Features

An unusual visitor has for months been leaving diminutive footprints next to the massive famed Iguanodon track fossils on Dinosaur Ridge.

A greater roadrunner, whom museum staff has named Rascal, was first spotted in early fall, at least 130 miles from the terrestrial bird’s nearest known habitat. The sighting, which has since spurred numerous confirmations by enthusiastic local birdwatchers, prompted Colorado groups to issue rare-bird alerts.

When Liz Thompson first heard about Habitat for Humanity, she figured she made too much money working full-time as a victim advocate to qualify for the low-cost houses. She had two part-time jobs, as well.

She thought such houses were for the kind of people she was trying to help on an everyday basis. Then she thought, "I could use a little help too."

Members of American Legion Post 2001 of Evergreen celebrated Veterans Day on Saturday, Nov. 12, by dedicating the walkway of brick pavers engraved with the names of those who have served the country's armed forces.

About 75 people turned out to witness completion of the final phase of a building process that began when legion members decided to build the Veterans and Service Members Commemorative Walk in 2007 in Buchanan Park.

Evergreen resident and first-time novelist Jim Ament readily admits that his inaugural effort, “Waiting for Zoe,” isn’t shaped to fit a standard literary mold.

Evergreen would blossom every spring shortly after the end of the school year with the opening of the summer homes that had been drained and shuttered into hibernation for the winter. Tire tracks, other than those of the Mountain Protection Association, along with the glow of porch lights, would announce the arrival of family or guests — friends who long ago came for a summer visit and have stayed for generations.

Editor’s note: As our country fights its way out of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the Courier is remembering those who fought for their very survival through the days following Black Tuesday into the winds of the Dust Bowl and onto the beaches of the Second World War.

What Ann Binkley remembers about the Great Depression is the hallmark of today's lingering recession. "There were basically no jobs," unless you were working for the railroad, Binkley said.

The fun of learning without the agony of grades, exams and papers has inspired Mary Meinig of Evergreen to take 27 courses from Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in the last five years, even though it means driving 19 miles to the center in Lakewood.

Ordinarily, Meinig hates the idea of commuting anywhere. Retired and 72, Meinig doesn't really have to leave home. But the camaraderie and intellectual challenge, not to mention the low price tag, keep her on the road winter, fall and spring.

Even though the story line in my last column did not reach past the 1930s, I believe I will continue to hang back in Evergreen’s days as a resort village and leave our current events for others to cover. Perhaps then our phone will stop ringing. Besides, it is more fun to share the days when bands were swinging in the ballroom at Troutdale, entertaining guests and employees alike. It’s fun to share information about the 20 other resorts and camps between Clear Creek and Bailey — days that for sure were “then and not now.”

After 12 days lost in the sparsely populated far west Evergreen area without food or water, a 12-year-old thunder-phobic female cattle dog who ran off in a storm has been reunited with her owner, thanks to an ad in the Canyon Courier.

Rio went from 44 to 29 pounds, suffered a 2-inch-deep puncture wound in her leg and sustained a 2-inch-long cut in her side during her adventure trek.

The blue heeler jumped through a screened window in a house on South Pine Road in the Evergreen Lake area, dropped 10 feet and disappeared July 8.