MAY 2018 El Paso County Courthouse, 1918 From the collections of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum
CSPM’s is excited for a Summer of Fun, featuring programs, events, tours and more that will ignite curiosity in visitors of all ages! The Summer of Fun begins with the return of Food Truck Tuesdays on Tuesday, May 15th. This weekly gathering of local food trucks will run every Tuesday from 11:00 am to 1:30 pm until October 30th. Food trucks include Bison Brothers, The Cupcake Doctor, Gray’s Sloppers, High Grade Foods, The Hungry Pirate, Lucy I’m Home, Mateo’s, Patty’s Gormet Hamburgers, Potato Potato, Sapo Guapo Tacos, Smokin’ J’s BBQ, and Witty Pork’s Woodfired Pizza. After enjoying a delicious lunch or snack on the museum grounds, visitors are invited inside for a free, docent-led Windows Into History tour at 1:00 pm. Food Truck Tuesdays will return May 15 For history buffs of all ages, CSPM will offer The Story of Us Downtown Walking Tour on Saturday, June 9th and Saturday, July 14th. This guided tour will allow guests to enjoy the beautiful summer weather while exploring the physical landscape of downtown and hearing exciting stories about the people, places and events that make the Pikes Peak region unique. This walking tour takes guests back in time to understand how neighborhoods, businesses, climate and transportation have shaped the community. Walking tours will start at the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum and end at the intersection of Tejon and Boulder Streets. Guests are encouraged to park in the City Administration Parking Garage (Colorado & Nevada). Parking is only $1 all day. Advanced registration is required. Tickets are $5 per person for nonmembers, $3 for members. MUSELETTER MAY 2018| PG 2
CSPM will soon be selecting the 2018 Junior Docents, a group of rising 6th through 12th graders who will serve as educators for the summer. Junior Docents will play a pivotal role in educating guests at CSPM’s summer family programming. From June 5th through July 27th, guests are invited to drop in for the self-guided Sensing History Program which takes place Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Junior Docents will engage with visitors, sharing objects and stories at Sensing History stations placed in select galleries. They will also assist with summer Children’s History Hour programs, which will take place June 20th, June 30th and July 18th from 10:30 am to 11:30 am. Children ages 3-6 are invited to enjoy a story, craft and family-friendly museum tour. Guests of all ages are invited to the museum on Fridays from June 8th through June 20th for Weekend Warm-Up! This program includes a 30 minute craft, experiment or activity highlighting regional history. Guests will leave with ideas for local adventures that will ignite curiosity all weekend long! Junior Docents lead a Sensing History program Finally, on Saturday, July 28th, join the museum for a day of food trucks, live music, and family-friendly activities! CSPM’s annual Colorado Grown Family Fun Day celebrates Colorado’s 142nd birthday and explores local history and identity through tours, Hands on History stations, and exhibits. CSPM looks forward to welcoming visitors for what is sure to be a summer of fun! Visit www.cspm.org or follow CSPM on social media for more information about programs and events Celebrate Colorado’s Birthday at Colorado Grown Family Fun Day MUSELETTER MAY 2018| PG 3
UPCOMING EVENTS May & June 2018 Food Truck Tuesdays Tuesdays beginning May 15 through October 30 (11:00 am to 1:30 pm) Every Tuesday on the museum’s west lawn, 12 local food trucks will be serving delicious lunches, snacks and desserts! Prices range from approximately $7-$15, depending on the truck and item. Enjoy your lunch, then come inside for a free Windows Into History tour at 1 pm! Community event, no RSVP required Children’s History Hour: Military Appreciation Month Saturday, May 26 (10:30 am to 11:30 am) Families are invited to the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum for a history adventure on the third Wednesday and last Saturday of each month! Children ages 3-6 will enjoy story time, a family-friendly exhibit tour, and crafts and activities. We explore a new theme each month! Reservations Required - $3 suggested donation, free for members Weekend Warm-Up Friday, June 8 (2:00 pm to 4:00 pm) Drop in for an interactive history experience for the whole family! Enjoy a 30 minute craft, experiment, or fun activity highlighting regional history and leave with ideas for local adventures that will IGNITE your curiosity all weekend long! $3 suggested donation, free for members Story of Us Walking Tour Saturday, June 9 (10:00 am to 11:30 am) The Story of Us shares stories that broaden our understanding