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Rio Grande Museum November Newsletter

10/29/2019

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​November, 2019 
Rio Grande County Museum will be hosting “HOLIDAY AT THE MUSEUM” with an opening reception on November 16, 2019 from 10am - 4pm. Several artists will be featured for this holiday event. The art show will run through December 21 with special Friday and Saturday refreshments and opportunities to spend some time in the Museum, do some shopping in the gift shop, with the artists and have a chance to see the Museum. It will make a great time to visit to Del Norte to check out the restaurants and gift shops in town as well as spending some time in Monte Vista with their “Christmas Vacation” events and seeing what they have available. South Fork also has some great holiday events coming up as well. Remember Del Norte’s Parade of Lights and Merchants’ Open House on the first Friday of December. Also, on November 16th, stop by the Monte Vista Fire Department for their appreciation chili dinner from 4pm - 7pm. 

​The artists who will be showing during the Holiday at the Museum are well known San Luis Valley artists. The following are brief biographies of our artists. 

Nancy Harris is a mixed media artist from Alamosa. She has a Masters Degree in art history from UC in Santa Barbara, California. She teaches workshop in collage and mixed media. Harris has shown her work in Colorado and New Mexico. Her unique talent is shown in each piece as she makes it a one of a kind. She will be showing her greeting cards as well as framed pieces. 

Darwin Thompson will be the only artist showing whose work will not be for sale. He majored in art and taught at all levels in public schools. He owned Design Built Construction Company for 30 years and worked in the San Luis Valley as a general contractor. He enjoys drawing, painting, wood carving and wood working. He has devoted the past ten years to carving mountain men, trappers and Native Americans, not to mention animals, birds and Santas. His display will consist of Santa carvings in both traditional and old world style carved in basswood and painted with acrylics. 

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Cathy Morin is an award winning glass artist. She has worked in both stained glass and fused glass for over 15 years. Fused or hot glass has evolved over the years from slumping glass into molds to a variety of diverse and innovative methods to create glass art. 

Craig Lehmann worked in metal in various forms. He does abstract sculptures by welding metal and bronze castings. He studied biology, archaeology and sculpture and art at Adams State College, now University. He manages Lehman studios and Craig Lehmann Sculpture Studios. He shows in various local art galleries. 

​Laura Lunsford has always dabbled in the arts, from painting to pottery. By the age of 12, she was designing and sewing her own clothes. In 1994 an article in “Soft Dolls and Animal” featured a doll covered with silk ribbon embroidery with no instructions. At that time, Lunsford was teaching at Michaels and after a few attempts, she figured it out. As skills improved she began submitting ideas to the magazine and she was enlisted to be on the Editorial Advisory Board. Her career in the magazine world was launched and a new magazine called “Just Steampunk was established. She makes dolls, writes for magazines and conducts classes and workshop. Her favorite shirt states “I Still Play With Dolls”. Two of her dolls Pirate Jack and Rosalee were featured on November 2016 cover of SD &A and have been re-created to take part in this particular show. 

Mary Susan Eldredge studied art at the University of Minnesota under several great artist teachers. Now, living in the high mountains, she enjoys making landscapes, insects and flowers part of her art work. Her painting style of bold colors and shapes works for her stained glass designs. 

Marian Schlagbaum has an eclectic style of art work. She is now doing something with glass with her work. Marian’s free style of art work makes one feel good. High, high heeled shoes are one of her favorite subjects in the various media in which she works. She will also be showing three of the beautiful wooden boxes that her late husband, Roger, did and for which he was known. 

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John Patterson metal sculpture
John Patterson is known for his sculptures made from farm equipment pieces. Imagination is the key to finding what will work to make his creations. He does sculptures ranging from flowers, insects to tractors and more. He can find beauty in the items many throw away. He works as a farmer and draws from his experiences with equipment and a working knowledge of these items. 

Albert Kahan is another one of the artists who will be showing. In the past he has done work with his photography with glass cutting boards. He has now ventured into new and different media. Albert’s work is always a pleasure to see and to own. 

This will be the final event for the year 2019. However, the calendar of events for 2020 will be just as exciting. Rita and I are working on an exhibit for the celebration of the passage of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote. 

We are also working with Chuck Harbert and Morgan Williams on a post card exhibit that will show the work by photographer, William H. Martin on “boosterism” in the San Luis Valley in the early 1900s. This will be one of the postcards in the exhibit. 
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The Old Spanish Trail will also be featured in an exhibit and the quilt show again for Covered Wagon Days. 
Thank you for your continued interest and support of the Rio Grande County Museum. 
Louise Colville and Rita Trujillo
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Harbert and William postcard exhibit
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Lost Trail Ranch

10/23/2019

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"Lost Trail Ranch was established in 1877 as a way station and resupply spot along Stony Pass Road from the San Luis Valley to the mining camps of the San Juan Mountains. Located at an elevation of 9,800 feet along the Rio Grande, the way station served travelers until the early 1880s, when traffic declined after the first railroad reached Silverton. The area became a popular summer cattle pasture site before being developed in the early 1920s as a dude ranch. Since then the property has offered guest lodging and outdoor recreation while continuing to be used for summer livestock grazing.

First built in 1872, Stony Pass Road connected Del Norte to Silverton. It started as a pack trail and was gradually improved into a wagon road. It was the main route from the Front Range to the San Juan Mountains until 1882, when the Denver & Rio Grande Railway reached Silverton."

The Getz family—Wetherill descendants—owned and operated the ranch into the early twenty-first century. They built several new rental cabins close to the Forest Service road, and in 2011 they got the historic section of the property—including the barn and two older cabins—listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today the barn at Lost Trail Ranch is the oldest log barn in 
Hinsdale County. The Getzes still live at the ranch, but in the mid-2010s they sold the rental cabin business to a new owner.

Read more about history of the Lost Trail, Lost Trail Station, Stony Pass and the Lost Trail Ranch at Colorado Encyclopedia




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Where is the Oldest Town in Colorado?

10/16/2019

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As this map shows, before the Mexican-American War southern Colorado was part of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, a territory of Mexico. This included the San Luis Valley. Source: History Colorado

OCT 15, 2017

A History of Settlement in the San Luis Valley

The question has been asked many times: What is the oldest town in Colorado? But history never has a nice, simple answer. Things are always much more complicated than they seem, and usually trying to find an answer just brings up more questions. But that’s fine! That’s part of what history is all about, and what makes it so fascinating and important.

The fact of the matter is that the “oldest town in Colorado” depends on who you ask, and—even more importantly—how you phrase the question. The first problem with this question is: what defines a town? If by “town” you mean “permanent settlement,” then the oldest such place in Colorado is likely one of the many Ancestral Puebloan sites scattered around the state.

“There are sites in Saguache County on the north end of the San Luis Valley that were likely inhabited as far back as the Late Archaic,” said Dr. Nichola Saenz, professor of history at Adams State University. “Ancestral Puebloan sites, like Mesa Verde, in the Four Corners region warrant consideration.”

​To read the whole article go to: History Colorado



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Creede: The Last Boom Town

10/12/2019

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In so many ways, the story of Colorado is the story of mining.  And Creede stands as one of the last mining towns of its kind. So many mines and their legacies were abandoned over the years – and nearly lost forever.  But a handful of heroes have staked a claim on history by preserving these sites. From mining boom towns to ghost towns – it’s all here. Watch this wonderful story about Creede featuring the backdrop of the Creede Historical Society Museum and the Creede Underground Mining Museum: 
(video) 
Creede: the Last Boom Town produced by Colorado Experience-Rocky Mountain PBS

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