by Meg Dunn | Mar 6, 2023 | Cultural Character, Fort Collins, People Groups
Charles T. Birdwhistle (Image from the Archive at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, M00350.) On April 25, 1898, the U.S. Congress declared war on Spain. Upon hearing the news, a 17-year-old resident of North Topeka, Kansas, by the name of Charles Birdwhistle,...
by Meg Dunn | Mar 18, 2022 | Frontier Faces, People Groups
Racial History of Northern Colorado After the events of this past month, I’ve had several people reach out to me asking about what our local history has been regarding racial issues. So I’ve put together a collection of links to articles I’ve...
by Meg Dunn | Jun 21, 2016 | Cultural Character, National History, People Groups, Red Mountain & Soapstone
On June 18th, the Buffalo Soldiers of the American West came to Soapstone Prairie to lead a horseback ride through the region’s amber waves of grain. But first, Fred Applewhite, the first officer, gave a short presentation on the history of the Buffalo Soldiers....
by Meg Dunn | Jan 19, 2016 | Fort Collins, Frontier Faces, People Groups
While researching stories, such as that of Charley Clay, Hattie McDaniel, and the Collamer brothers, I repeatedly kept coming across a neighbor’s name in the census records and city directories that intrigued me — Harkless Hicks. I’ve never met...
by Meg Dunn | Jun 26, 2015 | Fort Collins, Frontier Faces, People Groups
Every family has its stories. They are passed down from generation to generation and over time one begins to wonder how much is true. Such is the case in the Cienfuegos family, here in Fort Collins. If their story is true, then I can credit Pancho Villa (in a...
by Meg Dunn | Apr 24, 2015 | Cultural Character, Fort Collins, People Groups, Then and Now
The last standing beet shack in Fort Collins’ sugar beet neighborhoods fell in on itself in last week’s snow/rainfall. I waxed philosophical about the event in Tuesday’s post, and today I thought I’d pull together some Then & Now photos of...
by Meg Dunn | Feb 17, 2015 | Denver, Museums & Historic Sites, National History, People Groups
When Paul Stewart was growing up in Iowa in the 1930s, he loved to play “Cowboys and Indians” with his friends. But he always ended up playing the role of the Indian because, so his friends told him, there was no such thing as a Black cowboy. It...
by Meg Dunn | Feb 6, 2015 | Fort Collins, History in the News, People Groups
While researching the story of Charley Clay, an early black pioneer to the area, I came across a newspaper clipping that caught my attention. It’s a fascinating read on several levels. It speaks to Victorian mores. It includes some prominent early citizens such...
