Denver Public Library: Western History Genealogy: News, Exhibits and Classes

Western History/Genealogy Newsletter

March 2009

Welcome to The Denver Public Library's Western History/Genealogy News. This page is updated monthly and includes:

Archives Collection News
Exhibits
New Books in the Western History Collection
Recent Grants
Genealogy News

Archives Collection

New Blog Coming Soon

Within the coming months, this newsletter will change formats. The newsletter will still be sent via e-mail but now you can look forward to monthly updates and links directing you to new posts on the Western History & Genealogy News Blog. The blog will be updated regularly with the same content that you look forward to here but the variety of subjects and staff writers will be greatly expanded. You will also have the opportunity to participate in the blog by posting your comments, research and suggestions. Requests for information about or from our collections will still be sent to GenHist@denverlibrary.org.

A note about the Archives Collection: all Archives Collections are cataloged and a brief record is available through the Library catalog. Only a portion of the Archives Collection has extensive online guides found in the Archives Finding Aids that contain detailed descriptive information and lists of contents including the following new materials.

New Archives Finding Aids

Thomas G. Currigan Papers WH929

The papers of former Denver Mayor Thomas G. Currigan were recently processed. The bulk of the collection, ranging from 1955 to 1968, consists of Currigan's mayoral papers including correspondence, reports and legal briefs. In 1955 and 1959, he was elected City Auditor. In 1963, Currigan was elected Mayor after a runoff election with incumbent Mayor Richard Batterton. Currigan was reelected in 1967. Currigan’s administration dealt with flood cleanup in 1965, inaugurated a public defender system in 1966, planned for the Chatfield Dam, broke down the racial barriers of the Clayton Trust Fund, initiated an air pollution control program, and worked with the War on Poverty and urban renewal. Citing the refusal of Denver voters to adjust the pay scale for mayor and other public officials, Currigan resigned as Mayor on December 31, 1968, to be succeeded by his manager of Public Works, William H. McNichols.

John B. Woodward Papers TMD83

Also recently completed are the John B. Woodward Papers. John B. Woodward is one of the 10th Mountain Division veterans. Woodward entered the Army in 1940 as a 2nd Lieutenant. In 1941 when filmmaker Otto Lang produced Basic Principles of Skiing to draw attention to the Army's newly organized ski troops, he selected John Woodward as one of five featured ski patrol skiers. In 1942, Woodward was transferred to the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment at Camp Hale, Colorado. While serving in Italy, Woodward earned two Bronze Stars. In 1955, Woodward became a partner and later executive vice president of the Anderson and Thompson Ski Company, the firm that patented and marketed the first laminated skis. Woodward obtained a patent for the first flexible-heel-release ski binding. He was named to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1998. At age 90, he was a member of the United States Ski Association's Alpine Masters Western Regional ski racing team. In 2007, at age 92, Woodward was recognized as the oldest retired ski racer in the world. In 2008, he continued to ski during annual meetings of the Ancient Skiers Association at Sun Valley, Idaho. His collection spans 1940 to 1995 with the bulk of the material from 1941 to 1945. Photographic prints and 35mm slides comprise the bulk of the collection. Limited military and personal papers are also included. Loose scrapbook pages complete the collection.

G. Meredith Musick and J. Roger Musick Architectural Records WH772

The G. Meredith Musick and J. Roger Musick Architectural Records are now available too. G. Meredith Musick was one of the original students to attend the architectural school, Atelier Denver, when architect, Burnham Hoyt, worked as one of the school's instructors. Musick became a licensed architect in 1921 and opened his first architectural office in 1923. Over the next 34 years he was responsible for the creation of a number of important buildings in Denver. These include the Republic Building (1926), Wellshire Country Club (1926), Denver Motor Hotel (1928), Beach Court School (1932), U.S Customs House Extension (1933-1936), Shirley-Savoy Hotel/Lincoln Building (1936-1937), Police Department Building (1939-1941), Denver General Hospital (1940), Stapleton International Airport (1946-1957), and Auditorium Arena Building (1949-1950). A number of Musick's extant buildings are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. His younger brother, J. Roger Musick specialized in residential and school buildings. He was responsible for designing a large number of the homes in the Crestmoor Park subdivision and in the Denver Country Club area. At times he also worked with his brother, G. Meredith Musick. Their records consist of three sets of blueprints for buildings they designed, and a copy of the unpublished autobiography of G. Meredith Musick.

