Dom, when you mention Thornton, why do you say “Where they eat their dead”?

In the late 1990s, a listener told me a story about a teacher who gave a commencement speech at Thornton High School’s graduation ceremony.

The teacher explained that there were no cemeteries in Thornton. He said the closest one was in Northglenn.

Therefore, he told the graduating class, as you go out into the world, be proud to say you’re from Thornton, “where we eat our dead.”

Listen, some people like to argue that there ARE cemeteries in Thornton. It doesn’t matter. The story is classic and there was no way I could pass it up. Just let it be good.

So for more than 25 years I’ve described Thornton as the place where “they eat their dead.”

And now you know. I borrowed it from a Thornton teacher.