Colorado’s Citizen-Soldier (Copy)

By Geoffry Monteith

Alphonse Pierre Ardourel

April 17, 1879 – October 22, 1952

Major Alphonse Pierre Ardourel, born April 17, 1879 to French immigrants, became one of Colorado’s most interesting twentieth-century figures.[1] His father, Jean-Francois Baptiste Ardourel, was a Captain in the army of the Second French Empire, serving under Napoleon III, and a veteran of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).[2] Baptiste married Rosenne Mannan shortly before the war, and in 1871 the couple welcomed their first child, Theophilus – who would later take the American name “Joseph.”[3] Joseph would later become a well-known resident in Boulder. He worked as a letter-carrier for thirty years – at the time, the longest-serving Post Office employee in Boulder. Shortly after the war ended, the Ardourel family emigrated to Nova Scotia, Canada. The Ardourels only lived in Canada a few years, but did welcome their second child, Anna, during that time.[4] By 1876, the Ardourels finally made their way to Colorado, settling in the mining boomtown of Crisman, near Boulder.

There, the Ardourel family welcomed their son Alphonse. With Baptist’s chartering of the Grand Republic Gold Mine when Alphonse was a small child, the family’s fortune changed to one of relative prosperity.[5] However, Baptiste’s death in 1891 left the family in a precarious situation.[6] It is unclear how growing up without his father affected Alphonse, but one can imagine it took its toll. Nevertheless, he eventually took over the mining company and prospered in his own right. In 1901, Alphonse married Daisy Hendrick in Boulder.[7] In 1908, the couple welcomed their first, and only, child – their daughter, Gwendolyn.[8]

At the turn of the century, Alphonse continued a career in the mining industry. By his mid-twenties, he already began to expand his business beyond Colorado. In 1904, Ardourel, Vice-President of the Grand Republic Gold Mining Company, visited the town of Neenah, Wisconsin, for the purpose of opening a corporate office in the area. A brief segment of the Neenah Daily Times offers the first published description of Ardourel, saying he “carries the highest recommendations as a mining expert and businessman.”[9] Four years later, one sees the first example of the coincidences and escapades which would come to characterize the life of Alphonse Pierre Ardourel. When Neenah’s neighboring city of Appleton reported on the nearly lost and vehemently contested last will and testament of a man named James McCaghery, it so happened that one Alphonse Ardourel found himself unwittingly involved. Mr. McCaghery, soon before his death, had amended his will with the assistance of a local priest. Ardourel, by sheer coincidence, called on the same priest on the same day, and bore witness to the will. When McCaghery’s disgruntled heirs sought to have the will thrown out, the Green Bay court evaluating the proceedings recalled Ardourel from Colorado and he testified on behalf of the estate.[10]

By 1909, Ardourel won a seat in the Colorado state legislature as House Representative for Boulder County.[11] However, he still doubled as a mining executive, and, at thirty years old, would soon embark on a scouting expedition to Mexico to look for potential mining operations to invest in or develop eventually lead Ardourel into Mexico. While perhaps this started as a business endeavor, it ended in revolution. The outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in November of 1910 sent the country into chaos for years, and the resulting turmoil would eventually spill over into the United States, prompting a military response in 1916. What, exactly, Ardourel did in Mexico from 1910 to 1916 is unclear, but myriad stories paint an incredibly convoluted picture. In one story, set in 1912, Ardourel describes how he bore witness to – and participated in – what he claimed to be the first instance of aerial bombing. While working with Constitutionalist General Alvaro Obregon near the port of Guaymas, Ardourel, Frenchman Diddet Madon (a future member of the Lafayette Escadrille), Australian John Dean, and General Obregon cobbled together a makeshift array of explosives to drop from above onto Federalist ships in the harbor.[12] How, exactly, Ardourel came to be in the company of General Obregon (who would later hold high office in the post-revolutionary government) is unknown, but given as how Ardourel also came to form a documented personal friendship with General Eduardo Hay (Eventual Mexican Speaker of the House, and Minister of War), such an experience is in keeping with the story.