Hidden Treasures

Bronze Star Citations for World War II Veterans of the 10th Mountain Division

Thanks to the efforts of John Duffy, John Imbrie and Barbara Imbrie, the 10th Mountain Division Resource Center recently obtained a treasure trove comprising more than 3,800 Bronze Star citations for World War II veterans of the 10th Mountain Division. John Duffy discovered the citations at the National Archives in Maryland. With funding from the 10th Mountain Division Foundation he obtained photocopies of the citations and alphabetized them. John Duffy then forwarded the citations to John and Barbara Imbrie, who indexed them into the 10th Mountain Division database. The updated database, along with paper copies of the citations, is now available to researchers and descendants as part of the 10th Mountain Division Database Records. Bronze Star citations are an incredibly valuable addition to the Resource Center’s collection because they add such an important dimension to a veteran’s story. Although copies of the general orders awarding Bronze Stars have been available through the Resource Center for many years, these general orders merely indicate whether the award was for meritorious achievement or for heroic achievement. They fail to include specific details about the circumstances of the award, which only the citations can provide.

Archives Donations

The Western History and Genealogy Department is home to over 4,000 Archival Collections having to do with the history of Colorado and the states west of the Mississippi. We have countless families, individuals, businesses, and organizations to thank for our Archival Collections, which contain original materials such as correspondence, business records, meeting minutes, speeches, legislative files, scrapbooks, journals, diaries, and photographs. The generosity of our donors has allowed countless researchers to glean one-of-a-kind information about Colorado and the West, and it has enabled generations of family members to visit the Library and learn about their ancestors. We consider our archival collections to be treasures of the Library, and we are grateful for the opportunity to preserve and provide access to them.

Featured Donations

Carl M. Williams papers, 1962-2001

Colorado State Senator Carl Williams was born in Douglas, Wyoming in 1928. He graduated from the University of Wyoming School of Law in 1956 and in 1957 served as Attorney for the Wyoming House of Representatives and as an area GOP Coordinator and precinct committeeman. After moving to Colorado, Williams worked for the Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, and Cervis Journal. He was elected to the Colorado State Senate in 1970 and served until 1972. He was also inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame in 1997. The collection (6 boxes) contains correspondence and other papers on campaigning and fund raising activities related to Williams' work with the Colorado and Wyoming State Republican Parties and the Republican National Committee. His involvement with noted Republican politicians is also documented.

Bruce Ducker papers, 1979-2007

Bruce Ducker was born in New York City, N.Y. and educated at Dartmouth College (B.A. 1960). He received advanced degrees from Columbia University (M.A. 1963, LL.B 1964). Ducker was admitted to the Colorado State Bar Association in 1964 and then founded the law firm of Ducker, Montgomery, Aronstein & Bess, P.C. in 1979. Along with his law career, Ducker has also been a prolific author of novels, poetry, and short fiction. He received the Colorado Book Award in 1995 for the novel, "Lead Us Not Into Penn Station," and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his novel, "Marital Assets." Ducker has also served as general counsel and president of major companies and is listed in "Who's Who" and "The Best Lawyers in America." The collection (1 box) contains materials associated with Ducker's writing such as notes, typed and handwritten drafts of his novels and poetry, printer's galley proofs, newspaper clippings, and a video cassette of "All's Fair."

