I write westerns partly because I want to preserve our
frontier heritage. (I also write them for fun and profit.) Recently, I
encountered someone who is preserving the Old West in a much more concrete way.
Laurel McHargue and her cohorts are raising money to preserve the Tabor Opera
House in Leadville, Colorado.
Listed on the National Trust for
Historical Preservation, the Tabor Opera House is a unique artefact of our
frontier culture.
Known as “the most perfect place for amusement between Chicago and San Francisco,” this unique and historic opera house is poised to once again become a vibrant community asset in a transitioning mining town nestled amongst Colorado’s highest peaks.
Built in 1879 in a mere 100 days by mining tycoon Horace Tabor, the opera house stage has been graced by entertainers such as Oscar Wilde, Harry Houdini, and Judy Collins.
The opera house has been minimally and seasonally operated for decades and suffers from deferred maintenance due to lack of resources. A full rehabilitation is estimated to cost up to $10 million, a hefty lift in a small mountain town of 2,600 people. The future of the building is uncertain as the National Trust and partners work to transition its ownership structure.
I have a kinship with this project because Horace Tabor has
a walk-on in my book, Leadville. Further, the proof-of-life note for Captain Joseph McAllen's daughter was
written on the back of a Tabor Opera House broadside.
Laurel McHargue organized the Leadville
Literary League. These brainy women noodled how to raise money to preserve
the most important historic building in this once-prospering mining town. In
the end, they took their inspiration from the 2003 film Calendar Girls.
You can get sneak peek under the covers in this Calendar Girls Video Trailer
You can help save the Tabor Opera House by pre-ordering your
2018 historic calendar at http://leadvillelaurel.com/
or by contacting Laurel McHargue (laurel.mchargue@gmail.com) for an order form!
They’ll be the most unique gifts you can buy for all your 2018 gift-giving needs!
All net proceeds from sales of this calendar will be donated to the Tabor OperaHouse Preservation Foundation to save and restore this beautiful 1800s Opera House
Here's an even better idea. The calendar cost is $19.95, but if you can pledge $25 to the project on Kickstarter, you'll receive a calendar as part of your pledge. For only five dollars more, you become a patron of the arts.
 |
| Honest westerns filled with dishonest characters. |
Excerpt from Leadville:
“Jeff, he
ripped a Tabor Opera House flyer off the wall.”
“So?”
“It went up yesterday
and advertises Anna Held. If she writes her note on the backside, it’ll prove
she’s alive as much as her pen hand.”
“She’s alive.
Otherwise they wouldn’t agree to get a note from her.”
“But once
they’ve given us the letter, do they have any reason to keep her alive?”