Coal Creek School celebration resumes a century-old tradition

By Doc Watson
Special to the Herald Times
RBC | The Coal Creek School restoration story the Herald Times has been following culminated on Saturday, Sept. 23 with the 125th anniversary of the dedicatory ball at the school in 1892. Carrying on the tradition of a century ago, participants brought plenty of desserts for the celebration. This time, however, they added barbecue.
While the weather was a little on the cold side, the atmosphere more than made up for it as folks visited not only over lunch but also inside the building as they stepped back in time. This school provided an education to students of the Coal Creek area for 56 years. It was also the focus of community life and a gathering place for many social and community events.
Also adding to the atmosphere was some fine fiddle music from David Cole with piano

accompaniment by Mary Kay Krueger. Among many great tunes, they played the “Ashokan Farewell,” composed by American folk musician Jay Ungar in 1982 and made famous as the title theme of the 1990 PBS television miniseries “The Civil War.”
The Cole Creek School is now on the National Register of Historic Places, the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties, and is a Historic Place of Rio Blanco County.
Meeker does, indeed, have a rich history, and this restoration has added another gold nugget to that wealth.