The Denver Post

We knew it was coming. Colorado weather forecasters got it right. The word B-L-I-Z-Z-A-R-D! was splayed across maps of the state 30 years ago. And the citizens who lived through the Blizzard of 1982 have never quite forgotten it.

On Christmas Eve, snow fell heavily on Denver, as everywhere. But it continued to fall through December 25. High winds whipped snow into massive drifts over cars, livestock, houses and streets. Travelers were stranded for days wherever they gave up the fight to get where they were going. Schools were closed for the holiday, so most people stayed exactly where they could safely wait out the storm.

The Denver Post

Rick Slezak, with pet dog Beau, skied to the Denver Post newspaper box at 1800 Downing Street. There were no newspapers because the blizzard had blocked all streets.

The official tally by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was 23.8 inches. Some areas received a good deal more, closer to 29 inches. Does it really matter how much? Life in the city was seriously disrupted. Roads were impassable. No one could get to work. If you were at work, you couldn’t get home.

Hospitals made desperate pleas for people with Sports Utility Vehicles to come forward to assist in transporting patients to emergency rooms.

Transportation of the non-wheeled variety was trotted out, literally. Few people in those days had snowmobiles, so out came the snowshoes, cross-country skis and horses. But that was AFTER digging out of whatever structure you had sheltered in while the wind howled.

Anyone whose four-wheeled drive vehicle got him out of his neighborhood was hailed as a pioneer. Neighbors emerged, curious to see how those across the street had fared. They reconnected with each other over their snow shovels. In the absence of planned holiday dinner guests, many households feasted merrily all by themselves.

Denver Post photo by John Prieto

Amy Prieto scales a huge snow drift in front of her home during the Christmas blizzard.

Read more…

Denver Post file

30 Years of Rocky Mountain Cooking

On Fridays we’ve been bringing you recipes from Helen Dollaghan’s “30 Years of Rocky Mountain Cooking.” But since it’s nearing Christmas, we thought we’d offer recipes to go along with the holiday.

From Helen’s clip files, here are three delicious glaze recipes to try with your Christmas ham.

Brandied Ham

Whole cloves
1 cup brandy
1 cup lightly-packed brown sugar

Directions

Bake ham according to wrapper directions. About 45 minutes before baking time is completed, remove pan from oven, score ham fat in large crosscross pattern, making cuts about 1/8-inch deep; stud squares with whole cloves. Pour off fat from roasting pan. Pour 1/2 cup of brandy over ham. Bake 30 minutes longer. Baste once with pan juices after 15 minutes. Remove ham from oven. Pour 1/4 cup of the remaining brandy over it. Mix together remaining 1/4 brandy and brown sugar; spread over top of ham. Bake about 15 minutes longer or until ham is glazed. Recipe makes enough basting liquid and glaze for a 5 to 6 pound ham.

Carbonated Liquid Glaze

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 cups pineapple juice
2 cups diced, canned pineapple, drained
Ginger ale
Whole cloves

Directions

Mix together brown sugar and mustard. Gradually add pineapple juice. Mix until smooth. Add pineapple. Bake ham according to wrapper directions, placing ham on a rack even if not specified. Pour pineapple mixture over ham at the beginning of baking period. As pan drippings evaporate, add enough ginger ale to keep about 1/4 inch of liquid in bottom of pan. Baste ham every 15 to 20 minutes with pan drippings. About 30 minutes before baking time is completed remove ham from oven, score ham fat in large crosscross pattern, making cuts about 1/8-inch deep; stud squares with cloves. Remove rack from pan. Place ham in direct contact with liquid. Bake about 30 minutes longer. This makes enough basting liquid for an 8 to 9 pound, boneless ham. Recipe may be cut in half for a 4 to 5 pound ham.

