GOLD HILL — The revamping of the bus that the Blue Bird ladies took to Gold Hill is no ordinary passion project. It is a community effort to bring a piece of Gold Hill history back to life. 

On September 5, the Gold Hill Museum fundraiser and bocce ball tournament was held to enable the recreation of the Blue Bird ladies' bus. It was on display so people could see how much of it the museum had already rebuilt. 

Boyd Brown, who is on the museum board and whose family has lived in Gold Hill since the beginning of the town, said that the bus was found in pieces in a garage in town. Debra Yeager, the president of the Gold Hill Museum, confirmed, saying that the truck was just a chassis when it was found. 

The museum is rebuilding the bus part by part. So the fundraiser was organized to raise the money needed to buy the missing parts, and at the same time people could have some fun playing bocce ball. Brown said, “The fundraiser is to get the money to finalize the bed, the cab, the seating, and the canopy on the truck.” 

The Gold Hill Museum is trying to bring back this piece of history because the vehicle is partially responsible for the creation of Gold Hill as a town. 

A photo of the truck the Blue Bird ladies in their bus. The photo is on display at the Gold Hill Museum.

Photo by Polina Savich

Before it was a bus for the Blue Bird ladies, the vehicle was just a truck. The truck was owned by Tim Walter, who bought it in 1916 and first learned how to drive on it. Walter would then transform it into a bus by adding seats and a canopy so he could drive the ladies from Boulder up to Gold Hill, said Yeager.

Jean Sherwood, with the help of other women, created the Blue Bird ladies. Sherwood was an instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago, and when she came to Boulder she created a community of creative women who would all live and study together. 

Sherwood built a cottage near Chautauqua Park in 1911, which served as a place for women to stay as they went through educational experiences together, said Yeager. These communities of women were found all across the country at the time. 

Sherwood recreated the Chautauqua Park experience, but this time up in the mountains. She bought the Bluebird lodge in Gold Hill for $350 so that she and the other ladies could live a mountain lifestyle, Brown explained. The ladies that came to the park could choose to go up to Gold Hill with Sherwood for two weeks at a time. 

The ladies who stayed in Gold Hill were responsible for building some of the historical buildings that are there now. They built the museum, which was part of their church, and the Gold Hill Inn, which was their gathering and dining area. They were responsible for bringing the town to life over the next 50 years, said Yeager. 

The importance of the Gold Hill ladies and the bus that brought them there has not been overlooked in the wider community. The Gold Hill Museum won second place at a History Colorado contest for submitting the Blue Bird ladies as their most important artifact. 

With all that history behind the creation of town, Yeager is excited to have a piece of old Gold Hill back. Brown says the museum is trying to raise $10,000, and although the museum is closed for the season, people can still donate at goldhillhistorymuseum.com. 

The side and front half of the bus.

Photo by Polina Savich

Yeager also mentioned that a work schedule will be released on their website showing the days that people can come to volunteer to help rebuild the truck. She says their goal is to have it fixed and running by next July 4 so it can be in the parade. 

If you have any questions regarding the bus or the history of Gold Hill, you can contact Debra Yeager at her email, deb@mountainvisions.net.