Throwback Thursday: Did They Dance the Charleston?

tanjabrittonwriter 59 Comments

I will occasionally re-publish an older post under the heading Throwback Thursday. This one first appeared here on September 29, 2016, when my blog was but a few months young and was noticed by only a handful of fellow bloggers. I have made only a few slight changes to the original. Thank you for traveling back in time with me.

🏕🏕🏕🏕🏕🏕🏕🏕🏕🏕🏕🏕🏕

Out-of-the-way places often lead to unexpected discoveries. During a camping trip in Colorado’s San Isabel National Forest a few weeks back, my husband and I enjoyed two calm nights under a full moon at Davenport Campground adjacent to Squirrel Creek, where large historic markers recount a fascinating chapter in local history, and what follows is my own simplified version.

In the wake of southcentral Colorado’s tragic 1914 Ludlow Massacre, in which not only coal miners were killed but some of their wives and children also, unions gained increasing influence, working conditions for various laborers finally improved, and vacation time was at their disposal for the first time. The working classes became interested in recreation and discovered the plentiful woods west of Pueblo as a camping destination. It soon became evident that the unstructured foray of masses of humans into the forest created attendant problems.

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Arthur Carhart (1892-1978)

In 1919, landscape architect and World War I sanitation officer, Arthur Carhart, was recruited by the National Forest supervisor to come up with solutions to overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and destruction of land and timber. Arthur was a visionary who anticipated the growing utilization of natural places, and the resultant need for infrastructure. When Congress refused to allot funds for recreation for the Forest Service, he did not capitulate but founded a private non-profit corporation, with Rockefeller’s Colorado Fuel & Iron one of its major contributors, the same concern responsible for the infamy committed at Ludlow.

Mr. Carhart is credited with designing the first modern campground along Squirrel Creek, with each site including space for tents, picnic tables and benches, fire rings, and access to so-called “sanitaries,” ensuring the separation of human waste from drinking water. Having camped at numerous private, state, and federal campgrounds, we were intrigued to learn who masterminded this nearly ubiquitous layout. In 1922, he also adapted a wagon trail along the stream for automobile use, which became known as Squirrel Creek Road, and improved accessibility to a mounting number of recreation sites.

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Camping before the advent of structured campsites

For travelers not inclined to sleep under canvas, Carhart planned the Squirrel Creek Lodge in 1922, a two-story structure whose rooms were complemented by a center hall, two large fireplaces, a roomy kitchen and — a dance floor. What else could one ask for after escaping the sweltering heat of Pueblo or other towns, but to seek shade under the cool forest canopy and to cut a rug, dancing the wildly popular Charleston during the Roaring Twenties.

Alas, all good things must come to an end. The Great Depression followed the upbeat twenties, and competing tourist attractions by the early 1940s led to a decline in the popularity of the Squirrel Creek developments. The death knell was sounded in 1947 after a flood washed out portions of the road and campgrounds, plus several bridges.

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Hiking trail along the former Squirrel Creek Road

For modern-day visitors, this story comes alive along the former Squirrel Creek Road, now a hiking trail, which starts at Davenport Campground and connects to the Pueblo Mountain Park approximately 5 miles east, as the crow flies. Along its course are scattered remnants of picnic tables, fire rings, concrete anchors for wooden guardrail posts, and a reconstructed Adirondack-style picnic shelter. After years of disuse, a conflagration claimed the lodge in 1979, and all that survives today is its foundation.

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Foundation of former Squirrel Creek Lodge

However, when I listened closely, mixed in with the murmuring of Squirrel Creek, the breeze stirring the boughs of ponderosa pines, and the haunting tune of a hermit thrush, I swear I heard lively notes of dance music drifting through the air.

Click here for the German version/klicken Sie bitte hier für die deutsche Version:

Haben Sie den Charleston getanzt?

59 thoughts on “Throwback Thursday: Did They Dance the Charleston?”

