Emma Crawford and the Coffin Races ~ Julie Lence

 

Manitou Springs/Pikes Peak

 At the base of Pikes Peak (America’s Mountain in Colorado Springs, Colorado) sits the small town of Manitou Springs. Restaurants ranging from 5 Star dining to a candy & hotdog stand line the streets. Shops hawking anything from Christmas baubles to cowboy décor entertain tourists almost year round, and locals know the hot springs put Manitou on the map. While I won’t say for sure that many come to town for a dip in the springs today, I can say there is one attraction that draws the crowds, both locals and tourists alike, every year and that is the Emma Crawford Coffin Races.

Born March 24, 1863 in Massachusetts, Emma Crawford realized her talent for music at a young age. Her mother was a pianist and music teacher and is credited with helping Emma nurture her talent. By the age of 12, Emma was giving her own piano lessons and public recitals. By 15, she rendered the music of great masters with perfection and was also skilled in playing the violin, viola, cello and the mandolin. But all wasn’t sunshine and happiness for Emma. She developed an illness believed to be tuberculosis before the age of seven, and in 1889, she and her mother moved to Manitou Springs in the hopes the mountain air and hot springs would benefit Emma’s condition. At the time, Emma was engaged to New York engineer, William Hildebrand, who was working on the Pikes Peak Cog Railroad.

Nature was Emma’s second greatest interest, with spirituality close on its heels. Reports indicate Emma (wearing a red dress) climbed Red Mountain, which she nicknamed Red Chief to honor the American Indians, Like other spiritualists in her day, she believed a spirit guide from the Indian world would protect her and that a spirit guide had the power to heal her health problems. Most didn’t believe that in her condition she could climb the mountain, but she swore she did and even left her scarf tied to a small pine tree at the summit. Her friend Bill Crosby is reported to have climbed the mountain the following day to find Emma’s scarf footprints.

Emma succumbed to her health problems on December 4, 1891. Before that, she made it clear she wished to be buried on the mountain’s summit.  William Hildebrand tried to get a deed for the burial site but was denied. Emma was buried on the mountain only in a different location. Afterward, her grave was moved to the west side of the mountain and covered with a concrete slab; this was during the time Red Mountain incline built a power house and depot on the summit. Over time, the slope eroded and Emma’s coffin slid down the mountain into the canyon. In August 1929, human remains and a handle to a coffin were found. It was later determined the remains were Emma. At this time, the authorities were unable to locate any of Emma’s relatives, so Bill Crosby took responsibility for her. She was buried in an unmarked grave. In 2004, Historic Manitou Springs, Inc. finally erected a headstone near the unmarked grave.

In 1994, Manitou Springs was looking for new ways to promote tours and decided to incorporate Emma into their Halloween promotions, thus the coffin races began. Held on a Saturday close to Halloween, a parade kicks off the race. Teams consisting of five members (Emma and 4 mourners in costume), have to push a coffin down the street, all vying for ‘Coffin Race Winner’,  ‘Best Emma’, ‘Best Coffin’, ‘Best Entourage’, and the recently added, ‘Coffin Cup’.  The event is a lot of fun and one I hope to someday attend.

Dr. Edwin James - A Doctor Who Made History In Colorado

 Post by Doris McCraw aka Angela Raines

Photo of Pikes Peak 
by the Author

Pikes Peak - The easternmost mountain on the Front Range of the Rockies. Coming west, this mountain is what most travelers will see first. Although seventy miles south of the Denver area it was the rallying cry for those who rushed to the Rockies in the 1859 Gold Rush. Most also know that Zebulon Pike attempted to climb the peak that now bears his name in 1806. However, how many know Dr. Edwin James was the first documented white man to reach the summit?

Who was Edwin James and did he summit alone? Read on to find out.

James actually was said to have two other men with him, but so far I've yet to locate their names. In the journal from the Long Expedition', their names have not been found as I read through it. If you would like to read the whole of the book on the 1819-1820 Expedition a copy can be found on Google Books that you can read for free. (Account of an expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, performed in the years 1819, 1820.)

