The Baldpate PhotoCollection
is one of those things about Baldpate that fascinate some guests while others
don’t even notice it. Thankfully our friends at American History Savers took
note and were instrumental in preserving and documenting our collection.
Their work
over the years to painstakingly repair frames and research short bios for each
photo (yes, all except the chimpanzee are identified) have greatly added to the
interest in our collection.
In the dining room, many guests recognize the faces
of Presidents and the most famous of persons, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and
perhaps Jack London. Others, once we know the name, we can tag, like Roy Rogers
and Emilia Earhart. Then it gets a
little more difficult, how about Tetrazzini (the opera singer whose love for
food lent its name), or Billy Sunday (baseball star and later evangelist), or
Marlowe & Southern (Shakespearean actors), or Barney Oldfield (race car
driver).
Most of
these photos are the artistic talent of Charles Mace, one of Baldpate’s
founders, and his brother Stuart during their time as a photojournalists for
Denver newspapers. Charles was also General Pershing’s personal
photographer during World War I.
Guests
often inquire if all these people have actually visited our Inn. At this point
we cannot document that they all have. Although some have inscriptions or guest register notes, like this one from
Johnny Morris of Philip Morris, that do let us know they were here, most are a
mystery with clues and answers likely still hiding in our guest registers.
Another other interesting feature of our photo
collection are the early advertising photos for Kodak, Palmolive Soaps, and
Colgate that are hanging in our lobby. Charles Mace won a Kodak national
contest in 1911, and during the 1920s, he sold many photos featuring his wife,
Gloria, daughter, Jeanie, and other family members.
Come see these snapshots of history, and don’t
forget to “Bring up the Kodak!”
Written by Lois Smith
Our Baldpate staff thought it was a great improvement when a few years later, we were able to get a private line and then finally a dedicated Staff Line! When we finally got that second line there was Staff Phone in the staff private dining room as well as one in the Wild (West) Staff Wing. Now it’s hard enough to imagine having to wait for your turn to make your call but think about keeping track of your long distance charges so you could pay them back. We had some rather pricey bills to collect when there were out of state boyfriends. So next time you complain about “no service,” recall you are not the first to struggle with connecting. We are grateful that with the sometimes spotty service in the mountains of Colorado, we do have cell service at The Baldpate Inn!
