes misdemeanors such as trespassing, marijuana and drug-

paraphernalia charges, theft, possession of tobacco or alcohol by a minor, assault or harassment. Offenders are referred to the court by the municipal court judge. To qualify, the student must be a first-time offender and to admit guilt. “Offenders are generally remorseful; I’ve had a couple of cases where there really wasn’t much remorse which is definitely an aggravating factor,” Woodside said. “I think the purpose of Teen Court is not punishment but reformation; you’re trying to show them that what they did is wrong.”

Historical societies preserve past, present for future

By Norma Engelberg

Teller Historic and Environmental Coalition

Teller County nonprofit organizations dedicated to preserving its history are almost too numerous to list. There are small groups dedicated to a specific cause or area and large groups that focus on the entire county. Every one of those listed below relies on help from local volunteers, private donations and state and federal grants. Check out their websites to learn how to help.

Ute Pass Historical Society The Ute Pass Historical Society’s mission is to preserve and protect the historical heritage of Ute Pass, from Cascade to Divide. The society’s office and gift shop is located at 231 E. Henrietta Ave., next to the Woodland Park Public Library. The office is one of the six historic buildings that make up the Pikes Peak Museum at History Park. The society collects and preserves historical artifacts, including the History Park buildings where artifacts are displayed; conducts educational programs, helps researchers through its print and

Woodside, who is homeschooled, plans to be part of the court through high school, is considering a career as attorney. “Teen Court is really a wonderful experience, interacting with the jury members and the attorneys. I feel that the court really does make a difference in the defendants’ lives,” she said. “The court gives the defendant a great chance to be set back on the right path. That’s the reason I wanted to be a prosecutor in the first place.”

photo archives and operates the museum buildings. The society’s website is www.utepasshistoricalsociety.org.

Pikes Peak Historical Society The Pikes Peak Historical Society picks up where the Ute Pass Historical Society leaves off, dedicating its work to preserving the heritage of Florissant and the western slope of Pikes Peak. That heritage includes local

geology and paleontology, the Native Americans, homesteaders, prospectors and miners. The society owns and operates two museums, the Pikes Peak Historical Society Museum at 18033 Teller County Road #1 in Florissant and the Schoolhouse Museum at Teller County Road #31 and Wildhorn. It also manages the Florissant Pioneer Cemetery and conducts annual Chautauqua and other educational programs at the Florissant Public Library. For details, visit www.pikespeakhsmuseum.org.

T.H.E. Coalition is a nonprofit organization formed in 2000 to encourage community cooperation and collaboration in the preservation and protection of the natural environment, historic landmarks and cultural heritage in and around Teller County. Members include other nonprofit organizations, government agencies, area businesses and concerned citizens. T.H.E. Coalition serves as the fiscal agent for the Victor Penguins Hockey Club, the Two Mile High Club, Rural Land Preservation Group and the Woodland Park Hockey Association. The organization also helped the Woodland Park Public Library develop its Nonprofit Resource Center. Its biggest project is the restoration of the 100-year-old Midland Depot and four acres surrounding it for a future “Depot Park.” Visit www.thecoalitionco.org for more information.

2013 TELLER COUNTY

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PROTECTING

T E L L E R C OU N T Y By Pat Hill

Cascade volunteers go the limit The Cascade Volunteer Fire Department is something like the little engine that could. At the apex of accidental drama near the intersection of U.S. 24 and the Pikes Peak Highway, the 15 volunteers perform Herculean tasks on a salary of zero. Traffic accidents, medical emergencies on Pikes Peak, an arsonist, forest fires and most recently, the Waldo Canyon inferno, the volunteers are a mighty force, dedicated to helping their community. Tom Harris, 60, joined the team 21 years ago and has his eye on retirement. In the meantime, he’s out there in frigid temperatures, particularly in February, when a rash of snowstorms made a skating rink out of Ute Pass. “The other day, we had five calls; we had one car go in the creek, one went into the wall and another one hit that car while we were there,” Harris

said. “Every morning it’s like Parnelli Jones with people flying down the pass trying to get to work. I’ve personally run up the side of the mountain trying

the Waldo Canyon Fire. “We were lucky; probably within 20 or 30 minutes of being like Mountain Shadows,” Harris said, referring to the Colorado

Photo by Pat Hill

to get out of the way.” If the volunteers were valiant before this summer, they are revered today for their heroic role in saving homes during

Springs subdivision that lost 346 homes in the fire that began June 23. “Had the wind been blowing more that weekend we would have lost every

home up here. There would have been nothing we could have done about it.” On the front line for mishaps on one of the most famous tourist sites in the nation, the volunteers answer calls on Pikes Peak at least once a day. At 14,000 feet, Pikes Peak holds a certain mystique for the traveler, one that oftentimes involves the Cascade fire department. “It’s amazing; people come from all over the country, fly into Colorado Springs and they gotta go right to the top of the Peak – and they’re from Kansas,” Harris said. “People who have just had open-heart surgery go up there. We get it all. People get up there and get light-headed.” An accomplished cabinetmaker, Harris is also a ranger on the Peak. “That’s how I got the job – because I was up there so much,” he said.

