Whatever was going on in Delta, “Gordon Hodgin was in the middle of it,” said his daughter-in-law, Lucy Hodgin.
Hodgin, who died June 30 at 93, was sometimes called “Mr. Delta.” He was a local storyteller, amateur historian, fundraiser and unstoppable civic promoter.
He was a familiar figure as he walked through the town of 8,000 to visit, or when he played golf, which he didn’t begin until age 65.
His “uniform” was a jumpsuit, of which he had several in various colors. Some were for winter and others for summer.
Two weeks before he died, he appeared at the Delta City Council, pleading with members to figure out a way to divert long-haul trucks off Main Street. He had been on that case for about 60 years, said a friend, Matt Soper.
Hodgin had better luck with a butterfly exhibit that the Smithsonian Institution wanted to buy from the Delta County Historical Society Museum.
The collection, which features 700 butterflies, is titled “World Class Butterfly Collection.” It came to the museum in 1965 from the family of Marion Jungbluth, a man who lived in Delta for some time and who had traveled the world collecting the butterflies, said Jim Wetzel, museum director and curator.
Years ago, people from the Smithsonian contacted Hodgin, a museum devotee, and asked to buy the collection. He turned them down, saying it had been given to the Delta museum, not the Smithsonian.
The story was one of many Hodgin had to tell. He also told about the local woman who had grown up in Siam (now Thailand) where she taught the king’s children. She gave the museum a silver-embroidered black silk robe that had belonged to the king.
Hodgin regaled people about the 1893 robbery of the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Delta. The three robbers killed the bank cashier, then two of them tried to escape on their horses with $700 in gold and silver. They were killed by the hardware store owner from across the street. The third robber was captured.
Hodgin’s stories “have made history come alive for me,” Soper said. “He had a flair for storytelling.”
Wetzel acknowledged Hodgin was a great storyteller, “but sometimes didn’t have all the facts right. He might embellish a little, but we never minded,” Wetzel said.
Hodgin devoted countless hours to the museum, which he helped establish. A few days before Christmas each year, he would go there at night and put a decorated tree on a table inside.
Hodgin was avid about whatever cause would help the community, from raising money for recreation centers to civic clubs. He even raised money for organizations he didn’t belong to if he thought the cause was worthy.
“He had a good spiel and would play something to the hilt,” said his son, Ron Hodgin.
Sometimes Gordon Hodgin would go to a bank and tell officers he wanted $500 for a certain cause, adding that another bank had already given that amount. He’d tell that story to the first bank he’d visited. But he’d get the $500 from each, his son said.
Gordon Hodgin was born May 30, 1913, in Cañon City. He came to Delta by bus in 1929 and got a job with a department store. Later, he became part owner of Schmidt Hardware and managed the business until his retirement in 1978. On June 23, 1936, he married Shirley Schmidt; she survives him.
He served on the boards of the Delta County Historical Society, Delta Library, Delta Savings and Loan Bank, Delta Centennial Commission and the Council Tree Pow Wow.
In addition to his wife and son, Hodgin is survived by his daughter, Shari Kay Reeder of Grand Junction; three grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and his sister, Virginia Overcash of Colorado Springs. A son, Lance Hodgin, preceded him in death.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-820-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.
