Letter from Kate Donithorne
Colorado Central – October 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Dear Editors:
Though I was expecting the combined delivery of the August and September Colorado Centrals, I dropped them into the waste basket so thoughtfully provided by the Post Office for junk mail, before I realized the mistake I’d made due to the new cover format.
Some years ago while passing through Salida, what initially attracted me to C.C. in a rack of magazines was simply its outstanding outer appearance. On subsequent lay-overs I discovered that regional magazine selections in lodging lounge areas was minus C.C. Too critical and detracts visitors from the business of vacationing?
In the many towns now basing their economy on the tourist trade it often seems a sell out, as resident needs get overlooked in favor of money spent enticing visitors to fill town coffers.
A contender for branding with objectional slogans is the billboard on I-70 eastbound at the state line: “Pennsylvania where America began.”
Gearheads and feet: In the early 1900s my great-uncle James Horace Hocking, wearing a pair of high top oxfords which he had resoled once on the way, set the time record for walking from New York City to San Francisco, and back by way of Canada.
Another low-techie hitting the trail was Maine spinster Mesannie Wilkins. In November 1955 at the age of 63, told by her doctor that with rest she had 2 to 4 years to live, she saddled up her horse, donned layers of her ordinary wear, and leaving behind the mortgaged family farm, she set out, with dog in tow, for California. Riding and walking she made it in a year and a half. Twelve years later she authored a book about her trek: Last of the Saddle Tramps, published by Prentice-Hall Inc.
Kate Donithorne
Mc Gill, Nevada
