Object Decade: 1950 - 1959

The National Security Act of 1947 established an independent and co-equal United States Air Force. Competition soon began with 582 proposals from 45 states to locate the new Air Force Academy. Colorado Springs, already home to the Air Defense Command and with a magnificent setting for the new academy had a competitive advantage. The city put forth an all-out effort and was awarded the academy over Alton, IL, and Lake Geneva, WI, neither of which had the community support nor unabashed pro-military stance as Colorado Springs. When President Eisenhower announced the winner, Governor Dan Thornton said this was “the greatest day in the history of Colorado.”

Architects Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill were selected to build an institution intended to be, literally, a national monument. This would be one of the largest single educational projects ever designed in this country and, at the time, one of the largest ever government-funded projects. The design was perhaps the purest example of modernist architecture, reflecting science, a new world order, timelessness, human progress, and emphasis on functionality. The intent was to project a bright new future for humanity based on human intellect, rational thought, and technological progress. The Department of Defense sought a symbol reflecting the role the Air Force would play during the Cold War era.

The centerpiece of the entire Cadet Area was the chapel, a structure with 17 spires made up of three vertically-interlocking tetrahedrons, each 75 feet long, rising to a height of 150 feet above the granite pediment. When plans were unveiled, many politicians were highly critical of the rigid, impersonal design. Over time, however, the site has become recognized as a masterpiece of modernism. The Cadet Area was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2004.

The Academy is one of the most important tourist sites for Colorado Springs and is used in promotional materials for the city. At its 50th anniversary in 2004, a study found that the Academy payroll, indirect jobs and service spending total more than $561 million, with more spending by tourists and visitors to athletic events. It employs nearly 10,000 military and civilians, with another 3,500 jobs off base dependent upon spending from its workers. Most importantly, it is a symbol of freedom integral to the city’s identity and reputation.

Generously Submitted by Dr. John Harner, Professor of Geography & Environmental Studies, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs

Since their first official television broadcast on September 30, 1953 of the World Series played between the Yankees and Dodgers, KRDO Newschannel 13 has become an organization of firsts in the Pikes Peak region. KRDO began as an AM radio station broadcasting from the Alta Vista Hotel with its radio antenna fixed atop the Marksheffel parking garage. A few years later they purchased a building on 8th Street which included 5 studio sets and a 5-kilowatt transmitter on the roof. In the late 50s, KRDO joined the ABC network and moved their antenna from the parking garage to the top of Cheyenne Mountain.

KRDO is known for its technological advances in newscasting and its commitment to the local community. They were the first to broadcast the USAF Academy graduation, first to have a mobile studio and mobile cameras, first station in Southern Colorado to broadcast in full color, first to broadcast local news in high-definition, and several other firsts in the region. The first live broadcast from the mobile studio was from the top of Pikes Peak. KRDO has won numerous awards since it started broadcasting which shows their devotion to bringing quality news reports to the region.

The “golden age” of pioneering telecasting in Southern Colorado was led by a team of visionaries including Wes Bradley, Jim Cook, Bob Fitzmorris, and Harry Hoth. Hoth in particular, “helped bring television to Colorado Springs.” Hoth encouraged the KRDO-AM radio station to expand into television. It was he who helped in the installation of the antenna on Cheyenne Mountain and tested a relay network signal from Denver, to Castle Rock, to Colorado Springs.

Harry W. Hoth is a distinguished member of the Colorado Springs area serving as city councilman, mayor, on the city’s planning commission, and was a Marine. He was president and general manger of KRDO and the Pikes Peak Broadcasting Company for well over 50 years. Several awards given to him for his outstanding dedication to Southern Colorado include: Broadcaster of the Year (1969 and 1985), Silver Spur Award from the Pikes Peak Range Riders in 1990, Outstanding Support and Fundraising for Ready Military and Veteran Families from the American Legion in 1994, National Award for Outstanding Civilian Service to the Army in 1996, and the Spirit of the Springs Lifetime Achievement Award given to him on his 92nd birthday.

Hoth served on as a member of several boards, committees, and halls of fame. According to an interview, “The name Henry Hoth is synonymous with television in Colorado.” Had it not been for Hoth’s passion and dedication to television broadcasting, KRDO would not have pioneered the way for technological advancement and innovative news reporting that are still being advanced in Southern Colorado.

Generously Submitted by Heather Poll, M.A.

Minor-league baseball’s first chapter in Colorado Springs filled much of the 1950s with teams boasting a unique name, the Sky Sox, and streams of players pursuing their dreams.