Image of Dr. Edwin James
from Wikipedia

What some may not know is after James' journey to the West he continued to work as a physician along with continuing his studies in botany and geology. While at the University of Michigan, where he was a professor of natural history, it is said he helped to establish the universities natural history Museum.

Some records say that he continued to remain active in the scientific community by corresponding with other naturalists about their findings along with his own findings and observations.

Toward the end of his life, James moved to the town of Burlington Iowa where he died on October 12, 1861, at around the age of 78. After his death, the New York Times was quoted as saying James was, "one of the oldest and most eminent scientific men and the United States."

What is most fascinating to me, I grew up near Burlington, and only really learned James' story after moving to Colorado. Just goes to show you're never too old to learn.

If you would like to learn more about the early women doctors in Colorado Springs, my book: Under the Stone: Early Women Doctors in Evergreen Cemetery" is a quick overview of the subject.

Until Next Time: Stay safe, Stay happy, and Stay healthy.

Doris

Businessman Spencer Penrose ~ Julie Lence

 

Spencer Penrose
courtesy of Wikipedia

One of the most notable buildings in Colorado Springs is the Broadmoor Hotel, a 5 Star resort that sits below Pikes Peak. Complete with its own pond and golf course, the hotel has hosted major golf tournaments as well as local banquets thanks to its founder, Spencer Penrose. The 5^th of seven sons, Penrose was born November 2, 1865 in Philadelphia. His father, Richard Alexander Fullerton Penrose was a doctor and founded Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His mother, Sarah Hannah Boies, favored the simple life. Spencer and his siblings attended Harvard, but unlike his brothers who graduated with high honors, Spencer graduated at the bottom of his class. He didn’t have the academic drive to become doctors or lawyers that brothers did. Rather, the west and frontier life beckoned him and after graduating, he made his way to Las Cruces, New Mexico where he opened several business and sold them for just enough to cut his losses and move on to something else. In 1892, his brother, Richard and childhood friend, Charles L. Tutt (who was a real estate developer in Colorado Springs), informed him of a potential gold rush in Cripple Creek, Colorado. Penrose made his way to Colorado, where Tutt loaned him the money to buy a ½ stake in Tutt’s Cripple Creek real estate business, to include the Cash on Delivery Mine. The mine was one of the most successful in Cripple Creek, thus solidifying Penrose and Tutt’s partnership that took them to a new business of ore processing in Old Colorado City.     

 

courtesy Colorado Springs 
Gazette

To become successful in ore processing, Penrose and Tutt sold their Cash on Delivery Mine, formed a new company, Colorado-Philadelphia Reduction Company, and brought in partner Charles Mather MacNeill. MacNeill was considered an expert in ore processing and in 1899, the three met with success; their plant was treating over 3 million worth of ore from Cripple Creek annually. The trio’s partnership continued (and enabled them to create a mining, milling, and real estate empire) and took them to Bingham Canyon, Utah where they followed the advice of Daniel C. Jackling regarding success in mining copper deposit. A survey of the canyon’s ore deposit revealed the deposit contained 2 percent of copper that could efficiently be extracted from the ore. Penrose formed the Utah Copper Company in 1903 and worked with a new team to design a mill to extract the copper at a rate that was considered extremely fast, but the gamble paid off and Penrose and his team mined and milled more copper than imaginable. His success in Utah led him to invest in copper mining in Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada.

 

Julie Penrose
El Pomar Foundation

Having made a sizeable fortune in the mining industry, Penrose returned to Colorado Springs. It was here that he met widow Julie Villiers McMillan. The two became friends and later married April 1906 in London, England, despite Penrose claiming he would always remain a bachelor. Spencer and Julie honeymooned throughout Europe. Their stay in grand hotels inspired Spencer to build his own in Colorado Springs. Before that occurred, Spencer and Julie bought and renovated a home near a close friend, to include adding two stories, marble tiles, carved wood panels and crystal chandeliers, and hiring the Olmsted Brothers to design the grounds around the home. (Today, the home is known as the Penrose House, is on the National Register of Historic Places and free for conferences and other such gatherings.)           

