Victor Heritage Society
Working Together to Preserve 
Historic Victor, Colorado
City of Gold MInes
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  • Preservation Successes
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  • Landmarks
  • Guidelines & Galleries
    • Guide to Preserving Our Architectural Heritage
    • Photo Gallery of Victor Residential Gems
    • Photo Gallery of Victor Businesses Operating in Historic Buildings
    • Photo Gallery of Historic Victor Homes & Buildings--Then & Now
    • Photo Gallery of Historic Victor Artwork by Fred Shane, Circa 1942
    • Photo Gallery of Historic Gold Mines >
      • Stratton's Independence Mine
      • Restoring the Historic Headframe of Stratton's Independence Mine
      • Gold Coin Mine--Part of the Woods Empire
      • Vindicator Mine
    • Photos From 1903-04 Labor Strike in Cripple Creek & Victor Mining District.
    • Step Back in Time with Glimpses of Historical Photos Featuring Victor, Colorado & the Surrounding Mining District
  • Oral History
    • “The Only Swedish Grocery Store in Victor”: The J.A. “Joseph” Beckman Family in the Cripple Creek Mining District of Colorado, 1896-1915 by Richard "Dick" Markley.
    • Goold Family Historic Ties to Victor, Colorado & Famous Former Residents of the City by Nellie Goold Young.
    • H. L. Turner Story--Part 2: Unique Perspectives About the History of Victor, Colorado & the Cripple Creek Mining District.
    • Memories of H. L. Turner (1882-1967) and His Experiences in the Early Days of the Cripple Creek Mining District.
    • Tragedies When I Was Growing Up In Victor by Charles Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).
    • Memories of James Garth Payne & How He Came to Letter Names on the Original WWII Roll of Honor in Victor and Cripple Creek, Colorado.
    • Winters in Victor, Colorado during the 1940's & 50's by Charles Spray (AKA Jeep Hack)
    • Biking & Hockey in Victor, Colorado -- The Passions of Brian Hayes
    • Sports in Victor, Colorado & Memories of the 1949 Pikes Peak Junior High Basketball Tournament
    • Abbott Family Memories Made in Victor, Colorado: The House & Antiques Shop -- by Debbie Abbott.
    • Abbott Family Memories Made in Victor, Colorado: Digging At the Dump -- by Steve Abbott.
    • Abbott Family Memories Made in Victor, Colorado: Mom & Her Victor Friends -- by Dave Abbott.
    • A History of VICTOR, COLORADO--THE CITY OF MINES, compiled and published in 1933 by S. E. Poet, Superintendent of Public Schools at Victor.
    • Carl Roy's Oral History Videos -- Life in Victor, Colorado
    • The Miner’s Photograph: A Pathway to the Past by Steven Wade Veatch.
    • Recollections of My Life in Victor, Colorado during the Depression, WWII, & After By Charles Norman Spray (AKA Jeep Hack)
    • Memories of Washington Elementary--My First School in Victor, Colorado by Charles Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).
    • Adventures at the Beaver Valley Ranch While Growing up in Victor, Colorado by Charles Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).
    • Memories of the Ina & Henry Cleveland Hack Family by Charles Norman Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).
    • The Lighter Side of a Visit to Hack's Victor Barber Shop by Charles Norman Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).
    • Memories of Margaret & Henry C. "June" Hack, Jr. by Charles Norman Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).
    • Memorabilia from Cripple Creek & Victor High School Bands Directed by Ernest T. Sly from 1939 to 1950.
    • A Day in the Cresson Mine by Charles Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).
    • Firewood For Victor, Colorado by Charles Norman Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).
    • Memories of My Grandfather, John Reed Gardner (1864-1951)--Gardner Mercantile Owner, Bank President, Insurance Company Executive. By John Reed Gardner, II (grandson).
    • Tarie Huber Oral History Videos -- Life in Victor, Colorado
    • 1896 Shooting Affray at Union Theater in Victor, Colorado.
    • Memories of Mrs. Katy Bemore, resident of Independence when the deport was blown up in 1904.
    • Working Underground in the Cripple Creek & Victor Mining District, 1972 to 1979: How I Got the Shaft, the Gas, and the Broken Steel by Randall Stewart.
    • INSTALLMENT #1. Seven Generations In Victor, Colorado and The Mining District—The Way It Was as Recalled by Eleanor Musser Baker.
    • INSTALLMENT #2. Seven Generations In Victor, Colorado and The Mining District—The Way It Was as Recalled by Eleanor Musser Baker.
    • INSTALLMENT #3. Seven Generations In Victor, Colorado and The Mining District—The Way It Was as Recalled by Eleanor Musser Baker.
    • Memories of Edward Franklin Page: Watchman at the Stratton Mines and Subsequently a Mine Manager, Farmer, Retail Businessman, & Banker.
    • Tom Schryver's Memories of Growing Up in Victor, Colorado and His Parents--Mayme & Charles "Bumps" Chapman.
    • McCormick Family Connections to Victor, Colorado (1893-2014) by Mary Ann McCormick Hamm.
    • Paying the Piper by Gertrude Moore McGowan.
    • Gold Camp Celebration--Fourth of July in Victor, Early 1900's by Gertrude Moore McGowan.
    • Memories of Lulu Ella Manson & Harry Gordon Moore by Gertrude Moore McGowan
    • Memories of Fannie & Alfred Osborn by Marge Breth
    • Memories of Cripple Creek & Victor, 1945-62, by Mary Alice Orazen
    • The Story of Axel Olson & His Golden Girl, Betzi Johnson, by Shirley Beach.
    • Memories of Mr. and Mrs. Axel Olson by KC Garver
    • Victor Recollections--Mountain Doctor, Small Town Cop, Gus's Sporting Goods, & Little Toy Pocket Knife by Floyd Frank
    • Memories of Lowell Thomas--Victor"s Most Famous Former Resident
    • Memories of the Gold Rush Era in Victor by Edgar McGowan
    • A Day In the Life of a Miner by Chuck Clark
    • Underground Mining Experiences at the Cresson and Ajax by Myron House
    • Hynes Brothers "Clean Ice" for Victor, Colorado--Memories of Mary Ellen Hynes Chetelat.
    • Marguerite Clark--One of Victor's Angels by Chuck Clark
    • Charlie Clark & the Quality Cash Market by Chuck Clark
    • Pop Sly -- Ernest T. Sly, The Band Man by Chuck Clark
    • Mr. Mortenson--The Victor Shoemaker by Chuck Clark
    • Heninger Family Memories of Victor, Portland Junction, & Independence: 1909-1916, by Virginia & Edgar Heninger
    • Reflections on Goldfield by Carol Roberts
    • Growing Up In Victor in the 1930's by Bob Penman
    • Victor's Welcome to Vice-President Roosevelt
  • Visit