Citrus Glaze

1 can (6-ounce) frozen orange juice, thawed and undiluted
1 cup lightly-packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon dry mustard
3 tablespoons butter

Directions

Heat orange juice in a medium-sized saucepan. Mix together sugar, cornstarch, and mustard; blend into orange juice. Cook mixture over moderate heat, stirring, until thickened. Remove from heat. Add butter. Mix until smooth. Bake ham according to wrapper directions. About 30 minutes before baking time is completed, remove ham from oven, score fat in large crisscross pattern, making cuts about 1/8-inch deep. Pour about 1/4 cup of the glaze over ham. Bake about 30 minutes longer. Thin remaining glaze, if desired, with some of the pan drippings; serve as a sauce with slices of the ham. Recipe makes enough glaze and sauce for a 3 to 4 pound ham.

Denver Post File

December 1, 1912 ad for Christmas toys from The Daniels & Fisher Stores in Denver.

Christmas advertising started early in 1912. Here’s an ad from December 1 for toys at The Daniels & Fisher Stores.

The ad lists dolls, wagons, trains and teddy bears — as well as an appearance by Santa Claus.

Trains and teddy bears were popular toys at the time. But what was popular later?

In 2005, Forbes Magazine compiled a list of the most popular toys in the last 100 years. Here they are for the 1950s and 60s. (The dates indicate when the toys were introduced.)

Silly Putty (1950)
Mr. Potato Head (1952)
LEGO Building Sets (1953)
Matchbox Cars (1954)
Play-Doh (1956)
Frisbee (1957)
Hula Hoop (1958)
Barbie (1959)

G.I. Joe (1964)
Etch-a-Sketch (1960)
Game Of Life (1960)
Easy Bake Oven (1963)
Operation (1965)
Twister (1966)
Battleship (1967)
Hot Wheels (1968)

For a complete list

The last time the date was 12-12-12 was 1912.

We were curious to know what was said about these numbers 100 years ago. So here’s a page from the December 12, 1912 Denver Post with a small article at the bottom.

As was pointed out, it wouldn’t be until 2001 that a date could be written using the same three numbers.

The next triple digit date will be 1-1-2101.

(Click on image, then Ctrl + to enlarge.)

Denver Post File

Page from The Denver Post On December 12, 1912.

Here’re how Coloradans are celebrating today, 12-12-2012.

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

Englewood-born Mona Denton pitched two seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1946 and 1947. She is pictured here as a 24-year-old rookie with the South Bend Blue Sox in 1946.

There’s no crying in baseball, at least not for Mona Denton. She is not in a league of her own, but she is pretty darn close. Denton is one of a very small handful of Colorado-born players to be memorialized in the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown. The only man from Colorado was also a pitcher, Rich “Goose” Gossage, who was born in Colorado Springs in 1951. (Former Rocky Mountain News columnist Tracy Ringolsby received the hall’s J. G. Taylor Spink Award in 2005.)

In 1988, Denton and roughly 600 other players in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League were added to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in a permanent exhibit, “Women in Baseball.”

At least two women from Colorado played in the league. The other was catcher Lucille “Lou” Colacito, who was featured in a lengthy profile in the Rocky Mountain News in 1992 when the movie “A League of Their Own” came out. She The article called Colacito Colorado’s only female professional baseball player, but the story was appended with a correction the next day mentioning Denton, but it gave no other details of her career. Colacito died in 1998, and a another Rocky story called noted she was an inductee into the Colorado Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame, In 1993 Colacito she was invited to speak at a symposium on baseball in Cooperstown. Unfortunately and unfairly, neither Denton nor Colacito are among the 216 inductees in the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame for their participation in the major women’s league.

Read more…

File Photo

Harbor Rescue-While smoke rolls out of the stricken USS West Virginia on Dec. 7, 1941 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a small boat rescues one of the battleship’s seamen, in foreground. Two men may be seen on the superstructure, upper center. The most of the USS Tennessee may be seen beyond the burning West Virginia.

On the morning of December 7, 1941, the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese fighter planes.

