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What's Happening in Golden - Tuesday, Apr. 16th

News and events in Golden, Colorado. Tuesday, Apr. 16th

,   and  Barb Warden
9 min read
Click to enlarge

Beautiful Springtime Downtown

Photo by Richard Luckin

What's happening in Golden today?

Events for Tuesday, Apr. 16th

Golden History Tours
What's Brewing Golden
Golden Seniors - Coffee Klatch
Story Time and Craft
Hand Embroidery Stitchers
Golden Library Discussion Book Group
Trivia Tuesdays
Team Trivia Tuesday
  • 6:30 PM-8:30 PM: Team Trivia Tuesday @ Buffalo Rose
  • 6:30 PM-8:30 PM: Bar Bingo Night @ VFW Post 4171

For more information, visit the Golden Today Calendar

4-5PM Public Info Meeting: Water Conservation Programs

Photo by Richard Luckin

Golden is hosting a free educational public event all about water efficiency updates and programs.

Staff will provide updates on the Waste of Water Ordinance, the Lawn Replacement Program, and the Golden Drought Management Plan.

Join us in City Hall Council Chambers at 911 10th Street Golden on April 16 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. OR April 19, from 11 am to 12 pm. Both meetings will contain the same content, but on different dates to accommodate more people.

The meeting is listed on the Agendas, Minutes, Web Casts, Schedule page, so it may be broadcast live and recorded.

Drinking for a Good Cause


The Golden Mill is one of several Colorado restaurants participating in the Benevolent Spirits fund-raiser. From now through May 12th, proceeds from the sale of their Aperol Spritz will support the World Central Kitchen.

Golden History: 6PM Golden Beer Talks: The Most Successful Federal Program You’ve Never Heard of

Frank Blaha on his American Mustang, Riley, at the National Western Stock Show Parade


Topic: The Army Horse Breeding Program
Speaker: Frank Blaha, President – Jefferson County Horse Council
Introduction: Margaret Blaha, Head Trainer – Harmony Equine Center
Location: The Buffalo Rose (map)
Featured Brewery: Golden City Brewery

Golden Beer Talks has not had a talk that has addressed horses in any way for several years. It’s time change that: the April Talk will cover the highly successful Army Horse Breeding Program of 1920 – 1948.

Only a small percentage of our population owns horses, but the appeal of horses is nearly universal. A recent survey found that 30.5% of Colorado households include a horse enthusiast. The popularity of horses and horse events is currently on the increase due to shows like “Yellowstone” and its progeny, but horse events go well beyond rodeo competitions.

The best current estimate is that the US has 6.65 million horses (somewhat over 200,000 horses in Colorado), and the horse industry accounts for $177 billion dollars and 7.2 million direct and indirect jobs. About 2 million people also serve as volunteers in horse programs. Given the large size of the “horse economy” a historical program that contributed to the vibrancy and diversity of that economy by giving us more serviceable horses and better equine athletes has current relevance, which brings us back to the Army Horse Breeding Program.

This program was run by the Army, but it was not limited to army bases or federal facilities; it had substantial civilian involvement across the country. Without that civilian involvement the program could not have been the success that it was. The broad outlines of this program will be explained, but more emphasis will be placed on the civilian aspects of the program, and particularly those parts that took place in Colorado or locally, down to the level of Golden and horses that you can see today. This will be a small window into a fascinating bit of history involving civic pride, common cause, many exciting horse events, and a highly successful federal program. This is largely forgotten history, but this program has had a significant impact on the horses that we see today in our pastures and at our shows.

An evening hosted by Golden Beer Talks centers around a brief, informative and entertaining presentation by an expert on an irresistibly enticing topic. Each event features beer for sale from one of our local breweries, along with a variety of delicious food and drink offerings from the Buffalo Rose kitchen and bar.

It's Golden's own grassroots version of TED talks for the benefit of our own local community--and just for the fun of it. Golden Beer Talks is a nonprofit venture focused on three favorite local things--Golden and Beer and Talking!

Doors open at 6PM and the talk starts at about 6:35PM.

Learn more at www.goldenbeertalks.org.