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Firefighters answer the call

Photo by Pat Hill

Fires, arsonists, traffic accidents, medical emergencies, cats in trees or bats in the house, no matter what the latest 911 call brings, firefighters at Northeast Teller County Fire Protection District are ready to roll. “They can never really prepare you for some of the stuff that comes up,” said Robert Dungan, NETCO’s firefighter and engineer. “We do get a lot of cats in trees, it’s pretty amazing.” Dungan, along with firefighters Greg Bodine, John Summeril and their chief, Tyler Lambert, offers a peek at a firefighter’s world. “We’re kind of the catch-all department,” he said. “Anything that comes up as an emergency, and they don’t know how to deal with, they send to us.” Rescues, urban and wild-

land, traffic accidents and hazmat incidents, the fire department is there. To catch a bat, you have to think outside the box, Dungan said. “One time we used a pot to catch a bat, another time we used a box and a pipe pole,” he said. Squirrels stuck in chimneys are a different story. “Gloves and heavy jacket,” Lambert said. While cats in trees aren’t really in the firefighers’ manual, NETCO is on it. “The thing about cats is that you’ve never seen a skeleton up in a tree,” Lambert said, as Bodine added, “They come down sooner or later. They get hungry – might take a couple of days but they eventually will come back down.” Yet there’s a code at NETCO. “Anything our public feels is important enough to call 911 is C ONT I NU E D : Page 40

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2013 TELLER COUNTY

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F IRE DE PA RTME N T S : from page 39

important enough for us to get out and go help,” Dungan said. “We don’t limit what we do.” While the salary isn’t up to

big-city standards, the four consider the trade-offs. “I love working where I live and being able to attend my kids’ events

at school,” Summeril said. “Even if we’re on shift, Chief lets us roll the truck over to the school to watch a kid’s per-

formance; it’s just those little things that really make working here nice.”

Florissant Fire Department Delivers With three fire stations and 25 volunteer firefighters covering 66 miles of rural area, homeowners who live in and near Florissant get a break on their insurance rates. “The stations help the taxpayers because if they live within five miles of a fire station, their insurance rates go down by one number,” said Chad Bauer, chief of the Florissant Fire Protection District. Bauer is a part-time employee of the district as well as a paramedic with the Ute Pass Regional Ambulance District. It all works out, he said. Putting out fires is only one part of the department’s service to the community. “People call us for broken pipes, so we go out and turn the water off to minimize the damage,” Bauer said. Pipes, gas leaks, fires, traffic accidents and steep terrain, the volunteers answer emergency needs 24/7. “Occasionally in the winter, if an ambulance can’t get up a driveway, we’ll use one of our four-wheel vehicles to take the paramedics to the patient,” he said. Among the more unusual services performed by the vol-

Erica Szymankowski Agent

208 E US Highway 24 Woodland Park, CO 80863

Bus 719-686-0046 Fax 719-686-0036 erica@sfwoodlandpark.com NMLS MLO #371116, MLO License #100035487 Providing Insurance and Financial Services.

Photo by Pat Hill

unteers is delivering firewood to families who apply for aid through Help the Needy, a nonprofit organization that offers temporary assistance. In a serendipitous exchange, the Cripple Creek & Victor Mining Co. donates the wood, from trees on land cleared for the latest expansion, while the firefighters pick up, chop and

deliver the firewood. For Bauer, the extra volunteer duty is all part of being a firefighter in a small community. “Because we’re supported by tax monies my philosophy has always been to give back to the community. As an emergency-service organization, anything we can do within our powers we’ll certainly do it,”

Bauer said. “People call 911 and the fire service gets called out.” With a $300,000 annual budget, in addition to Bauer, the department has a full-time firefighter, Ty Hughes, who is a jack-of-all-trades, from fighting fires to fuel and vehicle maintenance.

R V

2013 TELLER COUNTY

Photo by Kirk Garner

Teller County Courthouse requires no time machine Tiring of having to go all the way to Colorado Springs to register land, mining, and other official documents, and seeing their tax dollars travel down the hill, mine owners and others pushed hard for the creation of Teller County is the 1890s. Teller County was created out of western El Paso County and the Northeastern tip of Freemont on March 23, 1899. The property where the Courthouse now rests, at 101105 West Bennett Avenue, was at one time owned by the Stanely brothers who sold it to Stewart McDougall shortly after the fires of 1896 destroyed wood structures that once resided there, according to Brian Levine’s book “Cripple Creek:

City of Influence.” Levine was Historic Preservation Director for Cripple Creek at the time of writing the 1994 book. McDougall built a 100-foot wide, 2-story brick building that the Palace Hotel leased and after Teller County was established, county offices resided. In 1900, the county purchased the property and proceeded on plans to build a grand courthouse building. Architect A.J. Smith of Colorado Springs designed the building and general contractor J.E. Devy was hired to build. “After being finished in 1904 at a cost of $60,000, the Courthouse proudly displayed the following features: gilt chandeliers, oak paneling with mahogany trims, skylights, gold

standing electric fixtures (the building originally required 400 electric lamps to light it), standpipes with hose nozzle attachments, public drinking fountains, two 75-horse power boilers for steam heat, a Skinner high-speed engine with 110-volt dynamo for electricity, hardwood floors, and mar-

By Rob Carrigan ble counters,” wrote Levine. The Teller County Courthouse has changed very little in the last century. Fortunately for us, we all have opportunity to step back in time to 100 years ago, with a quick visit to 101 Bennett Avenue — notime machine equipment required.

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