At Camp Pitts, near Eldora, 1920. Hiking Club Collection, Heritage Center.
One hundred years ago on what some believe to be the most appropriate of days, April Fools’ Day, 35 students got together and organized the University of Colorado Hiking Club. All of the charter members, 23 women and 12 men, had a desire to foster more interest in the natural beauty surrounding the university by promoting outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing and camping. Club members made their first official hike to Royal Arch on May 4.
Hiking was already a popular student activity, and as an offshoot of the Colorado Mountain Club, the new CU organization had little trouble recruiting members. The following year on February 28, the Hiking Club initiated its first set of 36 eager new members into the cheerful and good-natured group.
In celebration of its centennial, the Heritage Center will highlight CU’s oldest student organization with various aspects of the Hiking Club’s history throughout the year.
The April edition will focus on the 35 charter members. Meet the young men and women who founded the club and maybe you will discover a family connection!
University of Colorado Hiking Club, Meeting Minutes, April 1, 1919. Heritage Center.
The Hiking Club’s first elected officers were:
Harry Hirsch Herman
President
MechEngr 1920
Boulder, Colo.
Irma Lenore Reed
Vice President
LiberalArts 1919
Also received a diploma in Education
Jerome, Ida.
Charles Orville Rixford
Treasurer
MechEngr 1922
Denver, Colo.
Edna Elizabeth Schiller
Secretary
LiberalArts 1919, cum laude
Fort Morgan, Colo.
Anthony Stephen Lallie
Hiking Manager
ElEngr 1921
Louisville, Colo.
Original Members:
Ruth Ahlberg
LiberalArts ex1922
Odebolt, Iowa
Florence Marion Anderson
LiberalArts 1919
Denver, Colo.
Josephine Rose Barrett
LiberalArts 1921, cum laude
Also received a diploma in Education
Boulder, Colo.
Paul Anderson Blanchard
MechEngr 1923
Boulder, Colo.
Max Blom
ElEngr 1921
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Jean Sala Breitenstein
LiberalArts 1922, cum laude
Boulder, Colo.
Eva May Breyfogle
HomeEcon 1921
Boulder, Colo.
Lillian West Cobbey
LiberalArts 1921, cum laude
Denver, Colo.
Gladys Ida Crawford
LiberalArts 1922, cum laude
Grand Junction, Colo.
Frances Elizabeth Daily
HomeEcon 1920
Beloit, Kans.
Alice Endicott
LiberalArts 1922, cum laude
Cañon City, Colo
Elizabeth Foote
HomeEcon ex1922
Paonia, Colo
Oswald Lawrence Gedney
LiberalArts 1924
Also received a diploma in Commerce
Denver, Colo.
Evangeline S. Hauck
LiberalArts 1920
Rocky Ford, Colo.
Janet Lillian Holcomb
LiberalArts 1920, cum laude
Also received a diploma in Education
Boulder, Colo.
Alan Hawley Johnson
ElEngr 1921
Denver, Colo.
Ruth Mary Johnston
LiberalArts 1920
Idaho Springs, Colo.
Laura Kornelya Kincaid
LiberalArts ex1922
La Veta, Colo.
Maude Louise Lindsey
LiberalArts ex1922
Iowa Park, Tex.
Hattie Jean McFarlane
LiberalArts ex1920
Denver, Colo.
Mildred McMillen
LiberalArts 1919, magna cum laude
Also received a diploma in Education
Boulder, Colo.
Harold Joseph Morsch
LiberalArts ex1924
Denver, Colo.
Mabel Alice Reed
LiberalArts 1922
Wray, Colo.
David Rosner
LiberalArts ex1921
Boulder, Colo.
Margaret Shepardson
LiberalArts ex1922
Fort Collins, Colo.
George Gaylord Simpson
LiberalArts ex1923
Denver, Colo.
Irma Tarkoff
LiberalArts 1920, magna cum laude
Boulder, Colo.
Augusta “Gussie” Lee Wellman
LiberalArts ex1922
Mangum, Okla.
Jack Newton Withers
CivEngr 1923, with honors
Dolores, Colo.
Florence Helen Wittemyer
LiberalArts 1919
Boulder, Colo.
------------
Sources:
“Catalog of Students 1916-1923.” University of Colorado Bulletins 17-23, nos. 3 (1917-1923).
Coloradoan (yearbooks), 1918-1923. Boulder, CO: Associated Students of the University of Colorado, 1918-1923.
“Directory of Officers and Graduates, 1877-1921.” University of Colorado Bulletin 21, no. 10 (1921).
Lyman, Louise. “Hobnails Boots and Jeans of Faded Blue.” Colorado Alumnus, April 1943, 6-7.
University of Colorado Hiking Club 1919-1925 Scrapbook. Waddington Collection, Heritage Center.
University of Colorado Hiking Club, Meeting Minutes, 1919-1922. Van Valkenburg Collection, Heritage Center.
Do you have a question about this article? Is there a piece of campus history that has always intrigued you and want to know more? Send an email to the Heritage Center’s Chief Curiosity Correspondent, and see if we can answer your question. It might just end up here!
You might also be interested in:
