Laserfiche WebLink
<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />surviving witnesses and assessing their reliability are <br />considerations to be accounted for in using this research option. <br />careful examination, this type of source has proved to be useful, <br /> <br />always <br />A fte I' <br /> <br />Finding survivors of the 1894 flood who were old enough to remember <br />and were still alive in 1982 has been difficult. Several people have, <br />however, used this technique in the past, and the printed record of <br />their interviews survives. Forrest Crossen, a Boulder writer of local <br />history, has interviewed several "old timers. "5 Clifford Jenkins, a <br />United States Geological Survey hydrologist, talked to a number of 1894 <br />flood witnesses when he conducted his flood studies for that agency in <br />the early 1%O's.6 <br /> <br />Other efforts at collecting oral histories have been conducted by the <br />University of Colorado and by Boulder County public school groups. <br />For more recent flood events, those who responded to the fa II 1981 <br />appeal for interviews by the County's radio stations and newspapers <br />have been extremely helpful. These sources uppl ied additional data for <br />the historic floods in the County. 7 <br /> <br />PHOTOGR.APHIC SOURCES <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Historic photographs were used to show the extent of the floodwaters <br />and the damage they caused in towns in Boulder County from 1804 to <br />1969, The photographic record also proved valuable as another <br />research tool. Newspaper accounts, for example, were verified by <br />photographs taken by professional studio photographers such as Rockv <br />Mountain Joe Sturtevant, reports from the County's daily and weekly <br />newspapers and private citizens. <br /> <br />REASONS FOR EVALUATING THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF <br />SOU RCES <br /> <br />When assessing the information found in primary sources, a nUt'lber of <br />subjective factors inherent in the documents had to be considered. <br />This has pertained to historic and scientific data alike. <br /> <br />When evaluating historic documents, social and environmental factors <br />need to be analyzed. It is important to consider the unique nature of <br />each historic period in evaluating the data that were collected for this <br />report. Newspapers, for example, reflect not only the pOlitical and <br />ethic,al views of the editors, but often rilirror the social and economic <br />aspects of the towns they serve. Many of Boulder County's newspapers <br />in 1894, fOl' instance, were decidedly Populist in sympathy. In addition <br />they detailed the issues of the local communities and farms--the unrest <br />among the riliners, the farmers and the merchants. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />In 1894, the hardrock miners in the county were affected by the <br />demonitization of silver and its resultant low price, Tile C021 minet's <br />were suffering frOM unsafe viOrking conditions, long hours and low pay. <br />Railroad workers complained about low wages as well. That WilS the <br />year of the Southern Colorado coal field strikes, the Crirple Creek <br />hardrock t'liners' strike and the niltionwide Pullman rililroad strike.8 <br />Sone farmers who had endured low rrices, higher freight charges ,Ind <br />