Like many small towns, there once existed a “flop house” that not only provided basic accommodations but was filled with characters that were willing to do anything for a warm meal, ski ticket or a laugh.  In Aspen this place was known as “The Garrett.”   The Garrett was located at 222 West Hopkins Street in an old Victorian house.

Over the years The Garrett was home to many of Aspen’s greatest characters from the 1960’s and 70’s.  My family lived a block to the east and my father spent considerable time down at the Garrett since most of its residents of that time were his close friends.

Throughout the years many pranks were played on one another, and the stories from those days are legend.  This particular story centers around an ill-fated idea to build a restaurant on top of Shadow Mountain with a tram ride to the top once completed.  Hans Grominger, one of Aspen’s greatest characters of that time, envisioned the restaurant and set out to accomplish his goal despite almost universal opposition from the community.  Over the years Hans ran electricity to the top and even installed a light to give people an idea of where the restaurant would be located.  He also ran a few cables up to the top in anticipation of installing the tram once the permits were approved.

On a number of occasions the “boys” at the Garrett tried to shoot out the light with rifles from their front porch.  There was even a running bet on who could accomplish this task.  Keep in mind, the light was about 350 vertical feet above town and with the angle of trajectory this would be a good quarter of a mile shot.  My father even got into the action and vowed to be the one who would extinguish the light.

With the help of John “Johnny Blue Shoes” Zurfluh my father came up with a plan to win the bet and collect the bounty.  At a prearranged time my father would make two shots and John would turn off the power to the light.  Their plan went off like clockwork and my father collected his winnings.  Later ,when Hans came home and saw the power turned off he turned the light back on.  At this point the boys at The Garrett knew they had been had.

“Nice shooting, Pop!”