Jacks Old Photos of Colorado

The photo for this unused postcard was probably taken in December of 1923. Ruth Cassedy would turn 82 the following month.

Ruth Nixon Howell was born in New Jersey in January of 1842 and married New York native John Cassedy in December of 1861, just eight months after the start of the Civil War. Around 1893, Ruth and John moved to Estes Park and homesteaded there. By 1900 they were involved in ranching. In the Estes area Ruth was known as “Aunt Ruth.” It appears Ruth and John may have split their time between Estes Park and Longmont in some fashion, perhaps spending winters in Longmont. It was in Longmont in December of 1906 that John died at age 67. As of 1922, Ruth was still splitting her time between the two towns

During the 1910’s and early 1920’s there are numerous newspaper notices of land sales identifying Ruth as the seller. Perhaps these were sales of parcels of Ruth and John’s land in the Estes area that helped fund her retirement.

A January 1922 article in the Estes Park Trail newspaper tells of Ruth’s 80th birthday celebration in Longmont. It indicates she was quite well-liked. At the time, Ruth was living at the Longmont residence of Clara Lauenstein. According to the article, Clara invited Ruth’s closest friends to her house for the celebration, and though “the thermometer hung around the zero mark,” nine of her friends came out for the event. The article said, “the afternoon was spent in a social way and Aunt Ruth kept her guests in laughter in her jolly way.” It closed with a wish by the newspaper that “Aunt Ruth live to celebrate many more such happy occasions.”

In the photo Ruth is standing in front of Longmont’s Free Methodist Church, which was established around 1906 and sat at 821 Coffman. Note the signs behind Ruth, one of which announces revival meetings. (In 1979 this church moved to 1601 South Pratt Parkway. It is now the Pratt Parkway Christians church. )

Ruth served as a Deaconess for the church. This would have been a lay position ministering to the needs of others. Her white collar piece would have been normal wear for a Deaconess at the time.

I was surprised to learn that, in 1907, Ruth’s church had a female pastor named Hattie J. Handyside, a native of New York. Prior to her Longmont assignment, Pastor Handyside had done mission work in Leadville and had been the pastor of the Free Methodist Church in Colorado Springs. By 1917 she was the pastor of the First Free Methodist Church in Pueblo, and in 1919 became superintendent of that church. Through some research I learned that, although not all Methodist denominations allow women to preach, women pastors and Methodism are not strangers. In fact, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, first authorized a woman to preach in 1761.

Ruth passed away at age 89 on August 16, 1931. Her remains and those of her husband, John, are interred at Longmont’s Mountain View Cemetery.

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