LOCALS A CELEBRATION OF OUR FAVORITE PERSONALITIES
Find Barry Castagnasso’s profile on page 37. PHOTO: SCOTT FRANZ
Summer 2013 | STEAMBOAT LIVING
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Photo and story: scott franz
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tammy farrell when kids from soda creek elementary school see tammy farrell at the supermarket, they sometimes act very surprised. “they think i live here at the school,” farrell says in the front office at soda creek, where she serves as the office manager. “i think some of them think the school personnel don’t ever leave this place.” to the more than 500 students who are taught at the downtown elementary school, farrell is Ms. tammy. she is the face of soda creek. during school hours, Ms. tammy, who has worked at the school for 23 years, helps preside over what she calls “absolute organized chaos.” “it’s a lot of phone calls. we do attendance,” she says, noting that she sometimes delivers more than 35 messages from parents to their kids in a single school day. “i have 540 kids. some
people forget that.” she also helps preside over lunch duty for kindergartners. when the children come in, she makes sure they get through the deli line efficiently. then, she moves around the room to tend to the kindergartners who have their hands raised and need help opening milk cartons and thermoses. they are simple tasks, but the kids appreciate them. “the kids keep you real,” farrell says. “they are forever keeping your feet on the ground. i love my job. i totally do. i love the pace, from the minute you get here to the minute you leave.” she adds that it’s the kids that have kept her at the school all these years. “the kids who were my kindergartners are now bringing me their kindergartners,” she says. farrell lives in stagecoach with her husband, Mike. she has two grown children,
drew and carly, and two grandchildren. farrell says that when she’s not at school, she enjoys fly-fishing, floating in boats with her husband and gardening. soda creek Principal Michele Miller says farrell is the “front line” for the families who move to steamboat and want to enroll their kids at the school. “tammy knows steamboat, knows our families and knows our staff better than anyone,” Miller says. “she is our rock.” Back at school, farrell says a simple rule helps her and the other school staff preside over the organized chaos. “always remain calm,” she says. “Because you do deal with lots of things. Parents in custody suits. sick children and tragedy. You can lose it later, but you remain calm while you’re here.” at the end of the day, she adds, it’s the kids that help diffuse the stress of the job. “they make me laugh all the time,” she says. “they make me happy.”
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Mike Kimmes
Photo: John F. Russell Story: Andy BockelmAn
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Many locals jokingly refer to the Yampa valley curse as what keeps them in steamboat. For Mike Kimmes and his family, it’s been anything but. “it’s that draw of nature and sense of community that’s kept us here,” Kimmes says. “There’s a great sense of belonging here, and everybody cares about each other.” Kimmes, 41, knew of no such curse when he first moved to the area in 1992 on the advice of a friend when enrolled at Michigan Technological university. struggling with academia, he left school, relocated here and began working at skeeter Werner’s shop in ski Time square. “i needed to rediscover myself, and it just sucked me in,” he says. “since then, i’ve made my home here.” Having skied since age 2 on Michigan’s upper peninsula, he was familiar to the slopes. but it took some time to acclimate to steamboat’s level of skiing. “i thought i was holy hot snot, but i got schooled immediately,” he says. Just as he conquered the mountain on skis and began taking up snowboarding, a familiar face appeared. in 1998, he met his wife, angie, whom he had known growing up in Michigan and who recently had moved here from breckenridge. “His friends like to say he imported me,” says angie, who’s still amazed at how many people her husband knows here. “He goes out of his way to help anyone.” Their courtship played like a list of tourist favorites. Their first date was at the hot springs, then in 2000, Kimmes arranged a scavenger hunt that took her to the library for a book of love poems, a jeweler for a mysterious package and a florist for a bouquet until they finally met at the Fish creek Falls overlook, where he proposed. They married later that year at perry-Mansfield performing arts school and camp. in 2003, their daughter Kaisa was born, prompting them to move to Madison, Wis., to be closer to family. but it wasn’t long before they felt the call of northwest colorado. “That just wasn’t where we could see her growing up,” Kimmes says. Within a few years, they were back in steamboat, thanks to a new job for Kimmes, who has worked with local lumber and construction companies since the mid-’90s. He currently works in sales for probuild. Kimmes says the chance to raise his family, which now includes 4-year-old son grayson, in steamboat is what drives him to help others do the same. “i get to be a part of everything from large custom homes to single-family residences people are building,” he says. “i love making the process less painful for people. it’s great to help people maintain their homes and build something they can be proud of.” More than anything, Kimmes’ enjoyment of the area comes from the surroundings, where biking, camping, snowshoeing and skiing are so readily available, and the chance for him to be able to share that with the people he loves. “i’m an extremely lucky man to live in such a fantastic town with great schools and healthy living and to be able to raise my kids here with a loving wife,” he says. “it’s truly a blessing.”
