Our first story is a mystery, much like the book 7 Keys to Baldpate...
7 Tastes of Freedom
In December of 1896 at the Canyon State Penitentiary, (located in Canyon City, CO), an unknown prisoner managed to escape, never to be seen again. How you ask? Well in 1896, with no cable, Facebook, or Twitter...one might have a lot of time to brainstorm. John Doe, we'll call him, started to collect spoons. I agree this was an odd hobby to have, however he was making, you guessed it...keys. With each spoon, he carved different patterns. You could imagine how time consuming this must have been without the technology of today. After each key was finished, he would plan his escape. However after each let down and much frustration, he would carve another. But on one day, his hard work finally paid off. On his seventh key with much trial and error, our John Doe finally tasted his long awaited freedom. How ironic that we have those seven keys here at the Baldpate Inn, famous for the popular novel The Seven Keys of Baldpate? I suppose the moral of the story is, if you are the Warden...count your spoons each night.
*key donated by W.H. (Billie) Boggs* Former Chief of police, Greeley Colorado
If this mystery interested you, come and check out our other 30,000 keys with their own unique stories. Or ask one of our friendly and knowledgeable curators here in The Key Room at The Baldpate Inn to show you our amazing collection.
Blog written by:
Tivory Luevane
Museum Curator, The Baldpate Inn
