THE
E-TIME CAPSULE
1941 to 1950
Name: Robert
Age: 52
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
I remember when the valley highway
opened, it seemed like Denver was finally going to turn into a
real, big-time city!
What do
you think Denver will be like in the year 2010?
I hope that we all will have our
own jet-packs so we can fly around town. They’ve been predicting
this since I was a kid. I think it’s finally time they were
invented.
Name: Dorothy Miller
Age: 67
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
I was 16 in 1948 and in an FHA club contest in our school in La
Junta I won a trip to Denver. The teacher, two other girls and
myself rode the Santa Fe train. The Union Depot was big and busy.
The Daniel and Fisher Tower was the biggest building and when we
went to the top I was scared to death. We visited KOA radio
station and saw a program taking place. My teacher couldn't get
ahold of the friend where we were supposed to stay so after
walking all day to sight see we marched through the Brown Palace
Hotel in our dirty clothes. Then she was able to contact her
friend so we marched back out. Embarrassing!
What do
you think Denver will be like in the year 2010?
I live in a suburb and I don't always want to drive in downtown
Denver. I'm sure that Denver will continue to grow. Hopefully by
that time it will be easier to "see" Denver, perhaps
there will be a monorail system.
Name: Ginny
Age: 77
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
I was going to school in Denver, living at the YWCA Residence
close to the Cosmopolitan Hotel. My best memories are the dances
at Elitch Gardens with the big bands to dance to!!! Les Brown, The
Dorseys etc. Great!
What do
you think Denver will be like in the year 2010?
Bigger and Better!
Name: Alan W.
Age: 69
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
I came to Denver in 1949 to attend the University of Denver. My
classes were in the new business building that was at 1445
Cleveland Place. In the beginning, I rode the trolley downtown and
later carpooled. My greatest memory was of the beautiful weather.
Having come from Ohio, where the winters were long and cold (yes,
the snow really stayed on the ground from Oct. to May), I thought
I was in heaven, when at Christmas time that year, it was so warm
and sunny that we were wearing t-shirts! I am still amazed at this
city and the wonderful weather -- it's heaven to live here.
What do
you think Denver will be like in the year 2010?
It will be built up solid from Ft. Collins to Colorado Springs,
and hopefully there will be some type of rapid transit system to
"buzz" between cities, to the outlying areas and
downtown. More people will be doing things from home on their
personal computers, cutting down on vehicle congestion.
Name: Dr.
Epaminondas K. (Ed) Demos
Age: 56
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
As a child I used to visit my father's restaurant on the corner
of 19th and Larimer Sts. The area was just at the beginning of its
transitional phase. "Harry," an old man who looked a
great deal like Gabby Hayes would tell great war stories whilst he
drank cheap red wine from a Pilzner glass at the bar. We would
visit all the great Greek-owned establishments on Curtis St.
between 15th and 18th Sts. "Pig on a Bun" next to Baur's,
Sam's No. 3, Allison's candy store on the corner of 15th and
Curtis were among my favorites. The Sotazar, the Rialto Theater,
and many more establishments are nearly lost from memory now as I
was but 8 years old at the time.
What do
you think Denver will be like in the year 2010?
Taller, leaner, older, and hopefully able to remember itself.
Hopefully its sense of history will have been integrated with its
greatness as a standard bearer of new technologies. Denver has to
grow up now and not out...so it must get taller.
Name: Judy
Age: 60
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
Since I was born in 1940, this is the time I was
growing up. The thing I remember most was the drinking water. In
this decade, our drinking water came from deep, artesian wells,
and anyone who came to visit us from out of state always remarked
how delicious and fresh our water was at that time. It was better
water than we have now, because it does not come from those wells
anymore.
What do
you think Denver will be like in the year 2010?
Name: Simie
Age: 63
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
Playing tennis, going on picnics, boating, square dancing, and
ice skating at Sloans Park and Lake!
What do you think Denver will be like in the
year 2010?
Still nice, but crowded. I hope our beautiful
parks will still be appreciated and utilized.
Name: Tom
Age: 72
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
The big snow of November 1946. 42" I think; street cars
couldn't run; I was able to break trail to the local grocery store
for food. 16th Street had such a pile of snow down the middle you
couldn't see side traffic. Had to drive with care.
What do you think Denver will be like in the
year 2010?
We will have light rail to DIA and Denver Tech
Center. Will be working on light rail to the mountains. I-25 and
I-70 will have multiple lanes.
Name: Phyllis
Hojem
Age:
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
December 24, 1948, we got married in Boulder and started a
happy marriage of 45 years, which included three lovely children:
Lark, Lyric, and Leif. I finished my master's. Denver was still a
cow town, not too many people, traffic or pollution. A seafood
dinner was almost impossible to find. My husband and I had only a
few symphonic records which we listened to all the time because we
couldn't afford more. It was a big deal to go to the airport on a
Sunday afternoon to see the planes landing. There were Quonset
huts everywhere. The colleges were teeming with veterans using the
G.I. bill. TV had just arrived and could be seen in hotel lobbies.
What do you think Denver will be like in the
year 2010?
