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4th of July Events and a Century of Chevrolet

Patriotic attire for the bicyclist statue – Photo by Bud Rockhill – Click to enlarge

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

Jeffco Public Health will not update the stats until July 6th. This is where we stood as of Thursday, July 2nd: Cases in Jeffco: 2766 | Deaths in Jeffco: 212 | Ever Hospitalized in Jeffco: 425 | Recovered: 2367 | Known Cases in Golden: 114.

The Safer at Home and in the Vast, Great Outdoors protocol is in effect. City and County fire restrictions are in place. The City is requiring masks on public property unless you’re six feet apart and the Creek is fenced off. See the City’s website for more details….


Virtual Golden

The Lions Club will be broadcasting 4th of July content all day on their Facebook page, so visit them there. They have left several swag bags at local restaurants, and you can get one if you get there first! Drop by the following (early): Barrels and Bottles Brewery, Barrels & Bottles Brewery at Camp George West, El Dorado, Ace Hi Tavern, Woody’s Wood Fired Pizza, D’Deli, Bob’s Atomic Burgers.

Their online contests will include most patriotic pet, best at home face painting, best photo of a past July fireworks show, and best picture of you with your favorite beverage in Golden.


What’s Open:

8AM-1PM Farmers Market
8AM-1PM 11th Annual Very Fine Wheels Car Show at the VFW
9AM Yoga in Parfet Park with PranaTonic
9AM Walk with a Geologist at Dinosaur Ridge
10AM-2PM Homestead Open House at the Golden History Park

Live Music
1PM
 Austin Young Band at Dirty Dogs Roadhouse
4PM The Recyclers at Over Yonder Brewing
4PM Boomers at Wrigley’s
5PM Ryan Chrys and the Roughcuts at Dirty Dogs Roadhouse
6PM Tyler T & Sasha at Ace Hi Tavern
7PM Austin Williams & The Storytellers at Buffalo Rose

Most Golden restaurants will be open today, and many have lovely outdoor seating as well as take-out service. Several restaurants are offering special dishes in conjunction with the Lions Club celebration:

El Dorado – Golden Lions Plate
Ace Hi – The Lions Tail (a drink)
Barrels and Bottles – Golden Lions Lager
D’Deli – Golden Lions Club Sandwich
Bob’s Atomic Burger – Star Spangled Burger
Woody’s – ROAR pizza.

Many of the museums are open today. Check their websites for particulars about their crowd control and mask requirements. Some are set up to allow reservations for specific times.

9AM-5PM Colorado Railroad Museum
9AM-5PM Dinosaur Ridge
9AM-5PM Buffalo Bill Museum
11AM-2PM Golden History Museum

Foothills Art Center and the Quilt Museum are closed today. The Mines Museum is still closed for a major renovation.

City Parks and Trails are open, though you must wear a mask (unless you can guarantee 6′ distance from other people at all times).

Full Moon by Tom Schweich – Click to enlarge

There will be a FULL MOON tonight. It will rise at 8:27PM, reach the fullest point at 12:12AM, and set at 5:54AM tomorrow morning.

What’s Closed:

There will be no celebration in Lions Park this year, and there will be no fireworks display tonight.

The Creek will be closed all weekend.

The trails to North Table Mountain and South Table Mountain will be closed beginning at 5PM.

The roads and trails to Mount Zion/Lookout Mountain will be closed from 4-10:30PM.


Golden History Moment

Craig-Frederick Chevrolet, 13th and Ford Streets, 1950 – Click to enlarge

I found this ad in a magazine from 1950 and wondered when the Craig-Frederick Chevrolet dealership had started and when it ceased to exist. Here’s what I learned.

Advertisement from the Colorado Transcript, September 1, 1921Click to enlarge

In the early days of automobile sales, dealerships didn’t seem to come with territories, and several businesses in Golden sold Chevrolets. One of the first Chevrolet dealers in Golden was the Williams Transportation Company. This was run by “Cement Bill” Williams, who built the Lariat Loop road. If the building (shown in the middle of the ad) seems familiar, it may be because it’s still around, and now serves as Woody’s Pizza.

Advertisement from the February 26, 1925 Colorado Transcript

Fromhart, the former blacksmith, became the Golden Chevy dealer in 1923. He was located at 13th and Ford.

Ashton Chevrolet Co. at 12th and Washington – Golden History Museum Collection – Click to enlarge

Fromhart retired in about 1930, and Ralph Ashton took over the Golden dealership. At first, he rented the Everett building at 12th and Washington (currently home to Goozell Yogurt).

Ashton Chevrolet at 13th and Ford – Click to enlarge

In 1936, Ashton Chevrolet moved into the old Fromhart property at 13th and Ford Street. This location offered better access for their service department, and allowed room to add gas pumps.

Fred Craig and Steve Frederick bought the dealership in 1938. and at that point it became the Craig-Frederick Chevrolet Company. (That’s the picture that we started with, at the top of this article.) Craig left to start his own dealership in Lakewood in 1955, so thereafter it was “Steve Frederick Chevrolet.” In 1960, the showroom moved across the street, to 1221 Ford Street, though they kept their service department on the west side of Ford Street. In 1962, Steve Frederick withdrew from Golden to concentrate on his dealership in Boulder.

That’s when Chuck Stevinson became the Golden Chevy dealer. He remained at 13th and Ford until he moved to his current location at Indiana and Colfax (map) in 1973. The Stevinson family now has dealerships in Lakewood, Aurora, Littleton, and Longmont.


Many thanks to the Golden History Museum for providing the online cache of historic Transcripts, and many thanks to the Golden Transcript for documenting our history since 1866!

Highlights