HRC Journal Feature Stories - October 2009

This page contains feature articles from the online version of the October 2009 edition of the HRC Journal. View the complete online newsletter here >.

President's Message
Restored! Grassroots Efforts Save Cabin

Annual Meeting Showcases People and Places
CMC Partnership Off to a Great Start
HRC Remembers Historic Preservation Friend Marty Alexandroff
Amendments Proposed for the Community Restoration & Revitalization Act

President’s Message – Patrick Delaney

A Year for the History Books

It is interesting for me to consider that history is being made every single day.  Yesterday’s activities become history – some forgotten and some remembered for a long time.  Despite the downturn in the economy across our world, 2009 has been a very successful year for Historic Routt County – one for the history books.

Success Stories
We accomplished a great deal this year. Here are some highlights:
 

• After a considerable amount of planning, we entered into a partnership with Colorado Mountain College to introduce and administer the well-known Historic Preservation Curriculum at the Alpine Campus in Steamboat Springs. 
• We assisted with the nomination of several local properties to the Routt County Register of Historic Places and awarded plaques to all of these properties.
• We completed the Historic Survey of Walnut Street and the surrounding commercial area in Hayden.
• We began working closely with the Yampa Valley Land Trust to document and preserve the historic Rehder Ranch.
• We continued our partnership with Professor Kat Vlahos at the CU College of Architecture to document historic ranch properties.
• We finally were able to secure enough funding through private means to complete the stabilization and restoration of the Diamond Window Cabin near Stagecoach Reservoir. We had our first fundraiser for this project as well, which helped increase the visibility and public support for this worthy restoration project.

All of these successes were made possible through the generosity of financial contributors and tireless volunteers in one of the worst economic times our country has ever experienced.  Imagine what we can accomplish as we work within a better economy!

Green Building
As preservationists, we particularly are encouraged by the trend in “green” building recognizing historic structures as the most “green” for any project.  Utilizing an existing building does little to no damage to our environment and creates a very small carbon footprint.  In the coming years, we will work to educate our community about the positive benefits of nurturing our historic resources.  Our partnership with CMC is a tremendous step in this direction.

HRC is the Pipeline
HRC is the pipeline that connects students and practitioners of historic preservation to the education, resources and projects they need to showcase and apply what they are learning. HRC depends on our members to help us build this pipeline with your contributions, volunteerism and by telling us what projects are important to you.

We continue to need your help.  I realize that many nonprofit organizations ask for and are worthy of your generous donations.  Remember, we are the only nonprofit organization in Routt County dedicated to educating and advocating on behalf of historic preservation and assisting property owners in the preservation of their historic resources.  With your assistance, we will continue to cultivate our historic resources for the future and make history throughout 2010.

On behalf of all of us at Historic Routt County, I would like to wish you and your families a happy and festive Holiday Season.

Warm regards,

Patrick G. Delaney
President of the Board

Restored! Grassroots Efforts Save Cabin

Thanks to the overwhelming support provided by community volunteers and local businesses, the Diamond Window Cabin has been successfully restored! The Cabin is now standing proud as the most recognizable cultural icon representing the burgeoning Stagecoach community in South Routt. Thank you to all of these individuals and businesses, without whom this project would never have been accomplished!

Volunteers and other contributors were treated to a BBQ lunch, a blue bird day and stories of the Cabin on the Volunteer Appreciation Day on Sept. 26. View more photos of the Volunteer Appreciation Day or view the Entire Project Photo Gallery that provides a pictorial tour of the project from beginning  to end!

Read the Story in the Steamboat Today >.

Annual Meeting Showcases People and Places

The Annual Meeting of Historic Routt County lived up to its name, Celebrating Partnerships, People and Icons, attracting more than forty HRC members and friends representing all facets of involvement with the organization.

Taking place on September 24 at the City of Steamboat's historic Rehder Building, home of the new Steamboat Art Museum, guests were treated to a fine evening of food and presentations. Sharon's Catering provided a delicious lasagna dinner, and beverages were provided by Cellar Liquors. To complement the extra-special venue, Shirley Stocks and Susan Dorsey provided talks on future exhibits for the Steamboat Art Museum and an update on the Rehder Legacy. A special thanks to Betsy Chase of the Steamboat Art Museum for her assistance in setting up for the evening's festivities.

