Holiday Story Stroll
Yesterday, I wrote about the Olde Golden Christmas Holiday Story Stroll. You can either download the map or use an app on your cellphone. If you use the app, you earn points and may win prizes. I misspelled the name of the app: it’s SCAVIFY. Once you’ve installed the app, search for OLDE GOLDEN CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY STORY STROLL. Learn more….
Coronavirus/COVID-19
Public Health References
CDC * Colorado * Jefferson County * City of Golden
Jefferson County is at Level Red, “Severe Risk.” New stats will be posted on the Jeffco Public Health website tomorrow afternoon.
Mines COVID Testing | Jeffco Fairgrounds COVID Testing | School of Mines COVID-19 case page. | City and County fire restrictions | Sign up for exposure notifications.
Real World Golden
10:00AM Wild West Walking Tour
11AM-2PM Brunch at the Rose
12-5PM Holiday Art Market
Virtual Golden
Online Worship:
Calvary Episcopal Church | Faith Lutheran Church | First United Methodist Church | First Presbyterian Church | Flatirons Community Church | Golden Church of Christ | Golden Presbyterian Church | Hillside Community Church | Jefferson Unitarian Church | Rockland Community Church | St. Joseph Catholic Church
Theater
If attending a play is part of your holiday tradition, you’re in luck! Miners Alley Playhouse is offering two virtual performances that you can watch at home.
The Twelve Dates of Christmas
Written by Ginna Hoben
Directed by Kate Gleason
After seeing her fiancé kiss another woman at the televised Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mary’s life falls apart — just in time for the holidays. Over the next year, she stumbles back into the dating world, where “romance” ranges from weird and creepy to absurd and comical. It seems nothing can help Mary’s growing cynicism, until the charm and innocence of a five-year-old boy unexpectedly brings a new outlook on life and love. This heartwarming one-woman play offers a hilarious and modern alternative to the old standards of the holiday season. Purchase Ticket
A Christmas Carol
This hilarious, fast-paced adaptation uses only five actors to bring Dickens’ most beloved characters to life. From Scrooge and Tiny Tim to Bob Cratchit and Mrs. Fezziwig, A Christmas Carol uses nothing more than simple props, fun physicality, and the power of imagination to convey this timeless story of redemption. Witness Ebenezer Scrooge’s transformation from a stingy miser to a man who generously celebrates the spirit of the season all year long, in this brand new adaptation that is destined to become your favorite holiday celebration! Free On-Demand
Golden History Moment
Lumps of Dakota Fire-Clay
By Donna Anderson
Do this experiment: Google “best clay for pottery” and see how many hits you get. I got 18.2 million results in 0.64 seconds. Clay is a big deal if you make pottery! If you investigate further, you find that clay has huge variety. You may discover that the three different categories of pottery clay are earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. They withstand increasingly higher firing temperatures, with porcelain clay being the highest, at 2381° to 2455°F. Even more durable than porcelain clay is fire-clay, which withstands firing at more than 2759°F. With a very high aluminum content, fire-clay is really valuable. It is used not only for high-quality porcelain ceramics (Coors Rosebud dinnerware for example) but high-tech uses like spark-plugs, lab-ware, flak jackets, and missile nose-cones.
And guess what? Golden was blessed with very high-quality fire-clay in the Dakota Hogbacks on the north and south ends of town. In fact, that fire-clay helped Adoph Coors endure Prohibition from 1916 (it started earlier in Colorado) until repeal of the 18th Ammendment in 1933 and survive the Great Depression in general. Fire-clay was mined from the Dakota Hogbacks beginning in the late 1860s near Ralston Creek. Fire-clay was mined in the current Golden City limits between 1879 until 1953, even though mining for brick-clay in the Laramie Formation continued until 2001 (a future column). Raw Dakota fire-clay was used by Coors Porcelain (now world-renown CoorsTek) to manufacture many products, right in Golden.
A fortunate coincidence from fire-clay mining is uncovering a large number of dinosaur, crocodile, and bird tracks preserved in the Dakota sandstone interbedded with the fire-clay. Sandstone beds remained behind after the clay was mined out, creating the stark white cliffs so visible along the eastern sides of the Dakota Hogbacks in Golden. The left-behind sandstone beds contain world-famous track sites, some of which became part of the Morrison-Golden Fossil Areas national natural landmark. In addition, all of the former fire-clay mine areas in Golden are now dedicated Jeffco or Golden open space.
In 150 years those lumps of Dakota fire-clay became a modern amenity for Golden and Jeffco residents and fired up a world-renowned industry. That’s an impressive legacy.
Next time: Brick-Clay Builds Golden and Denver
Guest Columnist Donna Anderson and Paul Haseman are writing a book called “Golden Rocks!” about the geology and mining history of Golden, to be completed in early 2021 (delayed due to COVID!).
Van Sant, 1959, Refractory-clay deposits of Colorado: U.S Bureau of Mines Investigations 5583.
