X-Message-Number: 18710
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 11:32:07 -0600
From: Eivind Berge <>
Subject: Frozen Dead Guy Days

From rockymountainnews.com:

Nederland plans 'Frozen Dead Guy Days' this weekend

By Michael Mehle, News Staff Writer

Nederland town leaders -- who once fought against a frozen dead man and the 
grandson who kept him in his backyard Tuff Shed -- are now ready to celebrate 
the celebrity who hasn't drawn a breath in nearly 13 years. 
Introducing Nederland's first "Frozen Dead Guy Days."

This weekend's festival will fete Bredo Morstoel, who died in his native 
Norway in 1989. Ultimately, his body was moved to Colorado in 1993, where his 
grandson Trygve Bauge preserved him in a backyard cryogenics lab.

When town leaders learned what was stored in the Tuff Shed, they summoned 
health officials and passed an ordinance to prevent the storage of further 
frozen citizens. But in the end, Morstoel (who was "grandfathered" in) 
remained, and now town leaders are ready to capitalize on their famous frozen 
resident.

"I think enough time has passed," said Teresa Warren, president-elect of the 
Nederland Area Chamber of Commerce, which is organizing the event.

"Everybody knows Nederland because of him," Warren said. "You constantly meet 
people from out of state who'll ask, 'Is that frozen dead guy still there?' "

"I'm sure some people will question whether it's in good taste," said Peter 
Rowland, the chamber's executive director. "But we haven't heard from any of 
them yet."

The headlining event is Saturday's coffin race, in which participants will 
construct a coffinlike container capable of holding a 75-pound person, then 
carry it through an obstacle course in the city's Chipeta Park. Rowland 
expects as many as 50 participants for the noon event, with some of them 
lugging elaborate caskets and others the cardboard variety.

Other events include the Grandpa Ball, a 3 p.m. film festival Sunday featuring 
the Beeck sisters' Grandpa's in the Tuff Shed movie and a Grandpa Look-alike 
contest. The latter contest could get tricky, Rowland said.

"We're leaving it to the participants to decide whether they should look like 
Grandpa did, how he looks now or how he might look when he's thawed."

Another first for the festival: Grandpa tours that will cover "inside and 
outside the Tuff Shed." Those who go on the tour must sign an agreement never 
to return to the site or divulge where it is to others. Tickets are $25 and 
are available by calling (303) 258-7976.

Interest has exceeded organizers' expectations, and they anticipate it growing 
considerably next year. Larger sponsors are already stepping up.

"This will likely be the last year it will be just a town event," Rowland 
said. "It's just quirky enough that people from other parts of the state want 
to check it out."


March 5, 2002

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=18710