To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Norris W. Croom III, Fire Chief
Title
Castle Rock Star Briefing
Body
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Executive Summary
With the recent celebration of Starlighting, the department wanted to take this opportunity to provide you with some information about the star.
Built by volunteer firefighters in 1936, the star has been lit (with the exception of during the World War II years) every year to celebrate the Christmas season. It was re-built in 1949 to make it safer and sturdier, and the actual Starlighting ceremony began in 1965. It has been lit just a few other times to celebrate the Broncos Super Bowl wins, post September 11th, the 100th Anniversary of the Douglas County Fair, and it was changed to include a thin blue line in honor of Deputy Zach Parrish.
The star is made of iron poles that are welded together and embedded in the Rock. It is forty feet high by forty feet wide, and it is lit by one hundred incandescent light bulbs on low wattage landscaping light cable. It is completely re-wired every 15-20 years depending on wear, and repairs are made on an annual basis. It costs about $600.00 per season to operate the star.
Two firefighters from the department have been instrumental in maintaining the star. Tammy Denhard, a 30 year member, and Matt Rettmer, a 20 year member, are affectionately known as the “Keepers of the Star”. Free climbing the Rock and then using ropes and climbing equipment on the star, it can take them anywhere from a couple of hours to half a day to prepare and maintain the star. They make multiple trips up to the star every season to replace lightbulbs that have either burned out or been broken by weather or vandalism. They generously volunteer their time to ensure that the star remains the symbol of Castle Rock during the holidays.
Discussion
History of the Castle Rock Star
Castle Rock is named for a large geological formation which looked to early travelers to the area like a castle on a hill. It has a 40-foot-tall electric star which lights up the night in the town from the week before Thanksgiving until the end of the National Western Stock Show in January. This special tradition has been observed in the town every Christmas since 1936, and the star has been a symbol to- people in Castle Rock for over 83 years.
In 1936, the United States was experiencing the Great Depression. Millions of people were out of work and there was also a drought in those years which became known as the "Dust Bowl". Farms throughout the middle part of the country saw their crops dry up and their soil blow away. In Castle Rock, the Douglas County Fair, the community's main annual festival, had been held only sporadically since 1930. Like people throughout the country, the citizens of Castle Rock were losing hope because of the poor economy, and the town was badly in need of a boost.
Someone heard that people in nearby Palmer Lake were talking about building a star. Community leaders in Castle Rock jumped on the idea, thinking that the star would draw travelers’ attention. They hoped people would stop in town on their travels along what was then busy Colorado Highway 85/87.
George P. Stewart owned "The Rock" in 1936, and he was happy to donate the land on which the star could be built. Men from the Works Progress Administration, who had been staying at the local Civilian Conservation Corps Camp, designed the star. Both the WPA and the CCC were federal programs designed to put Americans to work during the Depression.
Forty-foot steel rods were ordered from Denver and paid for with donations from the Town Council. Volunteer firemen carried the rods up Castle Rock (no easy feat, as there wasn’t a road or trail up the 290-foot-tall rock back then) and welded them together with gas donated by two local businesses. The manager of the local electric company donated some poles and helped string the electricity with wire donated by the Mountain States Telephone Company.
When they were finished, the forty-foot-tall star with nearly 100 light bulbs shone from the top of Castle Rock. While the star was lit around 5 P.M. and extinguished at midnight every night throughout the Christmas season, it burned all night on Christmas and New Year's Eves. The star was lit every year from 1936 until 1941.
In 1941, the country was committing all its resources to win World War II, and the star was a luxury Castle Rock could no longer afford. Rationing of electricity did not allow the star to be lit, but the structure remained on top of the rock, a symbol of the sacrifices that everyone in the country was making.
On August 14, 1945 the war was finally over. That night, the star was converted into a "V" for victory as people celebrated into the night at the fire station. The star was lit on December 7th, 1945 and has been lit every Christmas season since.
The star was completely rebuilt in 1949 to make it safer and sturdier, and there have been other repairs made to the structure in the succeeding years. In 1965, a group of community leaders, led by Mrs. Anne McConnell, started a ceremony for lighting the star. The program included speakers from the Town of Castle Rock, choirs from the Air Force Academy and local churches, and a parade. In 1966, Mrs. Helen Lowrie Marshall, a Denver poet, wrote a poem called "The Star of Castle Rock" to commemorate the star. The poem was read at most of the star lighting ceremonies and published in the local newspaper throughout the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's.
During the early 1970's, the energy crisis briefly threatened the star lighting, but the tradition continued. For about 11 years, the ceremony was held at the Douglas County Courthouse. In 1978, the courthouse was destroyed in a fire. The star lighting was then held for several years on the "courthouse square", where a new administration building for the county was constructed.
In 1999, the star lighting moved to the steps of the new police station on Perry Street in Castle Rock due to renovations to the Douglas County Wilcox Administration building, but soon returned in 2001.
After both the 1998 and 1999 Super Bowls, the lightbulbs in the star were replaced so that they showed blue and orange in celebration of the Denver Broncos victories. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the star was lit for several weeks in remembrance of those who lost their lives. Other notable times the star was lit include the 100th anniversary of the Douglas County Fair and a Thin Blue Line in honor of Officer Zach Parrish.
Star Details
The star is 40’ high and 40’ wide and is made of iron poles welded together with U-joints holding the crossbeams together. The entire structure is stabilized by guidewires embedded into the rock. Low watt landscaping light cable is attached to the legs by zip ties and electrical tape, and screw on light sockets are attached every foot to foot and a half to the cable wiring. The wiring is then hard wired into an electrical box at the base of the star, and power is obtained by a line from the star down to a power pole and electrical box at the base of the rock on the West side. There are one hundred 40-watt clear, incandescent bulbs on the star.
