Wetmore-Hardscrabble Genealogical & Historical Society

February WHG&HS Meeting

It's almost Valentine's Day - have you done your shopping?

CONGRATS:  THE DENVER BRONCOS WIN SUPER BOWL 50!  Awesome...

This Saturday, February 13th, at 10 a.m., we will meet in the meeting room behind the Post Office. 

Do you have ideas for 2016 programs?  Your suggestions would be appreciated.  Just a few more days to submit recipes for Grandmother's Cookbook.  Is your family included?  So excited to see our results in April!

The next Wetmore kiosk meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 15th in the WHGHS meeting room of the Post Office at 10 a.m.

Roberta Miller's memorial is scheduled for Monday, February 22 at 11 a.m.  It will be held at the First United Methodist Church, 1032 East Main Street, Florence.

Have a safe week and see you Saturday.
Margaret

Goodnight Barn circa 1900

The Goodnight Barn Historical Preservation Committee recently shared this photo of the Goodnight Barn, circa 1900.

 A little fuzzy, but the corral and a windmill are visible.

December News

Dear All,

 

It is the merry month of December with everyone rushing to complete their shopping for Christmas.  One less commitment for you is that we do not hold a meeting this month.

2016 dues can be paid now.  We now have 12 Lifetime members and since last month, 14 members have paid their dues.  Thank you!

Remember to submit your recipes by February 29th so that Dave Alexander will be able to publish Grandmothers' Cookbook by April.

Need stocking stuffers?  We have our Historic Deck of Cards ($10.00 each) and the beautiful notecards ($3.00 each) for sale at our Country Store.

Congratulations to new grandparents, Dave and Karen Alexander, on the birth of their first grandchild, Clark Kent Alexander, who weighed in on Dec. 1st @ 7pounds 13 ounces, 20 inches long!  According to Grampa Dave, Clark, Sarah and Johnny are doing just great.

 

Merry Christmas!  May 2016 be prosperous.
Margaret

 

Wetmore Community Center Building Renovation

Congrats to the community of Wetmore! 

A $450,000 DOLA grant has been awarded for the renovation of the Wetmore Community Center building! This includes an elevator!

The renovation project will begin in January 2016.

Wetmore Community Building

There is a short article regarding the renovation in the Pueblo Chieftain.

 Click here to view the article

Included in the article were some great photos of the Library, Community Building and area residents.

Nan Davenport, Wetmore Library Director

Alden and Marjorie working a picture puzzle in the Coffee Room

Nan and Pat

 

All photos supplied by the Pueblo Chieftain

November WHG&HS Meeting

Can you believe that November is nearly half over and Thanksgiving is around the corner?  Where has the time gone this year?

This Saturday, November 14th, will be the last meeting of 2015; we do not meet in December or January. 

Dues can be mailed for 2016 at any time now.  Our P.O. Box is 211, Wetmore, CO 81253.  Your name will be removed from the roster if dues are not received by February 29th.  Yes, 2016 is Leap Year.

Grandmothers' Cookbook deadline for recipes is also February.  April is the anticipated date for publishing our treasured delicacies. 

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you! 
Merry Christmas to all!
Happy and prosperous New Year!

Margaret

4th and Final Kiosk Meeting October 30

Wetmore-Hardscrabble Community

Join us for the fourth meeting for the local kiosk project.  We will be reviewing the panel design and maps.  This will be our final review.

 

WHERE:  Wetmore Historical Society meeting room at the back of the Post Office

WHEN:  Friday, October 30, 2015, AT 10:00 A.M.

 

MODERATORS:  Judy Walden, President, Walden Mills Group, and Wendy Pettit from Colorado Department of Transportation, Region 2 (CDOT has provided funding for the project)

 

Come Support your County Project!

Mammoth Spotted in Wetmore!

Well, what do you know! A mammoth in Wetmore

 

Recently Bruce Schumacher (Forest Service Paleontologist at La Junta) discovered a mammoth (Mammuthus sp.) tibia weathering out of a cliff near Red Creek near Wetmore!

 

It was found on top of green/gray Morrison mudstones in colluvium deposits.  Age range is 5 my to 10-12 thousand years.  It was prepped at La Junta.

 

 

The Wetmore mammoth bone is on display at BLM in Canon City, then will be moved to the Royal Gorge Regional Museum after Thanksgiving.

 

 

 

More info:

RECENTLY DISCOVERED FOSSIL MAMMOTH BONE ON DISPLAY IN CANON CITY

CANON CITY, Colo. – A fossil mammoth tibia (lower leg bone) was discovered on the San Isabel National Forest in July, 2015. It is currently on display through November 25 in the Canon City BLM/USFS field office.

U.S. Forest Service (USFS) soils scientist Steve Sanchez noticed prominent sedimentary rock layers in the area which might contain dinosaur tracks. Bruce Schumacher, a paleontologist for the USFS Rocky Mountain Region followed up on the information and it led to the fossil discovery.

According to Schumacher, “The geology of this area is dominated by Jurassic and Early Cretaceous rock formations (100 – 150 million years old) and so I was expecting to see evidence of dinosaur bones or tracks. When I first spotted the fossil from a long distance, I assumed it was a large dinosaur limb bone, especially since it was exposed in red claystone sediments like the Morrison Formation. Close inspection revealed that the bone was definitely that of a large mammal.”

Schumacher added, “In some respects, the discovery of an ‘elephant’ on the Forest is so much more meaningful than that of a dinosaur. We know that mammoths were around recently enough to share the same landscape that we know today. Imagine a herd of mammoths with Spanish Peaks on the horizon”.