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Photo: John F. Russell Story: luke GRaham
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Jill Ruppel Jill Ruppel sits on the deck at old town Hot springs, her bright green shirt the only thing that can match her pouring enthusiasm. as the programs director for the facility, Ruppel looks into the future bristling at the possibilities. a 50-meter indoor competitive pool. a high school team at steamboat springs High school. another swimmer from steamboat competing in the olympics. as strange as the journey has sometimes been, Ruppel seems to be right where she should be. she has helped the steamboat springs swim team boast record numbers and has turned the program into a yearround competitive team. at this point, she doesn’t see any reason to stop. “she’s turned it from nothing into something significant,” coworker audrey earley says. “Her energy and enthusiasm is contagious. she’s just so positive and a joy to be around.” Ruppel has had to be adaptive. Her husband, Dave, spent 23 years in the navy.
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the couple, who recently celebrated their 30th anniversary, moved 11 times in those 23 years. although it wasn’t always easy, especially with four children, Ruppel says there’s a bright side to everything. “You bloom wherever you’re planted,” she says. it also allowed her to be self-sufficient. and when Dave finally retired from the navy in 2005 and the family relocated to steamboat in 2006, all those years of moving around allowed her to fit into the steamboat community. she jokes that she got restless every two years in town, wanting to move to another house or another part of town, but when she started at the old town Hot springs, it again gave her a sense of purpose. “Moving around taught me to plug into a community really fast,” she says. “it taught me to get my kids involved fast.” it’s always been that way. Ruppel’s four kids — Zach, 24, Lexie, 21, Maddie, 17, and
frank, 14 — grew up around the pool. for them, it was either sit in the bleachers or get in the pool. Ruppel, who was born in boulder and went to the University of colorado, always had an affinity for teaching. as a nationally ranked baton twirler, she was on the coaching side of things by the time she was 14. “at that point, people were calling me to be their coach,” she says. “i guess i’ve always been a teacher at heart.” now, after switching from aquatics director to her new position, Ruppel can see the possibilities in the swim team and the facility. the team, at the beginning of the competition season in June, already had registered top results. several swimmers already had reached season-ending goals. for Ruppel, she did it with a simple philosophy. “What has to work is the happiness within the family,” she says. “the goals, no matter what, have to fit the family schedule.”
