NEWS RELEASE
October 23, 2008
Contact: Paula Manini, 719-846-7217

Trick or Treat Laughter

Trinidad, CO--Children will enjoy “Laughter is the Best Medicine” in the Trinidad History Museum Bookstore, which was formerly a doctor’s office, at 312 E. Main Street.  Everything takes place on Friday, October 31, 3:00-5:00 PM, as part of the “Safe Trick or Treat for Kids and Costume Contest” sponsored by the First National Bank of Trinidad.

A goofy crew of doctors and nurses will be on hand to diagnosis your condition and dispense Halloween jokes and even a dose of history! The silliest, shortest-ever doctor’s visit will take under two minutes.

Four doctors had their practice in the bookstore building. It began in 1906 when Dr. Robert Davenport, an ear, nose and throat specialist, had the building constructed for his medical office and an upstairs family apartment.  Doctors William Howard, Bernard Cawley, and David Barglow, who became the building’s namesake, came after Davenport.

In 1964, Alfred Freudenthal purchased and donated the Barglow Building to the Colorado Historical Society, which by then was operating the Bloom Mansion and Pioneer Museum (now called the Santa Fe Trail Museum) as public museums with plans to restore the Baca House and then also open it as a museum.

Museum founder and director Arthur Roy Mitchell, who had been living in the Baca House, moved into the Barglow Building apartment.  All the directors since—Ruth Henritze, Joy Poole, Mark Gardner, and Paula Manini—also lived in the apartment.  In 1995, Manini moved out so the second floor could be used as the museum support center. 

Today the first floor contains the museum bookstore, state byways information center, and the director’s office--which still has some cabinets from the doctors’ office.  Have a look the next time you visit!

For more information, call 719-846-7217. The Trinidad History Museum is a property of the Colorado Historical Society.

History Colorado
History Colorado is the public programs, services and 12 statewide museums and historic sites of the Colorado Historical Society. The Colorado Historical Society was established in 1879 and is headquartered at the Colorado History Museum in Denver. The Colorado Historical Society aspires to engage people in our State’s heritage through collecting, preserving, and discovering the past in order to educate and provide perspectives for the future. In addition to History Colorado, this educational institution contains the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, the Stephen H. Hart Research Library, and administers the State Historical Fund—a preservation-based grants program funded by limited stakes gaming tax revenues. For more information visit www.coloradohistory.org or call (303) 866-3682.

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