WISHING YOU CONTINUED HEALTH AND SAFETY!
From the President
A Special Thanks to Two Special Volunteers
Volunteering is the essential for the Salida Museum. As an all-volunteer organization, we depend on our volunteers to keep the museum operational. Over the years we have had many volunteers, and we would like to recognize two very special volunteers, Judith and Ed Kinzie. Judith served on the museum board, and they both served as docents. We would like to extend a very hearty Thank You to Judith and Ed for their contributions over many years. We were lucky to have them as docents, and I feel they really went the extra mile helping with school visits and special events. We couldn’t have had such amazing times without their gracious volunteering. Judith and Ed’s contributions of time and their financial considerations made the Salida Museum a special place to visit for tourist from all over the world. For their kindness and generosity, they deserve to know that our appreciation cannot be expressed enough. Judith and Ed Kinzie will be missed at the Salida Museum, and we wish them the best as they move to be closer to their family.
Caboose Returns to Salida
by Arlene Shovald, Ph.D.
The D&RGW Caboose No. 0576 was given to the City of Salida in 1954 by Terry Gill, whose grandfather worked for the railroad and acquired the caboose in 1950 for Terry to use as a clubhouse in their back yard at 129 Blake Street. The City placed the caboose in Centennial Park between the Hot Springs Aquatic Center and the new Salida Museum building. Several years ago the caboose was moved to the north end of F Street, the former location of the Salida D&RG Depot. In the meantime, the Margos Brothers had donated a caboose stove to the museum with the stipulation that the stove be put in the caboose if it was ever restored.
David Lady, Salida Public Works Director, and the Salida Public Works Staff installed the stove in the caboose after it had undergone restoration in Silverton, CO, last year and had been returned to Salida. The caboose is now back on display at the north end of F Street, with the stove sitting in the crew quarters at the back end of the caboose. A ribbon cutting was held May 9, 2024 when the caboose was returned.
Summer Roundup
by Earle Kittleman
The Spring-Summer season started with a call about a murder. Jurgen Mohr, retired Denver Police Sergeant now living in Buena Vista, had read about the crime in the Mountain Mail supplement True Crime Stories. Salida constable Jake Pate lost his life breaking up a knife fight in a saloon in Smeltertown in 1910. Mohr and his fellow officer historians at the Colorado State Patrol Academy were following up to honor officer Pate as a fallen hero in the line of duty. A month later officer Pate’s name was engraved on the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial in Golden CO. Salida police chief Russ Johnson attended the ceremony along with officer Pate’s great granddaughter Katie Hester. It was Katie Hester who started the ball rolling by contacting the museum in 2020 during Covid when the museum was closed. Armed with a news clipping from the Salida Record about the bloody slaying in Smeltertown, Katie wanted to visit Smeltertown and learn more from locals about her ancestor’s demise. The saloon is no longer there, but Joy Jackson at the library contributed more information and Arlene Shovald wrote the story, which got reprinted in the True Crime Stories supplement.
Early in the summer, a Salida police officer was chosen as a new addition to the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial. Jake was a Salida police officer in the early days of Salida history, and died in the line of duty in 1910.
Later in this season, Jurgen Mohr returned to the museum with an oil can used on the old steam locomotives. Turns out retired Officer Mohr is also a train buff. He said the oil still left in the can was used to lubricate pins, bearings and journals. He also donated two paperback books about railroading.
A new sign was put up at the entrance to the museum in time for the summer season thanks to board member Terry Pintane. Terry obtained sign designs for the Board to choose from, and then he had the new sign fabricated by a local business. Terry installed the sign in front of the museum and also installed an identical sign behind the museum facing the Hot Springs Aquatic Center. Thanks to Terry for all the work he did on this project.
This summer we received another donation of books from Lucinda Lavelli, grandniece of Harriet Alexander, founder of the Salida Museum and the first woman to sit on city council. Among the books was an early edition of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. The margins inside the book are filled throughout with Harriet’s notes as if she were taking part in the drama herself as Scarlet O’Hara. Harriet certainly had a keen eye for costume and character, art and drama, biblical references and quotations straight out of Shakespeare. It made me want to read the book along with Harriet, so I did, all one thousand pages, what a trip! The other items in the donation were dance instruction books and a copy of Forever Amber (1944) an historical romance novel by Kathleen Winsor set in 17th-century England, also made into a film in 1947. We are all indebted to Harriet’s love and preservation of our cultural history.
The medical exhibit in the south room at the museum now includes the original sculpture of Dr. Leonardi that was scaled up to produce the nearly life-size bronze which stands at the entrance to Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center. The baby scale used for many years at the old hospital and Dr. Leonardi’s well-worn medical dictionary were also donated to the museum by the HRRMC Foundation.
Hospital objects keep showing up. A quilt that used to hang in the hall at the new hospital is now on display at the museum. We think it dates to the early 19th century when nurses were trained at the Red Cross Hospital in Salida, which is now the Masonic Lodge at 3rd and G Streets. Dr. Cochems who founded the Red Cross Hospital in 1909 has his name on the quilt along with several other doctors and many of the nurses who trained there into the 1930s. Thanks to local artist Sally Mather the quilt was rescued and brought to the museum in September.
In July, Arlene Shovald’s book Healing in Chaffee County, Colorado and Surrounding Areas was printed and put on sale at the museum. Arlene spent 44 years reporting for The Mountain Mail where in her spare time she clipped stories about medical practice in years past. Now that Arlene has joined the museum board, it was time to assemble her collection, add some historic photos and get it published. The book looks back to the not-so-good old days when many women died in childbirth. Diseases now under control were common then such as smallpox, diphtheria, measles, consumption and polio. Doctors performed amazing surgeries to save the lives of injured miners and railroad workers. Patent medicines promised miracles. The period covered is from Salida’s founding in 1880 to the mid-1960s.
