El Paso County Pioneers’ Association

1896 - 2018 122 Years501 ( c ) (3)

Pioneer Courierwww.elpasocountypioneers.org

Proud Member of The Coalition of Pikes Peak Historic Museums

Notice of Luncheon Meeting - Friday, February 23, 2018

Happy New Year!!

Lawmen have stories with facts!

John Wesley Anderson, a gentleman of manytalents; one of which is a love of history as well asbeing able to put it in a book or two so we canhold it in our hands and our minds in thatwonderful pleasure of reading, came to tell usanother part of local history.

“Rankin Scott Kelley: First Sheriff of El PasoCounty, Colorado Territory” is written by thetwenty-sixth sheriff of El Paso County, Colorado. This is history written by someone in the know. Which makes it intriguing before you open thebook. It is published by the Old Colorado CityHistorical Society, as is another book by John,about trees.

“Ute Indian Prayer Trees of the Pikes Peak Region”

Speaking of those trees, how many of us had everheard about these local Pines with messages? These are not the heart enclosing initials so oftenseen but those carvings from the Native AmericanIndian perspective more than a hundred years ago. Check with OCCHS to purchase that book as wellas the “Sheriff Kelly” book. John knows ourcommunity in ways that only a lawman can, andthat ability to learn more about people, places, and

happenings is a valuable quality that gives the readerand listener education in a friendly way.

Publishing Adventures in Retirement

In 2003 John retired from public office but enteredthe workforce in the private sector and found littletime to write until his retirement. John wasconcerned about the lack of historical informationreadily available about the history of the positionwhen he took office as the 26 Sheriff of El Pasoth

County, Colorado. In 2012 he was able to puttogether the notes from years of public service andbegan to write! At the Old Colorado City HistoryCenter, Susie Schwartz was helpful as publishing his

Dwight Haverkorn presents a certificate of thanks to JohnWesley Anderson at the Nov. 17, 2017 EPCPA Luncheon.

books was the goal. Bob DeWitt and DorothyMerlo who are involved with The Pikes PeakPosse of the Westerners and own a book storewere also a wonderful help.

Back to Kelly

PBS got in the picture after 2015 when Johnsubmitted for a contest his “Kelly” manuscript. Out of 111 entries “Rankin Scott Kelly” came insecond and PBS contacted John saying that therewas money left from the contest to make anothervideo production and so began another part of thejourney of his book publication education. To seethe video on your computer go to the RockyMountain PBS web site and in the search boxenter: the sheriff - this takes you to the video -which we enjoyed seeing again! It s a wonderfulcollaboration including John Wesley Anderson theauthor as well as Dwight Haverkorn - CSPD,

Historian, Matt Mayberry - CSPM, Dennis Dailyand Thomas Daniels - Special Collections, PPLD,all helped to contribute to this interesting PBSprogram, Many thanks!

We still say buy the book, so back to the book!

Houlton in Aroostook County, Maine, was the.place where Rankin felt he had beat to death thefiancee of his elder sister. Rankin had seen theboat in which his sister, Katherine, and a friend

were riding, as was Emitt, when it capsized andEmitt swam quickly to shore leaving the othersbehind. They got to shore safely but Rankin was soangry about the girls being left behind that he beatEmitt into unconsciousness. When his friend couldfind no sign of life and said Emitt was dead, Rankinfled! We can well imagine the scene with his belovedsister distraught and everything in a state ofconfusion. Their mother had drowned when Rankinwas two years old and his sister had raised him, so hisemotion must have been overwhelming and to getaway was all he could think to do. Thus began thelong journey west, in a state of distress, with thoughtsof what would happen to him if he were caught.

Rankin left the area with the thought that he had beatto death his future brother-in-law! This was aprofound circumstance that the boy had no help inunderstanding and didn’t stay around to find any. Hehad made up his youthful mind after a few days in thewoods that he’d leave the area with no furthercontact with friends or family. This was in 1840. Rankin was about thirteen years old.

