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South Platte Valley Historical Society Newsletter P.O. Box 633, Fort Lupton, CO 80621 November 2004 _______ Volume 16, Edition 4 From Your President Jan Clower First of all, I want to extend to all of you my best wishes for a wonderful and safe holiday season. May your health be good, your tummy full and your dreams come true! It is hard to believe that 2005 is around the corner. All that Y2K stuff is just a memory. I am proud to say that we are ending 2004 with a start in the rebuilding of Fort Lupton. Acquiring the building permit was a 15-month process but it came through during our Trapper Days Celebration and what a great time to celebrate!
Momentum for the project took off and ground was broken on October 8th.
Arnie Hubert is our Project Manager and Dave Dukeman, his assistant. There have
been many workers at the fort site staking it out, digging, shoveling rock,
putting in electricity, building forms and getting ready to pour the concrete
foundations. On that first day of construction, I stood watching Dave Dukeman,
Arnie Hubert and Connie Daniels drive the heavy We had a wonderful groundbreaking ceremony. It was held on October 23rd. (see related article). The weather could not have been more perfect and the event was very well attended. Many worked to provide a great program and hopefully no one was disappointed. I look forward to the day when we will have our "Grand Opening" for Fort Lupton. That will be a truly great day! We will have our next monthly SPVHS meeting on Monday December 6th. It will be a potluck dinner beginning at 6:30pm. Joan Morris will provide music for our enjoyment. Please bring a potluck dish and plan to join us. SPVHS will host our first tea on December 11th from 2:00 to 4:00 in the Donelson House. You are invited to join us. We will have limited seating this first time, so RSVP to Genevieve LeBlanc promptly. SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY CELEBRATED GROUNDBREAKING FOR HISTORIC OLD FORT LUPTON On October 23rd, a picture perfect Saturday morning at 10:00,
SPVHS held a groundbreaking ceremony for Old Historic Fort Lupton. The ceremony
was held at the Visitor’s Center near the original fort location. The ceremony
began with the posting of an 1836 United States Flag and today’s United States
Flag by Tallow River Trapper members. Jack ‘Mato’ Cardinal performed an Indian Blessing on the new ground for the fort.
Darrel McCrumb led us with an invocation. President Jan Clower welcomed our members and guests and our guest speakers were Clara Lee Martin, wife of the late John Martin, founding President of SPVHS, Mitch Martin, son of Clara Lee and John Martin, Beverly Willard, wife of the late John Willard, the second President of SPVHS, David Norcross, Mayor of Ft. Lupton and Bill Crowley, former SPVHS President. Arnie Hubert, SPVHS Board member and Project Manager for the fort construction and David Dukeman, Tallow River Trapper member, his assistant, led us in the official groundbreaking. Tallow River Trappers, led by Captain Otto Ota, closed the ceremony with a cannon and muzzleloading gun salute. The event was attended by 130 guests and members. Refreshments were provided and the 1875 Independence Schoolhouse and Donelson House, a late 1860s farmhouse, were open for visitors. SPVHS plans to complete the foundation work for the fort this fall and resume construction in the spring. Rebuilding of the fort brings to the forefront the goal of the Historical Society from its inception. We extend our sincere thanks to those who have helped with labor and contributions. We will continue to need your support to finish the job. 5th Annual Turkey B. Baster Campout Once again, our 5th annual Turkey B. Baster campout held in the rendezvous area was a huge success, thanks to No Powder (Jim Alltop) who coordinates the feast. It
was a feast fit for a king, or at least royalty, I’d say. We were treated to a
fish and chip fry by the Perfesser on Friday night, the Memorial Mike Shaver
Fish Fry (although thankfully he is alive and still kickin’). For it was Mike
who inspired this annual event. We were told that on Saturday we would be treated by royalty. The tables of food were laden with turkeys and ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, dressing, vegetable dishes and all the other traditional Thanksgiving trimmings, the "pilgrims" filling their plates and lo and behold an announcement was made that we were being joined by Lord No Powder. He was astonishing, gracing us with a green brocaded coat, matching waistcoat, knee breeches, buckled shoes, tri-corn hat with green ostrich plumes and regal walking cane. It was a sight envied by all the trappers. Thanks, No Powder, you are a treasure! From Your Executive Director’s Desk Esther McCrumb – Well, after three months of work by SPVHS volunteers and a capable handyman, we finally got the mobile home in shape to rent. And it is now rented—to a man who works nearby, who is happy not to have a long drive to work. In preparation for the Official Groundbreaking ceremony, we had the rest of the six paintings by Juan Menchaca framed. Mrs. Norma Mumey donated them to SPVHS several years ago, and the one of Lancaster Lupton as an old man was framed and was hanging in the Fort Lupton Museum, where the other five were stored. They are of Col. Dodge, the Sublett Brothers, Louis Vasquez, and Ceran St. Vrain. They are all hanging on the Visitor Center wall, and look quite impressive. Our thanks to BoKa Jewelers of Fort Lupton for preparing brass nameplates for the paintings.
