I saw this posted in another Old-time Denver group, by Courtney Donaldson and wanted to share. I’m curious: how many of you are hearing about this tradition for the first time? ------------------------------------------------------------------- Did you know that its a LONG STANDING Denver tradition to keep holiday decorations up until after the National Western Stock Show? My family has and still carries on this tradition to this day. I have seen and heard comments from people who did not grow up in Denver (or otherwise not familiar with this tradition), who think that this is sheer laziness, or simply to be “annoying” to neighbors, but it’s neither… Now you know why ------------------------------------------------------------------- In 1898, the Denver Chamber of Commerce, the Cattleman’s Association and other livestock growers held the city’s first stock show. At the time, Denver was barely recovering from the Depression of 1893, which shattered the economy of the entire state and left many homeless. With misguided public spirit, stock show organizers planned a giant public barbecue, which turned into a free-for all and discouraged further attempts for a few years. By 1905, the stockmen and Denver were ready to try again and the newly-united American National Live Stock Association held their first show on Jan. 29, 1906. Stock Show enthusiasts made do with a “super tent” until the 6,000-seat National Amphitheater opened in 1909, and in the same year the livestock growers settled on the name - the National Western Stock Show. Although the show often suffered the effects of bad weather (the blizzards of 1910, 1913 and 1915 were particularly devastating), it was only cancelled once, in 1915, due to an epidemic of hoof and mouth disease. *****In1927, the National Western Stock Show had become the third largest in the world, bringing some 50,000 visitors to the city (with a ticket price of $0.75). That same year, Denverites began keeping their Christmas lights up in January, a tradition that still continues although many are not familiar with this long-standing tradition.***** During the 1960s and ‘70s, stock shows in general lost popularity. By purchasing additional land and expanding the site and its attractions, the National Western survived with the addition of a new Expo Hall and Stadium Hall in 1991 and a $13 million Events Center in 1995; which are the all encompassed in the campuses we know today. ~Paraphrased from Rosemary Fetter, 2012 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 11:28:23 +0000
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