WHAT’S HAPPENING IN GOLDEN TODAY?
9-9:55AM Silver Sneakers Classic (Virtual)
9:15-9:45AM Baby Time @ Golden Library
10-10:30AM Call In: Mid-Morning Meditation (Virtual)
10-12PM DeLong Park Weed Busters @ DeLong Park
10AM Wild West Walking Tour
10AM and 1PM Wild West Short Tour
11:30AM-1PM Library for All @ Golden Library
2-9PM Raise a Pint, Lend a Hand @ Holidaily Brewing
10% of today’s beer sales will go to Golden Women in Business
5-9PM 5 Years of Coda Beers @ Coda Brewing Company
5:30PM Cornament @ Barrels & Bottles Camp George West
6PM Run Club @ Runners Roost
6PM CSM Football – Orediggers vs Grand Valley State @ Marv Kay Stadium
6-8PM Woodworking Workshop – Build Your Own Flight Board @ Over Yonder Brewing
6PM Happy Hour and Potluck with Big Hooray Bluegrass @ Golden Community Garden
7PM Tapping Into Your Financial Potential @ OnTap Credit Union
7:30PM Avenue Q: The Musical @ Miners Alley Playhouse
SEE THE COMPLETE CALENDAR OF EVENTS.
MONTH-END APPEAL
Many thanks to the people who sponsored this email for the month of August. If you find it valuable, interesting, or fun, please consider sponsoring us for the month of September. Click here to find out how.
LIVE MUSIC
5-8PM Andre LaMott @ Golden Mill
5-8PM Tony Hannah @ Coda Brewing
5-9PM Josh Blackburn @ Wrigley’s
5:30PM Aural Deception @ Dirty Dogs Roadhouse
5:30PM Teague Starbuck @ Mountain Toad
6-9PM CW Wooten @ Buffalo Rose (Sky Bar Stage)
6PM Selasee & the Fafa Family @ New Terrain Brewing
7-10PM Deer Creek Sharpshooters @ Columbine Cafe
8PM Karaoke @ Rock Rest Lodge
GOLDEN HISTORY MOMENT
44 Years Ago (and 144 Years Ago)
The August 31, 1979 Golden Transcript celebrated 100 years of telephone service in Golden. The article recalled how two telephone companies–Bell and Edison–raced to install telephone lines between Denver and Golden.
Bell Telephone began the work in Denver at 8:30AM on September 1, 1879 and reached Golden at 7PM. By 7:30 that evening, they had placed their first call to Denver. Colorado Edison completed their wiring and placed their first call ten minutes later.
The neck-and-neck competition was exciting, but short-lived. By December of 1879, Edison’s telephone company had retreated from Golden, leaving us with Bell Telephone as our sole provider.
Sources: September 3, 1879 Colorado Transcript and September 2, 1954 Colorado Transcript
Thirty-five subscribers signed up for Golden’s new service at a cost of $60/year for businesses and $48/year for residences. The town quickly grew to appreciate it. Less than a month after the phones were installed, the Transcript wrote these words of praise:
The Golden Telephone Dispatch Co. is now one of the solid institutions of our city, and one that we could hardly get along without, even after our short experience of its usefulness.
The article concluded with comments on the impressive growth of the service. From the initial 35 subscribers, Golden’s central office had grown to 4,721 lines on the 278 exchange and 6,869 with 279 numbers.
There have been seismic changes to the telephone industry in the 44 years since that article was written. Mountain Bell became US West, which gave way to Qwest, which became CenturyLink–the current provider of landlines in the Golden area. But at a time when consumers are more and more reliant on phones, the local phone company is less and less essential.
According to the Washington Post, only about one quarter of U. S. households still have a landline, and only 2% have only a landline!
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!
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AUGUST SPONSORS: Buffalo Rose, Buglet Solar, Foothills Art Center, Golden City Brewery, Golden Cultural Alliance, Golden History Museum, Golden Super Cruise, Miners Alley Playhouse, The Golden Mill, Golden Chamber of Commerce, Golden History Tours, Morris & Mae Market, Miners Saloon, Joy and Jack Brandt, Tom Reiley
Contributors: Greg Poulos, Vic DeMaria, Cynthia Merrill Tamny, Barry and Liz Bettis, Steve Enger
Ongoing Monthly Supporters:
Tall Pines Painting, Baby Doe’s Clothing, Golden Community Garden, Carol & Doug Harwood, Jennings & Litz, Bill Fisher, Brian Quarnstrom, Casey & Gina Brown, Cheryl & Tom Schweich, Robert Storrs, Karen Smith, Sandy Curran, Paul Haseman, Michele Sannes, Kathy Smith, Crystal Culbert, Pat Madison, Donna Anderson, Ann Pattison, Carol & Don Cameron, Tom Hughes, Emeline Paulson, Susan Gray, David Smith, Karen Oxman, Laura King & Scott Wilson, Bill Sedgeley, Mariane Erickson, Carol Abel, Dot & Eric Brownson, Ann Norton & Jonathan Storer, Deb Goeldner, Rosemary Coffman, Jim & LouAnne Dale, Francine Butler, Elaine Marolla, Dixie Termin & Ron Miller, John & Andi Pearson, Chris Ball, Tom Hoffman, Patrick & Lisa Vitry, Alice Madison & Jim Kalivas, Lora Haimes, and Nancy & Carlos Bernal
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