 

Broadmoor Hotel
Colorado Artifctual

Penrose again partnered with Tutt and the two came up with a plan to build a road to the top of Pikes Peak in an effort to promote tourism. The road cost $283,000 and was completed in August of 1916. That same year Penrose organized the first car race to the top of the peak. (The Broadmoor Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb still runs today, on the last Sunday in June, and competitors are by invitation only). While working on the road to the top of the peak, Penrose also wanted to build his hotel, or rather, purchase the Antler’s Hotel from Colorado Springs founder William Jackson Palmer and rebuild it. But Palmer wouldn’t sell and Penrose ended up buying a site outside city boundaries for $90,000. He hired several architects to design the hotel of his dreams, and after careful consideration, went on to choose a design from the Warren and Wetmore Firm, who are known for their work on Grand Central terminal in New York City. Ground was broken in April 1917 and in June 1918, the Broadmoor hosted its opening ceremony.      

Will Rogers Shrine
Pinterest

 The Broadmoor hotel wasn’t Spencer’s only claim to fame for Colorado Springs. He and Julie were avid supporters to several civic events, including the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Will Rogers Shrine and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, not to mention the Glockner-Penrose Hospital, which was the 1^st hospital in Colorado Springs and is now known as Penrose-St. Francis Health Services. Spencer and Julie also founded the El Pomar Foundation to promote the current and future well-being of the people of Colorado. The organization is still in existence today, supporting the Penrose-St. Francis Health Services and operating The Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun and the Penrose Heritage Museum. Spencer Penrose passed two years after founding the El Pomar Foundation. Julie served as president of the organization until her passing in 1956. Both are entombed at the Will Rogers Shrine of the sun. Spencer was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 2001.     

Penrose House
El Pomar Foundation 

Bingham Canyon Copper Pit
SAH Archipedia

  

  

Colorado Attractions

The ‘wild west’ isn’t just limited to days gone by. There is so much for current generations to see and explore this side of the Mississippi, and Colorado has something for everyone. Whether you prefer driving in a car, sitting in the saddle, or hiking, explore the  Centennial State and have a rip-roaring good time!   

Pikes Peak courtesy of Wikipedia

Pikes Peak: Towering above Colorado Springs at 14,115 ft., Pikes Peak is one of the most famous mountains in the United States. Home to Santa’s Workshop and the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb, outdoor enthusiasts can hike to the top. The AdAmAn club hikes to the summit every December 30^th to shoot off fireworks New Year’s Eve. Not a fan of hiking, travel by car on a paved road. Along the way, stop at one of the lakes to fish or enjoy a picnic lunch and be sure to visit the gift shops. Currently, the famed donut at the top isn’t open. It’s been torn down and a new one is currently being built.

Garden of the Gods, Wikipedia

Garden of the Gods: Not a fan of heights but love to hike or horseback ride, then this park is the perfect place for you. With several trails to walk or ride from the comfort of a saddle, explore the red rock formations, catch sight of a variety of wildlife , including deer and bighorn sheep, and visit the gift shops located at each end of the park for hidden treasures and lunch. Garden of the Gods Park is open all year round and truly the best place to spend a morning in Colorado Springs.

Royal Gorge Bridge, Wikipedia

Royal Gorge Bridge: Suspended over the Royal Gorge, the Arkansas River flowing along train tracks still in use today, the Royal Gorge Bridge is definitely not for those who have a fear of heights or for those who suffer from motion sickness. But if you don’t, get out in the middle and soak up nature’s beauty. The gorge is truly something amazing to see, and the bridge itself is awesome. Constructed in 1929, when a wildfire tore through the park and surrounding area, the bridge remained intact. Other buildings in the park perished, as did Buckskin Joe’s Western Town before the park entrance. While Buckskin Joe’s didn’t rebuild, the park did, and even added a zipline. With an abundance of wildlife, helicopter tours over the gorge, and camping areas, Royal Gorge is definitely a must-see on your visit to Colorado.

