January 22, 2025: Disneyland on the Mountain: Walt, the Environmentalists, and the Ski Resort That Never Was by Greg Glasgow and Kathryn Mayer

It was going to be Disneyland at the top of a mountain. A vacation destination where guests could ski, go ice skating, or be entertained by a Disney Imagineer-created band of Audio-Animatronic bears. In the summer, visitors could fish, camp, hike, or take a scenic chairlift ride to the top of a mountain. It was the Mineral King resort in Southern California, and it was Walt Disney’s final passion project. But there was one major obstacle to Walt’s dream: the growing environmentalist movement of the 1960s.

February 26, 2025: Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Friends by John S. Engs

The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad assists the railroad through the preservation, interpretation, and restoration of 64 miles of railroad between Chama, New Mexico, and Antonito, Colorado. Built in 1880 it was purchased by the states of Colorado and New Mexico in 1970. They curate exhibits, provide educational materials and docent services, and collect historical documents, photos, and videos of the operating authentic steam locomotives.

March 26, 2025: Men of Bronze – Buffalo Soldiers by Bill Gwaltney

Once forgotten and more recently “re-imagined,” the story of Black Regular Troops in the Frontier Army is still largely unknown. Established as Regular Army Regiments in 1866, they were assigned the toughest duties in the West and Southwest, and former confederate Texas. Finding comfort in the camaraderie of the Army and some profit in the low but steady pay, these Black U.S. Army Regulars served in both the Infantry and the Cavalry. Poor meals, like poor horses, were constant companions of these troops who were vilified or ignored by popular historians. These soldiers were thought to have been cowards if military missions failed or murderous fanatics if their missions succeeded. They marched, fought, and scouted in the best traditions of the service.

April 23, 2025: Lou and JonBenét, A Legendary Lawman’s Quest by John Wesley Anderson

Most of us know JonBenét Ramsey was murdered in her family’s home in Boulder in 1996. A ransom note was found, but it was hours before her father found her body in their basement. Boulder police fixated on her parents as suspects and brought in legendary homicide detective Lou Smit. He was soon disenchanted with law enforcement’s obsession with the Ramsey family as suspects. Anderson tells the story of Lou Smit’s investigation.

May 28, 2025: ‘Steel City Strong’ The Creation of the Pueblo Steel Mill and Its Effects on Pueblo by Payton Odell

This month’s program explores the history and lasting impact of the Pueblo Steel Mill on the city. Following its establishment in 1880, the mill became a cornerstone of economic growth, diversity, and industrialization in the region. The mill shaped local culture, attracted immigrants, and contributed to the development of the American West. While touching on the mill’s challenges and resilience over the years Payton explores how steel built not only infrastructure, but also a community.

June 25, 2025: A Walk Through Oradour-sur-Glane by Flint Whitlock

On June 10, 1944 —four days after Allied armies landed on D-Day in Normandy — a German panzer tank division was moving from southern France toward the invasion area. Their route took them through Oradour-sur-Glane — a small agricultural village of over 600 persons some 250 miles from the beaches at Normandy. Without provocation the Germans destroyed the village. When almost everyone (642 people) was dead, the soldiers blew up the buildings, set fire to the entire town, and then moved on. Only two or three people survived. After the war the village was never rebuilt. French president Charles de Gaulle declared that the ruins were to be left as a memorial to everyone who died as a result of Nazi brutality — a silent witness to one of the worst of the many war crimes committed by the German Third Reich.

July 23, 2025: Saving the South Platte Hotel by Katy Ordway

Katy Ordway will be speaking on the history of the South Platte Hotel. This gem is still standing in the mountains of Jefferson County. It has been the site of fires, shootings and was a hot spot for hooch during prohibition, and used by drug dealers in the 1980s. Today the hotel is endangered and Katy along with Historically Jeffco are working hard to save it. This was also the annual business meeting.

August 23, 2025: Rendezvous at Littleton History Museum with a brief talk by Ryan Badger

The Littleton Museum encompasses three exhibition galleries, research center, gift shop, two 19th-century living history farm sites. The 1860s homestead farm and the 1890s turn-of-the-century urban farm represent how people lived and worked during the early years in Littleton and the South Platte River Valley. Museum staff and volunteers dressed in period-appropriate costumes, work on the farm sites, run the working blacksmith shop, and teach in Littleton's first one-room schoolhouse, offering a “living history” perspective to the museum visitor.

September 24, 2025: Cherry Creek: Castlewood Canyon, Canals, Clark Colony Cherries by Lee Whiteley.

The 1890 Castlewood Canyon Dam south of Franktown helped protect Denver from Cherry Creek flooding, but the primary motive for the dam was irrigation. The dam, a canal and water storage system, and 15,000 acres of Rufus “Potato” Clark’s Clark Colony provided the opportunity for new farming operations. A series of developers and land promoters enticed settlers to develop 5- to 10-acre parcels of irrigated land for fruit orchards, primarily cherries. But bankruptcies, problems with the dam, and lawsuits over land ownership and water rights slowed the developments. However, it was the failure of the Castlewood Dam in August 1933 that immediately ended the flow of water to the orchards.

October 22, 2025: Con Men, Klansmen, and The Battle To Save a City by Alan Prendergast

Journalist Alan Prendergast will discuss his book GANGBUSTER, a true story about the amazing career of Denver District Attorney Philip Van Cise, who exposed and smashed a national network of con artists operating out of Denver in the 1920s, then went on to battle the Ku Klux Klan — at a time when the hate group was in the process of taking over state government in Colorado.

November 19, 2025: A Western Woman’s Wardrobe by Angela Natalie Weeden

The idea of Victorian women’s clothing might conjure thoughts of corsets and crinolines, but what did the average Colorado woman in the Victorian era actually wear on a daily basis? This dressing sequence will explore all of the layers of a pioneer woman’s wardrobe from the inside out to find out what she wore, how she wore it, and why she wore it.

December 17, 2025: “History of Colorado Higher Education” Christopher Howell, Ph.D.

This talk provides an overview of Dr. Howell’s research; a history of higher education in the state, and the major findings of his research. Findings include the surprising cooperation between faith-based and secular institutions and the role of vision and leadership in higher education. The ability of higher education to survive and thrive through economic booms and busts, changing political winds, and influential outside events is the major theme in this narrative. Institutions highlighted include the Colorado School of Mines and the University of Northern Colorado. Brief historical biographies will be presented on Zachariah Xenophon Snyder of the University of Northern Colorado and William Slocum of Colorado College.

Rosenstock Awards Presented at this Dinner