Wetmore-Hardscrabble Genealogical & Historical Society

Wetmore Community Building and Library are Now Open

Ribbon cutting ceremony at the newly renovated Wetmore Community Building. Photo by Peggy A Martin

The Wetmore Library is now open for business!

Wetmore Community Center & Library Grand Opening Celebration

Wetmore Community building under construction in April, 2017

The renovation of the Wetmore Community Building began in October of 2016. 

The community of Wetmore has patiently waited, but the renovation of our building is now complete!

The public is invited to attend the dedication and grand opening celebration hosted by the Custer County Commissioners.

This celebration will be held June 21, 2017, 2:00-6:00 pm.

We hope to see you there!

A Brief History of the School at the Wetmore Community Center

Boulder with commemorative plaque in front of the Wetmore Community Center-photo by Anne Hayward

Here is a brief history of the Wetmore Community Building.

This information came from the minutes taken during the Wetmore Community Board History meeting held on June 8, 1999. 

To read the complete minutes of the meeting, please view the document in its original form HERE.

Here are some basic facts as recorded in those minutes:

The building was completed in 1928 and was used as the Wetmore schoolhouse until the fall of 1961 when the C9 district consolidated with the Florence school district. Grades 1-8 were held in various rooms of the building. According to the notes, there was some question as to whether 9-12 grades were held there.

Electricity was installed in the North Room in the 1940's thanks to the GI Bill. The rest of the building received electricity around 1955. The original heat was a coal furnace. The outhouses were 30 feet NW of the building. Bathrooms were built in 1958-1959.

More interesting facts can be found in these minutes.

To read the complete minutes of the meeting, please view the document in its original form HERE.

 

 

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

The Passing of Carolyn Shellenberger

Carolyn Shellenberger, Wetmore resident and strong supporter of the Wetmore Library and Historical Society passed away on January 13, 2013.  A memorial service will be held for her on Sunday, January 20, 2013 at the Canon City United Methodist Church at 2:00 pm.

Carolyn L. Shellenberger, 79, of Wetmore, Colo., died Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013, at Brookdale Assisted Living in Colorado Springs after a lengthy illness. 

Carolyn taught first grade for 30 years at Washington Elementary School in Canon City, where she built positive and enduring relationships with many of the faculty, staff and students. Carolyn also was an accomplished soloist and enjoyed singing in the Pueblo Symphony Chorale. She was a longtime member of the Canon City United Methodist Church, where she participated in the chancel choir, the handbell choir, the worship committee and served as lay delegate to annual conference. Carolyn's love for the Lord was evident in her joyful service to Him and others. She was known for her enduring faith, her love of music and her life of service and hospitality. 

 

Carolyn was born on Nov. 2, 1933, in Kansas City, Mo., to J. Glenn and Ethel Lee (Pezoldt) Bell. She spent her youth in and around Rye, Colo., where her parents were school teachers. Carolyn developed a love of the mountains and small towns which ultimately drew her to Wetmore for retirement. She enjoyed a view of Pikes Peak and the presence of a host of wild animals and birds. Carolyn was very involved in the local community as a neighbor, a supporter of the Wetmore Community Church, a member of the homemakers guild and a coordinator and volunteer at the Wetmore Community Library. She was instrumental in building the library's capacity and funding. Community members and county officials publicly recognized her dedication by naming the library's non-fiction wing in her honor. 

 

Survivors include two children, Becky (Bob) Tillman of Colorado Springs and Sam Shellenberger (Laurie) of Washington, D.C.; eight grandchildren, Graham, Elise and Glenn Shellenberger; Rachel (Javier Aguirre), Raleigh, Risa, Reade and Regan (Lindsay) Tillman; and one great- grandchild, Evelyn Ann. She will also be missed by many other Bell nephews and cousins.

 

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013, at Canon City United Methodist Church. 

 

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Wetmore Public Library, 95 County Road 393, Wetmore, CO 81253 or the Pueblo Symphony Chorale, P.O. Box 3780, Pueblo, CO  81005.