What:  In the State we love so much, let's not forget our dark side(s). Who knew that the Ku Klux Klan had the second greatest national participation in Colorado, second only to Indiana. The post World War I era ushered in a nationwide pulse of nationalism. Americanism became huge as the legacy of WWI left immense fear and hatred. Powerful bigotry took hold, small town values were the way. Voters wanted Calvin Coolidge, hated Roosevelt and thought that government's role was to facilitate an individuals right to strike it rich. The Klan claimed more than 2 million members at its peak. Most attracted by the common thread of hate, fear and greed. Fear of change, fear of Catholics, fear of African Americans, fear of Jews, fear of just about everything. In 1924, seven out of ten Klansmen voted to elect Benjamin F. Stapleton mayor of Denver. He vowed to, "give the Klan the kind of administration it wants."
​ ​
When: 1921 to 1925.

Who: Membership in Denver reached 17,000 (1/2 of Colorado's total); Imperial Wizard William J. Simmons (Denver); Grand Dragon John Galen Locke (1923); Benjamin F. Stapleton (Democrat); Rice W. Means appointed director of public safety by Stapleton; Klansman occupied the offices of lieutenant governor, auditor, attorney general, secretary of state, city attorney, chief of police, and supreme court justice; they were all Klansmen. Republican Lawrence Phipps (not a member), the reelected US Senator, contributed mass sums to the Klan in exchange for votes. Klansmen Clarence J. Morley elected governor and Rice W. Means later elected US senator. 

​Where: Harassment and violence against the Jews in neighborhoods along West Colfax. Attacks against the NAACP. Klan parties at Lakeside Amusement Park. The Klan also had a significant presence in Colorado Springs and Canon City where it dominated both political parties. Much of the membership was out of fear of bootleggers and prostitution. Walsenburg and Trinidad residents had similar reasons for enrollment. Made up of mostly Protestant Americans, along with shelter from their fears, the Klan offered excitement, camaraderie and, in the small town of Flagler Colorado, even had a nine-hole golf course for its country club Klan members.
​
​Significance: A huge part of our past. At one time, the Klan owned our state. The election of mayor Benjamin Stapleton caused the Denver Post to conclude that the Ku Klux Klan was "the largest, most cohesive and most efficiently organized political force in the state of Colorado today." The Republican Party, heavily backed by the Klan, controlled both houses of the legislature. Governor Morley would not make a decision without consulting the Grand Dragon. Morley proposed legislation to exclude certain aliens from the state and to prohibit the use of sacramental wine. Stapleton eventually was instrumental in the demise of the Colorado Klan, but his connection can not go unnoticed. The Klan's rise and fall was relatively swift. Still, a sore spot in our history.

What: The worst storm in 56 years hit southeastern Colorado. In Kiowa County, a bus full of school children entered a blizzard and their school bus stalled. Those on the bus were stranded for more than a day without heat, food, water, or proper clothing. Five children and the bus driver died. It was warm and 60 degrees that morning. Most children dressed in light clothing. The school bus turned around once it reached the school as snow began to fall. By 9:00 AM it was a full blizzard. the bus got lost in the whiteout. At 9:30, the school bus got stuck in a ditch, stalled and could not be restarted. The bus offered very little shelter.
​ ​
When: March 26, 1931.

Who: Carl Miller, bus driver, drove a 1929 Chevrolet truck with a wooden body attached to the bed. The vehicle could carry 20 passengers to and from school. The seats were wooden benches. Cardboard covered two broken windows. There was no heater or radio. By the time Miller reached the school, it began to snow. A collective decision,  by the teachers, was made NOT to have the children seek shelter in the schoolhouse, but for Miller to return the children to their homes. The school had no food, water, blankets and not much coal for heat. Miller did not agree that he could beat the storm  Everyone stayed alive through the night. The temperature was 20 degrees below zero with winds at seventy miles an hour plus. Carl Miller set out on foot for help. His frozen body was found the next day about 3.5 miles from the school bus. His hands cut by a barb wire fence he was using to navigate. Louise Stonebaker (11), Kenneth Johnson (7) and Bobbie Brown (9) died before help arrived. The children would spend thirty-two hours in the bus before being rescued. Mary Louise Miller and Arlo Untiedt would die at the Reinert home where the surviving children were taken. 

​Where: The Pleasant Hill area is located in southeast Kiowa County, about 14 miles south of Towner and 17 miles north of Holly in Prowers County.

​Significance: A huge historical event in the history of Colorado. A time before technology. The tragedy reinforced the brutal nature of life on the plains during the Great Depretion. Reminds us of how fast the weather can change and how devastating the effects can be. Serious discussion was started related to student transportation safety. This included early release for days when bad weather was expected, bus upgrades that included two-way radios. Schools still did not have any phones for sometime after the tragedy.

​What: The camp/town of Woodstock, Colorado was completely destroyed by an avalanche. 18 people were buried, 13 died, six were children. A train approaching the Alpine Tunel blew its whistle setting off the avalanche. Woodstock began as a construction camp on the western side of the Alpine Tunnel in 1881. Soon it was a permanent camp with a depot, telegraph office, section house, saloon, hotel, cabins and other buildings.
​ ​
When: March 10, 1884.

Who: Once the highest railroad tunnel in the world, at an altitude of 11,523 feet, it was the first tunnel to be built through the Continental Divide. All along the tracks were a number of small settlements, some to service the railroad and others that housed the many miners of the area. These included Woodstock, Quartz, and Sherrod, as well as Pitkin at the western end, and St. Elmo on the eastern end of the line.

​Where: Located roughly 18 miles southwest of Buena Vista.

Significance: The single most deadly avalanche in Colorado history. The settlement, which had as many as 200 residents was never rebuilt. Most of its residents moved to nearby Sherrod and a new water tank for the railroad was built about ½ mile down the grade. All that remains today of Woodstock are a few stone foundations, some rotting timbers and a historic marker. The railroad company gave up on the dangerous and accident prone tunnel. The last train came through in November, 1910. A decade later, the vast majority of all of the old track had been removed.

Bringing out the dead from Woodstock. Courtesy of Frontier Historical Society, Glenwood Springs.