CB Museum’s collections share a view into the past
By Melissa Fenlon
alking into the Crested Butte Museum, you can feel the history inside of the walls. You can feel it as you walk on the original wood floors. As you look around and take in all of the exhibits, each object has a story to tell.
In the middle of the museum sits the treasured potbelly stove, executive director Elise Park’s favorite. “It was a cherished place for locals and visitors to get warm and share a story for much of Crested Butte’s history and it continues to stand today as a symbol of the community’s ability to come together, build companionship, and keep each other warm during even the harshest storms and darkest periods of our shared history,” she says.
All of the treasures, or parts of the collections, have been donated over time to the Museum by some of Crested Butte’s original mining era families.
But as Museum curator Heather Seekatz points out, the objects themselves don’t tell all of the story. “The curators before me did a really great job of collecting oral histories from individuals who had been born and raised here, or lived here for a really long time, and this is another important piece of preserving the rich past that would maybe otherwise be forgotten. We do our best to record every detail. Our goal is to share and celebrate the history and traditions of Crested Butte and the Gunnison Valley with all who are interested.”
The Museum’s vast collection celebrates the many people and cultures that have called Crested Butte home.
Some of the objects highlighted here share some insights into what Crested Butte homes in the 1920s and 1930s had inside. From a pink enamel dog bowl to roller skates to a giant bar of soap, you can go back in time when looking at these treasures.
When you visit the museum, be sure to carve out some time to take in the model train exhibit at the Museum. Both Seekatz and Park adore the volunteer-built train display. “The model train exhibit is a wonderful encapsulation of the museum’s story,” says Park.
“The scene shows us an interpretive snapshot of what downtown Crested Butte might have been like in the 1920s, including the excitement of a moving train! Everything is to scale and I admire the accuracy of the buildings,” describes Seekatz. “If you look closely there are some very interesting and humorous situations unfolding between the little people. Small things are sometimes changed or moved around every once in a while by the wonderful volunteers who steward the display, keeping us (staff) on our toes. The amount of detail put into the display is impressive and captivating, we are so lucky to have it as part of our exhibits.”
Match holder
This yellow enamel match holder is from a family home on Elk Avenue. It would have been hung next to the stove, oven or fireplace.
Tobacco Box
Red metal tobacco tin for Velvet Pipe & Cigarette Tobacco made by the Ligget & Myers Tobacco Company. Likely 1950s.
Crystal White Giant Size Family Soap
Made by Colgate Palmolive-Peet Company, the back of the soap reads, “Costs half as much as a package of soap… yet unsurpassed for getting rid of “dirty dirt”! 1930s or 40s.
Dog bowl
This pink, metal/enamel bowl has a red line along the bottom rim and is stamped Made in Germany. 1930s.
Decorative Hinge
A beautiful hinge, back stamped Patent Nov. 1869.
roller skates with red wheels
Union Hardware No. 5 Skates. Made from metal, they have all four working wheels, and leather straps at the heel which would secure around the rider’s ankles. Crested Butte kids in the 1910s would roller skate at the Princess Theatre, then later in the basement of the Company Store (1940s).
Domes of Silence
Complete box of 12 “domes of silence” metal floor savers that go on the bottom of chair and table legs.
Bottle
Large glass bottle from Neef’s Brothers Brewery in Denver, Colorado. The brewery was founded in 1891 by Frederick and Max Neef. The bottle has an embossed logo of the company as well as the word “registered.” It could have contained beer or soda.
1930s Western Electric Rotary
Desk Telephone
From MJ Verzuh Real Estate Insurance. Used at the M.J. Verzuh Insurance Agency in Gunnison. The office was located on Main Street across from the Elk’s Club.
