Waxing Moon Over Castle Rock
Photo by Joyce Davell
What's happening in Golden today?
Events for Monday, Apr. 22nd
- All day - CURRENT EXHIBITS AT THE MUSEUMS
- All day - Live Workouts with Community Center Pros
- All day - Golden History Tours
- 10:15-10:45AM - Let's Dance
- 12-12:30PM - Mondays with the Mayor
- 2-3PM - Virtual: Active Minds Monday
- 4-5:30PM - Postcarding Party
- 4:30-6:30PM - Golden Women in Business Happy Hour*
- 5:30-8PM - The Principles of Artistic Expression
- 6-9PM - Teach Me to Play! Mondays
- 6:30-8PM - Forest Restoration & Wildlife
For more information, click the item above or visit the Golden Today Calendar
6:30-8PM Forest Restoration & Wildlife
Please join Bird Conservancy of the Rockies' Wildlife Habitat Biologist Kyle Deschenes for a presentation on reducing the effects of wildfire and increasing wildlife habitat. Kyle will be joined by foresters from the Jefferson Conservation District (JCD) who will provide information about their forestry program.
www.goldengategrange.com
Golden Gate Grange
25201 Golden Gate Canyon Road (map)
4 miles west of Route 93 in Golden
4-5:30PM Postcarding Party
Center for Common Ground (CCG) is a non-partisan BIPOC-led national organization that educates and empowers voters of color in voter suppression states.
Golden Anti-Racism Collective is joining CCG’s postcarding campaign this year to get out the vote in voter suppression states! GAC members gathered in March and wrote 100 postcards to send to potential voters during our first postcard-writing party. We were so excited about it that we’re going to do it again! We’ll have postcards and addresses. Please join us!!
Please bring colorful pens and postcard stamps. More information
Golden Library
1019 10th Street (map)
Golden History: Earth Day Remembrance
Spring evening on Clear Creek - Jeremy Keller
54 Years Ago
The April 27, 1970 Golden Transcript described how a group of Golden High School students celebrated the very first Earth Day. They surveyed a section of Clear Creek and…
found a spot where raw sewage was being dumped into the river. They reported their findings to officials who promised to check the story out, but several days later they admitted they hadn’t been able to locate the responsible party. Our young group revisited the spot, determined to work out a solution. Someone had a bright idea. Plug up the end of the sewage line. That action produced results. Soon a myriad of telephone calls began coming in, which finally led officials to the guilty contractor.
Happy Earth Day!
Golden History: Earth Day Special - The Waste-Filled History of Clear Creek
Elwood and Rees Easley and sons at Orchard House from the Golden History Museum Collection
Golden’s founders had a very 19th-century view of the earth–it was there to be used. In their view, it provided an endless source of riches to those who worked to extract what the earth could offer.
In 1870, two of our biggest industries were mining and agriculture. The mining towns (Central City, Black Hawk, Idaho Springs, and Georgetown) were of interest to everyone who wanted to see the Territory grow and thrive. New mines and new technologies that improved the processing of ore were cause for celebration. Also important, though perhaps less exciting, were our farms and gardens, which were made possible by a network of ditches fed by Clear Creek.
It wasn’t until 1880 that conflict between the two concerns arose. It was standard practice at that time to dump industrial waste into waterways, where it would be carried away by the rush of the water. As the mining industries grew, and their waste products with them, the farmers downstream found that the water from Clear Creek began poisoning their crops and soil.
In 1882, the farmers began trying to put legal pressure on the mines and mills to stop polluting Clear Creek. They had no luck. They tried again, with more emphasis and organization, in 1887. By this time, agriculture had become a more important component of our economy, but they still made no headway.
The matter became even worse in 1893, when the Argo Tunnel was built. The tunnel allowed all of the mines to drain their excess water through the tunnel to flow into Clear Creek. This increased the concentration of heavy metals in the water, and made the Creek still more toxic.
The matter rose to the surface again in 1915. By this time the farmers were beginning to organize into Granges, which allowed them to combine their voices to lobby the legislature. In 1917, the Granges initiated a “Pure Clear Creek” campaign. In 1919, they were still lobbying and proposed a bill which would require the mines and mills to stop polluting the Creek. They agitated for several years, with no notable success.
As an aside–by this time, the City of Golden was using a separate water supply, drawn from Beaver Brook, a more remote mountain stream. They were not directly affected by Clear Creek water quality.
In 1928, a new group joined the fray, lending their support to the farmers in trying to stop upstream polluters. The Izaak Walton League is a conservation group, concerned with clean water and clean soil. They were especially interested in making the water fit for recreational use, particularly fishing.
The combined efforts of the farmers and conservationists were still not effective. Mine waste continued to go into the Creek.
In 1934, Golden found itself in an embarrassing situation. Having shown appropriate shock and indignation at the industrial polluters upstream, they found themselves accused of dumping raw sewage into the Creek (which they were–as were all of the other towns along the Creek).
The Depression had set in by this time, and both the mine industry and municipalities were able to plead poverty as an excuse for not cleaning up their acts. Both groups fended off legal action for many years.
Golden was finally rescued from its situation when Coors began treating our sewage in 1953. That left us free to rejoin the people trying to make the mines clean up their decades-old messes and current practices.
The nation was becoming more ecologically-conscious in the 1960s. Colorado’s Governor Love proclaimed a “Clean Streams Week” in 1967, declaring that water pollution control is everyone’s job.
In 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin organized the first Earth Day. Students at Golden High School observed the event with a guest lecturer, an environmental film, and discussion groups about environmental issues.
Earth Day helped focus many scattered environmental movements. 1970 also saw the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the establishment of the Clean Air Act. The Clean Water Act followed, in 1972, and the Superfund law was enacted in 1980.
These Federal laws finally did what no amount of protesting had accomplished–they cleaned up the old mines west of Golden. In 1998, Superfund paid for a water treatment plant in Idaho Springs, so that mine water was cleaned before it entered Clear Creek. That same year, Golden celebrated the newly-clean creek by opening the Clear Creek Whitewater Park.
Weather
Overnight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. West southwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 16 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. Southwest wind 8 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy. Low around 43, with temperatures rising to around 45 overnight. West northwest wind 7 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Monday Night: Partly Cloudy, 43°F
Tuesday: Partly Sunny then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, 61°F
Tuesday Night: Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms then Partly Cloudy, 44°F
Wednesday: Mostly Sunny, 75°F
Wednesday Night: Partly Cloudy, 48°F
Thursday: Mostly Sunny then Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, 72°F
Thursday Night: Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, 49°F
Friday: Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, 68°F
Friday Night: Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, 46°F
Saturday: Showers And Thunderstorms Likely, 66°F
Saturday Night: Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, 45°F
Sunday: Showers And Thunderstorms Likely, 62°F
News Relating to Golden - April 22, 2024
Colorado snow totals for April 20, 2024
Denver Post
The following Colorado snow totals have been reported by the National Weather Service for April 20, 2024, as of 11:50 a.m. Saturday... Read more...
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Buffalo Rose, Buglet Solar, Foothills Art Center, Golden City Brewery, Golden Cultural Alliance, Golden History Museum, Miners Alley Playhouse, The Golden Mill, Golden Chamber of Commerce, Golden History Tours, Morris & Mae Market, Miners Saloon, Colorado Railroad Museum, Tom Reiley, Bud Rockhill, Michael Mason, Lisa DeCaro and Len Matheo
Friends:
($50-99.99/month or $500/yr)
Tall Pines Painting, Baby Doe’s Clothing Paul Haseman, Donna Anderson, Carol & Doug Harwood, Beth Bidwell, Stephanie Painter, Greg Poulos, Ed and Carol Freza
Supporters:
($25-49.99/month or $250/yr)
Laura King and Scott Wilson, Bobby German and Alison McNally, Ann Norton & Jonathan Storer, Forrest Jones, Barry & Liz Bettis, Cheryl & Tom Schweich, Marjorie Sloan, Chris and Joyce Davell, Rick Flint, Forrest Jones, AC Development, and Cynthia Merrill Tamny
Members:
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Brad Miller & Julie Bartos, Holly Thomas, Jim and LouAnne Dale, Ann Pattison, Thomas Hoffman, Carol Abel, Brian Quarnstrom, Sandra Curran, Bobby German and Alison McNally, Kathy Smith, Karen Smith, Carlos & Nancy Bernal, Robert Storrs, Michele Sannes, Elaine Marolla, Dixie Termin & Ron Miller, Carol & Don Cameron, Frank & Marsha Hanou, E Tom Hughes, Crystal M Culbert, Patrick A. Madison, Alice Madison & Jim Kalivas, Deb Goeldner, Christopher Ball, 6th Chair Home Services, Dot & Eric Brownson, Rosemary Coffman, Emeline Paulson, Casey & Gina Brown, Sandy Schneider, Mark and Cathy Pattridge, Cheryl G Leidich, Jen Rutter, Carol Abel, Frani R Bickart, Jennings and Litz, Bill Sedgeley, Nancy Hughes, Justin L Wade, Kathi Eggers, Traci Case, Donna Owen, Leslie D Lutz, Karen Oxman, Catherine Skokan, Ross Fraser, Lynne Haigh, Elizabeth Hilliard, and the Golden Transcript
Followers:
($5-9.99/month)
Golden Community Garden, Lora Haimes, Bill Fisher, Mariane Erickson, Susan Gray
