The Ute Council Tree - forever in our hearts

Ute Council Tree
Jim Wetzel / Delta County
Historical Society Photo 2017

Why do we care about an old tree in Delta, Colorado? When headlines and social media are log jammed with racial tensions, calls for an end to bigotry, and peace.[1]

The Ute Council Tree in Delta is an important reminder because its once-living timber absorbed the themes of the modern day debates in bygone eras.[2] Arguments by local Natives concerning hunting and horse betting, debates on how to interact with other tribes, dreams of equality and peace among the races, or discussions of diplomacy and war.

The tall and mighty cottonwood tree lost its last living branch on a windless Aug. 1 – Colorado Day.[3] At 9:30 AM on Aug. 25 – the anniversary of Chief Ouray’s death – a public ceremony was held to mark the conclusion of this tree and immediately thereafter it was cut down to protect persons and property.[4]

Within the written history, the Delta County Historical Society has found no causal connection to any Ute councils, treaties, or forums held around this tree.[5] The oral history of the Utes has recognized this tree as symbolizing their heritage and a living connection to their ancestors[6] who wandered these hills and named the Grand Mesa -- Thunder Mountain. Because of this, the Ute Council Tree site will forever be venerated.[7]

Legend has it, that this is the tree Ouray met in council with his fellow leaders, and it was under this tree that Ouray did the unthinkable -- he invited his wife, Chipeta, a woman, and his most trusted confidant and adviser, to join in the council's decision making.[8]

It was beside this tree that the Utes passed as they were removed from their tribal lands in late-August 1881.[9]

And it was past this tree that Chipeta would later return and visit settlers whom had become her friends. She visited the area often, with her final journey occurring in September 1923.[10]

For 215 years[11] this old cottonwood tree has stood firm, a stone’s throw from the confluence of the Uncompahgre and Gunnison Rivers and a testament that a tree, planted by a river, won’t fear drought, because strong roots will allow leaves to provide shade in summer’s heat.

In 1802 America was still young and the Louisiana Territory still belonged to France. As a matter of fact, the seedling wasn’t even growing in French or United States territory – at that time, today’s Western Colorado belonged to Spain. When Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, it inherited the Spanish claims which included modern-day Delta County.[12]

The Ute Council Tree survived destruction when Antoine Robidoux, a fur trader based out of Santa Fé, cut nearby cottonwoods to construct Fort Uncompahgre in 1828 along the Old Spanish Trail. The delta of the Uncompahgre and Tomichi[13] (modern day Gunnison) Rivers was an ancestral wintering encampment for the Utes.[14]

By the end of the 1830s beaver pelt prices had declined precipitously and to make up for lost revenue, Fort Uncompahgre increased its trade in California horses and Indian slaves. Powerful tribes would capture the women and children from weaker tribes and then sell them at the Fort.[15]

The Ute Council Tree stood strong as Eastern industrialization and improved routes of trade resulted in a drop in trading prices. The Indians concluded that the Santa Fé and Taos traders, including Robidoux, had cheated them for years.[16]

During the summer of 1843 two events occurred which would impact the Council Tree. First, the Indians raided Fort Uncompahgre and killed everyone except Mexican trapper Calario Cortez, who narrowly escaped the carnage.[17] Second, a traveling band of Tabeguache Utes came upon a burnt-out Kiowa village and heard a baby girl crying. Everyone else was dead. They rescued the baby and named her Chipeta – meaning White Singing Bird.[18]

As a teenager, Chipeta had taken care of Ouray and his family. Black Mare, Ouray’s first wife, died in 1859.[19] Later that year, Ouray, the tribe’s respected hunter and warrior, married Chipeta.[20] A testament to Ouray’s greatness, he and thirty warriors defeated 300 Arapaho warriors. During the battle, Ouray’s five-year-old son disappeared in the confusion.[21] Ouray and Chipeta would look for years, but never found the son.

With the discovery of gold and silver in the San Juan Mountains, there came a flood of Whites into the Ute lands. Those winter councils around the tree must have raised questions of enormous magnitude regarding the tribes’ future.

During one council meeting, Ouray persuaded the tribe to allow him to negotiate a treaty with the US Government. With the help of Kit Carson, Ouray would travel to Washington, DC and successfully negotiate a series of treaties that would guarantee specific boundaries for the Tabeguache and Mouache Utes; and in exchange for outlying lands, the US government would pay the Ute tribes money, food, and supplies.[22]

Not everyone liked Ouray. In 1872, Ouray and Chipeta had just arrived at the Los Pinos Indian Agency when Sapovanero attempted to assassinate Ouray. Sapovanero nearly missed and Ouray then sought to kill him on the spot. Chipeta threw herself in-between the two warriors and pleaded for life. Sparing Sapovanero’s life avoided a dangerous rift amongst the Ute tribes.[23]

