 As a satirical nod to the (false) legend about George Washington chopping down a cherry tree, the Old Colorado City Historical Society (OCCHS) offered attendees cherry pie Feb. 13 during Dave Wallace's Washington portrayal. Above, Marilyn Lee was among the OCCHS volunteers serving out the "historical" dessert. Westside Pioneer photo
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Each will be an hour long and held at the volunteer OCCHS' Old Colorado City History Center, 1 S. 24th St. The cost is $5 for non-museum members.
Here is information on each program:
- Saturday, March 14 at 11 a.m., “Tunnels Under Our Feet: Forgotten Hollow Sidewalks.” The speaker will be historian Tracy Beach, who has written a book by that title about the underground tunnels in 14 Colorado cities going back to the 1800s - including Old Colorado City.
A Salida resident, Beach spent five years “digging up” tunnel stories related to “red light districts, the KKK, corpses during the 1918 flu epidemic, Prohibition, Jack Dempsey and speakeasies,” a press release states.
- Friday, April 10 at 11 a.m., “EUREKA - Surprises from our Collection Department.” The speaker will be Diane Karlson, a local museum professional and History Center volunteer, who will display several antiquities from the museum's archives while telling how they came to be in the OCCHS collection.
Examples are red-light lamps used by famous Old Colorado City madam Laura Belle, a Sioux headdress from the late 1800s and a board game played by early Chinese residents.
Karlson, whose mother Joanne is a long-time OCCHS board member, has worked in museums since 1994, most recently in Greeley.
- Saturday, May 9 at 11 a.m., “The Original Frozen Five - the Founding of the AdAmAn Club.” The speaker will be Steve Morath, whose grandfather Fred and uncle Ed were part of that first group to climb Pikes Peak on New Years Eve and light railway flares to mark the start of 1923.
The club has continued ever since, adding a new man (or woman) to the climb each year.
Steve Morath is an artist living in Manitou Springs.
For more information, call the OCCHS at 636-1225.
Westside Pioneer/press releases