Does ‘ABC’ stand for “Always Burn Colorado”?

Column by Hal Walter

Hunting – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

I recently became an investor in a magazine venture, though the publisher didn’t ask whether I wished to be involved, and collected the start-up capital under the somewhat questionable pretense that it was going to be used to further wildlife management in Colorado.

The publisher is the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and the magazine is the annual big-game hunting brochure distributed prior to the spring application deadline for limited hunting licenses.

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The difference between growth and invasion

Essay by Martha & Ed Quillen

Growth – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Recently the U.S. Bureau of the Census released the July 1996 estimates of population. These census figures reflect a little more than six years of change since the official census on April 1, 1990. So what do we find in the new numbers?

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Conspiracy? It’s more like a confederacy of dunces

Essay by Ellen Miller

Federal government – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

It seems the John Birch Society, ever vigilant in its quest to guard liberty, has announced it plans a blitz of Wyoming to educate the wind-swept masses about the conspiracy threats that face us.

The society contends that a huge conspiracy involving all of our institutions, from the government to the media, will rob us of our freedoms. That leap of faith, however, is based on the assumption that society’s institutions are capable of acting efficiently.

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Pottery from the Blue Earth: Blair Meerfeld

Article by Ed Quillen

Local Artists – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Outside the big south-facing windows, nature was providing a full dose of springtime in the Rockies — steady strong wind mixed with rain, snow, sleet, sporadic sunshine, the first hailstorm of 1997 — all in about ten minutes.

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The deskunking recipe

Sidebar by Central Staff

Skunks – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

The deskunking recipe was formulated by Paul Krebaum, a chemist in Illinois, and publicized by the Colorado Division of Wildlife. It appeared in our September, 1996, edition, and it goes like this:

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Deskunking recipe works again

Letter from Clay Warren

Skunks – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Ed and Martha:

Ah’m writing this letter of thanks on behalf of my hound, Blotch. Blotch, as you may recall, is the one which was once described as what a cross between an Appaloosa stallion and a black-and-white paint mare would look like, iffin’ they was dogs. Blotch would have written this himself, ‘ceptin’ he’s too far-sighted, and his nose always touches three keys at once. Makes for real difficult deciphering of his spelling.

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Commodity Prices and Cultural Frontiers

Letter from Jim Ludwig

April 1997 edition – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Some Issues from the April issue: Commodity Prices & Cultural Frontiers

Editors:

Your 1928-1997 price comparisons in the March edition are interesting, but it is obvious (from the photocopy) that Charlie Fitzsimmons did not or could not afford to pay the water bill. The house at 408 W Seventh now belongs to Charlie’s son Terry, and is occupied by his granddaughter, Kathy. We met to have a 40th wedding celebration at that very house on March 22.

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Buena Vista and Saguache museums get new buildings

Brief by Central Staff

Museums – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

BV and Saguache musems get some new old buildings

Museums in both Buena Vista and Saguache have acquired new buildings.

With help from the Colorado State Historical Society, the Buena Vista Heritage Museum has acquired the Turner farmstead. The Turner family bought the property in 1912. The original homestead dates back to the 1880s. The house was built in 1910, and the barn was added in 1924.

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What Spanish missionaries?

Brief by Central Staff

Salida’s representation – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Perhaps he should have named it El Pueblito del Ratos del Rio

At first we were worried when we saw the Spring 1997 edition of Snow Country, “the magazine of mountain sports and living.”

Inside the travel guide was an article about eight “River Rat Towns” where “it’s possible to check in for a few days, raft a gauntlet of exciting runs, learn to paddle a kayak and immerse yourself in life on the river …”

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The Nature Conservancy (finally) arrives in the SLV

Brief by Marcia Darnell

Nature Conservancy – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Nature Conservancy (Finally!) arrives in the San Luis Valley

After months of delays, The Nature Conservancy has finally established a field office in the San Luis Valley, run by Nancy and Chuck Warner in Alamosa.

The Nature Conservancy, based in Arlington, Virginia, takes “a coöperative, non-confrontational approach” to land and water use issues, often buying land to keep it pristine.

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Guffey gets a newspaper

Brief by Central Staff

Media – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Growth in Greater Guffey

Since we are concerned with Central Colorado, we dare not neglect developments in Guffey, which is about as close to the center of our state as any place that has electricity and a post office.

Guffey, which sits in Park County about 30 miles southeast of Hartsel along Highway 9, has grown so much that its got its own newspaper now, the Greater Guffey Community News.

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He was never convicted of cannibalism

Brief by Central Staff

Alfred Packer – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

He did the time, but not for that crime

One Cañon City tourist attraction has a catchy slogan: “Do Time with Us.”

Complete with a gas chamber where 32 men were executed, the Colorado Territorial Prison Museum also offers “the actual hangman’s noose of the last man executed by hanging in the state of Colorado, confiscated inmate weapons and contraband … displays of disciplinary paraphernalia used from 1871 to present.”

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Protecting our grandfathers’ morals

Brief by Central Staff

Leadville history – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Wonder who contributed from State Street

Last fall, many conservative candidates for office, from Bob Dole on down, spoke as though America had once been a perfectly virtuous and moral nation until it was degraded by Baby Boomers and the Biased Liberal Media.

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Unique is still alive and well in Salida

Brief by Central Staff

Salida theater – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Salida’s Unique is Still Alive

Although it’s been closed for quite a while, the Unique Theater in Salida is alive and well. Owner John Groy closed the Unique earlier this year for cleaning, painting, and minor renovations, but illness and a death in the family delayed the project. Before long, many Salidans assumed the worst — that the old theater was gone for good.

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Orpheum’s resurrection won’t happen soon

Brief by Central Staff

Historic buildings – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Orpheum’s resurrection won’t happen soon

Looking around Central Colorado, it’s apparent that a lot of old places are getting a new lease on life. But sometimes it’s not easy.

When we were trying to find out what happened to the Unique, a few people mentioned that the Orpheum Theatre in Buena Vista was being restored.

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