Ouray and Chipeta had only recently settled down as farmers near Montrose when news of the 1879 Meeker Massacre reached them. The White River Utes attacked the new Indian agent, Nathan Meeker, after he destroyed their race track and insisted on them using their time for farming, rather than horse racing and betting. Meeker sent for troops and Major T.T. Thornburgh was sent with 178 soldiers. They were attacked en route to the agency and 13 of Thornburgh’s soldiers were killed. Upon hearing that Meeker had called in the army, Chief Douglas and his warriors murdered Meeker and 11 others at the agency. They took the women and children hostage and held them at the tribe’s mountain camp.[24]

At the urging of Chipeta, Ouray called for peace. He wrote the White River Utes and called for an end to hostilities and for the hostages to be sent to his home outside of Montrose immediately. The hostages were released unharmed, but the uprising sealed the fate of the Colorado Utes.[25]

Last branch fell off on 1 Aug 2017
Pat Sunderland/
Delta County Independent Photo

In 1880, Ouray and Chipeta travelled once more to Washington, DC and signed the final treaty between the Ute Nations and the United States of America. President Rutherford Hayes signed on behalf of the federal government and hosted Ouray and Chipeta at the White House. Upon Ouray’s return to the West Slope, he had one mission; to have the remaining tribe – the Southern Utes at Ignacio, sign the treaty. Ouray fell ill near Durango and died of Bright’s disease on August 25, 1880.

The following year, the US government removed the Uncompahgre Utes to a reservation in eastern Utah. A wave of White settlers rushed into the Gunnison River Valley in October 1881. In the shadows of the Ute Council Tree, a town was formed and appropriately called – Uncompahgre.[26]

By 1882, Uncompahgre was renamed Delta when the Post Office Department refused to recognize a name with so many letters.[27] The following year, Delta County was created from a portion of Gunnison County.[28]

From time to time, until her death on August 16, 1924, Chipeta would come through Delta and visit the land she once called home.[29] Each time she came to visit, she would stop by the old Ute Council tree and take a solidary moment. In September 1923, Chipeta made her last trip through this area.  As a young boy my grandfather, Guy Howard, recalled seeing Chipeta and Buckskin Charlie in Delta.  Later he acquired two of Chipeta’s baskets, which are now on permanent display at the Delta County Historical Society Museum located at 251 Meeker St. in Delta.[30]^, [31]

At the public ceremony held to mark the conclusion of the 215 year old Ute Council Tree, many Utes made a pilgrimage to pay homage to a tree which symbolizes their heritage. Many prayers were offered and official letters publically read, then the waiting trucks and saws began cutting the tree.

A complete history of the Ute Council Tree written by Jim Wetzel may be purchased at the Delta History Museum for $10. Wetzel's history is more specific to the tree, whereas the above is a general history of the area that the Council Tree would have borne witness too over the last 215 plus years.[32]

---

[1] “History worth preserving.” Editorial. The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo., 18 August 2017) A4.

[2] Deborah Doherty & J. Wise. Delta, Colorado: The First Hundred Years. (Delta, Colo: DCI, 1981); and James Wetzel, A Spirit Returns: Delta County, Colorado: A Pictorial History. (Virginia Beach, Va.: Donning, 2003); See also: Muriel Marshall, Where Rivers Meet: Lore from the Colorado Frontier. (Texas A&M University Press, 1996).

[3] Pat Sunderland, “Historic landmark damaged.” Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo., 2 August 2017) A1; Pat Sunderland, “Ute Council Tree to be cut down.” Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo., 16 August 2017) A1+; “Old tree to fall on Ouray anniversary.” The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo., 17 August 2017) A3.

[4] Pat Sunderland, “Ute Council Tree’s roots run deep.” Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo., 30 August 2017) A1+; Keith Lucy, “Personal Interview.” President of the Delta County Historical Society. 16 August 2017; Kelly Slivka, “This is part of our heritage: Centuries old tree revered by Utes Tribe, dramatically cut back” The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo., 26 August 2017) A1+.

[5] Gary Harmon, “Historic Ute Council tree has rotted, must be cut back.” The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo., 12 August 2017) A1+.

[6] James Wetzel, The Ute Council Tree (Delta County, Colo., 25 August 2017) 5.

[7] Colorado Tourism Office 2017, http://www.colorado.com/historic-places-districts/ute-council-tree. Accessed 16 August 2017.

[8] Jeanne Varnell, Women of Consequence: The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame (Johnson Books, 1999) 32-7.

[9] Ute Indians v. US (1910), Cases Decided in the Court of Claims of the United States, Vol. 45. (W.H. & O.H. Morrison, 1911) 440+.

[10]  Matthew Soper, “Chipeta, legendary wife of Ute Chief Ouray” Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo., 26 July 2004) A8.

[11] Professor C.W. Ferguson, University of Arizona at Tucson, dated the Ute Council Tree as being 212 years old in 1985, which would make the tree 244 years old in 2017. Jess Fults, City of Delta Tree Board, dated the tree as being 180 years old in 1985; which is where the generally accepted age of 215 years old came from in 2017 news reporting. It is fair to say that the seedling, which became the Ute Council Tree, began its life between 1773 and 1802.

