Footprints in the Sugar
A History of the Great Western Sugar Company
written by Candy Hamilton
Journey of the Book
photos of Candy and John Hamilton as they travel throughout Colorado with "Footprints in the Sugar"
One never knows which direction life may take them and I can certainly be included in that vast number of people. As a young girl growing up in Modesto, California, I dreamt of doing many things when I would finally be an adult out on my own. Believe me when I say writing a history book, or for that matter any type of book, was never one of my many dreams or goals.
The stories and history of the Great Western Sugar Company have come alive for John and I as we travel and meet people who were associated with the Great Western Sugar Company. The experience has brought the book to life for us and is truly the unexpected reward of my writing "Footprints in the Sugar." - Candy Hamilton (photo of Hamiltons relaxing by Cache la Poudre River - June 2009)
Footprints in the Sugar Loveland Museum & Gallery media release
can be purchased through this website or at the following locations:
(click on location to view website)
An Open Book - SOLD OUT!
Greeley, Colorado
Farm And Ranch Museum - SOLD OUT!
Gering, Nebraska
Fort Collins Museum & Discovery Science Center Museum Store - 2 BOOKS
Fort Collins, Colorado
Loveland Museum & Gallery - SOLD OUT!
Loveland, Colorado
Overland Trail Museum - 6 BOOKS
Sterling, Colorado
Ralph's Books & Cards - SOLD OUT!
Casper, Wyoming
(website unavailable)
Footprints in the Sugar
is available at the following Colorado libraries:
Aims Community College in Greeley
Berthoud Community Library
Boulder Public Library - Carnegie Branch for Local History
Brighton Public Library
Brush Public Library
Centennial Park Branch Library in Greeley
Eagle Public Library
Glenn A. Jones Memorial Library in Johnstown
Longmont City Library
Loveland Public Library
Mead High School
Mead Middle School
University of Colorado at Boulder
Windsor-Severance Library
Footprints in the Sugar
can be accessed as a reference at the following locations in Colorado:
Beet Sugar Development Foundation - Denver
Boettcher Foundation - Denver
Boulder County Parks & Open Space
City of Greeley Museum archives
Colorado Historical Society Stephen H. Hart Library
Colorado State University Morgan Library Agricultural Archives
Colorado Sugarbeet Growers Association - Greeley
Denver Public Library Western History & Genealogy
Fort Collins Museum Local History Archives
Fort Lupton Museum
Fort Morgan Museum
Historic Parish House & Museum - Johnstown
Longmont Museum & Cultural Center archives
Overland Trail Museum - Sterling
Windsor Middle School
and also
College of Idaho History Department - Caldwell, ID
Concordia University Center for Volga German Studies
McKeany-Flavell - Oakland, CA
Montana Department of Revenue
Montana Historical Society Research Center
Nebraska Historical Society
North Dakota State University Library GFR Collection
Northern Illinois Chapter AHSGR
Oakdale High School History Department - Oakdale, CA
Teamsters Local No. 190 - Billings, MT
The Sugar Association - Washington, DC
U.S. Beet Sugar Association - Washington, DC
Sampling of articles about Footprints in the Sugar:
(click on publication to view article)
Windsor Beacon - August 1, 2009
The Fence Post - July 21, 2009
Loveland Reporter-Herald, June 29, 2009
The Johnstown Breeze - June 18, 2009
Johnstown Historical Society, May 2009 newsletter
The Sugarbeet Grower - July/August 2009 - book review
Gering Courier - September 18, 2009
When John and I packed our fifth-wheel and truck with books in mid-June and left our home in Idaho to go to Colorado to market and promote the book, we never expected to be there for four months. We fully expected we would return home after a couple of weeks and that all our family and friends would receive a copy of the book for Christmas; after all, what in the world were we going to do with 500 books?
What we encountered when we arrived in Colorado was an immediate, heartfelt and overwhelming response to Footprints in the Sugar. I still cannot quite 'get my head around' the reaction. I knew I had written a bit of American history that I felt needed to be documented, but never imagined other people would feel the same way. In all, John and I had the opportunity to visit with several hundred people. It meant a lot to us that so many were willing to share their memories and stories with us. Of the more than 400 books distributed, we personally delivered more than two-thirds. John and I are very proud to be 'newly adopted' members of the Great Western Sugar Company family.
While in Colorado I made presentations at the Loveland Museum & Gallery and Windsor-Severance Library, talked to six autonomous learner classes at Windsor Middle School, and had book signings at the Parish House in Johnstown, Farm and Ranch Museum Harvest Festival in Gering, Nebraska, and the Mead Rotary's Sugar Beet Festival. In all, John and I met and had the opportunity to visit with well over 400 people. Of the more than 400 books distributed, we personally delivered more than two-thirds. Footprints in the Sugar is now in twenty-one states and Washington, D.C., and is being reviewed by the Agricultural History Society for its Agricultural History journal.
On October 23 I received an email from the Colorado Historical Society stating its Pauline Miles/Caroline Bancroft Awards Committee had selected Footprints in the Sugar for an Honorable Mention for 'Researching and Compiling an Extensive Repository of Primary Sources on the History of the Great Western Sugar Company.' The Breckenridge Heritage Alliance won the Caroline Bancroft award for its renovation and reinterpretation of the Edwin Carter Museum; Historic Denver, Inc. won the Pauline Miles award for its 'Denver Story Trek' interactive tour program. There were two Honorable Mention awards, the second was given to the Historical Society of Idaho Springs for community engagement and participation in its 150th Gold Rush Anniversary events. I was very honored to be recognized.
After my presentation at the Loveland Museum & Gallery a woman came up to me, held both my hands, and told me the 'presence' I had mentioned feeling as John and I walked through deserted Great Western factories had chosen me to write their story. Why else would someone who had no connection to Great Western or the beet sugar industry be so obsessed to finish writing a book about the Company?"
Christmas was wonderful even though I actually had to shop for presents instead of giving everyone we know a book! There were quite a few book orders during December and several more during the first six months of 2010, as a result, I have sold out the entire publication of Footprints in the Sugar. John and I are considering doing a second printing of the book, although at this time no definite plans have been made to do so. The journey of the book continues to amaze me.
- Candy Hamilton
