Fountain Valley News - Your Hometown Community Newspaper

Fire in the Yards A hundred years ago the area from 26th to 21st along what is now US 24 was the Colorado Midland railroad yards. Occasionally there were accidents and fires in the area. The Midland...

When General Palmer was starting to build the Denver and Rio Grande, he built south from Denver toward Mexico. He hired a number of surveyors to look at various routes. He had traveled the area only...

In about 1910 there were enough automobiles around that the idea of a driver's license started here in Colorado. It would take another eight or nine years before they thought they needed to make it...

Here is a Colorado Springs problem, we do not have! Statues in the streets downtown. Which was fi rst? One that actually is not there anymore, except as a modem replacement. In 1922, a statue was mov...

With the winter really upon us, it certainly has been a surprise, all over the US! I want to go back to this time of year in 1891. That winter there was a real surprise in store. This was when they re...

Now that the year end holidays are finished, how about thinking about the past a bit? In the recent months we have had winter weather to consider. In normal years it is hard to imagine what it was...

With the Winter we are having I thought this April, 1927 story of opening the railroad up Pikes Peak would be interesting. I started working on the railway just before they started running year...

In the past I have talked about the area's tourist interests. In the 1930's when this area exploded with tourists, and Cottage Camps, another industry started. Driving the visitors you the various...

Old US 85/87 north out of Pueblo was called “The Ribbon of Death” prior to construction of 1-25. The two lane concrete road, built around 1930 was state of the art when it was built. It eliminated...

I sort of got into this last week, but I want to talk today about Old Pictures. I have a thing about old pictures. I have enjoyed looking at pictures all of my life. The curiosity of what story goes...

I often go out and visit spots where I know an event of interest happened. I have on many occasion gone with groups on hikes to interesting locations. On these the question is always,"What happened he...

Some of you may remember that another former teacher here in Fountain and I wrote a book on Phantom Canyon. Students from Fountain Middle School may remember the enthusiastic Mrs Wolfe. We shared an i...

I have been asked about this story recently. It all started when the idea of Christmas presents for friends came up. In March, 1939 an announcement for a new business was made. This new industry was...

In the late 1870s until World War I, the railroads sent their general passenger agents out to dream up sweet melodies with which to lure the tourist and emigrant. Each railroad tried to outdo the...

As long as I am doing some ancient history, ever heard of Charles Aiken? He came to Colorado in the early 1870s, and became famous for the animals here in this area. He studied animals, and back then...

I have done a few stories here about early storms. If you have lived here more than a few years, you probably have your own stories about some of our snowstorms. My time on Pikes Peak helps out here,...

I recently drove US 85 north to the Wyoming Black Hills. I have driven this route over 50 years. I was a bit surprised this trip by the ghost towns along the way. When I first rode up this way,...

In the Winter of 1934, Colorado, as well as the great plains, suffered a drought. I have told stories about bad winter storms, here more than once. Reading the old newspapers in this winter it gets...

I have done several columns about the two railroad stations here in Fountain, but I ran across this event and thought I would share it with you today. In the 1950s the railroad passenger service was...

Today let me look back to my job on the mountain for the inspiration for this column. In the old days a passenger train had several conductors. The one that was in the Pullman Sleeping Cars served onl...

I get this question often, but what is the right answer? Pike thought it was 18,000 feet tall. Well not really, but the measurements given over the years have gotten lower. So let us take some time...

Many of those who came to Colorado after the 1859 Gold Rush came for a very different reason. Even up into the 1930's and 40's many of the people arriving in the area around here were hoping to see...

I ended this column a few weeks ago, "I have read in the Colorado Springs papers of the time where tourists coming west from Limon found themselves halfway to Pueblo (near Fountain) before they...

I was recently talking to a waitress at one of my favorite dining spots about coffee cups. The cups used in restaurants and on trains are different from your average tea cup. The china services used...