New Bike Lane on Ford St.
Photo by Pat Klein
Click to enlarge
What's happening in Golden today?
Events for Wednesday, Oct. 7th
- All day - CURRENT EXHIBITS AT THE MUSEUMS
- All day - Live Workouts with Community Center Pros
- All day - Golden Sports
- All day - Golden History Tours
- 9AM-5PM - Sew a Crossbody Bag @ Front Porch
- 9-10:30AM - Golden Walks
- 9:15-9:45AM - Golden Baby Play Time
- 9:30-10:30AM - Fit and Energize Exercise Class
- 9:30AM-2PM - Doodle 2 Embroidery
- 10AM-4PM - Bent Bento Quilt Class
- 10:15-10:45AM - Toddler Time - Registration Required
- 3PM - Acoustic Preserves
- 3-5PM - Virtual/Call In: Hard Times Writing Workshop
- 3:30-7PM - Beck Venture Center Startup Forum: Startups, Capital & the Nuclear Renaissance
- 5:30-7PM - Golden Marketing Hour
- 5:30PM - Planning Commission Meeting
- 5:30-7PM - Contemplative Memoir
- 6-7:30PM - Native Veterans
- 6:30-8:30PM - Trivia Night @ Golden Mill
For more information, click the item above or visit the Golden Today Calendar
3:30-7PM Beck Venture Center Startup Forum: Startups, Capital & the Nuclear Renaissance @ Beck Venture Center
Startup Forum is a program series designed to empower entrepreneurs with essential knowledge and insights crucial for startup success.
The Startup Forum stage is about to go nuclear! Join the Beck Venture Center for an exclusive fireside chat between two of the leading powerhouses in the nuclear energy ecosystem to learn what the industry actually looks like from the inside, challenges and opportunities, and what we can expect for the future of this often misunderstood sector. Don’t miss Mines’ own Ben L. Fryrear Presidential Chair in Energy, Jen Shafer Ph.D., and Partner, Energy Infrastructure, Nuclear and Fusion, Amy Roma, as they heat up the stage with insider stories and more! Free. More information
Location:
Beck Venture Center
1700 Washington Avenue (Map)
5:30-7PM Contemplative Memoir @ Foothills Art Center - Creative Campus
Writing a memoir may be the most challenging and consequential writing we will ever do. We think we know ourselves well enough to write about our lives, but the effort seems daunting, and its value dubious. After all, how do we begin to choose which stories to tell from all the days and years? And who cares? First of all, no life is ordinary. No life is without miracles and magic, great loss and great love. And probably no life is more crucial for our children to understand then ours, because they share more than our genetics, they share our spiritual DNA. What made us who we are, helps them see who they can become. In that sense, we leave them with more than stories. We leave them with meaning and hope. More information
Location:
Foothills Art Center - Creative Campus
809 15th Street (Map)
5:30PM Planning Commission Meeting @ City Hall Council Chambers
- Meeting Agenda
- Watch the meeting streaming live starting at 5:30PM
- Attend the meeting @ City Hall Council Chambers - 911 10th Street - (map)
- Send comments on any of the following topics to planning@cityofgolden.net
- There will be no public comment, since this is a study session.
Tonight's meeting is a study session--no public comments and no votes. The Commission will discuss two changes that staff is recommending to the zoning code. The first would be counting garages greater than 500 square feet toward the total allowed area of a residence. The second would be allowing staff to approve changes to smaller residences without bringing them to Planning Commission for approval. See the meeting agenda for more information. More information
Location:
City Hall Council Chambers
911 10th Street (Map)
6-7:30PM Native Veterans @ Golden History Museum
Learn about the American Nations’ most respected warriors. This program is focused on the often-highest per-capita volunteer service members who have earned the title of heroes. Working with the American Indian Veterans of Colorado and Sister Nations color guard, this presentation will walk the journey from past to present. Learn about various soldiers, from the code talkers of WWI to those in the modern war on terror. Uplifting and empowering, this will enhance your understanding of the modern Intertribal Native Community. Register
Location:
Golden History Museum
923 10th Street (Map)
The Golden Word - 10/07/26
Live Music for Wednesday, Oct. 7th
- 6-9PM Bunny Blake @ Miners Saloon
- More Live Music
4-8PM Chrispy @ Mountain Toad
5:30-8:30PM Open Mic Night @ Barrels and Bottles
5-8PM Dave Frisk @ Rock Rest Lodge
For more information, visit the Golden Today Calendar
Golden History: The Welch Ditch
By Paul Haseman
Golden is a semi-arid desert as this photo shows its natural state 150 years ago. Therefore, irrigation was essential for anything other than sagebrush and rattlesnakes. At least six major irrigation canals, locally called “ditches” were built in and around Golden to include the Agriculture (Ag) Ditch, Church Ditch, Farmers & Highline Ditch, Rocky Mtn Ditch, Wannemaker Ditch and the Welch Ditch.