In the past, clear incandescent bulbs had been fairly easy to obtain locally for about $100.00 for 100 bulbs. With incandescent bulbs being phased out and replaced with LED bulbs, purchasing incandescent bulbs in bulk are becoming harder to come by locally. LED bulbs are not cost effective for use on the star as they are more expensive to replace. Proceeds from the chili suppers at the star lighting pays for the bulbs each year.
The first time the bulbs were changed to orange and blue for the Super bowl in 1998, people commented that only the orange side of the star was on until they were almost to Rock Park where then they were able to see the blue bulbs. Through trial, experimentation with different wattages, types of bulbs and colors, a combination was finally found that could be seen from both ends of town. A company in Kansas was located that could supply them for about $100.00 for a case of 50, and they could also supply the clear incandescent bulbs used every year for star lighting.
For the last Super Bowl win, it cost $260.00 for a case of orange bulbs and a case of blue bulbs that the Town agreed to pay for, and it took seven days to arrive. The cost for the 100th Anniversary of the Douglas County Fair was the same as the Super Bowl, and the County paid for the bulbs. The Thin Blue Line did not cost anything as we already had the extra blue bulbs from the Super Bowls.
Per IREA, it costs around $5.32 per day to light the star from dusk until dawn. It costs the town a little over $320.00 for the entire time the star is lit for the holiday season.
Personnel Commitment and Maintenance of the Star
Numerous people have assisted with the star over the years, but two have consistently maintained it over the past 20 and 30 plus years. Tammy Denhard, a 30-year member of CRFD, has been maintaining the star since 1989 and Matt Rettmer, a 21-year member of CRFD, has been maintaining the star since 1998. Both chose to be a part of maintaining the star because of the historical significance to the town and its citizens, and they take great pride in maintaining that tradition.
Last year, Jay Allen, a 17-year member of CRFD, volunteered to take on learning how to climb the star and help maintain the tradition with Tammy and Matt.
Due to the amount of equipment needed to prep and repair what’s needed on the star the week before and the day of star lighting, Tammy, Matt and a couple of helpers drive to the base of the rock and haul equipment up as they climb freehand to the top of the rock. On a good day, weather permitting, climbing the side of the rock is precarious at best. If there is snow or ice on the side of the rock, it’s dangerous and extremely hard to navigate. The same is also true for climbing the star - snow and ice stick very well to the iron poles and make it impossible to climb as the ropes just slide down with no traction. High winds are a major concern especially when Tammy and Matt are on the star. The star sways a great deal, and it is difficult navigating while walking on the 2” cross bars.
Over the years, there have been a few rare occasions where Tammy and Matt really had no business being up on the star due to extremely bad weather making it dangerous to climb both the Rock and the star. However, they continued with their efforts to ensure a successful event as they felt compelled and/or pressured to finish. Weather plays a major role if they go up or not. If the flag on the flagpole is standing straight out, it is too windy, and sub-zero temps or ice will prevent them from being able to climb the Rock and star.
It is a coordinated effort that happens every time Tammy and Matt need to do anything with the star, and that includes just replacing a few bulbs during the season. By the time equipment is gathered (if available), schedule coordinated, hike or drive to rock, secure electrical boxes, climb the rock, and don harnesses and other equipment, it can take anywhere from a couple hours to half a day depending on what needs to be done. Many hours of their own time are vested in maintaining the star every season.
Climbing the star involves using a half harness and prusiks to shimmy up the main poles. Tammy and Matt will one or both climb the star and have at least one person acting as a helper for them with getting them equipment as needed. Ropes are attached to a bucket to haul up bulbs, hand tools, electrical tape/zip ties, and sockets to replace bulbs and make repairs to wiring and sockets. Repairs are common every year on the bottom half of the star due to vandalism along with weather exposure to sockets and wiring over the entire star. On average, the entire star is re-wired in its entirety every 15-20 years.
A week before star lighting, repairs to the star are made as needed and the bulbs on the upper half of the star are replaced with new bulbs. Old bulbs are left in to keep the sockets clean during the off season. Bulbs on the lower half are taken out at the end of the season to keep vandals from breaking the bulbs.
On the day of star lighting, the bulbs are installed on the bottom half of the star, and the entire star is tested a few times before the ceremonies. One person stays with the star for the rest of the day to make sure no one tampers with it. Coordination for lighting the star is made with a person at the base of the rock at the power pole and a person at the stage where the ceremony is taking place. Using radios, they closely follow the schedule of events, and then turn on the power when the cue is given. After star is lit, the electrical box is set so that star shuts off at sunrise and on at sunset via an electronic eye. Every few days, the star is checked to replace burned out or broken bulbs throughout the holiday season until it is turned off on the last day of the Denver Western Stock show. Bulbs on the bottom half of the star are then taken out, and the star is shut off for the season.
Despite the enormous preparations of the Chamber of Commerce and the Fire Department for the star lighting ceremony, both Tammy and Matt have volunteered countless hours working independently and without input to ensure the readiness of the star for the ceremonies. As the “Keepers of the Star”, they have always made sure that part of the tradition is ready to go no matter what, and then they continue to maintain it through the season. In addition to star lighting, Tammy and Matt have volunteered their time to change bulbs throughout the years for special occasions, most notably for the Broncos Super Bowls, 100th Anniversary of the Douglas County Fair, 9/11, and the Thin Blue Line.
Budget Impact
The impact to the department’s budget for bulbs and wiring is minimal. While the time to prepare and maintain the star each season is considerable, there is no impact to the budget due to the volunteer hours by Tammy, Matt, and other assistants.
Staff Recommendation
No recommendation as this is for information only.
Proposed Motion
No motion is necessary. Information only.