A few weeks ago my kid got an assignment from school to research a little known fact about the history of Denver, Colorado, and prepare a presentation on it.
The kid is a little bit goth, and asked me to help him research famous criminals in the early days of the state.
Little did I know that we would find such an incredible array of great stories from the history of Denver! This is a quiet place to live, but that wasn’t always the case because Denver used to be a mile-high version of Deadwood! Alfred Packer is one of the most famous Colorado residents to ever pass through Denver, on his way to being as notorious gold prospector, murderer, and cannibal! After being convicted and sentenced to death, Packer was given a second trial, at which he was sentenced to 40 years for his alleged crimes, crimes that were widely covered by the Denver Post newspaper. Here is the crazier part of the story – after serving his time and getting released, Packer actually went to work for the Denver Post! Do you know what role he played for this esteemed Denver publication? Security guard! This is one of those weird and fun little historical facts that make Denver such a neat place to live, just like our cannabis dispensaries. Were you aware that Denver is the only city in the world to have more cannabis dispensaries than it has Starbucks? That is no small feat, and just goes to show you that in Denver people appreciate their weed even more than they like bitter coffee.