Speck, The Life and Times of Spencer Penrose book, breaking it down

I have decided to take this book and go chapter by chapter, stating the untruths and revealing the truths.


I like Robert C. Olson's style, it flows and is poetic but here are the untruths in his book.


1. Blue blood, we are not blue bloods. My ancestor Bartholomew came from England, he had borrowed money from his brother of which he never paid back. We were shipbuilders and captains of ships, our best friend was William Penn. I don't know if that makes us blue bloods.



2. Penrose did not come to Colorado and make his 1st million, he was already a millionaire thru a mine he owned in AZ. His brother Richard and a German banker were his partners.


3. Speck was not his nickname, it was Spec and it was a childhood nickname. Only his brothers used it, NO ONE outside the family used it.



4. The Penroses were NOT rich. My grandfather was a Doctor and they did NOT make money like the doctors today. They made a meager wage. My ancestor Bartholomew had a trust fund set up for the family, when my father and uncles were old enough to get their part of it, they each, got $500.00 a year. Even back then that amount did not make you rich. Everyone in my family worked hard for their money, from my grandfather to my father.



5. Robert C. Olson says Spencer Penrose was a "shiftless ne er-do-well". My Uncle Spence was a fast dealing, gambling sort of person. He loved the women and life. C.L. Tutt was his friend and Tutt was shiftless, greedy and as dishonest as they come. But, this is not the Spencer Penrose who built the Broadmoor, Cheyenne Zoo, El Pomar Foundation and the Shrine of the Sun. For you see, the truth and family secert is: Spencer Penrose was murdered in 1902 and his brother, Philip Thomas Penrose (my father), took over his identity.



6. So, this book is at the beginning, the story of my Uncle but after 1902 then its my father and he has done no justice to my father. Uncle Spencer was in my grandfather's good graces, he graduated from Harvard. My father went to Penn University and my grandfather was not that fond of my father, they were always at odds with each other.



7. The Penrose household had a lot of love in it, my grandmother was a loving person and showed that to her family. Olson writes that it was a cold household, he has confused the Tutt household for the Penrose household.



8. Jack Dempsey was from Manassa, Colorado not Utah. Jack was a friend of my father's, in fact my dad tried to start a hotel in Mexico, Jack was going to be the manager (this was when his boxing days were done). It didn't work out, the Mexican police didn't want them or a hotel there. The mexican police took everything and booted them out of the country.



9. True Fact in the book, I do not know how Olson found this out but my father said often: The Guggenheims are honest, they are the most honest people I know. Olson refers to this on page 3.
Olson also says about Charlie MacNeill, that he was my dad's friend. Charlie was my dad's best friend, he was murdered in front of my dad. My dad would talk to me about his friend, Charlie MacNeill with tears in his eyes. And he would always say, "this was my best friend" as he gave me a picture of Charlie. He and Charlie, tired to start a hotel in what is now called Penrose, Colorado. It didn't work out but the building still stands today.



10. At the end of Chapter One, Olson says "If the entire story of his life were told, however, maybe the true Spencer Penrose would be revealed." Well, Mr. Olson that's what I have been planning to do. Because the life of Spencer Penrose is not just about one man, its about two men sharing the same name. Maybe I have been to hard on Mr. Olson, with this statement alone, it makes me wonder if he knows the whole truth about us.