PRELUDE

I came to Marble, Colo. in 1923 while it was still a very active thriving little city. My first husband, Theodore (Ted) A. Herman, worked in the marble mill almost twenty years: then after a few years sickness he died, and I remained a widow over eleven years, never leaving Marble except for brief visits with relatives. Many times during these winters I was the only person in town, yet I was never bored or afraid. The telephone company kept my phone in good working order and I received my mail three times a week. I had a good radio, loved to read, write letters, and do my pyro-plastic work to sell at the stand (Ken’s Pop Stand) during the summers. This stand was started by my grandson, Kenneth E. Herman, in 1948, as a nestegg for his college education. When I quit teaching school in 1952, we ran it together until 1956 when he graduated from South High School in Denver and felt he must find a more lucrative job. I have run it alone since.

In late 1956 I married again and now spend my summers in Marble and winters in Tucson, Ariz., where my husband is a Linotype operator on a Tucson daily paper. It is our earnest desire to spend the rest of our lives in Marble after he retires.

In attempting to compile a history of the Crystal River Valley I have accumulated such a vast amount of interesting material that it would be impossible to condense it into a booklet of 10,000 words. So I have decided to write a brief history of the various locales and answer the questions most often asked at the pop stand. Then after another year or two of research I’ll try to write a book containing a more detailed history and memoirs of the many interesting people who have lived in the valley, if I feel the public would like such a volume.

If this little booklet has given you some pleasure and knowledge of this marvelous valley, then it has accomplished its purpose and I am happy. I am sure that once you have visited this portion of the western slope and know its history you will love it as I do.

Theresa V. Francis

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THE DEVIL’S PUNCH BOWLS—half way between Schofield and Crystal City. The road is to the right, high above these falls. —Photo courtesy Colin L. Moore, Gunnison, Colo.

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