[12] Thomas J. Noel & Carol Zuber-Mallison, Colorado: a historical atlas (University of Oklahoma Press, 2015).

[13] The Spanish name at the time was Rio de San Javier (Xavier), however Catholic Priest Silvestre Vélez de Escalante noted upon seeing the river in 1776 that Juan Maria de Rivera, the first non-native to see the river, called it: “the great Rio del Tizon”. See: Steven G. Baker, Juan Rivera's Colorado, 1765: The First Spaniards Among the Ute and Paiute Indians on the Trails to Teguayo. (Western Reflections Publishing, 2016).

[14] Chris Miller, "Fort Uncompahgre." Colorado Encyclopedia, http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-uncompahgre. Accessed 17 August 2017. See: Ken Reyher, Antoine Robidoux and Fort Uncompahgre: The Story of a Western Fur Trader (Ouray, CO: Western Reflections, 1998). See also: Rufus B. Sage, Rocky Mountain Life, or, Startling Scenes and Perilous Adventures in the Far West during an Expedition of Three Years (1859; repr., Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982); C. Gregory Crampton and Steven K. Madsen, In Search of the Spanish Trail: Santa Fe to Los Angeles, 1829–1848 (Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 1994); and Joseph J. Hill, “Antoine Robidoux, Kingpin in the Colorado River Fur Trade, 1824–1844,”Colorado Magazine 7 (July 1930).

[15] Id.

[16] Id.

[17] Id.

[18] Jeanne Varnell, Women of Consequence: The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame (Johnson Books, 1999) 32-7.

[19] For a complete history of Ouray and Chipeta, see: P. David Smith, Ouray: Chief of the Utes. 2d ed. (Wayfinder Press, 1986); Cynthia S. Becker & P. David Smith, Chipeta: Queen of the Utes. (Western Reflections Publishing Co., 2003); and Vickie Leigh Krudwig, Searching for Chipeta: The Story of a Ute and Her People. (Fulcrum Publishing, 2004). For a general history of the Utes, see: Wilson Rockwell, The Utes: A Forgotten People. 2d ed. (Western Reflections Publishing Co., 1998); Jan Pettit, Utes: The Mountain People. Rev. sub. ed. (Johnson Books, 1990); and Virginia McConnell Simmons, The Ute Indians of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. (University Press of Colorado, 2001).

[20] Op. Cit. Varnell, Women of Consequence.

[21] Id.

[22] Id.

[23] Id.

[24] Id.

[25] Id.

[26] Ute Indians v. US (1910), Cases Decided in the Court of Claims of the United States, Vol. 45. (W.H. & O.H. Morrison, 1911) 440+.

[27] Olivia Spalding Ferguson, “A sketch of Delta County history” The Colorado Magazine (The State Historical Society of Colorado, Denver, Colo., October 1928) Vol. V, No. 5.

[28] Op. Cit. Wetzel, A Spirit Returns; and Doherty, The first hundred years.

[29] Matthew Soper, “Chipeta, legendary wife of Ute Chief Ouray” Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo., 26 July 2004) A8.

[30] Id.

[31] Aaron Porter, “Austin youth uses history to shape future” The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo., 18 March 2001) 2A+.

[32] See: James Wetzel, The Ute Council Tree (Delta County, Colo., 25 August 2017)

A history of Delta's Main Street* - Part II

MAIN STREET’S FLAG POLE

Delta, CO's Main Street circa 1898 with the 75 ft. tall flag poll.
Delta County Historical Society Photo

As the Spanish-American War came to an end in 1898, a group of Delta businessmen thought it would be a good idea to have a flagpole in the center of town. So Delta erected a 75-foot tall flag pole in the center of the intersection of Main and Third Streets and proudly displayed a giant 45-star US flag.

In August 1898, an 86-foot tall tree was cut and hauled off of Grand Mesa to Delta. The Delta County Independent noted that several Eckert residents had reported seeing the giant pole being hauled down the Surface Creek road.

Businessmen Frank Dodge and Frank Sanders volunteered to see that the pole was properly placed. The Town of Delta built a band stand around the flagpole “for the benefit of the band boys.” Unfortunately, the affixing of a pulley to the top of the flagpole was an afterthought. The newspaper noted that "the pulley was so far down the pole that the flag flies constantly at half-mast," leaving everybody asking, “who is dead?”

When electricity came to Delta in 1900, the town thought it would be a great idea to hang a light bulb atop the flagpole (well, half-way up) to illuminate Main Street. The light bulb and wiring were attached to the flag pulley and hoisted half-way up the 75-foot pole. The pulley system was needed in order to be able to change the light bulb when it burned out. At that time, the city power plant was located at First and Main.

In 1898, traffic on Main Street, with few exceptions, was entirely horse-drawn buggies and wagons. However, within a few years automobiles were common along Main Street. The flagpole and band-stand became a frequent target of early motorists whose driving skills preceded the requirement for a driver's license. The town enacted a 7-mph speed limit within intersections, but somehow a few motorists still managed to hit the flagpole.

