Hello, everybody!
I have some exciting news to share
in today’s Key Room blog, but I would first like to introduce myself. My name
is Margie, and I’ve travelled all the way from Pennsylvania to experience the
beauty of Colorado and the magic of the Baldpate Inn for the summer. I will be
going into my second year of college at Penn State University, and I plan to
double major in Arts Administration and Communications. I am thrilled to have
the opportunity to intern in our museum, which has such an interesting
collection, and be part of the Baldpate family!
Now
that we have that out of the way, I’ll tell you the great news. I had the privilege
the other day of meeting the granddaughter and great granddaughter of Clarence
Ison, who built the Keystone for our fireplace in the Key Room. Reverend Jean
Waldron and Shannon Trigg, Clarence’s granddaughter and great granddaughter,
were able to give me some information and told me to call Clarence’s daughter,
Nancy Weatherbie, for the rest of the story. Well, I had a very nice
conversation with Ms. Weatherbie over the phone, and she provided me with a
great deal of information about Clarence’s life.
Clarence
Ison was born in Missouri and lived in Platner, Colorado. Before he started a
family, he moved to California and worked as a Deputy Sherriff. He moved back to Colorado and was married. He
and his wife later had three children. He was a stonemason and worked for a monument
company in Longmont, Colorado. Ms. Weatherbie informed me, though, that he
started as a farmer, and she describes him as a “jack of all trades.” As I
mentioned, Clarence built the Keystone for the fireplace in the Baldpate’s Key
Room. He also worked with Coalie Coleman, a relative by marriage, to build St.
Catherine’s Church. The church is a gorgeous stone structure on Highway 7, a
few miles away from the Baldpate. Clarence moved with his family to San Diego
in May of 1941, where he again worked as a stonemason. After the war broke out,
he worked in two aircraft factories. Ms. Weatherbie says that her father took
so much pride in all of his work.
We, here at the Baldpate, are so
thankful for his work on our Keystone, and we are thankful to his family for
sharing this piece of history with us.
We hope you come by the Baldpate
soon to experience more of our rich history!
Margie
Key Room Museum Curator