The attack lasted two hours, killed 2,390 people, wounded 1,178, damanaged 21 ships and 323 aircraft.

The following day President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan, leading the U.S. into World War II.

File Photo

Let’s Have at It was the attitude of these Lowry field soldiers as they read the news of the war with Japan in The Denver Post extra Sunday afternoon. The soldiers are, left to right, James D. Pearson, Charles D. Edwards, Junior Townsend and Azzan McKagan, all from the south. They are attached to the 365th school squadron at Lowry field. As they scanned The Post extra, they shrugged their shoulders and said: “Glad the thing has come to a head.” This seemed the attitude of most of the public.

File Photo

A massive fireball erupts from the destroyer, the USS Shaw, at the moment the ship’s ammunition magazine exploded during the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack on PearlHarbor. . The ship was later repaired.

File Photo

Attack on Ford Island- Crewmen watch the explosions on Battleship Row during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Extensive damage was done to the seaplanes on this runway, near Hangar 6, at Ford Island during the Dec. 7, 1941 bombing.

File Photo

Ready for Mission–Japanese naval aircraft ready for take off from aircraft carrier Hiryu in the early morning of Dec. 7, 1941. The plane in the foreground is a “Zeke” fighter, according to information with this Japanese photograph that was captured on in 1943.

File Photo

The USS Shaw lies in dry-dock after being hit by three bombs which exploded her forward magazine. Part of the dry-dock at right is under water and the other side (dry-dock wall) is listing heavily.

File Photo

The USS Nevada burns after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.

File Photo

Sailors search the sky for raiders at Pearl Harbor Navel Air Station after the Japanese attack, December 7, 1941.

File Photo

Burning Arizona–The USS Arizona, burning after the Japanese attack on PearlHarbor. This photo was made from the Ford Island side of the vessel.

File Photo

The U.S. Navy map of PearlHarbor shows the approximate position of U.S. ships on December 7, 1941. The map was prepared as part of battle port project describing combat action during the first six months of the war.

“a date which will live in infamy”
President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Denver Post file

30 Years of Rocky Mountain Cooking

Helen Dollaghan, food editor of The Denver Post from 1958-1993, selected recipes she felt were the best and published them in this 1987 special section called “30 Years of Rocky Mountain Cooking.” Most are recipes Helen or her readers developed.

Every Friday we share several of the recipes from her collection.

Week 17: Farm Style Biscuits, Chasen’s Chili and Kaffeeklatsch Raisin Bread

This dough makes an
excellent drop-on topping
for casseroles and
cobblers. It came to
Denver from Mound City,
Kan., with Dottie Logan
who shared it with
Denver Post readers in
the autumn of ’73.

Farm Style biscuits

2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup solid shortening
2/3 cup milk
1 extra-large egg, slightly beaten

Directions

Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cream of tartar. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk and egg all at once. Stir quickly until dough leaves sides of bowl. Turn out dough on lightly floured board. With greased hands, pat out dough until it is about 3/4-inch thick. Cut out rounds of dough with biscuit cutter. Place biscuits about 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake in preheated 450-degree oven about 12 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 10 to 12 biscuits.

Chasen’s restaurant in
Beverly Hills, Calif., is
where this recipe
originated, according to
former Denverite Alvin G.
Flanagan of Atlanta, Ga.,
a retired Gannett
Broadcasting executive.

Chasen’s Chili,
Flanagan Style

1/2 lb. dry pinto beans
Water
2 cans (1 lb. each) whole tomatoes, cut in pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
3 large green peppers, chopped
1 1/4 lbs. onions, chopped
2 small cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup fresh, minced parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/3 cup chili powder (half mild, half strong)
2 1/2 lbs. coarsely ground beef chuck
1 lb. lean ground pork

Directions

Thoroughly wash beans. Add enough water to cover. Soak overnight. Drain and save water. Add enough water, if necessary, to soaking water to make 3 cups. Bring beans and water to boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 1 1/2 hours. Add tomatoes and their liquid. Saute green pepper and onion in oil until soft. Add garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. Crumble beef and pork into another heated skillet. Cook until meat loses red color. Drain off grease. Combine bean, onion and meat mixtures. Simmer, covered, about 1 hour or until beans are soft. Uncover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes about 6 quarts.

