1970’s & 80’s

The entrance was a rather non-descript flight of stairs to the lower level.  This location had been a restaurant or bar for years.  Some of the earlier tenants included The Woodlander, once owned by Jim Blanning.  Alice’s Alley and Jake’s Alley were both former establishments as well.  Now it was “The Slope” not to be confused with the ski hills. “The Slope” bar was also located in Vail and Breckenridge over the years or maybe at the same time.

The Slope had a long bar down the left side of the room with more seating beyond that.  The rest of The Slope included five or six carpeted tiers with lots of pillows.  From the tiers you could comfortably lie down and watch whatever movie or show was on the big screen at the far end of the room.   The local teenagers were permitted to come watch the movies or cartoons during the day but had to leave around 5:00PM when the skiers were coming off the hills.  During the summers they were permitted to stay a little longer.  There was always fresh popcorn in the “Trolley.” 

I remember well watching the old Gulliver’s Travels movies, Road Runner cartoons and the infamous and hilariously funny, Bambi Meets Godzilla.  The first time I ever saw “The Golden Voyage of Sinbad” was with friends at The Slope.  This was also the place which provided Warren Miller’s early films extensive local viewings.   I think one or two of his premiers were held at The Slope as well.

By the time I was old enough to drink The Slope’s run was nearly over; but, I do remember a few trips home from college, meeting up with my old high school friends for a chance to catch up.  The place is long gone now but if you ask anyone who lived in Aspen in the 1970’s they will have a story to tell about time spent at “The Slope.”

1880’s to 1974

Our property included the main house and two “out buildings.”  Over the years the larger of the two out buildings, a garage/carriage house,  was removed, leaving the Coal Shed and Wash Room still standing.  Elizabeth Beck, my great grandmother, did her laundry in the front half of the shed with coal for cooking and heating stored in the back half.

As a small child growing up on the property, I paid the old shed little attention.   It was used as a place to store parts and equipment for my father’s earth moving business, “Dooger Digging Excavating” as well as the usual family items that get stored for decades.  The kids in the family used it as a “playhouse” when there was enough room to do so until years later when Marvin Moriarty gave us a playhouse of our own.

I remember on one occasion walking into the back half of the shed and much to my surprise there hung five or six deer from the overhead beams.  It had been a successful hunting season for my father and his friends, and they were using the shed as a place to prepare the deer for eating or freezing.  I did not realize they were in there and it caught me off-guard.  The urge to play in there was gone in an instant.

This was not a watershed event; there was nothing evil or lascivious about those animals hanging in the old shed.  It is just one of those memories, no matter how brief, that has stayed on my mind as if it happened just days ago.  I asked my father recently if he used the shed for that purpose often and he does not recall doing more than once or twice.

In 1974, when our house was being moved to “The West End” the old shed was left behind.  My parents did move the “free standing” garage along with the house but the new property did not have the room for the shed.  Sepp Brungs, the owner of the “original” Molly Gibson Lodge, next door had purchased the property.  As a part of the property sale, the shed was to be torn down by my father. 

After standing for nearly 90 years, time had come to an end for the old shed.  It had served the family well, providing a dry place to store wood and coal, a Landry room for generations and a great storage area.  Old pictures of the house include the shed, or sheds over the years.