Virtual Events
9-9:55AM Silver Sneakers Classic
10:15AM Toddler Time with the Library
5:30-6:25PM HIIT & Sculpt
Real World Events
1-3PM Hexie Ladies @ Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum
Love English Paper Pieced quilts….have a project started or want to learn to paper-piece? This is the group for you. Come share your current project or learn from others in this low-key meeting where EPP enthusiasts meet for inspiration. Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month. RMQM is still following current social distancing guidelines. Please wear a mask. Time: 1-3pm. No registration required at this time.
4-10PM Prime Tuesdays at the Buffalo Rose
Prime Rib – Who can resist 10 oz. of Angus beef cooked to perfection and served with gouda mashed potatoes, savory green beans, and all the accompaniments?
Dogs – On Tuesdays only, you and your Doggo and all of your friends can hang out on ANY of our three patios, including the positively perfect back patio. Come enjoy our Tuesday Specials with your Best Dog Ever.
Locals are Golden – A “periodic” visit will earn our Golden locals, students and service industry folks a 79 cent Coors Light or Coors Banquet on Tuesdays.
Dana Moran
Many of my readers will remember Dana Moran, who worked so tirelessly to establish both the Solar Energy Resource Institute (now the National Renewable Energy Laboratory) and the Golden Visitors Center. He and his wife Shirley moved to California twelve years ago, to be closer to their daughter Kelly. I visited Dana about three years ago, after Shirley’s passing. He missed his friends in Golden but was happy with his new community in California. I’m sorry to report that Dana died at age 94 in July. You can learn more or post photos and stories on their memorial website.
Golden History Moment
From starting out with a 25-foot storefront with a few used hunting knives and little else for merchandise, Joe Meyer hasn’t done too badly in the hardware business in Golden. But don’t call it a hardware store anymore. It’s Meyer Home Center now. And the cavernous new store in Downtown Golden is as different from that first tiny shop as a supermarket is from a farmer’s vegetable stand. Golden Transcript – September 5, 1973
48 Years Ago
On this date in 1973, the extended Meyer family was celebrating the grand opening of their new Home Center. They wanted all of Golden to join in the fun, and were offering spectacular prizes in their store drawings. The store has been one of Golden’s great commercial success stories, but now the Meyers’ grandson, Steve Schaeffer, is ready to retire. (He’s offering some spectacular prizes of his own, so I hope you’ve been in to register for the drawing!)
Originally published September 30, 1920
75 Years Ago
1945 was a good year for Golden. That’s when Joe and Ruby Meyer came to Golden, and bought the old Sarell Hardware business.
I wrote about the Sarells last week: they were a father, son, and grandson team who sold hardware in Golden from the mid-1860s until the mid-1940s. William Sarell and his son Raymond both died in May of 1944. After that, a series of rapid transitions occurred.
October 1944 – Leo Ihme purchased the building (1112 Washington Ave.) and stock of the hardware store.
November 1944 – Imhe began selling off the valuable “pre-war hardware.” He sold the building to Ernie Son.
January 1945 – Ernie Son took possession of the building and had it wired for electricity. Imhe had sold the remaining hardware inventory to a Dr. Leslie. Leslie, in turn, sold the hardware to Ernie Son.
Mr. Son had been a long-time employee of The Golden Mercantile–the grocery store at 12th and Washington–before buying his own business. In July 1945, the owners of the Golden Mercantile offered to lease their entire business to Son, so he decided to return to the grocery business and sell the former Sarell Hardware store.
July 12, 1945 Colorado Transcript headline – “E. G. Son Hardware Store Sold to Joe Meyer of Nebraska”
Joe and Ruby Meyer came to Golden from Nebraska, where they had operated a grain and feed business. They had one daughter—Marilyn—who was nine years old at the time of their move. They held their Grand Opening celebration on September 14th and 15th, 1945. Their plan was to sell “hardware, sporting goods, house wares, electrical appliances, auto supplies, paints and toys.”
In an interview in 1974, Joe Meyer commented that most of the inventory had been sold off prior to his purchase, so they sold whatever they could get. “About all we had to sell at first were a few used hunting knives and a little other stuff.”
The Meyers were an enterprising pair. They continually remodeled, modernized, and expanded their store. They added new product lines, including appliances and televisions. They increased their sales space by expanding into first 1110 Washington Avenue and later 1114 Washington Avenue.
In 1954, the Meyer’s daughter Marilyn married Harold Schaefer. Mr. Schaefer was serving in the Air Force at the time of their marriage, but later joined the family firm. To be continued….
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!