A Food section recipe
that got a lot of raves in
1976. At that time, we
were giving approximate
costs of recipes. This one
could be made for $1.20.

Kaffeeklatsch Raisin Bread

1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter or margarine
1/2 cup raisins
3 1/4 to 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
1 cup quick or old fashioned oats
Powdered-sugar glaze
Melted butter or margarine

Directions

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Combine boiling water, sugar, salt, butter and raisins. Mix well. Cool to lukewarm. Sift together 1 cup of the flour and cinnamon. Combine flour and raisin mixtures. Add yeast and egg. Stir in oats. Add enough more flour to make a soft dough. Turn out dough on lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Shape into ball. Place in greased, large bowl. Brush top lightly with melted butter.

Let rise, covered, in warm place until double in bulk, about 45 minutes. Punch down. Let rest, covered, about 10 minutes. Divide in half. Shape each half into a rope about 20 inches long. Place one rope around inside edge of greased 9-inch round cake pan. Coil second rope in center. Pinch ends together. Brush lightly with melted butter. Let rise in warm place until nearly double in bulk, about 35 minutes. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven about 50 minutes or until brown. Remove from pan and place on wire rack. Drizzle with powdered-sugar glaze made by mixing powdered sugar with milk until fairly thin. Serve warm.

Denver Post File Photo

“Billie” Moore practicing the Buck and Wing Dance that was one of the features of the entertainment at the Denver County Jail on Christmas Eve in 1911.

Christmas Eve at the Denver County Jail was festive in 1911.

Besides providing a large dinner, Warden Riordan arranged vaudeville entertainment.

Over 20 acts were scheduled. A few of the acts were performed by prisoners who danced, sang the latest songs and told jokes.

The others were from outside. Miss Mattie McIntyre gave a whistling solo. Music by both Steamboat Bill and Alexander’s Ragtime Band was a hit.

Gould and Hamilton performed a skit called “Those Two Clever boys.” Del Adelphia was billed as “Magician Extraordinary,” and Mike Geary’s performance featured “songs and witty sayings.”

Denver Post File Photo

Four Denver County Jail prisoners sang, danced and told jokes as part of the Christmas Eve entertainment in 1911.

In 1910, Boulder photographer “Rocky Mountain Joe” Sturtevant was found dead near the Interurban railroad track between Denver and Boulder.

At first murder was suspected. A small hole in Rocky Mountain Joe’s forehead appeared to be a bullet wound, but closer inspection proved the hole only skull deep.

What happened?

Eventually the story was pieced together.

Courtesy of Denver Public Library Western History Department

Photographer Joseph B. Sturtevant, nicknamed “Rocky Mountain Joe” stands near a large camera tripod in front of a studio backdrop painted with a landscape scene. Sturtevant, born in Boston, Massachusetts, became the first regular photographer in Boulder, Colorado. Photo by Donald Campbell Kemp, 1898.

After serving in the Civil War and scouting in the Dakotas, Joseph Sturtevant settled in Boulder in 1876, where he met and married Anna Lynchman.

He worked as a paper hanger and a sign painter until taking up photography in 1884.

His enthusiasm for the art soon made him Boulder’s most prolific photographer.

His images, which are now in libraries and museums, chronicle the development of the city and outlying regions.

Courtesy of Denver Public Library Western History Department

Joseph Sturtevant’s studio taken between 1887 and 1895. Sturtevant had several studios over the years.