Whatever way Ardourel entered Revolutionary Mexico, he left it in spectacular fashion. Between the revolutionary violence, the rampant banditry, and resurgent conflict with Native Americans, passage back to the United State became dangerous at best. In April of 1913, on a train leaving Guaymas, a group of mounted bandits assaulted the transport. The marauders killed many of the passengers – including a man in the seat directly in front of Ardourel.[13] Later, after returning to Guaymas, Ardourel boarded a ship bound for Mazatlán which soon caught fire, leaving him stranded for several days. Eventually, the US Navy ship Buford took on Ardourel and the other Americans yearning for passage home. He recounted of the incident, “The Stars and Stripes flying at the Buford’s mizzen when she appeared on the horizon off Mazatlán looked awfully good to me.”[14] It is worth re-iterating: through all the above, Alphonse Ardourel was still a representative in the Colorado State Legislature.

One last story provides yet another angle to Ardourel’s involvement in Mexico. After he returned home, Ardourel soon enlisted in the United States Army. In 1915, Alphonse Ardourel was a privet, and served as a cavalryman.[15] Soon thereafter, the United States government began organizing an armed response to put an end to the increasingly brazen bandit raids spilling across the Mexican Border. The army organized an expedition under the command of John Pershing, who later commanded the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I and included numerous other notable figures such as George S. Patton – whom Ardourel claimed to have served alongside while on the border. In 1945, after Patton’s tragic death in an automobile accident, Ardourel recalled an incident with Patton he claimed occurred in May of 1916:

He proved he knew how to use those fancy six-shooters he wore. We were stationed a short distance out of Chihuahua. Patton, then a First Lieutenant, was sent out to forage for food for men and horses in his cavalry outfit. He took three troopers with him in an old automobile, and there performed what he later joked was ‘the first all-mechanized operation in military annals.’ He approached a ranch house and a man on horseback charged him. Patton fired quickly and killed the officer’s mount, but the man didn’t surrender – as military courtesy dictated – when Patton put his pistol away. Instead, he jumped up and jerked out a revolver. Patton was quicker. He drew and shot first. He killed his man. A few minutes later, two others charged Patton on horseback out of the ranch patio. Patton fired and killed both men, captured a fourth man, and brought the living and dead back to camp.

While Pershing’s expedition eventually failed in its main goal to capture Pancho Villa, the show of force did deter further raids and, coincidentally, acted as an incredibly importance bit of experience for the American soldiers would go to Europe one year later.

Before continuing on to Ardourel’s service in the First World War, one should take a look at his political exploits which occurred between 1912 and 1916. Still a representative for Boulder County throughout, needles, to say, Ardourel was a bit of a multi-tasker. As a semi-professional athlete in his youth, Ardourel continued to both referee and participate in boxing matches throughout his life. In January of 1913, the “Hon. Alphonse P. Ardourel” faced off against Denver’s light-weight champion, Willie Ritchie, and told the fighter to “go as far as he likes.”[16] One must not think Ardourel had an unimportant or uneventful political career, however. In May of 1914, prominent Denverite Horace W. Hill was taken a hostage and held for ransom in Mexico. His wife came to Ardourel to resolve the situation and petition the state department for aid.[17] It was in 1915, though, that Ardourel’s actions first reached national attention. In response to increased labor strikes in Colorado’s mining industry (and perhaps some personal interest and animosity) Ardourel put forward a (ultimately unsuccessful) bill in the state legislature to designate labor strikes as a treasonous offence – punishable by death, in some instances.[18] Ardourel became vilified in labor-focused news outlets around the country. One may speculate this animosity toward strikers is what prompted Ardourel to join the Colorado National Guard later that same year. It was the Guard which came in to put down excessive strikes, sometime in a bloody fashion, so perhaps this is what attracted him to the militia instead of the regular Army.

When the United States formally entered the First World War in early 1917, Private Alphonse Ardourel was a member of the US 4th Cavalry stationed in, of all places, Honolulu, Hawaii.[19] While the first American troops arrived in late 1917, Ardourel, like most of the American Expeditionary Forces, came over in mid-1918. Having received a promotion to First Lieutenant, Ardourel arrived in France just prior to the last major event of the war – the Allied Hundred Days Offensive.[20] Now a part of the 115th Ammunition Train, Ardourel worked as a logistics officer ensuring a steady stream of supplies and ammunition to the front lines. For decades to come, the management of men and material would be Ardourel’s primary occupation. The well supplied Allied armies pushed rapidly through German lines, and eventually secured an armistice on November 11, 1918. Lieutenant Ardourel returned home in June of 1919.[21]

After the war, Alphonse Ardourel continued to try and serve the people of Colorado as a prominent community organizer. He made an unsuccessful bid for state auditor in 1920.[22] Later, in 1922, Ardourel led successful effort to connect Durango to an extensive railway network.[23] Through it all, however, Ardourel maintained his position in the Colorado National Guard, and soon received the rank of Captain, as well as appointment as the organization’s chief quartermaster. This position still carried serious political weight, however, and Ardourel began to interact with Colorado’s major forces – good and ill. Notably, by 1925, Ardourel’s position brought him into direct conflict with yet another strange chapter in Colorado’s history – the ascendency of the Ku Klux Klan to political power. The election of Governor Clarence Morley (a staunch Klansman) in 1925 marked a high point for the organization. Though ostensibly a Republican, Morley’s primary affiliation and loyalty was to the Klan and its Grand Dragon, John Galen Lock.[24] Governor Morley’s first order of business, immediately after his inauguration, was to remove Adjutant General Paul P. Newlon (a fellow Republican) and Head Quartermaster Ardourel (a staunch Democrat) from their positions within the Colorado National Guard.[25] Newlon categorically refused the order and declared it an illegal abuse of authority.[26] He then ordered Captain Ardourel to guard his office overnight so as to prevent any replacement from taking up residence.[27] Eventually, however, Morley secured a special bill from the legislature granting him sole executive power to appoint and dismiss Adjutant Generals, and eventually won the matter. One year later, Morley dismissed Ardourel from service outright, asserting he frequently left the state without leave.[28] Ardourel, newly returned from Mexico, of course, didn’t help his case when he announced he would soon lead an expedition composed of other retired servicemen back into Mexico to search for and, hopefully, develop a fabled silver mine reportedly lost centuries earlier.[29] Ardourel apparently heard tell of the lost riches from an explorer he met during his time in Guaymas.[30]

Whether the expedition was a success is unclear. Nevertheless, by 1927, it did not matter: Morley was out of officer, and Governor William Adams – a close friend of Ardourel – was in power.[31] Colonel Newlon returned to the office of Adjutant General, and Ardourel, now a Major, once again became chief Quartermaster.[32] A wave of strikes carried out through the International Workers of the World (I.W.W.) labor organization kicked off what became known as the Weld County Coal War. In October, Major Ardourel announced the Colorado Statehouse would fall under round-the-clock National Guard supervision in order to deter any acts of violence or vandalism.[33] One month later, a group of militiamen and local police opened fire on a crowd of miners, killing six and injuring twenty, in what became known as the Columbine Mine Massacre.[34] Undeterred, strikes continued. In early December, Ardourel personally warned the Chancellor of the University of Denver to reign in students seeking to partake in the protests and threatened military arrest if any joined the picketers.[35]

While the strikes eventually abated, the tense situation created another problem for the National Guard – a rift within the chain of command. Throughout the situation, Ardourel sparred with Adjutant General Newlon. Over the next few years, the two engaged in a war of words and mischief arising out of their different styles of command. In November 1929, Ardourel publicly spoke out in defiance of Newlon’s authority while testifying before a special committee. When asked if there was ill will between the two old soldiers, Ardourel replied, “I would say, frankly, that there is.”[36] One June day in 1930, after sparring over who could use the National Guard’s fine town car, Ardourel had a guardsman commandeer the vehicle while it was in Newlon’s possession. Newlon, who was in the company of Army General A.M. Tuthill, left the statehouse and found himself and his guest stranded without transportation.[37] In January of 1931, Ardourel publicly accused Newlon of outright political insubordination and sabotage aimed at hurting governor Adams’ chance of reelection.[38] In May, antics and accusations turned into insubordination as Ardourel ignored Newlon’s direct orders, because most believed Governor Adams would soon request the Adjutant General’s resignation anyway.[39] The feud finally ended in July, when Newlon did tender his resignation.[40]

As the Great Depression established itself in the early 1930s, so too did Alphonse Ardourel cement his place in Colorado politics. Passed over for Newlon’s old office, Ardourel retained his position as chief Quartermaster. However, his reputation as a charismatic, if eccentric, Democrat earned him high praise as he aided the people of Colorado. When the Bonus Army began its journey to Washington in 1932, those from Colorado stopped first at the Statehouse in Denver. Three-hundred impoverished veterans and their families wanted to be heard – and it was Major Alphonse Ardourel listened to them. He heard their plight, and promised to do what he could to get them to Washington.[41] An early adopter of what became “New Deal” policies, Ardourel did what he could to provide work or assistance to the unemployed. He furnished many with temporary work attending to National Guard facilities, while simultaneously constructing campsites and kitchens on the Guard’s rifle range to accommodate unemployed families. He even directed the available infrastructure to distribute food throughout the state. When asked about his work, the Major said:

I have seen revolutions, uprisings, and riots of all kinds, but I have never seen a group which could not be handled by a friendly pat on the back, an offer to talk it over, and best of all, a hot meal under the belt. … No rule or regulation yet adopted is more important than saving human life. After all, all rules and laws come from the people themselves.[42]

Practicing what he preached, Ardourel was known to take groups into the statehouse café and personally give them coffee and doughnuts. So renowned was his support for the needy, that when, in 1933, the newly-elected governor Edwin C. Johnson announced his intention to replace Ardourel, a mob of the Unemployed Citizens’ League descended upon the statehouse debate floor and demanded Ardourel remain – but to no avail.[43]

Over the next few years, Alphonse Ardourel bounced around a bit. In 1934, he launched an ultimately unsuccessful bid for Mayor of Denver, losing to Benjamin Stapleton.[44] Most notably, however, Ardourel became a local leader in the newly created Civilian Conservation Corps and, later, the Works Progress Administration.[45] The 1936 election of Teller Ammons to the office of governor returned Ardourel to the spotlight – and in force. In December, Governor Ammons announced his decision to Appoint Major Alphonse Ardourel to the position of Adjutant General of the Colorado National Guard.[46] Though he now returned military duties, Ardourel’s civilian efforts did not go unnoticed. With the formalization of the Colorado State Parks system in 1937, many recognized the work Ardourel conducted as leader of the CCC and WPA. The Windsor Beacon published in April 1937:

Perhaps to Alphonse Ardourel is due more credit for these state parks than to anyone else. As head of the CCC boys for some years he has come to know the value of recreational grounds. He has built a lot of them and has started more.[47]

It is ironic, then, that, after great accomplishments working with nature, nature then decided to provide Ardourel with his first true test as Adjutant General.

The Summer of 1937 saw the outbreak of what became known as the Great Grasshopper War. Billions of Grasshoppers swarmed Colorado’s eastern plains and threatened to exacerbate the already tenuous agricultural situation during the Dust Bowl of the mid-1930s.[48] Ardourel and the Colorado National Guard Mobilized to halt the swarm. Their first plan, of course, involved simply using tons of dynamite to obliterate prairie plague. The plan did not even phase the swarm. Eventually, Ardourel succeeded in defeating the grasshopper through a cunning mix of sawdust and poison.[49] The swarm dissipated, and Colorado was safe from famine for one more year.

In 1938, Ardourel made headline news, and began a national conversation, with the phrase, “Some of our officers are afraid they will be mistaken for Hitler supporters.”[50] The rise of Nazism in Germany during the 1930s had a an unfortunate coincidence for members of the 45th Infantry Division, of which the Colorado National Guard was a part – Hitler stole their logo. In 1925, as the National Guard began to formalize into organized divisions out of state militias, the 45th chose for their insignia a swastika, which was associated with both the Native American tribes from the region and the Spanish Conquistador Francisco Vasquez Coronado who explored the area centuries earlier.[51] However, the swastika the Nazis later adopted only differed in that it had a 45-degree rotation. Ardourel, like most of his men, thought the best course of action was to simply let the Nazis have it, and find a new logo for the 45th. In order to do so, however, Ardourel first needed to petition the War Department for approval.[52] Ardourel’s decision, and its rationale, elicited dissent from various outlets around the country and, more notably, garnered resentment from Hitler’s actual supporters. Shortly after Ardourel made the announcement requesting the change, a group of Nazi sympathizers calling themselves “The American Guard” came to Denver to protest the alleged insult. Ardourel said of the group’s intensions, “it is a despicable movement and one which every American must oppose.”[53] Backlash eventually dissipated, and the 45th got their new logo (a thunderbird) but Ardourel’s outspoken stand against Nazism remains both notable and admirable for its time.

