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Member Directory
CHERRY CREEK VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
Founded in 1975
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Member Directory
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Member Directory
Volume XXXXI, No.1January, 2015
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NEXT MEETING:
Saturday January 24, 2015
1:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Aurora History Museum
15051 E. Alameda Pkwy., Aurora 80012
Jennifer Kuehner’s
A History of Trolleys
Jennifer Kuehner, who is the Aurora History Museum’s Executive Director and interim Education Curator, will present an interesting and entertaining program on the history of trolley cars in the Denver-Aurora area. She will then show us the recently built Ruth Fountain Gallery and the renovated 1913 trolley trailer housed inside. We will be able to board the car, sit inside, and walk through this beautifully restored part of local history. According to the city’s website, “This brightly painted yellow and red trolley trailer sits in the center of the Ruth Fountain Gallery and invites visitors to enter and experience a virtual historic ride down Colfax.” Ruth Fountain is a CCVHS member who has contributed immensely to the City of Aurora for over 50 years.
Ms. Kuehner has a degree in history from Colorado College and a master’s degree from George Washington University in teaching with a specialty in museum education. She grew up in Aurora and graduated from Overland High School. After 25 years working in museums in New Mexico, Washington DC, and Illinois, she returned to Aurora in 2007.
OFFICER ELECTIONS
At this Annual Meeting we will also hold the elections of our president, vice-president, and assistant secretary-treasurer (two-year terms). Our current president Garry O’Hara has agreed to run for this office again; Peter Faris has agreed to run for vice-president; and our current vice-president Will Sear has agreed to run for assistant secretary-treasurer. Please contact Garry (303-751-3140) if you wish to run for any of these positions or if you want to nominate someone for an office (after getting that person’s approval).
The Aurora History Museum is located in the City of Aurora government complex on the north side of Alameda just west of Chambers Road. There is a museum parking area along Alameda (available only for westbound traffic); you can also park in front of the courthouse and walk a short distance east to the museum.
TROLLEY MOVE TO THE AURORA HISTORY MUSUM
Below are photos of the September move of the refurbished trolley trailer No. 610 from a warehouse north of Buckley Air Force Base to the Aurora History Museum. Pictures courtesy of the Denver Post.
TREASURER’S REPORT
The following are the Cherry Creek Valley Historical Society’s unaudited financial statements for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014. This year the Society had a number of changes in its financial operation.
Description of Activity Funds
The Friends of 17 Mile House dissolved this year and gave their remaining fund balance of $4,542 to the Society to be used only for activities related to 17 Mile House. The Society also began fund raising efforts at 17 Mile House in conjunction with the Open Houses we have been hosting. These funds are tracked and reported separately to provide accountability to Arapahoe County. These funds are restricted to support activities at 17 Mile House. These funds have been used to purchase furniture and fixtures including the window treatments at 17 Mile House. The Society also had a successful fund raising event at Melvin School House. While these funds do not have a legal obligation to be tracked separately, the Board agreed that these funds should be segregated and used primarily in support of the Melvin School House Museum & Library. The Society also has been tracking the Clarice Crowle Fund. This fund was set up to account for specific memorial donations received to support the Melvin School House Museum & Library in Clarice Crowle’sname. These funds require Board approval to be expended. To date these funds have been used to purchase the signs denoting the Clarice and Fred Crowle Memorial Library that is stored in the Melvin School House Museum. There was no activity in this fund during 2014. The CCVHS general fund is used to account for the donations and all non-restricted financial activities.
Financial Highlights
The total asset base for the Society’s increased by 119% from $3,882 to $8,508. The bulk of this increase was the one time event of receiving the fund balance from the Friends of 17 Mile House as a restricted donation.
The postage expense accounts for 27% of the General Fund expense: Printing (both general and for the Quill) accounts for an additional 22%, for a combined total of 49% of the General Fund expenses. The chart below shows the 2014 expenses by category.
