This Billy Goat Gruff looks like he has a sweeter side, but who knows? Rick Charbonneau photographed this during his many travels around Colorado. Where is it, and what kind of personality does he have? Send an e-mail with the answers to ColoradoSunday@ denverpost.com. Include a digital photo of yourself and your full address in the message. Our favorite correct answer wins a $50 gas card.
How’d you know?
Last week: Poulos Park wall mural, Paonia
The winner: Amy Gearhard, Westminster (pictured with her family)
The gentleman in the bottom of this mural is my great-grandfather, whom our family refers to as Papa Tony Bear. The photo was taken on Main Street, at the base of a hill bearing a large white letter “P”, which proudly overlooks the small Colorado town of Paonia. Much of our family, including my grandmother, Thelma Bear, still enjoys life in this quaint little town. The small house in the upper left portion of the picture is where my grandmother and grandfather raised their children – including my mom, Cindi Crabtree. My papa and his dad founded Bear Coal Co., the coal mine that brought life to much of the valley.
Named for flower: Forest Sutton, Aurora
(The mural) is in a small park (Poulos Park) on the east side of Grand Avenue right in the middle of town. The mural depicts historical scenes of the area … The part of the mural not shown in the picture contains the Paonia train depot, a horse-drawn carriage and blossoming fruit trees. The two men in the mural are Samuel Wade and Tony Bear. Samuel Wade was the town’s founder and named the town after the Latin name for the peony flower. (Those same flowers are found in the mural directly below his image.)
More relation: Vicki Piquette, Cañon City
The mural is in Poulos Park in Paonia and was first painted onto the building that originally was the theater owned and run by the Bear family, the Bear Theater. It is now the Paradise Theater … This mural was painted when I was growing up and was special to me because Samuel Wade is a distant relative of mine and I was very proud to have a “relative” on that wall for all to see.
