Ft. Collins, CO – March 13, 2018 – The Colorado Chapter of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus (Al Packer Chapter #100) has chosen Ginger and Baker’s restored grain mill as the first Northern Colorado building to receive the organization’s historic designation.
Everyone is welcome to attend the dedication ceremony at Ginger and Baker, 359 Linden St., on March 17, at 1:01 p.m., following Ft. Collins’ St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
“We thought it would be a great place to have an historical plaque here in our area, “ said Roy McBride, a Ft. Collins ‘Clamper’, as members are called. “The old feed store was a meeting place for the community and now that it’s been restored, it’s again an important part of the community. It’s come full circle.”
Already on the National Register of Historic Places and the State Register of Historic Properties, the Ginger and Baker team, led by Ginger and Jack Graham, has carefully restored the 100-plus-year-old grain mill. “Our goal was to preserve its historic architectural details as well as the character and charm that made it a symbol of community and locally produced food,” said Ginger Graham.
E Clampus Vitus is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, and conservation of western history. Past members have included Gene Autry, Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Ronald Reagan, J.P. Morgan and Horace Greeley.
“The brotherhood started in California during the gold mining days, at first to poke fun at other fraternal organizations but later dedicating themselves to helping families of miners killed in mining accidents,” McBride said. “Nowadays, we’re a historical society recognized by the state of Colorado.”
Clampers from all over Colorado and Fort Collins locals will gather at Ginger and Baker to install a commemorative plaque and christen it with a bottle of Guinness (in honor of St. Patrick’s Day). “It seems fitting as we’re not sure if E Clampus Vitus is a historical drinking society or a drinking historical society,“ quipped McBride.
Over the past fifteen years, the Colorado chapter has placed historical plaques throughout the state including within the historic mining town of Cripple Creek, at Nicolai Tesla’s experimental site in Colorado Springs, and at Alfred Packer’s grave in Littleton.
For more information, contact Kate Cooper, [email protected], 970-223-PIES (7437), ext. 102.