This photo of a snowy downtown Berthoud is from April 20, 1920… which is so Colorado. But I’ve decided to still use it for the December newsletter because, despite the fact that we live in crazy-weather Colorado, we still like to think of December as a Winter Wonderland. (Denver Public Library, X-7310)

December 1

Greeley: 2018 Homesteader’s Holiday. Visitors to the Centennial Village Museum will be able to enjoy candle dipping as well as creating their own ornaments. Food concessions will be available with proceeds benefiting the Friends of the Greeley Museums. The Stevens-Reynolds House will be decorated in traditional holiday style and Selma’s Store will be available for visitors to shop for unique gifts and other holiday items. Admission is only $4 per adult and $2 per senior or child. Youth ages 12 and under are free with each canned food donation for the Weld County Food Bank. Children must be accompanied by an adult. 10 am – 4 pm.

Fort Collins: Open House at the Trolley Barn Showcasing the Restoration Progress of Car #25! Our second streetcar is finally going back together and the seats are back in! Join us for a free tour of the restoration progress on Fort Collins’ Streetcar #25. The all-volunteer, non-profit Fort Collins Municipal Railway invites you to an Open Trolley Barn at the historic 1907 Streetcar Barn, 330 N. Howes St. (corner of Cherry and Howes), Saturday, December 1, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Trolley souvenirs will be available for Christmas gifts. Or check out opportunities to volunteer to help finish this streetcar restoration. And, our model trolley will be operating – bring the kids. Call Carol Tunner at 970-484-3957 with questions.

Fort Collins: See the Avery House decorated in Victorian holiday style on the first weekend in December: Saturday & Sunday Dec. 1-2 from 11 am to 4 pm. Live music and special appearance from Grandfather Christmas. Free & open to the public.

Livermore: The Livermore Community Club is holding a Community Christmas Tree Lighting & Concert at the Livermore Community Hall. Tickets are $10/person, kids under 12 are free. See Jared Rogerson in Concert! Pizza will be served for $2/slice. Check out the flyer near the end of this newsletter for details on timing for each event that evening.

Red Feather Lakes: The Red Feather Historical Society is hosting the Greening Arts and Crafts Fair from 9 am to 4 pm at Chapel in the Pines Fellowship Hall.

December 2

Fort Collins: Stitching Through Time: Diorama Drama at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. “Stitching Through Time” is a monthly crafting series where you’ll meet to make a project and learn about its history in the process. Have you ever wanted to create a tiny world of your very own? Join the Collections Curators of FCMoD and Denver-based small-scale sculpture artist Becky Wareing Steele as we explore the imagination and creation behind miniatures and dioramas. First, we’ll delve into a detailed diminutive diorama from the Museum’s collection that depicts the Fort Collins military post as it appeared in 1866. Then, Becky will share insights from her work and guide us on the creation of our own unique miniature environments. All supplies will be provided for you to craft your own pocket-sized scene. $7/$5 for members. Ages 16+, with exceptions for parents with children who would like to come along. 2 – 4 pm.

Fort Collins: See the Avery House decorated in Victorian holiday styleon the first weekend in December: Saturday & Sunday Dec. 1-2 from 11 am to 4 pm. Live music and special appearance from Grandfather Christmas. Free & open to the public.

Red Feather Lakes: The Red Feather Historical Society is hosting the Greening Arts and Crafts Fair from 10 am to 3 pm at Chapel in the Pines Fellowship Hall.

December 3

Fort Collins: The Civil War Roundtable presents Sen. Morrill & 14th Amendment by Guy Kelley. Harmony Presbyterian Church, 400 E. Boardwalk.

December 4

Estes Park: Join authors and photographers, Dr. James Pickering, Derek Fortini, and Mic Clinger as they discuss the latest release of their updated book, Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park: Then and Now, Revised Edition. The 2006 edition was the winner of the Colorado Book Award. The present authors have donated their time and talents to the project and all proceeds from the publication will be used toward a new Collections and Research Facility. If you cannot attend the program at 7 p.m., the pre-sale will be held from 5 – 7p.m. before the program on December 4 at Town Hall in the Board Room. Following the program, Then and Now will be available to order online starting December 5. Members will continue to receive the pre-sale discount of 20% off. Pre-sales and memberships are available for purchase at estesparkmuseumfriends.org or call 970-577-3766.

December 5

Fort Collins: James E Hansen II, CSU History emeritus professor, and Gordon Hazard of Morgan Library’s University Archives and Special Collections will be signing the newest installment CSU’s Sense of Place: A Campus History of Colorado’s Land-Grant University. They co-authored the three volume book with Dr. Linda Meyer. The book will be available for $20 and the signing will take place during the CSU Bookstore’s Employee Appreciation Night, which offers activities and giveaways. 4 – 6:30 pm in the CSU Bookstore, Lory Student Center.

Fort Collins: On Wednesday December 5th from 4pm – 10pm, HuHot Mongolian Grill in Old Town Fort Collins will be donating 20% of the evening’s profits to the Poudre Heritage Alliance. Come out to eat at any point through the day and bring all of your friends to help support the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area! You can also donate directly to PHA online: poudreheritage.org/donate.

December 6

Loveland: Showштп of the documentary Searching for Posada: Art and Revolutions. Mexican artist Jose Guadalupe Posada lived over one hundred years ago, a genius whose art depicted stark images of the Mexican Revolution capturing the essence of the time in which he lived. He lampooned politicians, created sensational illustrations for penny press papers and made the skeleton images for the Day of the Dead come alive. Called a prophet, artist of the people and the Goya of Mexico his story is shrouded in myth. Was he a revolutionary? Go to jail for causes? Did he fight against dictators? Did he produce 20,000 images in his lifetime? This film follows an obsessed art collector on a journey in search of the true artist..6 pm in the Foote Gallery of the Loveland Museum. Free.

December 7

Fort Collins: It’s the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery Member Holiday Party from 6 – 8:30 pm. Join us for our annual Members-Only Holiday Party! We’ll have festive activities, warm drinks, sugary treats and sweet deals in The Museum Store! This event is free for members. Due to limited capacity, we can only accommodate members of FCMoD. Please RSVP to reserve your space today!

Red Feather Lakes: Join the Red Feather Historical Society for their Annual Holiday Dinner at Fox Acres. Check in and Happy Hour begin at 5 pm. A scrumptious dinner starts at 6. And after dinner you can participate in some holiday fun and games. I’m guessing you should probably RSVP for this. Click through to their website for contact info.

December 8

Fort Collins: It’s Hands-On History day at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. Here at FCMoD, we know that history is so much more than words in a textbook. Explore the fascinating world of our region’s past with a hands-on craft or activity in the gallery. We might even have more fun than Auntie Stone at her dinner parties! 10 am – 1 pm. Free with admission to the museum.

Fort Collins: Historic Larimer County is hosting Holy Places for the Holidays. In what we hope will become the first in a series, Historic Larimer County presents “Holy Places for the Holidays.” The goal is to look at the history, architecture, and preservation of historic churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious buildings throughout the county. Since that can’t all be done in one tour, we’ll be selecting a small group of buildings from a different part of the county each year, starting with four churches in downtown Fort Collins. We’ll begin at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 300 W. Mountain Ave. From there we’ll walk to what was originally First Baptist (at 328 Remington St.). The third church that we’ll visit was once Bethlehem Lutheran Church (300 Whedbee St.). And our last stop will be at the old German Evangelical Lutheran Congregational Church (201 Whedbee St.). RSVP to Sharon Danhauer – [email protected] – so we know to expect you! This tour is free for Historic Larimer County members and only $5 for non-members. (Lunch not included.) Not a member yet? Become one today! (Click through on the link above for suggestions on where to park.)

Johnstown: 2018 Holiday Home Tour and Tree Festival Do you like to decorate for the holidays? Or do you have a unique holiday themed collection? Do you have a special Christmas or holiday collection like Snowmen, Santas, Winter village, Themed tree, or Homemade Ornaments? Let us know. We’d love to include your home on the JHS Holiday Home tour. Call the museum at 970-587-0278 or email [email protected] for more information. A JHS volunteer will follow up with you.

Windsor: December 2nd is the last day to call in your reservation for the AHSGR NOCO Dinner Meeting in Windsor! Dr. Clarence Sitzman from Greeley will be our entertainer/speaker and our program will include an appearance from “Belsnikel” and the “Christkind” for authentic German Christmas fun! Bring your family! $20/ adults;$10 children; Under 3 – free. Contact Gloria Gaslin at 970-686-7792. Windsor Community Center -250 11th Street – Windsor, CO.

December 9

Virginia Dale: The Virginia Dale Community Club is holding their annual Old-Fashioned Christmas Party & Raffle Drawings at the Stage Station on Dec. 9th from 12:30-4 PM. It will be a potluck lunch followed by a skit by the “Not Ready for Prime Time Virginia Dale “players, Christmas carols and a gift exchange ( not more than $2). For directions & information, call Sylvia at 970-495-1828. Address of the Station is 844 Cr 43F, Virginia Dale 80536. Website is virginiadalwcommunityclub.org.