David and Dorothy Lupton commissioned the work of de-aging the face of Lancaster Platt Lupton in the Forensic Science Laboratory of the late Professor Michael Charney at Colorado State University in 1994. The drawing of Lupton was based upon the only known photograph of him when he was near 77 years of age. The painting we have was done from the photograph. The drawing first appeared in the Luptons’ Volume 2, West Point and Beyond: the Military Years 1825-1836. Dorothy used it on the front cover of Volume 3, The Fur Trading Posts: the Rebel Years 1836-1844. By the way, we have a limited number of Volume 3 on hand which you can order. $10.70 for Colorado residents; 10.00 out of state, plus postage. We will send an invoice. The Colorado Historical Society at Fort Vasquez, Platteville Historical Society, and SPVHS again sponsored the Four Forts Tour this fall, and former SPVHS president Bill Crowley gave the talk about Fort Lupton. Won’t it be wonderful when the tour participants can see the progress on rebuilding Old Fort Lupton! I noted that nobody reported on the Trapper Days Rendezvous since the memorable Official Groundbreaking overshadowed everything else, so with the help of Bunny Austin and Dave Dukeman, here is a report:
Around 2 PM we had the Raven Dancers perform for us. Everyone loved it;
hopefully they Booshway Dave (Key Keeper) Dukeman Mrs. Booshway Bunny (Key Master) Austin" Otto Ota, in the September Tallow River Dispatch, said "On another note of interest, we had to start another arm of the Society in order to get insurance to keep our range open, it will be called the Fort Lupton Muzzleloaders Shooting Club, everyone who is a current member of TRT will be a guest member with much the same guidelines as before." The hardiest of the TRT members are looking ahead to the next rendezvous in the Fort Lupton Historic Park, on February 25-27, when the Frozen Toes Rendezvous will take place. More information is available from Booshway Mike Mount at 303-238-9159. The annual Trapper Days Pancake Breakfast before the parade was again a major fund-raiser (close to $3,000), thanks to Marlene Stieber and many others who work before, during, and after the breakfast. Marlene was Grand Marshal in the parade, so cleanup was taken care of by others on the crew, including the Future Farmers of America (FFA) who have, for the past several years, set up tables and chairs, put on tablecloths, enjoyed breakfast, then taken down and stored the tables and chairs. Politicians have been helpful in pouring coffee as they greet voters, and this year was no exception. We thank them all! Since this is the last Newsletter before the Annual Meeting and Chili Supper, you need to know there are several on the Board of Directors whose terms expire in 2005 and may or may not be on the ballot: John Callor (range officer who was appointed to fill a vacancy), Arnold Hubert (who is directing the fort reconstruction), Hattie McCoy (who secured the Donelson House that her great-grandfather built to save it from destruction in the path of a development), and Larry Thiesen (skilled and devoted carpenter who helped finish the Donelson House and many other projects). You will receive a letter in January with all the details of the Annual Meeting. From your Membership Secretary’s Desk Genevieve LeBlanc Welcome New Members: Clint and Jane Henry Toronto, KS Family/TRT Ron and Sharon Schuyler Fort Lupton Family Fay and Betty Mavity Fort Lupton, CO Family Stephanie Schoepe and Greg Milligan Denver, CO Family/TRT Clark and Nancy Lupton Mesa, AZ Family Janet Folden Boulder, CO Individual Alan and Valerie Hubert Evans, CO Family Deceased: Lois Smee Fort Lupton, CO Charter Member Thelma Fields Westminster, CO Memorials: In memory of Peg Scott Fort Lupton, CO Jean Eastman Delaware, OH In memory of Lois Smee Ann Tate Lakin, KS Beverly Willard