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Emperor Jim
Empress Roxie
Prince Royal Sugar Bear
Princess Royal Tracy Dianne
Proclamation:
Proclamation of His Most Imperial Majesty, Emperor III, Jim
I hereby proclam [sic] on this day, the 18 of June, 1979, throughout the Empire of Southern Colorado that the Prince and Princess Royal well [sic] serve a full year of their reign in of the year of appointment. By this proclamation the prince and princess well [sic] not be eligible to seek the title of Emperor or Empress durning [sic] the year of their reign/appointment and if they resign or submit a letter of leave of absent [sic], from their title of Prince or Princess Royal this eligibility well [sic] also apply durning [sic] the year of appointment. So be it Spoken. So be it written. So be it done.
H. M. I. M. Emperor III
Jim
As Empress III, I proclaim that there shall be an annual award presented by the reigning Empress to the person or persons who have exhibited and practiced those humaitarian qualities which distinguish them in our society.
The first recipients of this award exemplify the traits of love, respect and trust to such a degree that ll of us might well use them as a standard to judge our own contributions to our friends and society.
They were introduced on October 14, 1954, by Frieda in a bar called the House of Oscar, here in the Springs. For those of you who have not been around for [the] last 25 years, that bar is now called Bob’s Cafe and is on the nortwest corner of Nevada and Fillmore. For those of you who have been around for that long, you may remember one of them as the bartender at Norton’s Tavern; which used to be where the parking south of the utility building is now.
Talking with these two people brings up some interesting memories from the past. Remember the basement piano bar at The House of Oscar “complex” with such notable entertainers as Randy Lee, George Marvin, and Johnny Burdell? How about the Red Fox in the old Antler’s Hotel where Liberace played in 1954? Bill O’Hare and his favorite phrase, “Garden of the Gods, God speaking…”? The Manhattan Lounge on Pikes Peak between Cascade and Tejon was a local hot spot back then. The Cheift Theater across the street wasn’t known as the Chief complex, but was connected with somebody’s grandfather which might account for the “showbiz” flare of the Hide and Seek Complex. Both of them remember the Colorado Grill before it was the old Hide and Seek, and described the food as good… that tells you how long ago that was.
They remember the Exit when Bud and Martha Knowles owned it and Chuck Gavin started bringing the gay crowd down there. Remember Jessie? Bury the Fairy Logan? Niles? Gary Jones? Bruen Hilda? Lee Tague? Second Hand Rose? John Greenthumb?
How about Joe Brady’s first girl’s bar called Sappho’s? (Tom sure does:)… and so do our two humanitarian award winners.
However, they don’t dwell in the past. They live in the present. At the ages of 66 and 68, they took a hot air balloon ride in Albuquerque in 1977. They recently had lunch at the Back Porch in the Raintree and had to suspend conversation while Peter Purse cruised the customers. They voted for Emperor and Empress IV in a dirty book store. They had been lovers now for 25 years, 23 of which they could not live together because of their obligations they fulfilled– one to her dying mother, and the other to her dying sister. When you ask either one that makes a relationship last for 25 years, they reply almost simultaneously– “mutual love, respect and trust in each other.”
Because of their philosophy which has survived 25 years, because of their dedication to life and its obligations, because of their contribution to our lives, and because they exhibit the humanitarian qualities of love, respect and trust, I proclaim that the first recipients of the Steve and Dorothy Humanitarian Award are:
Virginia “Steve” Stevenson and Dorothy Brown.
So be it spoken.
So be it done.
Empress III – Roxie
June 18, 1979
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