Page 16 - proof 8 December 2017 The Castle Pines Connection

16 CastlePinesConnection.com
Letter to the editor: Wildcat Lore
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By Lynne Marsala Basche
The Castle Pines Connection’s “Wildcat Lore” series began in September 2016, and the segment has become increasingly popular with readers. Each month, writer Joe Gschwendtner takes readers on a journey about local settlers, explorers and colorful characters who traversed Douglas County with captivating and sometimes surprising accounts.
The challenge with history, of course, is that
it is often di cult to track down information. For the Lore series, Gschwendtner researches stories by speaking with local historians, visiting the Douglas County Library History Research
Center, reading books and contacting homes associations. Despite the diligence required to write articles like the Lore series, it is tricky when reputations are involved and the main characters are no longer living. As is often the case, no two people see an event the same way, and sometimes it is left open to interpretation, especially when family and friends are involved.
We received a letter to the editor regarding the November 2017 Lore article “Surrey Ridge: The rest of the story” and are publishing it to share with our readers:
Dear Editor,
I would like to say that I normally enjoy The Castle Pines Connection and appreciate the wonderful articles that you include in the publication.
Today I am writing to express my disappointment with the misrepresentation and defamatory statementsthatwerepublishedintheNovemberissueofTheConnection. ThepiecebyJoe GschwendtneronSurreyRidgeisfullofmisrepresentationsandinflammatorycomments. Asa friend of the Ceresa family, I found the statements and innuendos concerning Luzie Barthel Ceresaoffensive. ThestoryJoewrotewasoriginallypublishedintheMarch1999Surrey Sentinel,Vol.6,Issue2,”and[partswere]takenclosetoverbatimfromtheoriginal. The
original article received negative response from the family, and in October 1999, the family’s accountwaspublished. Followingisthefamily’saccountoftheevents:
‘... One of our neighbors forwarded our historical accounting to Leonard and Carol Dietz in CommerceCity. Mr.DietzisthenephewofArtandMaryCeresa. Leonardspentagreatdealof timewithhisUncleArtontheHappyCanyonRanch. Hegraciouslyprovidedthesecorrections on [the] Ceresa family history:
Herman Miller (Art’s cousin) who ranched the eastern side of I25 at today’s Exit 190 was nearlyblindandaboutage80whenhewasfounddead. ThefamilybelievesHermantookhisown lifebecausehewashavingincreasingdifficultywithhisprogressiveblindness. Onatrip
home to Switzerland, Art and Mary Ceresa hired Luzie, an East German, and brought her to this countrytohelpMarywithhouseholdchores. Luziewasahardworkerinthehouseandaround theranch. FollowingMary’sdeath,LuziemarriedArtandtookexcellentcareofhimuntilhis death at about age 95.’
IknewLuziefrom1975untilshereturnedtoSwitzerlandafterArt’sdeath. Shewasastrong womanthatwouldspeakhermind. ShetookgreatcareofArt. Shewasnotthewomanthat wasportrayedinthecurrentpiece. IalsoknewHerman. MymotherandIwouldbringhima specialGermancakeeveryEaster. WhenIknewhim,hewasaquietmanthatspentmostofhis timetakingcareofhisranch. Thesetwohistoricalfiguresdonotdeservethedefamation ofcharacterthatwaspublishedinTheCastlePinesConnection. Iwouldstronglyurgethat these misrepresentations be retracted and the family history be written as it occurred.
IhavelivedintheSurreyRidgeareasince1975. IliveintheoriginalKrollhomestead houseonthewestsideofI-25betweenSurreyRidgeandOakHills. Thisisthehomethat Art and Mary Ceresa lived in from the 1930s until their‘new’home on 9017 Clydesdale was completed sometime in the late 60s.
Renate Nieman
As with every story The Connection publishes, we strive to be factually correct and editorially unbiased. We welcome input from our readers and, when appropriate, take care to share both sides of the story. Our goal is to celebrate the people and events in the greater 80108 community, and as part of this endeavor, we appreciate feedback. Contact editor@castlepinesconnection.com to share your thoughts or visit www.castlepinesconnection.com and type “mink” into the search function to add your comments on the story blog.
for free!
FPO