Wildcat Lore
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner The Lawrence C. Phipps Jr. who purchased the Kistler and Welte properties and named it Highlands Ranch was connected and wealthy, the son of…
Read MoreBy Joe Gschwendtner; photos courtesy of Josephine Marr’s “A Historical Journey” and the Douglas County History Research Center Riveting history often includes stories of places larger than life. In the…
Read MoreBy Joe Gschwendtner; photo courtesy of Amy and Dave Flanagan Last month, The Connection left readers with Arthur (Art) Ceresa and his wife Mary, “a gracious woman,” who slowly, shrewdly…
Read MoreArticle and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Joseph Kroll and John Schweiger Sr., likely met in the Leadville mines after emigrating from the Austrian Empire around 1870. With modest savings and…
Read MoreBy Joe Gschwendtner; photo courtesy of “Walk with our Pioneers – A Collection,” by Alice M. Thompson In our July segment of Wildcat Lore, we encountered the Wolfensbergers, Reynolds and…
Read MoreBy Joe Gschwendtner; photos courtesy of “I’d do it again” by Sarah A. Gleason, Copyright 1982, Century One Press Sarah Gleason was an only child of Irish immigrants born…
Read MoreArticle and photos by Joe Gschwendtner; photo courtesy of Douglas County History Research Center Public education was so important that it was addressed in the Articles of Confederation by our…
Read MoreArticle and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Sixteen years after the Wright brothers’ epic 1903 first flight, night-time navigational aids (other than bonfires) were non-existent. With the demand for airmail…
Read MoreArticle and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Thirty-six million years ago a massive volcanic eruption near Mt. Princeton hurled molten rock and gases into Douglas County. Traveling nearly 100 miles per…
Read MoreTurn-of-the-century Douglas County pioneers were tough and uncomplicated. They lived in the moment. Dreams of their future were marred by hostile Indians, locusts, parched lands, dried-up streams and rattlesnakes. Long-term…
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