Scott and Jamie Miller and Chris and Michele Smith, of Pagosa Springs, are happy to announce that Cheyenne Alora Spath and Keagan Christopher Smith became engaged in February and will be married on Sept. 28 at Winslow on the Shire in Pagosa Springs. Many brothers, sisters, cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and extended family and dear friends will gather to celebrate this joyful event.
Although they met at Pagosa Springs High School in 1980, Lynne Killey and John Kennedy of Pagosa Springs were married in June 2013, with celebrations in both Pagosa and San Rafael, Calif.
Austin DeVooght, a resident of Pagosa Springs and a Northern Arizona University business (PREP) major, was named to the Dean’s List at the university for the spring 2013 semester.
The Barrett Foundation and Love for Kids, Inc. has bestowed upon longtime Pagosa Springs, Meadows resident and owner of Circle R Ranch in Flower Mound, Texas, Alan Powdermaker, the 2013 Bill Barrett Philanthropy Award. The award was presented to Powdermaker at the Palette to Palate Gala held on Aug. 10, at the Frontier of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas.
Powdermaker’s philanthropic endeavors include co-founder of Love for Kids, a charity that provides support and events for underprivileged kids, children with medical challenges and senior citizens.Powdermaker also oversees the Powdermaker Foundation, which provides four-year education scholarships for deserving inner city high school graduates.
Staff Writer
Photo courtesy Karin Kohake
Veterans of the 10th Mountain Division, a legendary WW II fighting unit that trained in Colorado, and their descendants gathered recently in Pagosa Springs for a series of three events, including a Saturday picnic in Yamaguchi Park. The reunion was the fourth of its kind, but the first held in Pagosa Springs.
The 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army is a WW II fighting unit that trained in Colorado and was instrumental in liberating Italy from the Nazis.
The division formed in 1943, and was identified by the Army as an elite ski force needed in the mountainous areas of Italy.
“A total of 15,000 soldiers were trained in mountain climbing, Alpine and Nordic skiing, cold-weather survival, weaponry, and more at Camp Hale, located on Tennessee Pass, near Leadville,” a press release for a recent Pagosa event states.
Now, roughly seven decades later, that division is remembered, not only by its remaining members and contemporaries, but also by the descendants of those who served in the division in WWII.
On Aug. 16-18, the 10th Mountain Division Descendants, Inc., Rocky Mountain Chapter held its fourth reunion — a three-day gathering that took place in Pagosa Springs for the first time and welcomed several generations to the area.
Events included a welcome party, family picnic and family dinner.
Two WW II veterans attended the festivities: Orville Tomkey, who lives in Cedaredge and Dick Wellington, who lives in Durango.
Other attendees included Pagosan Karin Kohake, daughter of veteran George Loudis, who helped organize the events, as well as a variety of descendants reaching to the third generation.
The three previous Descendant’s gatherings were held in Glenwood Springs, Steamboat Springs and Colorado Springs.
“It was a cool weekend,” Kohake said of the event.
And, in the end, the event wasn’t limited to the WW II veterans and their descendants from just the Rocky Mountain Chapter.
A family with a veteran father who passed away in January saw the sign for the event outside the Quality Resort and dropped in at the picnic, Kohake said.
Another, younger veteran of the 10th Mountain Division Light Infantry Brigade caught wind of the festivities and joined in with his wife.
“It was so nice to have the young and the old,” Kohake said.
Camp Hale is now a recreation area under the oversight of the U.S. Forest Service, but still plays home to an annual ceremony over President’s Day weekend.
randi@pagosasun.com
Cheryl and Rodney Class-Erickson of Pagosa Springs are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Lydiah Class-Erickson, to Tyler Ribar, son of Cheryl and Thadd Daly of Longview, Texas, and Dan and Julija Ribar of Sarasota, Fla.
Lydiah is a fitness trainer and is currently completing a second degree in English at Fort Lewis College. She will graduate in December. Tyler is a pilot and flies for private companies. He is a graduate of LeTourneau University where he majored in aeronautical science. A summer wedding is planned.
Branden Lattin attended the 2013 Western Slope Snow and Ice Conference in Gunnison, Colo., Sept. 4-6.
Lattin won first place in the skidsteer competition at the conference.
He has worked for the Pagosa Springs Streets Department since April 2008.
Archuleta-Gallegos
Hailey Archuleta and Jeremy P. Gallegos are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Brylin Avery. Brylin was welcomed into the world on Sept. 21, 2013, at 12:13 a.m. She weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces and was 19 inches long.