Hidden Lake; Continental Divide (My pic) 

The Continental Divide: Small towns to tour and shop (Leadville, Buena Vista, Salida), plenty of lakes to fish, camping, rafting on the Arkansas River, horseback riding, hiking and skiing Monarch Mountain, the divide offers something for everyone. The scenery is breathtaking, and if you’re wanting to hike some of the 14-teeners (what we locals call the peaks over 14,000 ft.) or drive over them to the western side of the state, do so while the weather permits. Independence Pass and other areas close for the season. Many times the date depends on the weather itself. Autumn along the divide is the prettiest time of year. With the Aspens in peak, the foothills are dotted in bright yellow and green, something worth viewing.  

Black Canyon (My pic)

Black Canyon, Gunnison National Park: Are you a fan of  the Grand Canyon? If so, this is the place for you. Gunnison National Park’s Black Canyon is a deep gorge with breathtaking views of the rock formations and water at the bottom. The south end of the park, located just outside Montrose, Colorado, offers a paved road for cars and bicyclists, places to pull camp, parking areas with trails leading to the gorge, and a visitor’s center to learn about the creation of the gorge and the wildlife that is native to the park. There is also a paved road leading to the bottom of the gorge, where you can park and walk along the water. After viewing this rim, get back in the car and travel about 0 minutes to the other rim, located just outside of Gunnison. Here you can fish, boat, or camp Blue Mesa Reservoir, hike along the sage dotted landscape, and tour this side of the canyon. As beautiful and breathtaking the Royal Gorge, I highly recommend spending time in Black Canyon.

Ouray (my pic) 

Ouray and Silverton: These 2 old mining towns are perfect for those who love the outdoors. Situated on the side of the mountains,(Ouray’s backyard is literally the side of the mountain, whose jagged peaks and crevices are breathtaking) and not too far from each other, folks can explore the mountains via hiking, bicycling, or on a Jeep tour. With plenty of places to shop or eat, these quaint western towns will quickly steal your heart.   

***Note*** I have been to all of these places. Each is spectacular and offers its own beauty to Colorado. Colorado is truly a wonderful place to visit, and if outdoor life isn’t for you, Colorado Springs, Denver and Pueblo offer plenty of activities that don’t involve hiking, fishing or camping. Enjoy! 

Aspens, Donkeys and Llamas

New York in Autumn courtesy of www.nyfallfoliage.com

Having grown up in New York, Autumn was always a special time of year. The leaves changing colors brought a vibrant array of red, orange and gold to the landscape. Mom and Dad would load us kids into the car and we'd venture to nearby farms for apples and cider donuts. Sometimes, we'd journey north. Sometimes we'd travel east or south. No matter the direction, I always enjoyed the color of the leaves.

When the hubby and I lived in New Jersey, we'd often visit our families in New York. I remember one such time, on our way back to New Jersey, the hubby and I strayed from the main highway and drove along the back roads to look at the changing leaves and to stop for apples and donuts. The trip took longer, but we had a great time and started our own tradition of taking a drive on an autumn day to see the changing leaves.

The back side of Pikes Peak

Here we are many years later and living out west where the Aspens change from green to bright yellow, with some red and orange and brown leaves from other trees mixed in. One Saturday a few years back, the hubby and I loaded the kiddo into the car and took off for an afternoon drive through the Rocky Mountains. Driving up the pass, we went through Woodland Park and headed west to the road that winds along the back of Pikes Peak to Cripple Creek. For those who don't know, Cripple Creek is an old mining town from the 1800's. Some of the original saloons and buildings remain, most are casinos now, and there is still a working gold mine outside of town.

Cripple Creek, CO

The drive was quiet and relaxing. Some of the Aspen were in bloom, offering a myriad of colors. Most were still green, but no matter what time of year, the scenery is always gorgeous. We entered Cripple Creek and decided to drive through town and pick up the road on the other side. Just as we passed the last casino and began to approach the outskirts of town, my son spotted a donkey beneath some trees. Looking out my window, I found there was more than one donkey and figured a nearby rancher had brought the donkeys to town for a special occasion. But then, on the hubby's side of the street, there was an open lot with more donkeys. A lady was feeding them. We decided to stop along the curb and take a video of her feeding the donkeys.

Getting out of the car, the first few donkeys the kiddo and I had seen decided they were hungry and, one by one, they began crossing the street to get to the lady. Now, this was a sight to see--donkeys crossing the road and motorists stopping to give them the right of way. One donkey took an interest in a parked car's bumper and after sniffing it, scratched his ear along the tail light--too cute! (Glad it wasn't my car.) After the donkeys had their fill of hay, they followed their leader--a grey donkey--to the next street over and disappeared around the corner of a building.

