Part 3

"Then Sampson and the boys came running--some limping--down the track, expecting to find me and the plow piled at the bottom of the hill, instead there I sat with my feet hanging out the door, still laughing. They did not know that there had been a spell of soberness between then and the time they had left me.

"Bus Long was through being motorman and I was drafted to that position. After I quit in the fall of 1931, Frank Morse, who had been continuously with the company through all their operations, told me I was the only motorman who had run the trolley car any length of time without having at least one crackup in a runaway.

"When the big marble block for the tomb of the Unknown Soldier was taken out, there were two motormen who brought it down. I was the head motorman hooked to the front, and Johnny Fenton was hooked on the back with his motor." (_Signed_) Elmer Bair

Elmer Bair left the company employment Sept. 30, 1931, and leased all the company's range land and ran sheep in 1932. He purchased the Chidester, Cookman, Barnes, and Baroni places--approximately 1,000 acres--in 1935. And in 1952 he bought approximately 1,700 acres from the company and now runs 2,100 sheep in this area every summer.

Our tourists with very few exceptions are awed and thrilled by our magnificent scenery. George Rosenberg, managing editor of the _Tucson Daily Citizen_, Tucson, Ariz. is no exception. He and his family vacationed in Marble and Carbondale for the first time in 1958. His enthusiasm for Marble is recorded in a story with pictures, he published in the _Citizen_, Aug. 2, 1958, where he says:

"If you haven't taken your vacation yet, and if you think you can talk the little monsters out of going back to Disneyland ... if either of these shoes fits, then take my advice ... head for the Hills of Marble."

John Chapman, dramatic critic (New York _Daily News_), whose hobby is vacation travel, wandered through some ghost towns in his native state of Colorado, took pictures, and wrote an article extolling the grandeur of the Crystal River Valley. This article together with colored pictures appeared in _Sports Illustrated_, Oct. 7, 1957.

Mrs. Robert J. Hall is another short story writer who visited in Marble in the fall of 1958. She wrote an article which appeared in the _Weekly Star Farmer_, Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 21, 1959, describing the beauty and resources of the Crystal River Valley in general and Marble in particular.

After the Vermont Marble Co. pulled out, things were rather dull for a few years, then it began to forge ahead as a tourist attraction. Good fishing and hunting, a delightful summer climate, and scenery that can not be duplicated, bring in more and more people every year and it is fast becoming one of the better resort sections of the western slope. It is often referred to as "The Swiss Alps of the United States."

At present Beaver Lake Lodge and Cabins owned and operated by the Wade C. Loudermilks, formerly of Buckeye, Ariz., is the only tourist accommodation in Marble. But once a person stays in the clean, modern cabins or partakes of the delicious meals served in the lodge, he is sure to return again and again. Other popular services of the lodge are their horse and jeep tours (operated as an insured common carrier) to the various mountain tops of 12,000 feet or more, and the licensed guided pack trips into the wilderness areas.

The Loudermilks and the Frank Rehs, formerly of Washington, D. C., now of Glenwood Springs, Colo., are undertaking a vast land development (700 acres) two miles below Marble paralleling the Crystal River. This is primarily a subdivision for home sites, consisting of approximately 75 tracts that have been surveyed and filed with the Gunnison County recorder. Part of their program calls for an airstrip 5,200 feet long (3,800 feet now completed) and a small business district consisting of hangars, gas pumps, restaurant, curio shop, et cetera.

The Basic Chemical Corporation was organized by Carl Morse in the early 1950s. They bought the Old (Marble) Mill Site from Elmer Bair and installed a rock crusher, intending to make a number of products from the marble left there by the Vermont Co. These were to include marble chips for roofs, smaller pieces for macadam and cement work, chicken grits, dust for strengthening and whitening plaster, and fertilizer for sweeting sour ground.

This was not as successful as it was hoped it would be, and was leased to Vance Baker of Grand Junction in 1957. He now runs it during the summer months and confines most of the work to the making of marble chips. He expects to enlarge his operations to the point where he can cut and sell building blocks, using the trimmings for chips.

The Crystal River flows on down the valley another 3½ miles through Prospect Ranch, once a part of the Osgood Estate of Redstone, purchased from it by the Darien Brothers--Henry, James, and Gus. Now it is a popular summer resort, Prospect Ranch Cabins, owned by Jim and Gus Darien and run by the Gus Dariens of Carbondale.

Any article or series of articles treating of the advantages of the Crystal River Valley as a vacationing playground would not be complete without mentioning one of the prettiest camping and fishing spots in the state, Bogan Flats--located five miles below Marble. The Forestry Department supplies the tables, seats, fireplaces, and restrooms. There are many quiet nooks in the river where the ingenious trout lurks and seldom does any fisherman go away empty-handed.

