Skip to content

Search the site

A Spectacular View, Art Trivia, and Wartime Doings

Golden Eye Candy – Patrick Klein – Drone’s Eye View, Looking North – click to enlarge

Virtual Events

6-6:55AM Virtual Dynamic Circuit
8:30-9:30AM Virtual Power Training
10:15AM Spanish Story Time with the Library
11AM-12PM All Levels Yoga Virtual
2-3PM Active Minds Mondays- South Africa
4-4:30PM Kids Martial Arts Class
5-6PM Young Readers Book Club


Real World Events

5-9PM Golden Game Guild Meet-Up Mondays @ Golden Game Guild
6:30PM GURA Board Meeting @ City Hall
GURA will discuss the South Neighborhoods Plan and the Zoning Code rewrite.

7-8PM ARTSWEEK Golden:  Art Trivia @ Buffalo Rose
The Buffalo Rose is donating 10% of their sales today to Foothills Art Center. Enjoy a meal or a drink any time between 11AM and 10PM to support Foothills, or join them from 7-8PM this evening to try your hand at ART TRIVIA, hosted by the museum’s curator!


Golden History Moment

Golden resident William Sauter, in his World War I army uniform – Golden History Museum collection

104 Years Ago
The United States entered World War I in April of 1917, when Congress declared war on Germany. Men between the ages of 21 and 31 were required to register for the draft by June 5th of that year. This would have included many Colorado School of Mines students, who were all required to take military training.

Golden’s City Park – excerpt from photo X-9810, Denver Public Library Western History Collection – click to enlarge

The July 12, 1917 Colorado Transcript was full of wartime news. The lead article announced that DRAFTING MAY START LAST OF THIS WEEK. The article stated that draft numbers would be drawn by a blindfolded officer, to ensure fairness. The Engineering unit that included Mines students wasn’t waiting for the draft. They had already begun to mobilize, and planned to set up a camp for 650 soldiers in Golden’s City Park. An infantry company was already billeted in the Armory.

A cavalry company had been stationed in Golden for several weeks, but was about to be transferred to Overland park. The Transcript commented:

Golden people greatly regret to see the boys leave this city, as it has been a genuine pleasure to have them here. They are a fine bunch of fellows, and leave many friends here. The boys also regret to leave Golden, and they have asked this paper to express their appreciation of the treatment accorded them by Golden people during their stay here.

The cavalry recruits were evidently self-policing, as shown by still another article in that edition:

Fresh Rookie Gets Ducking
One of the new recruits to the cavalry company that has been stationed in Golden got fresh the other day, and when a Golden girl walked up the street he accosted her with “Hello, Kiddo.” Some of the other soldiers heard the remark, and didn’t do a thing to the fresh one but take him down to the creek and throw him into the deepest part. They told him the soldiers didn’t stand for that kind of talk, and he probably absorbed the lesson, as well as considerable Clear creek water.


Thanks to the Golden History Museum for funding the online collection of historic newspapers.

Highlights