  1. komme zu einem späteren zeitpunkt wieder zum lesen, bin immer noch krank und da ist es doppelt schwer längere texte am pc zu lesen. die fotos aber habe ich schon bewundern dürfen. die natur und die weite, das sieht so toll aus. wie ist das, von so viel natur umgeben – gibt es da eine innere automatik, jeden tag da hinaus zu gehen und spazieren zu gehen? liebe grüße aus berlin.

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    • Vielen Dank für den lieben Kommentar. Die Natur und die Weite sind tatsächlich sehr einladend, und ich bin am glücklichsten, wenn ich draußen unterwegs sein kann.

      Ich wünsche Dir gute Besserung!

      Liebe Grüße zurück aus Colorado.

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      • ich habe vor ein paar tagen einen vortrag angehört von einem arzt, der noch mal betonte, wie wichtig es für die gesundheit auch sei, sich draußen in der natur aufzuhalten. ich finde, das erklärt auch gut, warum man sich üblicherweise sehr wohl fühlt in der natur. es ist eine gute umgebung, mit guter luft. ich finde, dass die wirkung von natur auch gleich spürbar ist, wenn man sich in ihr bewegt. ich kann sehr gut verstehen, dass du dann am glücklichsten bist, wenn du in der natur und draußen unterwegs sein kannst. ich wünsche dir viele glückliche stunden! 🙂 liebe grüße nach colorado und danke für die guten wünsche. es geht mir wieder besser.

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      • Es freut mich, daß es Dir wieder besser geht!
        Für mich ist die Zeit, die ich in der Natur verbringe, die beste Zeit, und ich kann (und will) mir ohne sie kein Leben vorstellen. Weshalb es umso wichtiger ist, daß wir Menschen unseren Lebenswandel ändern, um diesen einzigartigen Planeten für alle Lebewesen zu erhalten. 🌎❤

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  2. I’m glad you decided to republish this post. The original was before I found your blog.

    We take for granted so many things that only came about by the efforts of a person or a group of people who worked to make them happen.

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  3. Although life under canvas doesn’t suit me (lodges are more my style), many folk see it as the ideal way to explore “the great outdoors”. During our many peregrinations through the US it was evident that camping is a big, well ordered business on your side of the Pond, and now I know how it all began. Thank you for sharing Mr Carhart’s fascinating story; he was indeed a visionary.

    And thank you also for introducing me to the concept of “cutting a rug”, a form of words I’ve never previously encountered. Very evocative, particularly in the context of a dance as wild as the Charleston.

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    • Thank you for going camping with me, even though it doesn’t suit you. 😊

      There are few things I love better than sleeping in a tent, away from human noise and bustling, when the rising and setting of the sun frame the day and the night is filled with the sounds of howling coyotes and hooting owls (I know you would enjoy the latter). 🦉

      Language is so funny, don’t you think? I always enjoy learning the differences between British and American English.

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      • I’d relish the howling of the coyotes too. It’s the howling of the wind through the tent flap that alarms me 🙂. The prospect of not having a bed to lie on is also unappealing given the poor (decrepit!) condition of my knees and back. I do understand the attraction of camping, but sadly in my case although the spirit is (in principle) willing, the flesh is horribly weak!

        I’ve thought a lot about how I use English since I began my blogging journey. The majority of my readers come from North America and Australasia, and I’ve become increasingly aware that idioms which are familiar here are meaningless or open to misinterpretation in the US, Australia etc. I sometimes modify what I write accordingly, but on other occasions I just write it “the British way” and hope for the best!

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      • Thank you. I’m not complaining; there are many, many people of my age in a far worse state than me, it’s just a matter of finding how best to live a comfortable and fulfilled within the envelope of my own body. It comes to us all, sadly.

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      • Thank you so much for your kind words, Tanja. ❤ One of the most fulfilling parts of my life these days is meeting and getting to know people from across the world through blogging, and vicariously experiencing the things they enjoy in their own lives…even camping! 🙂

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    • Danke, daß Du Dir die Zeit genommen hast, beide Beiträge zu lesen, liebe Maren, sowie für den netten Kommentar.

