733 Pine St Historic Survey - Laserfiche WebLink

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Resource Number: 5BL853 Temporary Resource Number: 157508426014 Nicholas Thomas himself had an interesting history as a coal miner in Louisville. According to a newspaper interview with his grandson, Quentin Thomas (who knew him, having been born in 1908), he was extremely thrifty. Quentin was quoted as saying, "Grandad didn't make a lot of money at the mines, but he was a champion saver.... He'd pick up every bit of string he'd find in town and wind it into huge balls of string. When we were little, we'd come and ask him for some string for a kite and he'd lecture us for two hours about how wasteful we were for not saving our own string.... Grandad never wasted anything. He'd give us three shells to go out and get rabbit or duck. We were expected to come back with two pieces of meat and an unused shell." Quentin Thomas also stated in the article that his father, Nicholas Jr., was part of a delegation of four to go to Omaha, Nebraska to talk to the president of Union Pacific about reopening a mine. Nicholas Jr. ended up working with partners to start the Big Six Coal Company, which operated the Sunnyside Mine just southeast of Louisville in the early 1900s. In 1931, Nicholas Jr. and his sons formed the Ko-Z Coal Company and operated the Fireside Mine in Louisville, after which today's Fireside Elementary School in Louisville was named. According to a Thomas family history, Nicholas Thomas Sr. "was partially buried in the Acme mine cave-in where he injured his leg" in 1916 and he was unable to again work as a miner. He died in 1926. Mary Thomas died in 1928. While the specific property documents could not be located, it is assumed that the property at 733 Pine was inherited by Nicholas Jr. The records indicate that upon his death, it was passed on to his children, who were Nicholas, John, William, Ralph, Quentin, Charles, Mary, and Elizabeth Thomas. In the 1928 directory for Louisville, no person could be located as residing at 733 Pine. However, beginning with the 1930 directory and going to 1943, John ("Jack") Thomas is shown as residing at this location. He was a grandson of Nicholas and Mary Thomas and son of Nicholas Jr. He was a miner and was married in 1927 to Dorothy Larry. The 1930 census also shows them at this location with their young daughter, Betty. In about 1946, John and Dorothy Thomas relocated to Boulder. Dorothy Thomas died in 1956 and John Thomas died in 1991. Starting soon after John and Dorothy Thomas moved, the house at 733 Pine was rented out. The directories for 1951 through 1953 show Abe and Mary Brown living at 733 Pine. Abe Brown was a coal miner for thirty-seven years who died at age 53 in 1955. Following his death, Mary Brown continued to live at 733 Pine until around 1956. Next, the 1958 directory shows Charles and Joanne Heffner residing at 733 Pine. The house at 733 Pine was then the residence of the brother of Ralph Thomas's wife, Matilda Bergren. He was Albert Bergren and his wife was Anna. They are shown at 733 Pine in the directories for 1959, 1960, and 1966, which is the last year for which the Louisville Historical Museum has residential directories. Albert Bergren was a miner. In 1984, according to County property records, this property was conveyed by siblings Quentin Thomas, Mary Thomas, and Elizabeth Thomas to members of the Decker family. Beth Decker was the daughter of their brother, Charles. In 2005, it was conveyed outside of the family from the Decker Property Investment II LLC to Steven Poppitz after 120 years of having been owned by Nicholas and Mary Thomas and their descendants. 36. Sources of information: Boulder County "Real Estate Appraisal Card — Urban Master," on file at the Carnegie Library for Local History in Boulder, Colorado. Boulder County Clerk & Recorder's Office and Assessor's Office public records, accessed through http://recorder.bouldercounty.org. Directories of Louisville residents and businesses on file at the Louisville Historical Museum. Census records and other records accessed through www.ancestry.com . Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville, Colorado, 1909 Louisville building permit files 5