Until he is shown in records six years later as enlistingin the Pennsylvania Infantry nothing is known abouthim, and much is a mystery until 1860 when hestarted traveling the Santa Fe Trail. Military lifewould have taught him a good deal about fighting andhow to live on the move and in the company of menwho needed to be rough and tough! He knew wellhow to fend for himself. He already learned that hecould make decisions and stick by them.

Dwight Haverkorn and John Wesley Anderson display photosthat help explain features of the “First Sheriff” presentation. 11/17/17 John Anderson enlists Rodger Erickson’s help to read

from his book. 11/17/17

February 2018 Page 2 of 12

Just this much of his life makes us think about howteen aged children live a hundred and seventy eightyears later! John gives us a wonderful recountingof the history of the times in this wonderful historyof a hero who came to finish his life in this region. He had served in the military, bought and sold landand livestock, had worked as a stone mason and asa carpenter as well as a teamster. He worked! Hecared deeply about right and wrong. He knew toenjoy the pleasure of work even to his last days. This reader likes this quote “I let my legs do thewalking and do not try to make my whole body doit. In that way I can walk all day without tiringmyself.”

Women learn that mental “safeguard” while doingmuch of their housework. We just don’t hear that quality/ability described very often.

With blond hair and blue eyes he was tall andslender. We learn that he liked to dance and thathe delivered the first load of mill cut lumber toColorado City. A “shootout” between two men inOld Colorado City was the likely start of RankinScott Kelly’s career as a lawman. John Andersonrelates this history with details loved by readers ofhistory. The feel of the times and the surroundingtown are realistic without being over dramatized.

Connections

23 sawmills are listed in the 70 years between 1860an the 1930's in El Paso County, one of those wasowned by Oliver Henry Shoup who becameGovernor of Colorado. It was located at theeastern end of Shoup road. One place wherelumber from that site went was to the ManitouWater Bottling Company. The bottled Manitounaturally sparkling water was put in wooden cratesto be shipped and sold. This in the 1920's &’30's itis thought.

When Secession from the United States became apolitical movement it became a problem across theCountry as men took sides in the discussions overslavery. In 1861 the political changes andarguments concerning slavery meant that as times

changed so did the civil necessity of governance andways to keep the Peace and bring to justice those whowould break the laws and cause disorder and fear.

John gives a bit of comparison between Kelly’s jobas Sheriff and his. This is a fine thing to include sinceis takes some thought to take us back to much slowercommunication and realization of the distancesinvolved in those early days of the formation of theState and County and the methods of keeping thepeace. In November1861 the first El Paso CountyCommissioners began to form the local governmentand appointed Rankin Scott Kelly as our first sheriff.

There were sixteen other sheriffs in ColoradoTerritory in Kelly’s time and as now, they could all becalled on for help, however that might have been notso quickly available. Kelly rode out alone manytimes. He was a master at being out on the trail. Think of the bedroll and a canteen and what food? Jerky? The odd rabbit? Think about finding waterfor a few days, of course the crooks had the samedilemmas and not wanting to show your whereaboutswith camp fire smoke. In looking at the cover of thisbook which is a photo of the Arkansas River nearBent’s Fort you can have an idea of what cover wasavailable there. Crooks would be looking for waterand cover as well as fire wood. John took the photoand I bet he was in the mind of Rankin Scott Kelly!

John is thoughtful to include articles written at thetime for newspapers as well as Kelly’s own words toDora Foster who was a reporter for the Gazette in hislast years.

During the war between the States some prisonerswere offered a chance to swear allegiance to theUnion and were allowed to go fight instead of goingto jail. That caused problems, by Kelly’s account toFoster turning outlaws over to the Army didn’talways go well and they often tracked down again aslawbreakers. As you can well imagine a good horse was imperative and what better way to test a horse than in a race.Kelly took part in some races and won first or secondplace which we know about because of a Pueblo

February 2018 Page 3 of 12

Chieftain article on Nov. 17, 1780. Just assignificant as transportation was so was a pistol, care of their gun was important as it fed andprotected the user. Money for burial and a Willmight be found in a “six shooter”.