Alfred Sanchez papers, 1970-2008

Alfred "Al" Sanchez was born in Trinidad, Colorado in 1951. He graduated from Lincoln High School before receiving a B.S. in Sociology from the University of Colorado at Denver. While he has worked for the U.S. Postal Service, he is most noted for his career as a muralist. As an artist, he has created a 90-foot-long mural for the Denver General Mail Facility, Denver Parks and Recreation (1979, 1981), Denver Housing Authority (1979), and for the Girls Clubs of America (1976). He has also been an instructor at the Community College of Denver and was a consultant to the National Endowment for the Arts: National Hispanic Task Force from 1979 to 1983. The collection (1 box) contains original artwork, newspaper clippings, writings, correspondence, letters, awards, teaching materials, and papers pertaining to the International Arts Movement (IAM).

Western History Donations

Highland United Neighborhood – Monique Elwell donated a partial box of records
Simmons, Virginia McConnell – donated a partial box of personal and professional records
United Mines Workers Union – Roger Simmermon donated one box and oversize items documenting the organization
Monday Forum – Polly W. Cox donated lists of officers and members
Toll, Henry W. – Charles O. Brantigan donated articles for the collection
Etter, Don and Carolyn – donated personal papers documenting their families and early trips

10th Mountain Division Donations

Lindhjem, Norman C. – Karen A. Robertson donated photo albums, scrapbooks and a manuscript
Evans, Hugh W. – donated correspondence, newspaper clippings and booklets

Photograph Collection Donations

Aspen, Colorado – photo donated by Judy Brown
Kisken, Bob – Five boxes of photographs of ghost signs on buildings donated by Bob Kisken in memory of his son Nate Kisken

Information for Donors

Individuals, businesses, and organizations are welcome to contact the Library to discuss donating materials having to do with the history of Colorado and the West. Such materials may include, but are not limited to, original personal and professional correspondence, organizational and business records, meeting minutes, memos, speeches, legislative files, subject files, scrapbooks, journals/diaries, and photographs.

We are particularly interested in locating archival materials that document the following areas of state and regional history:

Colorado legislators and political figures
Ethnic groups, such as the Hispanic and Japanese American communities
Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender communities
Sports history and industry
Cultural and non-profit organizations
Native Americans
Notable historical families or individuals
Societies, clubs, and organizations

If you are interested in donating materials to the Library, please contact Erin Edwards, Acquisitions Specialist, 720-865-1810, eedwards@denverlibrary.org or check here for donation guidelines.

Volunteering

Volunteers are always welcome to assist with the processing of the Archives Collections and processing the related photographs. If you are interested in volunteering to help process Archives Collections, contact the volunteer office.

Exhibits

The Art Of Henry: 25 Years of Scenery and Costume Design

January 21 - March 29, 2009
Central Library, Level 5 - Gates Reading Room Gallery
The Denver Public Library is hosting an exhibition of more than 50 design renderings from one of Denver's cultural pioneers, Henry Lowenstein. These scenic and costume designs demonstrate Lowenstein's remarkable creative output. Most of the renderings were for Bonfils Theatre Main Stage Theatre and Children's Theatre productions from 1956 to 1975. Lowenstein designed hundreds of plays, operas, and ballets, and in 1967 became general manager of the Bonfils Theater until retiring in 1986. He then created the Denver Civic Theatre where he designed and produced more than 90 shows of all types until again retiring in 1995. Lowenstein presented quality and innovative arts from the emerging Native American, African, and Latino cultures; including Cleo Parker Robinson Dancers, the Covillo Parker Ballet Company (which evolved into the Colorado Ballet), and the National Chicano Dance Theatre. He was involved in more than 800 productions over his entire career.

Jane Silverstein Ries (1909-2005): Retrospective of a Colorado Landscape Architect

February 6 - May 2, 2009
Central Library, Level 7 - Vida Ellison Gallery
The exhibition features original landscape architecture plans and photographs of gardens designed by Jane Silverstein Ries, Colorado’s first licensed female landscape architect.

