cattlemen's inn fire

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Cattlemen’s InnLet’s go down to the Cattlemen’s Inn,It’s white-wash built of brick,With a draft of beer and friendly cheer,It’s the perfect evening pick.

Let’s go down to the Cattlemen’s InnWhen it’s time to take a break,Your muscles sore from early choresAnd it’s time for eggs and steak.

Let’s go down to the Cattlemen’s InnTo get a roper’s cut.And after your trim you amble inTo sit by that antlered buck.

Let’s go down to the Cattlemen’s Inn.It’s old but that’s all right.It’s a local place with a local paceAnd a bed to stay the night.

We can’t go down to the Cattlemen’s Inn,Not now, not any more.We’ve lost a space, a personal placeWhen flames roared through the floor.

We can’t go down to the Cattlemen’s InnThough some say they’ll build it back.I hope they do and when it’s throughWe’ll be there — that’s a fact!

– Mark Todd

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cattlemen's tribute - 8 pages 1/15/03 3:23 PM

Debra Goodman

Jean Lang went to work at theCattleman Restaurant the day itopened for business for the firsttime. She recalls that it was theepitome of cleanliness, waitress-es wearing black skirts and crisp,white blouses, tables perfectlyset.

She recalls, “Our fingernailscouldn’t be longer than the end ofour finger, and NO fingernail pol-ish. Hair couldn’t touch your col-lar, no high heels and hosiery atall times.”

One of her tasks was to cut thebutter. “It didn’t come precutback then, and I cut more than10 pounds a day”.

They would close down the

restaurant from 3 to 5 p.m. everyday to do their side work, andopened every evening with for-mal linens and napkins on eachtable.

Banquets were a real challengeas they were in the basement ofthe hotel, even with the fancydumbwaiter to help. “We hadfootball players around to pullthe ropes up and down,” Jean de-scribed.

Even then, the Cattlemen wasattracting mostly locals, and itwas always busy. Back then, themain choices for dining out werethe La Veta Hotel, Johnson’sRestaurant and Almont.

“The Cattleman had very finecooks and a baker,” Lang said. “Itwas always a toss-up whether to

go to the Allen or Johnsons.“The Columbine and La Veta

were the extent of the hotels atthe time. I believe Floyd built theAllen to give travelers anotherchoice in the business district ofGunnison.”

Today, Jean lives in the Moun-tain View apartments in Gunni-son and shares many vividmemories of the Gunnison ofyesterday. �

In the 1960’s, our house was right across thestreet from the Cattlemen’s Inn, so, as kids, wewould wander over there on a regular basis. Wewould buy the Gunnison Times for a dime in thelobby.

There was an old gentleman (I think his name wasMr. Withers) who was about 100 years old whoused to sit in the lobby and read the newspaper. Heused to tell all of the kids who would listen aboutthe early days of Gunnison — specifically, ChiefOuray and Chipeta. He claimed to be the only whiteman who knew where Chief Ouray was buried.

He would tell how as a young boy, his mother wasfrightened one day by Indians coming to her door andasking for a bar of soap. She thought it was becausethey wanted to bathe — but what they did, was rubthe soap on their ponies’ backs so they wouldn’t getsaddle sore!

Our family brand (Hogan) was on the wall. AlthoughI haven’t lived in Gunnison for over 20 years, I have lotsof fond memories of the Cattlemen’s and will miss itwhen we visit.

I live in Omaha, Nebraska with my husband and four children. We try tomake it back to Gunnison every couple of years as a family vacation —unfor-tunately now I am truly a tourist since none of my family lives in Gunnisonany longer. I lived in Gunnison until I graduated from High School (1975).

– Katie (Hogan) GurnettDaughter of Gracie Hogan

2 •Gunnison Country Times January 16, 2003 January 16, 2003 Gunnison Country Times • 7

For For nearly 63 years, The Cattlemen Inn– or the Allen Hotel, as it was originallycalled –was an unsurpassed Gunnison land-mark. It was a familiar anchor in the centerof town and remained more or less the same

through decades of growth and change. Faces havecome and gone, but the old hotel was always there.

The Cattlemen Inn was destroyed last week in a devastating fire.

But, as you will see in this special section, landmarksare often made of much more than bricks and mortarand what can be seen with the eyes. The true measureof a landmark like The Cattlemen Inn is how high itstands in the hearts and memories of the people whogrew up there, gathered there, worked there and livedtheir lives within its reach.

In this commemorative section, you will read someof the “first moments” Gunnison residents had underthe Cattlemen’s roof, and many memorable storiesthat are inseparable in our minds from the old place.Many of you have shared old photographs to bringback to life what was lost last week to fire.

We offer a timeline to put the long life of thisbeloved meeting place into a broader perspective thanmost of us normally have in the hurried pace of ourlives. A few of the community’s writers will share theirthoughts and memories.

These pages are intended as a wake of sorts, to honora passage. More than that, they are a celebration of thecommunity that made The Cattlemen Inn what it was:part of our home.

Harley Tripp

The Cattlemen Inn, whichopened in 1940 as the AllenHotel, was the fourth building tooccupy the four lots at the south-east corner of Tomichi Avenueand Pine Street. In many waysthese lots reflect the history ofGunnison.

In 1881 Gunnison was a boom-ing town in its “Camp Phase” orearly “Town Phase.” CaptainLounden Mullen, acting as atrustee for the Gunnison Townand Land Company, originallysold the four lots to Dr. James H.Mackintosh in September 1881.The next year, Gunnison’s popu-lation reached 5,000, and the fourlots were resold several times.That summer William Bradburn,a local blacksmith, acquired thelots and built a small one-storyframe blacksmith shop at thenortheast corner with a western“false-front” that faced TomichiAvenue and a one-story framedwelling behind the blacksmithshop facing Pine Street.

In 1883 the mining boom thathad fueled Gunnison’s economystarted to collapse. Bradburn wasunable to pay his taxes and inSeptember 1883 the GunnisonCounty Treasurer sold the prop-erty to C. R. Bourdett for $24.01.Gunnison then entered a depres-sion that lasted through the silverpanic of the early 1890’s when itspopulation fell to 1,100.

Bourdett in turn couldn’t payhis taxes and in September 1885the County Treasurer sold theproperty to Gunnison Countysince no one else was willing tobuy the lots for the price of thetaxes owed on them. By the timethe Gurley Investment Corpora-tion bought the lots in 1890 bothbuildings were gone. In 1909, C.A. Nelson bought the four lots.Conveyed by marriages anddeaths they stayed in the Nelson/Blackstock/Hards familyfor the next 30 years.

Sanborn Insurance maps showthat the lots remained vacantuntil the 1920’s when a two-storyred brick house was built on

them. Mr. Rogers, theschool superintendent,lived in the house duringthe 1930’s. After Mrs.Springer bought thehouse in January 1939she rented rooms to WSCcoeds.

In the late 1930’sFloyd and Mae Allenowned and operated the“Creamery” which pack-aged and sold “Moun-tain-Maid Butter, IceCream, and PasteurizedMilk.” The sign for the“Creamery” can still beseen on the front of thebuilding at 302 W.Tomichi.

A front-page articlein the August 17,1939 edition of the Gunnison News-Champion announcedthat Mr. and Mrs.Allen had bought thelots, which wereacross the street fromtheir “Creamery,” andstarted constructionon a modern $50,000hotel on them. RayMiller razed thebrick house andwithin a week thebasement excavationwas nearly complete.

