A Look Back at the Talks in 2024

January 24, 2024: Tarryall Gold: From Rush to Hush by Mark Hanson

Tarryall Valley, home to one of Colorado’s earliest gold strikes in July 1859, has been the focus of Mark Hanson’s historical research and camera. He has mapped the mining district’s 18 square miles from Como, to the Continental Divide and Boreas Pass. There are hidden more than 70 teetering cabins, over 1000 prospect pits and mines, miles of flumes, five remaining mill sites, former blacksmith shops, and the hopes and dreams of thousands of prospectors. From the eye of a present-day resident and claim-holding geologist, re-live the rush and experience of that bygone era. He will introduce five miners whose detailed biographies illustrate a diverse parade of explorers from gold farmers to silver magnates. His book represents a microcosm of hundreds of valleys across the West, which birthed a state and built the West.

Mark Hanson is a geologist, historian, and author of the upcoming book Tarryall Gold: From Rush to Hush. He profiles the miners, mines, cabins, and their resulting patina on today’s Tarryall Valley. A resident and owner of several patented gold claims, Mark peels back 160 years of rust and reforestation to reveal a time capsule showcasing yesterday’s rush, and today’s hush.

February 28, 2024: The Building of a New Community: How a Sugar Beet Factory Created the Second Most Diverse Community in Colorado by Kenia Hansen-Guzman

Kenia’s presentation will talk about Fort Morgan, Colorado, and how the sugar beet factory played a huge role in creating diversity there. Fort Morgan founder Abner S. Baker and town promoter George Warner are credited with convincing Great Western to build its Fort Morgan factory in 1906. The Jackson Lake reservoir, which at the time was the largest reservoir in northeast Colorado, was specifically built to attract a Great Western Sugar factory. Even before the facility opened, Great Western reportedly distributed $400,000 in wages to workers and to farmers who were growing beets. On December 26, 1906, the factory processed its first load of sugar beets, and it was fully operational by 1907.

Kenia Hansen-Guzman is a senior at Fort Morgan High School. She grew up in Fort Morgan and is the daughter of a first-generation immigrant from El Salvador and a third-generation Coloradan. She is involved in multiple different school-based activities; Vice President of the Colorado Student Leaders Institute Student Board, and a member of the National History Day Student Board.

March 27, 2024: Lost Downtown Denver by Mark Barnhouse

Newcomers to the Mile High City have often remarked on how new the city seems, and how proud its citizens are of it. Heady boom times have inspired successive waves of city builders eager to make their mark by building grand, new edifices. Often, these new wonders replaced older structures that earlier Denverites had once considered great accomplishments. As Denver has grown into the hub of a major American metropolis, remnants of its earlier heritage have vanished, leaving newcomers to ponder, “What makes Denver Denver?,” and longtime residents to ask, “Where has my Denver gone?” Join Mark Barnhouse as he delves into the history of Denver’s erasure of its past, exploring several waves of change that have transformed its downtown.

Mark joined the Denver Westerners in 2016 and has served as Book Review Chair, Deputy Sheriff, and Sheriff; he currently serves as chair of the Rosenstock Prize Committee. This is his second full-length presentation to the Posse, and fourth overall. Born in Denver, he has, from an early age, always been fascinated with its downtown. A proud South High School graduate, he has a BA from the University of Colorado, Denver, where he double-majored in history and English. He has published ten books on Denver history.

April 24, 2024: Indian Oral Traditions and Creation Stories by Roger Dudley

Roger’s presentation explores the creation stories of a number of American Indian tribes. He will also discuss the oral traditions of Indians and the limitations of the archaeological world in documenting or even recognizing the history represented in these stories that are sometimes thousands of years old. In addition, attention will be given to the non-verbal records of Indians including cave painting, sand painting, medicine wheels and Lakota winter counts preserved on skins.

This will be Roger’s fourth presentation to the Denver Posse and the first not related to his work or family. His father was born in 1915 to two families which homesteaded in eastern Colorado after spending time in midwestern states as well as Arkansas and Oklahoma. He is a Denver native and has lived in Denver for most of the last 76 years and has been a member of the Posse since 2014. He worked for 23 years for Public Service Company of Colorado and 14 years at the Denver Public Library in the Western History and Genealogy Department before retiring in 2019.

May 22, 2024: History of the AdAmAn Club by Dan Stuart

The AdAmAn Club has been a Pikes Peak tradition since 1922. A group of mountaineers climb the Barr Trail on the east face of Pikes Peak. At the stroke of midnight they ignite a fireworks display to usher in the New Year.

Past club President will share the history of the AdAmAn Club. Dan Stuart served on the Manitou Springs City Council, two terms as mayor, and on the Colorado Transportation Commission with a term as chairman. He organized an annual tree planting project that has added nearly 15,000 seedlings to the foothills west of Colorado Springs. Dan has climbed all 54 of Colorado’s 14ers. He also wrote the words to The AdAmAn Song. The book “AdAmAn 100 Years of Ice, Wind, and Fire” was on sale with proceeds going towards the AdAmAn Club and can be purchased here.

June 26, 2024: Colorado’s High Line Canal by Tom Noel

The High Line Canal is the longest and most used of all Colorado water ditches. Built in 1883, it begins in Waterton Canyon on the South Platte River and meanders seventy-one miles through Douglas, Arapahoe, Denver and Adams counties. Initially an irrigation canal, it has evolved into Colorado's longest and skinniest recreation district used annually
by a million walkers, bikers, joggers, pet walkers, skiers, wildlife watchers and equestrians. Divided into 27 trail segments it is home to untold numbers of racoons, beavers, muskrats, foxes and other critters. It ends at E. 64th Avenue and Himalaya Road in Aurora.