of who we are as a community. Through discovery of the physical landscape, we can learn about the people, places and events that make our region unique. As we explore the downtown corridor on foot we’ll go back in time to understand how neighborhoods, businesses, climate and transportation have shaped our region. Where do you fit in? Walking tours start at the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum and end at the intersection of Tejon and Boulder Streets. Guests are encouraged to park in the City Administration Parking Garage (Colorado & Nevada). Parking is only $1 all day. Advanced Registration Required – Online Registration (click here) $5 general admission, $3 members WINDOWS INTO HISTORY TOURS Every Tuesday at 1:00 pm, Friday at 11:00 am and Saturday at 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm Free, 45-minute guided exploration of the museum. Just drop in - no reservations required! Please RSVP for these events at: www.cspm.org/rsvp-for-an-event or call 719-385-5990 MUSELETTER MAY 2018 | PG 4
MUSEUM STORE Gifts Artisans Jewelry Books Graduation is around the corner! The museum store has a selection of unique, high quality wallets both men and women that would make a great gift! For the little ones, consider the book “Climb, Soar, Swim, Explore,” which tells the story of three young boys on summer vacation on Pikes Peak. This story includes plenty of fun facts about the animals that live on our beautiful mountain! Store Hours Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 4:45 pm CSPM members receive a 10% discount at the museum store! Partner Spotlight MUSELETTER MAY 2018 | PG 5
MUSEUM SPOTLIGHT! SPRING 2018 INTERNS Stephanie Fields - Collections Intern This past semester, Stephanie Fields served as artifact collections intern. During her four months at the museum, Stephanie cataloged, numbered, and photographed more than 150 artifacts. In addition, she helped research the provenance of several artifacts, completed a project to better house a small geological collection, and inventoried as well as improved the storage of box of gloves from the museum’s textile collection. Of all the artifacts she cataloged, Stephanie’s favorite was a Contaflex 35 mm Beta Camera recently donated by the Lorig Family. The artifact was interesting to catalog because it required significant research in order to date and properly catalog it. Stephanie graduates with a Masters of Arts in History from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs in May 2018. This summer she will be working as a Lead Park Ranger at Red Rocks Canyon Open Space. Katherine Latona - Education Intern Colombian-born Katherine Latona is a senior year Art History Student at UCCS. Some of her academic interests include museum work and issue of cultural identity. She is both a Reisher and Karen Possehl Women’s Endowment scholar, and she serves as the art history representative for the Visual and Performing Arts Chair’s Student Council. Katherine worked on a variety of educational programs at the museum. She explained, “As the education intern at the CSPM I mainly supported school programs, but I also had the opportunity to participate in other programs such as Children’s History Hour, Festival of Lights Family Fun Day and the Silent Film Soiree. Although I mainly worked with children –who are my favorite, by the way- I was glad to have the chance to do my own version of the “Journey to Pikes Peak” adult tour series.” Upon graduation in December 2018, Katherine hopes to gain more experience in the field and attend graduate school. She added, “Overall, my time at Pioneers Museum has been marked by a lot of learning and personal growth. It’s been fabulous!” MUSELETTER MAY 2018 | PG 6
VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH Ann Chipman CSPM is happy to introduce Ann Chipman as the Volunteer of the Month for May! Ann began volunteering for the museum more than 3 years ago after retiring from her engineering career. She wears several hats in her volunteer role. She is a wonderful contributor to the Hands on History school program and truly shines at the Trailblazers station. She also She is a wonderful contributor to the Hands on History school program and truly shines at the Trailblazers station. greets guests and helps manage the front desk. She recently completed an extensive data entry and analysis project for the museum that helped staff understand how different audiences learn about program offerings. Ann also volunteers for the museum at several events, such as Festival of Lights Family Fun Day and Weekend Warm Up, with her quilting and weavers guilds. When asked about why she volunteers with CSPM, Ann shared, “I have always enjoyed learning history from the stories of people. I volunteer at