The original “L” shaped hotelbuilding stretched 125 feet alongTomichi, 80 feet along Pine Streetand was 35 feet deep. Delta Brickand Tile Company supplied thethen new rough-surface tanbricks for the two-story building.The east first-floor wing con-tained the lobby and coffee shop.The west wing housed eight guestrooms and a four-room suite forthe hotel owners. There weretwenty-three additional guestrooms on the second floor, including seventeen rooms withprivate bathrooms. The largebasement, that later housed theBeef ‘n Barrel Restaurant, wasused for storage.

One of the first neon signs inGunnison and interior partitionsof glass bricks helped give the

building a “Modern Movements”architectural look. First class furnishings, used throughout thehotel, included modernistic walnut furniture in the guestrooms. Bedsprings and inner-spring mattresses were purchasedfrom Miller’s Furniture Store.

Although the Allen Hotel andCoffee Shop was scheduled toopen Feb. 10, the opening wasdelayed until Feb. 22, 1940. Mr.and Mrs. J. C. Best ran the coffeeshop and featured a special Sunday Dinner for $0.65 after thehotel opened.

In 1947 the hotel was sold toMr. and Mrs. Ted McCorkhillwho immediately announced a$60,000 addition to the hotel thatincluded a new dining room andten more guest rooms. It appears

that the dining room was addedbut the additional guest roomswere not. They sold the hotel toMax and Mary Fleetwood in May1954, who traded it to Mr. andMrs. E. C. Adams in June 1958for the Adam’s ranch east ofDoyleville and other considera-tions.

In 1964 Warren Smith boughtthe Allen Hotel and started alter-ing it. He added the board andbatten front to the north and eastdoorways in 1965 and a few yearslater painted the bricks white. Inthe late 1960’s the Beef ‘n Barrel

restaurant opened and the namewas changed from the Allen Hotelto the Cattlemen Inn. In the mid1970’s he added the woodenawning to the north and eastsides.

After 17 years of Smith owner-ship, John Whistler bought thehotel in October 1981. RichardPaulson, the present owner,bought the Cattlemn Inn fromJohn W. Whistler in October1985.

(Harley Tripp is a member of theCity of Gunnison Historic Preser-vation Committee) �

A History Of the Allen Hotel / Cattlemen Inn

– circa 1968

Phoebe Cranor RANCH LIFE

Doesn’t it seem as if we shoulddo SOMETHING to say a propergoodbye to our friend? I think so.

We might try having a funeralservice in the multipurpose roomat the fairgrounds. Since therehas been cremation, maybe wecould do it if we had a bigenough receptacle for the remains. I’m talking about paying tribute to everyone’s oldfriend, the Cattlemen Hotel andRestaurant.

Last week the editor requestedinformation and memories. Sohere goes.

As a child visitor, I met theFloyd Allens who began thewhole thing. It was called theAllen Hotel. After I became a Gunnison resident I had lots ofexperiences with the place.

One time after the Allen became the Cattlemen, we wentto a Stockgrowers meeting. Theyserved man-sized wonderfulsteaks. My husband had neverquite said so, but I knew he wasn’t entirely satisfied with mysteak-fryin’ methods. And, sinceI was a hard-up city girl before Imoved to the ranch, I had nevereven tasted steak. So my methodsweren’t too sophisticated.

Anyhow, since the cook was afriend and very obliging, he tookus to his workplace to get a lessonfrom someone in the know. Therewe watched what he did.

He started with frozen meat,browning it well on each side.Then he gave it as much lowertemperature time as the diner’staste dictated. Hmmm... so thatwas the way it worked.

It took a bit of mental gymnas-tics to

figure out how to apply his sug-gestions to our little kitchen. Therestaurant had a huge stove withskillets to match - plus a sink bigenough to take a bath in. (I justTHOUGHT I could. I didn’t tryit.) Yes I did eventually learn toaccomplish exactly what my hus-band wanted: “a dang good job ofsteak fryin’.”

Later, we naturally took the

kids to the Cattlemen. Everyoneseemed to know my husband andgave us the red carpet treatment.We took along our four littlehand-made booster chairs, muchto the delight of the crew. Thelast time I went with my friendsto eat breakfast I sort of wished Ihad a booster chair. Probably theseat’s height is calculated withcattlemen in mind, not little oldladies.

Another day, after some workon the restaurant downstairs,there was a “party” for ranchers.Each one brought his own iron tobrand the wall over the salad bar.

“We’ll have a fire goin’ in thealley and the stair door open sowe kin hustle ourselves down ina hurry,” the organizer told us. Ofcourse we went.

My husband had made aminiature iron with our heart-cross for the kids so they couldbrand their stick horses. Stickhorses tend to wander off - or fallinto the irrigation ditch and floatdownstream to the nextheadgate. That’s why they needto be branded. We took thatsmall iron along for the event.

True to their promise, the own-ers had a genuine heater for theirons and the men took turns get-ting them red hot and dashingdown the stairs two steps at atime to put them against the wallbefore they cooled. There was alot of smoke and steam and thesmell of scorching wood. Person-ally I preferred those odors towhat burning hair and skin of-fered at a regular branding.

Each time a brand was suc-cessfully applied, the otherranchers slapped its owner onthe back and toasted him with a

swallow of some-thing potent.Whatever it was,presently my manand I decided itwas time for us toleave. Anyhowwe would soonhave to milk thecow. Otherwisethe folks intown wouldlikely hear herprotesting - ex-cept at theparty, ofcourse.

So now weare all leftfeeling sadand wonder-ing how wewill EVERm a n a g ewithout our

friend theC a t t l e m e n .But on theother hand I

am glad to have had over 55years worth of happy memoriesof the place and all the peoplewhom we saw there.

When we tried breakfast theother day, we found several of the“regulars” at a different restau-rant. It was good - but not thesame as the dear old Cattlemenwe were used to.

�

Oh Dear, Oh Dear

John Cranor branding the wall

’

‘

From day one, Lang part of Cattlemen lore

I have very fond memories of the Cattlemen’s. My

Aunt Tekla Soderlindused to work at the

Cattlemen’s back in the1950’s, her room that

she stayed in was the last room on thestreet side. I spent

many nights with her.She was the hotel front desk. What a

great part of history theCattlemen’s was, it will

be sorely missed.

– Lynda Pittman, 56Grand Junction (winter)Quartz Creek (summer)

’

‘

cattlemen's tribute - 8 pages 1/15/03 3:54 PM Page 3


Safeway and its localemployees sincerely thankeach member of the VolunteerFire Department and the PoliceDepartment for saving our building from suffering the same fate as theCattlemen Inn. You are heroes! The Gunnisoncommunity is proud of each one of you!

How close you ask? This close.

A lot of the memories associat-ed with an old building are abouttimes gone by, a past that is nomore. But for me, for the past 15years or so, the strongest memo-ries associated with the Cattle-men Inn have mostly beenassociated with the future, or atleast talking about it – the futureof the valley, the future of the college, the future of the mountain region and the West ingeneral. Most of that CattlemenInn futurism, for me, was associ-ated with the college’s regionalHeadwaters Project.