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bob hyams Look beneath the sets of local drummers and you’ll see something taking the percussion world by storm, all from the copper ridge business of local bob hyams. ask hyams, a former home builder, and he’ll say the recession that started in 2008 was a good thing. it let him get up the nerve to launch a business dear to his heart that’s catching on faster than a calypso cadence. “if the recession hadn’t come, i likely wouldn’t have been open to this kind of venture,” hyams, 50, says. “if you’d have asked me five years ago if this is what i’d be doing, i’d have said, ‘no way.’” What’s he’s doing is changing the drumming industry. his nylon black Widow drum Web pad replaces heavy and bulky drum rugs, sliding under drum sets to prevent them from “creeping” or sliding around. as well as being lightweight and easily portable, it also employs Velcro that fastens to the pedals to further prevent movement. hyams has won several awards for the pads and expects to sell nearly 4,000 this year. it’s also endorsed by the likes of Lmfao drummer Kris mazzarisi, diana ross’ drummer gerry brown, rick springfield drummer roger carter, percussionist sheila e. and tim Waterson, the fastest double bass drummer in the world. Locally, you’ll find them under the sets of eric barry, ron Wheeler, rick Phillip, Pat Waters, mark Walker and more. it took him a while to find the rhythm of his new venture. a drummer since his youth, hyams moved to steamboat in 1980 from Pennsylvania and then hung up a drummer ad at the strings music store. he started with the band fez, then went on to play with randy Kelley, Willie samuelson and Jed clampit, whom, as well as Johnny cash tribute band instant cash, he still plays with today. to support his drumming habit, he started building homes, which dried up in 2008. it was as he was listening to a motivational cd while driving across the country delivering camper trailers that the light bulb struck. “it was a classic case of reinvention,” says hyams, whose daughter, sequoia, is a local hairdresser. “i had a lot of windshield time and the idea just came to me. drummers’ sets always moved around, and this came from the desire to solve that.” dabbling with cardboard prototypes to get the pattern right, he visited several amish factories for material ideas before
Photo: John F. Russell Story: eugene Buchanan
stumbling upon a material he knew well: the tough nylon from construction bags. Local turner duPont helped him make the first batch, and steamboat entrepreneur Kim haggarty, who carries them at all that Jazz, signed on as a silent partner. “it’s a cool product that didn’t exist in that whole category,” says haggarty, whose daughter hanna uses one in her band. she adds that she gives one to every drummer who plays at sweetwater grill and that this summer, promoter John Waldman will give them to every drummer who plays in the free
summer concert series. hyams runs it all through a company called Pahu international (Pahu means “drum” in hawaiian), warehousing them locally and in illinois. “i love being able to base something like this out of a small town like steamboat,” he says, crediting office assistance from friend Lianne Pyle to help him keep the company growing. “i’m in my passion element now and really enjoying it. it’s amazing how things work out sometimes. hopefully, i’ve hung up my construction bags for good.”
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Photo: John F. Russell Story: eugene Buchanan
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Rick Bear Professional musician, camera store owner, portrait shooter, red-ski-suit-wearing photo seller, poster designer, custom woodworker, clothing entrepreneur. Rick Bear has been all those and more since moving to steamboat in 1971. In the process, it’s put him in touch with countless locals and visitors and reaffirmed why he’s glad to call steamboat home. “It’s been a great place for all these ventures,” he says. “Even in the worst winter, it’s still a remarkable place.” It didn’t take long for him to leave his mark. First, he opened a camera store called The Positive-Negative. Taking portraits of local families and weddings helped him get to know almost everyone who lived here. He also donned a red cape to ski around and take pictures of skiers, long before sharp shooters came around. Next, he opened music store all the Fixin’s, then later started a studio and gallery called The Portfolio collection. Then he started playing music, joining Joe Ghiglia and Mary MacGregor in a band called Leaner, Lunker and Betsy (their dogs’ names). How good were they? MacGregor went on to record “Torn Between Two Lovers” in 1976, which topped the Billboard 34 |
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charts for two weeks. Yet another outlet for his creativity was designing posters for local events as well as marketing materials for various businesses. He was so good at it that it led to his only departure from the Yampa Valley. after leaving for nine years to work in an ad agency in Michigan, he returned in 1993 without missing a creative beat. a master carpenter who’s made everything from counters to cabinets for businesses such as The chocolate Factory and the Tread of Pioneers Museum, he served on the first steamboat springs arts council board and helped reorganize the Yampa Valley Foundation into the Yampa Valley community Foundation in 1996. He also produced a documentary on the PerryMansfield Performing arts school and camp and helped spearhead the building of Rotary Park. “Most people have three jobs to live here,” he says. “I’ve had about 13, some concurrent and some by themselves. I’m a rogue that way; I like to stay interested in what I do.” after all these endeavors, you’d think he’s allergic to idleness. That’s certainly the case with his most recent venture, which
capitalizes on that theme. Developing the allergic to cities concept with graphic designer Matt scharf, he along with wife, suz, have turned the slogan into a successful clothing line featuring more than 100 variations from allergic to Work to allergic to school. They even rolled out an allergic to Land line after buying and sailing a 42-foot Manta catamaran. The whole premise, he says, is to inspire people to get out there and do what makes them feel good. They recently traveled to Virginia Beach to talk to a new licensee for the line. With four grown kids and three grandkids, at age 66 he’s hardly slowing down. He recently leased woodworking space from Kevin Feweda (“I was jonesing to make sawdust,” he says) and still plays music as Leaner, Lunker and Friends with Ghiglia every Friday night at The Rusted Porch. “I love the creativity of making something out of nothing,” he says. “In music, you take a bunch of notes and turn them into a song. In woodworking, you turn wood into usable products. and I couldn’t imagine doing it all anyplace other than steamboat.”
