My wife and I lived in Golden for nearly 30 years. We raised our kids there. They went to Bell Middle School and Golden High. 

Over the years I have seen the poplulation explosion and gentrification of Golden slowly wipe away any semblence of what the town used to be. And that is not a good thing. 

Our most recent example of that was when on Friday night we went in to town to enjoy the splendor of lighting Golden for the Holiday Season. What once was a beautiful and splendid candlelight walk down Washington to Clear Creek is now nothing more than a mosh pit with little or no order and certainly no hometown spirit. We stood near the visitor center at the north end of the Washington bridge and would not have known that there was a parade had it not been for the police cars clearing the street long enough for the parade leaders to get through the crowds. There were virtually no candles like in the past. Calling the parade on Dec. 2 a candlelight parade is the misuse of the term. The music and speakers could not be heard over the self-important public.  

Golden has been loved to death. It has been “found” like so many other wonderful places on our planet. And the spirit and splendor of the old Golden has been squeezed out of it by that polularity.  

Dennis Bosio, Golden