The rest of 1938 went fairly smoothly for the Adjutant General, but still had its interesting moments. In June, a group of student researchers from the Colorado School of Mines found themselves stranded without water when an elderly woman by the name of Dolly Young purchased a shotgun, and sat atop the only nearby well (which she claimed to be hers) whilst threatening to shoot anyone who came to use it. Ardourel and some guardsmen mobilized to diffuse the situation and brought a water truck to the area to relieve the students. Ardourel said of the incident, “If the National Guard went storming down there with cannons, machine guns, and rifles, somebody might get shot – and from what [School of Mines] president Coolbaugh told me, it would be the guardsmen, not Mrs. Young.”[54]

For all the outlandish or humorous anecdotes from Ardourel tenure as Guard Chief, a short story about a magazine may have the most historical impact on both the history of the Colorado National Guard, and the United States Military. In August 1938, Alphonse Ardourel walked into Governor Ammons’ office carrying a magazine with a picture of Italian Alpini – mountain infantrymen – and said, “Colorado should have something like that.”[55] Ardourel asked for Ammons’ approval to petition the War Department for the funds to create a company of mountain infantry contained within the Colorado National Guard. Three years later, Charles Minot Dole of the National Ski Patrol and Army Chief of Staff George Marshall created the 10th “Mountain” Division of the United States Army and established their training facility at Camp Hale in the Colorado Rockies. Interestingly enough, no official history of the 10th’s inception mentions the eccentric guardsman who proposed the idea a year before Dole supposedly received the inspiration from Finnish troops in the Winter War of 1939.[56] Regardless, the 10th later went on to serve bravely in the Italian campaign of World War II; and, today, the Colorado National Guard’s 157th Infantry remains one of the three official mountain infantry regiments in the United States Army.

In January of 1939, the incoming Governor Ralph L. Carr announced he would replace Ardourel as Adjutant General.[57] After, Ardourel briefly held a position as state food and drug commissioner, and later reclaimed a seat in the Colorado state legislature as a representative from Denver, but his days in the political spotlight were clearly behind him. In 1945, representative Ardourel championed the cause of Hispanic and African American janitors in the Colorado state house in a discrimination claim.[58] In 1948, from retirement, a nearly seventy year old Ardourel “volunteered” to once again take command of the Colorado Guard and lead them in a full-scale invasion of New York to reclaim the body of deceased explorer Zebulon Pike (of Peak fame), the burial location of which was a topic of heated debate between the towns of Colorado Springs and Rochester, New York. Ardourel claimed his prior experience in the Grasshopper War prepared him to deal with the New Yorkers.[59] Ardourel’s last appearance in Colorado news came in 1951, when a female motorist struck him while going home one evening. He sustained only minor injuries, and, when asked if he faulted the driver, replied, “Good Heavens, no. I’d be the last man in the world ever to blame a woman for anything.”[60] On October 22, 1952, Major Alphonse Pierre Ardourel passed away at the age of seventy-three.[61] Truly a remarkable induvial, it is a shame does not grace the annals of Colorado history more than in scattered newspapers and the occasional magazine. For his long service to his country – and, above all, his service to the State of Colorado – Alphonse Ardourel was buried in the Fort Logan National Cemetery, where he rests with dignity.

Footnotes ↓

[1] “Alphonse Ardourel,” 1900 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com (accessed August 6, 2020).

[2] “Ardourel,” Colorado Genealogy Project, accessed August 7, 2020, http://cogenweb.com/logan/images/Pioneers/Leroy/Ardourel.htm. Many organizations detailing the history of the Crisman ghost town and the Ardourel family claim Baptiste was a Captain in the French army during the war, but without direct confirmation. There are documents from the Second French Republic which suggest the Ardourel family had a legacy of military service in France, which partially corroborates the local histories’ claims.

[3] “Alfonzo Baptiste,” 1880 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com (accessed August 6, 2020). The head of household’s appears to be mistakenly listed as “A. Baptiste.” From the other household members, this is clearly the Ardourel family.

[4] “Alfonzo Baptiste.”

[5] “Ardourel.”

[6] “Alphonse Ardourel,” 1900 Federal Census.

[7] “Ardourel-Hendricks,” Colorado, County Marriage Records and State Index, 1862-2006, ancestry.com (accessed September 1, 2020).

[8] Gwendolyn Ardourel,” 1910 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com, (accessed September 1, 2020).

[9] “Officers of Grand Republic Gold Mine,” The Neenah Daily Times, December 31, page 1.

[10] “Thought Will was Stolen,” The Appleton Evening Crescent, July 24, 1908, page 1.

[11] “Speer will be Speaker,” Fort Collins Express, January 6, 1909, page 3.

[12] “First Air-Bomber Used in 1912 Mexican Revolution,” Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, September 30, 1939.

[13] Thomas H. Russell, Mexico in Peace and War (Chicago: Reilly and Britton, 1914), 279-280.

