Our July Volunteer of the Month, Fred Morgan, has been volunteering as the Colorado Springs Gazette Back Pages Coordinator since 2013. The Back Pages is a time-intensive, volunteer-based project, run by the CSPM Archives. Every day, with the help of four volunteers, we share articles from 50, 75, and 100 years ago in the Colorado Springs Gazette —that is 1,095 articles a year! Thanks to Fred’s dedication, his stellar editing skills, and the guidance he provides to the three researchers, this project runs smoothly every month.
“One take-away after reading thousands of Back Pages items is that the people of Colorado Springs haven’t really changed that much during the past 100 years. The story that sticks in my mind was written when the statue of General Palmer on horseback started to go up. With just the statue base complete, our early citizens complained that it was blocking their view of oncoming traffic. Sound familiar?”
Fred is a native of Seattle, Washington. He earned a B.A. in business administration from the University of Washington in 1965. Later that year, he entered the U.S. Air Force where he served as a public affairs officer for 27 years, retiring as a colonel in 1992.
Volunteering is not new to Fred! He is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and was inducted into its College of Fellows in 1996. He has served as a president of PRSA’s New Mexico and Pikes Peak Chapters, served as a member of the PRSA’s national board of directors and has spent more than 24 years as a local chapter board member. He also served as the volunteer administrator of the Colorado Springs Crisis Communications Network for 18 years.
His wife Joyce has served as a Back Pages volunteer researcher for twenty years and is currently reviewing 100-year-old Gazette newspapers. Their family includes five adult children and eight grandchildren. They both love to travel. Fred is an avid target shooter. Most recently, during the COVID Pandemic, he has pursued his interest in World War II naval history – particularly Pacific Theater battles. He has read 500+ books on the subject!
Why does Fred volunteer? He expressed that, “I feel that the Pioneers Museum is a community treasure and I consider it an honor to support its mission. Our local history is preserved and presented by the talented museum staff, and I believe that Back Pages helps generate public interest in what the museum has to offer.”
Thank you, Fred, for helping share the history of the Pikes Peak Region!
New Volunteer Session
Hillary Mannion, CSPM Archivist
719.385.5650 | Hillary.Mannion@coloradosprings.gov
The Special Collections and Archives of the CSPM are housed in the Starsmore Center for Local History and include[s] manuscripts, photographs, ephemera, maps and blueprints, and a non-circulating reference library. Learn more and plan your visit to the Starsmore Center for Local History.