Memories of Victor & the World's Greatest Gold Camp
Family Connections and History:  Index & Links

Be Known for the Memories You Preserve Rather Than the Ones You Forgot.  It’s Your Legacy.

Please Share Your Memories and Family Connections to Victor & the World's Greatest Gold Camp
By Contacting Victor Heritage Society, PO Box 424, Victor, CO 80860 or e-mail VictorHeritageSociety@gmail.com.​
Stories should be written in your own words and (if possible) be accompanied by photos as illustrated in the examples below.
​Questions may also be directed to Shirley Beach, VHS Oral History Coordinator. 

Support for the Oral History Archives of the VHS web site has been provided by a
​generous donation from Sherry Brown in Memory of her Uncle Donald White
.

“The Only Swedish Grocery Store in Victor”:  The J.A. “Joseph” Beckman Family in the Cripple Creek Mining District of Colorado, 1896-1915.
Submitted (October 2022) by Richard "Dick" Markley (great nephew of Joseph Beckman).

Goold Family Historic Ties to Victor, Colorado & Famous Former Residents of the City--Lowell Thomas, Jack Dempsey, & Morgan Williams.
​
Submitted (June 2022) by Nellie Goold Young (granddaughter of Everett Edgar Goold, Sr. (1864-1911), daughter of Everett Edgar Gould, Jr. (1892-1962).

H. L. Turner Story--Part 2:  Unique Perspectives about the History of Victor, Colorado & the Cripple Creek Mining District.
Submitted (June 2022) by Dick Turner (grandson).

