Matt Hutson

The Blues of Winter

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Essay by Matt Hutson

Winter – February 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

I HATE WINTER. I realize that sounds pretty funny coming from a guy who lives in Gunnison County, the part of the state best known for its brutal winter conditions. But it’s true.

I think it all dates back to my teenage years. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, through a variety of mishaps and stupidity, I ended up having multiple knee operations. Somehow I spent part of five or six winters limping around Carbondale in a full leg cast. Mucking around in the slush in a cast is not a good time; the toes of the affected leg never quite seem to warm up. To top it all off, one is deathly afraid of slipping, falling, and enduring yet more considerable pain. I haven’t been on a pair of downhill skis in over 25 years.

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Mears and the Marmots

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Letter from Matt Hutson

Marmots – August 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine

Ed,

As is my sick custom, this evening I am reading the July issue (received today) from cover to cover. The story you remember about Otto Mears hiring marmot killers is related in The Rainbow Route, page 167. It’s during the construction of the extension of the Silverton Northern from Eureka to Animas Forks. Your recollection varies somewhat from this version.

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The blight continues to spread

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Letter by Matt Hutson

Gentrification – October 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

The blight of gentrification continues to spread

Editors:

This week the City Council of my hometown of Carbondale passed an open-container ordinance. Where once one could idly sip a beer along Main while watching the occasional car go by, it’s now a crime.

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Silverton’s great if you can make a living

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Letter from Matt Hutson

Transportation – February 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Ed,

I just received the latest edition of Colorado Central and enjoyed it very much. I’m also a railroad nut and I liked your Letter From The Editors. I fear there is no hope, however. Many thousands of miles of track have been ripped up in this state with few getting reprieve.

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