Freddie Fisher’s spirit alive and well

ASPEN ” The Aspen Historical Society will once again evoke the spirit of Freddie Fisher, Aspen’s erstwhile community soul and conscience, on Freddie Fisher Day.

What has become an annual celebration (though it’s no longer held at the now-defunct Red Onion bar and restaurant) takes place Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Wheeler/Stallard House Museum, at the corner of Sixth and Bleeker in the West End.

Fisher, who died in 1967 and would have been 104 this year, came to Aspen around 1950 after a career as a jazz musician. He promptly began carving out a local name for himself as an inventor and fix-it man extraordinaire, possessed of a rare and scalding wit that he regularly exercised in the letters columns of the local newspaper.

He also continued to play clarinet in local clubs and one of his former musical partners, pianist Walt Smith, will perform at the celebration, which will feature refreshments and a barbecue.

In honor of Fisher’s witty and irreverent letters to the editor, the event also will feature the awarding of the “Freddie Fisher Irreverent Wit Prize for Letters to the Editor” (also known as the “Fishwit” prize) to some deserving local letter writer. The prize is to be awarded some time between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m., organizers say.

The event is free and open to the public. Call 925-3721 for more information.