Day 100: Postcards from The Baldpate Inn

Day 100! A perfect day to make note of and share with a friend! What better way than a postcard? We’ve talked about our artistic marketing and merchandise, but one of our most popular keepsakes are Baldpate Inn postcards.  

As far as I have discovered, we’ve had at least five different series of Baldpate postcards: Early bordered, Albertype, Hoffman, Sanborn, Dexter and our own from 1990s. 

It is interesting to note the variety of finishes that have been applied to several postcards versions. Since I love the watercolor look I think my favorites are the Albertype hand colored series of seven (of course) cards.  Wish they all had dates!

The earliest (I believe) of our Albertype set lists Clatworthy as publisher, and since the Key Room and second story West Wing are missing, they were before the 1935 addition.  The rest of the Albertypes note Baldpate Inn as publisher.

With the growth of our pine trees, until just recently, it was almost impossible to duplicate the angle of some of the photos, especially with Longs Peak in the background. 

Looking at this early 1 cent card with Mt. Meeker and Longs Peak in the background, I do have to admit to wondering just when folks started to get creative and "Photoshop" their pictures. Compared with our most recent aerial drone photo, those mountains seems a little out of proportion to me, what do you think?

Not yet a postcard, this newest (and my current favorite) aerial drone photo will be available this birthday season as a puzzle.  

So stop by and grab a few postcards or a picture puzzle to mark your adventures at Baldpate Inn celebrating our 100^th summer.

And stay tuned for one more bonus blog tomorrow!

Written by Lois Smith

Day 89: Guinness World Records

The current Guinness World Record for largest collection of keys is held by Lisa J. Large of Kansas City. She has 3,604 keys.

Well, sorry to be the one to break the news to you Lisa, but I hope you’ve enjoyed being the Guinness record holder; your days are numbered. 

With an estimated 30,000 keys in The Baldpate Inn’s key collection, we far surpass the current record. The task before is us is to meet the stipulations of the Guinness Record submission. 

Would you like to be part of this project, and one of the first to know exactly how many keys are in The Baldpate’s collection? 

Written by Liz Rodgers

Day 85: Back to School Daze

What do you think of when it’s back to school time?  A new box of crayons, new clothes or weekend parties!  Like most of our promotions, this idea came from our staff one fall.  The first few weeks of August, we often say farewell to a good number of our seasonal team as students return to school. Just those who have just graduated or are taking time off, and our international students, remain to complete our season.

We didn’t want to feel left out as those returning to classes eagerly planned their upcoming semester.  So Back to School Daze seemed just the thing!  Wanting to cover the complete experience, we decided to celebrate Fat Tire Friday, Sporty Saturday and Sleep in Sunday!

Since we really didn’t have enough staff for any team sports on those cool fall weekends, we struggled to come up with an individual sport that might work for a competition, when low and behold, we found this 1929 news story that answered our dilemma!

So we brushed up our skills for game on!And the good news is that so far, we haven’t broken any windows or put out any eyes!

Being from colleges and schools from around the world, we also love testing our guest’s skills with a Pop Quiz trivia game about our various mascots, countries and school logos.

So just saying, start practicing your yo-yo skills now and plan to join us in the fall for throw back memories of your school daze and lots of fun!

Written by Lois Smith 

Day 84: Native American Influence

The Baldpate Inn has been the welcome recipient of many Native American influences throughout the years.

As a young man, Charles Eagle Plume worked at The Baldpate Inn. Later in life, he operated a trading post not far from The Baldpate Inn. I remember visiting his store many times as a young one. I was thrilled by his tipi and artistic artifacts. On one special occasion, I was delighted in his kindness when he gave me a much-treasured feather.

The Baldpate’s Santa Fe Art Collection celebrates Native American life in the early 20^th Century, and other photos in our black and white photo collection depict many special moments.

A Golden Globe winning TV mini-series, “Centennial” (1978-1979) told the story of Colorado’s cultural and economic growth in the 18^th through 20^th centuries. Part of the filming took place at our very own Lily Lake.  We have several photos of this time, and would love to know more of the stories surrounding them. Our Baldpate friend and photographer Moses Swindler (Street) recently posted a photo taken during the filming of himself with Actor Richard Chamberlain.