Brighton, CO Genevieve LeBlanc Fort Lupton, CO Joyce Dearing Colorado Springs, CO Esther McCrumb Fort Lupton, CO Donations: $5.00 to $3500.00 Arnie and Theresa Hubert Fort Lupton, CO Tractor supplies Ron and Sharon Schuyler Fort Lupton, CO $75.00 to rebuild the Fort Wanabe Tractor Pullers Brighton, CO $300.00 Otto Ota Westminster, CO Fire Extinguisher John Callor Boulder, CO Fire Extinguisher Esther McCrumb Fort Lupton, Kwiksetlock Keys and septic tank lid for mobile home Bunny Austin, Arvada, CO Side by side refrigerator Phil Garnhart, Arvada, CO Refrigerator for mobile home Esther and Genevieve purchased a rug and pad for one bedroom for mobile home. $120.00 Phyllis Ceretto Greeley $1000 to rebuild the Fort Bill Crowley Evan, CO $1000 to rebuild the Fort Marlene Stieber Fort Lupton, CO $1000 to rebuild the Fort Jim and Hattie McCoy $1000 for the Donelson House Gilbert Hause Greeley, CO Children’s reading books and misc. memorabilia for the Independence School Seletha Brown’s grandson donated 31 copies of the book she wrote "Rivalry at the River" These are on sale at the Visitor Center for $10.70 each Lee Whitely, Centennial, CO, author of "Cherokee Trail" donated 5 copies to be sold at the Visitor Center at $10.70. Bill Jerke LaSalle, CO $100 to rebuild the Fort Rob Masden, Hudson, CO $50 to rebuild the Fort Timberline Plastics, PVF Commerce City, CO 2 Fralo 24" septic riser covers (value $70.00) for mobile home. Bill Crowley $50.00 toward the expense for embroidered aprons for SPVHS used at the CSMLA dinner Keith and Jean Cook donated boots, flask, 2 knives, skull, griddle, loom and horn for the auction at the Trappers Day rendezvous. Brought in $80.00 Kimberly Brnak made a contribution through her employer CoBiz Inc, Denver, CO $100.00 Theresa Hubert 1 color and 3 black and white HP cartridges –value $105.00 Bill and Kathy Lang microwave for the Visitor Pickets for fence at Donelson House Debbie Donelson Indianapolis, IN $25.00 Donelson House: Several weeks ago Arnie Hubert, Gene Hagans, Bob Warner , Joe Hubert and I journeyed to Longmont, CO with a pickup to move this very heavy oak 1880’s couch from Kay Evatz residence. My job was to guide them to the house and then to Tic Tac Upholstery Shop. These men did a fine job. Nothing seemed too heavy for them. Thank you, Bob, Joe, Gene and Arnie. Cheryl at Tic Tac estimated it will be worth about $2000. Anyone wishing to help pay for the restoring of this couch, stripping, finishing the oak and upholstering it with 1880’s appropriate fabric may call me at 303-857-2756 or write to P.O. Box 633 Fort Lupton, CO. Thank you, Kay, this will be a great addition to the Donelson House. Steve and Nobu Lilly, Fort Collins, CO a beautiful Secretary and bookcase. Judy Ceretto Fort Lupton, CO curtains Charles and Myrta Anderson continue to give precious items of their family. They have given 3 quilts which were used at the open house Oct. 23, 2004 on the baby crib and double bed, kid gloves, sewing basket, card game. Sue and Joe Hubert, metal double bed Genevieve LeBlanc metal spring for double bed. Marlene Stieber , metal baby bed (on loan) Jerry and Jan Clower, China closet Kurt Ballantyne, enamel pitcher and basin Arnie and Theresa Hubert, parlor table and small metal suitcase. John and Willa Mae Cinea, donated an old wooden xylophone that belonged to Miss Velva Whitney who was the music teacher here in Fort Lupton, CO for many, many years. Willa Mae also donated her accordion. Both items can be used at the Donelson House or Independence School. Moody family donated a Duncan Phyfe table and an armless rocker. There will be more lists of donations in next quarterly newsletter. Please let me know if I’ve left anyone off. Thanks Wish List; We still need pictures, wall hangings, lace table cloths, doilies, other items from about 1870 to 1900 to make the Donelson House homey.
