Daylight saving time is over. Did you remember to reset your clocks? Today’s sunrise will happen at 6:32 AM and sunset comes at 4:54PM. We will have 10 hours and 22 minutes of daylight today. The days will grow shorter until the winter solstice on December 21st. Source.
The Colorado Transcript from 100 years ago this week shows no indication that we knew we were only one week away from the end of World War I. The lead article was entitled “Work or Fight Says City Council.” At the most recent City Council meeting, an ordinance had been passed requiring that all able bodied men in Golden between the ages of 16 and 61 must either get a job or go to war. The ordinance stated that “idlers and slackers are during this crisis a reproach upon and menace to the safety of our people.”
Other articles concerned the war work campaign, local boys being drafted, and appeals to support the Red Cross. Several advertisements reminded readers to Buy Liberty Bonds.
The influenza epidemic was still raging. There was a brief article stating that officials at the recent election wore flu masks, and another reporting that Golden schools and shows would remain closed until the epidemic retreated. Several locals were reported either sick or dead from influenza.
The first week in November 1918, was a dark time in Golden, but things were to improve soon. On November 11th, an Armistice was signed with Germany, and Golden went wild in celebration. I’ll write about that next week.
One of the ways that Golden commemorated the Armistice was to bury a time capsule in 1918, to be disinterred 50 years later. In 1968, we dutifully dug it up. (Unfortunately, we have few records as to what it contained.) We also filled a new time capsule with instructions to open it 50 years later, in 2018.
Next Sunday at 11AM the Golden History Museum will open the 1968 time capsule. Let’s all plan to be there, and see what it contains. Then join the discussion as to what we’ll bury in the next time capsule, to be opened in 2068!
If you want to learn more about World War I, plan to attend the lecture this Thursday, November 8th at the History Museum–World War I: Making the World Safe for Democracy.
If you want to learn more about the Influenza Epidemic, plan to attend this month’s Golden Beer Talk on Tuesday November 13th, when Frank Blaha will tell us about “The Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918.”