Photo: John F. Russell Story: Michael schRantz
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Donna mae hoots Donna mae hoots is a fourth-generation routt county resident, her grandmother homesteaded next to sleeping giant, and the home where she lives with her husband and two daughters is built on the family ranch still worked by her brother, Larry monger. But for a short time after college, the fashion merchandising degree-holder was an intern in Los angeles. “i thought i wanted to be a city girl,” hoots says. she hated it. “it was just an internship,” she says. “it was definitely a finite time. i could say i’ve done that.” all told, she says she’s spent about eight years away from routt county. the rest of the time, she’s been here. she married steve hoots in 1991, and they have two daughters: mariah, 16, and mallory, 19. she takes in the outdoors, gives back in
multiple ways and always shares Yampa Valley hospitality. Bridget ross remembers when she met hoots in 2001. it was the first day of second grade at strawberry Park Elementary school for her oldest daughter, and ross and her family had just moved to steamboat. “i was new,” ross says. “she was kind, warm and welcoming. that was my first impression of the Yampa Valley.” Each has two daughters of similar ages, ross says, and they’ve helped each other through the process of being mothers. “she’s an awesome friend,” ross says. Last summer, she adds, a group of their friends participated in the ride the rockies cycling event. “We laughed and almost cried when we saw some of the passes we had to go over,” ross says. “she made the whole journey fun.”
When not biking, camping or skiing, hoots is a real estate agent with colorado group realty and is president of the steamboat springs Board of realtors this year. she also has a bookkeeping company and is involved in property management. she’s on the board of directors for old town hot springs and has been a leader in 4-h since her daughters got started. Both of her daughters still participate, and they raise about four pigs per year, hoots says. “that’s a great organization because it really takes a lot of family and parental involvement,” she says. ross says hoots is a “quiet achiever.” “i think she’s a combination of all that is wonderful about the residents of the Yampa Valley,” she says. “she brings light to people’s life. she’s a happy person. there’s kind of a sparkle about her.” Summer 2013 |
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Photo: John F. Russell Story: Andy BockelmAn
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Lee meyring Being a veterinarian means acclimating to every kind of furry or feathered animal an area might have. steamboat’s creatures include everything from hulking moose to mewing kittens, which is exactly what Lee meyring likes about his job. Be they wild forest denizens or docile pets, meyring’s patients are in good hands with a man who has been in the region since graduating from colorado state University in 1995. after finishing with school, he knew steamboat springs was the kind of place in which he wanted to live. “i grew up in Walden, and my priority was to get back to the mountains,” he says. “i also wanted to get back into the mixed animal practice. Working here has fulfilled all my plans.” Besides treating smaller animals at steamboat Veterinary Hospital, meyring also focuses on larger patients, working with local cattle ranchers as well as animals at the routt county fair and local rodeo. He also teaches vet science at the 4-H club. “that’s one of my favorites,” he says. “We’ll work on different field cases, 36 |
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learning about anatomy and physiology. it helps kids get a hands-on assessment of it.” Working with Born free Wildlife rehab, he also assists in the healing of naturedwellers like elk, deer, hawks and eagles. “it’s the kind of diversity that a lot of vets wouldn’t have,” he says. He’s also developed relationships with countless pet owners, an aspect of the job he cherishes. “one of the blessings here is that people’s pets are extremely well-cared for,” he says. “there are very compassionate animal owners here, which is a great bonus.” one such friend and client is Jennifer Koepfer, whose most memorable meeting with meyring was when she and her three children took all of their pets in for checkups at the same time. “it was five cats, two dogs, one turtle, one hermit crab, one rabbit, all of these animals, and he just walked in, looked at us and went, ‘oK,’” she says. Koepfer says giving the animals vaccinations was no problem, but a small