Memories of Harry Louis (H. L.) Turner (1882-1965) & His Experiences in the Early Days of the Cripple Creek Mining District.
Submitted (May 2022) by Dick Turner (grandson) and Ruth Stephan (granddaughter).

Tragedies When I Was Growing Up in Victor, Colorado During the 1940's & 1950's.
Submitted (October 2021) by Charles Spray (AKA Jeep Hack) with research assistance from Shirley Beach.

Memories of James Garth Payne & How He Came to Letter Names on the Original WWII Roll of Honor in Victor and Cripple Creek.
Submitted (September 2021) by Marjorie Payne (daughter-in-law)
.

Winters in Victor, Colorado during the 1940's & early 50's.
Submitted (April 2021) by Charles Norman Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).
 

Biking & Hockey in Victor, Colorado – The Passions of Brian Hayes.
Online Text and Video by Bill Plock, President, 303 Endurance Network.
Links shared with the Victor Heritage Society Oral History Archives (March 2021).

Sports in Victor, Colorado & Memories of the 1949 Pikes Peak Junior High School Basketball Championship Tournament. 
Submitted (January 2021) by Charles Normal Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).

Kay & Virgil Abbott's Family Memories Made In Victor, Colorado.
    Part 1:  The House & Antiques Shop by Debbie Abbott.
    Part 2:  Digging At the Dump by Steve Abbott.
    Part 3:  Mom & Her Victor Friends by Dave Abbott.
​
Submitted (September 2020) by Debbie, Steve and Dave Abbott.

A History of  VICTOR, COLORADO--THE CITY OF MINES, compiled and published in 1933 by S. E. Poet, Superintendent of Public Schools at Victor.
Submitted (August 2020) from the author's 1933 publications with accompanying photos (not included in the author's published history) shared from the Victor Heritage Society archives and captioned sources when known.

Carl Roy's Oral History Videos -- Life in Victor, Colorado:  A four-part series of videos produced from an Oral History Interview with former Victor resident Carl Roy.
Oral History Interview Videoed (September 2019), Editing for VHS YouTube Channel completed (April 2020). 

The Miner’s Photograph: A Pathway to the Past.  The story of Robert Plews (my great-grandfather) who immigrated from England seeking better opportunities and found employment at the Elkton Mine in 1897.
​
Submitted (March 2020) by Steven Veatch.

Recollections of My Life in Victor, Colorado During the Depression, WWII, & After by Charles Norman Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).
​
Submitted by his childhood friend, Georganna McCleerey Peiffer (November 2019).

Memories of Washington Elementary--My First School in Victor, Colorado.
​Submitted (January 2020) by Charles Norman Spray (AKA Jeep Hack). 

Adventures at the Beaver Valley Ranch while Growing Up in Victor, Colorado.
Submitted (January 2020) by Charles Norman Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).

Memories of the Ina & Henry Cleveland Hack  Family.
​Submitted (February 2020) by Charles Norman Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).

The Lighter Side of a Visit to Hack's Victor Barbershop.
Submitted (February 2020) by Charles Norman Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).

Memories of Margaret & Henry C. "June" Hack, Jr.
Submitted (March 2020) by Charles Norman Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).

Memorabilia from Cripple Creek & Victor High School Bands Directed by Ernest T. Sly from 1939 to 1950.
Contributed (April 2020) by Georganna McCleerey Peiffer and Charles Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).

A Day in the Cresson Mine.
​Submitted (May 2020) by Charles Norman Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).

FIREWOOD FOR VICTOR
Submitted (October 2020) by Charles Norman Spray (AKA Jeep Hack).

Memories of John Reed Gardner (1864-1951)--Gardner Mercantile Owner, Citizens Bank of Victor President, Merchants Insurance Company Executive.
Submitted (October 2019) by John Reed Gardner, II (grandson).
 

Tarie Huber's Oral History Videos -- Life in Victor, Colorado:  A five-part series of videos produced from an Oral History Interview with Tarie Huber, beloved, long-time Victor Resident.
Interview Videographed (September 2018), Edited & Made Accessible on YouTube (July 2019).