But that era faded like a forgotten scrapbook during three decades without America’s summer pastime in this city — until 1987. Then the ownership of a Pacific Coast League franchise, the Hawaii Islanders, decided to relocate that team to the mainland.

The right people in Colorado Springs jumped at the opportunity and began a whirlwind romance. A stadium site came available from a developer, Mayor Robert Isaac led an effort to produce needed infrastructure, team owner Dave Elmore found positive fan interest and president-general manager Fred Whitacre brought years of promotional expertise.

That December, Isaac and City Council approved a package deal, business leader Gary Loo provided stadium financing, and Colorado Springs had its own team again. Reviving the nickname of Sky Sox was the easiest part.

Just four months later in April 1988, the Sky Sox brought the highest level of minor-league baseball to the foot of Pikes Peak. They affiliated with the Cleveland Indians, who provided veterans trying to earn another chance and prospects on their way up. In a nod to history, the team played its first half-season at Memorial Park on the same field where the first Sky Sox played. Then in June, Sky Sox Stadium was born in Stetson Hills, the highest altitude of any ballpark in pro baseball at 6,531 feet.

That launched a stretch of special teams, players, managers and moments. Little did Colorado Springs realize how those wearing Sky Sox uniforms and representing this city would go on to etch their own places in baseball history. Others including Luis Medina, Trenidad Hubbard and Alan Cockrell became much-loved heroes to the local fans.

Among those first Sky Sox in 1988 was first baseman Terry Francona, who later managed the Boston Red Sox to two World Series titles. In 1992, the Sky Sox won the PCL championship, and the pitcher recording the final out was Jerry Dipoto, now the Seattle Mariners’ general manager. Also on that team was Jim Thome, who went on to a Hall of Fame career in Cleveland. The manager, Charlie Manuel, later guided Philadelphia to a World Series title.

In 1993, the Sky Sox embraced a new parent club as the Colorado Rockies became reality. The proximity to Denver helped immeasurably, and players learned the nuances of playing in the thin air.

A similar script unfolded as another PCL title came in 1995 and, later, Sky Sox alumni led by Matt Holliday, Brad Hawpe and future Hall of Famer Todd Helton carried Colorado to the 2007 World Series. Ex-Sky Sox still play for the current Rockies, most notably Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon.

After two decades, the Rockies moved on and the Milwaukee Brewers supplied the Sky Sox roster from 2015 through 2018, when the nickname and the PCL membership came to an end. But for thousands of loyal Colorado Springs fans, the memories of all those teams, players and games live on.

Generously Submitted by Ralph Routon, Executive Editor Emeritus, Colorado Springs Independent and Colorado Springs Business Journal

For 25 years La Fiesta Bonita, The Beautiful Party, brought together Colorado Springs residents of all backgrounds to celebrate the region’s Mexican heritage. The event was a community celebration of Spanish language, history, art, and music. The driving force behind the event was Jose Alvarado. Alvarado first moved to Colorado Springs with his family in the 1930s. At that time Colorado Springs was a racially segregated city and the Alvarado family settled into a Mexican neighborhood near Shooks Run. Jose’s father, Baltazar, found work in construction and helped construct both NORAD and the Air Force Academy.

Alvarado’s upbringing taught him to appreciate and understand his Mexican heritage. In the 1950s he noticed that many children of Mexican families, such as those living in the Conejos Neighborhood, were getting into trouble. Worse than that even very few seemed to know about, much less appreciate, their cultural heritage. Alvarado worked with other volunteers in the community to organize the first La Fiesta Bonita in 1956. The community held the two-day event over a single weekend. Stalls that sold clothing, pottery, glassware, and food filled Acacia Park. There were performances of traditional dances and music. A Mariachi band sauntered throughout the park, serenading the attendees. The crown of Fiesta Queen was awarded to a young woman based on her knowledge of Mexican history and culture. Our Lady of Guadalupe Church hosted events and the fiesta culminated in a dance held at the City Auditorium. Thousands of people from around the city came to join in the festivities.

The celebration was such a success that it became an annual event. People from all over the state and region would come to Colorado Springs to celebrate, dance, and eat with one another. The event inspired other celebrations of Mexican heritage in the state, with both Denver and Pueblo establishing their own commemorations.