By 1908, the Town of Delta condemned the flagpole and bandstand as “dangerous.” On April 9, 1908, the town took down the flagpole and replaced it with a smaller one. The small flagpole might only have lasted a year or two, as there are no known photographs featuring a smaller flagpole.

DELTA'S MAIN STREET - PART OF A BIGGER TRANSPORTATION PICTURE   

Delta's Main Street circa 1958, after the widening.
Delta County Historical Society Photo

Delta’s Main Street, while a footnote in the nation’s evolving transportation debate in the mid-1950s, played a role in ensuring the Interstate did not pass through Delta County. The pre-cursors to the Interstate Highway System rested in two landmark reports requested by Congress in 1939 (Toll Roads and Free Roads) and 1944 (Interregional Highways). Each report contained a map of an illustrative "Interregional System," as it was originally called, and had an east-west route terminating in Denver and a north-south route also passing through Denver.

Edwin C. Johnson, who was one of Colorado’s US Senators in the late 1930s through the mid-1950s and was governor both prior to and after his time in the senate, envisioned a massive highway from Denver to California. After the preliminary report of Toll Roads and Free Roads, State Highway Engineer Charles D. Vail and Sen. Johnson crafted a plan to show that a westward route from Denver was feasible. By the autumn of 1939 US Route 6 was being built over Black Gore Pass. Prior to 1940, roads through the Gore Valley and along Beaver Creek were barely used. In January 1940, Black-Gore Pass was re-named Vail Pass, in honor of the engineer who was determined to prove a western roadway out of Denver would work.

In March 1973, the first bore of the I-70 Continental Divide Tunnels were opened and named for President Eisenhower. The second bore opened in December 1979 and was named for Governor Johnson who had fought for the highway. By the mid-1970s the Highway 50 Association was disbanded, as travelers began favoring the new I-70 route to the north. With the decline of traffic volumes Life magazine in July 1986 proclaimed: US 50 "The Loneliest Road" in America. Ironically, there has been talk of making US 50 a four-lane highway to help relieve the congestion now on I-70, though this has been met with the traditional “no money” argument. Perhaps it will happen someday, as some segments are already four-lane.

The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944 authorized designation of a 40,000-mile "National System of Interstate Highways." By 1947, the work was nearly complete and as Johnson and other state officials feared, Denver was known as the “dead-end city.” Part of the problem was the cost of building a major highway through the mountains and by law, a neighboring state had to connect to the highway and continue it.

US Hwy 50 has been widened to 4-lanes in some locations.

Utah and Nevada proposed upgrading US Route 50 to Interstate status. The plan had merit, as transiting the mountains via Monarch Pass meant fewer storms for truckers, thus  keeping freight moving. Denver was against this plan, as it meant it would keep the “dead end” title and Pueblo-Colorado Springs would have the benefit of the westward highway.

By 1955 the debate over a westward Interstate from Denver was in full swing. State Rep. Charles Conklin and State Sen. James Mowbray, both of Delta, backed Gov. Ed Johnson, in helping squash the Utah-Nevada proposal of turning US Highway 50 into an Interstate Highway (the debate which continued until the autumn of 1969). President Dwight Eisenhower, whose wife Mamie was born and raised in Denver, gave approval to the westward expansion of I-70 from Denver to Grand Junction in the Interstate Act of 1956. As a bit of irony, the Eisenhowers were married in Denver on the same day that President Wilson signed the 1916 Highway Act which got the Federal Government involved in the road business.

TREES & FLOWERS ALONG MAIN STREET

Delta has become famous for it's tree lined Main Street, flowers, and murals.
Susan Reep Photo

Delta began planting trees up and down Main Street in the 1890s. By the 1940s, the beautiful deciduous trees garnered Delta the nickname: “city of trees.” Over the years, all of the original trees have been replaced, most of them several times. Aggressive roots have caused sidewalks to buckle in some places over the years, though today this is mostly seen on side streets. Managing roots and tree size continues to require constant care.

In 1990, Delta began a major urban renewal program that included: industrial clean-up, and the creation of Confluence Park, Bill Heddles Recreation Center, and Fort Uncompahgre. At the same time, the Delta County Museum was moved from the court house to its current location at Third and Meeker, and an urban trail from Lincoln Elementary School to Confluence Park, among other projects, was established. Delta also began adding murals along Main Street along with median flowers and large pots of flowers along the sidewalks.

The flowers along Delta’s Main Street are planted and maintained by a couple of seasonal city employees, Cindy Valdez and Veronica Pacheco, they have affectionately become known as the “flower ladies.” Camelot Gardens in Montrose has had so many customers ask about the mix of flowers planted along Delta’s Main Street that the owners stock the exact same variety of flowers as the “Delta flower lady” plants.

Delta's flowers are known throughout Colorado.

_____________________________________

*This article, published in the Delta County Museum's quarterly newsletter, is part two in a two-part series covering the development of Delta's Main Street and the politics relating to it.

