Finding Pueblo, 1019 COBJ, Vol. 48, No. 9 Pg. 4
| Author | By KATHLEEN HEARN CROSHAL |
| Position | Vol. 48, 9 [Page 4] |
CBA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
By KATHLEEN HEARN CROSHAL
In 1943, a group of Italian soldiers, who had fought alongside their German allies in North Africa, were captured. Eventually these Italian prisoners of war were shipped to the United States, and a small group of them were sent by train to a prisoner of war camp at the Pueblo Ordnance Depot.
After Italy surrendered on September 8,1943, these prisoners were given greater freedom. In Pueblo, they worked in the fields tending crop s and the like. The "prisoners" were allowed to leave the facility on the weekends, and some of them attended Sunday mass at local Italian Catholic churches. Eventually these men were invited to other church activities, including dances and dinners, and several met and fell in love with Pueblo women.
After the end of World War II, these Italian soldiers were returned to Italy. However, love won out, and some of them later returned to Pueblo, married their sweethearts, and settled permanently in Pueblo to live and raise their families.
My own story of how I came to call Pueblo home isn't quite so dramatic, but it does have its fair share of ups and downs. I'm telling it here to provide some insight into what it's like to live and practice law in Greater Colorado.
For some added perspective, I also asked a few younger lawyers to share what drew them to Pueblo. When reading their stories, I was excited to discover that my experience of mentoring, opportunity, community, and collegiality still exists in the Pueblo legal community today.
My Story
I grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, convinced I would never live in a city smaller man Cleveland. I eventually became a teen wife and mother. Roughly six years into the marriage, with children ages 5 and 6, my husband and I decided we should move to Colorado. It was a geographic "cure" for our marriage. My husband applied and was accepted to Southern Colorado State College (SCSC) in Pueblo, sight unseen.
First Impressions
Before the move, we took a six-week road trip out West. The first time I saw Pueblo, I was coming from Canon City heading east on Highway 50. I thought Pueblo would be in the mountains because of its elevation. When I realized it was a steel city in the desert high plains with a population of only about 100,000,1 started crying and continued to cry off and on for hours. I was leaving behind Cleveland, an industrial city where the river had burned, and where the steel industry was huge. I had imagined Pueblo as an idyllic Colorado mountain town.
On the second day of my crying fits, my husband told me that Pueblo was the home of the Colorado State Hospital, and that if I didn't stop crying, he intended to have me admitted. I stopped crying!
Moving On
Once settled in...
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