Comparative Statement of Net AssetsDecember 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013
December, 31 / December, 31 / Increase/
2014 / 2013 / (Decrease)
Assets
Petty Cash / $ / 50 / $ / - / $ / 50
Cash in Bank / 8,414 / 3,882 / 4,532
Prepaid Expense / 44 / - / 44
Total Assets / $ / 8,508 / $ / 3,882 / $ / 4,658
Liabilities
Accounts Payable / $ / - / $ / - / $ / -
Total Liabilities / - / - / -
Net Assets
Clarice Crowle Fund / 216 / 216 / -
17 Mile House Fund / 176 / - / 176
Friends of 17 Mile House / 4,517 / - / 4,517
Melvin School Fund / 123 / - / 123
Unrestricted / 3,476 / 3,666 / (190)
Total Net Assets / $ / 8,508 / $ / 3,882 / $ / 4,625
Comparative Statement of Activities
For the Fiscal Years ended December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013
Year Ended / Year Ended
December, 31 / December, 31 / Percentage
2014 / 2013 / Change
Revenue
Memberships / $ / 895 / $ / 1,090 / -17.9%
Fund Raising / - / 315 / -100.0%
Donations / 122 / - / 100.0%
Grants/Awards / 250 / - / 100.0%
Sales / 814 / - / 100.0%
Friends of 17MH / 4,542 / - / 100.0%
Other / - / 305 / -100.0%
Total Revenue / 6,623 / 1,710 / 287.2%
Expenses
Quill -& Printing / 203 / 607 / -66.5%
Postage / 243 / 262 / -7.5%
Speaker Fees / 25 / 25 / 0.0%
Safe deposit box fee / 50 / 45 / 11.1%
Supplies / 147 / 148 / -1.0%
Memberships / 140 / 210 / -33.3%
State Filing fees / 10 / 10 / 0.0%
Smokey Hill Trail Lunch / - / 152 / -100.0%
Melvin School Expense / - / 393 / -100.0%
17 Mile House Expense / 912 / 214 / 327.2%
Book sale-Author Cost / - / 100 / -100.0%
Donations / 100 / - / 100.0%
Website / 44 / - / 100.0%
Archives / 123 / - / 100.0%
Meeting expense-Regular / - / 85 / -100.0%
Total Expense / 1,997 / 2,252 / -11.3%
Increase (decrease) in net assets / 4,626 / (542) / -160.0%
Net Assets - beginning of year / 3,882 / 4,425 / -12.3%
Net Assets - end of year / $ / 8,508 / $ / 3,882 / 119.1%
The Fund Activity Statement shows the breakdown of the revenues and expenses for fiscal year 2014 by fund (please see fund descriptions on the previous pages).
2014 CCVHS Fund Activity for Fiscal Year ended December 31, 2014Revenue Source / CCVHS General Fund / 17 Mile House Fund / Friends of 17 Mile House / Melvin School Fund / Clarice Crowle Fund / Total all Funds
Beginning Balance / $ 3,666 / $ - / $ - / $ - / $ 216 / $ 3,882
Revenue Source
Member Dues / $ 895 / $ - / $ - / $ - / $ - / $ 895
Donations / - / 122 / - / - / - / 122
Grants/Awards / - / 250 / - / - / - / 250
Sales (note 1) / - / 691 / - / 123 / - / 814
Friends of 17MH / - / - / 4,542 / - / - / 4,542
Total Revenue / $ 895 / $ 1,063 / $ 4,542 / $ 123 / $ - / $ 6,623
Expenditures
Quill - Printing / $ 94 / $ - / $ - / $ - / $ - / $ 94
CCVHS Printing / 110 / - / - / - / - / 110
Postage / 243 / - / - / - / - / 243
Speaker Fees / 25 / - / - / - / - / 25
Safe deposit box fee / 50 / - / - / - / - / 50
Friends of 17MH Expense / - / 25 / - / - / 25
17MH furniture & Fixtures / - / 282 / - / - / - / 282
17MH Supplies / - / 129 / - / - / - / 129
17MH COGS (note 1) / - / 476 / - / - / - / 476
Supplies / 147 / - / - / - / - / 147
Fees / 10 / - / - / - / - / 10
Member ships / 140 / - / - / - / - / 140
Donations / 100 / - / - / - / - / 100
Website Expense / 44 / - / - / - / - / 44
Archives / $ 123 / $ - / $ - / $ - / $ - / $ 123
Total Expenditures / $ 1,085 / $ 887 / $ 25 / $ - / $ - / $ 1,997
Ending Balance / $ 3,476 / $ 176 / $ 4,517 / $ 123 / $ 216 / $ 8,508
Note 1. 17 Mile House Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) represents the costs of the books, cards, and all other items sold at 17 Mile House. The sale of these items is reported under the Revenue section. The net profit for the 17 Mile House fund was $216.
Please contact Kevin Sear, the CCVHS Treasurer at (303) 594-8626 or if you have any questions about the 2014 financial statements.
DISBANDING OF THE FRIENDS OF 17-MILE HOUSE, INC.
Garry O’Hara and the other available ex-officers of the Friends of 17 Mile House, Inc. have agreed formally to dissolve the organization as a Colorado501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. The Friends has been inactive because there have been no dues-paying members and no meetings for a number of years.