Jim Heckbert was re-elected to the HRC Board of Directors, and Wayne Shoemaker was presented with an Historic American Building Survey drawing of Bar A Ranch in Toponas. Donna Hellyer and Jan Leslie were awarded the prestigious Historic Preservation Leadership Award for their tremendous contributions to historic preservation in Routt County. These special contributors were featured in an article in the Steamboat Today – check it out! Arianthe Stettner spoke from the heart about historic preservation friend Marty Alexandroff who passed away in August. The evening wrapped up with a talk given by Executive Director Towny Anderson about the year's accomplishments and future projects for HRC.

Enjoy more pictures from the Annual Meeting by visiting our online Photo Gallery >.

Colorado Mountain College Partnership Off to a Great Start

HRC introduced the first historic preservation course at Colorado Mountain College’s (CMC) Alpine Campus last spring with eleven community students enrolled in Introduction to Historic Preservation.  Towny Anderson, Executive Director of HRC, taught the course, which received a great deal of positive feedback. 

A Learning Experience

HRC had signed a consulting agreement with CMC last April to develop and administer the historic preservation program, which was founded in 2006 at the Leadville CMC campus.  As part of the agreement, HRC will organize classes, recruit students and instructors, develop projects and learning opportunities, raise funds and administer and manage the program.  CMC will market the program, provide classroom and laboratory space and pay instructors to teach in the classroom, laboratories and on-site. 

HRC originally had planned the Diamond Window Cabin restoration project as a summer on-site experiential learning opportunity. But the restoration’s schedule for the middle of July and the short timeframe for planning was not conducive for students who needed paying summer jobs.  Instead, HRC conducted a successful two-day workshop on building documentation and diagnostics.  Long-time HRC friend and collaborator, Kat Vlahos, and her colleague at the CU-Denver School of Architecture and Planning, Chris Koziol, taught the workshop.  The second day was spent on site, using the Cabin to discuss how to read a building, diagnose the problems and develop appropriate treatments.  Nine local community members participated in the workshop, and one participant, Scott Kemp, so loved the workshop and the project that he agreed to join contractor Cactus Beauregard in restoring the Cabin.   

Green Preservation and the Future

Eleven students are enrolled in The History of American Architecture course this fall, and HRC will be holding an open house at CMC on Tuesday, November 3 to introduce CMC students and community members to the full historic preservation program.  One component of the CMC Alpine Campus program will be “green preservation” – the art and science of retrofitting historic buildings to be more energy efficient. For more details on this concept, please see the article entitled Preservation is the New Green that was published in the Steamboat Today. We at HRC believe that Steamboat Springs is an excellent location to teach the skills of historic preservation and energy retrofitting.  We have the teaching resources in the building trades and a growing interest in and momentum toward sustainability. 

CMC’s degree and certificate programs are open to students of all ages.  If you are interested in finding out more about the Historic Preservation Program, please call or email Towny at HRC at Ph: 875-1305 or email: hrc@historicrouttcounty.org.

Read more thoughts about the CMC Partnership from HRC Board President Patrick Delaney >. 

HRC Remembers Historic Preservation Friend Marty Alexandroff

“Marty will be remembered for the boundless energy and enthusiasm with which she approached every aspect of her life.”

Routt County lost a dynamic friend of historic preservation and the arts when Martha Ann “Marty” Alexandroff died August 30, 2009 at the Swedish Medical Center in Englewood after battling the rare vascular disease Wegener’s Granulomatosis for several months. Her beloved family was at her side.

Born in 1942 in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, Marty moved to Colorado in the early 1980s. She graduated from Metropolitan State College in 1990 with a degree in Technical Communications and received a Master of Arts degree in Historic Preservation from Regis University in 1994.  Marty made Routt County her home for nearly a decade during the 1990s.  While here, Marty worked for the City of Steamboat Springs as Secretary for City Manager Harvey Rose and as City Clerk for several years.  She was the Director of the Tread of Pioneers Museum during the big move and rehabilitation of the Utterback House into the Museum’s Utterback Annex.  Marty returned to Denver nearly ten years ago to work as a historian for CH2MHill, and later as an Executive Assistant at Comcast until she retired in 2007.

A tireless volunteer while she lived here, Marty was President of the Steamboat Springs Arts Council, on the Board of Perry-Mansfield, and Coordinator of Environment 2000.   She was instrumental in the formation of the Routt County Historic Register in 1992 and was a co-founder of Historic Routt County!  An active trails advocate, Marty served on the Steamboat Springs Trails Committee and organized the dedication of the Yampa River Trail.  Legendary for her hospitality, whenever a big volunteer project was completed, Marty would gather all the players to celebrate their accomplishments, events that were always memorable!

