Granddaughter of Edwin A. Bemis tells stories of the women in her family

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Edwin A. Bemis is a well-known historical gure in the Littleton community.

He is the namesake of Littleton’s public library and dedicated many of his years to the Littleton Independent, where he started as an apprentice at the age of 11 and later became its publisher. He helped create the Littleton Historical Society, the Littleton Museum and the Littleton planning commission, serving in many other leadership roles in the city and state. e event was hosted by Historic Littleton, Inc., a group dedicated to preserving the historical and architectural heritage of the greater Littleton area.

But he was not the only one in his family to accomplish greatness.

On Aug. 3, over 40 community members gathered in a meeting room at the Bemis Public Library to learn about the Bemis women — powerful ladies who made an impact on society, both in Littleton and beyond.

Maya Bemis DeBus, a granddaugh- ter of Edwin A. Bemis, traveled from California to give the presentation. As a tour guide and historical society board member in her state, DeBus loves history and has spent years learning about her family’s stories.

“Every family has heroes. Every family has problems. Every family has shadows — and the Bemis family is no exception,” she said.

She walked the audience through generations of women, highlighting each stage with photographs, artifacts and stories.

The Bemis women

Elizabeth Granger Bemis, Edwin’s mother, rst moved to Colorado from Massachusetts in 1878, DeBus said. She was a musician, poet and a charter member of the Women’s Club.

After a few years in Littleton, her rst husband and her son both died. She returned to Massachusetts –which DeBus said was likely a brave journey for a woman in that era –married Fred Bemis, and convinced him to move to Littleton.

“If you’re the sixth of nine sons, you have to ght to nd your place in the world,” DeBus said of Fred. “I think that’s one of the reasons that they came here and that he really didn’t want to go back — besides the fact that Littleton is a wonderful, wonderful area.”

In Littleton, Elizabeth and Fred had Edwin, a son named Luther and a daughter named Ella. ey raised these children at the 1890 farmhouse that sits at the edge of Sterne Park. eir home is now owned by the City of Littleton, which leases it to Western Welcome Week to use as their business o ce.

Ella and Edwin opened a stationery and lm development shop on Main Street in Littleton in 1908. During this time, Ella hand painted ne china dishware, which was red in the shop and sold to customers.

After high school, Edwin married Katherine Prescott Bemis. She was widely known for her vocal talents and worked as the editor and manager of the Littleton Independent, a role in which the community recog- nized her skill.

“ e Littleton Independent has always been a good newspaper,” DeBus read from a column written about the newspaper at the time of Edwin’s ownership. “It’s better now than ever since Katherine Prescott Bemis has taken charge as editor and manager.”

Debus’ mother was Elizabeth Bemis DeBus, the daughter of Katherine and Edwin. During her presentation, DeBus highlighted her mother’s successful career in radio news.

“ ey wanted her to do … children cooking and church (on the radio),” DeBus said. “And she said ‘No, no, no — I’m a news gal.’ And so that’s what she did.” rough roles at several stations across the nation, she covered the 1940 Republican National Convention and had her own news analysis radio show.

DeBus then looked ahead at the current generations of Bemis women, who are carrying on the legacy of those who came before them. DeBus has relatives who are accomplished as a dance teacher, a travel agent, a physician assistant at the National Institute of Health and a PhD student in chemistry.

Learning history

One attendee at the event was Nina Ray, whose late husband, Garrett Ray, bought e Littleton Independent from publisher Houston Waring and editor Edwin A. Bemis in 1969.

“We knew (the Bemises) well,” Ray said, adding that they were like family, so learning the history was special.

Another attendee, Kathleen Fischer, said she found the presentation very interesting.

“It was fun to see those beautiful women,” she said about the photos. “Nice to see the great history they have.”

Deanna Kristopeit, who used to work at the Littleton Independent, said it was especially interesting to hear about Elizabeth Bemis DeBus’ work in the news business.