Time Machine Tuesday: Springtime!!

Hooray for the first day of Spring! Coloradans have always enjoyed springtime, with our mild and sunny weather. A century ago, however, Coloradans celebrated more springtime holidays than we do today. The State of Colorado Spring Holiday Book 1913 is a fun look back at some springtime holidays we still celebrate, like Mother’s Day, and others that have mostly been forgotten, like Good Roads Day.

The Spring Holiday Book was published by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction for use by teachers to help plan lessons around the holidays. They include songs, stories, poems, artwork, and other items, such as “how to tell the age of a tree.” Many of the items were contributed by well-known Colorado writers. Also contained in this volume are many wonderful historical photos of Colorado schoolchildren and their celebrations; Colorado scenery; and more.

This book is a treasure for what it tells us about life and culture in Colorado more than a century ago. It could also make a fun resource for today’s teachers to use to teach kids about life in Colorado’s past. This particular copy, which has been digitized by our library, is extra fun because it includes handwritten notes in the margins from some long-ago teacher.