As a preservation specialist, Marty authored many important research documents for rural communities throughout her career, including the 1994 Historic Context of Routt County and the 1996 Historic Property Survey of Downtown Steamboat Springs.  She prepared the successful nominations of the Carpenter Ranch, Perry Mansfield Performing Arts Camp and the Columbine Gold Camp to the National Register of Historic Places and many nominations to the Routt County Historic Register, including the recently preserved Diamond Window Cabin. 

After Marty moved to Denver, she continued her work in historic preservation as an advisor/consultant, but had shifted her focus and considerable talents to painting. Her watercolors of western and Alaska landscapes soon won numerous awards.  In 2005 Marty’s first series of paintings of Routt County’s historic buildings were displayed in exhibits throughout the county.  Marty intended that the images be used for note cards to sell to benefit Historic Routt County. 

Marty will be remembered for the boundless energy and enthusiasm with which she approached every aspect of her life.  She loved to organize hiking trips with friends and family and to cook fabulous meals at the drop of a hat.  She did so with a selfless grace that ensured the comfort and enjoyment of her guests.  In recent summers Marty took great delight taking trips with her grandchildren to show them Alaska and to spend time with their Uncle John.  While her loved ones now engage in a celebration of her life, the absence of her infectious smile has created a void that will be filled only through the passage of time.  

Marty is survived by her brother, John Alexandroff of Wasilla, Alaska; son Jeff Wheeless,  his wife Wilson, and their sons Drake and Duke; daughter Krista,  her husband Ken Bedingfield,  and their son Logan; and son Craig Wheeless, his wife Erin Rigney, and their children Noah, Riley (the only granddaughter), and Josiah.

(The above information was taken from the obituary of Marty Alexandroff.)

More Reflections

“Marty cut a wide swath of accomplishments throughout Routt County, both during the decade she lived here in the 1990s and later when she championed on behalf of Routt County after she moved to Denver. She left us all with a rich legacy.

Marty approached everything she did with enthusiasm and imagination. While her financial resources were limited, her talents and energy were prodigious, and Marty generously shared both with every organization or project on which she worked. She was a leader and a champion of the arts, historic preservation, trails, and the environment in Steamboat Springs and Routt County during the 1990s. She was also a natural educator, sharing what she knew with her colleagues and friends, from how to conduct historic research, to best practices in documentation, nonprofit management, organizing special events, and celebrating success. Like the keystone of an arch in an historic building, Marty knew how to put things together, to connect people and resources in order to accomplish their goals.  She never sought the limelight but was always humble and modest to a fault.
 

I had the honor and delight of working with Marty as a charter member of the Routt County Historic Preservation Board, on the Tread of Pioneers Museum Historic Preservation Committee, Environment 2000, as a cofounder and Executive Director of Historic Routt County!, and through my service on the board of Colorado Preservation Inc.”  - - - Arianthe C. Stettner

Amendments Proposed for the Community Restoration & Revitalization Act

Currently, there are 8 proposed amendments to the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit Act, one of the nation's most successful incentives for the rehabilitation of historic and older buildings. This important measure would make beneficial changes to the federal rehabilitation tax credit and provide a greater incentive for the reuse of older and historic buildings.

For more information about the Act and to read a summary of the proposed amendments, click here >. HRC! members are encouraged to contact Members of Congress and to ask them to be a co-sponsor of the Act. To send in a letter of support, click here >.

More on the CMC Partnership From Patrick Delaney

I had an interesting conversation with a friend recently about nurturing our historic resources. My friend was having a difficult time understanding the notion that history happens every day and that we are a part of it. Come tomorrow, today is in the history books – good, bad or indifferent. And what happened in the past, helps define who we are today and tomorrow.

Reminiscent of a discussion that occurred within Steamboat Springs City Council in recent years, my friend believed that all historic buildings had to be at least fifty years old. As an owner of a 100-year old property myself, I too tend to forget that it was only 85 years old when we moved in and that it will be 125 years old in another 25 years. 

I mention this because Routt County has seen considerable building over the past 20 – 40 years and has an ever-increasing supply of aging buildings. One day in the near future, many of these buildings will be considered historic and can be studied and preserved.

This aging supply of buildings across the US is one of the reasons that programs like the Historic Preservation Program at Colorado Mountain College are becoming so popular. There is a growing need for professionals who know how to identify, catalogue, document and restore buildings in a way most complementary to its current design and future sustainability.

We will keep you informed about the progress with our ground-breaking partnership with CMC as developments continue.