The Headwaters Project wasactually born at a bunch ofmonthly breakfast meetings atthe Cattlemen Inn. The college,under one of its short-term presidents, was looking for waysto enhance its regional and national visibility. I thought themountain region was lacking an

intellectual center, and thoughtthe college could gain some regional credibility trying to fillthat vacuum with conferencesabout “the headwaters region ofthe Southwest.”

This idea came to the attentionof a consultant from ColoradoSprings named Bob Brossman – abreakfast man, for sure, and a good feeder at any meal – sonext thing, one of the college vice-presidents and I were doingbreakfasts at the Cattlemen Innwith Brossman whenever he wasin town, and that’s where the firstHeadwaters Conference tookshape. That first conference, fallof 1990, concluded with a bigbreakfast in the Cattlemen’s“inner sanctum” room, with people from around the regioncollaborating with notables likePatricia Nelson Limerick, Clay(Thomas Jefferson) Jenkinson

and John Nichols on where to go next.

By the second or third year, theCattlemen’s basement restaurantand bar area became the more orless official site for the Headwa-ters unofficial after-session sessions: every Friday and Satur-day evening of the conference, agob of presenters and partici-pants headed into those smokydepths for the informal and better lubricated follow-up onthe formal sessions. One of myduties as organizer was to call theCattlemen Inn a week or so in advance and ask if they couldstay open “a little past” their 11p.m. closing those nights.

That didn’t really matter,though, because the CattlemenInn was also the best lodging dealin town, if you weren’t too fussyabout amenities, and the Salidacontingent (Ed and Martha

Quillen, Margo and Kirby Perschbacher), Randy Russell, orsomeone always had a roomthere with a laid-in supply ofwarmish beer, where anyone whowas still up for reconstructing theWest went on about that forwhatever amount of the remain-ing night the task took. The futures that were created, and asquickly abandoned there! – toobad some of them never made itto daybreak. In other cases, it wasprobably a good thing.

My last idea session there wasjust before Christmas this year.Ed Marston, long-time publisherof High Country News, was pass-ing through town on his wayhome from somewhere, andcalled up about lunchtime. Overa bowl of the Cattlemen’s goodsoup, an idea bloomed out of anotherwise casual conversationthat will be a big part of the

Headwaters conference this coming fall.

At one of those Cattlemen’sbreakfasts, the aforementionedBob Brossman gave me a piece ofadvice once – or a warning orsomething: “It’s hard to put a highpolish on a horseapple.” I neverhave figured out exactly what hewas talking about. But – intend-ing only respect for an interestingplace I loved – I’ll say that mightnot be a bad metaphor for that“futuristic” aspect of the Cattle-men Inn: a place that didn’t havemuch of a high polish, but inter-esting things sure grew in it. �

If there had ever been a contestfor “Most Politically IncorrectEstablishment in Colorado,’’ theCattlemen Inn in Gunnisonwould surely have ranked nearthe top, and likely at the head ofthe list. Now it’s gone, victim of afire last Monday that left only asmoldering brick shell.

The political incorrectnessstarted with the name. It wasn’tthe Diversity Grill or the Vegan-person’s Salad Emporium or theHealthy Haven of Low-CalorieBroiled Skinless Breast of Free-Range Chicken. It was the Cat-tlemen, and the Beef and Barrelrestaurant downstairs certainlylived up to the boviculturalname: brands on the walls, restrooms labeled “Bulls’’ and“Heifers,’’ a menu that featuredred meat in quantities that just the aroma could turn yourarteries into concrete.

The menu was only the start ofthe political incorrectness. GivenGunnison’s gelid climate, itwould have been cruel to sendpeople outdoors to enjoy a ciga-rette, so the west end of the roomwas hazy with tobacco smoke. Ina time when Colorado has dozensof excellent microbrews, the beerlist was short - as best as I can remember, Killian’s Red wasabout as exotic as it got. Therewas also a big-screen TV, alwaystuned to some sports event, butfortunately, the sound was alwayslow.

The restaurant and saloon hadmany small tables, which youcould assemble into one longtable when it was time to con-verse with a crowd, and that hap-pened at every conference Iattended in Gunnison: Headwa-ters, Rural Journalism, WesternWater Workshop, ColoradoPreservation, to name a few.

The formal events were some-where on the Western State Col-lege campus, but the socializingand the intense conversation andarguments always happened atthe Cattlemen, downtown onHighway 50 next to the Safewaystore. Water buffaloes would con-tinue their arguments with envi-

ronmentalists, deconstructionistswould try to convert literalists,Marxists like John Nichols wouldattack capitalism, and conserva-tives like Linda Chavez wouldextol it.

The Cattlemen also had hotelrooms, a dozen of them upstairs.They weren’t big or fancy, butthey were quite reasonable - themost I can remember paying was$14 for a night of lodging, and itprovided real metal room keysthat you could carry in yourpocket, instead of those comput-er-swipe annoyances that are im-possible to carry conveniently.

Many of us who attendedGeorge Sibley’s annual Headwa-ters Conference would stay there.Not only was it affordable, butthere was no risk of improperdriving if the trip from saloon tolodging was just two flights ofstairs.

One year, Kirby and MargoPerschbacher of Salida managedto get the $24 honeymoon suite,and of course we all had to see itand marvel at the two rooms, onewith a couch and even a TV set.

The other rooms merely held abed and a chair, although all hadprivate baths (noteworthy for olddowntown hotels, because a few

years ago, you could get a roomat the Palace in Salida for only $6,providing you could handle abath down the hall).

The rooms did not have thoselittle refrigerators, but we man-aged anyway when we wanted tocontinue the conversations afterlast call downstairs.

There was an arcade along thenorth side, the roof just below theroom windows that didn’t havescreens. Set the beer out there,even in July, and it stayed pleas-antly chilled.

These inexpensive rooms offered several benefits to society.As mentioned, they cut down onthe number of impaired drivers.And when you’re headed home toSalida from Grand Junction or Montrose on a winter night,hoping you’re ahead of a predict-ed pass-closing storm, it’s a comfort to know that there’s acheap warm place to hole up. Itmakes for prudent travel decisions, and fewer people sliding off Monarch Pass.

Although the upstairs roomshad their virtues, and there was acivilized main-floor restaurantwith real tablecloths and the like,the basement bar and grill reallywas the heart of the place, a

watering hole for half the West-ern Slope and some of us fromthe other side of the Divide. Oneevening, I looked up and saw aSalida woman I knew across theroom. Alas, I loudly bellowedsomething like “Here I am, in asaloon 65 miles from home, andwhat do I see? My children’s Sun-day School teacher, of all people.’’She may forgive me someday.

What distinguished the Cattle-men’s was something beyond cuisine or architecture - it offeredhospitality. People felt comfort-able and welcome, no matterwhat their politics, or their atti-tudes about eating meat, orwhether they wore Stetsons orLycra.

Somehow, that seems more important than being smoke-freeor cholesterol-conscious, buthospitality doesn’t seem to mattermuch in Colorado these days.

(Ed Quillen lives in Salida andwith his wife, Martha, publishesthe monthly regional magazine,Colorado Central. He also writes atwice-weekly column for the Denver Post, where this piece wasinitially published. We re-print itwith permission from both Ed andthe Post.) �

Virtues that extend beyond political correctness

Geo

rge

Sib

leyTalking up the future at the Cattlemen’s

Ed

Qui

llen

Debra Goodman

If you have ever read about Eloise, the precociousyoungster who was raised living in the Plaza Hotel,you have caught a glimpse into the childhood ofSally Smith.

