Page 25 - AreaNewsletters "June 2021" issue

CASTLE ROCK HISTORY
Did You Know This...
about Philip S. Miller
by Lora Thomas
Douglas County Commissioner and former State Patrol O cer assigned to Castle Rock in the 1980’s
But first, another “Geography” Trivia:
There is an interchange on I-25 at milepost 188 that’s north of Castle Rock
that is now known as Castle Pines Parkway. What was that interchange known as in 1984?
(Answer at the end of this article)
LAST ISSUE: (Click to see)
I wrote about my experience of nding and arresting the drunk driver who hit and killed my friend, Trooper Charlie
Fry, as he was writing a
ticket on Monument Hill
on September 26, 1987.
That personal experience
was the impetus for my
desire, once I was elected
a county commissioner,
to nd funding to get
The Gap project on I-25
started. That project is
well on its way to being
completed next year in
2022.
was driving the marked Chrysler patrol
car on Wilcox Street, Ed pointed out a man dressed in a suit, and told me that was
Phil Miller. Ed told me that he was a banker, and when Ed was transferred to Castle Rock by the State Patrol, he needed a loan. Ed went to The Bank of Castle Rock, talked to Mr. Miller, and got the loan on a handshake!
Years later after I was elected as county commissioner, I was working on funding non-pro ts in the county when I heard the name, Philip S. Miller, once again. I learned that Mr. Miller
had left an endowment of $33 million dollars and that the interest generated was used every year to bene t nine di erent entities. More on that later . . .
Philip S. Miller was born on October 11, 1895 in Peoria, Illinois. His mother died when he was only 13 years old, and at the age of 17, he became a butcher just like his father. Miller, his father and brother moved to Elizabeth, Colorado in 1917 to raise cattle and pigs, as well as continue his trade
as a butcher. Continued on next page... Castle Rock “AreaNewsletters” • June 2021
Mr. Miller had left an endowment of $33 million dollars and .... the interest generated was used every year to bene t nine di erent entities.
A
fter I graduated from the State Patrol Academy in August 1984, and moved to Castle Rock, I still needed to complete an eight-week Field Training process before I was able to actually patrol the highways and work by myself as a State Trooper.
Ed Rusch was my Field Training O cer, and I credit Ed with much of my successes in life, and not just those while I worked for the State Patrol. Ed taught me about people by telling me who they were, and why they were successful. One day as I
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