Soper, Matt. "A history of Delta's Main Street." Delta County Historical Society (Delta, Colo.) Newsletter Iss. No. 87 (July-Sept 2016) p4+

A history of Delta's Main Street* - Part I

From the muddy wallows of wagon ruts to a four-lane highway, Delta’s Main Street has held the distinction of being the center of commerce, transportation, and community life since 1882.

Delta's Main Street in 1893. Note the mature trees which line the street, suggesting they were placed there years earlier.
Delta County Historical Society photo

       As streets were laid out, and a main street designated, it quickly became apparent that there needed to be a mechanism to maintain the public right of way. When Delta County was established in 1883, a plan was devised and was implemented in 1884, whereby each able-bodied male from 21 to 50 had to pay $3.00 per annum or contribute 2 days of labor in helping keep the sixty-foot wide roads usable. Though well maintained, the original dirt street would have been very muddy in winter and spring. Livestock fouling in the road and the occasional spitting of tobacco would have greeted visitors with a familiar Wild West smell.

       In 1913, the old State Highway Commission was replaced by the State Department of Transportation; and on the national level, a federal income tax was ratified. By 1916, the federal government joined the road building business by creating matching funds for transportation projects. Many small towns’ life or death was determined by a state or federal highway passing through, giving agriculture, business, and industry access to national markets.

Delta's Main Street in 1924 before paving, showing excavation for sewer line; 500 block looking south.
Delta County Historical Society photo

       As the automobile replaced horse and buggy as the main method of travel, Delta finally began paving Main Street. The City Council opted to replace water and sewer lines prior to paving and the first paved section of Main was from First to Seventh Street. The project was completed at a cost of $92,000 in the autumn of 1924. On Armistice Day (now called Veterans Day), Delta held a special parade to dedicate the newly paved street. The following year, the county opted to resurface dirt roads with gravel.

       In late 1925, the Joint Board on Interstate Highways approved the preliminary report which created “U.S. Route 50,” a major east-west highway, which would combine portions of existing auto trails and link others to create a continuous route from Annapolis, Maryland and Washington, D.C. to Sacramento, California. In 1926, Delta’s Main Street was designated U.S. Route 50. This designation was huge for Delta County, as in an era before the Interstate Highway system; the U.S. Route network linked the nation from coast-to-coast and provided rural America much needed access to urban centers. In turn, the automobile and newly paved roads opened up rural Colorado to tourists and sightseers. By June 1931, the Highway 50 Association was organized to pave the previously unpaved portions of the highway in Colorado and by November 1939 the last segment of Monarch Pass was paved, which completed the highway as America’s backbone. Delta had now entered the age of shared responsibility and use for Main Street.

Egyptian Theatre circa 1954, note the parking meters and orientation.
Delta County Historical Society photo

       By the mid-1950s Delta was booming. The Ag community, Sugar Factory, the Canning Factory, Delta Brick & Tile, Skyland Foods, the Tannery, and the Delta Sand & Gravel were a few of the large industries that were expanding and hiring. The County Commissioners were completing plans to build a brand-new courthouse. It was typical to see the Egyptian Theatre with four or five dozen bicycles in front during a Saturday matinée. The 4-H Beef Roasts would attract close to half of those living in the county. To top off the golden age of the 1950s for Delta, the President of the State Senate and the Speaker of the State House both hailed from the city.

       In 1955, Gov. Ed Johnson proposed widening and resurfacing Main Street (US Highway 50), along with constructing a state highway from Eckert to Cedaredge. Traffic on Main Street had become so congested, that in 1955, the City of Delta restricted cars from making a left turn across traffic, as the wait for an opening caused an even greater traffic jam. At this time, Delta’s Main was a two-lane street with diagonal parking.

       By January 1956, the City of Delta, Bureau of Public Roads, and the State Highway Department began discussions of adding a 13-foot median strip which would include 9-foot turn lanes. At first, the BPR told Delta to “forget the median strip.” However, a team consisting of Leonard Kulper, Allen Brown, and Al Neale traveled to Denver to convince state officials to put a median and curbs on the agenda. The roadway was 60-feet at the time, but the state told Delta that if they wanted a 13-foot median, then the roadway would need to be widened to 75-feet in order for state and federal funds to cover the cost.

       On February 15, 1956, the Delta City Council debated whether to accept the State’s all or nothing offer that included the median. Councilman Cliff Sammons opposed the widening, arguing that Montrose and Grand Junction didn’t have medians. Also joining the naysayers was Councilman C.A. Bowle who feared a wider Main would decrease property values and have a negative impact on downtown business. Prior to the actual vote, the city held a straw poll and found that 64% of the gallery favored a median strip. The vote passed and City Manager Kulper’s dream for Delta was becoming a reality.

       Construction began during the spring of 1956 and Main Street was widened from 60 to 75-feet, parking was changed from diagonal to curbside, and a 9-foot turn lane was added for left-turns at each intersection. The current traffic layout has met the needs of Delta for the past sixty-plus-years.