Sally’s parents bought the Allen Hotel and movedinto the living quarters at the end of the west wingwhen Sally was one year old. Thus began her 15 adventurous years as a resident of our much lovedCattlemen Inn.

“It was wild,” Sally said to describe this unusualGunnison childhood. She recalls eating all of hermeals with the staff, never a sit-down family dinner, although Bobby, her mother, would rest fora few moments between busing tables while Sallyate her lunch or dinner.

“I ordered off of the menu for every meal. SometimesI would order the same thing day after day. I would just get a craving,” Sally reminisced.

The staff was more than her meal companions, they becamemembers of her family. “More than once they told me I was abrat,” she said.

She respected her dad’s accomplishments and remembers him

being named businessmanof the year in 1973.

“Dad was up to open thefront desk at 6 a.m. andclosed the bar at 2,” shesaid. “All the meat was cutby Dad, too.”

That was probably a considerable task especiallyafter he built and openedthe Beef ‘n Barrel in thebasement of the hotel. Sallyespecially liked the openingof the Beef and Barrel because the booth cushionswere so much fun to ridedown the stairs!

Sally, even as a child realizedthat this special place was more than just a “business” and she attributes that to her parents’ philosophy to not only focus on thetravelers, but to create a place for the local people.

She now works and lives in Michigan and has just welcomedBobby and Warren’s first grandchild.

�

Cattlemen was home, literally, to Sally SmithThe Cattlemen’s

was where we hadour first date

25 years ago, andbreakfast the lastSunday morning.

Thanks for the memories!!!

– Gary and Maureen Demuth

’

‘

Ghosts at the Cattlemen Inn?Of course there are, and accord-ing to an old article reported inthe Times by Sarah Acker, theCattlemen’s ghost is none otherthan Warren Smith - whoowned the Cattlemen Hotel andRestaurant and made it into oneof Gunnison’s finest establish-ments.

As the report recalls, bar-tender Nelson Hamill was load-ing glasses into the automaticdishwasher behind the bar afterclosing one night. As he went tocollect more glasses, he turnedto see the dishwasher door closeby itself and begin washing.

Winnie Hutchinson, Cattle-man cook for many years, toldof a time her daughter was car-rying supplies up from thedownstairs and a heavy plateglass door opened up for her.All she said was, “Thank you,Warren”, and walked onthrough.

The article also reports of atime when Winnie’s infantgranddaughter was foundcrawling outside her crib whileshe was staying in Winnie’sapartment in the hotel. The railswere up on the crib and thereseemed no way the child couldhave gotten out without fallingto the floor.

Most impressively was theevening when Winnie was feel-ing depressed. As she sat at thebar speaking to Nelson, an armwent around her to give her areassuring hug. Turning, shesaw no one was there.

No one, or maybe someonesince passed who was a greatpart of the history of this finehotel. �

Ghost storyAt the time, it was one of the best placesin Gunnison to eat and all the cattlemenand cowboys would congregate there onSaturday night. One evening after therodeo, a bunch of ranchers and cowboyscame in and were celebrating with gooddrinks and rare steaks when Tom Field (father of Fred Field and Shirley Woodbury)climbed onto the bar and broke into song.

The Rotary Club met on Monday nights inthe banquet room downstairs. Some of theRotarians I served at that time were Warren Mergleman, Doctor Mason Light,Virgil Spann, Wes and Norman McDermott, Pete Eastman and ForrestKelly. They were always playing tricks onone another, or me, and had a great time.

– Pat Nesbit

I just wanted to write to you about howmuch the Cattlemen Inn was part of mylife in Gunnison. I have recently movedto Portland, Oregon but I have not for-gotten about Gunnison and all the won-derful memories that I have from there. Iworked at the Cattlemen Inn for 3 1/2years and I feel like I would not be who Iam today with out the memories I haveof that place. When I found out aboutthe fire I had an overwhelming sense ofsadness and now that I look at the pic-tures of the devastation it really hits me. Imet so many of my friends that I left be-hind at the Cattlemen Inn. I spent somuch of my time there waitressing andbartending. I became a Gunnison“local” there and I will never forget theplace, the people and especially thememories. I just want to send mythoughts along to Dick and all myfriends that have lost a “friend” and ajob. I am thinking about you all and Ican’t wait to return. Sending my thoughts and prayers.

– Rachel Barron

When my phone rang last week and Sally Smith was on the other end cryingthat the hotel was on fire it felt as if time stood still for a minute. We then

reminisced for the next hour about all the people whose lives that great oldhotel had touched. Having been born and raised in Gunnison, I don’t

remember it not being there. I remember when Red Adams sold it to WarrenSmith. I had the pleasure of working for Warren and Bobby from around1973 to 1976 before coming out to California. Then I went back to help

Warren and Bobby in 1979. If those walls could talk, there would be storiestold no one would believe. Stories of haunted hallways, food as good as anyrestaurant in the United States served, a night of “branding the walls,” of atrue craftsman who dug the “Beef and Barrel” restrooms with a pick, shovel

and wheelbarrow because we couldn’t get a Bobcat in there. Stories of hundreds and hundreds of college kids and local kids who worked their waythrough school learning how to “do it right.” In the 70’s when “streaking”

was a big thing, seeing several naked bodies run through the Beef and Barrelon a busy Saturday night, with no one noticing that their waitresses hadn’tbeen seen on the floor for a little while. When their waitresses returned and

the customers were “buzzing” about what they had just seen, NOT ONE person recognized the bare troupe as the service staff. Warren, Bobby, Sally,Vickie, Winnie, Tommy, Jackie, Eva, Judy, Smitty, Barb, Rex, the list goes onand on and on, it was a blast. Who knows, maybe we can all do it again

sometime. To The Cattlemen’s Inn... THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING

– Craig Cope

Uniforms matched the tablecloths in the early days of the Cattleman Restaurant.’

‘

’

‘

’

‘

Bobby, Sally & Warren Smith


January 16, 2003 Gunnison Country Times • 54 •Gunnison Country Times January 16, 2003

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Barbara Smith startedworking there at 16 yearsold when it was the AllenHotel and worked thereevery summer until she

was married to “Smitty”.Smitty ran the barbershopin the hotel and Barbaraworked the front deskuntil the Smiths sold it.Later, she worked the

front desk in the eveningsfor Dick Paulsen.

Barbara recalls that,“Warren and Bobby werejust the tops!” and that

the Cattleman was, “a real wonderful

meeting place of the locals.” She especially

remembered Dan Thornton, local rancher

who later became Governor, bringing in hisown beef to be grilled upspecial for him in the Beef

and Barrel Lounge.

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When it was the AllenHotel, we lived in Utah

and would travel toCañon City for holidays.

We would plan our travels to make sure wecould eat a meal at theAllen Hotel when we

came through Gunnison.

– Ernie Davis’

‘

This is Patrick Sarvak, a former residentand employee of Cattlemen’s. I can’tbelieve that the old place is gone! Lifein Gunny just won’t be the same. Nomore “Gentle Man’s Rancher (aka:

eggs benedict)” in the mornings, primerib sandwich at lunch, or chicken

cordon blue down at the bar! Duringthe years that I waited tables down-stairs, I met some of my best friends,

was able to pay my way through college at Western and also eat like aking! My condolences to the owners,the people of Gunnison, and all of the

hunters who show up this year to find the Cattlemen’s gone. P.S. I livein Hawaii now, but honestly think of

Gunnison EVERY day!

