Article Contributed on: 6/21/2009 1:42:28 AM
In a week full of important anniversaries this peculiar title refers to the simultaneous anniversary of two of Golden's most important businesses, each an anchor of downtown, but in very different times: Golden's Safeway, and the Chicago Saloon.
Golden's Safeway first opened its doors 75 years ago on June 21, 1934. It opened in the new building constructed by
Joe Pearson for it at the northwest corner of 13th and Washington, which building still stands as the southern end of the Foss Building. Safeway's original motto here was "Distribution Without Waste", and their prices are something for newer eyes to behold.
The store's original manager was
O.A. Nelson, with
Nels Nelson as produce manager,
W.E. "Brownie" Thornton as market manager (who in 1946 departed to run Golden's new Piggly Wiggly),
H.A. Duncan also in that department,
Bob Collins taking care of the stock and
Harold Hindex doing the bagging.
Buddy Lopez was decorator, with
L.G. Kassell as checker.
Originally Safeway occupied only the southern portion of their building where the Peak bicycle shop is now; in 1944 they expanded to take over the smaller Colorado Cafe space to the north. In 1951 Safeway moved to its second hope on Ford Street south of Clear Creek, where they remained only 11 years until building their third home in 1962, which is now the Coors Wellness Center. Around 1980 Safeway moved to its current home. However, Safeway still has a ways to go to become Golden's longest-lived grocery store; the Mercantile lasted 119 years.
The Chicago Saloon was opened by Col.
Parker B. Cheney in a tent at the southeast corner of today's 11th and Washington on June 21, 1859. This legendary establishment, soon housed in a long wooden building housing its long bar, was very popular among the gold rushing crowd throughout the region. This was particularly so when Cheney sent his barkeeper
Jack Hill (who later owned today's Buffalo Rose) out with a bugle, the blast of which meant free drinks for three minutes. This could last even longer when eager patrons jamming the bar turned back the hands of the clock. Cheney put up Golden's earliest known flagpole, a tall pine lodgepole on the corner, from which after the Civil War he honorably hoisted the flag of the USS
Cumberland, the first ship sunk by the Confederate ironclad
Virginia before its fateful encounter with the USS
Monitor. The Chicago Saloon proved a refuge for Goldenites when the great windstorm of 1861 wreaked havoc and destroyed 25 buildings, during which time Cheney defiantly blew his bugle in the teeth of the howling wind to get more people inside. Cheney tried his hand at opening a large pool hall in Denver in 1865, but it didn't work out, though offering free ice to provisional Territorial legislators may well have helped Golden become capital of Jefferson Territory in 1860. In the 1870s Cheney moved on to California, and his building gradually faded away from the landscape. However, his spirit was hard for Goldenites to forget. Here is a list of the original drinks Cheney served:
Whisky Cocktails.
Hen Fruit Cocktails.
Gin Cocktails.
Eureka Punch.
Cheneys Punch.
Brandy Punch.
Lemon Flip.
Whisky Punch.
Mint Julep.
Stone Fence.
Gim Sling.
Pus ca Faix A la Franco Espaniola and American style.
Chau De Goff.
Roman Punch.
Quien Sabe.
Eau De Vie.
L Eilsive d' Amour.
Champagne a la mode.
Hans Schwans.