Filbert Ice Cream

It's cold outside!  Yep, it's time to make ice cream! "What?" you say, "But it's Winter!"

Yes it is winter, and when the icicles were big and dripping from the roof of the house, that's when our family would make ice cream.  Just as mom's grandmother had done with her, mom would send us out with a broom to break down the big icicles.  We'd smash them up and gather a bucket full to bring into the basement where the old ice cream maker sat.  The crushed icicles were used to pack around the canister of cream that was in the center of the wooden bucket.  Rock Salt was layered in with the ice and we knew that after a lot of cranking (churning the cream), we'd all be enjoying something wonderful.

Here is an old recipe that was a favorite!

Filbert Ice Cream (1880)

You'll need one quart of good, thick cream and one pound of nuts.
Make a sugar syrup out of 20 ounces of sugar and 10 ounces of water.
[Heat the sugar and water together just until the sugar has dissolved.  Let cool while you do the next step.]

Break the nuts and roast over a low hot fire. Sprinkle some cream on them and pound them. Mix the cream, nuts, two beaten eggs, and syrup over a medium heat, stirring until you've got a custard. Strain and cool. Freeze [churn in an ice cream maker until frozen].  Pack the frozen cream in a mold and pack the mold in ice until ready to serve.

A Hand-Crank Ice Cream Churning Machine

Cornish Pasties - Old and New

A very popular recipe in the mining communities, where many miners had come from Cornwall England to mine, were Pasties.  (Pronounced PASS-ti)  Here is an original version that I would not recommend making, and the newer adjusted version that makes this much better tasting.  Thank you to the Trevarton Family, also Pioneer Natives of Boulder County, for sharing this with me.

Cornish Pasties - the OLD way.

For the dough, mix
2 cups sifted flour
1 ½ cups finely chopped suet
½ cup lard
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup water

Filling, mix together
chopped up round steak
ruttabega or tunip
red potato
onion 
1 ½ Tablespoon ground suet
salt and pepper

Roll the dough out into circles and fill with the meat filling.  Seal pastry with water, vent the dough.  Bake in a moderate oven until done.

Remember, I don't recommend eating any of the recipes that I label as old.  Please refer to the subject of Recipe - New for the ones that we eat in our home, like the one below...

Cornish Pasties - the New way

For the dough

Sift 3 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon of salt,

cut in 1 cup of shortening,

sprinkle with ½ cup of cold water and mix until it just holds together.

Wrap and let rest in the refrigerator like you do with a pie dough.

For the filling

Mix 2 ¼ cups of cooked, chopped round steak,

1 ½ cups of cooked, diced, red potato, 

¾ cup of chopped onion

1 ½ tablespoon soft butter

salt and pepper

Roll the dough out and cut into 6 inch squares.  Place some of the meat filling onto the dough.  Dampen the dough edges with water and fold over the dough, pinching it to seal.

Place Pasties on a cookie sheet and bake in a pre-heated oven at 365 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes.

Enjoy Pasties warm, after they have cooled from the oven.  Or eat them like a miner, cold and with a bit of brown grainy mustard.

Wanted! 100 Dozen Chickens

Love the old newspapers and the things that one finds there.  Here is a classified ad from the local hotel in Boulder.  This appeared in the Boulder News and Courier, Boulder, Colorado.  Friday August 20, 1880, page 3.

Wanted.  At Brainard's Hotel, one hundred dozen chickens.

100 dozen chickens  = 1,200 chickens!

In the 1880 U. S. Census, the population of Boulder was 3,069.

Were they planning on feeding the whole town?

One wonders who all these chickens were going to feed.

What was happening at this hotel and in this town at this time.

Arbuthnot Children born at Haystack Mountain

The six children who were born to William and Mary Arbuthnot at their Haystack Mountain Ranch.  They are... 

Fredrick Wilhelm Arbuthnot, b. 30 November 1869

William Carson Arbuthnot, Jr. b. 12 June 1871

George John Arbuthnot, b. 9 February 1875

Melissa Leona Arbuthnot, b. 7 July 1876

Stella May Arbuthnot, b. 13 January 1878

Sidney Arthur Arbuthnot, b. 17 February 1880

After their father was killed in April of 1882, their mother went and had photographs taken of these young ones.  Here are those photos.  Fred, the eldest was 12 when his father died, and Sidney the youngest was 2 years old.

L to R: William & Fred Arbuthnot

L to R: Melissa, Stella, George Arbuthnot

Sidney Arbuthnot being held by his mother,
Mary Elizabeth [Bader] Arbuthnot

In later years, the children had their photo taken again with their mother...

