Welcome to Branches of the Past, an ongoing collection of short stories that highlight the history, camaraderie and memorable moments in CNGA history, as told by CNGA members. These memories reflect the deep roots and strong connections that have shaped our association.
Kicking off the series, we’re excited to share a story from Stan Brown of Alameda Wholesale Nursery. Enjoy this glimpse into CNGA’s rich history!
Did you know CNGA has a connection to the Denver Mountain Parks?
In the mid 1960s CNA (Colorado Nurseryman’s Association had a secretary / treasurer named Pat Galavan, who was pretty high up in the Denver Parks Department. Pat was the last volunteer (non-paid) Director of our association.
Pat was involved in developing Denver Mountain Parks, which was done on a shoestring. At that time they were developing O’Fallen Park near Morrison.
Pat would load up his station wagon shovels, picks sledgehammers, and whatever else they might need then he would pick up 3-4 prisoners from the city jail and off to work they would go. They would level parking areas, logs to sit on, picnic tables, trails and anything else the park needed.
At noon Pat would grill up hamburger. Then late afternoon he would take them back to jail. None of them ever escaped, in fact they loved the fresh air and exercise.
Because the Nurseryman’s Association was growing, we needed to transition from a volunteer staff to a paid Executive Director. Larry Watson had dinner with Pat and asked him to resign, which was hard for Larry because he liked Pat a lot and didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Larry was relived when Pat’s eyes lit up and he said, “Oh-Thank You!”
Pat was a kind and gentle man. I never heard him swear or say anything bad about anybody. Larry Watson and I were new to the organization about then and Pat was a great role model.
Red Rocks visitors center has a nice display of Denver’s seven mountain Parks (of which Red Rocks is the most
visited.) We are so fortunate they had the foresight to save these treasures.
Submitted by Stan Brown at Alameda Wholesale Nursery
