“My dad arrived at Ellis Island in 1904. He was 12 years old, and the records indicate that he had a $10 bill. His destination was New Castle, Colorado, where his uncle worked in the coal mines at that time. He never did relate to me the experience of getting from Ellis Island to New Castle; obviously it was on the train. I don’t know if he had a ticket but he must have had a ticket to get him here because $10 even then wouldn’t have done it.

“The first thing that he did was to go down and enroll in first grade, because he was going to be an American and he wanted to learn the language. He had been to school in Italy, and he was able to master English fairly well. He spoke with a bit of an accent but by and large he did real well. His uncle subsequently moved from New Castle to Glenwood.

“He bought a little cigar store on Seventh Street approximately where the Brewpub of the Hotel Denver is now. My dad’s uncle built a second story on the cigar store, rented rooms and called it the Star Hotel. It had 38 to 40 rooms, and as years passed he sold it to my father. And I was born and raised there. My dad eventually acquired the Denver Hotel and connected the two hotels. He tore down much of the Star and built an addition to the Denver.

“My dad was very civic minded. He was on the volunteer fire department for 20 years. He served 12 years on the City Council. He was active in several fraternal organizations. He did quite well for himself for having come here with nothing. But that’s America. He wasn’t unusual, I don’t think, there were many European immigrants who experienced the same thing.”

Hank Bosco is a lifelong resident of Glenwood Springs. He is chairman of the board at the Hot Springs Lodge and Pool.