This last one, the Welch Ditch, rises to the top in terms of interest and impact. Charles Welch was a Golden businessman, who among other endeavors, built a brick tannery in 1867, which cratered two years later and sat as an empty derelict for four years. Welch sold it to Adolph Coors, who founded his brewery is that abandoned tannery, but that’s a whole other saga. So, one of Charles Welch’s lesser-known achievements, but one which bears his name, was constructing an irrigation ditch to bring water from Clear Creek a mile west of Golden to his property on the south side of Golden. This property, the Welch Addition, was annexed to Golden in 1871 and stretched from 19th Street to the Golden Cemetery. Ever the businessman, Welch’s made a “generous” offer to donate 12 acres of his land to Missionary Bishop George Randall in 1868 for a boys’ school. Bishop Randal had already opened a girls’ school (Wolfe Hall) in Denver and Welch’s free land offer tipped the scales to Golden for the boys’ school. Welch took the good news to the Golden City Council and requested a free right-of-way across the City to not only the new school but, of course, across Welch’s now irrigatable and more valuable property. The Council gladly granted the request.
Surveyed by Edward Berthoud and built in 1871, the Ditch began with a small dam and “head gate” beyond Tunnel One in Clear Creek Canyon and traversed the side of Mt. Zion with wooden flumes. Those flumes were replaced with concrete flumes built in 1920 by “Cement Bill” Williams. The Ditch is still discernable on the south side of the Hanglidger landing area off 6th Ave. Likewise, the noticeable large bump/dip on 6th Ave near that location is a ditch remanent. The Ditch then entered Golden at the west edge of the now Mines Campus and proceeded a mile further south to the end of Jackson Street to the then three structures of the original School of Mines; first, a boys’ boarding school (Jarvis Hall - 1870), then a seminary (St. Matthews Divinity School - 1872) and, wait for it, an Industrial Mining School (1873). Yes, the original School of Mines was built a mile south of downtown on land which is the now the Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center.
Water first entered the ditch on 2 July 1871. The Ditch irrigated the former City Park at 18th Street and, of course, Welch’s southern blocks of land and the Industrial School’s campus, to include its associated farm operations. Ditch construction in Clear Creek Canyon initially used wooden flumes, some of which were later replaced by concrete flumes, still visible today. In effect, Welch’s desire to irrigate his land was the impetus for the location and construction of the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. In recognition of Welch’s contribution to the School of Mines, the school placed a plaque in his honor in 2020 on the route of the Welch Ditch through the campus.
Ah, but the Ditch saga continues with the extension of the Ditch into Lakewood in 1885. Again, another story for later telling and of the over 130 years the Welch Ditch providing water to the City of Golden and Lakewood.
To better preserve the Ditch’s legacy, Jeffco Open Space restored a portion of the Ditch as a 1.5-mile walking trail in Clear Creek Canyon on both sides of 6th Ave Tunnel #1. This new use of the Ditch is a portion of Colorado’s Clear Creek/Peaks to Plains Trail.
Preserving the Welch Ditch helps ensure that future generations will know more about the Welch Ditch and its creator, Charles Clark Welch.
Weather
Overnight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. West northwest wind around 6 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High near 81, with temperatures falling to around 77 in the afternoon. North wind 3 to 7 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 59. West wind 6 to 9 mph, with gusts as high as 16 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly Cloudy, 59°F
Thursday: Sunny, 83°F
Thursday Night: Mostly Clear, 58°F
Friday: Sunny, 84°F
Friday Night: Mostly Clear, 59°F
Saturday: Sunny, 82°F
Saturday Night: Partly Cloudy, 58°F
Sunday: Partly Sunny, 76°F
Sunday Night: Slight Chance Rain Showers then Partly Cloudy, 55°F
Columbus Day: Mostly Sunny then Slight Chance Rain Showers, 72°F
Monday Night: Chance Rain Showers, 52°F
Tuesday: Chance Rain Showers, 68°F
News About Golden - October 7, 2026
Head of Colorado Department of Human Services resigns after tumult at agency
By Katie Langford
Denver Post
Colorado’s top human services official resigned Tuesday after years of tumult in the state’s social services system, including an outside investigation of workplace conditions, millions of dollars in settlements with departing staff, and recent revelations that leaders of a youth detention center sent racist, demeaning text messages about young people at the facility... Read more...
