Provided by Don Morreale
This column tells the stories of the people whose faces appear on “A Colorado Panorama: A People’s History,” a two-block-long tile mural on the southeast side of the Colorado Convention Center. Inspired by Howard Zinn’s groundbreaking book, “A People’s History of the United States,” the mural was created by artist Barbara Jo Revelle in 1989 to celebrate those who rarely make it into the history books, but who have nonetheless had a profound impact on the history of our state. This week we’re featuring profiles of Sadie Likens and Neal Cassady.
Sadie Likens – Denver’s First Female Police Matron (1840-1920)
Born Sarah Jane Morehouse, “Sadie” married attorney William Wallace Likens in 1869. The couple moved to Boulder in 1881 where William Wallace opened a law practice. He was later indicted for fraud and sentenced to four years in prison, during which time Sadie divorced him and moved with their children to Denver. She took a job as Colorado’s first female jail matron, which revealed to her her life’s purpose — to help others.
She went on to serve as superintendent of the State Home and Industrial School for Girls, and became the first director of the Florence Crittenton Home, where she helped to rehabilitate prostitutes. She worked with orphans and was an honorary member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Concerned for the welfare of veterans, she did relief work during the Spanish-American War, and volunteered with the American Legion during WWI. A marker honoring Sadie Likens for her selfless compassion was placed in front of the State Capitol in 1923.
Neal Cassady – Inspiration for Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road” (1926-1968)
Neal Cassady grew up on Denver’s skid row. As a kid, he was constantly in trouble for stealing cars and fencing stolen goods. At 15, he caught the attention of educator Justin Brierly, who got him into East High and supervised his study. In 1946, Cassady went to New York where he met Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. The trio became lifelong friends, traveling cross-country together on road trips that would inspire Kerouac’s novel, “On the Road.”
Cassady’s stream-of-consciousness letters and his rapid-fire manner of speaking influenced Kerouac’s writing style. In 1947, Cassady met and married University of Denver theater major Carolyn Robinson. They moved to California, had three children, and Cassady went to work for the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1958 he was busted for selling pot and sentenced to two years in San Quentin.
He later met author Ken Kesey, joined the Merry Pranksters, and drove the school bus on the journey celebrated in Tom Wolfe’s 1968 best-seller, “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.”
Week One: Barney L. Ford and Agnes Smedley
Week Two: Benjamin Barr Lindsey and Anne Bassett
Week Three: William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody and Clara Brown
Week Four: William “Big Bill” Haywood and Anne Evans
Week Five: Buckskin Charley and “Babe” Didrikson-Zaharias
Week Six: Antonia Brico and Chief Black Kettle
Week Seven: Casimiro Barela and Daisy Anderson
Week Eight: Chogyam Trungpa and Ellen Elliot Jack
Week Nine: Elizabeth Hickok Robbins Stone and Chin Lin Sou
Week Ten: Emily Griffith and Dalton Trumbo
Week Eleven: Chipeta and Wallace Werner
Week Twelve: Eve Drewelowe and Davis Waite
Week Thirteen: Dr. Carl J. Johnson and Florence Sabin
Week Fourteen: Damon Runyon and Emma Langdon
Week Fifteen: Ellison Onizuka and Golda Meir
Week Sixteen: John Lewis Dyer and Helen Hunt Jackson
Week Seventeen: Edward Berthoud and Frances Wisebart Jacobs
Week Eighteen: Hattie McDaniel and Enos Mills
Week Nineteen: Isabella Bird and Francis Schlatter
Week Twenty: Laura Gilpin and Henry O. Wagoner
Week Twenty-One: Justina Ford and George Norlin
Week Twenty-Two: George Bent and Julia Archibald Holmes
Week Twenty-Three: Herbert Bayer and Mabel Barbee Lee
Week Twenty-Four: Martha Maxwell and Chief Ignacio
Week Twenty-Five: Isom Dart and Marvel Crosson
Week Twenty-Six: Jack Dempsey and Mary Long
Week Twenty-Seven: Mary Lathrop and James Beckwourth
Week Twenty-Eight: John Otto and Mina Loy
Week Twenty-Nine: Mary Rippon and Joseph Henry Stuart
Week Thirty: Lauren Watson and Molly Brown
Week Thirty-One: Mary “Mother” Jones and Chief Little Bear
Week Thirty-Two: Chief Little Raven and Neva Romero
Week Thirty-Three: Olga Little and Louis Tikas
Week Thirty-Four: Lowell Thomas and Poker Alice Ivers
Week Thirty-Five: Mariano Medina and Dr. Portia Lubchenko McKnight
Week Thirty-Six: Tsianina Redfeather and Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez
Week Thirty-Seven: Minoru Yasui and Ruth Cave Flowers