Mr. & Mrs. M. S. Adams

Return to the Mead History Page

Marion Squire (M.S.) Adams and Rebecca Jane Sipe, both recently widowed with children, met and married in Longmont in 1900. Two years later, in 1902, they purchased the Highlandlake General Store from Mr. Rinn who was moving to the new community of Liberty, two miles south of Highlandlake.

Outside of brief notes in the Highlandlake column in the Longmont Ledger, the first major mention of the Adams in Highlandlake was on September 6, 1903, when the Ledger published a special 25th anniversary edition complete with a full page about the Highlandlake District. A short article and picture of the couple was included among several other biographies of leading Highlandlake citizens.

Highlandlake people are fortunate in having good commercial facilities. The above firm deserves much credit for the enterprise shown when they put in a first class general store about one year ago. They carry a complete line of goods most suitable for the demands of the trade and also handle farm produce in exchange. The stock is modern, clean and new, and both Mr. and Mrs. Adams are kept busy a large share of the time. Mr. Adams has fifteen years experience in merchandising, all of which helps him to select choice goods at the lowest prices.

Before coming here they had made many friends in this locality while living in Longmont five years where Mr. Adams was engaged in a lumber yard. They have a thrifty business and are well satisfied with Highlandlake. ~ The Longmont Ledger, Sept. 6, 1903.

In May of 1905, The Greeley Tribune published an article called, At The Lake.

You would find the Adams pretty nice sociable people who have been running a store there for three years, selling all kinds of general merchandise and building up a nice trade. [. . .] They own the building across the road and would give somebody a bargain and show him where he could make some money if he was a blacksmith.

With a keen eye for the future, the Adams were one of the first Highlandlake merchants to move their store to Mead. They built the first store in Mead, opening in the spring of 1906. In 1908, Marion is elected the first Mayor of Mead, in 1910, he is listed as the Mead Postmaster. Their business grew as fast as the new town of Mead. In 1910, to accommodate their expanding enterprise, they built a substantial, brick building on Fourth Street. This building still stands and is now a private residence. Business may have been good, but the Adams, who were by now in their mid 60s, soon set their eyes on retirement. Toward this end, in January 1916, Rebecca placed an ad in both the Mead Messenger and the Longmont Ledger announcing the sale of the business to Harry Cline.

After the sale of the store, they moved to Longmont, where they lived the remainder of their lives. Marion’s death at age 81, was duly reported in the June 5, 1931 edition of the Longmont Ledger and 85 year-old Rebecca's obituary appeared four years later on February 1, 1935. Both are buried in Longmont’s Mountain View Cemetery.

Photos:
Top Left: Mr. & Mrs. M. S. Adams taken around 1903 in Highlandlake.

Below: The “new” M.S. Adams & Co. store on Fourth Street, postmarked 1913. Marion is on the far left, Rebecca is standing by the entrance, and an unknown woman is on the far right. Mintener Lumber yard across the street is reflected in the window.

Return to the Mead History Page