I Didn't Do It, but Someone Did

Standing on the NW corner of the intersection of US Highway 287 and Colorado Highway 14 is a convenience store/retail gasoline facility affectionately known as Ted’s Place to the locals.

If you were born and raised in Northern Colorado, you knew you would turn at Ted’s Place to head up Poudre Canyon.  If you weren’t born and raised in Northern Colorado and wanting to drive up Poudre Canyon, you knew to turn at Ted’s Place because it was marked as Ted’s Place on all official maps.

According to the internet, Ted’s Place opened in 1922 as a restaurant, gas station, general store and owner’s residence.  Since that time and up to 1989 a person could go there to get a fishing license, a burger, fill their gas tank all before heading up for a day of fishing in Poudre Canyon.  Tedd's Place was torn down in 1989.I would guess every local has at least one Ted’s Place story to tell.  Elaine has hundreds of Ted's Place stories, as she spent weekend nights attending slumber parties in the residence during her junior high and high school years.

During the late 1980’s and early 1990’s the large retail gasoline companies started buying the small Mom and Pop gasoline and service stations.  If you are old enough to remember, at the Mom and Pop you could get your gas tank filled, your oil checked and your windows washed. It was the intent of the retail giants to close the Mom and Pops and open modern convenience stores with new gas pumps, buildings, and canopies, etc.  In 1989 Ted’s Place was sold to the retail giant, Conoco.

Back in those days, a young Monner was working for a company that tore down the Mom and Pops, installed new tanks and gas pumps while building new buildings for Conoco, Phillips 66 and the other giants.  Along with supervising the construction of these projects I spent time wining, dining and entertaining the construction reps from these giant gasoline companies.

One particular day while at lunch with the construction rep for Conoco, Kaleb mentioned that Conoco had bought Ted’s Place.

Kaleb: We bought a store up north called Ted’s Place.  We need to go look at it.

Me: That’s great, I know just where that is.

Kaleb: We need to go look at it before we tear it down.

Me; You can’t tear Ted’s Place down; the locals will have a fit.

Kaleb: We are going to tear it down, let’s go look at it.

Me: Conoco is creating a huge problem for itself, but let’s go look at it.

Driving from Denver to Ted’s Place. I spent the time explaining to Kaleb the historical significance of Ted’s and how the locals in the area would not appreciate Conoco tearing down the Northern Colorado landmark.  Kaleb smirked and told me Conoco’s intent was to tear the building down regardless of the locals’ feelings.

Kaleb: We are going to tear it down.  We would like to contract with you and you and your company handle the demolition.

Me: I’ll see what I can do.

Kaleb and I arrived at Ted’s Place to find that most of the “valuables” had already been stripped.  Kaleb had the keys to the building.  He opened the doors and we went in.

Everything had been removed from the walls except a wall mounted payphone and some miscellaneous signage. Kaleb was interested in the payphone.  I was very interested in one sign in particular.

Kaleb: Let’s tear the payphone off the wall and see if there is still money in it.

Me: OK, do you have tools in your car?

Kaleb and I tore the phone off the wall and tried to open the money box.  Working for at least an hour and destroying twenty dollars' worth of drill bits, we were able to open the money box.  Kaleb and I didn’t get the “Prize” we had hoped for.  Kaleb and I split eleven dollars and seventy-five cents.

At some point in the mid-1960’s a local sign painter painted a map of the foothills, mountains, rivers and roads in Northern Colorado.  This map was painted on a four-foot by eight-foot piece of plywood and was mounted to a wall in Ted’s Place.  Today this map is mounted to a wall in my basement.

I had told Kaleb I would organize the demolition of Ted’s Place.  The truth is, I gave it a half-hearted attempt.  I contacted a local demolition/excavation contractor to see if there was any interest in taking the job.  This contactor told me he didn’t want to be involved, fearing local outrage.

Just like the demolition/excavation contractor I had contacted I was pretty sure I didn’t want to be associated with the company that was going to tear down Ted’s.  I was right, the public had heard the rumors, and they weren’t being met favorably.  I stopped looking for someone to demolish Ted’s.  Kaleb did not. 

Kaleb brought in a demolition company from Denver.  The demolition was scheduled for Sunday at six AM, so Ted’s could be demolished before anyone knew what was happening.  When the heavy equipment arrived in fifteen minutes Ted’s was gone.

Conoco put up a sign speaking of the history of the building.  They replaced the building with a horrible cheap looking metal building and continued selling gasoline.  Most people still call the intersection Ted’s or Ted’s Place, but it will never the same.

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Our crazy lives!

Monner