crisis arose when her daughter managed to get the hermit crab latched onto her lip. “Here’s this very skilled, seasoned vet who’s used to big animals and blood and guts, and he was terrified because this little, tiny girl was crying,” Koepfer says. “it was so cute because normally he’s so calm. this was before he had his own kids.” meyring since has gotten more accustomed to children with his own, cash, 10, and Kyle, 6. He and his wife, erin, have been married for 13 years. in between his work and his recent hobby of martial arts — specifically the discipline of jiu-jitsu — meyring and his family always find time for the great outdoors. “We all love the diverse outdoor activities here,” he says. “snowmobiling in the wintertime, fishing in the summertime, plus we’ve got four horses of our own.” meyring, 44, says he hardly can believe he has been in steamboat for nearly two decades. “When you’re having fun, it goes fast,” he says.
Photo and story: Scott Franz
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Barry castagnasso When Barry castagnasso reaches the top of a hill on his picturesque ranch just west of Hayden, the sweeping view in front of him puts a lot in perspective. “We’re surrounded by industry,” he says on a late spring day pointing to the slopes of Mount Werner, then to the power plant and finally to the ranches and lush farmland everywhere in between. “We’ve got a good diverse economy, and agriculture is a big part of it.” Down the hill, a more than 100-year-old ditch is carrying water past the front of his home that is three miners’ cabins from the Bear River Mine all pulled together. castagnasso, who has lived in Routt county for more than two decades, then points to a neighbor’s property that also borders U.s. Highway 40 and says he works at the power plant in addition to tending to his ranch. another neighbor across the
street traps for a living. on his own ranch, castagnasso, 61, is a fourth-generation clydesdale breeder who continues to produce many grand champions in the annual National Western stock show. “I like their temperament. I like their soundness,” he says about the horse he often refers to as the draft horse supreme. as he talks about his passion, his dog, Bob, takes a moment to sniff one of the clydesdales mulling around the property. To stand out from other horse breeders in the country requires a vast knowledge of animal husbandry, some creativity and an understanding of the market, castagnasso says. clydesdale breeding means a lot to the man who says it isn’t an easy task by any means. But it’s one his family has been doing successfully for many decades.
Raising clydesdales isn’t the only thing that keeps castagnasso busy. He also is a vocal member of the agriculture community in Routt county, and he inspects weed-free hay for the county. on a typical day, he does his chores at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., and he sometimes can be found picking raspberries for a neighbor while rock ’n’ roll music plays inside his home. His late wife, Nancy, was a passionate participant in the Northwest colorado Beanpole Project that aimed to bring highspeed Internet access to every county in the state and especially in public facilities including schools and libraries. she also was an early childhood development advocate. “I guess it’s about community,” castagnasso says when asked what has kept him here. Summer 2013 |
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Photo: John F. Russell Story: luke GRaham
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Wayne Westphale all it took for Wayne Westphale to make routt county his home for life was driving down rabbit Ears Pass and seeing the Yampa Valley for the first time. Westphale came to steamboat springs for “the white stuff” as a reward for putting himself through law school back East, which he paid for by running a construction company that built pools. arriving in 1973, he’s been practicing law here ever since. as with his thoroughness in the courtroom, he didn’t cut any corners in deciding where to live. He had subscriptions to ski and skiing magazines, each issue detailing a ski town out West. so he got in his car and drove, visiting the regular suspects like Jackson Hole, mammoth, alta, snowbird, aspen and Vail. then he made the drive over rabbit Ears. Westphale started by teaching ski school during the day and doing audit work at 38 |
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night. after returning to Baltimore for two summers for his construction job, he stayed in steamboat one summer. and we all know about the summers here. “I realized I didn’t want to wear a suit and tie and work in the city,” he says. that’s all it took for him to settle in steamboat for good, eventually marrying his wife, nancy, and raising son, michael, now 31 and living in denver. only in his case, “settle” doesn’t mean being idle. Like the water trickling off mount Werner, Westphale’s life is one of constant movement, and he’s always doing something. as if raising a family, practicing law and enjoying steamboat’s outdoor pursuits weren’t enough, still wanting to stay busy and with an itch to use his hands, he started toying around with wooden, geared clocks after seeing one in a magazine. He later purchased an Eli terry wooden clock and promised himself that he eventually would make one.