Ty Vaivoda, a junior at Colorado State University, is the recipient of two academic scholarships for the 2013-2014 school year. He has been awarded the Myron B. Ludlow Memorial Scholarship from the CSU College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and has also received the La Plata County Medical Society junior/senior scholarship. Ty is a pre-med/microbiology major and a 2011 graduate of Pagosa Springs High School.
Photo courtesy Mary Brooks
The Colorado Health Care Association and Center for Assisted Living recently honored outstanding long-term caregivers from nursing care facilities across the state. Andrea Constant from Pine Ridge Extended Care Center was honored as Social Service Professional of The Year. Jim Garcia was named a finalist as Dietary Supervisor of the Year.
By Sepp Ramsperger
Special to The SUN
On 10 November 1775, the Continental Congress passed a resolution to raise two Battalions of American Marines.
The first commissioned officer was Captain Samuel Nicholson, the owner of Tunn Tavern, in Philadelphia. This inn became the first Recruiting Station.
The Marines, in time, evolved from ship-based fighters to become the elite of the United States Armed Forces. The Corps is a relatively small service, but it really has fought from the “Shores of Tripoli to the Halls of Montezuma,” and in other places with strange names — Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Chosin, Da Nang, Kuwait — made meaningful because Americans in Marine uniforms have died there.
Today, if you are abroad and walk into an American Embassy, the first person you are likely to face is a Marine. As you watch the President of the United States arriving on the White House lawn, the pilot of that helicopter is a Marine. And when war threatens, the Armed Service that lives the motto “First to Fight” is the United States Marine Corps.
The Marines’ effect rests best in stanzas of their hymn, “From the Halls of Montezuma.”
“Our flag’s unfurled to every breeze,
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun.
In the sun of far-off Norther lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job-
The United States Marines.”
For this extensive history, the Marines celebrated their birth with a party each Nov. 10. Come join us commencing 1800 at the PLPOA Clubhouse. Call Colonel Sepp Ramsperger, USMC (Ret.) at 731-4824, or Rick Taylor at 264-6780, for information and reservations.
Semper Fidelis.
Staff Writer
SUN photo/Ed Fincher
Members of Scott White’s American History class took time from their busy school day to describe preparations for Monday’s Veteran’s Day pancake breakfast and explained why they look forward to this opportunity to talk to those who have served our country. Liam Doctor, Jazmyn Reyes, DeAnn Schaaf, Dalton Lucero, Kimberly Armendariz and Ty Kimsey, left to right, joined White in front of a display of SUN articles from previous year’s celebrations. This year, the event will be held at the Ross Aragon Community Center, with the doors opening at 7:30 a.m. All current and past members of the military are welcome and encouraged to bring their wives and families to enjoy the free food and meet the middle school students.
Eighth-grade American history teacher Scott White invited SUN staff to his Pagosa Springs Middle School classroom to discuss next Monday’s pancake breakfast, to be held in the Ross Aragon Community Center, as a way to honor the community’s veterans.
The doors will open at 7:30 a.m. and the event will end at 10:30, with patriotic music and the posting of colors at 9:30 provided by the American Legion and Archuleta County Veteran’s Service Officer Raymond Taylor. All current and past members of the military, along with their families, are encouraged to enjoy this free celebration.
White rounded up several of his students to join him for the SUN interview. These students took turns describing what the event means to them.
Jazmyn Reyes and Liam Doctor were the first to show up. Doctor described the food he and his fellow students planned to bring and prepare — fruit, muffins, bacon, sausage, eggs and pancakes — and explained why the students were doing it. “We will serve them and talk to them and listen to their stories. We will find out where they served and what they did.”
Dalton Lucero was so excited to talk about the event he ran all the way to White’s classroom, and subsequently had to catch his breath before he could say anything.
In the meantime, DeAnn Schaaf explained there were over 110 eighth-graders at the school, and all would participate in the festivities in one way or another. Many of their parents would also be involved.
Kimberly Armendariz and Ty Kimsey were the last to join the conversation. “We’re serving them because they served us,” Armendariz affirmed.
“We’ve had over 200 veterans show up before,” White explained, “but a lot of them bring wives and family members, so there have been times when the entire community center was full — well over 300 people. We keep track year after year. We have the veterans sign in based on which branch of the military they served in — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard.”