– Aloha, The Sarvaks’

‘

It was with great dismay that I heard of the Cattlemens fire.My family started coming to the area over 50 years ago. With

all of the changes to the area, you could always count on Cattlemen. Breakfast at the Cattlemen was always a treat. Nomatter what you ordered it was consistently good. During our

graduate school years at WSC, if we needed to be filled up for theday, Cattlemen is where we would go. We will certainly miss it.

– Gary & Suzanne Love Grain Valley, MO. ’

‘

You couldn’t drive past the Cattleman’s at 2 p.m. without seeing JohnWilson’s Bronco parked out front. All of the rancher’s brands and the

collection of hats made the Beef and Barrel a real local’s place.

– Leonard (“Mac”) McAdams’‘A

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1963

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edy

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sin

ated

In the early 1970’s C.J. Miller lays the carpet in the newBeef and Barrel Lounge with “supervisor” Sally Smith.



Safeway and its localemployees sincerely thankeach member of the VolunteerFire Department and the PoliceDepartment for saving our building from suffering the same fate as theCattlemen Inn. You are heroes! The Gunnisoncommunity is proud of each one of you!

How close you ask? This close.

A lot of the memories associat-ed with an old building are abouttimes gone by, a past that is nomore. But for me, for the past 15years or so, the strongest memo-ries associated with the Cattle-men Inn have mostly beenassociated with the future, or atleast talking about it – the futureof the valley, the future of the college, the future of the mountain region and the West ingeneral. Most of that CattlemenInn futurism, for me, was associ-ated with the college’s regionalHeadwaters Project.

The Headwaters Project wasactually born at a bunch ofmonthly breakfast meetings atthe Cattlemen Inn. The college,under one of its short-term presidents, was looking for waysto enhance its regional and national visibility. I thought themountain region was lacking an

intellectual center, and thoughtthe college could gain some regional credibility trying to fillthat vacuum with conferencesabout “the headwaters region ofthe Southwest.”

This idea came to the attentionof a consultant from ColoradoSprings named Bob Brossman – abreakfast man, for sure, and a good feeder at any meal – sonext thing, one of the college vice-presidents and I were doingbreakfasts at the Cattlemen Innwith Brossman whenever he wasin town, and that’s where the firstHeadwaters Conference tookshape. That first conference, fallof 1990, concluded with a bigbreakfast in the Cattlemen’s“inner sanctum” room, with people from around the regioncollaborating with notables likePatricia Nelson Limerick, Clay(Thomas Jefferson) Jenkinson

and John Nichols on where to go next.

By the second or third year, theCattlemen’s basement restaurantand bar area became the more orless official site for the Headwa-ters unofficial after-session sessions: every Friday and Satur-day evening of the conference, agob of presenters and partici-pants headed into those smokydepths for the informal and better lubricated follow-up onthe formal sessions. One of myduties as organizer was to call theCattlemen Inn a week or so in advance and ask if they couldstay open “a little past” their 11p.m. closing those nights.

That didn’t really matter,though, because the CattlemenInn was also the best lodging dealin town, if you weren’t too fussyabout amenities, and the Salidacontingent (Ed and Martha

Quillen, Margo and Kirby Perschbacher), Randy Russell, orsomeone always had a roomthere with a laid-in supply ofwarmish beer, where anyone whowas still up for reconstructing theWest went on about that forwhatever amount of the remain-ing night the task took. The futures that were created, and asquickly abandoned there! – toobad some of them never made itto daybreak. In other cases, it wasprobably a good thing.

My last idea session there wasjust before Christmas this year.Ed Marston, long-time publisherof High Country News, was pass-ing through town on his wayhome from somewhere, andcalled up about lunchtime. Overa bowl of the Cattlemen’s goodsoup, an idea bloomed out of anotherwise casual conversationthat will be a big part of the

Headwaters conference this coming fall.

At one of those Cattlemen’sbreakfasts, the aforementionedBob Brossman gave me a piece ofadvice once – or a warning orsomething: “It’s hard to put a highpolish on a horseapple.” I neverhave figured out exactly what hewas talking about. But – intend-ing only respect for an interestingplace I loved – I’ll say that mightnot be a bad metaphor for that“futuristic” aspect of the Cattle-men Inn: a place that didn’t havemuch of a high polish, but inter-esting things sure grew in it. �

If there had ever been a contestfor “Most Politically IncorrectEstablishment in Colorado,’’ theCattlemen Inn in Gunnisonwould surely have ranked nearthe top, and likely at the head ofthe list. Now it’s gone, victim of afire last Monday that left only asmoldering brick shell.

The political incorrectnessstarted with the name. It wasn’tthe Diversity Grill or the Vegan-person’s Salad Emporium or theHealthy Haven of Low-CalorieBroiled Skinless Breast of Free-Range Chicken. It was the Cat-tlemen, and the Beef and Barrelrestaurant downstairs certainlylived up to the boviculturalname: brands on the walls, restrooms labeled “Bulls’’ and“Heifers,’’ a menu that featuredred meat in quantities that just the aroma could turn yourarteries into concrete.

The menu was only the start ofthe political incorrectness. GivenGunnison’s gelid climate, itwould have been cruel to sendpeople outdoors to enjoy a ciga-rette, so the west end of the roomwas hazy with tobacco smoke. Ina time when Colorado has dozensof excellent microbrews, the beerlist was short - as best as I can remember, Killian’s Red wasabout as exotic as it got. Therewas also a big-screen TV, alwaystuned to some sports event, butfortunately, the sound was alwayslow.

The restaurant and saloon hadmany small tables, which youcould assemble into one longtable when it was time to con-verse with a crowd, and that hap-pened at every conference Iattended in Gunnison: Headwa-ters, Rural Journalism, WesternWater Workshop, ColoradoPreservation, to name a few.

The formal events were some-where on the Western State Col-lege campus, but the socializingand the intense conversation andarguments always happened atthe Cattlemen, downtown onHighway 50 next to the Safewaystore. Water buffaloes would con-tinue their arguments with envi-

ronmentalists, deconstructionistswould try to convert literalists,Marxists like John Nichols wouldattack capitalism, and conserva-tives like Linda Chavez wouldextol it.

The Cattlemen also had hotelrooms, a dozen of them upstairs.They weren’t big or fancy, butthey were quite reasonable - themost I can remember paying was$14 for a night of lodging, and itprovided real metal room keysthat you could carry in yourpocket, instead of those comput-er-swipe annoyances that are im-possible to carry conveniently.

Many of us who attendedGeorge Sibley’s annual Headwa-ters Conference would stay there.Not only was it affordable, butthere was no risk of improperdriving if the trip from saloon tolodging was just two flights ofstairs.

One year, Kirby and MargoPerschbacher of Salida managedto get the $24 honeymoon suite,and of course we all had to see itand marvel at the two rooms, onewith a couch and even a TV set.

The other rooms merely held abed and a chair, although all hadprivate baths (noteworthy for olddowntown hotels, because a few

years ago, you could get a roomat the Palace in Salida for only $6,providing you could handle abath down the hall).

