Meeting Old Friends Week…
I’m recovering slightly from the Bronco debacle, defeat recently. They will never have an easier road to the Super Bowl than this season. I think if Bo Nix played, we would have won the game. But it does look good for next season so we must all get over the loss and look forward to next year and beyond.
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I enjoyed meeting some friends this past week and had a telephone call with my best high school friend at Moffat County High School in Craig, CO. He attended BYU and became a member of the LDS Church. Bill did a mission after graduation and spent 40 years as a teacher and University English professor in Rexburg, ID. He, and his wife Barbara send Gerri and I a Christmas letter every December describing their annual adventures. I called Bill this week and we had a great conversation about our lives, adventures, health, and family. We had a great time in high school and have seen each other back in Craig at class reunions. There is something to be said for growing up in a rural community and the togetherness that is created by all of our hometowns. My suggestion to you readers is to call those old friends and reminisce about your lasting friendships.
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Another joyful activity this past week was getting my grandfather clock chimes adjusted to the correct time. I’m a longtime friend of David Gies, a clock expert. There is a title for that that I can’t spell or remember, but he is a member of the local clock chapter and I’ve consulted with him on a historic clock that came by an oxen wagon train to Central City back in the 1800s and is in the hallway of the historic Teller House, next to the famous Opera Bldg. David was a leader in philanthropy with an animal nonprofit for many years and is an Arapahoe County resident. He walked me through the routine to reset my clock that started with turning it off overnight and starting it when it reached the correct time the next day. He warned, always turn the dial forward, never backwards. It worked like a charm, so the bells are ringing again in our living room. Reset all of the clocks with daylight savings time is a challenge. Have you had fun adjusting your car clocks?
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As the week progressed, I had a very pleasant lunch at Poppies on South Colorado Boulevard, a local culinary hangout for countless loyal customers who flock to the restaurant daily. Jeff and Sharon are two of the mainstays at this delightful restaurant with cordial servers and great cooks. I met Mike Smith for lunch; he is another Craig friend who grew up two houses from our house. Mike and his brother Greg both became Eagle Scouts and his dad was the local postmaster. Mike was a great student and the only student from Craig to attend Harvard and obtain a law degree. He ended up practicing law in Denver with the Stapleton/Ireland Law firm for many years until his retirement. He has been active in Denver society for many years and recently purchased a home back in Craig as a second home for a summer hangout. He is an avid historian, having spent decades in Denver and working for former Mayor Ben Stapleton’s law firm. In Craig he is assisting the local award-winning museum with some rural school research where my mother was the County School Superintendent. His mother was the County Clerk.
We had a great lunch. Between his background, and mine as the local newspaper publisher for 20 years, we know about every family history in Craig. We both dined at Poppies with chicken fried steaks with extra gravy. One of our last projects together was related to helping the Letterpress Museum in Englewood survive. It is surviving well. That’s another story.
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And the week progressed with another luncheon with longtime friend Mel Tewahada, the new vice-president of The Denver Lions Club. The Lions meet at the Legion Post No. 1 at Yale St. every other week. Lions assist the blind and hearing impaired and most recently added diabetes to their programs. Lions and Rotary both started years ago with Lions dating back to 1917 and Rotary, “Service Before Self,” a few years ahead of the Lions. The Optimist Club is also a powerful group. They meet at the Legion Post every Friday morning and have many school assist programs. Our sports editor, Denny Dressman, was named their “Member of the Year” recently. The Denver Lions Club was one of the top 25 founder’s clubs with the first International President from Denver. Lions and Rotary both have their headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois. Helen Keller called the Lions her “Knights of the Blind” in 1925. The Lions collect old eyeglasses, index the lenses and redo the frames. Lion members Steve and Susy Kinsky organize and lead missions taking the eyeglasses to rural areas in foreign countries. Locally, we provide new glasses free to Denver school children in need. Lion Mel is an Ethiopian refugee who left his country during a Communist conflict years ago. Today, he operates a very successful local financial firm and is a leader in the 30,000 Ethiopian community in Aurora. He suggested having lunch at the Dumpling House in Greenwood Village, next to nearby Ocean Prime. I’ve never been there, but nearby Ocean Prime has The Villager newspaper framed on their wall featuring their grand opening. So it was that Mel and I were enjoying this very enticing restaurant with a very healthy menu of Asian cuisine. We both opted for egg drop soup with chicken, noodles, and dumplings, as the luncheon special. I entered the restaurant from the jam-packed parking lot with Ocean Prime customers, nearby Waffle House and the newly opened La Loma Mexican restaurant. We met at 1 p.m. but the lot was still full. I located the restaurant on the far west end of the mall next to the Jewelry Exchange and Starbucks. Entering the front door there was Marc Holtzman seated on an entry bench talking on his phone. Marc was a leading Republican candidate running for Governor in 2006 and served on Gov. Bill Owens cabinet as The First Secretary of Technology. He was the co-founder of The Denver School of Technology. He became President of The University of Denver from 2003-2005. Haven’t seen him in years but have followed his successful banking career in foreign countries, including Europe and Africa. Marc lives nearby and was dining with his mother and wife and had slipped away for an important phone call. He was taking his mother to the airport to fly back to her home in Florida. I gave her a Villager to read on the plane. I have Marc’s phone number for a future feature. He related that he was flying back to London later in the week but would contact me. Sitting down in a booth I looked across the aisle and low, and behold, there was DTC icon Ray Bullock having lunch with a colleague. Ray and George Wallace built the Denver Technological Center together back starting in the late 70s and 80s. Ray was the brains behind it all working closely with Wallace and his vision of having a business center close to an airport, their dream came true. Well, I jumped up and said “hello” and Ray was happy to see me once again. He later met Mel and we plan to meet again with Ray now residing back in the area. I want to capture some of the early day history as he and George built such a large empire together. The Dumpling House was an overwhelming success of old friendships relived. Go there for lunch:; good place.
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Friday morning my co-publisher daughter Susan Lanam Sweeney and Senior Reporter Freda Miklin were at the annual South Metro Denver Chamber Economic Forecast breakfast in Lone Tree with over 500 people in attendance. The Villager is a “Platinum” member of this great chamber and just announcing our “Man and Woman of the Year” at the event. You can read the forecast in next week’s newspaper on Freda’s pages. A word of advice for business firms – join the chamber and network with other business leaders, it is one of the major keys for success and it’s all about networking with others.
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Friday, I went to Black Hawk and Central City where we have another newspaper, The Weekly Register-Call, the oldest newspaper in Colorado started in 1862, still in the same building. The area was part of the Kansas Territory when gold was first discovered there in 1859. Colorado is celebrating the 150th year of statehood in 1876 with the nation’s 1776 250- year anniversary this year. Littleton is the oldest city in the county and I’m told…once had a choice of the University of Colorado or the prison. They didn’t receive either but is a city on the march with many good things happening in Littleton. Reinke Brother’s Halloween spook show is world class, and their gift store is unique with costumes and loaded with treasures. Go visit them and say hello to the Reinke brothers, great longtime city boosters with a gigantic operation right downtown.
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No football on this Sunday afternoon as I write this weekly column. The end result of the week’s very pleasant luncheons was my weight was up four pounds so I’m fasting today. DU Chancellor Dan Richie explained fasting to me years ago; he did it for three days at a time. He was a great man and put the University back on the map. All Hail to his name and great leadership for decades. Steve Edmonds worked side by side with Dan for many years. Well, that’s another story. TO BE CONTINUED…