Colorado Snowsports Museum debuts new 10th Mountain Division exhibit
'Letters Home' brings soldier's letters, scrapbooks, photos and other artifacts to life digitally
Colorado Snowsports Museum/Courtesy photo
Even after the Colorado Snowsports Museum’s 2018 renovation, Dana Mathios couldn’t help fixate her attention on one exhibit she felt still needed improvements.
“I was like, ‘we could have done better,'” the curator and director of collections said of the museum’s 10th Mountain wing. Though she was also busy piecing together “Skiing in Colorado” — a photo-rich book that hit the museum’s shelves on Oct. 30 — Mathios went to work.
“One question we get almost every other day is to see a list of all 10th Mountain Division veterans,” Executive Director Jen Mason stated in a press release.
A brand new exhibit, “Letters Home,” does all that and more.
Mathios’ “preservation-minded” approach brings 10th Mountain soldiers’ letters, photos and other artifacts to life, digitally.
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“It’s really been years in the making,” Mathios said of the new interactive touchscreen display, which opens to a VIP audience Friday from 4-5 p.m. and to the public from 5-6 p.m. “Letters Home” captures the museum’s extensive archive collection — as well as submitted letters and artifacts from the public and the Denver Library’s database — into one browsable interface.
“Through this exhibit, visitors can search their loved one’s name,” Mason said.
Mathios uploaded 1,178 artifacts to the digital touchscreen, which has files for all 32,247 10th Mountain veterans.
“This exhibit showcases years of digitization and preservation work done behind the scenes,” Mathios said.
“It’s incredible to see this project come to fruition and for visitors to take a deep dive into the history of the 10th Mountain Division from a different, more personal lens.”
For Mathios, the stories of two soldiers stand out: Wilbur Vaughan and Graydon Fuller.
Vaughan’s grandson son, Cameron, answered Mathios’ call for public donations by sending several of his father’s letters. Some chronicled Vaughan’s experiences in the D-series (one of the 10th Mountain’s intensive training programs at Camp Hale). One was written on the day World War II victory was declared in Italy.
“And he didn’t know yet,” Mathios said.
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“We have those letters from the soldiers’ perspective, but now, in history and in time, we know what happened on those specific dates. So, it’s fascinating to compare — this is what they were saying, but this was actually going on (and) they didn’t realize it yet.”
Mathios said she was “blown away” by the fact that there “has been something significant” in every letter or artifact submitted from outside the archives.
“I think we have some pretty great content,” she said. “Interesting facets and pieces of history are in all the letters.”
The display has breathed new life into some recycled material as well. Fuller’s letters, for example, have been on display in the museum since the beginning. Mathios said the compassion and subtle sense of humor expressed by the soldier, who wrote while sick in the hospital, offers another unique, touching perspective.
“He feels like he’s abandoned his troops and he just wants to get right back out there,” she said.
Mathios said there’s an abundance of anecdotes ready to be mined by those willing to patiently sift through soldiers’ stories. Hidden amongst homesick young men’s war stories are the occasional weekend adventures to Aspen or maiden voyages up to Leadville.
“I hope people take the time to actually read the letters when they’re there because it’s really kind of eye-opening,” she said. “It’s a different slice of history.”
The museum also added a section on women at Camp Hale, which can be found in the “Welcome to Camp Hale” section.
The entire exhibit was made possible by donors Kent Erickson and Barb Krichbaum and the 10th Mountain Division Foundation, according to the museum’s press release. Originally, its unveiling was to coincide with the 10th Mountain Legacy parade on Friday, but that event has been canceled because of “inclement weather.” There will be cocktails and appetizers during the public viewing hour and Mathios will be present to answer questions.
Even though the grand opening won’t coincide with a parade’s fictional physical 10th Mountain manifestation, Mathios is excited for visitors to sample a taste of the privilege she felt in combing through the vast historical content.
“It’s been a labor of love,” she said of the project, which started in 2019.
“Just to be able to read through these letters, I just felt so lucky.”