The baby was adorable

While watching this scene, a gentleman walking his dog approached. One of the donkeys stopped and eyed the little dog, but did nothing and continued on his way. I learned from the gentleman that the donkeys are wild and live in Cripple Creek. The citizens of Cripple Creek help take care of them and feed them. The donkeys know the lady with the hay. She is there almost every day to feed them, and motorists have to yield to the donkeys. It is believed that these donkeys are descendants from the donkeys that were left behind when the gold rush came to an end and the miners went back down the mountain. It's the first time since coming here in '93 that the hubby and I have ever seen the donkeys, and it sure made our day. Sadly, I don’t have pics of the donkeys, but the llamas we saw that day were just as cute, as were the mountain goats along the side of the road.

The goats

Happy Autumn everyone!

5 Things I love About Colorado

Schenectady's Stockade Area

I was born and raised in upstate New York. Schenectady is home to General Electric, Union College and the Stockade Area along the Mohawk River, which is the original settlement for Schenectady and where my husband grew up. Throughout my childhood, I always had a love for horses and John Wayne’s cowboy movies. The Hollywood icon introduced me to ranches, cattle drives, saloons, women in long dresses and everything else connected to the ‘old west’. It was my dream to live on a ranch and have a barn filled with horses. Alas, I married my husband right out of high school and accompanied him on his twenty year career with the Air Force. He’s now retired from service, and while we don’t own horses and a ranch, we do live in the west.

Cheyenne Mountain

One of the hubby’s duty assignments was to Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs. Before he had received his orders, I had been working on my Weston Family Series, which takes place in fictional Coyote, Colorado, and I couldn’t wait to see if my imagination surrounding Colorado was true. It was, for which I am thankful. More importantly, the five years we were here, we fell in love with the area. When it came time to decide on a location for retirement, we chose Colorado Springs. New York was a close second. Our families are back in Schenectady, but having a young son, Colorado was a better choice when it came to schools, employment, staying close to a military installation and overall environment. We’ve lived here for 11 years and below are a few of things I love about Colorado.

Pikes Peak

The Rocky Mountains.  My first time driving to Colorado Springs was September 1993. I still remember seeing Pikes Peak from sixty miles out. Anxious, excited; the peak looked so close I couldn’t believe I had another hour to drive before reaching it. Today, I have a clear view of Pike’s Peak from my front porch. It’s really something to watch a storm push off the peak and move across town to my neck of the woods.

Antelope

The Antelope.   It might be silly, but I do enjoy seeing the herds of antelope. About a mile from me is somewhat open land and the antelope graze with the cows. It’s always a treat to see the male guarding his herd, or to see twenty of them running. They are pretty, and if I could, I’d have one for a pet.

Yucca

Yucca and Sage plants. I’m not one to toil in a garden, but I do like Yucca and Sage and they grow everywhere out here, including in my yard. Just over the Continental Divide Sage is in abundance. The plant sprouts like weeds, and when they flower in the fall,  they are pretty. So is the Yucca when it flowers in early summer.

Sagebrush

The Climate. Spring is anywhere from 70 degrees and sunny to snow, rain and wind, and sometimes all on the same day. Summers can be hot and humid (though not as humid as New York) and winters, for the most part, are mild. The mountains block many a snow storm from pummeling Colorado Springs, and 30 degrees, with the sun shinning in a cloudless sky makes for a beautiful day. We do get a few cold snaps during winter, with temps falling below 0, but we’re quick to rebound.

Buena Vista, Colorado

The history. During my school years, American history was the only genre I enjoyed in History class, specifically, America history relating to the 1800’s. I liked learning about the people who forged their way west and the inventions made to make life easier. Today, I enjoy traveling the state and learning of Colorado’s history. From the mines in Cripple Creek to battles with the Native Americans to Buena Vista, formerly known as Mahonville and the setting for my current work in progress, I’m eager to see, explore and discover something new to add to my knowledge and my work.