Rocky Mountain Joe was reportedly a character. He was a teller of tall tales — and because of his clothing, an easily recognized fixture in the Boulder community.

His dress preferrence was buckskins, the garb of his Indian scouting days. He was wearing them on April 6 the day he died.

According to news coverage of his death, this is what happened:

Rocky Mountain Joe had walked from Boulder to meet his son Samuel, a druggist from Grand Junction, who was in Denver for the day. Later in the afternoon he visited The Denver Post to see an old friend, “Dad” Chambers, who had been a companion and fellow scout in North Dakota.

While at The Post he exchanged stories and tales with reporters and artists, who good naturedly “jollied” him about his long gray hair.

That evening he went out with Chambers and other friends, spending all his money.

When it was time to return to Boulder, his son took him to the Interurban train station at 16th and Arapahoe and purchased a ticket. But the son forgot to give it to Sturtevant before they separated.

Courtesy of the Denver Public Library Western History Department

Photo taken by Joseph Sturtevant of a flooded 12th Street in Boulder, Colorado in June 1894. Spectators stand on the side of the street to watch the man in the boat.

According to a Denver Post story, the conductor was collecting tickets beyond Globeville (in north Denver) before Rocky Mountain Joe realized he didn’t have his. “He looked through the car for a friend from whom he could borrow the fare. He saw none. So the conductor put him off at Modern. That was at 9:25 o’clock.”

In the meantime, Sturtevant’s son rushed back to the station with the ticket. After the agent confirmed that Sturtevant had been put off the train, the agent instructed the conductor of the next outgoing train to pick Sturtevant up and take him to Boulder.

The train crew found Sturtevant’s body a half mile beyond Modern. His face was covered with blood. There was a hole in his forehead and he had a shattered left arm.

There was some speculation that he tried to board a passing return train and thrust his arm through the door bar, lost his footing and fell.

But the generally accepted theory is that Rocky Mountain Joe had started to walk to Boulder in the dark and died when he fell down an embankment. The hole in his forehead was caused by striking a piece of slag in the fall. He was 63 years old.

Courtesy of the Denver Public Library Western History Department

Photo by Joseph Sturtevant of W.E. Galverts Lunch House, just above Boulder Falls in Boulder Canyon. The establishment catered to stage passengers and other wayfarers and had stable facilities for the stage teams, which were often changed at this point. Circa between 1875 and 1890.

Courtesy of the Denver Public Library Western History Department

Joseph Sturtevant photo of the First Congregational Church of Boulder taken in 1870.

Wall hangings, plant holders, handbags… you name it, there was a macrame design for it.

Every groovy apartment in the 1970s had its fair share of hanging art called ‘Macrame,’ which was handcrafted and lovingly hung as (sometimes) functional home decor. Don’t worry! There is no indication that the craft of Macrame is making a comeback. But students of history should really know, and appreciate, the saturation levels this craft was able to attain in the American market at the time.

Hanging art was all the rage in the 1970s. Here Julia Wright displays her hand-crafted macrame designs for a 1976 show in Denver.

The craft has ancient roots. It is thought to have originated with Arabic weavers and was probably spread around the world by seafarers. There are many naval associations due to the knot-tying skills involved. Sailors whiled away time at sea tying up hammocks and creating fringes and belts, for example.

In 1977, artist Debbie Salts used a cone of jute, or rough twine, for her macrame creation.

Materials varied, but the rough twine so associated with the 1970s era was usually jute. Large beads were often incorporated. Sometimes white cording was used. There was no end to the variety of items produced, as these photos show.

Macrame showed up in many fashions of the 1970s. Here, a choker, belts and bag display the colorful knots of the craft.

Macrame was employed to decorate all kinds of household items in the 1970s. Here, a Message Center!

Macrame had a long and lasting role to play in many 1980s garage sales. But as with any fad, one never knows when it could rush back into fashion, invading our homes and cradling spider plants in sunny corners… so stay on the alert.