What’s Happening in Golden Today?
9-10AM Women’s Exercise and Bible Study @ First United Methodist Church
9:15-9:45AM Baby Time @ Golden Library
10AM and 1PM Wild West Walking History Tour
10AM, 1PM and 4PM Wild West Short Tour
10-10:55AM Silver Sneakers Classic (Virtual)
10:15-10:45AM Preschool Time @ Golden Library
12-12:55PM All Levels Yoga (Virtual)
1-1:45PM Silver Sneakers Yoga (Virtual)
1:30PM Triad Senior Safety @ Jeffco District Attorney’s Office
6PM New World Disorder Movie Night @ Pedal Pushers Cyclery
6:30PM City Council Regular Business Meeting @ City Hall
Tonight’s consent agenda includes a resolution to approve a change order adding $900,000 to our concrete replacement program. This is due to the increased cost of concrete.
They will read a proclamation in honor of National Public Health Week.
Staff will update Council on the rollout of retail marijuana sales in Golden. Four locations have been approved:
• Golden Alternative Medicine at 511 Orchard Street (map)
• Outcrop Dispensary at 18475 West Colfax Avenue #140 (map)
• IgadI Dispensary at 791 Pine Ridge Road (map)
• The Fireplace at 17120 W. Colfax Avenue (map)
The Orchard Street location will be open quite soon (“late March or April”). The others are expected to open “approximately mid-year.”
They will consider an amendment to the Astor House lease. The tenant, Foothills Art Center, has encountered unexpected restoration costs involving the foundation and asbestos remediation. Council will be asked to approve a $500,000 allowance which will be paid back through larger lease payments in the future. Foothills is also requesting a forty year lease term instead of the thirty years in the current agreement.
In 2021, the City purchased the house at 1020 Archer Street for (map) $720,000. It is currently standing empty. Council will consider a resolution engaging Foothills Regional Housing Authority to rent it as an affordable housing unit. The City plans to demolish the house to make way for the Heart of Golden project, but probably not until 2025. The memo mentions that the City could make a similar agreement to rent other properties that it owns. I don’t know how many houses the City owns, but I do recall that they bought 230 Depot Street (map) for $545,000 at about the same time. That one is also slated for demolition for the Heart of Golden project.
They will vote on a set of sustainability rebates, as shown in the table above.
They will consider approval of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan for the City of Golden. This plan includes both physical assets (such as streets and sidewalks) and digital ones, including the City’s several websites.
They will hold a public hearing on an ordinance that would allow the City Manager to approve exceptions to noise limits for nighttime road work.
They will discuss a proposed ordinance concerning outdoor seating for bars and restaurants using the sidewalks, alleys, and parking lanes. This program is expected to change from previous years in that the stores will no longer be allowed to use the public right of way. They will hold a public hearing on this ordinance at the April 11th meeting.
After the regular business meeting, Council will adjourn into executive session (no public, no cameras) to provide their periodic evaluation of the City Manager’s performance.
To provide public comment on any of tonight’s topics (or any other topics), be prepared to speak at the beginning of the meeting (6:30PM) or send email to PublicComment@cityofgolden.net.
Live Music
6PM Karaoke with Linda @ Dirty Dogs Roadhouse
6PM Open Bluegrass Pick Night @ Over Yonder Brewing
Pub Games
6PM Trivia Tuesdays @ Golden Mill
6:30-8:30PM Team Trivia Tuesdays @ Buffalo Rose
6:30-8:30PM Bar Bingo Night @ VFW Post 4171
Golden History Moment
In honor of Women’s History Month, Councilor Paul Haseman contributed the following article:
Women of CoorsTek
by Guest Historian Paul Haseman
From its humble beginnings in 1910 in a warehouse at 600 9th Street, today CoorsTek is a $1.3B world leader in technical ceramics with 5900 employees in 35 locations, 11 countries and 13 states. Less well known was CoorsTek’s reliance on women employees.
As seen by this 1929 photo, the vast majority of its employees were women—quite a feat for 1929. But the predominance of women employees started even earlier. On February 16, 1916, the Transcript reported that most of the plant’s 48 employees were women. The need for women employees evolved as the business evolved.
While founder John Herold sought to produce low volume artistic ceramic pieces such as Herold’s “Gem of the Rockies,” Adolph Coors was more interested in volume and profit. He sought to move the company toward high production of porcelain kitchenware and by 1915 chemical/lab ware. With de-emphasis on John Herold’s fine artistic pieces, Herold departed back to his former home in Ohio and Herman Coors was the plant manager.
Coors hiring advertisements sought women. “Girls Wanted – Apply to Herold China & Pottery Co.” Transcript 3/8/1917. You might believe with cynicism that Coors wanted to employ women in order to pay them lower salaries. Au contrarie, mon ami. In fact, Coors paid equal or better wages to women with an annual bonus of a month’s pay. (Transcript 12/28/1916) Such bonuses were clearly a reward for good work, but more subtly a retention incentive.
Was Adolph Coors a champion of women’s rights? Surely, not. He was a smart, hard-nosed businessman and employed these women because he had to. Yes, for Coors Porcelain to flourish, Coors must have realized that these women had necessary skills lacking in a male workforce. As the plant evolved to higher tech products such as spark plugs and battery cells for the Denver Mint, these women skills came to the fore.
It’s my thinking that to a degree women have certain skills superior to men. These skills become a priority in a high production high-tech setting. These include finer motor skills (and smaller hands), patience, tolerance of tedium, and a detail orientation. The traits Coors recognized and sought in 1915 were the same strengths that were recognized by my company, Raytheon.
As an aside, in 2000 my boss Mr. Clare Carlson, at a Friday staff meeting asked why production of hybrid microcircuits had fallen. Our factory manager said that several of the women were out sick and that the women were the only ones who could do the assembly. Carlson, incensed, said he would come to work on the factory floor on Monday. At next Friday’s staff meeting, Carlson sheepishly admitted that he only lasted one day and to give the women a raise. (Smiles abounded). In certain high tech assembly position, same preference for women, same skills and same success (but not the same bonuses).
Among the successful women at early CoorsTek was the Company Secretary and Office Manager, Carrie Critchfield. Critchfield joined CoorsTek on 1 June 1924 as Carrie White and retired after 47 years on 30 September 1970. She is surely in the photo above. In April 1970 she became the first Coors-wide employee to receive a recognition plaque. Transcript 3/17/70. In addition to her management ability, she incidentally was elected in 1967 as the first woman City Councilor in Golden. She is emblematic of the many, many women that made and still make CoorsTek successful.
[Herold China and Pottery – 1910; Coors Porcelain – 1920; Coors Ceramics – 1986; CoorsTek – 2000]
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!
