The First Armistice Day
1918
The original Armistice Day marked the end of World War I. As the headline says, Golden Went Wild at the news. They paraded and partied, they had a big bonfire, and they took turns ringing the fire bell. After many hours of non-stop clanging, the bell cracked. After that, it was called “Golden’s Liberty Bell.” The cracked bell was installed in a place of honor and a time capsule full of 1918 memorabilia was encased beneath it.
Subsequent Armistice Days
1928
Golden’s Presbyterian and Christian Science churches held Armistice Day services. The Transcript reprinted the Armistice Day story, with the comment that “If you have a boy or girl in your family who has never read the Armistice Day story, see that it is read to them. History was made that day and no book in school will tell them of what took place in Golden at that time.”
1938
Armistice Day was made a national legal holiday, and the Governor of Colorado designated Nov 4th-11th as American Legion appreciation week, “in recognition of the legion’s sincere efforts to carry out programs which are calculated to keep America American.” The county and city offices, schools, banks, and stores were closed for the day.
1948
Jefferson County launched a savings bond campaign on Armistice Day. The United States was paying off the debt from World War II, and they were hoping to reach farmers when they were flush with cash at harvest time. “The best insurance all of us can have that our huge debt will not come tumbling down on our heads is to distribute it a widely as possible among individuals. Every dollar of our federal debt which is transferred to individual savings bonds brings just that more stability to our economy and lessens the inflationary pressure.”
1958
The name of the holiday changed in 1954. “Armistice” originally memorialized the ceasefire at the end of World War I. By the mid-1950s, we had fought in another World War as well as Korea. “Veterans Day” celebrated the veterans of all wars. The Golden VFW Post marked the day with a barbecue.
1968
Golden’s “Liberty Bell,” cracked during the Armistice Day celebration in 1918, was reinstalled in front of our new (1961) municipal center. The 1918 time capsule was opened and a new capsule was buried beneath the bell. The gathering included many people who had participated in the 1918 celebration.
1978
In 1968, the Federal Government had moved Veterans Day to late October, to give people a three-day weekend. Several states–including Colorado–did not follow the Federal Government’s lead. After many years of protests and pressure, the Feds moved the holiday back to November 11th. The Transcript reported that it was “the first time in 10 years that federal employees will celebrate the holiday on the same day as Colorado and other state employees.” The Golden VFW sponsored a script writing competition. Students were encouraged to submit tapes of themselves talking about “Why I Care About America.”
1988
This was the second year for the "Avenue of Flags" honoring veterans in the Golden Cemetery. In this tradition, families of deceased veterans donate their coffin flags to be flown in the cemetery. The name of the veteran being honored appears on the flag. The first year this was done, in 1987, there were 8 flags. By 1988 they were flying 37 flags. (The American Legion website indicates that as of 2025 there are 311 flags.) I'm not sure whether they still post the flags on Veterans Day, as they originally did, but I know they still do it for Memorial Day.
1998 and 2008
There's a gap in the record for 1998 and 2008, since the Golden Transcripts for those years are not yet available online, but I can resume the story in....
2018
Fifty years had passed since 1968, and it was time to open the time capsule again. This time we were looking at the treasures buried in 1968. Despite the snowy day, hundreds of people turned up for the unveiling. The crowd included a number of people who had been present in 1968.