Front L to R:  Fred, Mary (mother), Sidney
Back L to R:  Melissa, William, George, Stella.

And after the eldest son, Fred, was married, his wife,
Margie Ann [Coe] Arbuthnot joined in the family photo...

Bottom Row:  Melissa and Margie
Middle Row:  George, Mary (mother), Fred
Back Row: Sidney, Stella, William

Related page:  Arbuthnot Family Tree
Related page:  Bader Family Tree

Population Timeline for Boulder, CO with establishment of surrounding areas.

1858 (Oct. 17) - Original camp of gold-seeking men of European descent camped at the Red Rocks, above the entrance of Boulder Canyon.  Population of 12 men in this first encampment.

1859 - (Jan. 15) Mining District 1, also called Gold Hill Mining District, is established

1859 - Washington Lode was established for it's "wagon coal mine" where settlers would drive up their wagons and load up with coal to take to their home or business for heating and cooking.  This was later sold to Joseph Marshall and the encampment town of Marshall was named for him.  The coal and iron town became knows as one of the toughest and fight-ingest in the entire west.

1859 (Feb. 10th) - Due to a snow storm in the mountains, there were 56 men who came out of the mountains to establish a supply town.  These 56 shareholders (all miners from Gold Hill) establish Boulder City with 4,044 lots surveyed and offered for sale at $1,000 per lot.

1860 - Ward Mining District is established

1860 U.S. Census - Nebraska Territory (included the following communities: Boulder City, Altoona City, Boulder Creek Settlement, Gold Hill Settlement, Miravalle City, Platte River Settlement)  Population of Boulder was 324 residents.

1861 - town of Altona (mouth of Left Hand Canyon) is incorporated (first called Modoc, then Ni Wot, then Altona)

1861 - where the Overland Stage Stop is located, at the St. Vrain River, the town of Burlington is established (Today, the Overland Stage Route is Highway 287 which runs through Longmont, CO)

1861 - Colorado becomes a recognized Territory, combining portions of Utah, Nebraska and Kansas Territories.

1865 - town of Valmont (Valley+Mountain) is platted

1869 - community of Ryssby is established by seven Swedish families (along what is 63rd Street today)

1870 U.S. Census - Boulder County population was 1,939 of those 343 lived in Boulder City with Carson and Frannie Arbuthnot being listed as the oldest residents in Boulder City.

1871 - town of Longmont (for Long's Peak) was founded by the Chicago-Colorado Colony.  The town of Burlington relocates a quarter-mile north to join up with Longmont.

1874 - Even before Colorado had become it's own territory, organizing and lobbying for the university had began in 1860.  In 1874, Boulder was awarded the designation for the University of Colorado after the town of Boulder had raised $15,000 and acquired 44.9 in donated acres, beating out communities such as Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and Denver.  Since there are not enough qualified students to attend the university, the State Preparatory School - a high school, is started to prepare the students to enter the University.  This is now Boulder High School and still is represented by the original colors - purple and gold - and the original mascot - the Panthers.

1875 - town of Ni Wot (now Niwot) is established by the railroad company.  Land was donated by Porter T. Hinman, originally a gold miner, for the establishment of this community.

1880 U.S. Census - Boulder - population 3,069 

1882 - town of Louisville is incorporated.  The town first began as the Welch Mine in 1877, a coal mine that served Denver.  The town was established to serve the coal company by Louis Nawatny who platted his property and named the town for himself.

1889 - town of Broomfield established, not incorporated until 1961.  Broomfield is was an agricultural community where grains were grown and loaded on the train to transport to Zang's Brewery.

1890 U.S. Census - Boulder - population 3,330 

1890 - town of Lafayette is incorporated.  In 1888, 150 acres was platted to be the town of Lafayette to serve the growing coal mine.  Platted by the widow, Mary Miller, on her farm which had been established by her and her husband, Lafayette Miller, in 1871.

1896 - town of Superior is founded and later incorporated in 1904

1900 U.S. Census - Boulder - 6,150
1910 U.S. Census - Boulder - 9,539
1920 U.S. Census - Boulder - 11,066
1930 U.S. Census - Boulder - 11,223
1940 U.S. Census - Boulder - 12,958
1950 U.S. Census - Boulder - 19,999
1960 U.S. Census - Boulder - 37,718

1970 U.S. Census - Boulder - 66,870
University of Colorado students were counted by the U.S. Census in Boulder (rather than their home town) for the first time in 1970.

1980 U.S. Census - Boulder - 76,685
1990 U.S. Census - Boulder - 83,312
2000 U.S. Census - Boulder - 94,673
2010 U.S. Census - Boulder - 103,600 (estimated)