Ice cream social success

Dear Editor:On behalf of the Aspen Historical Society I would like to thank everyone who came out to help make our traditional ice cream social and 100th anniversary of the First Car in Aspen a tremendous success. It is great to see the community not only come together for some good old-fashioned socializing – and fabulous ice cream – but also to see the groundswell of support for our local history that is apparent when 250 people show up to find out more about a specific event – the first car’s arrival in Aspen – that took place 100 years ago. I think I can safely say that a good time was had by all – and we learned a little bit more about our remarkable local history at the same time.I’d like to single out Ben & Jerry’s and Maggie Moos for the generous donations of their legendary, delectable ice cream; the Paradise Bakery for supplying us with cookies to add even more goodness to the ice cream servings; Clark’s Market for a world-class selection of toppings; Ute City Cycles and Alpine Bank for donating the use of their pop-up tents; Warren Klug and the Aspen Square for the use of their linens; Mead Metcalf for allowing us to show his 1908 Maxwell auto; Ron Arbaney for actually driving his 1911 Flanders to the party (still running on its original engine 95 years later!); county commissioner candidates Patti Clapper, Rachel Richards, Tim Mooney and Jim True for scooping and handing out the ice cream; Vivian Friedlander for her help with ticket selling; and, especially, Buzz Cooper (and his extended family) – whose father, Ted, actually owned and drove the first car into Aspen on Aug. 4, 1906 – for his enthusiasm and drive (no pun intended) in making sure we didn’t let this auspicious anniversary slip through the cracks.The society is tremendously excited about what lies ahead both for the organization and for the history of our community. With your continued support we can soon look forward to the day when Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley’s commitment to – and respect for – its history will become the model that all other communities will strive to emulate.Tom EganCommunications DirectorAspen Historical Society