The truly remarkable thing about La Fiesta Bonita, particularly in its’ infant years, was its’ ability to bridge racial divides. In the 1950s it was one of the few events in the city that would bring together citizens of all backgrounds. It taught young people of Mexican descent about their ancestral culture and introduced non-Mexican community members to the culture of their neighbors. Alvarado believed that a shared cultural understanding was imperative because “If you have respect for your own heritage, you’re going to respect someone else’s heritage.”

 

Generously Submitted by Patrick Lee, CSPM Museum Technician

The story of the Flying W Ranch is one of invention, loss, and rebirth. In 1947 Don Wilson purchased thousands of acres of ranchland in northeastern Colorado Springs. Wilson’s daughter and son-in law, Marian and Russ Wolfe, moved to Colorado to help work on the ranch. Russ started hosting trail rides at the ranch and Marian would cook dinner for the participants. Marian and Russ began discussing the idea of hosting chuckwagon suppers and an Old West stage show. They began the Flying W Chuckwagon Suppers and Original Western Stage Show in 1953 with 11 customers their first night and 7 the second. Open two nights a week, over the course of that summer they served 1,650 people. Ten years later they were open year-round, seven days a week, serving 125,000 guests a year.

The Wolfes would continually add to the entertainment and attractions at the ranch, increasing its’ popularity and appeal. They built a large western village on the ranch containing a jail, schoolhouse, kiva, and library. Eventually they opened a steakhouse to serve meals in the winter. Crowds did not just come for the food and attractions but also for the top-class entertainment. They would host celebrity performers such as famous country band Sons of Pioneers, and Roy Rogers’ side-kick Pat Brady. The Wolfes’s also created their own home-grown Cowboy singing group, The Flying W Wranglers. They have performed at the ranch for over 30 years and boast about being the world’s second oldest western performance band in the world.

The Flying W Ranch changed forever with the devastating Waldo Canyon fire in 2012. Everything but the library in the western village, which housed the late Marian’s extensive cookbook collection, burnt down. Floods followed in 2013 further devastating the Ranch. There is hope that the Flying W Ranch will be able to return. In 2019 there was a groundbreaking ceremony led by Leigh Ann Wolfe, Russ and Marian’s daughter, to inaugurate the new Flying W Ranch. The other major change brought about by the fire was the creation of The Flying W Ranch Foundation. The non-profit focuses on repairing the natural landscape through reforestation and erosion mitigation efforts. The Flying W Ranch has been, and will be again, a monument to the Old West life of the region.

 Generously Submitted by Patrick Lee, CSPM Museum Technician

“This is the start of World War II,” William W. “Bill” Boddington remembers saying at the closing ceremony of the 1936 Olympics. “Simultaneously, with the dimming of the Olympic flame, power was switched on from a hundred or more searchlight batteries, and the rays met right over the center of the stadium. It was an electrifying and terrifying moment.”

Bill’s love of sport took him to the 1932 LA Olympics, not in his chosen sport of soccer but in men’s field hockey. A bronze medal in 1932 inspired him to try out for the Berlin Olympics in 1936 where at the closing of the games the Nazis showcased their militarism which convinced him to see Europe before the imminent war he foresaw. He quit his job and secured a trip to the mountains he explored after the Olympics. Bill spent a year in Florence learning to speak Italian and enjoying the culture. He would return to these mountains as a soldier in 1944.

After Pearl Harbor he tried to enlist in the Army Airforce but at age thirty-one he was told he was too old. While sorting out his affairs he stopped in the Graybar building in NYC. In Bill’s story this is how he became the first man to enlist in the Tenth Mountain Division.

“Minnie Dole”, an old friend, was the creator of the Tenth Mountain Division. He was in the Graybar building pitching the idea of the mountain troops in 1941 to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They gave Dole the green light and the Division was created. Mr. Dole hopped on the elevator heading down. A floor or two below, my father steps in. By the time it reached the bottom, as he later told the story, my father had enlisted.

It was fate that brought the New Jersey boy to Colorado to train at Camp Hale. It brought him to Colorado Springs on leave one weekend where he met my mother, Jo. That meeting blossomed into a love affair sealed by a valentine’s day demonstration of his love by arranging with his future mother-in-law to have my mother on the train to Leadville and to have her look out the window when it stoped for water. There she saw a huge heart stamped into the snow and outlined in pine branches. As mother watched, he skied like Cupid’s arrow through the heart down to the train. That’s salesmanship of the first order! And that same romantic imagination allowed him to start a family, while opening a wholesale building materials distribution business, Boddington Lumber Co. The company was then, and was when it sold, owned by its employees, which was relatively rare in the 1950-60’s. He was a visionary in the trust he placed in his employees to do the right thing. It worked like everything he had learned in the 10th Mountain Division; teach them all they need to know then sit back and watch the success. That philosophy also worked well for him on the many boards and civic ventures he enjoyed and at Colorado College (where he coached for eleven years as a volunteer, taking the teams from club status to varsity.) Colorado Springs was fortunate indeed to have an energetic and completely ethical man part of the community.

