June, 2020
WISHING YOU HEALTH AND SAFETY!
From the President
Dear Salida Museum Friends and Family,
Weeks have past since the Salida Museum, along with many businesses and other institutions in our town, state, country and worldwide, closed its doors temporarily with the COVID-19 stay-at home order. Normally we would be welcoming guests and giving tours to our museum at this time. We have missed our visitors, members and our community and will look into opening for visits as soon as our board and volunteers feel it is safe and smart to do so. Also I would like to thank our volunteers and board for their continued support and help with our vision to tell the story of Salida and the Upper Arkansas River Valley through our exhibits at the museum. We plan on having new displays and other attractions when we do open back up for our guests later this summer or fall.
The Salida Museum will follow a phased approach to reopening and will set in place new rules to ensure the safety for all, while still ensuring the enjoyjemt of the museum’s collection devoted to the exploration of our history. More details on the museum opening will be forthcoming.
There are lessons to be learned during times like these. We have discovered our capacity to pursue excellence in differing ways while maintaining our commitment to tell the history of this area, including how history can unify, heal, and provide comfort. All of us have experienced the power of collaboration and the creativity unleashed by engaging one another in the process of presenting new ways to support our community, friends, and family. Finally, we have all grappled with what the next chapter will be, and as uncertain as it may feel, with the support of colleagues and our museum friends and family, we will continue to build on our continued love of our local history. As Desmond Tutu once said, “One day we will wake up and discover we are family.”
In the weeks ahead, as we continue to navigate this new normal together, I know we will all be able to find hope and inspiration through history. Together.
All My Best,
Bob Campbell
President, The Salida Museum Association
Salida Red Cross and the 1918 Flu Pandemic
compiled from an article by Joy Jackson, Salida Regional Library
World War I pulled in with a tide of death and destruction; when it pulled back, a deadlier tide of influenza washed over the entire world. The convergence of WWI with one of the deadliest pandemics on record had one bright note: The American Red Cross was at its strongest, reinforced by a large cadre of volunteer nurses. Here in Salida the Tuesday Evening Club, who were the founders of the library, started a Red Cross chapter in an effort to support troops who were headed overseas. The Red Cross Hospital and Denver & Rio Grande Hospital immediately began training women and girls in first aid and nursing. The first recruits from Salida were headed to World War I. They were seen off by everyone in town, including Civil War and Spanish American War veterans. It was a moment to witness in Salida’s history.
There are several theories as to how the 1918 Pandemic started. What is most certain is that the spread began at an army base in Kansas in spring 1918. Influenza infected American soldiers, who on their way to World War I passed it on to Europe. This was the first wave of the pandemic. Once it circulated through Europe, it came back to America on its second wave later that autumn. Flu hit Salida like a freight train. Out of nowhere, on Oct. 15, more than 200 people were sickened with influenza and two people had died. Three days later, five more had died. The local hospitals were overrun and the Hotel Denton (on the corner of First and E) was turned into a makeshift ward. The next day, 73 patients filled the hotel, along with a convoy of nurses and emergency staff. Even this was not enough to care for all of the ill. A week after the flu hit Salida, 18 people had been reported dead and 330 people were ill. Doctors and nurses were working around the clock. The Red Cross was handing out pneumonia jackets, archaic garments made from oiled silk that were used for warming the ill. The more expensive jackets had tubing within that circulated warm water around the torso.
Despite the hysteria, there were moments of selflessness. The Salida Red Cross immediately formed an influenza committee to manage logistics of the epidemic, particularly at hospitals. Members were charged with finding replacement nurses, laundering linen, filling pantries and larders and collecting funds to keep all the services running. Local madam Laura Evens deployed some of her workers to help with nursing the ill. And food was gathered for families unable to leave their houses: bread, chicken, eggs, fruit and jelly were all donated by townsfolk.
Volunteer nurses were everywhere. The hospital alone counted 22 during the crisis. The Salida Mail reported on their condition: “These nurses are wearing out and soon must be relieved. All who can serve are earnestly requested to report to Mrs. Garrelts or at the hospital.”
