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Grass Fire, Fine Arts Festival, and the WPA

Golden Eye Candy – Joyce Davell – enlarge Yesterday at about 2PM, the Golden Fire Department extinguished a small grass fire along the north shoulder of Highway 58. Thanks, Fire Department!

Real World Events

Jesse Crock is one of 100 artists at today’s Golden Fine Arts Festival

10AM-5PM Golden Fine Arts Festival @ 11th Street
Music at the Arts Fest:
10AM-1PM
Van Isaacson, Leah Jean, and Allison Mahal
2-5PM Funk It Up
9AM Keg Konditioning @ Golden Mill
9-10:15AM Align and Flow
9:30-11:30AM Full Walking Tour @ Dinosaur Ridge
10AM-3PM Brunch at the Rose @ Buffalo Rose
10AM Wild West Walking Tour
10AM and 1PM Wild West Short Tour
11AM Wild West Pub Crawl
11:30AM-12:30PM Yogi Book Club @ Pranatonic
1-4PM Shakedown Street Art Market @ Over Yonder Brewing
2PM HAIR @ Miners Alley Playhouse
2:30-4:30PM Textile Society @ Golden Library


Live Music

11AM-2PM Chris Koza @ Buffalo Rose (Sky Bar Stage)

1-4PM Sturtz @ Golden Mill
3PM Midnight Vinyl @ Wrigley’s
4-7PM Jonny Sterling @ Buffalo Rose (Sky Bar Stage)
4:30-7:30PM The Tony Fire Show @ Over Yonder
8PM Karaoke @ Ace Hi Tavern


Golden History Moment

Berthoud Hall, modern day, from Google Maps
Berthoud Hall – a WPA Project

81 Years Ago
The August 21, 1941 Colorado Transcript included an editorial entitled “Keep the Skeleton Alive.” It referred to the increasing pressure to dismantle the Works Progress Administration, or WPA. The Roosevelt administration’s approach to easing the Great Depression was to create public works projects and employ as many people as possible in them. The WPA was established in 1935. In its relatively short life, it provided jobs and paychecks to millions of Americans.

Steinhauer Field House – a WPA project – photo by Richard Luckins

Golden benefited greatly from WPA projects, both small and large.

1935
WPA sewing room
Hot lunches in schools
Adult education classes
Road from Golden to Morrison
Upgrading our reservoirs and water systems
Many new buildings and upgrades to Camp George West
A homeless camp at Camp George West

Mitchell Elementary – a WPA project – Golden History Museum collection

1936
Widening 12th Sttreet from Miners Alley to Ford St.
Central Elementary School
Safety improvements to the Lariat Loop Road
44th Avenue between Denver and Golden
Field house for the School of Mines
Improvements to the road from Golden to Boulder
Several improvements to the School of Mines campus
Santa’s workshop to repair used toys for distribution

1937
4 room extension to Central Elementary
Landscaping around Central Elementary
Fence around Central Elementary
Shoulder guard cables on the Lariat Loop Road
Curbs and gutters in Golden
Adding an irrigation system to the cemetery
Replacement of the Washington Avenue bridge
Rebuilt high school tennis courts

Golden Post Office – a WPA project – Golden History Museum collection

1938
Created Jefferson County History Museum (later the Golden History Museum)
Extended Golden’s sewer system
Replaced flagstone sidewalks with concrete on Washington Avenue
Additional housing in Mines Park
Canning center to preserve food for distribution to schools
Summer program for children in the park
Geology building for the School of Mines
Improvements to Golden Gate Canyon Road

By 1939, the funding had been substantially reduced, but a few smaller projects were approved:

1939-1943
Curbs and gutter program continued
History Museum continued
Grasshopper abatement
First Aid classes
Landscaping at the high school (on 10th Street)
School of Mines tennis courts
Roads, curbs, gutters, sidewalks for the Mines campus

In addition to the projects within the City limits, the Ralston reservoir a few miles north of town and Red Rocks amphitheater a few miles south provided jobs for many Golden residents.

The nation saw great and lasting benefits from WPA projects, including national park lodges, roads, bridges, buildings, and artwork, but many people objected to the government incurring debt to create jobs. The Transcript‘s reference to the skeleton meant they hoped the program would be kept alive and the government structure in place so it could be revived after the war.

By 1941, we were turning to a wartime economy and the defense industry was soon demanding large numbers of workers. The WPA was officially shut down in 1943.


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!

Highlights