December 10

Loveland: Hell on Wheels, by Dick Kreck. Cheyenne, WY, was a product of the Transcon- tinental Railroad, established in 1867 by the Union Pacific on it’s way to connect with the Cen- tral Pacific’s leg of the first railroad that crossed the entire country. And it lived up to the name! This talk is sponsored by the Loveland Historical Society. It will be held at the Loveland Museum, 503 N. Lincoln, at 7pm. Free and open to the public.

December 11

Fort Collins: Family Writing Study Group. This genealogical group discusses how to research and write a family history using multiple methods. Each member will provide a personal family history while researching their family history. Meets second Tuesday at 1 pm. Contact Bruce Harshberger for location. Baudette72@gmail.com

Denver: Susan Schulten will present “How Maps Reveal (and Conceal) our History” at 5:30 pm at the Denver Public Library. The Rocky Mountain Map Society is hosting this talk. Congratulations to Dr. Schulten on publishing her new book via University of Chicago Press – A History of America in 100 Maps. She has promised to bring a few copies along and sign them.

December 12

Loveland: The Northern Colorado Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society has not been keeping it’s website up-to-date, and I’ve been getting updates after I’ve already sent this newsletter out. So I’d encourage you to check out their website (linked to above) for timely updates. I do know this org usually holds a holiday event in December on the second Wednesday of the month. Their last event was also held at CSU instead of down in Loveland. So… check their website for details. Their events are free and open to the public.

December 13

Larimer County: Technology Study Group. This genealogical group discusses a variety of technology subjects including genealogy software, databases, and devices in helping to research your genealogy. Many members give their comments on these technology subjects. Meets the 2nd Thursday from 5:30-7:30 PM. Contact Jean Poland for location. Jean.poland@icloud.com

Loveland: Irish Study Group. This genealogical group discusses various subjects from personal research to using local and overseas databases in researching their Irish roots. Email group leader for topics for next meeting. Meets 2nd Thursday from 6-8 PM at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, 4044 Duffield, Loveland, CO.

December 14

Berthoud: P.E.O. Chapter HA’s 2nd Annual Christmas Home Tour will be Friday, December 14 from 5-8 pm and Saturday, December 15 from 1-4 pm in conjunction with Berthoud SnowFest. This tour features 4 homes, all uniquely decorated for Christmas: the McCarty-Fickel Home Museum, a Historic 1914 Folk Victorian Home, a Prairie Farm Sod Home, and a Norman Rockwell Home. Cost is $15 for Adults, $5 for children 10 and younger. Purchase your tickets now at the Berthoud Vintage, RE/MAX Town & County Real Estate, Indigo Sky, Wishful Living, Berthoud Chamber of Commerce and Little Thompson Valley Pioneer Museum. Dec 14 4-8 pm, Dec 15 1-4 pm.

December 16

Denver: Women’s History: First Ladies of the Republic. Join Dr. Jeanne Abrams as she tells the story of how the three inaugural First Ladies defined the role for future generations and carved a space for women in America. These women’s roles forever defined and impacted our nation and the legacy they created. Abrams is a professor at the University Libraries at the University of Denver. She is the author of several books, including her latest, First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and the Creation of an Iconic American Role. 1:30 – 2:30 pm at the Byers-Evans house, 1310 Bannock Street, Denver. $5 for members. $8 for non-members.

Berthoud: Holiday Tea at the McCarty Fickel House. The Berthoud Historical Society invites you to a Holiday Tea at the historic McCarty Fickel House Museum on Sunday, December 16, 1:00 to 3:00 pm. Enjoy traditional scones, tea sandwiches, and decadent desserts in the festively decorated parlor and dining room. A docent-led tour of this beautiful Berthoud landmark home is included, and follows luncheon. 1 – 3 pm. Holiday Tea and tour are $25.00. Please contact the museum at 970-532-2147 or museumsdirector@berthoudhistoricalsociety.org to make your reservation. Payment can be made at the museum during open hours. Seating is limited for this special event! RSVP by December 10.

December 19

Larimer County: Colonial Study Group Meeting. This genealogical group discusses the colonial times when your early ancestors arrived in America, colonial databases, and personal research by the members. Meets 2nd Thursday at 1 pm. For the location of the meeting contact one of the leaders: Ken Horne Email: Klhorne@comcast.net, Karen Wente Email: Karenwestwente@gmail.com

Loveland British Isles Study Group. This genealogical group discusses their English ancestors, English databases, and personal stories from the members in their English research. The group meets the 3rd Wednesday, 6:30 PM at Jim’s house. Email him for more information. Yodelman48@gmail.com

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