1946-1976
The Golden Age Of Idlewild
1946
September 13th, 1946
Appleby Begins Building The Appleby Motel And Cafe
H. A. Appleby buys the land once owned by Ed Wild and announces his intentions to build a resort with cottages and a store.
Buys Canyon Place
H. A Appleby has purchased the Ed Wild property in the Big Thompson canyon and will make a resort there, with 30 cottages, store and other buildings.
Fort Collins Coloradan - September 13th, 1946
1947
November 10th, 1947
Appleby Begins Building The Ritz Motel
Appleby buys the land that would later be the site of The Ritz Motel.
Lewis Dakan to Hubert A Appleby $10 Pt lot 6 Idle Wild Sub.
Fort Collins Coloradan - November 10th, 1947
1949
February 18th, 1949
Appleby Sells Appleby Motel To Boyd Jones
Appleby sells the Appleby Motel, Appleby Cafe, as well as the Appleby gasoline station to the Boyd Jones family.
Appleby Motel Bought by Boyd Jones, Former Pilger, Neb., Resident
New owners of the extensive Appleby Motel setup in the Big Thompson Canyon are Mr. and Mrs. Boyd Jones, formerly of Pilger. Neb. They purchased the store, cafe and cottage operation from H. A. Appleby, who has owned it for several years and who developed it to its present size. Mr. Jones operated a locker plant and market business in Pilger. The couple have three sons: Donald, 16; Leland, 12, and Larry, 10.
The Estes Park Trail - February 18th, 1949
1950
January 23rd, 1950
Appleby Sells The Ritz Motel
Appleby sells the Ritz Motel to Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Williams
Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Appleby have purchased the former Fay Walt acreage on the Estes Park road, three miles west of Loveland. They recently sold the Titz [Ritz] motel in the Big Thompson canyon to Mr. and Mrs. C. B Williams, who have taken posession.
Fort Collins Coloradan - January 23rd, 1950
1952
March 7th, 1952
Boyd Jones Sell Appleby Motel And Cafe To Ben Fedderson
Boyd Jones sells the Appleby Motel and Cafe, along with the roadside store to the Ben Fedderson family.
Appleby Motel Sold to Ben Federsons, Iowa
The Appleby Motel in Big Thompson Canyon has been sold by Mr. and Mrs. Boyd Jones to Mr. and Mrs. Ben Fedderson of Wyoming, Iowa, it was announced this week. The new owners took possession March 1. The Jones' have not announced their future plans.
The Estes Park Trail - March 7th, 1952
1956
May 11th, 1956
Appleby Cafe Is Renamed To The Covered Wagon Restaurant
The Fedderson family remodeled the Appleby Cafe renaming it to the Covered Wagon Restaurant. The restaurants iconic covered wagon was placed on its roof at this date.
The Appleby Cafe is now named Appleby’s Covered Wagon Restaurant and has a covered wagon atop the roof. The building has been remodeled and has an outdoor dining terrace on the bank of the river . . .
1957
October 25th, 1957
Ben Feddersen Sells Appleby Motel To Chris Johnson
The Ben Feddersen family sell the Appleby Motel to Chris Johnson, but retain ownership of the Covered Wagon Restaurant.
Mr. and Mrs. Ben Feddersen have sold their Appleby Motel to Chris Johnson of Greeley. Involved in the transaction was the trade of the Johnson ranch and the Feddersen’s motel and home in the Canyon. The Johnsons will take possession of their newly acquired property the first of the year. The Feddersen’s Covered Wagon Restaurant was not included in the transaction.
The Estes Park Trail - October 25th, 1957
1958
May 30th, 1958
Chris Johnson Sells Appleby Motel To Glen Floyd
Glen and Helen Floyd buy the Appleby Motel from Chris Johnson and the Curio shop beside the highway from Ben Feddersen.
Welcomed to the Canyon this week is Mr. Glen Floyd who has purchased the Appleby Motel from Chris Johnson and the Curio Shop from Ben Feddersen. The purchaser of the 10 unit Canyon Motel is an experienced motel man, having managed a motel at Ogalalla, Neb., for 10 years. For the last year he has had employment in Denver where Mrs. Floyd and their three children are living now but will come to the Canyon as soon as schools in Denver are closed for summer vacation. The Floyd’s two sons are David, 13 years of age, John 9 and the daughter, Rosanne is 10. Mr. Floyd is a native of Sullivan, Ill., and Mrs. Floyd is from Grainton, Nebraska.
The Estes Park Trail - May 30th, 1958