We are glad to report that the Cherry Creek Valley Historical Society has assumed all the functions that the Friends set out to accomplish when it formed in 2002. This has been especially true since the 17 Mile House Farm Park opened to the public in 2012. The Arapahoe County Open Spaces department has entrusted CCVHS with interpreting and disseminating the history of the property, and we have vigorously taken on this role.
The Friends’ fund balance has been transferred to CCVHS, with the restriction that the Friends’ funds be accounted for separately and be restricted to expenditures for the 17 Mile House Farm Park. Ownership of the physical artifacts that have been donated to the Friends (asapplicable) for use in the 17 Mile House or barn has also been transferred to CCVHS.
MEMBER NEWS
Our condolences go to Susan Knapp whose father Elmer Knapp died on December 14. We remember Elmer for his help with the large tent for our teachers’ workshops along Cherry Creek.
Gary Wolf reports that he is doing well after a knee replacement.
We thank member David Willman for his generous renewal at the supporting level.
CCVHS ACTIVITIES FOR 2015
A list of proposed CCVHS activities and approximate dates will be sent to members in an upcoming email. It’s not too late to give Garry(303-751-3140) your suggestions as to field trips and programs for the coming year. (One occasion to be celebrated this year is the 40th anniversary of the Cherry Creek Valley Historical Society!)
VISIT TO DeLANEY FARM
On September 6th Aurora History Museum director Jennifer Kuehner gave several CCVHS members a guided tour of DeLaney Farm, a 160-acre Historic District that is part of Aurora’s open space northeast of the corner of Chambers Road and Alameda Parkway. It is preserved by the City of Aurora and represents early rural life on the Colorado eastern plains. The landmarks on DeLaney Farm are the 1866 Gully Homestead House, the 1902 Round Barn, and the 1928 Coal Creek Schoolhouse. (The schoolhouse was recently moved from a site nearby and will be restored at a later date.) Initially the farm of John DeLaney, an Irish immigrant, the original farm house has been restored as an administrative and maintenance building.
We went inside the Gully house (Aurora Landmark #3), which is the oldest surviving house in Aurora. In 1982 the house was restored after being moved to the DeLaney property from its original location a mile south. Like John DeLaney, John Gully was from Ireland and raised cattle and horses. With Toll Gate Creek running through the property, John and Bridget DeLaney also operated the Toll Gate Stage Station on the northern branch of the Smoky Hill Trail.
We also got to enter the Round Barn (Aurora Landmark #9), which may be the last surviving round barn in Colorado. A grain silo that was converted into a cow barn, it was undoubtedly built by an unknown master craftsman. It now houses a very interesting exhibit on agriculture and dairy farming in the Aurora area. The Round Barn was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
OCTOBER 2014 PROGRAM
Peter Faris has studied western American rock art for over 30 years. A former vice-president of CCVHS, he is the founding president of the Colorado Rock Art Association. On October 3rd he gave us an outstanding presentation titled “Rock Inscriptions as Historic Documents.” In his words, “Rock inscriptions provide records of historic events in many cases just as surely as a traveler’s diary, and when combined with other sources, can add depth and enrichment to the story of the past.” Although worldwide rock art has been discovered dating from prehistoric times, for our program Peter concentrated on rock inscriptions in the western U.S. in the 1800s. A partially eroded inscription on a sandstone boulder in eastern Wyoming reads “Co E 11 - OVC 1864,” which translates to “Company E, 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, 1864.” This engraving is a soldier’s record that his military unit was present about 45 miles east of Casper about 150 years ago. We know that a battalion of the 6th OVC arrived in Wyoming in 1862 and was later combined with a second battalion to form the 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. The city of Fort Collins, Colorado, was named for the 11th’s commander, Lt. Col. William Collins; the town of Casper, Wyoming, was named for his son, Lt. Caspar Collins, who was killed near there in a fight with Cheyennes in 1865. (The post office later changed “Caspar” to “Casper.”)
Peter also showed us a photo of a soldier’s carving from Baca County in far southeast Colorado that reads “J. O’Hare Co. I 5th Cav.” This coincides with the known location of this unit in December 1868 as part of Gen. Sheridan’s winter campaign against southern plains Indians. The inscription is in a rock shelter in Soldier Canyon near Freezeout Canyon, which is appropriately named because Mr. O’Hare and his fellow soldiers almost froze to death while huddled in the rock shelter during a blizzard. (Not present with this group of troops were “Buffalo Bill” Cody and “Wild Bill” Hickok, who were scouts for Sheridan’sexpedition.)
We were shown other significant inscriptions, including one probably carved by Kit Carson. We also learned the difference between a pictograph (a rock painting or drawing) and a petroglyph (a rock engraving or carving).
