Autumn is approaching fast. Down the valley, there are already bits of yellow among the aspen and cottonwoods, most of the hummingbirds are gone south to the Gulf of Mexico. Buttons is taking his cattle out, the smoke from the forest fires is still with us, but the fishing is still good.

Visited with Shirley Galusha the other evening. They have accomplished a lot in their new location, just off Main Street, since their move in early summer. They have started redecorating Shirley’s studio, which is in the old carpenter cabin, built originally from the logs of the old stage barn. They are putting in a cement floor to stabilize the logs, and then they will cover the cement with wood. Inside the main house, they have rebuilt the front of the fireplace with different woods. It is very attractive.

Rich Galusha started school last Monday. He teaches art in both the high school and Colorado Mountain College. At Galusha’s art studio in the Sheraton hotel, they are having a special art show by local Deedi Knox and Glenn Pautk. Deedi is a painter, and Glenn makes bowls and other artifacts out of old wood. The show began Friday.

Charles and Gloria Root are gone again. They left Tuesday for North Dakota to attend the annual telephone company meeting.

I was rummaging through some papers and pictures that have been given to me for the museum. Some information about the Magills that I wrote about last week was included. Pat Magill was a supervisor at the Royal Flush Mine around 1905. Pat and Margaret, Pat’s kids, were raised in the Columbine, Hahn’s Peak and Clark areas.

Just last week I wrote about Cathy Hart that knew she was a relative of the owners of the Cow Creek and Pioneer Sheep Companies (the name which I couldn’t remember). From 1911 until the late 1950s, these companies played a big part in the economy of the area, purchasing most of their summer supplies through the stores at Columbine and Hahn’s Peak. Each summer the hill and meadows were filled with the sounds and smells of more than 10,000 ewes and lambs. Separated into 10 or 12 individual bunches, the sheep were watched over by Mexican herders and camp movers. The company headquarters buildings were located on Lester Creek, now Pearl Lake.

I also found a note given to me by Robert Groth about the man killed by lightning on top of Hahn’s Peak mountain, July 23, 1989. The group was up there that day, planning a wedding of two of the group. Lightning hit I was killed (the bridegroom to be), I lost hearing, I got temporarily paralyzed legs, the 12-year-old boy lost his eyebrows, I (Robert) was not injured at all.

The villagers have been meeting with Steamboat Lake State Park and other federal, state and local agencies in search of an alternate access for the public that would not border our beautiful, historic village. The villagers do not feel the proposed location is an appropriate location for a high-density recreation trail that would include use by snowmobiles and horse. Several options for moving the trail away from the village have been found, and all that remains to be done is to “cut through the red tape.”

Steve and Jackie Barnes aren’t residents here in Hahn’s Peak, but they have a cabin up the hill in Badger Meadows. They were telling me about their hike to the top of Hahn’s Peak on Monday. Most of us here have done that. Only Steve and Jackie took up their real fire lookout binoculars, and played like they were real firemen. It was so exciting scanning the areas of the Burn Ridge and Hinman fires. Jackie finally said, “It looks like we should radio it in.” So, she used the cell phone, then said, “Shucks, someone already called it in.” Well, they played around for about four hours and really had fun.