1960’s to Today

The Hickory House has always been a favorite hangout for the hard working folks of the valley.  Breakfast and lunch are a particularly good time to catch up with friends and get the “pulse” of what is going on.  This is the one place in town where friends, business associates as well as competitors meet on “common ground.”  The Hickory House is like Aspen’s own United Nations assembly where friendly, civil conversations take place and no unrest is permitted.

I remember getting up at 5:30am to go to the Hickory House with my father.  This was the place to go to find work, offer temporary employment or discuss projects and plans.  Here you would find everything from lawyers to builders, stone masons, carpenters, earth movers, architects and developers.  Everyone had an opinion and many of them were willing to share it.  The “East Wing” was usually full by 6:30 in the morning.  The “Knights of the Round Table” were the earliest of the arrivals and somehow these individuals always had room at the table for “just one more person.” 

Bonnie, Reed, Ace, Gloria and the rest of the employees never let a cup run dry; and, how they kept track of everybody’s orders and bills is still an unsolved mystery.

I remember sitting at the round table with my father, joined by people who clearly did not get along out on the job sites but at the table you could almost mistake them for family.  During hard times I remember my father getting there as early as possible to try to see what work he could get; and, in times of too much work he needed to get there even earlier to get any of the available workers before someone else offered them jobs. 

The Hickory House has had a number of owners over the years and yet the place never changes much and never has.  Owners have come in and tried to make changes and if the “regulars” did not like the changes, they just did things the old way.

The old Bear on the roof over the entrance has a long story of its own and has moved around on a number of occasions. Temple Allen moved to Texas or somewhere, but the Hickory House is still there providing a place for “the old timers” to go and swap stories, tell a few lies or find work. Every town has a place like this and even with attempts to change things, they always remain the same.  

I live in Lakewood, Colorado, now and my attempts to find our “Hickory House” have yielded nothing, yet!  I will keep looking as everyone needs a place to go and the local Starbucks just don’t fill the bill.