Want to Be a Firefighter?
If you’re interested in joining the Fire Department, consider attending their open house today from 11AM-2PM.
Today’s Music
DIRTY DOGS ROADHOUSE – Tony Rosario, 12PM
WRIGLEY’S CHICAGO BAR & GRILL – Jewel & the Rough, 3-7PM
Monday Preview
The Historic Preservation Board will meet at 6:30 tomorrow evening in City Council Chambers. The Sherpa House (1518 Washington Avenue) wants to remove the 1600 sq ft kitchen addition at the back of their building and construct a new, 3000 sq ft kitchen. Although the building is not historically designated and not in a historic district, it is more than 50 years old, so they need to consult with the Historic Board. The second case for the evening involves the home at 1007 11th Street. The owners there want to build a new garage and accessory dwelling unit and make an addition to the main house. Since the house is included in the 12th Street Historic District, they are requesting a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Board. For more information, check the meeting packet….
1918 Review
2018 is the 100th anniversary of an influenza pandemic that killed “at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States,” according to the CDC. The first mention of the epidemic in Golden appeared in the September 26th Colorado Trancript.
September 26, 1918
There have been several cases of influenza in Golden in the past week and the public should take precautions to prevent an epidemic of the disease, according to Dr. Packard, city health officer. The disease affects the lungs chiefly, but is manifested by fever pains in the joints and some cough. There is headache, the eyes may be bloodshot and sensitive to light. The disease is transmitted by direct contact or indirectly through clothing, dishes, etc. No quarantine is required by law, but persons suffering from this disease should not attend any public meetings, picture shows, schools, churches, or visit back and forth with neighbors, says Dr. Packard.
October 10, 1918
Within two weeks, Transcript showed that the epidemic had taken a serious turn. In an emergency city council meeting, city leaders decided to “Take Steps to Prevent ‘Flu’ Epidemic — Schools, Churches, Shows and All Gathering Places Closed–Prompt Action to Check Spread of Disease.” Later editions of the paper showed that the schools stayed closed until November, briefly reopened, and then closed again when the epidemic flared up again.
Golden lost several people to this epidemic, including City Alderman Oscar Nolin and Businessman Henry Foss, who established the long-running Foss Drug Store. In December, the Armory Building was turned into a temporary hospital to care for influenza patients. The epidemic slowed and finally disappeared in 1919.
The November 13, 2018 Golden Beer Talk will focus on the 1918 “Spanish” Influenza epidemic–worldwide, nationwide, and here in Golden. You should plan to attend!
The Golden Transcript (originally called the Colorado Transcript) has been publishing since 1866. The Golden History Museum has been working on digitizing the old issues, and they’re currently up to June of 1948. You’ll find old Transcripts online at coloradohistoricnewspapers.org. You can contribute to the cost of the digitizing project with a donation to the Golden History Museum.