SIDEWALKS: FROM WOOD PLANKS TO CONCRETE

       As Delta emerged as a fledgling town in 1882, sidewalks quickly emerged as businesses began building along Main Street. The original sidewalks were made out of wooden planks that were half a foot wide and eight feet long. In the residential area of town, the wooden walks would have only been four feet wide. During this era of dirt streets and wood sidewalks, the man walked on the street side and the lady on the building side, so that the man could protect his lady from any passing wagons or horses splashing mud. This is still proper etiquette today, though few young couples know this custom.

       By 1905, the original wooden sidewalks were falling into disrepair to the point of being dangerous. The women of Delta were constantly complaining about the rough, uneven boards and loose nails which would catch shoes and tear dresses.

Delta's Main Street showing angled parking, concrete sidewalks, and paved street, but no median or trees.Delta County Historical Society photo

       In February 1906, the town announced it would replace the wooden sidewalks, between Fourth and Fifth Streets on the west side Main Street with concrete sidewalks. By May, the west side of the next block was under contract, but no mention of other blocks, or the east side of Main.

       “The walks are beyond repair. In the meantime, it behooves citizens to cast many an anxious glance on the boards ahead. No one can tell what wonders they may bring forth. It was only the other day we were obliged to turn our head the other way while we caught a glimpse of flying petticoats, rusty nails, weather-beaten planks and open work sox,” wrote the editors of the Delta Independent in July 1906.

       Delta citizens were becoming more and more vocal about the need to replace wooden sidewalks with concrete. The town then asked property owners to sign a petition saying they would pay for the portion of concrete sidewalk in front of their home or business.

       In September 1906, the town awarded Frank Waller of Salida the contract to pave the next three blocks along the west side of Main with cement. Waller constructed most of the original concrete sidewalks and was so skilled with a cement trowel that he even built a concrete house at the base of Garnet Mesa hill.

       In 1907, Delta’s Model Block, a housing development by the Stockham Brothers and Millard Fairlamb, from Fourth to Fifth Streets and between Grand and Howard Streets, was the first residential area to see concrete sidewalks. A sample of the original concrete sidewalk is on display in the Delta County Museum.

       Concrete sidewalks were not complete along Main Street and several side and parallel streets until June 1908. It would be another 16 years before Main Street would be upgraded from dirt to pavement, but in the meantime, the citizens of Delta were ecstatic to have smooth, solid sidewalks.

PARKING, METERS, & FINES

       As Delta grew and the demand for parking along Main Street increased, so did the need to help the downtown business community by freeing up parking spaces from time to time. In 1928 the first patent for a parking meter was issued and two decades later these devices graced Delta’s Main Street.

Parking meter policeman, Carl Wise, shown circa 1956/57 on Delta's Main Street. Meters were removed in 1977. Carl's friendly and witty disposition earned him the title of Delta's Ambassador.Delta County Historical Society photo

       On Monday, May 5, 1947 at 8:00 AM, Delta’s Main Street Parking Meter Ordinance officially went into force. The meters were installed by CarPark Meter Company of Cincinnati, Ohio and ran along Main from Second to Sixth Streets, and also extended for a half a block on the streets parallel to Main. There was a total of 270 meters.

       One cent granted the operator of the automobile a license to park in that space for 12 minutes; a nickel bought the driver the full hour. Failure to pay the meter was a violation and carried a penalty of 50 cents for the first offence. Subsequent offences carried fines of not more than ten dollars. Delta Mayor John Crawley was a stickler for the rules and made sure the ordinance and regulations were enforced, including a prohibition on “meter feeding.”

       During this time, parking along Main Street was parallel and the center median did not exist like it does today. In April 1955, Delta Police Chief Hanson issued parking tickets to car owners who blocked driveways, parked on the sidewalk, and caused their car to impede traffic in the street. Apparently quite a few frugal drivers had found all sorts of ways to circumvent paying for parking.

       In 1956, Delta’s Main Street was widened to add the median and another traffic lane in each direction; also at this time, parking orientation was changed from parallel to curbside. No letters complaining of parking orientation were published in the Delta County Independent, but one reader did register his objection to a median and left-turn lanes.

            After the widening of Main in 1956, the meters were removed in 1977 and a new scheme emerged – the chalking of tires. Patrons of downtown businesses had two hours to shop before the parking patrol would issue a parking ticket for monopolizing the space. The city continued to chalk tires (which indicated if the automobile had moved) into the early 2000s. The creation of multiple parking lots behind Main Street reduced demand for opening up spaces, and thus the practice of writing parking tickets is now a rare occurrence.

Delta's Main in the 2000s, notice the abundance of open parking and trees.
Author's Collection

______________________________________
*This article, published in the Delta County Museum's quarterly newsletter, is part one in a two-part series covering the development of Delta's Main Street and the politics relating to it.

Soper, Matt. "A history of Delta's Main Street." Delta County Historical Society (Delta, Colo.) Newsletter Iss. No. 86 (Apr-Jun 2016) p4+

History of Tennis in Delta, Colorado

Sisters Thelma & Clara Howard of Read finishing a match at the Cleland Park Tennis Courts, circa 1929.
Photo courtesy Howard Family Archives/Matthew Soper.

