In their comments on the Westword Facebook post of our story about Wurth (complete with an excerpt of White Horse), readers have plenty to say about old and new Denver.
Wonders Dorian:
What is old Denver? I moved there a year ago and just for a year. in my first month, I would ask what’s Denver like. An the only response I would get was “nothing like old Denver."Replies Jerry:
I grew up in Denver in the '50s and graduated West High School in '62. Good times, cruising 16th street on Friday and Saturday nights and then meeting up at the Scotchman over on 49th and Federal, Sam's up on top of Lookout Mountain after I turned eighteen. This was and is the Denver that I remember, and as it is now with all the liberals that moved in and destroyed what was once called "the Queen City of the Plains," we'll never go back even to visit relatives. If this offends, too bad. Never thought that I would live long enough to see Colorado and Denver go this direction.Adds Snuffy:
Generations of my family grew up here in Denver, and it's really sad to walk the city with my mom and watch her point out places that were so important to her and they no longer exist. It even breaks my heart to have moved back only ten years ago and see how much it's gone downhill since then. Denver used to have this amazing "mom-and-pop" feel, like you couldn't find this atmosphere anywhere else. And now it's just a wasteland of unnecessary development and drug addiction. Really fucking sad.Counters Janis:
Lived here since 1972. Old downtown rolled up the sidewalk at 8 p.m. except when the Stock Show came to town. Larimer was a hangout for alcoholics, so that hasn't changed. I think we are a much more vibrant city today. All this nostalgia for the past is a whitewashed version of reality. The people who think things were so great weren't black, hispanic, female or gay. Grow up.Replies Robert:
It is nice to remember the good old days before the West and East coasts moved out here and changed our state.Comments Aimee:
I miss being able to smile at people you don't know and wave, and they would smile and wave back. Not anymore... you get glared at big time. The world as a whole is a darker place.Concludes Mapping:
Wow, her take is deeply resonant for all of us who came before the great influx that forever changed the character and core of Denver. I’ll be ordering this book for sure.Wurth will be talking about her new book on November 16 at the Boulder Book Store. In the meantime, you can read an excerpt of White Horse, as well as Teague Bohlen's interview with Wurth, here.
Feel free to add your own comment or send your thoughts to [email protected].