The rooms did not have thoselittle refrigerators, but we man-aged anyway when we wanted tocontinue the conversations afterlast call downstairs.

There was an arcade along thenorth side, the roof just below theroom windows that didn’t havescreens. Set the beer out there,even in July, and it stayed pleas-antly chilled.

These inexpensive rooms offered several benefits to society.As mentioned, they cut down onthe number of impaired drivers.And when you’re headed home toSalida from Grand Junction or Montrose on a winter night,hoping you’re ahead of a predict-ed pass-closing storm, it’s a comfort to know that there’s acheap warm place to hole up. Itmakes for prudent travel decisions, and fewer people sliding off Monarch Pass.

Although the upstairs roomshad their virtues, and there was acivilized main-floor restaurantwith real tablecloths and the like,the basement bar and grill reallywas the heart of the place, a

watering hole for half the West-ern Slope and some of us fromthe other side of the Divide. Oneevening, I looked up and saw aSalida woman I knew across theroom. Alas, I loudly bellowedsomething like “Here I am, in asaloon 65 miles from home, andwhat do I see? My children’s Sun-day School teacher, of all people.’’She may forgive me someday.

What distinguished the Cattle-men’s was something beyond cuisine or architecture - it offeredhospitality. People felt comfort-able and welcome, no matterwhat their politics, or their atti-tudes about eating meat, orwhether they wore Stetsons orLycra.

Somehow, that seems more important than being smoke-freeor cholesterol-conscious, buthospitality doesn’t seem to mattermuch in Colorado these days.

(Ed Quillen lives in Salida andwith his wife, Martha, publishesthe monthly regional magazine,Colorado Central. He also writes atwice-weekly column for the Denver Post, where this piece wasinitially published. We re-print itwith permission from both Ed andthe Post.) �

Virtues that extend beyond political correctness

Geo

rge

Sib

leyTalking up the future at the Cattlemen’s

Ed

Qui

llen

Debra Goodman

If you have ever read about Eloise, the precociousyoungster who was raised living in the Plaza Hotel,you have caught a glimpse into the childhood ofSally Smith.

Sally’s parents bought the Allen Hotel and movedinto the living quarters at the end of the west wingwhen Sally was one year old. Thus began her 15 adventurous years as a resident of our much lovedCattlemen Inn.

“It was wild,” Sally said to describe this unusualGunnison childhood. She recalls eating all of hermeals with the staff, never a sit-down family dinner, although Bobby, her mother, would rest fora few moments between busing tables while Sallyate her lunch or dinner.

“I ordered off of the menu for every meal. SometimesI would order the same thing day after day. I would just get a craving,” Sally reminisced.

The staff was more than her meal companions, they becamemembers of her family. “More than once they told me I was abrat,” she said.

She respected her dad’s accomplishments and remembers him

being named businessmanof the year in 1973.

“Dad was up to open thefront desk at 6 a.m. andclosed the bar at 2,” shesaid. “All the meat was cutby Dad, too.”

That was probably a considerable task especiallyafter he built and openedthe Beef ‘n Barrel in thebasement of the hotel. Sallyespecially liked the openingof the Beef and Barrel because the booth cushionswere so much fun to ridedown the stairs!

Sally, even as a child realizedthat this special place was more than just a “business” and she attributes that to her parents’ philosophy to not only focus on thetravelers, but to create a place for the local people.

She now works and lives in Michigan and has just welcomedBobby and Warren’s first grandchild.

�

Cattlemen was home, literally, to Sally SmithThe Cattlemen’s

was where we hadour first date

25 years ago, andbreakfast the lastSunday morning.

Thanks for the memories!!!

– Gary and Maureen Demuth

’

‘

Ghosts at the Cattlemen Inn?Of course there are, and accord-ing to an old article reported inthe Times by Sarah Acker, theCattlemen’s ghost is none otherthan Warren Smith - whoowned the Cattlemen Hotel andRestaurant and made it into oneof Gunnison’s finest establish-ments.

As the report recalls, bar-tender Nelson Hamill was load-ing glasses into the automaticdishwasher behind the bar afterclosing one night. As he went tocollect more glasses, he turnedto see the dishwasher door closeby itself and begin washing.

Winnie Hutchinson, Cattle-man cook for many years, toldof a time her daughter was car-rying supplies up from thedownstairs and a heavy plateglass door opened up for her.All she said was, “Thank you,Warren”, and walked onthrough.

The article also reports of atime when Winnie’s infantgranddaughter was foundcrawling outside her crib whileshe was staying in Winnie’sapartment in the hotel. The railswere up on the crib and thereseemed no way the child couldhave gotten out without fallingto the floor.

Most impressively was theevening when Winnie was feel-ing depressed. As she sat at thebar speaking to Nelson, an armwent around her to give her areassuring hug. Turning, shesaw no one was there.

No one, or maybe someonesince passed who was a greatpart of the history of this finehotel. �

Ghost storyAt the time, it was one of the best placesin Gunnison to eat and all the cattlemenand cowboys would congregate there onSaturday night. One evening after therodeo, a bunch of ranchers and cowboyscame in and were celebrating with gooddrinks and rare steaks when Tom Field (father of Fred Field and Shirley Woodbury)climbed onto the bar and broke into song.

The Rotary Club met on Monday nights inthe banquet room downstairs. Some of theRotarians I served at that time were Warren Mergleman, Doctor Mason Light,Virgil Spann, Wes and Norman McDermott, Pete Eastman and ForrestKelly. They were always playing tricks onone another, or me, and had a great time.

– Pat Nesbit

I just wanted to write to you about howmuch the Cattlemen Inn was part of mylife in Gunnison. I have recently movedto Portland, Oregon but I have not for-gotten about Gunnison and all the won-derful memories that I have from there. Iworked at the Cattlemen Inn for 3 1/2years and I feel like I would not be who Iam today with out the memories I haveof that place. When I found out aboutthe fire I had an overwhelming sense ofsadness and now that I look at the pic-tures of the devastation it really hits me. Imet so many of my friends that I left be-hind at the Cattlemen Inn. I spent somuch of my time there waitressing andbartending. I became a Gunnison“local” there and I will never forget theplace, the people and especially thememories. I just want to send mythoughts along to Dick and all myfriends that have lost a “friend” and ajob. I am thinking about you all and Ican’t wait to return. Sending my thoughts and prayers.

– Rachel Barron

When my phone rang last week and Sally Smith was on the other end cryingthat the hotel was on fire it felt as if time stood still for a minute. We then

reminisced for the next hour about all the people whose lives that great oldhotel had touched. Having been born and raised in Gunnison, I don’t

remember it not being there. I remember when Red Adams sold it to WarrenSmith. I had the pleasure of working for Warren and Bobby from around1973 to 1976 before coming out to California. Then I went back to help

Warren and Bobby in 1979. If those walls could talk, there would be storiestold no one would believe. Stories of haunted hallways, food as good as anyrestaurant in the United States served, a night of “branding the walls,” of atrue craftsman who dug the “Beef and Barrel” restrooms with a pick, shovel

and wheelbarrow because we couldn’t get a Bobcat in there. Stories of hundreds and hundreds of college kids and local kids who worked their waythrough school learning how to “do it right.” In the 70’s when “streaking”

was a big thing, seeing several naked bodies run through the Beef and Barrelon a busy Saturday night, with no one noticing that their waitresses hadn’tbeen seen on the floor for a little while. When their waitresses returned and

the customers were “buzzing” about what they had just seen, NOT ONE person recognized the bare troupe as the service staff. Warren, Bobby, Sally,Vickie, Winnie, Tommy, Jackie, Eva, Judy, Smitty, Barb, Rex, the list goes onand on and on, it was a blast. Who knows, maybe we can all do it again

sometime. To The Cattlemen’s Inn... THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING

– Craig Cope

Uniforms matched the tablecloths in the early days of the Cattleman Restaurant.’