Generously Submitted by Tim Boddington

Albert Galaxyn Hill had “been erroneously labeled a Texan, though there is assuredly nothing wrong with being a Texan. Actually he was born in Tennessee and came to Colorado as a youth. Thus he claims Colorado as his native state, one to which he has ‘always wanted to return.’ In fact, he purchased the 1600-acre Mesa, he says, as an excuse to come back to the mountain state.” So wrote the newspaper the Free State in 1951 about oil magnate and millionaire Al Hill. In 1948 Hill purchased the mesa overlooking Garden of the Gods and had big plans for development.

Al Hill had a deep love for the landscape of Colorado. An alumnus of Colorado College, he bought Seven Falls in 1946 and developed it into a tourist destination. After having spent his childhood in Colorado, Hill saw buying the Falls as a way to tie himself to the landscape of Colorado. His attempts to anchor himself to Colorado did not stop with Seven Falls.

Hill’s newest purchase of 1630 acres atop the Mesa was fueled by a desire to build something as stunning as the scenery it overlooked. Atop the Mesa, Hill built the Garden of the Gods Club. The luxurious club included a golf course, a 90,000 gallon heated swimming pool, stables, tennis courts, shopping center, and even an oil well.

More important as the amenities, Hill wanted to build a permanent community on top of the Mesa. The club and resort were an exclusive and a temporary stay, drawing members from all over the country. However, Hill also wanted to build a more living community, with the club as its heart. 900 plots were set aside for houses to be built on the Mesa in what was described as a “dream city.” And certainly, with a view overlooking the Gateway to the Garden of the Gods, and the majesty of Pikes Peak towering beyond, it was.

All Hill’s appreciation for the natural beauty of Colorado Springs led him to purchase and develop parts of the region. He had faith in that beauty to draw people to the city and together. Hill’s desires to build community came forth in the Garden of the God Club and resort, and in the homes radiating out from it across the Mesa, amidst the same sunbeams that played across the red rocks of the Garden of the Gods.

Generously Submitted by Gabrielle Friesen, former CSPM Museum Technician

On Labor Day weekend of 1956, Colorado Springs welcomed their first fully automated car wash at 529 S. Nevada Ave. The innovative PDQ (“pretty darn quick”) Car Wash’s grand opening was the first of its kind west of the Mississippi. It was also the first of many business and civic ventures the Ochs brothers and their families would bring to the Pikes Peak region over the next 65 Years.

In 1956, the four Ochs brothers, Larry age 32, Harlan 28, Ken 26 and Don age 24 joined together in partnership to carry on the strong tradition of community support and entrepreneurial spirit they learned from their father while growing up in Russell Kansas.

In 1959 the Ochs brothers formed Acorn Petroleum after acquiring a small gasoline distributorship. 60 years later, Acorn continues to be run by the Ochs family and is one of the leading distributors of oil and gasoline in the Front Range urban corridor.

The Ochs’ purchased the downtown Denver Rio Grand & Western Railroad depot in 1971 (well known as Giuseppe’s Restaurant from 1972-2011). Committed to keeping the 1887 historic depot that General Palmer built, updated and preserved, the Ochs family remodeled the building and opened in June 2020 as 3 unique restaurants.

The Ochs families grew to love Colorado Springs and have given back to the community through volunteering, philanthropy, fund raising efforts, and in leadership roles.

Larry Ochs served as vice mayor in 1970 then mayor in 1975. He was a strong advocate for the POW/MIA cause and instrumental in bringing the US Olympic & Paralympic training center to Colorado Springs in 1978.

Ken Ochs was a longstanding member of the Pikes Peaks Range Riders, trustee for the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, and along with his brother Harlan, was a recipient of the Fort Carson Good Neighbor Award for their efforts supporting the military community.

Don Ochs was supportive of the Cheyenne Mountain school system, member of the First United Methodist Church, and a longtime member of Kiwanis.