Kelly was a good dancer and we need to thinkabout the times to remember that the pleasures ofcommunity gatherings were more prevalent in thecentury before last. He was always “in demand” asa partner at dances. He never was married havinglost his love to a woman who married someoneelse and surely that colored his whole life as heowned property sold it and moved and came backto this area. He had a reverence for the law sincehe’d spent nearly his whole life thinking that hewas a wanted man and luckily found out towardsthe end of his life that he was not a murderer nor a“wanted“ man for that unlucky happening ofbeating his sister’s beau to death.

In a chance meeting here in 1913 in Alamo Park,while waiting for a street car he spoke with a ladyand gentleman. They were from Houlton, Mainehis hometown! As conversation progressedKelley began to ask about some of his childhoodfriends. He learned that Emitt was still living,retired from business, and in good health.

On pg. 78 we learn about a reward for 1863robbery in Denver - “Kelly captures Clarke” - seehow history needs to be verified ... verified whatdoes that mean?

It is no wonder that lawmen enjoy historyconcerning their endeavors to write about crimes! The spelling of names, the dates of crimes andother details can be incorrect as the memory servesus over the years and the facts in newspapers andcourt records are needed to try to be correct.

It is pleasing that John reprints newspaper recountsof a robbery at the Denver Mint for it lets us seethe use of adjectives and makes me think of howeliminating them from news articles might makedifferences in the perception of the reader, you,have of the event portrayed.

We learn from late in life interviews with Kelly thatdates can be mis-remembered, thus comes thehistorian who gets the dates and other facts correctfor us. The lessons and the acts of bravery to protectus are heroic none the less for a year being incorrectlystated. May we say here that we applaud the tirelessefforts of historians to get the correct informationsaved. Sometimes we only get that correctionthrough much effort on out part ... fact check!! DoraFoster who met the Sheriff in his last years wroteabout him and must have found him importantlyinteresting for local history to help give us anaccurate accounting of the times.

John is able to give the reader an understanding and a feeling for the times that this reader thinks is realistic.The video while entertaining is so inclusive that clipsfrom “cowboy films”were used and to me, that tooksome reality away from the history. This because weknow that John Wayne and others had nothing to dowith the story told and I felt that using well knownmovie figures gives a wrong impression that detractsfrom the difficulty of the actual time. Check out bothand see what you think.

Dave Murray got the book! 11/17/17 Photo byBJS

February 2018 Page 4 of 12

“League of Wives” Exhibit at Colorado SpringsPioneers Museum.

“The League of Wives: Vietnam’s POW/MIA Allies& Advocates,” will tell the story of the militarywives who founded the organization that wouldlater become the National League of POW/MIAFamilies. The traveling exhibit, created by The DoleInstitute of Politics, will feature documents,artifacts, oral histories, and multimedia, as well aslocal content collected by the Colorado SpringsPioneers Museum.

Do remember that a visit to CSPM is a pleasure aswell as a relaxing way to see History, our story!

These Board members all use their expertise to helpEPCPA and to continue 118 years of the love of localhistory!

El Paso County Pioneers’ Association

Board of Directors:

Dwight Haverkorn - President

660-4665, dwightkorn@gmail.com

Judy Baber Clarke - Vice President,

Monument Histories

Jeannie Spring -Second Vice President,

Secretary

jjsprig@hotmail.com

Jeanne Herbst, Treasurer

Betsy Shoup - Corr. Secretary,

Pioneer Courier - 591-6517

bets1@comcast.net

Peter Blaney - Programs - 488-3419

pblaney@comcast.net

Dave Rickert, Internet Site

Dona Bymaster - Monument Histories

Don Cesare, Paula LeBaron

John Anderson, thoughtfully, broughtphotos to show a bit about hispresentation. 11/17/17

