Calendar

Apr
2
Tue
Tea-Time on the Frontier @ Golden History Museum
Apr 2 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

image of tea cupsHow did pioneers make tea without tea leaves? Join us at the museum to learn about tea and tisanes on the frontier and make your own herbal tea blend. Herbs and tea bags will be provided.

Apr
16
Tue
Women and Lunacy @ Golden History Museum
Apr 16 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

A curious beginning

What started as a small curiosity turned into a big question: did the Colorado criminal justice system pathologize women in the early twentieth century? The Golden History Museum collection includes a jailhouse register from Jefferson County covering 1878 to 1929. While researching a famous lynching case in Golden, Colorado, involving two men, we noticed that most of the charges for women were for “insanity.” The project bloomed into a multi-institutional search for the women recorded in the register.

This talk is focused on methods of record retrieval alongside institutional barriers. The archivist at the Colorado State Hospital Museum in Pueblo welcomed us to research the asylum’s archived medical records and documents. On the other hand, Jefferson County’s archivist informed us that valuable Lunacy Commission records are still sealed to date, obscuring some of the instances of women who were institutionalized against their will repeatedly. This presentation will offer biographies of the women and will explain the obstacles and benefits of working across multiple institutions in Colorado for historical research.   

This program will be presented by GHM&P staff member Bianca Barriskill

Tickets

GHM&P is transitioning to a new ticketing program. In the meantime, please contact us directly to register.

Apr
20
Sat
Practical Navigation for the Casual Hiker @ Golden History Museum
Apr 20 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Practical Navigation

navigation while hikingJoin expert Aaron “Hutch” Hutchings as he teaches practical navigation skills, whether you are just taking a day hike or camping overnight. This class will teach you how to navigate on-trail or off-trail the next time you take a hike. Learn about your compass, make sure your phone is useful for wayfinding, and navigate when all you have is a trail map. Don’t worry about packing a calculator – this class will teach the simple, but realistic, navigational skills needed to find your way back to your car that you could have sworn was just around the next trail bend.

Aaron “Hutch” Hutchings is a Colorado native, veteran, and father of four. He was raised in the Rocky Mountains by a real mountain man and hunting guide he called Grandpa. His love for adventure was first sparked by his grandfather’s teaching and stories. This spark was blown into flame in the Boy Scouts and fanned to a full-on bonfire in the Marine Corps. Read more on Hutch’s website

Tickets

GHM&P is transitioning to a new ticketing program. In the meantime, please contact us directly to register.

Apr
27
Sat
History of Outdoor Gear in Colorado @ Golden History Museum
Apr 27 @ 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Outdoor Gear

Outdoor Gear used by hikersNo escape to nature is complete without a trip to an outdoor recreational store or a browse through online offerings. Nowhere is this more true than in Colorado. Holubar, Gerry, and Frostline are among the outdoor companies that helped establish Colorado as a hub of innovation for the outdoor industry after World War II.  Rachel S. Gross argues that the success of these outdoor gear pioneers was predicated not just on creating functional equipment but also on selling an authentic, anticommercial outdoor identity. In other words, shopping for the woods was also about being—or becoming—the right kind of person. Demonstrating that outdoor culture is commercial culture, Gross examines Americans’ journey toward outdoor expertise by tracing the development of the nascent outdoor goods industry, the influence of World War II on its growth, and the boom years of outdoor businesses.

Rachel S. Gross is a historian of the outdoor industry. She is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Colorado Denver where she teaches U.S. environmental, business, and public history. She is the author of Shopping All the Way to the Woods: How the Outdoor Industry Sold Nature to America (Yale University Press, 2024).

Tickets

GHM&P is transitioning to a new ticketing program. In the meantime, please contact us directly to register.

May
14
Tue
Underneath the Starry Flag: The First Colorado Volunteers in the Spanish American War in the Philippines 1898-99 @ Golden History Museum
May 14 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Underneath the Starry Flag

In 1898, the 1st Colorado Volunteer Infantry enlisted to fight the Spanish in Cuba, but instead raised the first American flag over Manila. With the war over, they hoped to return home, but the U.S. government had other plans. This talk describes the First Colorado’s role in the first year of the war in the Philippines. It also looks at their daily life and some challenges they faced. This was America’s first overseas war.

About the Presenter

Geoff Hunt earned his Ph.D. in Western American social history from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1996. His dissertation research led to Colorado’s Volunteer Infantry in the Philippine Wars, 1898-1899, published in 2006. After 22 years as Professor of History at the Community College of Aurora, he retired in 2019, and became a free-range historian.

Tickets

GHM&P is transitioning to a new ticketing program. In the meantime, please contact us directly to register.

May
18
Sat
Creating a Cozy Campsite @ Golden History Museum
May 18 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

A Campsite That’s Cozy

campsite with Hutch in chairJoin expert Aaron “Hutch” Hutchings in building a cozy home away from home while camping. This class will prepare you to stay warm and comfortable while sleeping outdoors or chatting around the campfire. Both historic and modern camp building skills will be taught. While everyone else shivers, you’ll be sleeping your cares away in your perfectly designed campsite.

