Q&A
Dr. Gordon Davis is executive director of the Aurora History Museum, which has had a revival of sorts over the past several years. Attendance has jumped an average of 25 percent every year for the past six years. Last year, 39 percent more people visited the museum than in 2004.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Davis served as the senior adviser to the Ministry of Information in the kingdom of Bahrain, where he was in charge of creating the country’s first national museum. He has served as a museum, conservation or exhibit consultant on more than 25 projects worldwide, including a number of projects for the U.S. State Department.
Q: Why should we care about history?
A: History surrounds us. Everything we did yesterday and before is history. The more we know about the towns we live in and their history, the more enriching our lives become. We hopefully gain an appreciation every time we drive past a building or house or on a street that it has a unique history.
Q: The Aurora History Museum’s exhibits about the city are brutally frank, detailing the city’s past controversial housing developments, political conflicts and more. Have people ever wanted the museum to tone it down?
A: No. We need to be honest with history. We’re not revisionist. The best approach is to show what really happened, and we don’t do it to shock people. It’s important for residents to know that city life and government isn’t always perfect.
Q: The museum has had some popular exhibits recently, from the history of dinosaurs and science fiction to the lore of Harley-Davidsons and suburbs. Has popular culture now become historical topic?
A: We are not only trying to popularize history but to find those topics that are appealing to a large segment of the population as well as diverse groups. The Harley exhibit is taking an icon that everyone knows about and treating it in a historical context. We also did that with bicycles and Barbies. We plan to do it with rock ‘n’ roll, looking at the groups that came through the metro area with artifacts they used. We have an exhibit coming up this summer entitled “On the Backs of Soldiers.” We will be going through several time periods to show what soldiers carried into battle.
– Jeremy P. Meyer, Denver Post staff writer
REGIONAL NOTES
GOLDEN, LAKEWOOD
Cities offer mapping data online
Online mapping information for the cities of Golden and Lakewood is available on the two cities’ websites via ezMaps software. The maps provide information about zoning, trails, school attendance areas and council wards and offer aerial photos of property.
Lakewood staff developed the software and made it available at a nominal cost to Golden.
For Golden information, go to maps. cityofgolden.net. Click on the Golden ezMaps logo, enter the address, tap the return key on the keyboard or click “go,” and choose the address from the list that appears.
For Lakewood, go to maps.lakewood.org.
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Entries sought on county’s history
Submissions are being accepted by the Jefferson County Historical Commission for the 2006 annual writers’ awards.
They must be original, unpublished works that relate directly to the factual history of Jefferson County. Papers may not exceed 2,500 words, excluding endnotes, footnotes and bibliographies.
A three-judge panel will evaluate entries, which must be postmarked by April 3 and mailed to: Writers’ Award Contest, Jefferson County Historical Commission, c/o Archives & Records Management Department, 100 Jefferson County Parkway, Suite 1500, Golden, CO 80419-1500.
Winners will be notified by June 15.
For an entry form or for more information, contact Duncan McCollum at 303-271-8446 or dmccollu@jeffco.us.
DENVER POST STAFF REPORTS
