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Wildcat Lore

Wildcat Mountain Castles II

By CPC | Jan 1, 2018

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…

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Wildcat Mountain castles

By CPC | Dec 1, 2017

By 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…

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Surrey Ridge: the rest of the story

By CPC | Nov 1, 2017

By 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…

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The Austrians: Surrey Ridge

By CPC | Oct 1, 2017

Article 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…

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A motley crew: A veteran, drayman and sheriff are more Wildcat Mountain pioneers

By CPC | Aug 1, 2017

By 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…

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“I’d do it again” – teaching snapshots of Sarah Gleason

By CPC | Mar 1, 2017

By 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…

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Schools and schoolmarms

By CPC | Feb 1, 2017

Article 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…

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Wildcat Mountain highway in the sky

By CPC | Jan 1, 2017

  Article 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…

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Rhyolite: Tuff stuff launches early economic boom in Douglas County

By CPC | Dec 1, 2016

Article 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…

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Giants of the Wildcat Mountains

By CPC | Nov 1, 2016

Turn-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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