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I’ve worked in IT for around 30 years. I used to tell young people that working in technology is more about solving puzzles and helping people than it is about the technology itself. With cyber threats growing more complex, my work necessarily turned to cybersecurity. I’ve seen more of the human heart than I ever…
In 1905, the Rocky Mountain News dismissed the “flat country” of Baca and Prowers as good for “nothing… but broomcorn”—a cash crop that, paired with cane for feed, kept families afloat even as storms and feed shortages killed herds. A generation later, that same “nothing but broomcorn” would be recast as a badge of identity…
Sam Konkel’s 1929 campaign to bring government closer—and avoid another county-seat war In early 1929, southeast Colorado revisited an old frontier argument: county government was too far away. Residents on the far east end of Las Animas County faced trips of “100 miles or more” to reach Trinidad. The cure, local boosters said, was bold—create…
Baca County History Book Reprint Nears Final Proof — and Volume II Submissions Coming Soon The reprint of the original 1983 Baca County History Book is one step closer to completion. After sending off the first proof copy earlier this month, we’ve been carefully reviewing every page, making improvements to ensure the final product is…
Who recalls the following?BEEEEEP. SCREEEECH. BEEBONG-BEEBONG. That’s the sound of AOL dial-up internet — a sound etched into the memory of the 1990s. For most Americans, it’s a punchline from another era. But AOL’s decision to shut down its dial-up service on September 30 is more than a quirky tech obituary. It’s another reminder of…
The 1939 Plesiosaur Discovery in Baca County In March 1939, one of Colorado’s most remarkable fossil discoveries emerged from the eroded banks of a remote creek in Baca County, about 13.5 miles north of Pritchett. A recent flood had carved away a 20-foot shale cliff on the Earl Kern’s farm which was occupied by Vernon…
NOTE: A couple years ago, I released Letters, Stories and Incidents on the Santa Fe Trail : The Bent’s Fort Years. Recently, someone asked me if the book was any good. My answer? Oh yes. It has the best discussion of the “innumerable” buffalo herds of the American West you’ll find anywhere outside the writings…
In 2025, nearly a century after my grandparents first opened their hardware store on South Main Street in Springfield, Colorado, the building’s aging wooden facade was removed by local resident and current owner Jessica Caricato. What she uncovered wasn’t just brick and mortar—it was memory. For the first time, I was face to face with…
When I give talks about technology and innovation, I often draw on an unconventional example. One of my favorites is broomcorn—that old-fashioned crop which was a cash crop staple for many years where I grew up and was once essential for making hand-tied ‘straw’ brooms. At first glance, it seems like a footnote in agricultural…
We’re excited to share that the digitization of the original Baca County History Book is now complete. This has been a labor of love—one that involved careful disassembly, professional-grade scanning, and digital processing of all 749 pages. Thanks to everyone who encouraged, advised, and shared ideas along the way. Today, we’re able to preserve this…
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