About 3 billion people were living on the planet in 1918; 500 million were infected; 50-100 million people died. Around 8,000 people died in Denver. And 80 died in Salida. The quarantine was partially lifted by January 1919. In March, the quarantine was completely lifted from schools and businesses. It had been 4½ months since the quarantine was declared.
Joy Jackson is desk clerk and archivist at Salida Regional Library. Follow twitter.com/SalidaArchive to see historic images of Salida.
Salida Heritage Days 2020 Cancelled
The second annual Salida Heritage Days was scheduled to take place October 2-4, 2020, celebrating 140 years of Salida history. The festival has been cancelled for safety reasons due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. More information will be available as the situation progresses and plans are finalized for future rescheduling. Updated information can be viewed at www.salidaheritagedays.com.
Cabinet Donated
We would like to thank Nate and Diana Porter, Salida Mountain Sports, for their donation of an antique display cabinet to the museum. The cabinet will replace a well-worn hand-made cabinet that used to house the Souvenir Exhibit. The re-designed exhibit will feature artifacts brought back to Salida from foreign countries by local traveling residents. The generous cabinet donation will allow the exhibit to be housed in a more elegant setting that compliments the other museum exhibits.
Coming Soon
Wallace K. Ewing, author of Focus on Salida, has a new book coming out soon. The book is Uncommon People Salida, Colorado, and features a Forward by Arlene Shovald, one of the museum Board Members and long-time writer for The Mountain Mail. Wally’s book is an alphabetical listing of famous Salidans with their histories and genealogies, dating back to the days when Salida was called South Arkansas. This book will be available at the museum as soon as it is available anywhere.
Lady Blythe, the Mechanical Doll
A small picture inscribed “Lady Blythe, the Original Mechanical Doll of Stage and Screen” was found recently in the museum without any accession information. Apparently it was a souvenir to someone in Salida. What the internet tells us is that Lady Blythe started performing at age seven at Elitch Gardens in Denver in 1897. Her career lasted sixty years. She was nearly sold for $1000 while acting as a wind-up doll in a department store window in Los Angeles. Ripley’s listed her in 1941 and she is said to have appeared before crowned heads of Europe and American Presidents.
The Museum and History Center in Canon City has a file on Lady Blythe and the same picture. Apparently copies were given out as promotions at her performances. The museum lists her in a volume of Fascinating Colorado Pioneer Families. She was born in the Como mining region in South Park, travelled across the country accompanied by her mother Cora Ellen Peabody, was married three times and is buried in Lakeside Cemetery, Canon City. Her tombstone reads, “Lady Blythe V. Marvin 1890-1969 ‘The Doll’ Colo’s International Star.”
[by Earle Kittleman]
Salida Museum Annual Open House
Unfortunately, the Salida Museum annual Open House on Saturday, May 16, 2020, had to be cancelled because of Covid-19 restrictions. Our plan is to reschedule the event as soon as we can safely do so, and the presentations will remain the same. The Open House will be free of admission, as usual, and will feature John Rhoads speaking on the Geology of the Upper Arkansas Valley, along with Jack Chivvis outlining the mining activiity that occurred in the area as a result of that geology. Details will be available on our website, facebook page, and by contacting the museum.
Museum Board of Directors
The current museum board of directors is comprised of the following:
President, Bob Campbell
Secretary, Earle Kittleman, 719-539-6153
Treasurer, Larry Kovacic, 505-280-4831
Board Member, Judith Kinzie, 719-539-9439
Board Member, Arlene Shovald, 719-539-3139
Board Member, Bonnie Konopka, 505-270-6523
Special thanks goes to Margaret Dean, who volunteers as a board liason 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.
If you are interested in becoming a board member and coming to one meeting a month (minimal commitment, no summer meetings), 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. Note: meetings are currently cancelled for safety reasons, but will resume as soon as we feel safe in doing so.
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.