Golden History Class, CBAC, Planning Commission, the Hound of the Baskervilles, and Votes for Women

*Golden Eye Candy – Wildfire Sunrise – Jesse Crock Art – Click to enlarge*

Public Health References
CDC * Colorado * Jefferson County * City of Golden

JCPHD updates these numbers Monday through Friday at about 3 PM. Here’s the most recent Coronavirus report from Jeffco Public Health’s Case Summary Page:

Jefferson County mask rule: masks must be worn both indoors and outdoors in public spaces where 6 feet distance cannot be maintained. This matches Golden’s requirement. The rest of the state requires masks only indoors. The Safer at Home and in the Vast, Great Outdoors protocol is in effect statewide. City and County fire restrictions are in place.

OLLI

Oscher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) is a nationwide program offering classes to people aged 50 and more. Members can take as many classes as they like for a single fixed price of $130/term. They are accepting registrations for the fall term right now (and some classes are already full)!

I will be teaching a Golden History class on Thursday afternoons from Sept 17th -October 15th. I hope some of my readers will sign up! Learn more here…. Any questions? Send me a note at barb@goldentoday.com.

Virtual Golden

7:30-9AM Citizen Budget Advisory Committee Meeting
CBAC will discuss COVID effects on our revenue and expenses and will review a draft of revenue projections for next two years.
9-10AM Virtual Power Training
10:15-11:15AM Let’s Dance with the Library
5:30-7PM Golden Orators Toastmasters
6-8PM Wednesday Watch Party with the Library: The Hound of the Baskervilles
6:30PM Planning Commission Study Session
The Planning Commission will decide which bike and pedestrian improvement should be prioritized this year.

Real Life Golden

9AM Golden Walks
3:30-5:30PM Vaccine, License & Microchip Clinic at Foothills Animal Shelter

Live Music:
7PM Shawn Nelson at Buffalo Rose

Golden History Moment

Yesterday (August 18th) was the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote. So how was this news greeted in Golden? With detached interest…the fact is, women in Colorado had had the vote since 1893. Their first presidential election was the 1896 contest between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan.

Many of the western states were early adopters of female suffrage. Some states–including Colorado–began by allowing women to vote in school board elections. That worked well, so the question of voting in all elections was given more serious consideration. Much of the discussion on this issue focused on the “purifying” effect that women could have on politics. It was assumed that women would vote for virtuous issues such as temperance and against vice and corruption. Of course, not everyone wanted curbs on drinking, child labor, prostitution, and gambling; that’s why female suffrage took so long to pass.

This was not a local issue. The Transcript regularly posted articles about the status of women’s voting rights in various states as well as other countries. The suffrage movement was extensive, well-coordinated, and persisted through decades.

In the 1893 election, Jefferson County’s men voted 842 for female suffrage and 515 against. Golden voted 276 for and 159 against. The Transcript commented:

The large vote in favor of woman’s suffrage is a surprise to all the ladies, especially in this county, where it was fully expected a majority would be cast against it. According to present appearances they hardly know what to do with it now they have got it, but they will find a way to handle it, never you fear. — Colorado Transcript, November 15, 1893

*March to the Ballot Box in 2015, including Girl Scouts and Brownies – Photos by Dave Powers – Click to enlarge*

Some men had voted for the issue thinking that having more voters would give us more representatives in Congress. They were mistaken–representation is based on total population, not the number of voters. (That’s why the census count is important.)