Memories of Joe & Viola Madonna, Griff & Mollie Kate Ellis, and Photos From Their Family Album Documenting the Tragic Events Which Led to the End of the 1903-04 Strike by the Western Federation of Miners Union.
Shared (March 2019) by Rose Noal, Cathy Schafer, Joe DiRito and Tony DiRito from photographic memorabilia of their grandparents (Joe & Viola Madonna) and their great uncle and aunt (Griff & molie Kate Ellis).

1896 Shooting Affray at the "Union Theatre of Varieties" in Victor, CO.  
From the Cornish Post and Mining News, February 1896, Cornwall, UK.
 

Submitted (January 2019) by Damian R. Nance and Tony Clarke.
   

Memories of Mrs. Katy Bemore--Resident of Independence, CO when the train depot was blown up in 1904.
​Submitted (December 2018) by Patrick Freeman.

Working Underground in the Cripple Creek & Victor Mining District (1972 to 1979):  How I Got the Shaft, the Gas, and the Broken Steel by Randall Stewart.  
Submitted (July 2018) by Randall Stewart.

Installment #1.  SEVEN GENERATIONS IN VICTOR, COLORADO & THE MINING DISTRICT--The Way It Was.  Memories of  Eleanor Musser Baker (1920-2003) and her mother, Sadie Musser (1890-1965).
Submitted (January 2018) by Tish Allen (daughter of Eleanor Baker, granddaughter of Sadie Musser). 
Installment #2.  SEVEN GENERATIONS IN VICTOR, COLORADO & THE MINING DISTRICT--The Way It Was.  Memories of  Eleanor Musser Baker (1920-2003) and her mother, Sadie Musser (1890-1965).
Submitted (February 2018) by Tish Allen (daughter of Eleanor Baker, granddaughter of Sadie Musser). 
Installment #3.  SEVEN GENERATIONS IN VICTOR, COLORADO & THE MINING DISTRICT--The Way It Was.  Memories of  Eleanor Musser Baker (1920-2003) and her mother, Sadie Musser (1890-1965).
Submitted (March 2018) by Tish Allen (daughter of Eleanor Baker, granddaughter of Sadie Musser). 

MEMORIES OF EDWARD FRANKLIN PAGE:  WATCHMAN AT THE STRATTON MINES AND SUBSEQUENTLY A MINE MANAGER, FARMER, RETAIL BUSINESSMAN AND BANKER.
Excerpted from "Matthews, Page, Wilson, Dean, Bartlet and Related Families” by Kermit Dean Mathews (grandson of Edward Franklin Page), Higginson Book Company (1993).
Submitted by Fred Matthews (great grandson of Edward Franklin Page), December 2017.

TOM SCHRYVER'S MEMORIES OF GROWING UP IN VICTOR, COLORADO AND HIS PARENTS--MAYME & CHARLES "BUMPS" CHAPMAN.
By Tom Schryver, Submitted December 2018.

​McCORMICK FAMILY CONNECTIONS TO VICTOR, COLORADO (1893-2014):  Portland Master Mechanic, Vindicator Superintendant, Scottish Poet, Labor War Casualty, Preservation Activist, Historic Memorabilia Collector. 
​Mary Ann McCormick Hamm's Story of Her Brother, David "Bean" McCormick (1941-2014); Great Grandfather, William McCormick; and Great Uncle, Charles McCormick.
Submitted by Mary Ann McCormick Hamm, November 2017.

PAYING THE PIPER:  IT WASN'T FAIR, BUT MAMA'S SMILING COMMENT, "WE ARE WOMEN," WAS FULLY UNDERSTOOD BY HER YOUNG DAUGHTER ONLY AFTER YEARS OF LIVING, LOVING, AND LEARNING.
Gertrude Moore McGowan's Story of Life Lessons Learned From Her Mother While Growing Up in Victor, Colorado in the Early 1900's was published in GOOD OLD DAYS MAGAZINE

Submitted by her daughter, Nancy McGowan Galbraith, September 2017.

GOLD CAMP CELEBRATION:  FOURTH OF JULY IN VICTOR, EARLY 1900's.
Childhood Memories Recalled by Gertrude Moore McGowan (1905-1992)
Submitted by her daughter, Nancy McGowan Galbraith, August 2017.

