Happy Colorado Sunday, fam. I hope you all are keeping warm, even if it is by the heat of your own political rage or anxiety following utility company warnings that natural gas prices will be up just a bit because of this protracted cold spell.
Like any good journalist, I’ve got lots of images squirreled away, taken by colleagues, former colleagues and people I admired. Some are beautiful. Others are hilarious (like the snapshot of a guy wearing a blue corduroy bomber jacket with “Marquis de Sod” embroidered on the back.) All of them evoke something for me.
But none of them are iconic, like the image Kevin Simpson writes about in this week’s Colorado Sunday. He spent time with photographer Bob Jackson and learned a lot about how momentous a fraction of a second can be.
Dana Coffield
Editor
The Cover Story
The story behind the photo that told the story of Ruby and Oswald
Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Jackson poses in his home office holding a photo he took of the Beatles during their first U.S. visit. (Mark Reis, Special to The Colorado Sun)Photojournalists have long provided images that frame our nation’s historic events — even though, in the moment, they seemed less like history and more like breaking news. And sometimes, those iconic pictures come with stories of their own, narratives describing the intersection of skill, serendipity and even redemption.
One of the photographers who captured such an image is Manitou Springs resident Bob Jackson, whose career started in Texas, where as a 29-year-old staffer for The Dallas Times Herald in November of 1963 he found himself on assignment in the basement garage of Dallas police headquarters. There, two days after President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed, local nightclub owner Jack Ruby fired a fatal shot into Lee Harvey Oswald as the alleged assassin was being transferred to county lockup.
Among the handful of photographers there to chronicle the move, Jackson snapped the picture that won him a Pulitzer Prize and became a defining image of a tragic and chaotic weekend. He eventually moved to Colorado, where in 1999 he wrapped up a 20-year run on the staff of The Gazette in Colorado Springs.
In the more than 60 years since he took that photo, Jackson, 90, has recounted his story behind it too many times to count. But it bears retelling as time whittles away at the details and new generations view it with fresh eyes. Whether it’s your 40th time hearing the account or the first, I hope you enjoy this story of a man who rose to the moment and, among photojournalists, became a member of a rare club.
READ THIS WEEK’S COLORADO SUNDAY FEATURE
Kevin Simpson | Writer
The Colorado Lens
Photography helps us look at the world a bit differently. Here are some of our favorite recent views.
Ken Salazar, just wrapping his term as U.S. ambassador to Mexico, was back in the statehouse spotlight on Friday, talking to reporters about a bill affecting the San Luis Valley. Salazar, a former U.S. senator and Interior secretary, is widely expected to run for Colorado governor. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun) Whitley Poyser, director of deep space exploration missions, describes Lockheed Martin’s preparation of the company’s NASA Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft on Thursday in Littleton. The craft is part of a mission to understand the lunar water cycle and is scheduled to launch Feb. 26 from Kennedy Space Center. (Kathryn Scott, Special to The Colorado Sun) Artist Thomas “Detour” Evans’ speaks during an unveiling event for his sculpture, “It’s Not What You Take, It’s What You Bring Back,” Wednesday on Concourse B at Denver International Airport. The sculpture contains 183 donated bags suspended in the shape of an infinity loop. “It’s all about the endless journey in life and the bags we use to carry the things we hold dear,” explained Evans, who is better known for his wall murals. (Alyte Katilius, Special to The Colorado Sun) Dominic Smallwood finishes up his custom-made snowboard, crafted in Summit High School’s ski manufacturing class. (Joe Kusumoto, Special to the Colorado Sun) Gianni Montoya shoots a video in the greenhouse in the Center Vida building at CSU Spur on Jan. 16. Montoya and other students from STEAD School in Commerce City were at the National Western Stock Show to talk with ranchers and farmers for projects focusing on things like cultural representation in agriculture and the food economy. (Rebecca Slezak, Special to The Colorado Sun)Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler
Flavor of the Week
Meeting the eyes of Denver
Top left: A person crosses the street outside Populus at sunrise. (Jason O’Rear, provided by Populus). Top right: The door to Populus. (Yoshihiro Makino, provided by Populus). Middle right: Inside a room at Populus. (Steve Hall, provided by Populus). Bottom: Pasque, a restaurant inside Populus, describes itself as providing “elevated, nature-inspired cuisine.” (Yoshihiro Makino, provided by Populus)]The giant oval windows of the new Populus hotel like to watch people. The eyes take in the people walking through Civic Center park. They overlook the government buildings nearby. And they follow me whenever I drive down East Colfax Avenue. And when they do, I stare right back.
By the time I picked up my wife from jury duty at one of those government buildings Wednesday, the hotel’s eyes had been on me all day. In the morning when I dropped her off, again when I grabbed her. I couldn’t get them out of my head.
So, after we got home, I convinced my wife it was time to meet the building. We lucked into a parking space right outside. A door man greeted us, opened the mouth to the hotel and I finally stepped inside.
The hotel designers drew inspiration from aspen trees, which themselves have rather impressive sets of eyes. Rows of close wooden beams are some of the only straight lines in the building, which seems to always be curving into another nook. It’s a space that invites you to let out a slow, calm breath.
We ordered from the coffee shop — two cortados but one with oat milk — and made our way upstairs. Soon I found myself at a table next to a window, and this time it was my eyes looking out of the hotel. An addictingly simple excitement.
Later, we wrapped our respective work and walked down to the restaurant, called by the large tapestries overhanging the bar. Since we were caught between two appetizers, the bartender steered us toward the savory beignets – “they’re great for a cold day,” he said.