Aaron “Hutch” Hutchings is a Colorado native, veteran, and father of four. He was raised in the Rocky Mountains by a real mountain man and hunting guide he called Grandpa. His love for adventure was first sparked by his grandfather’s teaching and stories. This spark was blown into flame in the Boy Scouts and fanned to a full-on bonfire in the Marine Corps. Read more on Hutch’s website

Tickets

GHM&P is transitioning to a new ticketing program. In the meantime, please contact us directly to register.

May
21
Tue
Dr. Rose Kidd Beere 1859-1927 @ Golden History Museum
May 21 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Dr. Rose Kidd Beere

Rose Kidd Beere was a doctor in Colorado in the nineteenth century. Born in Indiana and raised in western military posts, she attended Northwestern University Women’s Medical College. In 1892, she moved to Durango, Colorado, to practice medicine. In 1895 Governor Alva Adams asked her to take over the new State Home for Dependent and Neglected Children in Denver. Then in 1898 the United States went to war with Spain on the island of Cuba as well as in the Philippine Islands. The First Colorado Infantry went to the Philippines. She went, not as a doctor, but as a nurse. After a year, she returned to Denver where she was the health officer for the Denver Public Schools, setting up the first dental clinic for poor children. Then she was the doctor at the Poor Farm followed by running Denver General Hospital. Finally, in 1917 she opened a hospital to take care of soldiers coming home from the First World War.

About the Presenter

Rebecca A. Hunt received her Ph.D. in Western American social history from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1997. Her dissertation looked at ethnic groups in the Denver neighborhoods of Highland and Globeville. From 1992-94 Rebecca was co-chair of the statewide commemoration of the successful 1893 campaign to grant voting rights to Colorado’s women. Rebecca is on the historians’ council for History Colorado’s Center for Colorado Women’s History. In 2020 Rebecca retired from CU Denver and she is now a full-time writer. She writes a monthly column on the history of Denver’s NW side for the Denver North Star. Rebecca’s current book project is Urban Pioneers: Ethnic Identity and Community on Denver’s Northside.

Tickets

GHM&P is transitioning to a new ticketing program. In the meantime, please contact us directly to register.

Aug
13
Tue
America and the Boer War @ Golden History Museum
Aug 13 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

The Boer War and America

historic image of horseMoore will speak on a little discussed aspect of world history – America and the Boer War. Around 1900 the British had wars going throughout their Empire. The major action was in southern Africa, the Boer War. Of course, the Boers, farmers of northern European descent, fought for their way of life and homeland. To support the action, the Royal Army sought horses wherever possible. The British government bought some 250,000 horses and mules in the US. They were consolidated, entrained, and sent to New Orleans. Ships carrying 1,000 horses sailed to Africa almost daily. There was active opposition to the war in the US and elsewhere.

Stan Moore is an author, speaker and historian. He has been described several ways. The repeatable ones include: husband, father and grandfather; author and speaker; retired small business owner; CU graduate; third generation Coloradan; hiker, backpacker and mountaineer; Vietnam veteran; hobbyist blacksmith. He and his wife make home near Denver with a cat who lets them stay there.   He is the author of six books, one history and five historical novels set around 1900s Colorado.

Tickets

GHM&P is transitioning to a new ticketing program. In the meantime, please contact us directly to register.

Sep
14
Sat
Capote Coat Making Class @ Golden History Museum
Sep 14 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Capote Coat Making Class

Join expert Aaron “Hutch” Hutchings in making your very own capote coat (a long wrap-style wool coat) using a wool blanket. Attendees will need to bring their own wool blanket for a true finished product, but fleece will be provided to any attendees unable to bring a blanket. This class will take you step-by-step through each step of the coat. You will leave class with a coat and the skill to make more for the whole family.

Aaron “Hutch” Hutchings is a Colorado native, veteran, and father of four. He was raised in the Rocky Mountains by a real mountain man and hunting guide he called Grandpa. His love for adventure was first sparked by his grandfather’s teaching and stories. This spark was blown into flame in the Boy Scouts and fanned to a full-on bonfire in the Marine Corps. Read more about Hutch in his instructor bio or on his website. You can also find him on Instagram.

Tickets

GHM&P is transitioning to a new ticketing program. In the meantime, please contact us directly to register.

Sep
17
Tue
The History of the Electoral College @ Golden History Museum
Sep 17 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

The History of the Electoral College

What is the electoral college, how does it work, and why was it put in place? This program will dive into the electoral college, why Colorado has the number of votes it does, and other interesting facts about the history of voting.

This program will be presented by Kathleen Eaton and Bianca Barriskill, staff at the Golden History Museum. Read their bios here.  

Tickets

GHM&P is transitioning to a new ticketing program. In the meantime, please contact us directly to register.