The fossil mammoth bone will be moved to the Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center for long-term display this winter. San Carlos District Ranger Paul Crespin said, “I’m very pleased to work with our local Museum to keep this here locally where it was found.”

The mammoth bone was deposited by stream action on top of the dinosaur-bearing Morrison Formation, and was then covered by Pleistocene flood and rockfall deposits. The bone was found in what are likely Pleistocene aged gravel deposits that can be up to 1 million years or more in age. This time period includes the beginning of the ice age, a time when large mammals commonly referred to as “Megafauna” roamed the earth. A typical mammoth would have stood about nine feet tall at its shoulder, and is most closely related to Asian elephants of today.

Jeannie Culpin Obiturary

Jeannie Culpin

1930-2015

 

Born to George and Phyllis (Porter) Sweeten of Wetmore, Colorado, on September 13, 1930. Both George and Phyllis were descendants of Wetmore pioneers and homesteaders. Jeannie's father died of polio in 1933. In 1936, her mother married Louis Camerlo and moved the family to Florence, Colorado. Jeannie attended Emerson grade school in Florence and was a high school graduate of Saint Scholastica Academy in Canon City. In 1948, Jeannie was named Miss Royal George Round Up. She and two other local beauty queens traveled to Hollywood with newspaper editor Doc Little to bring back the film "Canon City" for the premiere showing in Canon City on July 2, 1948. In 1949 Jeannie became a flight attendant for Continental Airlines, where she met her husband Richard Culpin, whom she married in 1952. They had five children together. Richard Culpin was an executive with the Jergens Company in Cincinnati, Ohio where they lived for 26 years. During Rich's career and following his retirement Jeannie and Rich were able to travel extensively. After her children were grown, Jeannie went back to school and received a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Cincinnati and a Masters Degree from St. Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati. Following Rich's retirement in 1990 they moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico where they lived for 10 years. In 2000 the couple returned to the mountains of Colorado and built their home in the Adobe Creek Ranch area near Wetmore, not far from her ancestor's homesteads. In 2004 her husband died. In 2007 Jeannie was one of the founders of the Wetmore-Hardscrabble Genealogical & Historical Society. Later that year she purchased the Wetmore Post Office in downtown Wetmore and started on her dream project of restoring the building and using a portion of the building for the Historical Society. With the help of many, the project was completed in 2008. The building was designated as a historical structure by both the Colorado and National Historical Societies. In 2012 Jeannie received the Doc Little award for her role in preserving the area's history. Jeannie was preceded in her death by her son, Mark in 1971, and her husband, Richard in 2004. Her surviving children are Kathleen Ebeling (Steve), Rebecca Reynolds (Barry), Deborah Jolly (Russ), and Kenneth Culpin (Nicole), four grandchildren, Joshua and Daniel Ebeling, Jessica and Erin Reynolds. Her brother, George (Sonny) Sweeten and two half brothers, Ed and David Camerlo. Jeannie was baptized, received her first communion and confirmation all at St. Benedict's Catholic Church in Florence, Colorado. Jeannie will have her eternal resting place beside both her husband and son in New Hope Cemetery in Wetmore, Colorado. Funeral Mass will be held at St. Benedict's Catholic Church, 622 West 2nd Street, Florence, Colorado, at 10:00 AM on Monday October 12, 2015. Grave Site service at New Hope Cemetery immediately following the Mass. Family would like to invite everyone to a luncheon at The Wetmore Community Center following the Grave Site service. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to The Wetmore-Hardscrabble Genealogical & Historical Society, P.O. Box 211, Wetmore, Colorado, 81253. Arrangements entrusted to Harwood Funeral Home. Online Condolences at harwoodfunerals.com.

Published in www.canoncitydailyrecord.com on Oct. 12, 2015

Jeannie Culpin

Dear Members,

It is with great sorrow to announce that our dear friend and founder, Jeannie Sweeten Culpin, has died.  Jeannie went to heaven last night (October 8th) and is finally at peace.

Jeannie's memorial service will be Monday, October 12, at 10 a.m. at St. Benedict's Catholic Church in Florence, Colorado (619 West 2nd St.).  Interment will be at New Hope Cemetery following the church service.  The family will then gather at the Wetmore Community Center for a reception to celebrate Jeannie's life.

You may send cards of sympathy to:  The Jeannie Culpin Family, % Kathy Ebeling, 809 Meadow Run, Golden, Colorado  80403.


The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations to the Wetmore-Hardscrabble Genealogical & Historical Society would be welcomed.  Address: WHGHS, PO Box 211, Wetmore, CO 81253.

Margaret

I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.  Jeremiah 31:13

No WHG&HS Meeting in October

We had changed the October meeting to the 24th due to a conflict with the Fremont County Heritage Festival.

However, I have an opportunity to go to CA to see my 2 great-granddaughters on that weekend.  So......our next meeting will be November 14th!

A couple of things you need to know:
1. Sandra and Anne will work together on the wording of recipe reminder cards.  Postcard will be a bright and friendly reminder to submit a Wetmore recipe for our fundraiser “Grandmothers’ Cookbook.”   Postcards to be mailed January 2016.  Deadline to submit recipes February 2016.  Print date will be April 2016, irregardless of the number of recipes received.

 

2. No meetings in December or January.

 

3. Kiosk #3 meeting will be October 8, 10 a.m., Historical Society.

 

4.We accept 2016 dues beginning in November.  Individual is $10, family is $15, single lifetime is $100, family lifetime (2 spouses plus children under 18) is $150.

Mail to :  WHGHS, PO Box 211, Wetmore, CO  81253

Happy Fall everyone!

Margaret