Goin' to Guffey

We plan to be in colorful Guffey, Colo., on the Fourth of July. Here's why:
(From the Park County Chamber of Commerce website.)
On the Fourth, Guffey will conduct a chicken flying contest. For $5, people can rent a chicken. The money goes to city improvements. Those who pay are able to spend quality time boding with their fowl prior to the event. From a special containment box 12 feet above the ground, the chickens are "encouraged" to see how far they can fly. The record is 138 feet established in 1998.
The town is named for James Guffey, who was born in Pennsylvania. He got in on the ground floor of the oil business during the 1870s. Using money he earned from selling machinery, he began to lease land and sink his own wells. His oil wells eventually extended from Pennsylvania to Texas, and his name was associated with some of the country's major oil fields. In the 1890s, he bought mining property in the Freshwater Mining District on the south end of South Park, Colorado. He gave the town of Freshwater money for street improvements. For this, the town honored him by changing its name to Guffey.
Gold was discovered in Cripple Creek during the 1890s and prospectors were drawn to the Guffey area by its similar geology. As word got out, more than 1,000 prospectors came into the area. The town of Freshwater was founded in 1895, and it soon grew to over 500 residents.
Freshwater's main street was lined on both sides with false-front stores. Businesses included three grocery stores, four saloons, three hotels, four restaurants, a couple of bakeries, three hardware stores, two clothing stores, a couple of assay offices, two barber shops, a fruit store, two meat markets and a furniture store.
The residents of Freshwater applied for a post office in 1895. Because there was a Freshwater post office in California, application under this name was denied. Residents then decided on the name Idaville for Ida McClavery Wagner, owner of several mining claims. The following year the name was changed to Guffey. The post office remains active today.
Metallic ore in the area also included some silver, copper, iron and lead. One of the rarest metallic ores, yptotaritralite, was also found. Its main use is as an alloy.
As with many other Colorado mining towns, there wasn't enough ore to sustain a mining industry. Several tunnels were drilled and shafts were sunk mainly northeast of the town. No large lodes were discovered and within several years Guffey was almost deserted. Its economic base became ranching.
Today, Guffey is best known for its mayors. In 1988, Park County officials in Fairplay lost the town plat. A new map was drawn and zoning changed what was once residential property into commercial at a substantially higher tax rate. As part of a protest, Guffey residents created a new zone called "ET" for "existing transitional." It applied the ET zoning liberally to town lots.
They also elected a feline mayor, a cat named Paisley. She died of natural causes and was replaced by Smudge le Plume, also a feline. Smudge died mysteriously in 1991 and was believed to have been eaten by an owl. Whifley le Gone, a calico cat, took over the mayoral duties. In 1993, Whifley moved out of town to a ranch.
Shanda, a dog, inherited the position when her master, Bruce Buffington, bought the general store where the mayor's office was situated. The two appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show. During the interview, Shanda preferred to let Buffinton do all the talking. Guffey's two political parties are the "Democats" and the "Repupkins".
Some residents felt the mayor should be an elected position, and on Halloween, 1998, there was a general election. Monster, a solid black cat, was elected, beating out Lars and Luke, both dogs, and a cockatiel. Monster's office is on an old sofa in front of a stove in the Guffey Garage (an antique shop).