Our key collection also honors Native American history. Of several donations, one is from 1936: a key that had been used as the front door of the Cherokee National Female Seminary’s Administrative Building in Oklahoma.

A thrill of curiosity surrounds this beautiful "Baldpate 7 Keys" Native American styled jewelry. (Note the keys in the details!) We have always wondered who created these stunning custom pieces, and how and when they arrived at Baldpate.  Another mystery, anyone have the story?

Written by Liz Rodgers

Day 82: Seven Lazy Queens

Shopping has always been a enjoyable part of The Baldpate Inn experience.  In the early years of the inn, the Mace family took shopping to a whole new level, quite literally, with their “Seven Lazy Queens” gift shop and tower observatory. 

Named for the seven women of Gordon Mace Jr.’s family, they included his wife, Tommie, and their daughters: Linda, Leean, Stana, Penny, Melanie, and Laurie. 

A testament to the innovative spirit of Mace family, the tower and gift shop sat at the top of The Baldpate Inn’s drive, and directly across from Lily Lake. It opened in 1966. The tower sported unparalleled views of Longs Peak, the Estes valley, Trail Ridge and the northern section of Rocky Mountain National Park. The gift shop sold home décor, with “selections for the discriminating,” Gordon Jr. stated. This certainly piques my interest, and I would have loved to browse the gift shop and take in the views from the tower. These days, I enjoy shopping at the Baldpate Inn’s online gift shop and in person at the inn, with their variety of merchandise and collectables.

Today, the original tower of the Seven Lazy Queens is no longer there. It was closed off for several years before it was torn down, and I’m not throwing anyone under the bus, but the “Danger” and “Closed” signs may have been more of a challenge than a deterrent to some. 

The building that housed the early gift shop now belongs to Rocky Mountain National Park, which is quite fitting, as they also own and manage Lily Lake. We are pleased to be surrounded with Rocky Mountain National Park lands, and salute the National Parks for their vision of preserving the past and looking toward to the future. 

So if you are searching for a gift for that hard-to-shop-for friend, or even yourself, The Baldpate Inn’s history of providing unique and elegant items is certain to delight. 

Written by Liz Rodgers

Source: Estes Park Trail, July 1, 1966

Day 76: Baldpate’s Artwork – Key to the Past and Future

Artistic marketing, as we are so often told, is “key” to business success. We know from the earliest days, Baldpate used seven keys as a logo, and while the look has varied over the years, the key is always in there somewhere.

It is fun discovering some of the old stationery, cards and advertising that captured the evolution of our marketing.  Tag lines have gone from “Best cook in captivity,” to “Where Hospitality is King,” to “Like a mountain lodge of your own where you can go and do just as you please,” to “Enchanting travelers for over 100 years.”

Don’t know about you, but love our newest sketch of the main lodge, graciously given to us in 2007 by our guest, Nebraska artist, William Schlaebitz.

Artistic Christmas cards and letters were a great way to stay in touch with guests during the off season, both for the Maces and later for us. I recall going to the post office (since we do not have onsite mail delivery, we still have a PO Box) in early December one year, when the postmaster made a point to tell me of a loyal local guest who wanted to make certain Baldpate had her new address so as not to miss our Christmas card! Now our holiday greetings, specials and news updates are sent via emailed Keynotes newsletter. 

Perhaps its sort of sad to lose the staying power of printed brochures, but with the popularity of the internet, cost, and today’s means of instant information sharing, printed brochures have mostly gone the way of the past.

Chances are that generations to come won’t be learning about the past by sorting thru boxes of paper memorabilia, what do you think?

Written by Lois Smith

Day 69: New Recipes

Having an award-winning restaurant doesn’t mean you can just relax with your menu offerings. There are always new ideas being suggested either by guests, or food trends, or a popular new ingredient.

As the primary chef, I’ve tried hard to be unique and original. Being known as the “best of” is always fun, but it is especially nice to be “one of a kind” as well.  So when developing our menu items I’ve tried to not copy other places, especially in Estes Park, but to have our own branded items.

We have to admit as well, our menu gets a little too familiar to our staff by the end of the season (especially since we eat it twice a day every day).  We do get a laugh at the concoctions that diners and staff come up with, adding this to that from the Salad Bar or mixing soups or whatever!