These evocative and sensual landscape designs will highlight Jane Silverstein Ries’ creative and innovative architecture landscape career, which spanned over 60 years. The exhibit includes landscape renderings, plans and designs along with photographs of the gardens created for clients. She created more than 1,500 landscapes in the Colorado region and specialized in city gardens, parks, hospitals, museums, churches, schools, city halls, and grand homes, including the Executive Residence of the Governor. The exhibit also includes ephemera from Ries’ professional and personal life, including drawings and photographs from her childhood and her years as a student at Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture for Women.

Julia Jane Silverstein was born in Denver, Colorado on March 10, 1909. From a young age, Jane eschewed traditional women’s roles and was determined to have a career. In 1929, she graduated from Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture for Women in Groton, Massachusetts. She returned to Denver to take a job at the Denver landscape architecture firm McCrary, Culley and Carhart. A few months later, Silverstein started her own firm, to which she would dedicate her professional life for more than 60 years.

In 1966, Ries worked to support a bill establishing the Colorado State Board of Landscape Architecture. The group authored the Landscape Architect Registration Act, which limited the use of the term “landscape architect” to only qualified professionals. In 1968, Ries was granted the third certificate ever issued by the Colorado Board of Examiners of Landscape Architects, making her Colorado’s first licensed female landscape architect. She was the first president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). In 1994, the Colorado Chapter of ASLA established the Jane Silverstein Ries Award to recognize those who demonstrate a pioneering sense of awareness and stewardship of land use values in the Rocky Mountain region. Ries was an American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Fellow, and in 2005, she was awarded the prestigious American Society of Landscape Architects Medal in honor of her lifetime achievement in the profession.

Jane Silverstein Ries lived at 737 Franklin Street in Denver, and used the studio above the garage as her office for more than 60 years. The house was designated a Historic Landmark by the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission in 1992. Jane Silverstein Ries died in Denver in 2005. A species of boxwood, a shrub, Buxus mycrophylla “Julia Jane,” is named in her honor.

New Books in Western History Collection

March is Women’s History Month in the United States, and we mark the occasion with selections from a wealth of recent publications on Western women, including essay collections, anthologies, monographs on specific facets of women’s experiences, and interdisciplinary studies of women and gender in the West.

Elizabeth Jameson and Sheila McManus bring together sixteen remarkable essays on Western women in One Step Over the Line: Toward a History of Women in the North American Wests (University of Alberta Press and Athabasca University Press, 2008). Hailed by Naomi Lakritz of the Calgary Herald as accessible, insightful, and relevant, One Step Over the Line is the second collection to emerge from the 2002 Unsettled Pasts conference, and follows on Unsettled Pasts: Re-Conceiving the West Through Women’s History (University of Calgary Press, 2005). Where Unsettled Pasts dealt exclusively with the Canadian West, the essays in One Step Over the Line examine both the United States and Canada, border crossings, and present us with women as actors in a truly continental West. Jameson is also author of All That Glitters: Class, Conflict, and Community in Cripple Creek (University of Illinois, 1998), and was the editor, with Susan Armitage, of the landmark collection (University of Oklahoma, 1997). Sheila McManus is also author of The Line Which Separates: Race, Gender, and the Making of the Alberta-Montana Borderlands (University of Alberta Press, 2005). A copy of One Step Over the Line, as well as other works by Jameson and McManus, are available for use in the Western History & Genealogy department; request them from a librarian at our reference desk.

Building on the burgeoning scholarship of the past several decades, Laura Woodworth-Ney presents a new survey of Western women in her work, Women in the American West (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2008). Women in the American West is a welcome narrative and testament to the development of Western women’s history. Woodworth-Ney previously published Mapping Identity: The Creation of the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation, 1805-1902 (University Press of Colorado, 2004). Copies of Woodworth-Ney’s works are available for use in the Western History & Genealogy department; request them from a librarian at our reference desk.

