Day 59: Baldpate Black & White Photograph Collection

The Baldpate PhotoCollectionis one of those things about Baldpate that fascinate some guests while others don’t even notice it. Thankfully our friends at American History Savers took note and were instrumental in preserving and documenting our collection.

Their work over the years to painstakingly repair frames and research short bios for each photo (yes, all except the chimpanzee are identified) have greatly added to the interest in our collection.

In the dining room, many guests recognize the faces of Presidents and the most famous of persons, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and perhaps Jack London. Others, once we know the name, we can tag, like Roy Rogers and Emilia Earhart.   Then it gets a little more difficult, how about Tetrazzini (the opera singer whose love for food lent its name), or Billy Sunday (baseball star and later evangelist), or Marlowe & Southern (Shakespearean actors), or Barney Oldfield (race car driver).

Most of these photos are the artistic talent of Charles Mace, one of Baldpate’s founders, and his brother Stuart during their time as a photojournalists for Denver newspapers. Charles was also General Pershing’s personal photographer during World War I.

Guests often inquire if all these people have actually visited our Inn. At this point we cannot document that they all have. Although some have inscriptions or guest register notes, like this one from Johnny Morris of Philip Morris, that do let us know they were here, most are a mystery with clues and answers likely still hiding in our guest registers.

Another other interesting feature of our photo collection are the early advertising photos for Kodak, Palmolive Soaps, and Colgate that are hanging in our lobby. Charles Mace won a Kodak national contest in 1911, and during the 1920s, he sold many photos featuring his wife, Gloria, daughter, Jeanie, and other family members. 

Come see these snapshots of history, and don’t forget to “Bring up the Kodak!”

Written by Lois Smith

Day 40: What’s Left to Archive? Keys to Unlock The Baldpate Legacy

Baldpate really has a trifecta of collections: Keys, Photos, and our yet to be charted, Guest Registers from as early as 1918.  A long-term goal to help round out our history is to tie together the keys, the photos, and the guest registers.  So there is still lots more to do!

As our American History Savers volunteers worked to preserve and catalogue the boxes of “stuff” in the Baldpate's archives, they suggested we reach out to local historians for help as well. 

John Meissner was one of those generous people willing to research.  At one of our first meetings with John, he shared a huge inconsistency that he had discovered in our Baldpate story.  In 1938 Ethel had written in her book that Baldpate’s first year was 1917, so we had just assumed that as fact. What John had uncovered was clear documentation that the Main Lodge of our Inn was really not opened until 1918. It was one of those light bulb moments for me, since we did have all the original guest registers and the first was 1918!  Why that never clicked for me before, I don’t know!  

As we continued to dig, you can imagine our delight when we came across the very tattered Kansas City Star newspaper article that names our Homestead “Baldpate” and gives some understanding of Ethel’s 1917 claims. Although the main lodge did not open until 1918, the Mace’s were housing guests in “tourist cabins” in 1917.  

Guess I really should have been more discerning. I clearly remember the first winter after we had purchased the Inn, taking these treasured guest books home to look for names of royalty that might have visited Baldpate.

I did have to laugh at myself when reading the lists of names as I perked up when I found a Count – alas it was only “Count de Silverware,” but what was even more fun for me was to find the name of the “rich” people from the tiny farm town in southwestern Ohio where I grew up. 

Doodling is clearly not a new art form, as our guest books are packed with sketches and drawings, some by noted artists as well as some that were likely doodles of bored employees???  The margin of the Baldpate Inn register from August 1920 includes an impromptu Gaar Williams cartoon by the prominent American cartoonist.   Local artist Dave Stirling who works at the lodge, was a prolific contributor of sketching entries as well.

In recent years, our guest registers were real “keys” when trying to unravel the history and construction dates of our buildings. As room numbers were added, the registers told the history.



It will definitely take more detective work, as really just the tip of the iceberg has been uncovered with the vast amount of information these books likely contain.

One can only imagine the truths that will be unveiled as we move forward to document these Baldpate guest registers in years to come.  

Written by Lois Smith