DID YOU EVER WONDER: Shrinking pond presents problems
On July 12 Bob Aschermann asked about the disappearing pond in Monument Valley Park and we learned it has a leak. Readers asked what would happen to the fish, turtles, etc..
ANSWER: Kurt Schroeder of the parks department said there are no stocked fish in the pond, no trout or catfish, just “trash fish,” something fishermen are intimately familiar with. They aren’t salvageable, fishable or edible, he said. His department will check if there are any turtles (none seen so far) or other living things in the pond before it subsides and they’ll have a plan of action.
Recycling on Academy
Where are public bins for recycling on North Academy Boulevard since the ones at Garden Ranch YMCA were removed, asked Polly Parent on July 18. “BAH” wrote, “We lost the ones on Palmer Park and Academy and also Kings Soopers at Austin Bluffs.” Judy Doukas reported there are “extensive recycling bins, including plastics” behind the North Academy Boulevard Wal-Mart.
Broadmoor Bluffs house
Valerie asked about an abandoned four-story structure near Broadmoor Bluffs with one room per story and what teens in the dead of night thought was a gravesite.
Jim Bensberg knew the history because it was built in the 1930s by the Bensberg family and is now on property owned by Christ Church.
“It was originally designed to be a water tower, but when a 1950 fire destroyed the main home, the Bensberg family moved into the building. It was a working ranch of sorts for many years and had sheep, cattle and chickens. To my knowledge, there is no gravesite on the 115-acre property.”
The Old Corral
Debbie Lehse has a photo of her father in front of a 1954 nightclub, The Old Corral. Where was it, she asked?
And, my, did we get answers. Women who danced there, guys who played music there and scoped out the women who danced there, and many more who had memories. Donald Pegler’s City Directories listed the club at 2104B E. Platte Ave., in 1952 and at 2106 E.Platte Ave., in 1957. and site of The Black Sheep nightclub today.
Conejos Park
It’s where American the Beautiful is today, but when and why did Conejos Park disappear, asked JRJ?
We had a lovely response: Ruben James Ornelas, local hip-hop artist “G-Lowkey,” e-mailed, “What happened to Conejos? Nothing! The Soul of Conejos is still here. It resides in the hearts of the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the families that lived and formed the neighborhood,” including his own.
All the Conejos families will have their third annual reunion Sept. 13 at America The Beautiful Park and everyone’s invited.
Restaurant on Austin Bluffs
John H. tried to remember the name of a restaurant with great French onion soup behind KFC at Austin Bluffs and Academy.
Many, many fans remembered McKenna’s Pub.
Mark Baggett and Mike Jensen had an Air Force Academy roommate, Ted Maxwell, who was addicted to the soup and needed a weekly fix.
Bill Brown said it was “the birthplace of the Pittsburgh Steeler fan club which meets at the Overtime Lounge.”
We heard from musicians who played there, couples and business groups who ate there, those who performed dinner theater there and many more. Check them out on the blog on gazette.com.
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Send questions to linda.navarro@ gazette.com with “Column Question” in the subject line; mail to “Did You Ever Wonder?,” P.O. Box 1779, Colorado Springs 80901. Queries must be signed. No personal replies.