Tennis, a popular aerobic game, traces its origins to the Middle Ages. The Medieval form of tennis was called Real Tennis and was played throughout European royal courts. The first organized professional tennis tour began in 1571, from a charter granted by King Charles IX. England’s King Henry VIII loved tennis and played with much gusto at his court at Hampton Palace. William Shakespeare even references tennis in the play “Henry V.”

In 1874, British Major Walter Wingfield patented a game with an 8-page rule book called “Lawn Tennis.” In 1877 the first Wimbledon Championship was played, and by 1881 the first US Open was played in New York.

The Paris Conference (1913) of developed nations created the International Tennis Federation (ITF), which established, in 1924, a uniformly accepted set of rules for playing tennis. Remarkably, these rules have changed very little over the years.

The Roaring 20s saw prosperity and forward thinking. In 1924 the Delta City Council purchased a 7-acre parcel of land to be developed as a city park, which was named Cleland Park in 1951. The Young Mens’ Civic Club (YMCC) was formed to convince the city council to build a tennis court. Al Swaim, the Club’s first president, lobbied relentlessly until the city constructed a cinder based court in 1929. The YMCC organized tennis socials and tournaments.

In 1931, the club’s second president, a young lawyer named Allen Brown, successfully convinced the city to build two more cinder courts. After long summer days in court, Mr. Brown and other members of the bar enjoyed the relaxation of match play on the courts. By the mid-1930s, YMCC began lobbying the city to pave the courts and install lights for playing in the evenings.

In 1940, as tennis continued to thrive in popularity, the City of Delta paved the courts and added lights for night time play. During these early years of tennis in Delta, the community saw two exceptional players – Ellsworth “George” Waddle and Melton “Red” Crawford. These two athletes were truly exceptional, winning tournaments in Grand Junction and as far away as Denver. George Waddle even travelled to Saint Louis to win a tournament, by staving off a tough challenger. By 1957, the city reconditioned the courts, added six-foot tall fences around the courts, and replaced the lights.

The 1960s saw the arrival of a former Kansas State College tennis coach, Elmer “Crummie” Crumpacker. He had been a star tennis player at Kansas and was listed in Tennis World. Prior to 1968, professional tennis players were under contract with a promoter, much like boxing, where pros played in “invitation only” tournaments and head-to-head challenges. Crummie never was free to compete with the pros. This all changed in 1968, when professional tennis was opened to non-contract players. Crummie coached locals who wanted to improve their game.

Delta businessman, Mel Davis, inspired by Waddle, Crawford, and Crumpacker, went before the District 50-J School Board on May 20, 1974 to ask them to add tennis as a varsity sport. The School Board agreed to add tennis, as long as the city of Delta would add two more courts, bringing the total to six. The city council drug their feet and it took Davis two years of pestering before the city granted a budget of $28,900, which was awarded to Corn Construction of Grand Junction to build six brand new courts where Riley Zoo had been located.

During America’s bicentennial, Cleland Park’s new courts were dedicated and school children began court play. By 1982, Delta High School’s Tennis team was considered one of the best in Western Colorado. In 1988, after a 60 year hiatus tennis was re-introduced as an Olympic sport at the Seoul games. American tennis popularity was at an all-time high with US legends Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, and Michael Chang dominating the ATP, and Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, and later the Williams sisters dominating the WTA.

The Cleland Park Tennis Courts were resurfaced in 1992 at a cost of $16,600, with $7,500 coming from a contribution of the Delta County District 1 lottery fund.

The successor to YMCC, the Delta Tennis Club, was led by Mel Davis, Jack Jordan, Gerry Morris, Judy Thomas, Chuck Soper and others. Brad Davis, son of Mel, recalled homemade ice cream was served by his dad, every Monday night after rounds of doubles. One evening, the topic of conversation turned to politics. His father, being a well-known Republican, got into a heated debate with Jack Jordan, a Democrat. Chuck Soper interrupted the argument to ask for another helping of ice cream. That lightened the mood.

The Delta Tennis Club dominated in the 1990s and 2000s. In 1996 and 1997, the Delta Tennis Club was so successful that they qualitied for the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) Mountain West Championships in Keystone, Colorado. Delta also competed in Quad City, a series of tournaments organized among Delta, Montrose, Grand Junction, and Glenwood Springs. The Delta Tennis scene in the 1990s was so popular that players would drive down from Montrose and Grand Junction just to partake in the Sunday Tennis Socials.

In 1994 Bill Heddles Rec Center was built as part of a massive urban renewal project which turned the old Holly Sugar dump into Confluence Park. By 1996, the City of Delta built four, unlit courts next to the Rec Center. Cleland Park courts have continued to be popular because the hill and trees protect the courts from wind, which is a frequent complaint at Confluence. Cleland Park has lights for nigh play and the fencing and bleachers are better for viewing matches.

By 1999, the City of Delta spent $100,000 to completely resurface all six courts at Cleland Park.

