Oh2BeZB

Some say you aren't a local unless you have lived here 20 or more years. The ZB plate is one many are proud of.

If you have not lived in Grand County for very long then you are probably wondering what the big deal is with ZB. If you have lived in Colorado for 20+ years, you know that Colorado used to identify the license plates of each county with two letters. Grand County was ZB; still is for some.

1913 was the first year the State issued license plates. In 1932, Grand County was issued “53” for the county’s number on its plates. “Colorful Colorado” was introduced in 1950. In 1960 the county changed to ZB. The first ZB plate was issued to Chauncy Van Pelt, a one-time Grand County sheriff and grandfather of Shaun Scholl, owner of Big Shooter Coffee in Kremmling where ZB-1 now hangs. In the 60s the famous mountains were introduced. The plates were metal then and the entire plate was punched. Today, the plates still have the mountains but now they’re silk-screened. Some people are protective about the old fashioned metal plates with the mountains. I know I am.

This year I decided to change our Relocation Guide to The Grand County Resource Guide. The focus is more on the valuable information, we, as locals need. What better way to celebrate Grand County’s locals than with a focus on Grand County plates.

So began my quest for ZB plates. I had no idea the fun scavenger hunt I was about to go on. I sent emails through the chambers and asked everyone I knew if they knew anyone with ZB plates. I got a list of names and numbers. I started making calls to longtime friends and to people I had never met, asking if I could take a picture of their license plate for this book. Everyone seemed pleased and willing to help. Most of them also knew of someone else with a plate.

I found myself knocking on doors and going into stores and restaurants if I saw a plate outside. One day when I went into Rocky Mountain National Park for a lunch break, a truck parked on the road had a ZB plate. The owner was just coming back from a ski trip and was very proud of her ZB plate. Of course I could take a picture.

The best part were the stories behind the plates. The history of the families who have them is fascinating. Everyone said the same thing to me – that it was a shame the county ever stopped using ZB. The other common thought was that no matter where they were outside of Grand County, they waved if they saw another ZB plate. Even if they didn’t know the person, they knew they were from Grand County.

These plate owners are all proud and have gone through some crazy measures to keep their plates, even when the county tried to get them to replace them. Some have been painted so the numbers can still be seen. Some are hanging on walls in garages. All are respected. The Aspen strip mall in Hot Sulphur Springs has plates lining the walls of the entire building. These plates at the mall were part of a national car rally’s scavenger hunt a few years back. People are so proud of being from Grand County they have personalized plates incorporating ZB.

Now that I have become a bit of an expert on our license plates – for example, you can have them as long as you register a car, but you cannot pass them down or will them to anyone – I can tell you that there are still a lot out there. I find myself looking at people’s plates, not only in Grand County, but along the Front Range.

So anyone who has a ZB plate has lived here for quite some time. Of course they know one another.

Thanks to all the ZB owners out there. We have placed the ZB plates throughout this publication.

Susie Masterson