In September, we received a WWII-era photo of Company D, Battalion 43, Camp Howze, Texas. The men appear in battle dress and include the late John King of Howard although we are not sure which soldier he is in the picture. Camp Howze was an infantry replacement training center located adjacent to the town of Gainesville, Texas. The camp also housed some 3000 prisoners of war. It closed after the war in 1946.
In September the museum received a framed photograph of the 1926 train wreck on the D&RG railroad line near Granite, arguably Chaffee County’s worst rail disaster. We added it on the wall in the railroad exhibit right above the three-part picture we already had of the terrible wreck. The same man seems to be standing in both pictures. Several people were killed in the accident, including the wife and daughter of the man in both pictures.
As always, we appreciate people who care to donate to the museum and share their history with the community.
Museum Exhibits
by Bonnie Konopka
Some fun Salida Museum finds:
The Bill Murphy and KVRH Radio Exhibit
KVRH began broadcasting in 1948.
In 1959 Bill Murphy bought the radio station and moved to Salida to operate it for the next 40 years. He emphasized local news and sports and endorsed candidates at election time.
His first broadcast of FIBArk was in 1960. In the 1970’s it was branded as All Heart Radio and became one of the first FM licenses in Colorado.
He was involved with and supported many local clubs, organizations and charities. Music kept him busy playing in many theatricals and concerts in Salida. Upon his death in 2020 the Mountain Mail reported “Salida lost a much respected and well-loved pillar of the community”.
Library Corner
by Joy Jackson
Salida Regional Library Archivist
The Reign of Portrait Photography
Images courtesy the Salida Museum Collection
Nowadays, everyone has a phone in their pocket and can take a picture in just a couple of seconds. Juxtapose this with photography methods back in the 20th century, where people went to photo studios to have their portraits taken. Posing for a camera and then waiting for the negatives to be developed and then processed onto photo paper took some time. It was a big deal getting a portrait done and some people made the most of it, dressing to the nines, or in their favorite costumes, or showcasing one of their hobbies.
Photo studios were a big business in Salida, and Helen Hanks, owner and operator of the Hay Studio at 229 F during the 1930s-40s, was a pro at capturing the personality of her subjects in a photograph.
This is Helen Hanks in costume.
These images were all taken at the Hay Studio during this time. The names attached are the only identifier for each image – presumably, these are each person’s last name. The two children at top of page have a last name of Denison; the cowboy below is named Greathouse.
The girl with the accordion has a last name of Criswell; the boy in the jumpsuit is a Sandoval.
These images are from the Salida Museum Collection of negatives, which were donated to the Salida Library in 2018.
-Joy Jackson works at the front desk and in the Archives at the Salida Library. See more images and history at digital.salidalibrary.org
2025 Museum Calendar
The 2025 museum calendar is still available.. The calendar is titled “Upper Arkansas Valley Utes, The Mountain People”, and features photographs from the museum of well-known Ute leaders and the mountains named after them. The calendars are available for purchase at the museum for $15 and are also available at several Salida businesses. Salida businesses selling the calendar include Hodge Podge, Old Log Cabin Antiques, The Salida Five and Dime, Mixing Bowl, and the Salida Chamber of Commerce.
Bob Campbell, our museum board President, put the calendar together. We thank Bob for doing a really professional job of combining photographs and information about them to create another exciting museum calendar.
Museum Board of Directors
The current museum board of directors is comprised of the following:
President, Bob Campbell
Secretary, Earle Kittleman, 719-221-3685
Treasurer, Larry Kovacic, 505-280-4831
Board Member, Arlene Shovald, 719-539-3139
Board Member, Bonnie Konopka, 505-270-6523
Board Member, Terry Pintane, 719,221,4177
We wish to thank Margaret Dean, who volunteers as a board representative from Maysville. The members of the South Arkansas Landowners Association (SALA), comprising residents in the Maysville area, do a lot of work taking care of the historic Maysville School, which is owned by the museum. We appreciate their efforts to maintain the school as a historic landmark and look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.
Museum Docents
Patrick Hardin
Giff Kriebel
Terry Pintane
Dennis Kapela
Earle Kittleman
Bonnie Konopka
Larry Kovacic
Many thanks go to our docents; they are the reason the Salida Museum remains open to visitors.
Volunteers Needed
If you are interested in becoming a board member and coming to one meeting a month, or becoming a docent and working one day a week, let us know. We would be very happy to talk to you about joining our team. Our board meetings are open to the public, so if you want to attend one and find out if you’re interested, the meetings are the third Wednesday of the month, 11:00am, at the museum.
Support the Salida Museum
The Salida Museum Association is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that relies on donations, memberships, admissions and limited fundraising to remain operational. You can help support the museum by making a donation or becoming a member.
Donation – any amount appreciated
Annual Membership – $15, includes 5 free visits
Lifetime Membership – $100, includes unlimited free visits
Memberships and donations are tax deductible. Send your payment to the address listed below, use our website to remit with PayPal, or join when you come in to see the museum. You will receive an acknowledgement letter for tax purposes. (make sure we have your address)
Salida Museum Association
406 1/2 W. Hwy 50, Salida, Colorado 81201
salidamuseum@gmail.com
719-539-7483
For more museum information, see our website or Facebook page.