Coronavirus Update
Public Health References
CDC * Colorado * Jefferson County * City of Golden
Jefferson County’s case count page says that as of 3PM yesterday, there have been 2,120 cases in Jefferson County (up from 2,098). There have been 128 deaths (up from 127) and 327 are hospitalized (up from 326). There are 172 known cases in Golden (up from 170).
The Safer at Home protocol is now in effect. Check the City’s site to learn more about what that entails. Everyone is still requested to wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth when leaving the house. City and County fire restrictions are in place. Clear Creek is closed to all recreational activities.
Virtual Golden
8-9AM Downtown Merchants Association Virtual Meeting
Please register here.
8-9AM Virtual Zumba
10:15AM Baby and Toddler Time with the Library
6-7:30PM Golden United Housing Task Force via Zoom
We will discuss Golden rental assistance, eviction and foreclosure moratoriums, homeless advocacy, the new complaint process for the Mobile Home Park Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Program, housing trust funds, inclusionary housing, and next steps across all task force activities. All are welcome!
7PM Parks, Recreation, and Museum Advisory Board
The Board will discuss Golden’s 2020 drought plan, how the Parks Dept is dealing with COVID-19, and the Apex Trail.
Gardening Season
May 19th – 26th, 9AM – 3PM – Free mulch, free compost, free seeds – this week only!
Golden’s Victory Vegetable Garden program is LIVE this week at the tree limb drop off near Hwy 93 and Golden Gate Canyon Rd (map). All City of Golden households can pick up 3 free packets of organic vegetable seeds suitable for in ground or container gardens, up to 3 free bags of organic compost, and unlimited free mulch from the City Forestry Division using personal shovels and buckets. Go to cityofgolden.net/VictoryGarden to find out more.
Golden Business News
Masked Men in Golden
By Guest Historian Paul Haseman
By 1876, Golden was abustle with railroads going north to Longmont, east to Denver and west to Blackhawk and Idaho Springs transporting passengers and freight with the most important freight being coal and sulfide ores for smelters in Golden. All of these railroads from Golden were part of the Colorado Central Railroad (CCRR) run by Bill (WAH) Loveland.
Financing for these new rail routes derived primarily from the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). Relations between the CCRR/Loveland and the UP waxed and waned with the UP’s Jay Gould in Boston exercising “tough love” in controlling the CCRR. However, in a telling series of events, Loveland revolted.
Prior to a May 1876 CCRR Board meeting in Golden, Edward Berthoud, in his role as CCRR Secretary, noted that the UP failed to give its agent authority to vote UP’s proxies. Without those voting proxies, the Golden CCRR directors regained control of the CCRR for Loveland. Naturally followed a series of lawsuits, to which Loveland was no stranger, as the UP now sought to force the CCRR into bankruptcy and, thereby, take total control.
On 15 Aug 1876, a hearing in Boulder was set to appoint David Moffat, of Moffat Tunnel fame, as the “receiver in bankruptcy” by Judge Amhurst Stone, an Associate Justice of the State of Colorado. (Statehood was signed into law by President Grant two weeks earlier on 1 August 1876). Bankruptcy would be bad news for William Loveland and the CCRR.
So . . .twenty-five masked gunmen stopped the CCRR train half way to Boulder and kidnapped Judge Stone. The next day The Colorado Transcript trumpeted: Militia and Mounted Men in Pursuit of Mob. A party of some twenty-five masked men, who appeared like laborers, took Judge Stone from the train and moved off with him toward the mountains . . . The judge made a show of resistance . . . but their efforts were quieted by a display of revolvers.”
As authorized the same day by Governor Routt, William Loveland and the Sheriff of Boulder County formed possees to pursue the kidnappers but could not track them down. The upshot of the kidnapping – the receiver hearing in Boulder did not occur. The judge was released the next day unharmed and he stated he could not identify his kidnappers.
The judge did note as reported the next week in Transcript that that “every one of the vigilantes had on an elegantly fitted pair of boots and from the style and quality it is believed these boots were all bought of Lee Mellon” a Golden boot store . . . so maybe not “laborers.” Rough and ready justice here in Golden.
The Union Pacific and Loveland later reached a more equitable “understanding” for the next ten years with Loveland as CCRR President. They say you are known by the company you keep and Loveland kept the CCRR.
