(Eye) Candy, Classes, and Clay

*Golden Eye Candy by National Geographic contributor Jonathan Irish – Sunset June 24th, 2020 by drone – Click to enlarge*

Public Health References
CDC * Colorado * Jefferson County * City of Golden

Coronavirus report from Jeffco Public Health’s Case Summary Page, as of 4PM Thursday:

Cases in Jeffco
Wednesday: 2585 | Thursday: 2618
Deaths in Jeffco
Wednesday: 207 | Thursday: 207
Ever Hospitalized in Jeffco
Wednesday: 419 | Thursday: 419 (currently 14)
Recovered
Wednesday: 2281 | Thursday: 2296
Known Cases in Golden
Wednesday: 111 | Thursday: 111

The Safer at Home protocol is in effect. Check the City’s site to learn more about what that entails. Everyone is still requested to wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth when leaving the house. City and County fire restrictions are in place. Clear Creek is open for Kayaks and Canoes. Learn more….

Virtual Golden

6:30-7:25AM Virtual HIIT
9-10AM Virtual Power Training

Real Life Golden

1-2PM Friday Tour at the Railroad Museum – Railroad Kitchens

Live Music:
5PM Edsel’s Garage at Wrigley’s
7PM Tim Sukits at Buffalo Rose
7PM Goofball Bucket at Columbine Café
8PM Rick Lewis Project at Dirty Dogs Roadhouse

Yoga in the Park

PranaTonic Yoga & Wellness will offer a yoga class in Parfet Park tomorrow morning at 9AM. This special face to face class is one of several pop-up classes in Parfet Park this summer. They will include meditation and Vinyasa-style yoga for all levels.

Quilt Museum Classes

Lea McComas will continue her fourth Saturday Quilt Museum classes starting tomorrow, June 27th. In her Color and Composition Class you will explore color and composition principles and concepts.

Each Zoom class will be from 1-3PM on the following dates: June 27, July 25, August 22, September 26, October 24, and December 5. Each class is self-contained so you may sign up for all or join at any time. The Zoom format allows you to share your project with Lea and the class, receive feedback and advice.

Each class is $20. Click here to sign up. When you sign up, a ZOOM link will be emailed to you prior to the event. Call for more information: 303-277-0377.

Foothills Art Center

Foothills Art Center will be offering a Zoom class on Tuesday, June 30th: Zoom into Watercolor with Janet Nunn – Lotus Blossom. The class size is limited to 8-10 people, so sign up now, while there’s still space!

And don’t forget…the Colorado Watercolor Society exhibit is running from now till July 12th. Foothills is open from 10-5 on Friday, Saturday, and Monday and from 12-5PM on Sunday. Admission is free, thanks to Betsy Thorpe!

Golden History Moment

Golden Clay Part2 – Clay mining in Golden! You, betcha!
by Guest Historian Paul Haseman

*1948 aerial photograph from the files of Dr. Robert J. Weimer – Click to enlarge*

This 1948 photo shows the then Mines campus, 19th St and with no 6th Ave (1950). How times change. In the photo you can see the original path (1873) and later short cut tunnel (1902) of the Welch Ditch, which formerly wound through the campus. Fourth generation, William (“Chip”) Parfet relates that the 1902 tunnel through the hogback impaired underground clay mining because mine cars could not be heaped high in order to get under the ditch’s underground culvert, much to the aggravation of GW Parfet.

In 1879, GW Parfet opened an additional clay mine on Eagle Ridge near the intersection of 6th Ave and Heritage Road. Eagle Ridge is part of the Dakota Formation better known on the other side of I-70 as Dinosaur Ridge. This Dakota Ridge clay was the best clay in Golden and Colorado. Nearly pure kaolinite, this clay was used for higher quality ceramics and porcelain. Parfet opened another mine atop Dakota Ridge north of the I-70 cut, where a wooden loading tipple still exists. Interestingly (or not), another Parfet tipple, this one concrete, survives on 20th St just north of Jackson St. Clay from Parfet’s Rockwell Mine (now Fossil Trace GC) was tipped over this tipple into waiting railcars on a spur of the former DIM tramway which ran down Jackson. Chip Parfet says a day’s work was one loaded rail car. The DIM freight business ended in 1953 and clay transport by truck took over.

*Photo at Fossil Trace Golf Club by Paul Haseman – Photo on the right from the Golden History Museum Collection*

But railroad or not, clay mining continued on an even larger scale after WWII when GW Parfet’s grandson, William G. Parfet, mechanized operations with diesel powered equipment. First with an Army surplus, Bay City steam shovel from Texas, currently “on display” above the 15th Hole at Fossil Trace GC, and later bulldozers and drag lines. This mining along 6th Ave (Rockwell Mine) also gave birth to our Triceratops Trail on the 6th Ave Bike Trail, where clay excavation disclosed ancient fossil remains of good ‘ole Golden dinosaurs, yet another story.

As Parfet mine operations moved south along 6th Avenue, the “disturbed” land left behind went to new good use. In 1964, the Parfet business traded its Parfet #1/Rubey Mine with Mines for additional land further south along 6th and Mines expanded its campus west. Win-win. The next mine in line south, the Rockwell Mine ended operations in 2001 and was sold to the City for the Splash and the Fossil Trace Golf Course, which opened in 2003. The most southern mine was sold to Jeffco and is the site of Jeffco’s Maintenance Facility and Laramie Bldg, which you might surmise sits atop the Laramie Formation and provides a not-so-wonderful window view of one of the formation’s sandstone fins.