Oct 24--Pueblo, CO, birthplace of Calvin Turner

So today was a more exciting day.  We first explored the dam at Lake Pueblo, from which the Arkansas River flows.

The sun on the bluffs to the west of the lake at sunrise.

Dam from the river side

The Arkansas River flowing below the dam.

The biggest reason for going to Pueblo was to see the area where Ted's Dad, Calvin Turner, was born.  His birth certificate (delayed) shows his place of birth as a "camp beside Lake Minnequa".  This information was given by his mother, Mary Irene Turner.

Lake Minnequa is a body of water in the city of Pueblo.  It was created by the Colorado Fuel & Iron Co. to provide water to cool the steel they were manufacturing.  It was located on a 270 acre tract of land, and in the early 1900's, the company turned part of the land around the lake into an amusement park and bathing beach, primarily for the benefit of employees of the company. When we walked around the lake, it seemed small, but was probably larger in the early 1900's when it was created.  Mary Turner (Ted's sister) remembers her grandmother telling her that she could hear music during labor & delivery--probably music from the amusement park a short distance away.

As we started our walk from the south end of the lake, the first part of the path wasn't too inspiring.  There were grass, weeds & bushes that were so tall that you couldn't see the lake at all.

Ted counted 120 rings on this tree stump

When we got to the northeast corner of the lake, the water came into sight, and the north side was a beach-like area of white sand.  The lake was a popular place for ducks, as you can see in the pictures.

According to the histories that I found about the lake, the amusement park was located at the north end of the lake, probably in this area beyond the sand.

Here are some views from the northwest corner of the lake.

While we will never know exactly where the Turners were camped, we do know that it was somewhere near this lake, within hearing distance of the north end of the lake.  Now instead of knowing Calvin was born in Pueblo, we have a much better idea of the Turner's surroundings when he was born.  On June 11, it would probably have been much greener and warmer--a beautiful place!