This is the third of a 3-part series that I wrote about the then-disassembled Astor House after touring it in 2022.
The Astor House currently holds several stacks of lumber, which will be used in the renovation. In my tour last week, I studied this collection of nailed-together boards (a sign? a trapdoor?):
![](https://www.goldentoday.com/content/images/2024/02/wordpresswp-contentuploads202206AstorHouse-boardsnailedtogether-sm-rotated.jpg)
Of particular interest was a set of notations on one of the boards, dated 1932-1935. Apparently, Mrs. Goetze, the owner at the time, was recording her coal purchases.
![](https://www.goldentoday.com/content/images/2024/02/wordpresswp-contentuploads202206AstorHouse-coalrecords2.jpg)
The years ’34 and ’35 included an extra bit of information. They’re a little hard to read, but I think she was indicating who supplied the coal. This is reinforced by ads that ran in the Transcript in 1934 and 1935, which name some of the local coal sellers.
![](https://www.goldentoday.com/content/images/2024/02/wordpresswp-contentuploads202206CoalDealers-1935-sm.jpg)
So now we know that the Astor House purchased 14 tons of coal during the winter of 1934-1935–and where they bought it!
Thanks to the Golden History Museum for providing the online cache of historic Transcripts, and to the Golden Transcript for documenting our history since 1866!