A group nears the station of the late George
Blunt (and others in his family) in Fairview Cemetery during the Old Colorado
City Historical Society's Haunted Histories Sept. 15.
Westside Pioneer photo
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Old Colorado City Historical Society volunteer
Leo Knudson portrayed George Blunt, founder of the Westside's Blunt Mortuary,
for the society's annual Haunted Histories Sept. 15 in Fairview Cemetery. He's
standing by the Blunt family headstone, with three individual Blunt gravesites in
front and three in back.
Westside Pioneer photo
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'Spirited' event by Old Colorado City Historical Society at Fairview Cemetery
Sept. 18, 2018
“Completely sold out, plus.”
This was how Old Colorado City Historical Society (OCCHS) treasurer Susie
Schorsch described the success of the volunteer nonprofit's Haunted Histories in
For Haunted Histories, Leiloni Kieffer (left)
portrayed a Colorado City "soiled dove" known only as "Goldie" whose life ended
sadly. At right is Roberta Hardy, portraying famous madam Laura Bell McDaniel.
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Fairview Cemetery Sept. 15.
One of two major OCCHS self-fundraisers this year (Tunnel Tales in July was the
other), the fourth annual twilight/night affair again featured the spirits of generally
congenial Westside figures from the past. Groups of ticket-purchasers were led
around the cemetery by people in “ghost” apparel, visiting eight locations in all.
The event was already sold out beforehand, but late-comers were allowed to join
groups that had initially been capped at 20, Schorsch explained.
With most tickets sold at $20 a person, she had hoped going in that "Histories"
would earn $1,500 to $2,000, as it has in its previous three years. But with the
overflow crowd - although she said she hadn't had time (two days after the event)
to detail all the receipts - “I know we made over $2,000.”
Started in 2015, Haunted Histories is a makeover of OCCHS' once-annual
Cemetery Crawl, which lasted 17 years. Schorsch said the Crawl had been losing
popularity, leading to the change.
Brian Anderson, playing Colorado City
co-founder Anthony Bott, tells his story while standing in front of Bott's
tombstone in Fairview Cemetery.
Westside Pioneer photo
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The biggest difference between it and "Histories" was the timing - people seem to
like a
nighttime setting. "With a few macabre stories, you've got a whole different
event," she observed.
Among the characters were:
George Blunt (played by Leo Knudson), who started what became Blunt
Mortuary at 23rd Street and Colorado Avenue and whose son Harry would
become a Colorado Springs mayor.
Rankin Scott Kelly (Johnie Jackson), a brave early sheriff who also had the
distinction of selling what would become the Glen Eyrie property to Colorado
Springs founder William Palmer.
Goldie (Leiloni Kieffer), a “soiled dove” whose name was probably made up
and who jumped to her death from a second-floor window above Colorado
Johnie Jackson (right) portrayed early El Paso
County Sheriff Rankin Scott Kelly for Haunted Histories. Sharing the cemetery
station was Sandy Coyne as the mother of Charley Everhart, 17, who was killed by
Indians in 1868.
Westside Pioneer photo
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City's rowdiest tavern's in 1894 - thus dramatizing the shabbier side of the town's
“wild west” era.
Dr. Isaac Winternitz (Travers Jordan), a Westsider whose son and grandson
would also go on to serve as Colorado Springs physicians.
Anthony Bott (Brian Anderson), the co-founder of Colorado City (now Old
Colorado City), who donated the land for Fairview Cemetery and whose
impressive gravestone is at its northeast corner.
There were also a couple of amusingly unscripted moments. One occurred when
Sandy Hanzlian, portraying late-1800s/early 1900s Colorado City resident Mary
Nye, remarked to a group in passing that she'd worked as a seamstress. To her
surprise, they burst out in laughter. It was only then that one of them told
Hanzlian that “Goldie” (encountered earlier in the tour) had revealed that some
“doves” would list “seamstress” as their occupation.
Another surprise came around 8:30 p.m., as the event was winding down, when a
couple of Colorado Springs police officers showed up, wondering what was going
on. Somehow they hadn't gotten the memo that it was a night for Fairview's spirits
to run free. "They were nice about it," Schorsch said.
Westside Pioneer article
(Community:
Old Colorado City History Center)
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