There Were Bones

I picked up a copy of The Denver Daily News this morning and an article was about Cheesman Park and the cemetery history. this brought back haunting memories from my past in Denver.

I was in junior high school (now they call it middle school) during the early to middle fifties. We would go to the public pool at Congress Park. This park is near 8^th and Elizabeth St in Denver. In those days we walked from the vicinity of Alameda Ave. and S. Federal Blvd. It must have taken us two hours or more just to get there. These were the days that you could be gone all day from home and your parents did not have to worry about child molesters, kidnappers and other nasty elements of today's society.

At that time we heard that Congress Park used to be an old cemetery. That news was interesting but not earthshaking. At the pool you could hear other kids commenting that you could find bones in the vacant lot on an undeveloped portion of the park. Naturally, we had to go check it out. It was a weedy lot but the weeds were mowed and kept down. The soil was dry and dusty. You could go around and kick at the soil and sure enough you would find bones. They were small bones, probably from a hand or foot. We never found any large bones like a thigh bone or the likes. This was interesting and after an hour or so we lost interest and threw the bones back on the ground and went on to another adventure. Now, it is intriguing to me that they were actually remains of another human. At that young age it was no big deal. Is that weird or normal?

The newspaper article kind of confused me though. Because Congress Park is four or five blocks east of Cheesman Park with residential houses in between and now I wonder if the residential houses were once a part of the cemetery. The article also referenced another website, legendsofamerica.com. This is an interesting sight to visit if you want to know more history about this area of Denver.

I never knew Cheesman Park was a cemetery. Finding out about this piece of history I now know why I felt so uncomfortable when I worked near Cheesman Park in the early nineties. I was a district manager for the Rocky Mountain News at that time. There were times when I had to work around and go through Cheesman Park at three or four in the morning. While being in that area at that time of morning just made me feel that I was constantly watched. Those were spooky times. Now, I am pretty sure I was being watched by the spirits of Cheesman Park.

This is just another piece of Denver history and my memories of the past. I enjoy reminiscing about the adventures of my life. I wonder what I will think about next.