Next, the river flows through Chair Mountain Ranch, also once a part of the Osgood Estate. The Earl Z. McCullys bought it from Mrs. Lucille Osgood McDonald in 1943, had it ready to open as a guest ranch in 1947, and ran it as such until the fall of 1952 when they sold it to the Ray Somers of Mountain View, Calif., and Mr. and Mrs. (formerly Mrs. Lola Kemp) C. H. Patterson of Farmington, N. Mex.

One evening several of us from this neighborhood were spending a social evening together discussing the various escapades pulled by dude guests. One in particular seemed especially amusing: When the McCullys were still running the ranch, a number of their guests wanted to go for a long horseback ride up in the mountains. "Should you become lost," he told them, "just tie the reins, drop them on the horses' necks, and give them their heads; they'll come home all right." Sure enough they became lost, so dismounted and did as Mr. McCully had instructed them to do. The horses returned to the ranch all right--riderless. It took the McCullys several hours to find the guests.

"Well, we shouldn't laugh at dudes, no matter how green," said Lola, "when we first bought the place we were the greenest dudes on the ranch. Didn't even know which side of a horse to mount."

However, they have learned, and Chair Mountain Ranch is now a very popular, well managed resort.

The river flows on to Cleveholm, the famous Redstone castle, built in 1903 by J. C. Osgood for his first wife, the "Lady Bountiful" of Redstone. Every Christmas all the children in the village were urged to write letters to Santa Claus. They were delivered to Mrs. Osgood and she personally saw to it that every child received what she or he asked for; not a cheap, shoddy toy, but the very best money could buy.

One Christmas the school was giving a program and Christmas tree, to which all the people in Redstone had been invited. Right at the height of the festivities the wax candles on the tree set fire to the cedar branches. Some of the men quickly grabbed the tree and threw it through one of the windows, thus averting what might have been a terrible catastrophe. The parents were very grateful for the presence of mind and quick action of the men; the children were very downcast that their carefully planned and often rehearsed program had been so rudely interrupted and their beautiful Christmas tree ruined.

The next year when Mr. Osgood had a firehouse built it was located on a lot adjoining the school house grounds.[2]

Cleveholm was patterned after an old English castle. It originally contained 26 rooms, each with an immense fireplace. The wall coverings, upholstering, and covers for the bookcases and reading tables in the library were hand-tooled elephant hide. Light green silk brocade was used for wall coverings, drapes, and upholstering in the music room. Dark maroon plush decorated the walls in the dining room, and all the wood work and furniture were mahogany. The parlor is an especially large room, two full stories high on the inside, and lavishly furnished. It also contained the famous Osgood coat-of-arms.

The tourist court across the river and highway from Cleveholm is Swiss Village Resort owned by the Olyn Parkers of Denton, Tex. It was originally the game-keeper's house. They bought it in 1949 and have added cabins and improvements every year since then.

The Parkers had spent several summers in various parts of Colorado and had fallen in love with the majestic rugged scenery, the clear fresh air, and the peace and quiet found along the mountain streams away from the city. The idea of having a summer haven in Colorado grew on them until they began corresponding with real estate men in different sections of the state.

Irvin Jarvis, Glenwood Springs, Colo. wrote them that he believed he had just the place they were looking for--his summer home above Redstone. They were interested and arranged to meet him and his wife there on June 8, 1948. It was love at first sight, just the place they were looking for--a place away from the city, in the beautiful high mountain country, the sparkling Crystal River flowing just across the road, tall majestic evergreen trees and lovely aspen gracing the scenery, and many deer, elk, bear and other animals roaming the mountains. Needless to say they bought the place.

The house and barn are of Swiss architecture, built in 1901 and were originally a part of the John C. Osgood estate. The gamekeeper, William Keir, lived here with his family and looked after the private herds of deer, elk, and mountain sheep. Much of the high fence and original posts which enclosed many acres as pasture for these wild animals, are still standing.

Two of the Keir daughters visited the Parkers and related many interesting anecdotes concerning the early life of the game park. One deer they had tamed and named Dolly. She would often jump the high fence and follow them to school. Then it would be their pleasant duty to skip school and take Dolly back home.

Quoting from a letter received from Mrs. Parker, Jan. 19, 1959:

"We started building cabins in 1949 and called our place Swiss Village Resort. Many nice guests came our way that first summer and stayed in our cabins. Since then many people--and they are such lovely people--have come our way and happy are the memories of their laughter ringing out over the place in summers and falls.

"We derive genuine pleasure in seeing our guests happy. Most of them are people who love a quiet vacation away from cities, close to nature. Many enjoy riding into the high country to see nature at its best. So very many enjoy fishing while others like to ride, hike, rest, or play games. All of them, the same as we, love to hear the early history of Redstone, which is most interesting.

"Fond are our memories of gatherings in the living room in front of a roaring fire in the huge fireplace listening to the guests tell of the big fish that got away, or the hunters tell of their day's experiences in getting their elk, deer or bear.

"Our fondest wish is to keep Redstone and the surrounding area always a place where people like to return year after year, and that God will grant us many more years to live in this lovely spot.

"Yes, we love Redstone and to us the area in and near there is some of the most beautiful country we have ever seen. As we view the majestic, awe inspiring handiwork of God we feel very humble and grateful, and humbly say, 'Thank you God, for the privilege of seeing and living in this lovely spot.'

"Most sincerely," (_Signed_) Virginia Parker

_REDSTONE, One Man's Dream_

of an Ideal Village for Miners (_Elevation Approximately 6,500 feet_)

John C. Osgood came to Colorado in the early 1880s to make a thorough investigation of all the coal deposits in the state. Those up Coal Creek, a branch of the Crystal River, seemed especially favorable for his plan, and he was able to buy them from their original owners for a few hundred dollars. The dream he had of building a model village for miners in this valley did not materialize for almost twenty years. He organized the Colorado Fuel Co. and later acquired the Colorado Coal & Iron Co. and merged them into one--Colorado Fuel & Iron Co. (CF&I)--and was its first president. Then he set out to carry through his dream and built Redstone, a model village of 40 workmen's cottages (each styled and painted differently), a modern 40-roomed inn, a school house, a club house, and a library; all electrically lighted and as modern as they could be made at that time.

Every workman was given the opportunity of joining the club and making use of the club rooms. Every member had his own locker and was urged to come there after work and bathe or shower, and change into clean clothes before appearing on the street. They elected their own officers and made their own rules; one of which was especially good--treating was not permissible.

The mines were up Coal Creek about 12 miles. There the miners had their own little village in which they took great pride, vieing with Redstone as to neatness and gardening.

All the buildings in this model village were constructed to last, nothing of the overnight box-car type. Yet all this came to an end in less than a decade. Rumor has it that Mr. Osgood became too ambitious: he tried to "buck" John D. Rockefeller and J. P. Morgan. He ran out of millions; they didn't.

The scenic grandeur of the Crystal River cannot be excelled; sometimes narrow canyons, precipitous cliffs and steep waterfalls; sometimes broad valleys heavily wooded with stately ponderosa pine, Engelmann spruce, Colorado green spruce, blue spruce, Douglas fir, the narrow leaf cottonwood, and the quaking aspen; carpeted with waist high ferns, Oregon grapes, and kinnikinnick (sometimes called Indian tobacco) interspersed with brilliant flowers of every hue, and often rare plants found only in much warmer climes. The reason? Perhaps they are remnants of earlier geological ages; perchance the great combination and variety of rainfall, heat and cold, shade and sunshine, and slope exposure have their influences.

The natural resources are unsurpassable. It is an often stated fact that the Crystal River area from Schofield to Redstone bears the heaviest concentration of known minerals in the United States. Millions of dollars worth of coal deposits, undeveloped; billions of dollars worth of pure white marble waiting to be made into buildings, memorials, and statuaries; gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc deposits that haven't been scratched. Yes, Mother Nature has been very generous in this fabulous valley.

In its Aug. 25, 1917 issue the _Marble Booster_ had this to say just before it permanently closed its doors:

"Some day this valley will come into its own. Nature has certainly been very bountiful in its distribution of resources up and down the Crystal River Valley, but man has been lame, mighty lame, in developing the same. The right man may yet come along. Speed the day is our fervent wish."

Perhaps this man has come along in the person of Frank E. Kistler who has purchased the Osgood Estate and is busily engaged restoring the property and making it into an all-year resort. He has added 36 rooms to the already 40-room inn, built a glass enclosed swimming pool, and constructed a children's playground. He is selling home sites, erecting homes, building a ski course, golf course, tennis courts, and minor auxiliary recreational facilities.

Four miles below Redstone the Crystal River runs through a district that contains several hot mineral springs that have medicinal value comparable to any in the United States.

Soon the canyon widens, sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other, into fertile meadows especially adapted to raising strawberries, raspberries, cherries, and apples. A little farther on there are large ranches bordering it. These raise potatoes, oats, alfalfa, and hay; they all depend on the never failing Crystal River for irrigation. It also runs through several stock (sheep and cattle) ranches before it reaches the Roaring Fork River below Carbondale, then, on to join the Colorado River below Glenwood Springs, thence to the Pacific Ocean.

_THESE PEOPLE Have Faith in the Valley_

Theodore (Sgt.) Jackson of Paonia, Colo., owns a cabin in Schofield and keeps sixteen horses there during the summer for conducting tourist trips to many remote points in the mountains.