Dewey Reinhard and Dwight Haverkorn -11/17/17

February 2018 Page 5 of 12

Luncheon Meetings on Fridays

2018 - Feb. 23, April 27, July 27,Picnic - Fri., Aug. ?, 11am to 1pm

Sept. 28, Nov. 16

Back Issues of Gazette and TelegraphDecember 27, 1942

PIONEER ‘OPEN HOUSE’ FRIDAY

MUSEUM TO BE SCENE OF NEW YEARSDAY GET - TOGETHER

The El Paso County Pioneer associationwill hold its customary “open house” at thePioneer museum 25 W. Kiowa St., from 3 to 5p.m. New Years day. A special invitation hasbeen sent to the city council. Others are invitedby general invitation, and this is extended notonly to members but to the public. Men ofCamp Carson and Peterson field are welcome.

Music will be provided and refreshmentswill be served. Mrs. Rosalie H. Scott, Presidentof the association, will preside.

The museum contains many interesting relics of pioneer days in the west and there is alarge and fine collection of colonial exhibits.

For more than 30 years the pioneerassociation has never failed to hold its openhouse on New Years day. Before the cityprovided a museum building these events wereheld at the courthouse, where many of themuseum exhibits were displayed in cases in thecorridors

These old. New Years day open housesincluded dancing in the second-floor corridor. An orchestra played during the afternoon andmany people danced. The old fashioned waltzand two-step were danced to tunes of long ago,and square dances were featured on theprogram before they came into style in recentyears in a revival of interest.

The Pioneer association is now muchreduced in membership and the affairs of theorganization are carried on chiefly by sons anddaughters of pioneers. A few of the very earlysettlers of the Pikes peak region, however, stilllive here and papers read by them describingtheir personal experiences in days when Indianswere a menace are always listened to withinterest.

Happy New Year!

Board of Directors Meetings

2018- 3 Wednesdays, 2 pm.rd

Jan. 18, March 21, May 16, Oct. 17

Betty and John Haney, a dynamic couple workingon several projects to help the History savers in thelocal community. Many Thanks! 11/17/17

February 2018 Page 6 of 12

Betsy Shoup with Dave Murray - EPCPA - 11/17/17

Marion Cody and June George - 11/17/17

John Wesley Anderson signs his book for DonaBymaster 11/17/17

Larry & Brenda Bishop - EPCPA - 11/17/17

Chuck and Andrene Harris at the 11/17/17EPCPA luncheon.

February 2018 Page 7 of 12

You Are The Sound and Picture of History

EPCPA members Peter Blaney and Dave Rickertare ready to video a story you have to tell for yourfamily and friends. They have done several ofthese and family reaction is good. We want to tellthese short tales that record a snippet of us forthem. Remember those old cameras that made afilm of family with no sound, well now we canhave your voice and you in sound and color!Peter Blaney 719-229-9471

The Gift of You!Ready Set Tell Your Story

To give your family the gift of a piece of familyhistory is a fun and happy thing that you can tellthem! Just think how you would like to hear andsee your Grandparents tell you a bit aboutthemselves! You are living history!Peter Blaney 719-229-9471

Yes we know we have Peter’s Ph. No. More thanonce! We want you to know how to be in touchso you can tell everyone your story!

Betsy Shoup asks for a photo of Len Schrad & LizRuiterman - 11/17/17

Video with Sound!!Your Voice!

Peter Blaney & Dave Rickert

Talk with these EPCPA Board members to see ifyou’d like to save some history in living color andsound. There will not be a charge for this unlessyou want to purchase copies. We want to savethese local stories to show and tell about life here.

I Know that you believe that youunderstand what you think I said,

BUTI am not sure you realize that what you

heard is not what I Meant!

Liz Ruiterman and Len Schrad - EPCPA- 11/17/17

February 2018 Page 8 of 12

UTE INDIAN PRAYER TREESOf the Pikes Peak Region

We purchased this great book at the Old ColoradoCity History Center in the gift shop. It is such apleasure to learn something about which we’d notheard about in a lifetime here!