Denver will be the New York of the West,
unfortunately. Population will stabilize, water supply will be an
even bigger issue, and hopefully common courtesy will make a
comeback.
Name: Frank
Age: 60
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
The doorman at D&F tower, he was a giant! Hamburgers at
Hi's or the Rockybuilt for ten cents. A small town that closed up
at 8 p.m. on Sundays, including all the bars. Playing arcade games
such as shuffleboard and table bowling in restaurants and bars
with my Uncle Mike. We would beat adult partners, I would win a
coke, my uncle a beer and he would howl in glee. Hoffschroeders
Cafeteria, the Blue Parrott, Joe Awful Coffee's, Nettie Monroe's
Restaurant, Edelweiss, the Old Mexico Chili Parlor, Gaetanos
Restaurants, a Bears game and was I proud at age 10.
What do you think Denver will be like in the
year 2010?
Don't need to wait, it is sad already. It does
no good to morn the past, but damn wouldn't you like to tear it
down and start all over again?
Name: Dorothy
Miller
Age: 68
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
Because my grandfather worked for the Santa Fe Railroad, my
grandmother had a free pass to come to Denver from La Junta. She
rode the train up in the morning and went to Eltich's to spend the
day. She was a thrifty person and brought her lunch. She had a
beautiful yard of her own, so she loved to look at the colorful
flowers at Elitch's and sit in the little individual picnic areas.
Grandma is gone now, but I fondly remember the times she came to
see us.
What do you think Denver will be like in the
year 2010?
I'm not sure what Denver will be like, but it
certainly is growing all the time. I hope it will stay a nice
place.
Name: Gladys
Age: 70
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
I had a wonderful homeroom teacher, at Cole Jr. High School,
named Mr. Colwell. He was very kind to a very shy girl like me. I
will never forget his kindness.
What do you think Denver will be like in the
year 2010?
Denver will always be great. It is a beautiful
city with great weather.
Name: Gloria
Age: 65
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
When the lake at Washington Park would freeze over, and you
could ice-skate, then go into the warming house for hot chocolate.
There were several big snow storms, and schools were closed. We
had to get our school work from the radio. We would have to walk
to Evans Avenue and Downing Street to meet the milk truck and
bread truck.
What do you think Denver will be like in the
year 2010?
Everywhere will be over-populated, not just
Denver. Our natural resources will be very limited. Progress
sometimes may not be good for everyone.
Name: Ralph
Age: 57
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
My fondest memory is of riding the streetcar with my parents,
from Englewood to the Montgomery Wards store on South Broadway in
Denver. It was a real adventure when you were 6 years old, and the
store seemed huge.
What do you think Denver will be like in the
year 2010?
The quality of life will have diminished more
with increased population and gridlock traffic.
Name: Bob
Age: 65
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
We lived on West 35th Avenue by Elitch's (The old good one)
when I was 6-7 years old, and my mother would take me shopping
with her down- town on the streetcar. The streetcar stop was in
front of our house, and to board, you had to stand in the street
within some white buttons, and I was always scared to stand in the
street. We would ride to the Loop Market, shop for groceries, and
then go down 16th Street for all other things. I disliked those
trips, but today I would give all I own for that ride.
What do you think Denver will be like in the
year 2010?
An over-populated large city struggling over the same issues we
have today. What to do with all the population-rapid
transit-water-open space, etc.
Name: Jim
McNally
Age: 61
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
In January 1950, I paid a dime and rode the elevator to the
observation deck of the Daniels and Fisher Tower (16th and
Arapahoe Streets). The rumor was that one could see all the way to
Kansas from the 330-foot tower--21 stories. The D&F tower
provided a bird's-eye view of the city and the mountains. From
that height, it was a little scary to a kid; however, I remember
the Mining Exchange Building (1030 15th Street) due to the old
prospector on top of this building and, to the northeast, a large
smoke stack (41st Avenue and Brighton Boulevard). Though the stack
stood 350 feet high, I didn't even know its name (the Grant
Smelter) until the next month, when it was demolished before a
crowd of 350,000.
What do you think Denver will be like in the
year 2010?
Since Denver will be just concluding its
sesquicentennial celebration of its Founding/Rush to the Rockies
(2008-09), more individuals will be living in our great city. Less
and less individuals will truly understand the
"Zeitgeist" of the l950s unless one has experienced it!
Name: Nancy
Knerl and Mary Maulis
Age:
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
When my mother, Leona Housand, came to Denver in 1945 from
Wisconsin, she said it was warm and sunny, and the people were
kind and very friendly here. She and her cousin lived for a brief
time in a white house which still stands near the old east
entrance to City Park on York Street.
What do you think Denver will be like in the
year 2010?
Name: Dorothy
Age: 68
What is your fondest
memory of Denver between 1941 and 1950?
In 1946, I came to Denver with a group from school. We rode the
elevator to the top of the Daniels and Fisher Building. It was so
high it made me dizzy. Now the clock in the old building stands by
itself, but is nearly dwarfed by taller buildings.
What do you think Denver will be like in the
year 2010?
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