CHRISTMAS TEA AT THE HOMESTEAD HOUSE Our first tea at the Donelson House will be Dec. 11, 2004 at 2-4 p.m. This is a fundraiser and the cost is $8.00 each. Of course you need to dress up, wear your best bonnet and gloves. Gentlemen welcome! Seating is limited to 22. Reservations are a must! If we’re not home leave a message. Thanks! If we have more than 22 we’ll make a waiting list for the next tea which will most likely be near Valentines Day. Isn’t this exciting? It’s been a long time coming. It’s hard to express appreciation to all the men and women of SPVHS that have devoted time, energy, materials, money, furniture, elbow grease, (of which it took a lot from the beginning to the end). We still need a lot of elbow grease to finish the cook stove in the kitchen and to restore and polish furniture. Please come forward if you have any skills in these areas. We need help! Also you can keep the money coming to pay for supplies to work with on these projects. WATER PROJECT My daughter, Mary Ellen LeBlanc, had this idea that SPVHS could sell bottled water at Trappers Day and other events and sell it at the Visitor Center. After many hours of research, monetary donations and designing the labels for the bottles, the project was ready for Trappers Day.
Thanks to Mike Shaver, Bob Warner, Garry Dawdy, Beverly Willard, and Genevieve
LeBlanc who all donated money to the cause. HELP US WITH CURRENT ADDRESSES In the last newsletter I made a plea for members to inform me of their change of address and/or to mail your renewals in on a timely basis to prevent a second mailing. I had fewer returns this last quarter and most of you have returned your renewals promptly. I thank you very much. If you do not wish to continue your membership to SPVHS please call me or just write a note on your renewal notice. If you plan to move or have moved and have not notified SPVHS please do so. We ask the Post Office for an Address Correction which costs $0.50 plus postage of $0.37 for a total of $0.87 per returned newsletter plus the original cost of the bulk mailing. We often receive 4-6 of these each time we send a newsletter. This adds up to $4 to $6 that we could be using for rebuilding the fort. Thank you for your help in reducing the cost of our mailings. Having not written many columns for ANYONE, and having been asked to write one for our newsletter by our Executive Director, Esther McCrumb, I’ll do my best to put words down that are somewhat meaningful, and do hope that they are of some interest to some if not all of you. Here we are in the third week of November already, and I just don’t know where the time goes, but it surely does go fast. I think back to my earlier days as a newly elected South Platte Valley Historical Society board member, and how I wondered about how much time it was going to take me to learn all the ropes, and become an effective board member. I guess the first and most important thing that I became aware of was the apparent zest and zeal of both the Board of Directors and the members of the Society in general, to rebuild historic old Fort Lupton. This project, it seemed, was stalled in its startup, by a myriad of small but meaningful problems. Enter yours truly, and soon found myself at the helm of steering a very important project. The year was 2002 to the best of my recollection. Time went by, meetings were attended, and eventually the bugs were worked out. The permit for the foundation for the Fort structure was obtained in September this year, and since that time all systems are strictly GO. Members of the Tallow River Trappers, and others were called upon to render their assistance, in any way possible in getting this most meaningful project going. The call went out, and they answered. Many thanks to: Dave Dukeman, Allen Heath, Garry Dawdy, John Callor, Larry Thiesen, and Mike Shaver, all of whom worked many, many hard hours in the layout and placement of concrete forms for the Fort. In addition there were: Bill Crowley, Bill Lang, Chuck Nesmith, Josh Clower, and a few others whose names I failed to write down, please accept my apology. By the week of November 2nd, more than half of the Fort layout was ready for concrete, so Saturday, November 13th, 2004 was scheduled as a pour date. The call went out for helpers and boy o’ boy did they come!!! Reporting for duty in 22 degree weather were: Dave Dukeman, Ed Beevers and son Sam, Allen Heath, Lou Gebhardt, Greg Milligan, Garry Dawdy, Steve Beck, Marlane Gottlieb, Bob Harder, John Callor, Otto Ota, Mike Shaver, Mike LaFoe, and yours truly.
We started pouring at 8:15 am, and by 1:30 had applied 46 cubic yards of concrete into all the forms that had been installed.!!! Simply put….awesome. Nice work, trappers..