John Wesley Anderson has given us a great historywith wonderful full color photographs that helpsgive us some understanding of this woody history. Well worth the price, this hardcover book woulddo as well as a coffee table book as it does as a finereference volume.

The 176 pages of this interesting book gives muchmore history than you might expect in a book withfull page color photos of these history trees. Whileit is scholarly work it is just as all education shouldbe, a pleasure to hold, to look through quickly andthen to read and to study.

John is quick to give credit to those who helpedwith the research and took him to see these historytrees. This is a book that will live in your heart forit is rich in history and gives what many of uscannot do in person, a walk in the forest with afriend!

Dorothy Marie Powers01/15/1931 - 12/25/2017

We shall miss them

there will be an empty chair.

The Powers Paver was paid for in advance of theirdeaths with extra money given to EPCPA so dateswill be added to the Paver at the appropriate time.

Dear Readers, it is a pleasure to see your

pictures and savor the privilege of your

friendship as we enjoy learning more of our

History each luncheon.

Thank You for your support and your help for

all of us who work for EPCPA!

Remember to shop at the Pioneers Museumgift shop as well as the Old Colorado CityHistory Center Shop and remember the PikesPeak Library District has shops!

This antlered fellow stopped by for a rest. We don’t ever putout food for these fine antlered friends because they need toeat natural foods. BJS

February 2018 Page 9 of 12

We found this re-print that the Gazette thoughtfully printed to be a wonderful reminder of the past. A good way to learn about our history! Thank You!

February 2018 Page 10 of 12

Renew your Membership! Give a gift membership! It will last a year.Contributing Member: $25 per member or $45 per couple _____________________Supporting Member: $50 per member or $90 per couple _____________________Sustaining Member: $75 per member or $135 per couple _____________________Patron Member: $100 per member or $180 per couple _____________________

Dues Plus!Additional Donation for Monument expenses ______________________ Thanks!

Make Checks payable to EPCPAPlease send your membership and or monument donation to:EPCPA, 4705 Brady Place, Co. Sp. CO 80915

Name__________________________________________________________________________

Address_____________________________________________ Apt No. _________________

City _______________________________ State ________ Zip Code_______________________

e-mail ___________________________________________Telephone _____________________

Check No. ________________ Amount __________________ Date_______________________

Clarene Gartin always with a wonderful smile! Thank you! 11/17/17

Vol. 24 No. 1February 2018

El Paso County Pioneers’ Association 4705 Brady Place Colorado Springs, CO 80915

Notice of Meeting and Luncheon Reservation Sheet

The Shop in the Pioneers Museum has something for everyone and at the right price.

Notice of Meeting and Luncheon Reservation SheetThe Friday, February 23, 2018 luncheon meeting of the El Paso County Pioneers’ Associationwill be held at the Eagles Aerie, 1050 South 21 Street, Co. Sp. CO, 80904st

Menu: Salad w/Italian Dressing, Square Rolls, Marinated Chicken Breast stuffed w/Bacon &Cheese, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Corn, Chocolate Cake.,

Speaker: Bowen Gillings“Civilian Conservation Corps in the Pikes Peak Region”Learn about the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Garden of theGods Park. presentation with Park Interpreter Bowen Gillings.

Doors open at 11:30, lunch is served at 12:00, the cost is $12.00 per person.Bring a friend to Lunch!Please remember that you must pay in advance! We need to get information to the kitchen.

Make Check payable to EPCPA - Mail to:EPCPA, 4705 Brady Place, Colorado Springs, CO 80915

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PLEASE RETURN THIS PORTION WITH YOUR CHECK BY February 17, 2018

EPCPA, 4705 Brady Place, Co. Sp. CO 80915Cost $12. ea. Your Check is your reservation. Thanks!

Name Telephone

Guest(s)

Ck. No._____________ Amt. $ ____________ Num. Reservations ________