Quoth the Raven Overhere LbNA #15832
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jun 14, 2005 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Town of Grand Lake |
| County: | Grand |
| State: | Colorado |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Planted by: | Aljan  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | Busy Bee'in |
| Last found: | Jun 27, 2018 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFaFFFFF |
| Last edited: | Jun 14, 2005 |
Quoth the Raven "Overhere" Letterbox
This box is part of a four box series that marks some surprising, and sometimes disturbing, history of the small mountain town of Grand Lake, CO. A warning... these stamps are all kinda morbid but wicked fun none the less! Aljan
In the summer of 1926, most of Grand County’s criminal activity involved chasing bootleggers or small time robbers and thieves. As July 1926, drew to a close, a case would break that would make headlines throughout Colorado. It started on the morning of Sunday, July 25 near the town of Grand Lake when the local postmistress decided to call upon a recluse named Fred Selak to let him know that he had unclaimed mail at the post office.
The Selak family had been prominent in Grand County affairs since 1878 when Albert Selak, a Georgetown brewer, had financed a wagon road through the Granby and Grand Lake areas. Later, the Selaks had run a general store on their ranch just north of Granby. The location was, at one time, a US post office called Selak. Together with several siblings, Albert’s son Fred controlled the ranch, the general store and a sawmill. Fred was known to be wealthy and depending upon who one asked and which side of the money you were on Fred was either a respected business man or a ruthless loan shark. There had been rumors over the years that Fred kept a large sum of money and an extensive collection of rare coins in his cabin.
When the postmistress called at the Selak cabin, no one answered her calls. With an employee of Fred’s in her company, the postmistress forced the door of the cabin open. The inside was in a shambles. There was evidence that the cabin had been thoroughly searched, to the point of several holes having been cut in the floor. Fred Selak was nowhere to be found.
The Sheriff was notified and came to investigate. Fred’s family was then advised of his apparent disappearance. Detectives from Denver were called to the scene and they searched the cabin and surrounding area to look for any clues that night lead them to the missing man. Among their discoveries were a chair stained with blood, a rifle belonging to Selak that had been recently fired and a slug that was stuck in the plaster of the wall. The sheriff talked to members of Fred’s family and determined that rumor that Fred had hidden away large sums of money in his cabin were surely false. It was learned though that Fred had owned a collection of old coins, which were now missing.
Local citizens combed the area looking for any sign of the missing man. A $2,000 reward was offered to anyone who found him, dead or alive. At that time there were no results…
The clues...
Distance: Maybe 1/2 mile there and back - ish?
From Mommy Dearest continue on the paved road in the same direction you came from, wrapping around the lakeshore to the East Shore Trailhead. Head down the trail. You will shortly go through a very tight section of the trail where trees and bushes hug both sides. It will open up a bit and you will come to a trail marker that has several on the trail destinations and their mileage on the trail. Turn around here and double back uphill in the direction that you came on the rocky game trail. Follow this 'trail' for approximately 250 steps, less than 1/4 mile, to a spot where it seems that the trail ends. There is a sudden steep incline and three or four blue spruces blocking the trail. When I planted the box, I had to duck under a small lodgepole that was leaning completely across the trail right before your stopping place. You're in the right spot when you can look to your left through the trees and see Shadow Mountain Lake to the left and Grand Lake towards the right. There is a broken off tree about 8 ft tall, maybe 12 inches in diameter, and to the right of it a thick, greyed, broken stump with the heavy trunk of its blowdown laying in front of it. Between the holey (woodpeckers? Bugs?) blown down tree and the heavy greyed stump, covered with strips of wood, is where you will find the box.
Email me with the condition of my box at AljanSundance@yahoo.com
Thanks! Aljan
This box is part of a four box series that marks some surprising, and sometimes disturbing, history of the small mountain town of Grand Lake, CO. A warning... these stamps are all kinda morbid but wicked fun none the less! Aljan
In the summer of 1926, most of Grand County’s criminal activity involved chasing bootleggers or small time robbers and thieves. As July 1926, drew to a close, a case would break that would make headlines throughout Colorado. It started on the morning of Sunday, July 25 near the town of Grand Lake when the local postmistress decided to call upon a recluse named Fred Selak to let him know that he had unclaimed mail at the post office.
The Selak family had been prominent in Grand County affairs since 1878 when Albert Selak, a Georgetown brewer, had financed a wagon road through the Granby and Grand Lake areas. Later, the Selaks had run a general store on their ranch just north of Granby. The location was, at one time, a US post office called Selak. Together with several siblings, Albert’s son Fred controlled the ranch, the general store and a sawmill. Fred was known to be wealthy and depending upon who one asked and which side of the money you were on Fred was either a respected business man or a ruthless loan shark. There had been rumors over the years that Fred kept a large sum of money and an extensive collection of rare coins in his cabin.
When the postmistress called at the Selak cabin, no one answered her calls. With an employee of Fred’s in her company, the postmistress forced the door of the cabin open. The inside was in a shambles. There was evidence that the cabin had been thoroughly searched, to the point of several holes having been cut in the floor. Fred Selak was nowhere to be found.
The Sheriff was notified and came to investigate. Fred’s family was then advised of his apparent disappearance. Detectives from Denver were called to the scene and they searched the cabin and surrounding area to look for any clues that night lead them to the missing man. Among their discoveries were a chair stained with blood, a rifle belonging to Selak that had been recently fired and a slug that was stuck in the plaster of the wall. The sheriff talked to members of Fred’s family and determined that rumor that Fred had hidden away large sums of money in his cabin were surely false. It was learned though that Fred had owned a collection of old coins, which were now missing.
Local citizens combed the area looking for any sign of the missing man. A $2,000 reward was offered to anyone who found him, dead or alive. At that time there were no results…
The clues...
Distance: Maybe 1/2 mile there and back - ish?
From Mommy Dearest continue on the paved road in the same direction you came from, wrapping around the lakeshore to the East Shore Trailhead. Head down the trail. You will shortly go through a very tight section of the trail where trees and bushes hug both sides. It will open up a bit and you will come to a trail marker that has several on the trail destinations and their mileage on the trail. Turn around here and double back uphill in the direction that you came on the rocky game trail. Follow this 'trail' for approximately 250 steps, less than 1/4 mile, to a spot where it seems that the trail ends. There is a sudden steep incline and three or four blue spruces blocking the trail. When I planted the box, I had to duck under a small lodgepole that was leaning completely across the trail right before your stopping place. You're in the right spot when you can look to your left through the trees and see Shadow Mountain Lake to the left and Grand Lake towards the right. There is a broken off tree about 8 ft tall, maybe 12 inches in diameter, and to the right of it a thick, greyed, broken stump with the heavy trunk of its blowdown laying in front of it. Between the holey (woodpeckers? Bugs?) blown down tree and the heavy greyed stump, covered with strips of wood, is where you will find the box.
Email me with the condition of my box at AljanSundance@yahoo.com
Thanks! Aljan