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 William “Billy” Adams and Mother Pancratia Bonfils.
William “Billy” Adams – State Governor and Founder of Adams State University (1861-1954)
Like many newcomers to Colorado, Billy Adams’ family came hoping its salubrious climate might help cure their son George of tuberculosis. As a teenager, Billy went to work as a ranch hand, gradually acquiring enough acreage and cattle to establish his own spread near Alamosa. Though he had little formal education, he managed to educate himself by reading books on history, law, and economics while sitting astride his horse. He was elected Treasurer, and then Mayor, of Alamosa, and went on to become County Commissioner at the age of 22. In 1886, he was elected to the State Legislature, first as a representative and then as a senator, a position he would hold for the next 38 years. His signal achievement as a state legislator was a bill he introduced creating Adams State University, which was named in his honor. Although a Democrat, he won the governorship in 1926, and again in 1930, both times during Republican landslides.
Mother Pancratia Bonfils – Founder of Loretto Heights College (1852-1915)
Mother Pancratia was the first cousin of Frederick Bonfils, co-founder, editor, and publisher of The Denver Post. Although born to Protestant parents, she was educated by the Sisters of Loretto in St. Louis, and at the age of 14 joined the order. Three years later she was sent to Colorado by stagecoach to teach at St. Mary’s Academy, a Catholic girls’ school in Denver. Eventually she was appointed Mother Superior of the Academy. In that capacity she was able to secure support from local bankers and businessmen to purchase a 45-acre property in southwest Denver with the intention of building a dormitory for St. Mary’s boarders. Her long-range plan was to turn the property into a Catholic woman’s college, but she died before she could realize her dream. Three years later Loretto Heights became a full-fledged, degree-granting college for Catholic women with an annual enrollment of 800. In 1930, Pancratia Hall was named in her honor.
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
Week Thirty-Eight: Sadie Likens and Neal Cassady
Week Thirty-Nine: Nikola Tesla and Rose Marie Tabor
Week Forty: Oliver Toussaint Jackson and Sarah Platt-Decker
Week Forty-One: Portia Mansfield and Luis Junior Martinez
Week Forty-Two: Chief Ouray and Anne Ellis
Week Forty-Three: Stan Brakhage and Shawsheen
Week Forty-Four: Mary “Grandma” Shelton and Thomas Ferril
Week Forty-Five: Silver Heels and Oliver E. Aultman
Week Forty-Six: Louella Gooding and Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith
Week Forty-Seven: Silas Soule and Dr. Mary Elizabeth Bates
Week Forty-Eight: Tim Flores and Irene Elizabeth Jerome Hood
Week Forty-Nine: Marcella Lucero Trujillo and William N. Byers
Week Fifty: Virginia Neal Blue and William Henry Jackson
Week Fifty-One: George Morrison and Elizabeth Beranek