“I knew I could simplify it,” he says. “I wanted to magnify it in size and make it a skeleton clock.” so began a second business. Westphale built his first clock in nine months. now, the master woodworker can build one in two months, the precision of each piece and craftsmanship readily evident. He even wrote a two-part story for fine Woodworking magazine, where one of his pieces was featured on the cover. “I like the idea of making something mechanical that tells its own story and is functional,” he says. “It’s a functional, kinetic sculpture.” Even with all of this, he still gets 40 to 50 days skiing in each year and loves to bike in the summer — almost as much as he loves the view of the Yampa Valley every time he returns home. “I still get goosebumps whenever I drive into the valley,” he says. “Just like I did the first time.”
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Lynne Miller as the owner of dog-walking company Happy Tails, Lynne Miller’s clients always are wagging with delight to see her. The same can be said for their two-legged owners as well as everyone else she’s touched in her 40 years in the Yampa Valley. That list is surprisingly long. In her four decades here, her entrepreneurial spirit has seen her embrace everything from the brochure delivery and hot air balloon business to a rafting operation, publishing company and more. First coming to steamboat springs from colorado springs in 1963 as a student at Yampa Valley college, Miller moved back full time in 1973 with her son, Wade, now 46. she still resides in the same home she purchased on Mount Werner back then. “I wanted to come to a place that was safe and where I’d never be too far from my son,” says Miller, 68. “I was here when President Kennedy died and here for Buddy Werner’s funeral.” she developed her entrepreneurialism during her previous marriage, and in 20 years she has co-owned nearly 20 local businesses. after retiring from steamboat Brochure Delivery six years ago, the itch struck again, this time revolving around pets instead of publishing. she says her dog-walking business is perfect for working couples who don’t have time to cater to their canine’s needs. she’ll show up at their homes, pick up their pets and take them to an off-leash location, often with her own black Lab, Jackson, in tow. she does two walks per day with about three dogs per walk. she also boards as many as two dogs at a time at her home. “I absolutely love it,” she says. “Dog people are great, and it’s the best business I’ve ever had. People absolutely love the service.” But it’s the human hearts she’s touched most in the valley, be it volunteering with Partners in Routt county or just lending a helpful ear. “she’s a wonderful steamboat spirit and true community do-gooder,” longtime friend Neal Heiman says. other friends and acquaintances label her a true steamboat ambassador, sharing her knowledge, interest and passion for the area with everyone she meets. “she’s an extraordinary entrepreneur, which has always been guided by her energy and enthusiasm,” adds friend susan sullivan. “Her businesses have provided jobs for locals, thrilled visitors and provided services to our community. she’s just one of those people who makes steamboat a special place to live.”