‘

’

‘

’

‘

Bobby, Sally & Warren Smith


Debra Goodman

Jean Lang went to work at theCattleman Restaurant the day itopened for business for the firsttime. She recalls that it was theepitome of cleanliness, waitress-es wearing black skirts and crisp,white blouses, tables perfectlyset.

She recalls, “Our fingernailscouldn’t be longer than the end ofour finger, and NO fingernail pol-ish. Hair couldn’t touch your col-lar, no high heels and hosiery atall times.”

One of her tasks was to cut thebutter. “It didn’t come precutback then, and I cut more than10 pounds a day”.

They would close down the

restaurant from 3 to 5 p.m. everyday to do their side work, andopened every evening with for-mal linens and napkins on eachtable.

Banquets were a real challengeas they were in the basement ofthe hotel, even with the fancydumbwaiter to help. “We hadfootball players around to pullthe ropes up and down,” Jean de-scribed.

Even then, the Cattlemen wasattracting mostly locals, and itwas always busy. Back then, themain choices for dining out werethe La Veta Hotel, Johnson’sRestaurant and Almont.

“The Cattleman had very finecooks and a baker,” Lang said. “Itwas always a toss-up whether to

go to the Allen or Johnsons.“The Columbine and La Veta

were the extent of the hotels atthe time. I believe Floyd built theAllen to give travelers anotherchoice in the business district ofGunnison.”

Today, Jean lives in the Moun-tain View apartments in Gunni-son and shares many vividmemories of the Gunnison ofyesterday. �

In the 1960’s, our house was right across thestreet from the Cattlemen’s Inn, so, as kids, wewould wander over there on a regular basis. Wewould buy the Gunnison Times for a dime in thelobby.

There was an old gentleman (I think his name wasMr. Withers) who was about 100 years old whoused to sit in the lobby and read the newspaper. Heused to tell all of the kids who would listen aboutthe early days of Gunnison — specifically, ChiefOuray and Chipeta. He claimed to be the only whiteman who knew where Chief Ouray was buried.

He would tell how as a young boy, his mother wasfrightened one day by Indians coming to her door andasking for a bar of soap. She thought it was becausethey wanted to bathe — but what they did, was rubthe soap on their ponies’ backs so they wouldn’t getsaddle sore!

Our family brand (Hogan) was on the wall. AlthoughI haven’t lived in Gunnison for over 20 years, I have lotsof fond memories of the Cattlemen’s and will miss itwhen we visit.

I live in Omaha, Nebraska with my husband and four children. We try tomake it back to Gunnison every couple of years as a family vacation —unfor-tunately now I am truly a tourist since none of my family lives in Gunnisonany longer. I lived in Gunnison until I graduated from High School (1975).

– Katie (Hogan) GurnettDaughter of Gracie Hogan


For For nearly 63 years, The Cattlemen Inn– or the Allen Hotel, as it was originallycalled –was an unsurpassed Gunnison land-mark. It was a familiar anchor in the centerof town and remained more or less the same

through decades of growth and change. Faces havecome and gone, but the old hotel was always there.

The Cattlemen Inn was destroyed last week in a devastating fire.

But, as you will see in this special section, landmarksare often made of much more than bricks and mortarand what can be seen with the eyes. The true measureof a landmark like The Cattlemen Inn is how high itstands in the hearts and memories of the people whogrew up there, gathered there, worked there and livedtheir lives within its reach.

In this commemorative section, you will read someof the “first moments” Gunnison residents had underthe Cattlemen’s roof, and many memorable storiesthat are inseparable in our minds from the old place.Many of you have shared old photographs to bringback to life what was lost last week to fire.

We offer a timeline to put the long life of thisbeloved meeting place into a broader perspective thanmost of us normally have in the hurried pace of ourlives. A few of the community’s writers will share theirthoughts and memories.

These pages are intended as a wake of sorts, to honora passage. More than that, they are a celebration of thecommunity that made The Cattlemen Inn what it was:part of our home.

Harley Tripp

The Cattlemen Inn, whichopened in 1940 as the AllenHotel, was the fourth building tooccupy the four lots at the south-east corner of Tomichi Avenueand Pine Street. In many waysthese lots reflect the history ofGunnison.

In 1881 Gunnison was a boom-ing town in its “Camp Phase” orearly “Town Phase.” CaptainLounden Mullen, acting as atrustee for the Gunnison Townand Land Company, originallysold the four lots to Dr. James H.Mackintosh in September 1881.The next year, Gunnison’s popu-lation reached 5,000, and the fourlots were resold several times.That summer William Bradburn,a local blacksmith, acquired thelots and built a small one-storyframe blacksmith shop at thenortheast corner with a western“false-front” that faced TomichiAvenue and a one-story framedwelling behind the blacksmithshop facing Pine Street.

In 1883 the mining boom thathad fueled Gunnison’s economystarted to collapse. Bradburn wasunable to pay his taxes and inSeptember 1883 the GunnisonCounty Treasurer sold the prop-erty to C. R. Bourdett for $24.01.Gunnison then entered a depres-sion that lasted through the silverpanic of the early 1890’s when itspopulation fell to 1,100.

Bourdett in turn couldn’t payhis taxes and in September 1885the County Treasurer sold theproperty to Gunnison Countysince no one else was willing tobuy the lots for the price of thetaxes owed on them. By the timethe Gurley Investment Corpora-tion bought the lots in 1890 bothbuildings were gone. In 1909, C.A. Nelson bought the four lots.Conveyed by marriages anddeaths they stayed in the Nelson/Blackstock/Hards familyfor the next 30 years.

Sanborn Insurance maps showthat the lots remained vacantuntil the 1920’s when a two-storyred brick house was built on

them. Mr. Rogers, theschool superintendent,lived in the house duringthe 1930’s. After Mrs.Springer bought thehouse in January 1939she rented rooms to WSCcoeds.

In the late 1930’sFloyd and Mae Allenowned and operated the“Creamery” which pack-aged and sold “Moun-tain-Maid Butter, IceCream, and PasteurizedMilk.” The sign for the“Creamery” can still beseen on the front of thebuilding at 302 W.Tomichi.

A front-page articlein the August 17,1939 edition of the Gunnison News-Champion announcedthat Mr. and Mrs.Allen had bought thelots, which wereacross the street fromtheir “Creamery,” andstarted constructionon a modern $50,000hotel on them. RayMiller razed thebrick house andwithin a week thebasement excavationwas nearly complete.