Mines fall teams shine during Homecoming games
By Corinne Westeman
Golden Transcript
Nowhere is an Oredigger more dangerous than on their home court — or turf, as the case may be.
And with dozens of extra family members, friends, former teammates and other supporters in the stands during the Oct. 1-4 Homecoming weekend, four of Colorado School of Mines’ fall teams were forces to be reckoned with... Read more...
Yilin Fan named inaugural Thorson Distinguished University Chair
By Lynn Clark
Colorado School of Mines Newsroom
Yilin Fan, PhD, associate professor of minerals and subsurface energy and an innovator in production engineering, has been named the inaugural J. Don and Lois Thorson Distinguished Endowed Chair... Read more...
Supporters
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!
Sponsors:
($100/month or $1,175/year)
Buffalo Rose, Buglet Battery, Foothills Art Center, Golden Cultural Alliance, Miners Alley Performing Arts Center, The Golden Mill, Golden Chamber of Commerce, Golden History Tours, Miners Saloon, Clothilde Elingbow, Michael Mason, Earth Sweet Boutique, and Colorado Railroad Museum
Friends:
($50-99.99/month or $575/yr)
Tall Pines Painting, Baby Doe’s Clothing, Paul Haseman, Donna Anderson, Carol & Doug Harwood, Stephanie Painter, Greg Poulos, Ann Norton & Jonathan Storer, Mary & Don Parker, The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, Vic DeMaria, Unite Fitness, and Joy Brandt
Supporters:
($25-49.99/month or $285/yr)
Laura King and Scott Wilson, Bobby German and Alison McNally, Forrest Jones, Barry & Liz Bettis, Cheryl & Tom Schweich, in memory of Marjorie Sloan, Chris and Joyce Davell, Forrest Jones, Cynthia Merrill Tamny, Stephen Pero, Meg Van Ness & Steve Kalasz, Steve & Karla Schaefer, Bud Rockhill, Steve Enger, Kristie Brice & Mike Schwartz, The Golden Hotel, Robert Thresher, Tonie Mattox, Steve & M.L. Richardson, Jeremy & Stephanie Keller, AC Development, Golden PT & Pilates, Frank Young & Terre Deegan-Young, Mary Eiberger, and Jonathan Landman & Bonnie Vangilder
Members:
($10-24.99/month or $115/yr)
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, 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, Sandy Schneider, Mark and Cathy Pattridge, Cheryl G Leidich, Jen Rutter, Frani R Bickart, Jennings and Litz, Bill Sedgeley, Nancy Hughes, Justin L Wade, Kathi Eggers, Traci Case, Donna Owen, Karen Oxman, Catherine Skokan, Ross Fraser & KC Gilliland, Lynne Haigh, Elizabeth Hilliard, Kathy Hirons & Jack Markin, Jess & Anthony Monasterio, Heather Duncan, Lee Ann & Pete Horneck, Carol Cameron, Cheryl Williamson, San Daugherty, John and Carol McEncroe, the Golden Welcome Center, the Golden Transcript, Koshare Eagle, Ken and Colleen Krantz, Traci Neuman Lacey, Jo Barber, Jamie Cookinham, Kermit Shields, Meridee Cecil, Colleen & Michael Ramey, Nancy & Pete Torpey, Jax Baker, Simon Maybury, Rose McLaughlin, Cameron Chambers, Joyce Gravina, Patrick Klein, Barb Robie, Richard Caldwell, Sam & Marilyn Baron, Carmen Johnson, Kevin Nichols, Ed & Carol Freza, Laura and Curtis Moore, Ruth Hund, Shelley & Jerry Devitt, Eileen Masterson, Kate Olivier, Amy Korengut, Pam Logan, Clare Shier, Wendy Weiman, Marge Frueh, Edgar Walker, Bivy Beer Bar, Nancy Cooper, Jane & Mike Templeton, Vicki Greivel, Kim McDonough, Carie Chimbel, Peggy Brochtrup, Cindy & Matt Finley, Kelly Fry, Esther Kettering, Tom & Susan Roberts, Vicki Greivel, GoGood Golden, Sandra Dallas, Nanette Johnson, and Ella Lyons & Jeanne Fritch
Followers:
($5-9.99/month or $55/year)
Golden Community Garden, Lora Haimes, Mariane Erickson, J.J. Fraser, Steve Stevens, Vicki Olson, Emily Kurzinski, Peyton Gibson, Sally Berger, Kristen Morgan, Joyce Sutton, Mary Rains, Craig Champlin, Stan Swisher, Bill Way, Chris Toney, Alicia Zimmerman, Tamara Feucht, Golden Brokers, Diane Tiberi, Cathy Larocca, Dave Cole, and Rachael Kenney-Reid
