Carmichael Connection Newsletter

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July - Sept. 2023


Midland Cereal Company

Construction began on the Midland Cereal building on December 11, 1919. The Brighton Blade ran articles with architectural drawings showing the proposed new factory building designed by Denver architects Moorman and Twogood. It also showed tall grain bins to the south end of the present building that were never constructed. The large white concrete initial M’s on the building were created by the local Hydro-stone Company. The building cost $350,000 to build and opened in October 1920.

Midland Cereal Company

The Midland Cereal Company was formed with high hopes for its future in the breakfast cereal industry. In 1919, the company decided to launch a new breakfast cereal. A national advertising agency was hired with the intent that the company’s “Whole Wheat Nuggets” would eventually rival Grape Nuts and Shredded Wheat, and for Brighton to challenge Battle Creek, Michigan for cereal production. Local resident R. H. Miller was so certain of the future potential of Midland Cereal that he purchased ten acres from the company and platted 160 lots for “an attractive residential area of substantial homes.” However, Whole Wheat Nuggets and the Midland Cereal Company eventually failed after a short while, and the new residential neighborhood never took off.

Former Brighton Resident Lois Cress (1916-2006)

Loise Cress was a teacher, journalist, and editor at The Denver Post. She was a prolific writer both in her professional life and personal life. During World War II, she corresponded regularly with many soldiers. She also was often invited to judge writing competitions or be involved in other civic engagements in and around Brighton. Her numerous letters and other archived materials make up a sizable portion of our overall collection at the Brighton City Museum.

Former Brighton Resident Lois Cress

For more information about Lois Cress and our online museum collection follow this link!

Artifact Focus

Brighton City Museum is always looking for new ways to tell the story of the community through the collections. This cross-section of the old evergreen that was used for the annual tree-lighting at Historic City Hall, was recently donated to us to enhance our collection. City forestry had cut a slice of the fallen timber as a keepsake.

Cross-section of the old evergreen

October 23, 1966

One of Brighton’s largest downtown fires happened on October 23, 1966. It was known as the “Toggery fire” and it happened along Main Street. In the background of the first image you can see Friedman's Grocery along Strong Street and even further back, a crowd gathers to watch outside of the Armory.

One of Brighton’s largest downtown fires happened on October 23, 1966.

The second photo shows the battled storefront from the ground level. The Toggery was in a commercial building that once stood at the corner of Main and Strong Streets.

The Homann Building

Below are a couple of photos showing 117 N Main, in our Downtown Historic District. The building's historic name is the Homann Building. A business called Jacob the Jeweler had a retail storefront in the early 1900s that you can see on the left-hand side of the photos included in this post. Today, if you walk by 117 N Main, the jewelry store would have been located in the section of the wall that has been bricked-up next door to Something Brewery. If you look closely at the awning featured in the second photo, you can see it read "Jacob the Jeweler."

The Homann Building - a couple of photos showing 117 N Main, in our Downtown Historic Dist

In 1981, a historian completed a cultural resource survey of this building and noted the following: "This structure was named for Herb Homann, one of Brighton's downtown businessmen. During the late 1920s, when Ray Benedict's furniture business occupied the building, it became known as the Benedict Furniture Company. Since the time of its construction the building has provided space for a variety of commercial purposes, including a car dealer, jewelry store, and candy shop."

Welcome to our Growing Grads Interns! 

We would like to welcome our two summer interns to the museum as part of the City’s Growing Gads intern program.  Alana DeMateo and Ellie Larsen have a love for history.  They will spend their summer at the museum learning the ins and outs of museum work as they help create their own special exhibition project for all to see.  Please welcome them when you visit the museum. They will finish their internship in August.

Alana and Elle posed with their favorite exhibits.

Alana and Elle posed with their favorite exhibits.