Greeley Colorado will be my last stop before I fly up, up and away, westbound, over the jagged peaks of the Rocky Mountains; back to my family, friends and Chihuahuas in Orange County.
Like Wiggins and Fort Morgan, Greeley makes one sense that you’re out in the country, despite a burgeoning population of more than 90,000 people and the sudden enticement to live off junk food, fast food, tasty food; the options of Taco Bell’s, Burger Kings and McDonalds that is much more expanded here than they were in Morgan County.
Visitors to Southern California always chatter about getting lost on the matrix of freeway overpasses and underpasses, despite the proverbial traffic congestion; well I believe I’ve found a city that is just as dire in its own unique way; for visitors that is. Every single street, whether you’re heading east, west, north or south is a numbered avenue or street.
There are no streets in Greeley named Cherry Avenue or Elm Street. All the streets and avenues run faithfully straight east, west, north and south. Factor in the element that a lot of these numbered avenues and streets are one-way roads; the chances of getting lost, including some long-time residents who bore witness to me that they still get discombobulated every and then; Well they’re not the only ones.
Now I know why I failed elementary trigonometry. Imagine someone saying to you; I’ll meet you at 10th Avenue at 10th Street at 10:00, but you got to take 13th Street and head west and then take the 2nd right at 11th Avenue heading North which will then bring you down to 10th Street and10th Avenue.
It hasn’t always been that way. In the late 1860’s, when the first settlers came out to begin what became Greeley, they had a plan for what they wanted the town to become. They wanted a utopia that had educated, religious, non-drinking people. They wanted families to farm using irrigation. They wanted men who held strong family values and worked in cooperation with each other.
Irrigation ditches, schools and churches were built in the 1870’s. Greeley was going to be an agriculture community from its beginnings so the rivers were needed for irrigation. The ditches were dug early so that each citizen could grow crops.
Because religion was the cornerstone in their lives, churches were begun. There were so many churches that Greeley was nicknamed “The City of Churches.” The people were nicknamed the “Greeley Saints.” The mascot at Jackson is a tribute to the early nickname of Greeley citizens.
In 1871, Greeley had it own mini version of the Great Wall of China. A 50- mile long fence was built to keep cattle out of town. The gardens and crops attracted the open-range cattle into town. The residents were irritated that the cattle were eating their gardens and crops. They decided to build a fence around the town. The fence was a wire fence and stood 7 feet high at its apex. The fence was finished in 1873. It created a bigger problem between the farmers and the cattlemen; other people thought the fence was really built to keep undesirable people out of town. It was torn down by 1900, however people still find parts of the fence even today.
Greeley may have been built on farming, but it also kept up to date with modern inventions. Telephones were in town in 1883 with electric lights downtown by 1886. Automobiles were competing for road space with horse drawn buggies by 1910. KFKA became one of the first radio stations to broadcast in the USA in 1922. The Greeley Municipal Airport was built in 1928.
Greeley is still growing and changing today. Greeley’s population has more than doubled since 1970. This growth has brought changes to the city. Where farms and fields once were, housing and businesses now stand. Traffic has increased and schools have become crowded. Sounds like early Orange County?
It’s a good thing that my Inn has a rather large sundial by the main entrance that points to true north. That sundial will help me navigate my way back to the Denver airport and back to the smog, traffic congestion and fast food joints of Orange County. That sundial is also going to point me back home to my home and my wife’s home cooking; including chopped chives sprinkled on baked potatoes.
That’s all right with me. I’ve just experienced and interfaced with a number of remarkable people, at offices, gyms, truck stops, parks, Wall-Marts, museums, restaurants, Olive Gardens, 7/11’s, Glenn Millers, shopping malls, car washes, gas stations, paved and unpaved city and country streets and avenues, that is home to all true Northern-Star people.
Good people, hard working Middle American people. I got a good snapshot pulse of this beautiful state and its people. I liked what I felt.
Steve Sayer
ALNews Columnist
