Review by Ed Quillen
Local History – July 1995 – Colorado Central Magazine
I Remember Tin Cup
by Eleanor Perry
ISBN 0-939101-00-9
If it’s true that “the devil is in the details,” then so also are the delights, especially in this rich and readable collection of lively anecdotes.
Eleanor Perry does not pretend to offer a comprehensive history of Tin Cup, the mining camp in Taylor Park 33 miles southwest of Buena Vista. Instead, she collects tales of by-gone years from old-timers, and organizes their recollections by theme: fires, entertainment, mining, prostitutes, etc.
A couple of samples should give you the pleasant flavor of the entire book:
“The children had finished their school program, the candles on the tree were glowing, and Santa Claus had arrived. All went well with excited children receiving their gifts until Santa reached for a small gift tied to the tree. A nearby candle ignited his beard, the flames quickly spread to his red suit, and the guests were frozen in fear.
“Three men reacted quicker than the others, grabbed the flaming Santa and threw him through the foyer window into the soft snow.”
Or, “After we children had eaten, we were sent upstairs to play. We played the usual `hide and seek’ in and out of the bedrooms, but when that grew tiresome, we decided to attack the pillows in my room. Flying feathers are noiseless!
“Apparently we were too quiet because Mama came up to check on us and discovered us in a sea of feathers. We spent the rest of the evening gathering elusive feathers and putting them back into the ticking.”
With dozens of such vignettes, I Remember Tin Cup captures daily life in a remote mining camp a century ago. You’ll be reading them aloud to anyone within earshot.
I learned some new things. Taylor Park and Lottis Creek were named for Jim Taylor and Fred Lottis, early prospectors. Mount Kreutzer honors William R. Kreutzer, the first Forest Ranger in America, and, in 1905, ranger for the Taylor Park District. Tin Cup’s main connection to the world was not Almont and Gunnison, as I had supposed, but Saint Elmo and Buena Vista via Tin Cup (then Alpine) Pass.
There were some minor annoyances. Though in a recent printing, the book is dated, in that it refers to things that might occur in future years like 1987. She refers to a Leadville of 1859, when there would be no Leadville for 20 years.
But those slips hardly detract from this small book’s considerable virtues. It also has good typography — rare for a small-scale production, and clear photos, too — another rarity.
— E.Q.