Golden History: 6-7:30PM Women and Lunacy @ Golden History Museum

Photo of the 1878 Jefferson County Courthouse with different segments as described by the Colorado Transcript


What started as a small curiosity turned into a big question: did the Colorado criminal justice system pathologize women in the early twentieth century? The Golden History Museum collection includes a jailhouse register from Jefferson County covering 1878 to 1929. While researching a famous lynching case in Golden, Colorado, involving two men, we noticed that most of the charges for women were for “insanity.” The project bloomed into a multi-institutional search for the women recorded in the register.

This talk is focused on methods of record retrieval alongside institutional barriers. The archivist at the Colorado State Hospital Museum in Pueblo welcomed us to research the asylum’s archived medical records and documents. On the other hand, Jefferson County’s archivist informed us that valuable Lunacy Commission records are still sealed to date, obscuring some of the instances of women who were institutionalized against their will repeatedly. This presentation will offer biographies of the women and will explain the obstacles and benefits of working across multiple institutions in Colorado for historical research.   

Register

large brown leather binder with cover saying "JAIL REGISTER - FEB 15th 1878 To 1929"
Jefferson County Jail Register - 1878-1929 - Golden History Museum Collection

Golden History: RATS

The Bella Vista Hotel stood at the northwest corner of 12th and Jackson from the 1880s until 1920 - Dan Abbott Collection

The Bella Vista hotel was built in the early 1880s at 12th and Jackson Streets. In 1920, a salvage company dismantled it, selling off the woodwork, flooring, doors and windows, the pipes–even the bricks. What they couldn’t sell, they left behind. There, the pile of wreckage remained for 16 years.

postcard of brick "Coors Brewery and Malted Milk Plant" with Golden, Mount Zion, and foothills in background
This photo of Coors, taken sometime between 1920 and 1936, provides a distant glimpse of the Bella Vista foundations - click to enlarge

88 Years Ago
The April 16, 1936 Colorado Transcript included an article titled “RATS!”

The cleaning up of the old foundations of the Belle Vista hotel preparatory to constructing the new PWA consolidated grade school building has disturbed the homes of innumerable rats and will undoubtedly scatter them out pretty well over Golden. Arrangements should be made at once to exterminate these destructive rodents.

The Transcript frequently wrote about rats, sometimes offering helpful hints about how to kill them–poison, shooting, and asphyxiation by car exhaust being among the suggestions.

Why did we have such a rat problem? It’s probably because we did not have a good method of disposing of our waste. Over the years, Golden’s town dumps were in surprisingly central places, including Parfet Park, 11th Street next to the Creek, and the west end of 8th Street. Theoretically, those dumps were intended for non-smelly things, such as construction waste or unwanted furniture, but people often dumped food waste, dead animals, and other rat attractants. Apparently, from 1920-1936, many of those rats called the Bella Vista waste pile home.

Golden offered curbside garbage collection beginning in the 1950’s, and made it mandatory in 1967. References to rats in the local paper dropped off sharply after that.

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!

News Relating to Golden - April 16, 2024

Golden adds 6 acres to future park site off Heritage Road

By Corinne Westeman
Golden Transcript

A forthcoming park in south Golden is now 6 acres bigger.

The Golden City Council has approved annexing and rezoning the former Bachman farm property near the corner of Heritage Road and Colfax Avenue — also called the South Neighborhoods Property in official city documents. It was zoned for agricultural uses, but is now zoned conservation just like the 14-acre undeveloped parcel just north of it... Read more...

A Little League of Their Own: Young Goldenites kick off baseball season

By Corinne Westeman
Golden Transcript

The Golden Junior Baseball Association has revamped in the offseason — a new name, a new vision, big plans and upgraded amenities at its primary baseball field... Read more...

New faces, same standards: Mines football closes out spring season

By Corinne Westeman
Golden Transcript

The Colorado School of Mines football team is going to look different this fall.

The Orediggers lost about 30 seniors, including their star quarterback, several key linebackers and safeties, and veteran offensive and defensive linemen... Read more...

By Corinne Westeman
Golden Transcript

For months, Orediggers have been hoarding all things cardboard — from pizza boxes to Amazon packages — to prepare for this day... Read more...

Mines graduates continue to see overwhelmingly positive outcomes

By Jasmine Leonas
Colorado School of Mines Newsroom

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting their college careers, recent Mines graduates are reporting positive outcomes at an even higher percentage than their already successful predecessors, according to the 2022-2023 Career Center Annual Report... Read more...

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Many thanks to the people and organizations who support What’s Happening in Golden?  If you would like to support local news, please CLICK HERE!

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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

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Highlights