Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlelady from Florida. I am here tonight to talk about the Jewish history in the West and in Colorado. Colorado was still an untamed wilderness when gold was discovered near Pike's Peak in 1858. The 59ers, fortune hunters from across the country, came to our State, growing the population and building a diverse economy. Jews, too, were part of that quest. Over the millennia, our Jewish people have suffered many exiles, often wandering and migrating from one country to another, frequently meeting with hostility and hardship. It was in that spirit that Jews immigrated to the American West, where we established viable communities and maintained the Jewish heritage, despite great obstacles. The unpredictability of gold mining and a growing demand for supplies encouraged many of the Jewish 59ers to establish small business in new towns and mining camps throughout Colorado. Over the next two decades, Jews settled in Leadville, Cripple Creek, Aspen, Trinidad, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Central City, and Denver. One of the first Jewish pioneers was Fred Zadek Salomon, who arrived in Auraria in June of 1859. He founded and became manager of the first general mercantile company in Colorado. The two were later joined by a third brother, Adolph Salomon, who became the first Jewish elected official in Colorado as a trustee of Greeley, Colorado. Another one of our famous early Jewish Coloradans was Frances Wisebart Jacobs, who was born in 1843 and died in 1892.…”