Fall seems to be our most experimental season for new recipes.  We’ve had some huge winners, think Banana Butterscotch Muffins, and some long forgotten sincere losers, like Baseball Park Muffin with pickle relish and hot dogs.

You know how things sometimes just stick in your mind, well that pickle relish did, and so be on the lookout for our new 2017 Dill Pickle soup….. working on a name, but so far, family reviews are positive!

Wish I’d kept a diary of our new menu items as they were created! We started with just Beef Stew and Red Chili as our hearty soups, then my sister-in-law, Loretta, gave me the idea for our White Chili recipe. I must admit I hesitated trying it, but when we added it to our menu in 1991, customers greeted it with lots of odd looks and ridiculously silly comments, along with some rave reviews.

Being located in the mountains we often received requests for “wild game” so our Cowboy Buffalo Stew became our answer in 2005. The “wild west trail drive” flavors (simple ingredients you might find along the trail), made this an instant favorite.  Its name has a special double meaning too, as the year we perfected this recipe, several of our cooks were “Cowboys” students from Oklahoma State University.

Then there is our beloved Pumpkin Curry Soup, recipe yet unpublished, which is based on one that Jen sent me. She discovered it during her time stationed in Germany in the US military.  Several years after we added the recipe, as I was telling guests the recipe was originally from Germany, she told me the full story. The recipe wasn’t from one of our favorite little German pubs as I had thought, but she had actually found the idea on the side of a canned product she had purchased in the US Army commissary!  So much for my proud story of its German culinary ties. 

Although the “German” pumpkin one isn’t there, you can find many of our classic recipes in our famed cookbook, Collections of Baldpate. 

What have been your most favorite Baldpate recipes? Anything you’d like to see us add?

Written by Lois Smith

Day 64: Steadfast Guardians: The German Shepherds of Baldpate

Our collection of memories would not be complete without including the canine contributions to Baldpate! The Smith family has been blessed to share life with a long line of German Shepherds. 

Perhaps the most famous, Duke, was a guest and employee favorite for many years. After a quick assessment, his friendly nature was soon evident in wagging tail. Unless, of course, you were up to no good, or you were the UPS delivery man. With a bark to deter any intruder or mischievous escapee, Duke was a formidable security officer, especially to errant chipmunks. However, even staff that were initially afraid, or came from a culture unaccustomed to having a dog around, found Duke to be endearing and sweet. 

Jen's German Shepherd Penny spent two summers at the Inn, usually found cleverly stealing unattended sandwiches from staff. 

Mackenzie’s German Shepherd, Leika, was often around the Inn, and despite photographic evidence, was very helpful! 
 

The Inn’s current resident German Shepherd is Moose.  At two and a half years, he still has some learning to do, but has undoubtedly captured our hearts. And some keys, as you can see! 

Other dogs that have spent time at The Baldpate Inn have been horseman Chuck Malone’s dog, Buster, and maintenance man Paul’s dogs, Brown Dog and Black Dog.  And of course, every rotational staff gets the chance to be dish dog! 

The Smith family is not the only one to connect Baldpate and German Shepherds as a key part of Baldpate! This photo of “Smo-key” the neighborhood pal was presented to Mr. and Mrs. Mace in 1937, and has secured a place in the Baldpate Key Collection since. 

Do you have a favorite memory of the furry friends that have made Baldpate such a special place?

Written by Liz Rodgers and Jen Macakanja

Day 60: Music in the Mountains

Music at Baldpate has had many rhythms and tempos!  We don’t know as much as we would like about the earliest days, other than our Dance Hall was renowned for wonderful times. 

As mentioned before, when we shared bands with other local lodges, our night was Thursday.  Pictures of the Tall Timber Boys from our photo collection and notes from family members make us wonder even more just who all performed during those early years.  Know any stories? Please share with us!

The keys to our piano in the Dining Room  (albeit sincerely old) have been graced by many a guest.  

 
Nothing new apparently, we still love it when staff are willing to contribute their musical talents as well.

Our Photo Collection and Memorabilia tells us that at one time we even had an organ for entertainment which was eventually donated to Denver University.

Over the past 30 years, we have been most honored by the friendship of our neighbors at Rocky Ridge Music Center.  They have often treated us with performances and dinner music by stars from their students and staff.   

Baldpate’s long tradition of entertaining music will continue. So if you are thinking Music & Mountains, think of us!

Written by Lois Smith