Photo: John F. Russell Story: eugene Buchanan
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Photo and story: Joel ReichenbeRgeR
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Don and Lesley Woodsmith Light and Don and Lesley Woodsmith share a unique relationship. Pay a visit to their 13th street warehouse workshop, and you’ll be asked politely to close the door. “People always ask why we don’t have windows,” Don says. “We want to keep the light out.” The reason is because of what’s inside, where they’re known to turn off the lights. Don, a woodworker, sculptor and selfproclaimed “creature of the dark,” and his wife, Lesley, have done much of their proudest work almost entirely in the dark. It only takes a few moments — with the lights on, anyway — to realize that light isn’t the Woodsmiths’ enemy, however. It’s at the very core of their passions. In the past, they would halt work at the their woodcarving shop and usher all the employees outside to take in sunsets. In addition to working with wood, they create 40 |
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reflective light sculptures from recycled materials such as camera lenses, netting, and even pingpong balls — some of which have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. They’re also avid collectors of illumination. Rows and rows of unique, 1950s-era table lamps adorn the shelves in their warehouse. But it’s woodworking that pays the bills now. Don — who moved to town in 1976 and met Lesley shortly later when she was tending bar at The cove in the nowdemolished Harbor Hotel — has been carving wooden signs for the businesses and people of Routt county since he arrived. Now, he estimates there are 2,000 of his signs spread across the region and in other mountain towns across the state. Getting a Woodsmith sign — carefully carved by Don and painted bright by Lesley — almost is a rite of passage for any local company. a stroll down Lincoln
avenue reveals the depth of their work, the carved wooden signs adorning offices and bike shops, lunch spots and late-night hangouts. But while signs and other woodcarving projects are their bread and butter, the Woodsmiths’ passions also lie elsewhere, like in their massive collections of lamps — now down from a high of about 600 — and in similar collections of kitchen knives and ’50s-era kitchenware. “When you get to having 200 of something, it’s time to start selling,” Lesley advises. The passion also lives in the massive sculptures Don builds, which glow fluorescent when lit by black light. While the sculptures are perfectly at home in the dark, where they were created, they truly shine with a bit of light, which makes them perfectly at home with the Woodsmiths.
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Photo: john F. Russell Story: Michael schRantz
N E I T H E r s N o W N o r r a I N N o r H E a T N o r G L o o M o f N I G H T
Don ciavarra since he retired from the U.s. Postal service in November, Don ciavarra has been staying busy on the 13 acres he and his wife, Kathryn, live on west of town. He’s been cleaning up, building fence and working in their garden. after joining the Postal service in 1974 as a letter carrier in Denver, ciavarra moved to steamboat in 1980, when he quickly became the friendly face patrons see at the post office window. “I was lucky,” he says about transferring to steamboat. Back then, the post office was in the old Pilot Building on Lincoln avenue downtown. You can tell which building by the flagpole that still sits outside. “a lot of people had to use general delivery,” he says about the lack of post office boxes. “steamboat was growing so fast.” Then the post office moved into the building it now occupies downtown and added more boxes, so more people had a reason to go to there. “That was what I en42 |
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joyed most,” ciavarra says about interacting with customers at the window. “My bosses probably didn’t like it. But the customers enjoyed it, and it made the job more interesting.” ciavarra also worked a number of years at the recently closed sundance Plaza substation. “It kind of bummed me out when they closed it,” ciavarra says. “There were only three or four of us out there, and we all got along really well.” one of those was colleague Eva stewart. “Don was trying hard to keep it,” she says. “and he did it so diplomatically and eloquently.” as for interacting with customers, she says that’s where he truly shined. “It’s a grueling job, one customer after another,” she says. “It’s mentally tiring, and it’s hard to have a good attitude all day. But every day, Don would treat the first to last customer with dignity and respect. He’d find the right answer even if he had to call someone back the next day.”
“Getting to see people was the best part,” ciavarra admits. “The window part is what kept me going.” But, he says, the time was right for him to leave. “I’m getting used to retirement and loving it,” he says. “our youngest daughter had twins. They’re almost 2 right now. We get to spend a lot of time with them.” all told, he and Kathryn, who also is retired, have seven children and 13 grandchildren, four of whom live in steamboat. There also are grandchildren to visit in Denver, Detroit and austin. But there’s always time for softball, which he’s been playing since his second year here. He’s gathered a few championships, he says, but the most fun part is simply being part of a team, just like at the post office. He’s also thinking of dabbling in golf and tennis and traveling across colorado, where he’ll likely meet new friends just like he did at the window downtown. “a lot of people just like him,” stewart says.