The original “L” shaped hotelbuilding stretched 125 feet alongTomichi, 80 feet along Pine Streetand was 35 feet deep. Delta Brickand Tile Company supplied thethen new rough-surface tanbricks for the two-story building.The east first-floor wing con-tained the lobby and coffee shop.The west wing housed eight guestrooms and a four-room suite forthe hotel owners. There weretwenty-three additional guestrooms on the second floor, including seventeen rooms withprivate bathrooms. The largebasement, that later housed theBeef ‘n Barrel Restaurant, wasused for storage.

One of the first neon signs inGunnison and interior partitionsof glass bricks helped give the

building a “Modern Movements”architectural look. First class furnishings, used throughout thehotel, included modernistic walnut furniture in the guestrooms. Bedsprings and inner-spring mattresses were purchasedfrom Miller’s Furniture Store.

Although the Allen Hotel andCoffee Shop was scheduled toopen Feb. 10, the opening wasdelayed until Feb. 22, 1940. Mr.and Mrs. J. C. Best ran the coffeeshop and featured a special Sunday Dinner for $0.65 after thehotel opened.

In 1947 the hotel was sold toMr. and Mrs. Ted McCorkhillwho immediately announced a$60,000 addition to the hotel thatincluded a new dining room andten more guest rooms. It appears

that the dining room was addedbut the additional guest roomswere not. They sold the hotel toMax and Mary Fleetwood in May1954, who traded it to Mr. andMrs. E. C. Adams in June 1958for the Adam’s ranch east ofDoyleville and other considera-tions.

In 1964 Warren Smith boughtthe Allen Hotel and started alter-ing it. He added the board andbatten front to the north and eastdoorways in 1965 and a few yearslater painted the bricks white. Inthe late 1960’s the Beef ‘n Barrel

restaurant opened and the namewas changed from the Allen Hotelto the Cattlemen Inn. In the mid1970’s he added the woodenawning to the north and eastsides.

After 17 years of Smith owner-ship, John Whistler bought thehotel in October 1981. RichardPaulson, the present owner,bought the Cattlemn Inn fromJohn W. Whistler in October1985.

(Harley Tripp is a member of theCity of Gunnison Historic Preser-vation Committee) �

A History Of the Allen Hotel / Cattlemen Inn

– circa 1968

Phoebe Cranor RANCH LIFE

Doesn’t it seem as if we shoulddo SOMETHING to say a propergoodbye to our friend? I think so.

We might try having a funeralservice in the multipurpose roomat the fairgrounds. Since therehas been cremation, maybe wecould do it if we had a bigenough receptacle for the remains. I’m talking about paying tribute to everyone’s oldfriend, the Cattlemen Hotel andRestaurant.

Last week the editor requestedinformation and memories. Sohere goes.

As a child visitor, I met theFloyd Allens who began thewhole thing. It was called theAllen Hotel. After I became a Gunnison resident I had lots ofexperiences with the place.

One time after the Allen became the Cattlemen, we wentto a Stockgrowers meeting. Theyserved man-sized wonderfulsteaks. My husband had neverquite said so, but I knew he wasn’t entirely satisfied with mysteak-fryin’ methods. And, sinceI was a hard-up city girl before Imoved to the ranch, I had nevereven tasted steak. So my methodsweren’t too sophisticated.

Anyhow, since the cook was afriend and very obliging, he tookus to his workplace to get a lessonfrom someone in the know. Therewe watched what he did.

He started with frozen meat,browning it well on each side.Then he gave it as much lowertemperature time as the diner’staste dictated. Hmmm... so thatwas the way it worked.

It took a bit of mental gymnas-tics to

figure out how to apply his sug-gestions to our little kitchen. Therestaurant had a huge stove withskillets to match - plus a sink bigenough to take a bath in. (I justTHOUGHT I could. I didn’t tryit.) Yes I did eventually learn toaccomplish exactly what my hus-band wanted: “a dang good job ofsteak fryin’.”

Later, we naturally took the

kids to the Cattlemen. Everyoneseemed to know my husband andgave us the red carpet treatment.We took along our four littlehand-made booster chairs, muchto the delight of the crew. Thelast time I went with my friendsto eat breakfast I sort of wished Ihad a booster chair. Probably theseat’s height is calculated withcattlemen in mind, not little oldladies.

Another day, after some workon the restaurant downstairs,there was a “party” for ranchers.Each one brought his own iron tobrand the wall over the salad bar.

“We’ll have a fire goin’ in thealley and the stair door open sowe kin hustle ourselves down ina hurry,” the organizer told us. Ofcourse we went.

My husband had made aminiature iron with our heart-cross for the kids so they couldbrand their stick horses. Stickhorses tend to wander off - or fallinto the irrigation ditch and floatdownstream to the nextheadgate. That’s why they needto be branded. We took thatsmall iron along for the event.

True to their promise, the own-ers had a genuine heater for theirons and the men took turns get-ting them red hot and dashingdown the stairs two steps at atime to put them against the wallbefore they cooled. There was alot of smoke and steam and thesmell of scorching wood. Person-ally I preferred those odors towhat burning hair and skin of-fered at a regular branding.

Each time a brand was suc-cessfully applied, the otherranchers slapped its owner onthe back and toasted him with a

swallow of some-thing potent.Whatever it was,presently my manand I decided itwas time for us toleave. Anyhowwe would soonhave to milk thecow. Otherwisethe folks intown wouldlikely hear herprotesting - ex-cept at theparty, ofcourse.

So now weare all leftfeeling sadand wonder-ing how wewill EVERm a n a g ewithout our

friend theC a t t l e m e n .But on theother hand I

am glad to have had over 55years worth of happy memoriesof the place and all the peoplewhom we saw there.

When we tried breakfast theother day, we found several of the“regulars” at a different restau-rant. It was good - but not thesame as the dear old Cattlemenwe were used to.

�

Oh Dear, Oh Dear

John Cranor branding the wall

’

‘

From day one, Lang part of Cattlemen lore

I have very fond memories of the Cattlemen’s. My

Aunt Tekla Soderlindused to work at the

Cattlemen’s back in the1950’s, her room that

she stayed in was the last room on thestreet side. I spent

many nights with her.She was the hotel front desk. What a

great part of history theCattlemen’s was, it will

be sorely missed.

– Lynda Pittman, 56Grand Junction (winter)Quartz Creek (summer)

’

‘


E & PSEWINGEMPORIUM 641-0474135 N. MAIN • Gunnison, CO 81230

R e s i d e n t i a lC o m m e r c i a lD e s i g nR e m o d e l i n gP e r s o n a l i z e dC o n s t r u c t i o n

Cattlemen’s InnLet’s go down to the Cattlemen’s Inn,It’s white-wash built of brick,With a draft of beer and friendly cheer,It’s the perfect evening pick.

Let’s go down to the Cattlemen’s InnWhen it’s time to take a break,Your muscles sore from early choresAnd it’s time for eggs and steak.

Let’s go down to the Cattlemen’s InnTo get a roper’s cut.And after your trim you amble inTo sit by that antlered buck.

Let’s go down to the Cattlemen’s Inn.It’s old but that’s all right.It’s a local place with a local paceAnd a bed to stay the night.

We can’t go down to the Cattlemen’s Inn,Not now, not any more.We’ve lost a space, a personal placeWhen flames roared through the floor.

We can’t go down to the Cattlemen’s InnThough some say they’ll build it back.I hope they do and when it’s throughWe’ll be there — that’s a fact!

– Mark Todd

A special tribute from theGUNNISON COUNTRY TIMES

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