Harlan Ochs, living at 92, has been the longest serving member of Rotary since 1959. He served on the District 11 school board and volunteered for numerous organizations including the

First United Methodist Church, Boy Scouts, Fine Arts center, and the Chamber of Commerce.

The Ochs brothers and their families have made important contributions during the last 65 years to help Colorado Springs be a welcoming and prosperous place to live.

Generously Submitted by Harlan Ochs

The Pikes Peak Marathon began in 1956 as both a fitness challenge and also to commemorate 150 years since Zebulon Pike first came upon the mountain. Dr. Arne Suominen challenged cigarette smokers to a race up Pikes Peak. His goal was to prove that smoking was detrimental to one’s health and he insisted that no smoker could beat him. 14 contestants participated. Lou Willie, unofficial record holder and smoker, reached the peak but could not go on. The other smoker in the race could not finish the marathon either. Dr. Suominen proved his point and from a dare based on health and fitness the Pikes Peak Marathon was born.

The race originally started at the base of Barr Trail and ended at the Cog Railway. In 1960, the distance of the race was criticized for not being a full marathon and the finish line was moved to the intersection of Manitou Avenue and Ruxton Avenue. The 1976 race saw the course change once more, with the starting line moved from the cog railway to Manitou City Hall. This course has remained in place for the last 40 years.

The Marathon holds a special place in American sports history as being the first to feature women. In the third year of the race, 1958, women were allowed to participate. Arlene Peiper-Stein was the only woman who chose to do so. She made it to the top of Pikes Peak and decided to end her race there which disqualified her since she did not finish the full marathon. The next year Peiper-Stein decided to run the marathon again. She trained diligently and lined up at the starting line again, this time with 59-year-old Katherine Heard as well as her 9-year-old daughter Cathy and 16 men. Peiper-Stein completed the race in about 9 hours which gave her a place in history as the first woman to complete a marathon.

The Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon has blossomed from a local’s mountain race to an internationally recognized race that attracts professional mountain runners from all over the world. The race has been the World Mountain Running Association’s “World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge” three different times, in 2006, 2010, and 2014. The Pikes Peak Marathon will remain a major player in world mountain running as long as it exists, or until the mountain falls down, which won’t be for a while!

Generously Submitted by Patrick Lee, CSPM Museum Technician

When North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) was established in 1957, its command center occupied a former sanatorium at Ent AFB. In July 1958, NORAD’s commander recommended constructing a hardened combat operations center (COC) that could survive nuclear attack. After receiving approval to locate it deep inside Cheyenne Mountain, NORAD marked the beginning of excavation with a ceremonial dynamite blast at the construction site on 16 June 1961.

The project’s first phase involved using more than 500 tons of dynamite and a recently developed smooth-wall blasting technique—a series of critically timed explosions to minimize cracking of exposed surfaces—to remove more than 6 million cubic feet of granite from inside the mountain. It took a year to carve out two connecting tunnels and the main chamber area, equivalent in size to five football stadiums.

Workers inserted 110,000 rock bolts, some 32 feet long, to strengthen excavated surfaces. Belated discovery of cracks running parallel to corridors in the main complex caused engineers to rotate its entire layout 70 degrees counterclockwise. One especially weak area, where two corridors intersected, necessitated jacking a massive form into place—with cylindrical extensions 30 to 40 feet into each of the four adjoining chambers—and pouring concrete to make a structure that varied from 4 to 14 feet thick.

Phase 2, erection of three-story underground buildings and support facilities, commenced in March 1963. A first in the history of shock absorption techniques involved installing 937 steel springs, each weighing 1,500 pounds, under huge I-beams, upon which the actual steel-faced buildings rested. This design ensured structural stability in the event of an earthquake or shock wave from a nuclear blast. This phase also involved installing three blast doors, each three feet thick and weighing 25 tons, to protect operations inside the complex from the harshest effects of a nuclear blast wave. To secure air ducts against blast effects, workers installed 58 pressure-automated valves, each weighing 8,500 pounds. Although originally scheduled for completion by August 1964, construction delays caused by repairs on the weak intersection slipped Phase 2 completion to January 1965.

Phase 3, installing electronic equipment began in May 1965. When snowmelt and spring rains flooded the main access tunnel, crews brought some of the equipment into the mountain on rowboats. Known as the 425L system, it achieved full operational capability on 20 April 1966, and NORAD COC responsibilities formally transferred from Ent to Cheyenne Mountain.

Generously Submitted by Dr. Rick Sturdevant, Deputy Director of History & Heritage, United States Space Force