Leading scholars explore how ten intellectuals who were women understood, assessed, and represented the West in Shirley A. Leckie and Nancy J. Parezo’s Their Own Frontier: Women Intellectuals Re-Visioning the American West (University of Nebraska Press, 2008). Individual chapters deal with Annie Heloise Abel, Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (Zitkala-Sa), Angie Debo, Ella Cara Deloria, Isabel T. Kelly, Marjorie Ferguson Lambert, Dorothea Cross Leighton, Alice Marriott, Mari Sandoz, and Ruth Underhill, and reflect on each woman’s contribution to her respective field of inquiry, which include history, anthropology, and folklore. Leckie and Parezo’s Their Own Frontier, and works by many of the women profiled therein, are available for use in our department.

Absent from Leckie and Parezo’s collection, but a giant in Western letters, is Mary Austin (1868-1934). Author of the extraordinary history of California’s deserts, The Land of Little Rain, Austin stands as one of the most powerful voices to describe the Western landscape. Susan Goodman and Carl Dawson’s new book, Mary Austin and the American West (University of California Press, 2008), explores the writer’s life and legacy, and her connection to other leading regional and national writers, thinkers, and artists. Request the Austin biography from a librarian at our department’s reference desk, and check DPL’s circulating collections for copies of Austin’s Land of Little Rain.

And there are still more titles to explore. Reconsideration of how we understand the Western past, and the places and perspectives of women, continues in Jordana Finnegan’s Narrating the American West: New Forms of Historical Memory (Cambria Press, 2008). Karen M. Morin’s Frontiers of Femininity: A New Historical Geography of the Nineteenth-Century American West (Syracuse University Press, 2008) explores landscapes and perceptions of them, and how women envisioned and experienced Western landscapes. John C. Putnam’s Class and Gender Politics in Progressive-Era Seattle (University of Nevada Press, 2008) considers suffrage and labor politics, and the work of women to secure the vote and move unions to address the needs of women. Jurgen Herbst’s Women Pioneers of Public Education: How Culture Came to the Wild West (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) examines the role of teachers and the politics of gender in education. And, finally, since so many male prospectors named mines after women, who can resist the table turned in a new work by Chris Enss entitled A Beautiful Mine: Women Prospectors of the Old West (TwoDot, 2008).

Recent Grants

Colorado’s Diverse Heritage Grant

In January 2009, the Denver Public Library, Western History/Genealogy Department began work on the grant, Colorado’s Diverse Heritage, awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The grant will enable the Library to process five archival collections that cover individuals and organizations representing Latino, African American, and American Indian populations. These collections demonstrate the highly significant contributions of these diverse communities whose original historically important documents are underrepresented in accessible manuscript collections. Included are documents detailing the inception of the Hispanic labor movement in the United States including original letters from national leaders such as César Chávez. The history of the Ku Klux Klan in Colorado is documented in the collection of civil rights activist Clarence Holmes. The collection of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) honors the contributions of American Indians as the nation’s first engineers and scientists and also details the history of this organization’s work in helping to develop new generations of American Indian leaders in the fields of engineering and science. The following five archival collections of individuals and organizations document the diverse heritage of Colorado.

Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales (June 18, 1928-April 18, 2005), a Denver-born Mexican American boxer, poet and political activist. He convened the first-ever Chicano youth conference in Colorado (March 1969), which was attended by many future Chicano activists and artists. The conference also promulgated the Plan Espiritual de Aztlan, a manifesto describing self-determination for Chicanos. As an early figure of the movement for the equal rights of Mexican Americans, he is considered one of the founders of the Chicano Movement. He financed the publication of Denver's first barrio newspaper, Viva, beginning in the late 1950s.
Tim Flores (b. January 30, 1915) is one of Colorado’s highly respected historical figures. He has a place of honor with other famous Colorado icons in a mural on the south side of the Convention Center in downtown Denver. While serving as the representative for the Steelworkers Union 2101, Flores caught the attention of Herrick Roth, President of the Colorado AFL-CIO. In 1972, Roth chose Flores to be the lobbyist for the Colorado AFL-CIO. It was a major change in that no other Chicano had previously held such a position in the Colorado AFL-CIO chapter. Flores was also instrumental in the founding and operations of the AFL-CIO sponsored Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA). He was also an active participant in everything that affected the oppressed. He organized the Coors Strike in the mid 1970s and worked with César Chávez and Dolores Huerta of the United Farm Workers in their boycott strikes of grapes, wine and lettuce.
Denver native Dr. Clarence Holmes (1892-1978) was a dentist and leader of the city's civil rights movement in the first part of the twentieth century. He helped found the Denver branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In the 1920s he was a leader in the struggle against Colorado's Ku Klux Klan. Born in Denver on May 21, 1892, Holmes was a graduate of Manual High School in 1913, received his Bachelor of Science degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1917 and his doctorate from the Howard School of Dentistry in 1920. He was active in many civic groups and served on the Denver Commission on Human Relations, the Citizens Budget Committee and the Citizens Health and Housing Commission.
American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES): As described on the web site of the Smithsonian Institution, AISES is “a national, nonprofit organization which nurtures building of community by bridging science and technology with traditional Native values. Through its educational programs, AISES provides opportunities for American Indians and Native Alaskans to pursue studies in science, engineering, business and other academic arenas. The trained professionals then become technologically informed leaders within the Indian community. AISES' ultimate goal is to be a catalyst for the advancement of American Indians and Native Alaskans as they seek to become self-reliant and self-determined members of society.”
Latin American Research and Service Agency (LARASA): In the early 1960s a multicultural group of community leaders envisioned an agency that would address the disparities that existed between Colorado’s Latino community and the mainstream community. Their vision led to the incorporation of the Latin American Research and Service Agency (LARASA) in March 1964 as the first Latino community-based 501(c)(3) non-profit agency in the nation. The mission of the Latin American Research and Service Agency (LARASA) is to lead and influence change to improve the quality of life for Latinos in Colorado. LARASA’s primary goal is to strengthen the capacity of the Latino community to achieve economic, educational and physical wellbeing.

Preserving and creating access to these significant papers in Denver’s history will sustain an informed and engaged citizenry, both locally as well as nationally. Colorado’s Diverse Heritage will preserve this documentary heritage and promote its distribution and use.

Genealogy News

Monthly Beginning Genealogy classes have resumed. These classes are free and held on the second Saturday of each month with no reservation required. They meet in the Central Library as a joint project of the Colorado Genealogical Society and the Western History/Genealogy Department of the Library. Class is followed by a tour of the genealogy collection. There will be a 30-minute lunch break. Each all day session begins promptly at 10 a.m. ends at approximately 3 p.m.

Denver Public Library Genealogical News and Events Calendar

Colorado Genealogical Society Classes and Events

Previous Newsletters

March 2007, April 2007, May/June 2007, July 2007, August 2007, September 2007, October 2007, December 2007, January 2008, February 2008, March 2008, April 2008, May 2008, June 2008, July 2008, August 2008, September 2008, October 2008, November/December 2008, January 2009, February 2009

View Slide Show

This studio portrait of football team members (circa 1915) includes Clarence F. Holmes (back row right) and William E. Parks (back row left). The team probably represented the Denver Y. M. C. A.

This photo shows Rodolpho “Corky” Gonzales speaking at a 1970 anti-war rally on the steps of the Colorado Capitol Building. Corky is at the far left under the word “war” with members of the brown berets in front of him.

Williams Stable in Central City is one of the images preserving the “Ghost Signs” captured by Bob Kisken in his recently donated collection of images in Photo Collection 220.

The Brecht Candies sign painted on the wall of a building in the LoDo section of downtown Denver is but one of the hundreds of “Ghost Signs” Bob Kisken has preserved with his photographs in Photo Collection 220.

Cook Ford Sales in Sheridan, Wyoming is one of the nearly 700 images captured by Bob Kiskens. His “Ghost Signs” are often 50-100 years old and link to an often forgotten building or company and are Photo Collection 220.