      Damals habe ich noch Stunden damit verbracht, alle meine englischen Beiträge ins Deutsche zu übersetzen und manchmal denke ich, es wieder zu tun. Doch es verschlingt sehr viel Zeit (mit Computerübersetzungen habe ich nichts am Hut) und die meisten Bloggerfreunde aus Deutschland können fließend Englisch. Allerdings wäre es für mich eine gute Übung, weil mein Deutsch nach und nach einrostet.

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  10. Mr. Carhart’s name gave me pause. I have a couple of pieces of work clothing made by the Carhartt company; I had to check the company’s spelling to see if it was the same family (it’s not). Interestingly, the company did begin about the same time that Squirrel Creek was being developed. Despite the ravages of time, it’s nice that there’s still a trail that can be followed along the historic road.

    During the Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps built a similar place in Texas called Garner State Park. They included a pavilion and dance floor, and it’s still a tradition to go to ‘the dance’ at Garner. I’m pretty sure no one is dancing the Charleston there, but the music filled nights are just as pleasant.

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    • I’m familiar with the rugged and robust Carhartt creations. That would have been a fitting connection!

      How nice that the dance tradition survives at Garner State Park in Texas. It’s fascinating to imagine what has unfolded at all these dances in the past hundred years.

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  12. A nice post. Viel dank. And yes I have danced Charleston. My parents loved Charleston, though it was already out of date. My mother taught us kids. She was a good dancer. But Charleston? I mean really? Fortunately she then taught us Roc N’ Roll.
    One for the money
    Two for the show…

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    • Thank you, Brad.

      I had never heard or seen the word “ruggedized,” but after a moment I understood your question. No, the makers of the iconic Carhartt clothing are not related to this Mr. Carhart. One other fellow blogger also wondered about this.

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  17. A very interesting read – and a bit shocking to read up on the Ludlow Massacre and find that such a dreadful thing happened in comparatively recent times. (I hadn’t heard of it before, so had to look it up.)

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    • Thank you for your comment. Ann. I’m not surprised that you hadn’t heard about the Ludlow Massacre. I only learned about it because there was commemoration for the 100th anniversary in 2014. Subsequently, my husband and I visited the site which is now home to a monument and historical markers.

      You are right–1914 wasn’t that long ago. But many workers in various mines still had to labor with few rights and protections, and when they tried to strike, risked not only their livelihoods but also their lives, and that of their families. It’s quite sad.

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  18. Thank you for a wonderful, nostalgic post.

    I grew up in south Florida camping out in the open during summer. Just sleeping on the ground, waking up with a squirrel sniffing my foot. Lots of mosquito bites!

    After marrying Gini, we graduated to tent camping. Lots of good memories from outings in nine states and three foreign countries.

    Holding hands under the stars following our own special version of dancing the Charleston is the meaning of life.

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    • If I ever slept under the open sky without the benefit of a tent, I do not recollect. I’m glad that it was only a squirrel and mosquitoes that got close to you when you did!

      Sleeping in a tent remains one of my favorite things to do, especially when the skies are calm and the coyotes noisy.

      I appreciate your comment, Wally. Your last beautiful line brought tears to my eyes.

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  19. As Wally characterized it, quite the nostalgic post. I did not know about the seeds that started the modern day campground, but followed the Massacre link which was all news to me as well. Something new learned, my day is a success thanks to your repost.

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  21. A lovely blog, and “Throwback Thursday” is a lovely idea! As I was reading, I kept thinking Carhart might be related to the Carhartt clothing group, but I see from your comments that they are not related.
    After a busy season in a number of ways I hope top chronicle the New England Fall, my very favorite season.
    Hope you are as well as you can be in these. anxiety producing times!
    Cheers,
    Julie

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    • Welcome back, Julie. And thank you for traveling back in time with me and for commenting.

      I look forward to your New England autumn impressions.

      It’s not easy to maintain a positive outlook . . .

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