The Cristenson Brothers graze 1,500 sheep every summer in the mountain meadows high above Crystal City. They say this is the most ideal spot for sheep grazing they have ever seen.

Ward C. Canaday, at one time president of Willys-Overland Motors, owns several mining claims above Crystal and some buildings and lots in the village. He expects that someday they will warrant his holding them the past 20 years.

The Collins, Tidwells, and Fowlers are holding on to all their mining claims and town property in Crystal City. They say if they never realize all their investment, they will at least always have a wonderful place to spend their vacations.

The Welcome Joe Neals of Mooresville, Ind., also have faith that their investments in mining claims and property in Crystal will pay handsomely as well as give them a favorite vacationing spot.

Judge C. C. McWilliams, of Gunnison, Colo., and his son, Carvel of Cedarridge, Colo., still pay the taxes and do the assessment work on their silver and gold claims above Lizzard Lake. And it is well they should as there have been some very valuable specimens taken from them.

Jack Clemenson of Kansas City, Mo., has a cabin up Lost Trail Creek, three miles above Marble, in which he spends his summers. He is studying for the ministry and sometimes helps the young folks conduct services in St. Paul's Episcopal (Community) Church during the summer.

Thano Johnson, artist and head of the art department in the Willoughby, Ohio, public schools, bought several lots and a house in Marble in 1945. He has improved the house by remodeling the inside, installing two huge fireplaces, and putting in several large plate-glass windows, until now it is one of the show places of Marble.

The Williams Brothers moved their general store from Crystal City to Marble in the early 1900s and ran it until 1942. John A. Williams had the post office in the back of the store for 20 years. He and his brother, C. Ambrose Williams, still come to Marble early in June every year and return to their winter home in Phoenix, Ariz., early in September.

Ted S. Wallace and Will L. Francis, employees of Tucson Newspapers, Inc., Tucson, Ariz., have investments in real estate here and expect someday to see Marble a strong tourist attraction.

Elmer Bair of Carbondale is probably the largest land owner in the valley, approximately 2,700 acres. He has been grazing sheep in this district for over 25 years and finds it a profitable investment. At present he runs 2,100 sheep in the Marble area every summer.

The Holy Cross Electric Assn., George Thurston general manager, had faith enough in the valley to extend a high tension electric line from Glenwood Springs to Redstone, and working with the Mountain States Tel. & Tel. Co. to install an all new electric and telephone line to Marble, thus giving first class service in both utilities to all in the valley.

Dr. and Mrs. Vanderbosch and the George Vanderweits, all of Denver, Colo., own a house in Marble that is in use most of the year by them or some of their friends.

Mr. and Mrs. John Reheuser of Denver own several lots in Marble that they have refused to sell since leaving here in 1942. They expect to build on them in the near future.

The Wade G. Loudermilks of Buckeye, Ariz., are disposing of all their holdings there and expect to invest everything in improving the Colorado property they own with the Frank Rehs, late of Washington, D. C., now of Glenwood Spgs. This is located at the Airport two miles below Marble and is ideal for summer vacation cottages.

Mrs. Marie Ramsey, Colorado Springs, Colo., has a summer cabin in Marble, and manages to make several trips there every summer.

Mr. and Mrs. Rome Isler own a house and a roadside stand, The Marble Trading Post, in Marble. They come up from Carbondale every spring before fishing season opens and stay until after hunting season in the fall.

The Hunters of Glenwood Springs and the Barnards of Fowler, Colo., own a cabin in Marble that they use as headquarters for their fishing trips in the summer and hunting in the fall.

Vance Baker of Glenwood Springs has investment in a marble crushing operation at the Old Mill Site in Marble. He expects to develop it into a paying industry in the near future.

The Leo Pascals of Fort Collins, Colo. and La Paz, Bolivia, South America, have a cabin in Marble that they expect to make more use of in the future than they have during the past two years while stationed in South America.

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Ganley of Buckeye, Ariz., maintain a summer home in Marble, although it is rather far to come for a short vacation. Their children insist they keep it so they can come for skiing in the winter.

Mr. and Mrs. Bob Lee of Denver and their four children, Edward, Nancy, Pat, and Judy, have a cabin in Marble where they spend much time horseback riding, hiking, picnicing and fishing every summer.

Mr. and Mrs. George T. (Anna) Harris own numerous lots and two cabins in Marble and several mining claims in the Crystal City area, that they feel confident will warrant their investment, and faith in the valley.

Mr. and Mrs. Ted S. (Marion) Wallace of Tucson, Ariz., have purchased several lots and a house in Marble. They expect to modernize it and spend part of their summers there away from the heat in Tucson.