Day 92: Baldpate Staff Tribute: The Earliest Years - 1987

We so treasure when alumni staff or their family members stop by to share their memories from their days at Baldpate. You may have noticed these wonderful staff photos from the 1940s, but we really have so very little information about those earliest days other than a few letters inquiring about work or mentions in our advertising like “same cook.”    We would love to learn more! What do you recall?

 

Fast forward to 1985 when the Mace’s granddaughter, Leeann and her husband, Don, had just reopened the Inn after some major renovations.  

1985 is really the beginning of our modern staff photo journal, and as well a fun connection to later years with a “next generation” staff member nearly 30 years later. (Stay tuned for those stories.)


Trying to decide the best way to share what we know about our Baldpate Staff, I wish we’d keep better labels on our photos, for even now 30 years later, sometimes we struggle with just which year each staff member was part of the team. So as we reminisce if I put someone in the wrong year, you will just have to forgive me. But do enjoy and add to our throwback pictures and stories  from your “era”!

Written by Lois Smith

See Centennial Staff Album at https://www.youtube.com/embed/2GYUzv47iBI

Day 91: Looking Back 100 Years (National Straw Hat Day)

100 years! So much has changed since 1917, when The Baldpate Inn opened its doors to guests. It was also the year that Estes Park was incorporated as a town. 

So let’s imagine a visit to The Baldpate Inn in 1917! There would be some considerable differences. This August 1930 photo shows just how much our aspen and pine trees have grown to change our driveway view.

When you pack, remember to bring your straw hat. Today is National Straw Hat Day, and yes, in 1917, straw hats were striking the fashion scene.

How to get to The Baldpate Inn? Perhaps in your brand new Willys-Knight! Driving license optional. Coming from further away? A ride on the SantaFe Railroad may be your ticket.

Making those essential hotel reservations: a very different method than today’s easy online reservations.

Always important on vacation, remember to pack your cash. The buying power of $100 in 1917 would be $2,081.31 in 2017!

While there are many changes that have taken place over the last 100 years, what remains unchanged at The Baldpate Inn is the gracious hospitality, excellent food, stunning views, access to adventure, and cherished memories.

Written by Liz Rodgers

Sources:

antiqueimages.blogspot.com

Inflation Calculation from DollarTimes

Day 90: Connecting in the Early Days, Life Before Cell Phones! (Mother's Day)

It was a big deal in 1917 when Baldpate Inn opened with hot running water and a phone line!  From early ads we can see our phone number was 2-W.

Folks in my generation can remember, although I know millennials won’t have a clue, but before cell phones, we all relied on Ma Bell’s phone company to chat! Oh, we were charged for long distance calls, so you always got to the point quickly.  And sometimes, like when we bought the Inn in 1986, you actually had to share a phone line since there weren’t enough to go around.  Can you imagine, we were on a “party line” our first couple of years!

Our Baldpate staff thought it was a great improvement when a few years later, we were able to get a private line and then finally a dedicated Staff Line! When we finally got that second line there was Staff Phone in the staff private dining room as well as one in the Wild (West) Staff Wing.  Now it’s hard enough to imagine having to wait for your turn to make your call but think about keeping track of your long distance charges so you could pay them back. We had some rather pricey bills to collect when there were out of state boyfriends. So next time you complain about “no service,” recall you are not the first to struggle with connecting. We are grateful that with the sometimes spotty service in the mountains of Colorado, we do have cell service at The Baldpate Inn!

Another days gone by item was the pay phone booth which was in the lobby at Baldpate and only 10 cents even in 1986. (The phone company quickly upped that rate once they realized how cheap it was!) Would have to admit there wasn’t much privacy to calls made on that phone. No longer a sensible use of space, it was removed during our lobby renovation in 2011.

And certainly before texting the quick (albeit expensive) method of communicating home was good ole Western Union.  Love this 1938 Mothers Day telegram! 

Written by Lois Smith 

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 74: Baldpate Wood Saw (Arbor Day)

One of the most unique projects accomplished by our preservation partners, the American History Savers, was the salvage and restoration of The Baldpate Inn's antique wood saw. This was a special labor of love project headed by Steve Robb.  

The archive team first discovered the saw near the old garbage dump, half buried along with some old ovens & stoves and set out to discover its story. 

Diligent research identified Baldpate’s original wood saw as a 1921 Sattley hit and miss engine. It was a 7-1/2 horse power engine that was purchased from Montgomery Ward. It was built as a saw platform with a 30-inch saw blade.

This saw was used by the Mace family in the construction of the Baldpate buildings as they built each by hand from hand-hewed timber cut from the property.

Restored in 2010 for display by the American History Savers, our saw was moved to its current location near the Homestead. 

So although we no longer use this historic saw, having five massive fireplaces in just the main lodges as well as five more in the cabins and homestead creates a demand to keep up with firewood.

Over the years we have learned that to be good stewards of the forest, a balance is required between cutting for our use, our wildfire mitigation work - most recently last fall by our friends at Summit Forestry, and maintaining the right blend of trees for our local wildlife.

The aspen and variety of pine trees surrounding The Baldpate Inn have always been part of what makes it so special, and we are pleased to wish you all a very happy Arbor Day today.  

Written by Lois Smith