Tom “Dr. Colorado” Noel has been a Westerner since 1976. He served as Sheriff in 1995 and received the Rosenstock Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Denver Posse of Westerners in 2000. He is author or co-author of over 60 books and has been known as “Dr. Colorado” for decades. He has been regularly featured on Denver television programs
and in newspapers whenever a history authority was needed.

July 24, 2024: Denver Police in the 19th Century by Sgt. Chris Hoag (retired)

History of the Denver Police Department in the 19th century, 1859-1900. Early days of Denver with officers walking beats of on horses, dealing with crimes against persons and property before automobiles and two-way radios. Denver was the county seat of Arapahoe County at the time as the City and County of Denver wasn’t created until 1902.

Chris Hoag was born and raised in Denver and joined the Denver Police Department in 1980, serving in several districts being promoted to Field Training Officer and later to Sergeant. He also worked at the DPD Academy and the traffic unit beofre retiring in 2019 with 39 years of service. He is fascinated by the history of early Denver and serves on the board of directors for the Denver Police Museum. He was a major contributor to the department’s 160-Year-Anniversary boook published in 2019.

August 17, 2024: Summer Rendezvous at Colorado State Patrol Museum at Camp George West

With a short presentation by Lt. Col. Barry Bratt. Patrol artifacts were collected for years and put in display cases at the Patrol academy. The material is now in a separate building for people to see and available for visiting one day a week with CSP retirees volunteering to serve as docents. Examples of the uniforms worn and some of the equipment used are shown. Nearly a dozen old CSP patrol cars and motorcycles are also on display.

Lt. Col. Barry Bratt has 38 years in law enforcement; 28 of those with the state patrol. He has worked all over the state and coordinated numerous special events including the 2002 Olympic Torch relay, World Alpine Ski Championships and presidential visits to name a few. He is the driving force behind getting the CSP Museum up and running and is happy to show it off.

September 25, 2024: Who passed through the San Miguel County, New Mexico Courthouse? by Paul Marquez

While Paul Marquez was researching his family’s ancestral path from New Mexico to Denver, he confirmed family lore documenting the friendship between his 2nd great-grandmother, Celsa Gutierrez, and William H. Bonney, aka “Billy the Kid” and kinship to the sheriff (Pat Garrett) who hunted down and killed The Kid. Related to this topic, Marquez’s research finds the most interesting characters of the Southwest during the years, 1875-1890. He’s uncovered new information about San Miguel County’s famous courthouse in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and the people who sat in the courtroom during this time.

Marquez is a Colorado native, born in Denver, his father’s family having resided in Colorado for more than 160 years. He is the newly elected President of the Wild West History Association, an organization dedicated to “research and preservation of the American West, more particularly, the history of the Wild West.

October 23, 2024: Steel Rails to Ski Trails by Richard W. Luckin

Steel Rails to Ski Trails spans a time period of over 70 years from the first ski train from Denver to Winter Park in 1940 to today’s Amtrak version called the Winter Park Express. Over the years three different ski trains have plied the rails hauling thousands of passengers to Winter Park. Many local photographers have provided stunning images that celebrate Colorado’s snow country and best yet, our Winter Park Express.

Rich Luckin has been involved in video production for over 40 years, first with the Coors Brewing Company and later with the U.S. Air Force, Air Mobility Command. In 1999 he produced his first railroad-themed documentary, Silver Thread Through the West: California Zephyr. In 2024, Luckin completed his 18th documentary, Railroad Stations in American Life. This program will air on PBS nation-wide this year. This latest project is an updated version of the program he produced in 2004.

November 15, 2024: Walnut Creek Massacre by Jeff Broome

On May 18, 1864, mostly Kiowa Indians attacked a freight train near today’s Great Bend, KS, and killed ten freighters and wounded five, two of which were scalped. It is an interesting story that preceded the Indian outbreak that began in earnest August 7 and 8, 1864 in Nebraska at the Little Blue and Plum Creek, which resulted in the Sand Creek massacre in November. This was the first attack of what became known as the 1864 Indian war.

Jeff has been a member of the Denver Westerners since the 1990s and served as sheriff. A fifth generation Coloradan, Jeff was born in Pueblo but moved to Littleton when in elementary school. He graduated from St. John’s Military School in Salina Kansas, got his BS in psychology and philosophy from CSU-Pueblo, his MA in philosophy at Baylor University and his PhD in philosophy from CU-Boulder. He has written four critically acclaimed books on the Central Plains Indian war, covering the years 1864-1869. Broome retired from teaching and in 2016 moved to Beulah, southwest of Pueblo, in the Wet Mountains. He has five cats for emotional support.

December 18, 2024: Harry Tracy - Infamous Outlaw Between 1897 and 1902 by Keith Dameron

Tracy escaped from two Colorado jails and two penitentiaries and was responsible for the deaths of seven law enforcement officers in three states. His story starts in Wisconsin and goes through Utah, Colorado, Oregon and finally ends in Washington state. His escape from the Oregon Penitentiary led to the largest manhunt in the Pacific Northwest until some guy named D. B. Cooper jumped out of an airplane seven decades later.

Keith arrived in Colorado at the age of four and graduated from West Denver High School. He was in the Colorado State Patrol from 1976-2001; a Lieutenant in Governors Security and Captain of the Motor Carrier Safety Section at Camp George West; Historian for Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial at Camp George West honoring all Colorado officers that were killed or died in the line of duty.