Who is that bearded man?
St. John’s has but one photo from the time of its building dedication in 1892. In this photo (below), we see the sanctuary bedecked in flowers and several items still in use today: the altar, the lectern, some wooden chairs and, of course, the first electric lights to illumine a house of worship in Breckenridge. However, there is some question about the man standing at the right of the altar. It has been assumed this was the Rt. Rev. John Spalding (photo 2) who was present at the dedication and served as Bishop of Colorado from 1873-1902. In this photo, the lone male figure bears a striking resemblance to another member of St. John’s, the well-known naturalist Edwin Carter (photo 3). The photographer was likely Otto Westermann, who might have staged the photo after the event, without the congregation present, and when the Bishop might have begun the arduous journey back to Denver. What do you think? Or did Otto oversleep that day in March and had to reconstruct the event later to capture it on film?