Steamboat Pilot & Today

50 Years Ago

From the Aug. 29, 1957, edition of the Steamboat Pilot:

New prep school will have students from many states

With a concentrated emphasis on the academic side of school to better prepare high school students for entrance into the institutions of higher learning, the Whiteman-Gaylord school will open this fall.

The school this first year has enrolled about 20 students, boys and girls, grades 9 to 12, carefully screened for their college fitness. Because the school's prime purpose is to train high schoolers for college, they will be individually tutored in their specialized field.

Students for this year will come from Hawaii, New Mexico, California, Wyoming, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and Colorado. An exchange student from Italy will begin classes at the school later in the season.

The six-day class week includes these subjects in its curriculum: languages, French, Spanish, German and Latin; sciences, general biology, chemistry and physics; mathematics, algebra, plane and solid geometry and trigonometry; the language arts, including grammar, literature and writing; social studies, Ancient, World, U.S. and English history.

River fishing good; lakes and streams vary

Conservation officers Bud Hurd and Harold Overmeyer describe Elk and Yampa rivers as low and clear with Elk river good for trout on flies, good for whitefish on fly larva, nymphs and flies. Yampa is good for trout, bait and lures, whitefish on nymphs and fly larva.

Small streams in the Elk river drainage and in the Rabbit Ears-Buffalo Pass area are low and clear with fishing on flies, bait and spinners ranging from fair to excellent.

Funds needed for TV booster battle

Twenty-six communities served by repeater or booster television service were represented in Denver Monday as plans were made to carry the fight to Washington to have the cheap method of transmitting TV signs recognized.

Walter Webber of Steamboat, a pioneer in developing the low cost method of bringing TV to isolated communities, was elected chairman of the group.

Governor Steve McNichols who has been battling to have the FCC authorize the booster service called the conference. Another hearing will be held by the FCC in Washington on October 1.

Little Leaguers like baseball, popcorn, peanuts

Even though after the game was over, the Denver Bears stood on the low end of the 17 to 11 score with the Charleston Senators, 50 Little Leaguersr had a great time.

The small fry hard balers munched bags and bags of popcorn, drained cartons of pop, emptied 41 bags of candy donated by Harry Graves and popped open a lot of toasted in the shell peanuts.

While watching the competition on the field, Little Leaguers did some competing of their own in the stands. A major concern was "how much" fellow teammates had left - not to bet on the outcome of the game - but to buy more popcorn.

Labor Day celebration at Oak Creek will provide fun

The two-day celebration at Oak Creek marking the annual observance of Labor Day will be filled with exciting events.

The annual event will start Sunday and last thru Monday and much entertainment is being provided. The softball tournament for men and women is attracting much attention and there will be many entries.

The tournament starts at 1 p.m. Sunday and will continue thru Monday.

The contest for being named 1957 coal queen is a heated affair with eight lovely ladies seeking the honor. Those seeking the crown are Joyce Compton, Mildred Grublich, Alice Jiminez, Ann Mae Karzon, Delores Meach, Edna Stewart, Sharon Sullivan and Beatrice Williams. The net proceeds from the contest go to the Oak Creek Community hospital.

The Silver Spruce club is in charge of the contest. An electric blanket donated by P.C. Penney Co also is being given away.

The Labor Day parade will be spectacular. It will be held Monday morning and there will be many prizes in the various classes. Following the parade there will be numerous sporting events. A free show and ice cream at the Rio theatre will be a noon event. There will be a dance at the school gym Monday night with Snowden's Four Roses furnishing the music.

A carnival and bazaar will be held at the Yount building both days with many events being slated to keep the crowds entertained. A flower show will be held at the Hageman garage.

The various committees have been working hard to make the event a success and large crowds are expected to flock to Oak Creek for the two days.

Week's accidents take heavy toll in injuries, autos

In three auto accidents near here Tuesday four men were hospitalized and four cars were demolished.

The first occurred at 11:40 a.m. on Colorado Highway 131 about eight miles south of Steamboat. Willow D. Mason, 24, of Casper, Wyo., lost control of his car on a curve and skidded broadside into the path of a U.S. government car driven by Hayden D. Rouse, 65, of Gunnison, Colo.

In an accident at 8 p.m. Tuesday on Colorado Highway 84 about one-half mile east of Toponas, Douglas E. Wagner, 23, of Berthoud lost control of his car on a curve, skidded across the highway and over the railroad tracks and knocking the signal light pole and its cement foundation a distance of 45 feet. Wagner, who escaped injury, was charged with exceeding the safe speed and fined $20 and costs in Yampa justice of the peace court.

In the third accident on Tuesday, Dick A. Gibson, 30, of Fair Oaks, Calif., suffered chest and back injuries when he lost control of his car on Colorado Highway 84 about one mile east of Gore pass.

Patrolman Callahan Kremmling, who investigated the accident, said there was a distance of 50 feet without skid marks before Gibson landed in the canon.

Carousel production delights packed houses

Audiences jammed the Julie Harris theatre and overflowed in the aisles on Aug. 23 and 24 to attend the performances of Rodgers & Hammerstine's "Carousel," a gala farewell production in the 1957 Perry-Mansfield Theatre Festival.

The beautiful little theatre glowed with color as the cast bounded in lively dance and song over the arena and prosenium stages. "Carousel," adopted from a huge, spectacular Broadway and Hollywood show to a version for intimate theatre, retained its charm and dramatic appeal. In fact, the story - that of a love enduring beyond death - is perhaps better expressed in this simpler form.

While there was a numerous cast - 16 girls and 13 men - several actors doubled in lesser roles. Dustin Hoffman, for instance, ranged in characterization from a juggler in the carnival scene to a gray-haired angel in the sequence dealing with the Great Beyond.

Charlotte Perry's gifts of direction welded the drama to the music and to the flashing kaleidoscope of dances which Harriett Anne Gray choreographed.