​​MEMORIES OF LULU ELLA MANSON & HARRY GORDON MOORE.
As Recalled in Letters Written by Gertrude Moore McGowan (daughter)

Submitted by Nancy McGowan Galbraith (granddaughter), January 2016.

MEMORIES OF FANNIE & ALFRED OSBORN:  My Great Grandparents Who Lived in Teller County at Gillett Flats, Victor, and the Osborn Homestead which is now part of Mueller State Park.
By Marge Breth
Submitted by Margaret (Marge) Breth, December 2016.

MEMORIES OF CRIPPLE CREEK & VICTOR, 1945--1962.
By Mary Alice Orazen
Submitted by Mary Alice Orazen, October 2016.

THE STORY OF AXEL OLSON & HIS GOLDEN GIRL, BETZI JOHNSON--The Gold WAs In His Heart, Not His Hand.
By Shirley Olson Beach
Submitted by Shirley Beach, October 2016.

MEMORIES OF MR. & MRS. AXEL OLSON.
By KC Garver
​Submitted by KC Garver, October 2016.

VICTOR RECOLLECTIONS--MOUNTAIN DOCTOR, SMALL TOWN COP, GUS'S SPORTING GOODS, & LITTLE TOY POCKET KNIFE.
By Floyd Frank

Submitted By Floyd Frank, August 2016.

MEMORIES OF LOWELL THOMAS--VICTOR'S MOST FAMOUS FORMER RESIDENT:
EXCERPTS FROM A TRIBUTE TO LOWELL THOMAS, UNIVERSITY OF DENVER NEWS, October 1971
Submitted by Richard Fay, August 2016.
LOWELL THOMAS' LIFELONG TIES TO VICTOR, COLORADO
​
Compiled from VHS archives
, August 2016.
VIEW THE TRAILER FOR A RECENTLY RELEASED DOCUMENTARY ABOUT LOWELL THOMAS
"Voice of America:  Lowell Thomas and the Rise of Broadcast News" (3 minutes).

MEMORIES OF THE GOLD RUSH ERA IN VICTOR--Those Who Struck It Rich & Lost It All, Highgrading, Movie Theaters and the Opera House
By Edgar McGowan

Submitted by Nancy Galbraith, July 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MINER
By Charles (Chuck) Clark

Submitted by Chuck Clark, May 2016

UNDERGROUND MINING EXPERIENCES AT THE CRESSON & AJAX
By Myron House

Submitted by Chuck Clark, May 2016

HYNES BROTHERS "CLEAN ICE" FOR VICTOR--Memories of Mary Ellen Hynes Chetelat
Denver Post Empire Magazine, September 26, 1971
Excerpts from "Clean Ice for Victor"

By Bernard Kelly

MEMORIES OF MARGUERITE CLARK--ONE OF VICTOR'S ANGELS
By Charles (Chuck) Clark

Submitted by Chuck Clark, February 2016

VICTOR'S WELCOME TO MR. ROOSEVELT--Editorial & Text of Speech at Gold Coin Club
The Denver Times Newspaper
August 10, 1901

MEMORIES OF POP SLY -- ERNEST T. SLY, THE BAND MAN
By Charles (Chuck) Clark
Submitted by Chuck Clark, November 2015

MEMORIES OF  CHARLIE CLARK AND THE QUALITY CASH MARKET
By Charles (Chuck) Clark
Submitted by Chuck Clark, October 2015

MEMORIES OF MR. MORTENSON--THE VICTOR SHOEMAKER
By Charles (Chuck) Clark
Submitted by Chuck Clark, October 2015

HENINGER FAMILY MEMORIES OF VICTOR, PORTLAND JUNCTION, & INDEPENDENCE:  1909-1916
By Virginia Heninger & Edgar Heninger
Submitted by Denise Mills, August 2013

REFLECTIONS ON GOLDFIELD
By Carol E. Roberts, 1928-2003
Submitted by Barbara Doop, Sept 2014 

GROWING UP IN VICTOR IN THE 1930's
By Bob Penman
Submitted by Marilyn Fay, Dec 2013

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