From David Allison, Museum Coordinator
When you’re headed north on I-36 to Boulder, just before you hit the Interlocken and Flatirons area, look out the window to your right. You’ll see a wide expanse of plains and a small pond resting tranquilly in the shadow of the Lac Amora neighborhood on the bluff.
The walking trails, wildlife, and the stunning view of the Front Range make Josh’s Pond a beautiful Broomfield park location. But why is it called Josh’s Pond?
Josh Cassell was born in 1981 and he and his family lived in a house near the pond that was then called Lac Amora. Josh was born with a heart defect. He had surgeries at the ages of four months and then at two years, which stabilized his health. Josh would be just a couple years younger than me, so I can imagine what his growing up years were like—baseball cards, E.T., trips to the bowling alley, hunting for frogs and other critters in the pond, and long days sitting at a desk in school, dreaming about being out-of-doors and riding bikes with friends. But then when Josh was ten, he died of heart failure in the hospital.
The grief of the loss of a child must be staggering, and the Cassells no doubt suffered greatly. In 1993, neighbors of the family petitioned the City of Broomfield to rename the pond that Josh had loved after him. If you visit the park, you’ll find both a plaque in honor of Josh, as well as your own ruminations on loss, beauty, and the transience of life.
To get a quick visual of Josh’s Pond, visit the link below.
And you can learn more about Broomfield’s history and Josh Cassell at Carol Turner’s blog—https://caturner.wordpress.com/—or in her book, Legendary Locals of Broomfield. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2014.