With these improvements, the Doris Danker Wheelchair Tennis Tournament relocated to Delta, attracting nearly 100 players and a couple hundred spectators. The tournament, no longer hosted by Delta because of a lack of six courts in one location, is a qualifier for the US Open. Vietnam veteran, Rick Isom, qualified and competed in the US Open at Flushing Meadows. Isom was paralyzed from the waist down when his helicopter was shot-down. Isom led a robust sports career as a paraplegic, organizing Delta’s USTA One-up, One-down league, and he even invented an improved chair for tennis, basketball, and skiing.

In 2004, Delta High School eliminated men’s varsity tennis, but kept ladies varsity tennis. A renewed effort by parents to re-introduce men’s tennis has been met with the age old argument of budget constraints. Men’s and women’s high school tennis programs in Cedaredge, Hotchkiss, and Paonia have continued. Improvements to Cedaredge and Paonia tennis courts are planned for 2016.

Gene Caballero of Delta’s Tennis Club won the Men’s Singles Title at the Taco Bell Western Slope Open in 2010. The Taco Bell Open is the largest annual tennis tournament between Denver and Salt Lake City and attracts players from all over the western US.

Delta native, Jim Heaps, played both college basketball and tennis at Central Arizona College and later Mesa State College. Heaps went on to coach college basketball, and is currently assistant athletic director at Colorado Mesa University. During the summer tennis leagues, Heaps drives down from Grand Junction to play as a ‘ringer’ for Delta’s Tennis Club.

The City of Delta closed the Cleland Park Tennis Courts indefinitely in October 2015, citing safety concerns. The city plans to replace the six tennis courts at Cleland with four new tennis courts, which it believes will accommodate current usage. The 2016 budget will include $350,000 for replacement, but the city anticipates the bulk of the cost will be funded through grants. Parks director, Wilma Erven, said she expects the restrooms to be upgraded at the same time, and it's possible a second pavilion could be built, depending on funding.

Mrs. Erven said the tennis courts will likely be closed all of 2016, due to the length of time it will take for design, bid and construction of the replacements. The closure will force the Delta High School tennis team to find a new host site.

After nearly 40 years of there being six courts at Cleland Park, the City will reduce the number to four beginning in 2017. It is amazing how costs have increased over the years from a total budget of $28,900 to build six courts in 1976 to a total budget of $350,000 to build four courts in 2017. In 2016, the USTA estimated the average cost of a public court to cost between $50,000 and $80,000 to construct.

The Delta County Tennis Club is excited to be able to return to Cleland Park, the favored tennis courts since 1929. By the end of the 2015 tennis season, around 200-300 kids and adults played on the Cleland Park Courts per week.

Remembering WWII: War's lasting effects

Delta Museum's special World War II exhibit opened Nov. 7, with living veterans sharing their stories and a presentation made to Ensign Bellmire's family. Bellmire was killed during a training exercise during the war.

2015 Soper/Delta County Historical Society photo 

"The war took my dad. He wasn't going to knock on my door and tell me it was all a mistake," Vicky Lehmann said during an emotional interview.

Lehmann had just turned one year old when her father was shot in the head and killed by a German sniper during the Battle of Normandy. This past summer, Lehmann and her husband, Dave, traveled to France, for the first time, to visit her father's grave and pay their respects.

"I longed, growing up, to sit on my daddy's lap, but that never happened," Lehmann said.

"Being able to see his grave brought the closure I needed."

Descendents of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the liberation of the European continent from the Nazis are treated with esteem, respect and attention by the American Battlefield Monuments Commission. Families are provided service records and a graveside memorial in which American and French flags are laid at the marker.

"At the grave, they told me my dad was a hero. I had never thought of my dad as being a hero. They explained that he saved a lot of people by helping to end the war and rescue them from Nazi oppression," Lehmann said. "I thought, 'This is kind of an awesome thought.' "

The effects of World War II are long-reaching and Lehmann is not alone in feeling that the war took her dad.

Muriel Marshall, in her book, Where Rivers Meet, describes how Alvin Lee Marts, who enlisted in the Navy after he graduated from Delta High School, was present during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

Alvin Lee Marts died in the
Pacific Theater during World War II.
His bravery led the Navy to
name the USS Marts in his memory.
Historical society photo

Marts went on to "serve at Midway, Wake and other South Pacific battles, but he was killed in action off the coast of Salvo Island on Nov. 30, 1942," Marshall wrote.

Marts served with such distinction and bravery that the U.S. Navy named the USS Marts for him and the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) organized as the Lee Marts VFW Post 3571.

The total number of American servicemen and women who gave their lives for their nation during World War II was 407,300. Over 700 men and women from Delta County served in the armed forces during the war, and 83 lost their lives.

The Delta Museum has included a table setting in its special World War II veterans' exhibit to symbolize those who served but never returned home to join their families for holiday festivities.

_______________________________________
M. Soper, "Remembering WWII: War's lasting effects" Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo.) 25 Nov. 2015, pg. B8