My wife bit first, her eyes opening impossibly wide as the taste hit her tongue. Mine followed shortly after. The soft filling of spinach and artichoke melted as the honey’s sweetness hit.
We washed it down with one — OK, two — cocktails each. The Pasque old fash, which combines four ryes and bourbons, went down smooth, tempting you to have one more sip. The alpine spark, a minty spritz, would be my best friend on a hot day. The Planes & Trains could intrigue even the most Mezcal averse. And the bartender made one of the best whiskey sours I’ve tasted in a long time.
When the check arrived, my eyes once again went big and round. But it was fancy cocktails, I knew what I was getting into. My wife and I left discussing if we could make a staycation happen — especially with the current 15% off deal for Colorado residents. That way I could stay in one of the rooms higher up, looking down on cars traveling along Colfax, some of them filled with drivers pausing to look at the eyes of the towering Populus hotel.
Populus. 240 14th St., Denver, CO 80202. (303) 800-4140. info@populusdenver.com
Little Owl Coffee. 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. Pasque. Breakfast: 7-10 a.m.; Lunch: 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Dinner: 4:30-10 p.m. Bar closes at 11 p.m.
Danika Worthington | Presentation Editor
SunLit: Sneak Peek
A podcaster with a secret launches the thriller “Tell Me What You Did”
“Moments later, my guest connects but hasn’t yet turned on their video, leaving me to stare at a black left side of my screen. And I wonder for the 312th time, what will this blackness become? Whose face will I see?”
— From “Tell Me What You Did”
EXCERPT: Set in the world of true crime podcasting, Carter Wilson’s standalone thriller, “Tell Me What You Did,” begins with a fascinating twist on a podcast: Callers connect anonymously with the host and then confess to crimes. When protagonist and show host Poe Webb sees on her video screen the image of a man claiming to have murdered her mother, the plot thickens into a cat-and-mouse game played out in the shadows of her own dark secret.
READ THE SUNLIT EXCERPT
THE SUNLIT INTERVIEW: Wilson doesn’t outline, and his characters tend to develop organically as the story progresses. He finds the hero/villain archetype boring. He’s a portion of his Q&A:
SunLit: Poe Webb is a fascinating character. Is she a good guy, a bad guy, or just a complicated person?
Wilson: She’s morally gray, as we like to say. And that’s not even purposeful. I think that’s just the reality of who we are. There’s nothing more boring to me than reading a very heroic hero or a villainous villain, when they’re so black and white and you’re so dictated about how you’re supposed to feel about them. I just like to say, here’s this very broken and flawed person trying to do the best that they can to get through life, and whether they make decisions that you think are right or wrong, it doesn’t matter to them.
READ THE INTERVIEW WITH CARTER WILSON
LISTEN TO A PODCAST WITH THE AUTHOR
Kevin Simpson | Writer
Sunday Reading List
A curated list of what you may have missed from The Colorado Sun this week.
Ronnie Hoover checks out the microwave in his new apartment at St. Francis Apartments West in Denver. (Michael Ciaglo, Special to The Colorado Sun)? The day Ronnie Hoover moved into a new apartment was a very good day, indeed. Jennifer Brown went along with the former chef as he moved from a pallet home into the St. Francis Apartments West, built where he once lived in a tent in a Safe Outdoor Space at West Second Avenue and Federal Boulevard.
? The Colorado legislature is in high gear. Last week we learned Colorado Springs Republican Rep. Scott Bottoms is running for governor, that a big fight about the cost of prescription drugs for people covered by Medicaid is afoot, a bill requiring all schools to adopt a cellphone use policy is on the agenda and that one target in the rush to slash the state budget is coverage of weight-loss drugs like Wegovy for state employees.
? The bill described as a large-magazine ban enforcement measure is set for a hearing Tuesday afternoon. Jesse Paul got a jump on it, reporting which types of guns would be affected and then taking a look at what the very real implications are for people who sell guns in Colorado.
? Brian Eason drilled down into a measure seeking to ban “junk” fees charged to apartment renters on top of advertised rents. Advocates say making tenants pay things like variable “common area” fees make it tough to budget. But there are many other surprise costs passed on by industries that give lawmakers heartburn.
? Last week’s Colorado Sunday cover talked about the pain many homeowners are feeling from insurance premium hikes. Tamara Chuang and Olivia Prentzel followed up with a story about why insurance companies don’t always give you credit for work done to protect your house from wildfire.
? ICYMI, President Donald Trump pardoned 1,500 people accused or convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2020, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Olivia Prentzel reports that 20 of them came from Colorado.
? Trump to federal employees: Get back to the office. Workers might be anxious, but Tamara Chuang reports that it might be exactly the spur to revive downtown areas languishing since the pandemic sent us all into work-from-home mode.
? The largest counties in Colorado have stopped enrolling more kids in child care programs funded by the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program. Some of the money came through the pandemic recovery pipeline and with that cash drying up, county officials told Jennifer Brown they are being careful not to let too many kids into the program intended to help as parents search for work or retrain for better jobs.
? Colorado Parks and Wildlife finished releasing 15 new gray wolves from British Columbia and five others that were in captivity since September. Tracy Ross reports that the state’s top wildlife boss says now that it’s time to “lean in” — and that includes supporting ranchers in areas where the 29 wolves confirmed to be in Colorado are roaming.
Dana Coffield | Editor
Thanks for stopping by again this Colorado Sunday. If you need me, I might be walking around Denver looking at all the buildings preservation-minded developer Dana Crawford saved in the past 60 years. She died on Thursday, and what a legacy she leaves in Colorado.
— Dana & the whole staff of The Sun
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