Everyone was very tired and hungry by 2 pm and retreated to the Visitors Center where Marlane Gottlieb had prepared a delicious lunch of homemade chile, fresh hot dogs in a bun, and dessert rolls. Thank you so much Marlane. After putting you on the trowel in such coldness that you would yet give us this!!! Marlane has also volunteered her services to the Society as our Architect for Fort plans. Awesome! It is imperative that I mention other people here that need to be recognized, because of their involvement with the South Platte Valley Society. These people are not necessarily SPVHS members, but rather local business leaders who have chosen to help US by donations of materials either wholly or in part. Without their help, the coffers of SPVHS would have been severely depleted. They are: Roger Servold, Area Manager, and Richard Schneider, Plant Supervisor Andesite Rock Company, Fort Lupton, both of whom have shown a decisive interest in our project resulting in a substantial donation of rock for the foundation of the Fort. David Ramsdale of Backhoe Services in Commerce City furnished heavy-duty equipment; a backhoe and a front-end loader. Dennis McGovern of Rocky Mountain Laser helped with laser equipment. A transit and tripod for surveying the site were loaned by Ken Alles of Alles & Associates Inc. of LaSalle. Also, there is Bill Peterson , United Lumber, Brighton, who chose to help us with a form lumber purchase…thank you, Bill. Then there is also ABC Coatings of Brighton, who helped substantially with rebar for the foundation. Mentioned last, but certainly not least, is George Musselman, George’s True Value Hardware, Fort Lupton, whose help with a compactor is greatly appreciated. Trenches for the fort foundation were 32" deep and either 48" or 24" wide, depending on whether it was an interior or exterior wall. Trenches were filled with rock and compacted. #5 rebar matts were then installed on top of the rock before concrete was applied. The perimeter walls total around 550 linear feet. From its beginning, 16 years ago, the dream and goal of the South Platte Valley Historical Society has been to reconstruct Historic Old Fort Lupton, an 1836 fur trading post, which is the heritage of the city of Ft Lupton. As put by John Feinberg of the Collaborative, inc., Boulder, CO., our researcher, "the people of the city of Ft Lupton deserve to have this Fort", and I could not agree with him more. I believe that the people all around us deserve to have this. Fort. Lancaster Lupton built something in 1836 that the people treasure, and that will never go away. In the upcoming weeks there will be work parties on every Wednesday and Saturday, from 8:30am to 3:30 pm through the 2d week in December 2004, during which time the remaining forms will be placed and concrete poured. Then when the weather breaks in February or March 2005, the final construction of Phase 1 (first third of the Fort Area) will continue. A work schedule will be formulated and posted at that time. Again, a great big Thank You to all of you who had anything to do with this very wonderful and important project. Be talking to you later. Tallow River Trappers News Captain Otto Ota – Bear Claw – What a great day we had for our groundbreaking. A big thank you for the Trappers who gave us a big bang with their guns and cannons. Thanks to Mato for the blessing. The fifth annual Turkey B. Basters was another great success, thanks to everyone who helped; the weather also cooperated. The annual TRT Christmas dinner is being held this year (thanks to ‘fallen buffalo’ at Denver’s Historic 4 Mile Park December 12th at 6:00pm. We won’t have another rendezvous till Frozen Toes, so till then keep yer fires small and watch yer Top Knot. From the Fort Lupton Museum, 453 1st Street, Nancy Penfold, Curator – On display at your museum for the months of November and December are candleholders of all types and chicken candy dishes and many other chicken trinkets. The museum has been a mess for a few months; we have been working on the hardwood floors—which by the way, look great! Please stop by to see our progress. If you wish to share any of your treasures with the museum that would add to our display, please contact us. NANCY GOES TO WASHINGTON D.C. When you are selected 2004 Colorado Outstanding Older Worker, you receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington D.C. Just ask Nancy Penfold what it is all about. Nancy, a charter member of SPVHS, is Fort Lupton Historian and Curator of the Fort Lupton Museum. She also has a long list of volunteer activities. The trip and award were sponsored by Experience Works Prime-Time Awards. The trip included a tour of the White House, meeting congressional representatives (some in their offices), a dinner cruise on the Potomac River, receptions to meet other winners, and a press conference that announced the oldest worker, a 100-year-old lady who still works in the family business. Enough free time was allowed to see the new World War II Memorial, the FDR Memorial, and the new Native American Museum. Nancy also enjoyed visiting with friends and relatives who live in the area. Winners from 50 states plus Puerto Rico and District of Columbia were honored at a banquet at the Reagan Center. Each state winner received a engraved crystal award as their stories were told. Congratulations, Nancy!
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