Column by Hal Walter
Mountan Life – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
I SWORE UP AND DOWN the main range when I set _up shop here in the Wet Mountains back in 1991 that I would never move again. I came here to stay. But that was then — nearly eight years ago — and this is now. If I’ve learned anything from the experience, it’s to never say never.
Essay by Ed Quillen
Books – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
Some Favored Reading from 1998
FOR SOME REASON, my pleasure reading in 1998 focused on the Civil War.
Actually, there may be specific reasons for this interest. One is that the editor I deal most with at the Denver Post, Bob Ewegen, is a Civil War and military history buff. In order to avoid talking about possibly painful subjects with him — i.e., the quality of my prose on a given Monday or Thursday morning when I call to see if the material arrived via modem — I can instead discourse with him about various Civil War generals.
Review by Ed Quillen
Tourism – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
Canine Colorado – Where to Go and What to Do with Your Dog
by Cindy Hirschfeld
Published in 1998 by Fulcrum
ISBN 1-55591-375-X
Review by Martha Quillen
Ludlow Massacre – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
Fire In The Hole
by Sybil Downing
published in 1996 by University Press of Colorado
ISBN0870815156
Essay by Stephen Lyons
Western Life – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
It’s a good day to be indigenous
by Stephen Lyons
FROM THIS MOMENT ON kindly refer to my family as “indigenous.” Or, if you prefer, “First Peoples.” With the discovery of what could be my long-lost European relative — Kennewick Man — it’s time to respect my elders.
Article by Nancy Ward
Local Artists – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
“I’ll carve you a wooden leg,” is the way Jack Portice tells the story of his offer to a friend who’d just lost a leg in a motorcycle accident. That was back in 1979 when Portice had a custom motorcycle shop in Aurora, Colorado, where the artist inside him came out in the choppers he designed and built.
Essay by Laura Mccall
Western Life – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
IN THE 1970s, Gunnison’s only franchise was A & W — an old and somewhat quaint chain that employed car-hops in the summer months. McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Subway, and Taco Bell did not exist. In 1987, a company named ALCO came to town and built their cinder block discount store, the site of the present-day Wal-Mart, over a pasture where the largest and most-magnificent bulls used to graze.
Brief by Central Staff
Transportation – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
Before highway nomenclature was standardized with numbers, many were named, like the Rainbow Route becoming U.S. 50, or the Lincoln Highway turning into U.S. 30 in the West.
Some other named roads and their modern numbers:
Brief by Central Staff
Transportation History – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
Cañon City contributed much, in both labor and materials, to early highway construction in Colorado. The labor came from convicts at the state penitentiary, who were put to work on roads from 1905 until 1926, when the practice was abolished.
The materials — lime, gravel, stone — came from a hillside quarry, still quite visible behind Old Max on the west side of Cañon City.
Article by Alvin Edlund, Jr.
Transportation History – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
ONE OF THE LONGEST HIGHWAYS in the United States is Highway 50, which stretches from Ocean City, Maryland, to Sacramento, California, and passes through Washington D.C., Cincinnati, St. Louis, Kansas City, Carson City, Lake Tahoe, and Central Colorado. A sign at Ocean City declares this coast-to-coast highway is 3,073 miles long.
Essay by Martha Quillen
Local Government – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
IN OUR FIVE YEARS of existence, Colorado Central has examined growth issues from numerous angles. We’ve printed articles about growth summits and seminars, and about census statistics and growth patterns. We’ve mused about the relationships between newcomers and old-timers, and pondered upon the cultural effects and consequences of growth.
Brief by Betsy Marston
Western Life – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
Business Bad For Prisons
Not so long ago, comedians joked that by the year 2000, everyone in the United States would either be a prison guard or an inmate considering the astounding rate of jail construction. But what if you built a jail and no one came?
That’s the problem Santa Fé, N.M., faces after spending $27 million for an “adult correctional facility.” Private operators of the 648-bed facility have found few takers from other states for the hundreds of extra beds.
Brief by Central Staff
Local authors – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
Distinguished Contributors
Two of our frequent contributors have attained certain distinctions in recent months.
Steve Voynick of Leadville was just named to the board of directors of the National Mining Museum and Hall of Fame there, and also received an honorary lifetime membership.
Brief by Marcia Darnell
San Luis Valley – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
Kitty Comeback
The lynx will be reintroduced in Southwestern Colorado, with 40 of the cats scheduled to appear in the Western Valley in mid-December. The Colorado Wildlife Commission plans to release the animals in the San Juan National Forest.
The lynx will wear radio collars for two or three years, so wildlife officials can monitor their adaptation.
Brief by Ed Quillen
Transportation – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
The Union Pacific Railroad is giving more consideration to re-opening the Tennessee Pass line, but don’t hold your breath.
Recent increases in coal production from Utah and the Western Slope of Colorado have strained capacity on the Moffat Tunnel Route between Grand Junction and Denver. Running through trains across Tennessee Pass could ease some of that congestion, and thus the renewed interest.
Essay by Penelope Reedy
Western Life – January 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
Does Anyone Remember the Cowboy Code?
by Penelope Reedy
“In the moonlight he could see Harley’s body hanging from the fence, where they had tangled it upright between strands of barbed wire. Harley’s brown skin had gone as pale as the cloudy sandstone in the moonlight, and Tayo could see blood shining on his thighs and his fingertips.”