Mr. Faris demonstrated convincingly that rock inscriptions can truly serve as historic documents, records that are too often overlooked by historians. Thank you, Peter, for an enlightening and interesting presentation.
17 MILE HOUSE NEWS
Although the 17 Mile House Farm Park has been open to the public for only two years, the place has become a wonderful example of using open space to the fullest. Our monthly open houses at the Farm Park continue to be well attended. According to Karen Sear, who is the CCVHS contact for 17 Mile House Farm Park, 17 Mile House volunteers spent a total of 1275 hours on activities at the property in 2014. This includes volunteer work for 11 monthly open houses, archiving and accessioning, house and barn cleaning, curtain installation, furniture acquisition, the Arapahoe County Fall Festival and Shareback events, and seven school classes that numbered at least 200 students. All of this is possible because of the support from Glen Poole, Bill Bauer, Derwin Milton, Bob Emanuel, Jim Lamb, and the other staff members of Arapahoe County Open Spaces for making the 17 Mile House Farm Park the success it is today. They’ve readily responded to all our requests and have been an extremely easy group to work with. We especially thank you, Derwin, for setting up the office in the House.We heartily thank our 17 Mile House volunteers for putting in so many hours last year and for helping to make 2014’s open houses and Fall Festival extremely successful:
Christine Kastens / Karen Sear / Leon LinkPaige Kastens / Kevin Sear / Sherrie Wolf
Emily Kastens / Garry O'Hara / Gary Wolf
Jackson Kastens / Vonnie C'deBaca / Amanda Vaughan
Hannah Sear / Shirley Miller / Emily Vaughan
Ruth Dolan / Elaine Plym / Brice Culhane
Jack Race / Carol Epps / Angela Moreno
Nita McKnight / Bonnie Bowman / Patricia Shaver
Herb McKnight / William Sear / Katherine Plym
Loyd Link / Charlotte Faris / Mary Louise Link
This was the first year of 17 Mile House Farm Park offering a school program. The school program is the result of the collaboration of CCVHS, Cherry Creek Stewardship Partners and Arapahoe County Open Spaces. The program offers lessons about the history and nature studies unique to 17 Mile House and the Cherry Creek. Among the school groups we recently hosted were classes from Red Hawk Ridge, Creekside, Odyssey and Homeschool Keepers Group Elementary Schools. Another school group to come to 17 Mile House was the Integrated Learning Centers class of Grandview High School in November. Karen Sear, Casey Davenhill, Ruth Dolan, Garry O’Hara, and Bill Bauer gave house and barn orientations to this wonderful group of young people, who invited us to their winter concert at the high school on December 19. Several of us attended the concert, which was superb and one we will never forget.
In September Garry O’Hara gave a tour of the 17 Mile House to Jennifer Kuehner and her staff of the Aurora History Museum. (It was then that we saw four hawks circling near the barn.). On October 18 Arapahoe County held its third annual Fall Festival at the Farm Park. An estimated 3000 visitors came to this celebration, even though Aurora was holding another Fall Fest and a 5K/10K run that same day. Hundreds of visitors went on house tours given by CCVHS members, while many others rummaged through the pumpkin patch, went on hayrides, listened to live music, ate in the picnic area, or viewed activities at the many booths.
CCVHS ITEMS
We are pleased to report that the Cherry Creek Stewardship Partners honored CCVHS for our outstanding work in support of educational activities for children at the 17 Mile House Farm Park and the Cherry Creek trail. Casey Davenhill of the Cherry Creek Stewardship Partners, presented a $250 donation and a water dipper plaque at their annual conference held November 5th. The award was accepted by Karen Sear for CCVHS and we are honored to receive this prestigious award.
On November 8th CCVHS hosted an open house and bake sale fundraiser at Melvin School. At least 50 people visited the school and we raised over $100! We have Nita McKnight to thank for spearheading this effort, which was also made possible by the hard work of Sherrie and Gary Wolf, Shirley Miller, Herb McKnight, and the wonderful folks who brought or bought baked items: Ginger McCullough, Karen and Hannah Sear, Ruth Fountain, Debbie Wein, Charlotte Faris and Carol Epps.
As part of its “history of our community” project, the Aurora Tiger Scouts of Cub Scout Pack 317 toured the Melvin Schoolhouse and Museum on October 2nd. The scouts enjoyed seeing the similarities and differences of school “then and now.”
Carl Sandberg and Shirley Miller represented CCVHS at the fall meeting of the Eastern Colorado Museums & Historical Societies on October 18th. This meeting, hosted by Historic Douglas County and the Parker Area Historical Society, was held at the historic Pikes Peak Grange hall in Franktown.