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Art on Sale and Relief for the Fire Department

Golden Eye Candy – Frank Hanou – Giant Ice Swirl in Clear Creek – enlarge

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN GOLDEN TODAY?

6-6:55AM Cardio Lift Interval (Virtual)
8-8:55AM Tai Chi (Virtual)
8:30-9:30AM Power Training (Virtual)
9AM Golden Walks – Wednesday Morning Celebrating Life @ Golden Library


10AM-5PM Holiday Art Market @ Foothills Art Center
Now’s the ideal time to snag that cherished masterpiece you’ve had your eye on. Come over and dive into the happiness of unbeatable savings at Foothills Art Center–where each piece has a store to tell, and every purchase is a masterpiece in its own right! No membership required to get the discount!

10-10:55AM All Levels Yoga (Virtual)
10:15-10:45AM Toddler Time @ Golden Library
3-5PM Hard Times Writing Workshop (Virtual)
6-7:30PM Bingo Night @ American Legion Post 21
6:30PM Trivia Night @ Over Yonder


7:30PM A Christmas Story @ Miners Alley Playhouse
7:30PM The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical @ Miners Alley Performing Arts Center

SEE THE COMPLETE CALENDAR OF EVENTS.

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LIVE MUSIC


6-9PM CW Wooten @ Buffalo Rose (Sky Bar Stage)


6-9PM Derek Hall @ Miners Saloon

GOLDEN HISTORY MOMENT

Inspection Day Cart Pull – Golden History Museum collection – enlarge


The Colorado Transcript spent years campaigning for the purchase of a fire truck. In the 19-teens, the fire department still used carts that had to be pulled by hand. Moreover, the fire department was having trouble attracting enough volunteers to pull those carts. In 1917, Alderman Dollison urged council to buy a truck to replace the “man-killing cart.”

Fire Department pulling a hand cart during an Inspection Day parade – Golden History Museum collection – enlarge


During the last past seven or eight years Golden has spread her boundaries considerably and it is very likely that these boundaries will extend still further in the next few years. Something must be done to give the people who invest their money in homes in the outlying districts adequate fire protection. It is ridiculous to even think that a number of men could get to a fire at the end of Ford street or say on the hill in time to any effective work with the present fire apparatus. A motor fire truck will give the outlying districts about 50 per cent better fire protection to say nothing of having men on the scene fresh and able to work if called upon.
Colorado Transcript – April 26, 1917

106 Years Ago
The December 27, 1917 Colorado Transcript included an article describing several recent fire alarms. Three had occurred in the previous week. Each paragraph ended with the statement “Let’s Have a Fire Truck.”

Colorado Transcript – December 27, 1917


The first alarm that week was a 7AM basement fire in the W. S. Staples residence on South Arapahoe Street.

The second was a prairie fire in the vicinity of the School of Mines testing plant. “A large area was burned over, and the alarm was turned in when people near the head of Twelfth street feared the fire might spread to the powder magazine near the foot of the mountains. The fire was finally beaten out by volunteers.”

The third destroyed a barn belonging to Charles Dollison. It was believed that chicken thieves had done it, to cover their tracks. The Fire Department prevented the flames from spreading to the neighboring Rock Mill warehouse.

The campaign continued for another year. In January of 1919, a residential fire at 18th and Ford Street finally turned the tide. The building, furniture, and personal belongings of a family were destroyed, while the family escaped in their nightclothes.

Owing to the cracked fire bell and poor fire fighting equipment, it was at least a half hour before the few citizens who responded to the fire alarm could get a hose cart to the scene and get a stream of water on the blaze. By that time the entire rear of the building was ablaze and the flames were breaking out of the roof. Luckily, there was no wind blowing, and a number of frame houses near-by were saved. With a fire truck, which would have prevented a great delay in getting the fire under control, the house and most of the furniture could have been saved.
Colorado Transcript – January 9, 1919

Another article in the same issue stated that the cracked bell at the central fire station wasn’t the only problem. The bell at the Loveland station (in Goosetown) was in fine shape, but only two men responded. “These two men tried to pull the cart but became disgusted at not securing any help and quit.”

Golden’s first fire truck (photo taken in Denver) – Denver Public Library Western History Collection – enlarge


City Council approved the purchase of a fire truck at the January 16, 1919 meeting. They placed the order with the Julius Pearse Fire Dept. Supply Co. in Denver.

Thanks to the Golden History Museum for providing the online cache of historic Transcripts, and to the Golden Transcript for documenting our history since 1866!

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DECEMBER SPONSORS: Buffalo Rose, Buglet Solar, Foothills Art Center, Golden City Brewery, Golden Cultural Alliance, Golden History Museum, Golden Super Cruise, Miners Alley Playhouse, The Golden Mill, Golden Chamber of Commerce, Golden History Tours, Morris & Mae Market, Miners Saloon, Joy and Jack Brandt, Tom Reiley

Contributors: Greg Poulos, Vic DeMaria, Cynthia Merrill Tamny, Barry & Liz Bettis, and John & Carol McEncroe

Ongoing Monthly Supporters:
Tall Pines Painting, Baby Doe’s Clothing, Golden Community Garden, Carol & Doug Harwood, Jennings & Litz, Bill Fisher, Brian Quarnstrom, Casey & Gina Brown, Cheryl & Tom Schweich, Robert Storrs, Karen Smith, Sandy Curran, Paul Haseman, Michele Sannes, Kathy Smith, Crystal Culbert, Pat Madison, Donna Anderson, Ann Pattison, Carol & Don Cameron, Tom Hughes, Emeline Paulson, Susan Gray, David Smith, Karen Oxman, Laura King & Scott Wilson, Bill Sedgeley, Mariane Erickson, Carol Abel, Dot & Eric Brownson, Ann Norton & Jonathan Storer, Deb Goeldner, Rosemary Coffman, Jim & LouAnne Dale, Francine Butler, Elaine Marolla, Dixie Termin & Ron Miller, John & Andi Pearson, Chris Ball, Tom Hoffman, Patrick & Lisa Vitry, Alice Madison & Jim Kalivas, Lora Haimes, Nancy & Carlos Bernal, and Stephanie Painter, Holly Thomas

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