[14] Ibid, 280.

[15] “Alphonse Ardourel,” U.S. Select Military Registrars, 1862-1985 (accessed September 1, 2020).

[16] Untitled, Muncie Evening Press, January 23, 1913, page 9.

[17] ‘Ohioan in Danger,” The Cincinnati Enquirer, May 5, 1914, page 2.

[18] “A Warlike Solon,” Oklahoma Labor Unit, January 30, 1915, page 1.

[19] “Alphonse P Ardourel,” U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939, ancestry.com, (accessed September 1, 2020), entry for August 1917.

[20] Ibid, Entry for August 1918.

[21] Ibid, Entry for June 1919.

[22] “Voters Passing Verdict on Hot Primary Fights at Polls Today,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, September 14, 1920, page 1.

[23] “Durango Cuts Loose to Celebrate New Railway,” The Liberal Democrat (Liberal, Kansas), February 16, 1922.

[24] James Davis, “Colorado Under the Klan,” The Colorado Magazine 42, no. 2 (Spring 1965): 93-94, https://www.historycolorado.org/sites/default/files/media/document/2018/ColoradoMagazine_v42n2_Spring1965.pdf.

[25] “Governor Morley Replaces Newlon, Appoints Austin,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, January 14, 1925, page 3.

[26] Ibid.

[27] Davis, 94.

[28] Untitled, Fort Collins Coloradoan, February 16, 1926, page 7.

[29] “Capt. Ardourel to Search for Silver Deposit in Mexico,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, August 15, 1926, page 12.

[30] Ibid.

[31] “The Governor’s ‘We,’” The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction), June 26, 1927, page 18.

[32] “Colonel Newlon to Visit Wyoming Nat. Guard Encampment,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, July 20, 1927, page 6.

[33] “Militiamen Guard Colorado Capital,” Brooklyn Daily Times, October 30, 1972, page 80.

[34] “Columbine Mine Massacre,” University of Colorado Libraries, accessed September 23, 2020, https://archives.colorado.edu/repositories/2/resources/520.

[35] “Students Warned Not to Take Hand in Strike,” The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction), December 4, 1927, page 1.

[36] “Ardourel on Stand Attacks Col. Newlon,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, November 22, 1929, page 1.

[37] “Subordinate Relieves Col. Newlon of His Car at Most Embarrassing Moment --- When Meeting General,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, June 8, 1930, page 3.

[38] “Alphonse Peeved at Being Probed Charges Politics,” Greely Daily Tribune, January 30, 1931, page 8.

[39] “Newlon Orders Are Being Ignored By Other Guardsmen,” Greeley Daily Tribune, May 4, 1931, page 2.

[40] “Nat’l Guard Chief Given Salary Cut,” The Daily Sentinel, July 28, 1931, page 5.

[41] “Police Drive Bonus Marchers from Cleveland Railway Yards After Vets Delay Many Trains,” Greeley Daily Tribune, June 4, 1932, page 1.

[42] “State Guards Provide Work for Many Men,” Greeley Daily Tribune, December 15, 1932, page 1.

[43] “State Senate is Flooded by Proposed Laws,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, January 9, 1933, page 1.

[44] “Many would be Mayor,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, December 12, 1934, page 16.

[45] “The Eleanor Roosevelt Highway,” Greeley Daily Tribune, December 21, 1934, page 5.

[46] “Ardourel to be New Guard Head,” Greeley Daily Tribune, December 24, 1936, page 1.

[47] “State Parks,” The Windsor Beacon, April 22, 1937, page 6.

[48] Arthur Hawthorn Carhart, “War on Grasshoppers Halts Insect Invasion,” Popular Science, (December 1937): 61.

[49] Ibid.

[50] “National Guard Asks Swastika be Dropped,” The Boston Globe, April 8, 1938, page 21.

[51] Ibid.

[52] Ibid.

[53] “Gen. Ardourel Aroused by Anti-Jewish Group,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, April 15, 1938, page 7.

[54] “Thirsty Students Call Militia to Subdue Woman,” Nevada State Journal, June 19, 1938, page 1.

[55] “Ardourel Would Run National Guard Up Hills, Imitating the Europeans,” Greeley Daily Tribune, August 27, 1938, page 1.

[56] “The Tenth Mountain Division,” Colorado Encyclopedia, accessed September 25, 2020, https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/tenth-mountain-division.