Littleton youth delegate shares what life is like as a young person and the 'must sees' of her city

Nettie, 18, addressed the room on Wednesday, October 19 with a captivating presentation on her life in Littleton, giving the rundown of its history, quirks, and an exclusive insiders guide.

Nettie was born and raised in Littleton and attends Heritage High School as a senior student in her final year. She works part-time as a server (waitstaff) at a wedding venue.

Nettie said she loved Harry Potter, Star Wars, Marvel, Stranger Things and, "pretty much any young adult fiction novel". She also enjoyed acting in local productions.

Travelling was another big love of hers, having had her first overseas visit to Italy when she was just six-months-old.

This trip was not her first time to Australia, her grandparents brought her when she was 11-years-old as part of a tradition where they took their eight grandchildren anywhere in the world they wanted to go.

"I picked Australia! I mostly came because I wanted to see dolphins - never actually saw any here, and then we went to North Carolina the next year and I saw plenty," she said.

Her favourite travel destinations of all time were Kauai and O'ahu, islands in Hawaii.

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Littleton was named after Richard Little who was born in New Hampshire. After studying engineering and mathematics, he worked for the railroad and travelled west for his work.

"He came to Denver after he heard about the goldrush, he wasn't actually looking to strike it big but he thought they'd need engineers to help," said Nettie.

"He ended up working in irrigation systems in Denver and moved his out west to assist with his wife's health. He then purchased a plot of land that would become the centre of Littleton," she said.

He got into farming and built a flour mill to process grains with his neighbours.

Nettie explained the colours and symbols of the flag of Colorado.

"The gold in the middle stands for sunshine, and the gold rush - which is what brought people to Colorado.

"The blue is for blue skies. White is for the snow-capped Rockies, and red is for the colour of our soil. Colorado is actually the Spanish word for reddish," she explained.

It turns out Colorado has two mayors. One is Mayor Kyle Schlachter, the other is Murdoch - his canine counterpart.

Murdoch is a 6-year-old Bassett hound, who won his own separate campaign.

He often greets his constitutes in a top hat.

"He lives just down the road from me and every time I see him walking, he's always got his tail wagging," said Nettie.

Nettie explained that Inside Scoop was a "must-see" in downtown Littleton.

She said it was a homemade ice cream shop "with super unique flavours"- her personal favourite being "Minnesota salted toffee".

She said it was a popular destination for tourists as there was a butterfly-wing mural outside of the shop that was "a pretty popular place for taking pictures".

GraceFull Café was another suggestion.

Nettie said the café ran on a "pay-what-you-can" model and would cover costs for people unable to afford a meal. Any surplus money from people dining in helped feed people less off.

"It's helped a lot of people who are struggling financially to get a good meal," she said.

Nettie raved about the cinnamon rolls, available on Saturday, that she said "clear out pretty fast".

Reinke Brothers was a costume shop she said would be great this time of year during annual Halloween festivities as "they have a very fun haunted house".

"I went to it in 2019 with my cousins and we all just kept pushing each other forward - none of us wanted to go first," she said.

Pho Real was another restaurant recommendation, Nettie said the service was always very fast and servers were always "incredibly happy - it's a great time every time you go down there!"

For pizza she suggested McKinners "a pizza bar, great for hanging out on a Friday night".

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