Photo and story: Joel ReichenbeRgeR
D o c To R s
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John and Patricia sharp Not many people have the opportunity to sample the country the way Dr. John sharp and his wife, Patricia, have. she grew up near st. Louis, and he is from Monte Vista, where his father helped build Wolf creek ski area. They both attended William Jewell college outside Kansas city before living in Denver while John finished medical school at the University of colorado. Two stints in the air Force took the couple around the world, hitting colorado, Texas, Maine, Washington, D.c., New York, New Hampshire and Germany. Between those stints, they also lived in san antonio, Texas, where John served as the cEo of a hospital; Kansas city, where he worked with the University of Missouri’s school of medicine; and, for a three brief years in the late 1970s, in steamboat springs. When it came time to retire, they say it
wasn’t hard to decide where to put down roots. To them, the Yampa Valley curse just seemed like common sense. “What we missed most was the skiing,” Pat says. “We were both downhill skiers, and we loved it. I wasn’t that athletic as a young person, but I really loved to ski.” John had a private practice as an internist during their first stay in steamboat in 1974. When they returned in 1999, they were ready to retire or at least try their own version of it. John now runs a private Gastroenterology practice out of the Yampa Valley Medical center in steamboat one afternoon per week. Pat serves as a receptionist for the practice. The pair, both 71 years old and a year away from their 50th anniversary, have three children: Michael sharp, 45, who lives in austin; Brett, who passed away at 26; and Erik, who was born in steamboat and
now is 36 and living in Denver. They’ve managed to stay plenty busy, first with three grandchildren, then with a heap of giving back to the community. They’ve helped lead the Good Life Biblical counseling center at Euzoa Bible church, and Pat ran Yampa Valley Medical center’s Rubber Ducky Race for years and has worked extensively with the Pregnancy crisis center, a mission she was inspired to help after adopting their two oldest children. “That really is my heart,” she says. “I do it to honor their mothers’ decisions to put them up for adoption.” It’s been a winding road, but given the chance to make impacts around the globe, they happily did so. “The lesson really is anything you decide to do, you can do,” sharp says. “Never quit. Never give up on it.”
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putting
community
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Wendy puckett spend just a few minutes with Wendy puckett, and you quickly feel like the world is yours. those who know puckett closely describe her as kind, motivational, an eternal optimist and a woman and mother with the highest integrity. “she’s a friend you deserve to have,” puckett’s sister Kristin stevenson says. friends and clients say her personality suits her profession as a trainer perfectly. she believes in the potential of her clients, and because of this, they work hard to achieve their goals. “she just loves to see people feel successful,” stevenson says. puckett says she and her two sisters were surrounded by inspiration growing up. Her dad, Bink smith, spent his career at nike during an era when the company exploded with endorsed athletes like steve prefontaine, Bo Jackson and michael Jordan. “We were the ‘Just do it’ family,” puckett says. puckett was a track star at the university of colorado and worked at nike for a year before a 10-year stint at powerBar. it was her job to sign athletes and help build the company’s brand. While working there, she met her future husband, a ski racer named chris puckett who was one of powerBar’s athletes. together, they have two boys, cole, 12, and cooper, 10. in 2001, she opened steamboat pilates, yoga & fitness with her sisters and dad. “there is a lot of purpose, goals and heart behind it,” puckett says. Helping youths and athletes in the community is her passion. stevenson says it is not unheard of for her sister to be up until 2 a.m. developing programs and plans for clients. puckett also is a firm believer in giving back to the community. in early June, she helped organize the communitywide sweat for scott benefits for physical therapist scott Blair, who was diagnosed in may with a brain tumor. she also hosts an annual pilates-a-thon, which raises money for youth athletic scholarships. in 2008, puckett and stevenson collected 100 sentiments of gratitude from local students and had them printed on reusable grocery bags. the students then sold the bags to raise money for their schools. puckett says she is happy to give back to a community she loves. “it’s one of the things that makes steamboat so great,” puckett says. “everyone cares for steamboat so much, and when you put your heart into it, everything feels better.” 44 |
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Photo and story: Matt StenSland
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