CSPM to give back to the community and learn more about local Colorado Springs history. I love being able to talk to adults and children about local history and see them grasp something new.” One of her favorite memories from her time with the museum was attending the Silent Film Soiree which featured the film The Cameraman, “This was the first silent movie that I had ever attended. If I had not volunteered at CSPM I would not have known about the event or been able to attend.” Currently she is most fascinated by The League of Wives exhibit. She explained that growing up during the Vietnam War era makes her curious to learn more about the story of these amazing women and the regional connection. When not at the museum, Ann works part time for Entrust, a local ministry. She is also an avid quilter, knitter, spinner, weaver and dyer of cloth. She noted, “I love working with all aspects of fabric design from raw materials to the finished product.” Her beloved cat, Oreo, loves to “help” with her hobbies. Ann’s sister, Selah, also volunteers at CSPM. MUSELETTER MAY 2018 | PG 7
By Leah Davis Witherow, Curator of History May is National Historic Preservation Month, a time for people across the country to celebrate historic structures that have meaning to their communities. Of special local significance this year, the 1903 El Paso County Courthouse building turns a grand 115 years old on May 16th. To commemorate the occasion, CSPM will be unveiling a brand new Story of Us theme, E = El Paso County Courthouse. A touchscreen storytelling platform will be placed in the Division I courtroom this summer, and will share stories about the building’s history and the people connected to it. CSPM Interior 1903 Thankfully, the efforts of the historic preservation community in Colorado Springs saved the ninth El Paso County Courthouse from destruction when a new courthouse was completed across the street during the Urban Renewal Era. On September 29, 1972, the historic 1903 building was entered on the National Register of Historic Places, and the next year the County presented the deed for the Courthouse and the park surrounding it to the City of Colorado Springs. The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum opened to the public in this building in March of 1979. The Courthouse was designed by August J. Smith (1868-1936) and built from 1899 to 1903. Located in Alamo Square (also called South Park), it was built on land donated to El Paso County by the Colorado Springs Company with the clause, only so much of said block shall be used as may be necessary for the erection thereon of a courthouse consisting of one building; the remainder of the block to be appropriately kept and maintained as a public park. The bandstand was added to the grounds in 1920, and the park was re-landscaped in 1988. MUSELETTER MAY 2018| PG 8
The architectural style of the building has been called neo-classicism or Renaissance-Revival, a mixture of elements evident in the combination of Ionic porticoes and American Indian portrait keystones over the second-story windows. Notable inside the building are the copper-gilded birdcage elevator and handsome stairways with wrought metal panels. The marble-like columns are actually scagliola, an Italian process of paint, marble dust, and hand-rubbed wax covering plaster and wire, an embellishment technique very popular in the nineteenth century. The CSPM Collection contains an invitation to the May 16, 1903 opening day ceremonies as well as a handful of photographs documenting the interior and exterior of the building in the early nineteenth century. Among these are images of the early artifact collection of the El Paso County Pioneers Association displayed in the lobby of the courthouse. Those objects formed the nucleus of the collection of what later became the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum. It is interesting to think about how the objects “came back” to the 1903 El Paso County Courthouse, the permanent home of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum since 1979. Be sure to visit the courtroom later this summer to learn more about the building and its rich history in The Story of Us. Program for opening 1903 MUSELETTER MAY 2018| PG 9
CSPM HAPPENINGS Docents engaged with local elementary school students during a recent school program Some 2017 Junior Docents gathered at the Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast Helene Knapp and Leah Davis Witherow toured Fort Carson senior officers’ spouses through The League of Wives exhibit Matt Mayberry, Museum Director, addresses volunteers during the Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast Judi Ardnt received her Volunteer of the Year award
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