The multiple thousands who will trek to Old Colorado City over Memorial Day weekend are in for the usual treat.
We've provided the full schedule of activities on Page 12, and it's a long one. Anybody who catches all the bands, street
entertainment, dancers, etc., may need resuscitation by the time the three-day weekend is over. I came pretty close to that once
- taking in all the entertainment, I mean. Back in 1990, probably due to a walkout at the photographers' local, the merchants
group designated me as official shutterbug for Territory Days. That meant roaming around Colorado Avenue for hours on end,
smelling the funnel cakes, memorizing the wares at every booth, learning about warm-weather fashions and wanting/not wanting
rain to fall. One of my favorite memories was being allowed onto the roof of the Templeton Building, which led me to other roofs
and eventually a photograph of the festival below. An enlargement of that shot hangs over my desk right now. It's already
historic, because in the foreground, above the teeming throngs on the avenue, are the big signs for Schoch's Hardware and
Roger's Bar. Both are gone now, but were once fixtures in Old Town. (Side note: Thus, it seems timely that the Meet a Westsider in our Territory Days issue should be Ed Schoch, who ran the store for many decades with his wife, Edna.)
Also thought-provoking about those signs is the realization that were it not for businesses in Old Colorado City, there would not be a Territory Days (it's the merchants who put it on, after all). Yet how many of us, when we go to Territory Days, walk right past their open doors, entranced by those exotic booths in the street? Not that I'm trying to twist your arm to shop somewhere. Just that a little kudo might be in order. And this is mine.
- K.J.