My Home Town

Labor Day and Root Beer Floats

~ Writer Jenny Berlin ~ Leave a comment

In the century since Labor Day was made a national holiday, it has slowly evolved into a patriotic celebration of America; but the day originally began as a tribute to American workers.

My parents epitomized the ideal American worker: they started their own business in the 1960s and worked hard—sometimes seven days a week—to make it profitable, all the while raising five children.

Now that I’m an adult, I can look back and recognize there were times when their business wasn’t doing very well, and we barely had enough money to put dinner on the table on a given night; but my parents never mentioned such troubles to us kids. They just persevered and worked a little harder to turn things around.

My dad built a barbecue just like this one in our back yard.

But no matter how many hours of work they put in throughout the year, Labor Day was always a holiday at our house, even during the hard times. My parents always took the day off and turned it into a family celebration. They made sure we had hot dogs to barbecue, corn on the cob to butter up, and thick slices of watermelon to munch.

But for me, the best part of our Labor Day celebration meal was the root beer floats. They were a special treat at our house.

I have a vivid childhood memory of the day I learned the hard way not to stir a root beer float. After a couple of vigorous cranks with my straw, my float boiled over and spread like a lava flow across the table. And there was no way to stop it! My mom went into action, picking up plates and serving bowls as quick a wink so they wouldn’t be overtaken with sticky root beer. My oldest sister teased me about it for days.

At the time, Hires Root Beer was probably the most popular brand, but there was also a local Denver company that made sodas of all kinds.

Duffy’s Delicious Drinks began business in Denver in the 1920s and root beer was one of their most popular sodas. This old postcard from the 1940s shows the Duffy factory as it looked then.

And here’s how the same building looks now on Larimer Street in downtown Denver.

I don’t know when Duffy’s Delicious Drinks went out of business, but today’s locals still sometimes find old bottle caps and glass bottles bearing the Duffy name in fields and undeveloped lots across the front range of Colorado.

What’s your favorite memory of Labor Day celebrations past?

Ready to Fall into Autumn?

~ Writer Jenny Berlin ~ Leave a comment

It’s finally Fall, and here in Colorado we’re at the peak viewing period to see our trees and foliage change colors.

Watching and appreciating the changing season is a tradition for me and my family. It’s something I grew up with and never get tired of seeing.

The leaves are changing color in my neighborhood.

Another enduring symbol of the changing season: pumpkins.

They’re everywhere at this time of year (are you tired of hearing the words “pumpkin spice latte” yet?).

Many years ago (long before Starbucks was even an idea) we celebrated the advent of Fall by going to local pumpkin parades.

From days gone by: A pumpkin pie day parade float in Longmont, Colorado.

In addition to parades, some local communities awarded ribbons and prizes to residents who grew the biggest pumpkins. Newspaper reporters snapped their pictures and printed them in the evening edition of the paper. It was a proud moment for people.

A blue ribbon for the 111 pound pumpkin on the right.

Another tradition: Without fail we watched “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” on television with the same avid attention as if we’d never seen the show dozens of times before.

The best part about pumpkins—the thing we looked forward to the most every year—was carving them up (under adult supervision, of course).

Like clockwork on October 30, my sisters and I would lay newspapers all over the top of the kitchen breakfast table, and carefully dig out the seeds and pumpkin meat; then we carved faces into our pumpkins.

Then we’d proudly display them on our front porch, lit with candles, and looking as scary as possible.

Today I live in a neighborhood where there are no young children to trick-or-treat on Halloween night (they’ve all grown up and moved away to neighborhoods of their own). So I really miss those traditions we had as kids that marked the change of season.

What about you? Do you have any Fall traditions you grew up with and still carry on with your family? I’d love to hear about them!

The Stanley and The Shining

~ Writer Jenny Berlin ~ 4 Comments

When you think of Colorado, what words come to mind?

Snow?

Mountains?

Hiking trails?

How about “horror?”

For me, horror in Colorado means I forgot to put my gloves on before going outside in below-freezing weather.

For a lot of other people, though, horror in Colorado means The Shining.

The Shining is a 1977 novel by Stephen King. Director Stanley Kubrick made it into an over-the-top movie starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duval. It hit theaters in 1980.

Jack Nicholson in a famous scene from the movie version of “The Shining.”

Coloradans have a bit of a love affair with the book and the movie, because our own Stanley Hotel served as the inspiration for Stephen King when he wrote the novel.

The Stanley is a beautiful hotel nestled against the foothills of Estes Park, Colorado.

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.

Guests and visitors are encouraged to wander about the hotel, take in its history and ambiance, and explore the grounds (which you can do on your own or with a guided tour). You can even wander through the hotel’s hedge maze (installed in tribute to a scene from the film).

And since Estes Park is one of my favorite places on Earth, as well as the most beautiful (in my humble opinion), I kind of click with The Stanley’s connection to all things Stephen King.

Last month production closed on a new movie called “Doctor Sleep.” This movie is also based on a Stephen King book by the same name, published in 2013.

And guess what? King wrote Doctor Sleep as a sequel to The Shining.

In the past I’ve enjoyed watching the movie adaptation of The Shining. The film is more campy and fun than scary and horrifying.

But the new movie adaptation of Doctor Sleep is going to be an entirely different animal. The director expects the movie will earn an “R” rating; and since the story involves vampires, I anticipate there will be plenty of graphic scenes involving blood and body parts. Not my cup of tea. But then, I’m a wimp about those kinds of things.

If you’re a Stephen King fan and want to learn more about the movie adaptation of Doctor Sleep, here’s a link.

What about you? Do you like horror movies? How graphic do you like your movies to be?