75 Years Ago
The November 16, 1950 Colorado Transcript reported on the ongoing, terrifying polio epidemic. They were anticipating that the U.S. would reach 31,000 new cases by the end of the year. This was a scary time to be a parent, and–thanks to the post-World War II baby boom–there were a lot of parents in Golden. In 1950, we still had five years of anxiety ahead. A vaccine was developed in 1955. For a really impressive graph showing the difference it made, check out ourworldindata.org/polio.
In other news, the owner of a pinball machine was fined $25 for allowing a minor to play on the machine.
People who wanted to invite a Mines student to be their guest at Thanksgiving were instructed how to sign up. The paper said that this was a long-standing tradition in Golden.
Everyone was invited to a square dance at Central School (later Mitchell Elementary, at 12th and Jackson). A square dance club from Denver would be giving an exhibition before the dance.
The Bunzel Addition to the City was accepted.
The streetcars had been eliminated the previous June, and residents who lived along 44th Street were still waiting for the service to be replaced by the promised bus line. The Transcript pointed out that this loss of transportation was causing Golden to lose some of its regular shoppers.
The Golden Theater had several Westerns scheduled, including Destry Rides Again, When the Daltons Rode, and I Shot Billy the Kid.
The paper included an editorial saying that Armistice Day should be abolished. It was established at the end of World War I, to celebrate the end of “the war to end all wars.” Since we had since gone through another World War and were already involved in Korea, there was a certain bitterness at the idea of celebrating the end of war.
The Jolly Rancher–still located on Washington Avenue at that time–reminded people to buy hostess gifts for Thanksgiving. The store would be open from 11AM-3PM on Thanksgiving day.
Watson’s Poultry Farm was offering to deliver oven-dressed turkeys, any day, anywhere.
There were several ads placed by successful candidates from the recent election, thanking those who had voted for them, and one rather grumpy ad by someone who had unsuccessfully campaigned to set up a Small Claims Court in Golden.
