DID YOU EVER WONDER? How far away is Woodmen Road after all?
Driving south on I-25 there is a sign that lists the Woodmen Road exit as 2¼ miles. Within 100 yards there is another sign that lists it as 1¼ miles. The second is correct. Do you know why it has not been corrected?
— Steve
ANSWER: Good eyes! Colorado Department of Transportation checked it out and you’re spot-on. However, because the numbers are on an overhead sign it will be spring before it’s corrected because this work is contracted out on an annual basis. Meanwhile, CDOT will check other signs for any similar discrepancies, according to spokesman Bob Wilson.
View I-25 and Woodmen Road in a larger map
Who’s the flag lowered for?
I see the flags on city buildings at half-mast but I don’t always know the occasion or in whose honor they have been lowered. I am avid about keeping up with the news and read the obituaries. But, I could use a little help sometimes. Does the city or state have a place on their websites which could provide that information? It would only enhance the honor being bestowed.
— Alan Higbie
“A good idea,” was the response of city public communications specialist John Leavitt. It will be considered.
Leavitt receives an e-mail order from either President Obama, the governor or the mayor and it’s relayed to public buildings. Most frequently city flags are at half staff for a member of the military from Colorado killed in action. It was also ordered after the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Leavitt welcomes calls to identify the person honored on the day you see half-staff flags, 385-5242.
If it becomes possible to list the honorees where it can be accessed, we’ll let you know.
Where’s the pink buffalo?
I have pictures from 1954-63 of me posing on an adobe-colored stone buffalo for family vacation pictures in Manitou. Mom’s caption reads “by Post Office.” What happened to this stone buffalo?
— Amy
ANSWER: Readers/Manitou Springs historians, have you spotted a missing, shaggy, stone American bison anywhere?
And how about the Peter Pan Wading Pool?
In 1930 construction began on the Peter Pan Wading Pool in Monument Valley Park on the west side of Monument Creek. According to residents who remember playing there, the pool was a very large oval with blocks down the center on which children could sit.
Each block was covered with tiles which were decorated with all the letters of the alphabet. Funds for the pool were provided by Mrs. Augusta B. Evans. Does anyone remember when the wading pool was taken out, why it was removed or have any photos of the pool?
— JRJ
ANSWER: Readers, if you didn’t remember Manitou’s pink bison, how about the wading pool? Thanks to everyone for their memories.
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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; blog at gazette.com. Queries must be signed. No personal replies.