White has been doing the Veterans Day Breakfast for 11 years now, a program started by his predecessor, Dan Janowsky, 13 years ago.
The kids explained all the students have signed up to bring certain items. Other than the eggs and pancakes, which will be cooked on-site, the students will bring their food to the center ready to serve, having lovingly prepared it themselves at home. The kids will be there at 6 a.m. to get everything set up.
“We’ve even been advertising on the radio this year,” White explained, “in case there are any hunters in town who are veterans and want to come down for a free breakfast. There will be plenty of food; we have never run out.”
White said his classes have been studying the constitution recently, and the students explained the preamble and how the constitution, “provides for the common defense.” In addition to decorating the community center with, “lots of red, white and blue” on Sunday night, the students have been preparing PowerPoint presentations on what they have learned in American history class, which will play while the veterans eat.
Reyes described another project her fellow students have been working on, based on the question, “What does freedom mean to me?” These essays will also be presented to the veterans.
“I want to thank everyone who served,” Schaaf pointed out, “because I feel very strongly about my freedom. So I just want them to know how I feel and I want them to understand that I appreciate what they did.”
“I’m looking forward to hearing how they talk about what they’ve done,” one student said, “how they experienced military service and what they thought of it. I want to hear it from their perspective, not just ours. I want to get their advice because I want to join the military some day.”
Several students said they were looking forward to talking to WW II vets, knowing time is limited for being able to hear stories from that era. The students possessed a surprising amount of knowledge about veterans and vet issues, including what vets from different time periods have gone through.
One student said she was looking forward to talking to the wives and family members of the vets, to try to understand what they went through while their veteran was away on duty.
White described some of the veterans he has met over the years, including one who survived the Bataan Death March. White has invited several veterans to speak to his students, and has been campaigning to make events similar to this happen throughout the state of Colorado, claiming today’s students are the “posterity” referred to in the constitution, and they should be aware of what veterans have been through for their future.
Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation in 1954 to change the name to Veterans Day as a way to honor those who served in all American wars. The day honors military veterans with parades and speeches across the nation. A national ceremony takes place at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau there were 21.2 million military veterans in the United States in 2012. Of those, 1.6 million were female and 9.6 million were 65 and older. At the other end of the age spectrum, 1.8 million were younger than 35.
Of the total, 7.4 million vets served during the Vietnam era, while 5.4 million served during the Gulf Wars (representing service from August 1990 to present); 1.6 million served in World War II (1941-1945); 2.3 million served in the Korean War (1950-1953); and 5.3 million served in peacetime only.
ed.fincher@pagosasun.com
By Mitch Davis
Special to The SUN
Several students from Pagosa Springs received merit scholarships to attend Fort Lewis College for the fall 2013 semester.
These merit scholarships are renewable for up to 120 credits if criteria are met. Fort Lewis College also offers several other scholarships, including grants, the Finish in Four! Scholarship, FLC Foundation scholarships, alumni scholarships, departmental scholarships, Native American scholarships, and outside scholarships.
The Pagosa students are:
• Bonnie Brown, who received the Freshman Tuition Merit Scholarship. Brown’s major is biology — cellular and molecular biology option.
• Rylee Houston, who received the Freshman Tuition Merit Scholarship. Houston’s major is English — writing option.
• Megan Rafferty, who received the Freshman Tuition Merit Scholarship. Rafferty’s major is public health-allied health option.
• Benjamin Reece, who received the Freshman Tuition Merit Scholarship. Reece’s major is engineering.
• Kendra Schlom, who received the Freshman Tuition Merit Scholarship. Schlom’s major is undeclared.
• Lane Tanner, who received the Freshman Tuition Merit Scholarship. Tanner’s major is chemistry — biochemistry option.
Air Force Airman Destiny R. Soto graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Soto is the daughter of Angel Gallegos of Pagosa Springs.
She is a 2012 graduate of Pagosa Springs High School.
Jim and Pam Martin of Pagosa Springs, and Juan and Kathy Maestas of Hallsville, Texas, are proud to announce the marriage of their children, Michelle Lynn Martin and William Morris Clark.
The couple was married Wednesday Nov. 6, 2013, on Orange Hill Beach in Nassau, Bahamas.
A reception will be held Saturday evening, Nov. 16, at the Extension Office for everyone who wishes to attend.
By Simon Fuger
Special to The SUN
November marks the 100th birthday of Charles Elliot, who will mark the occasion, as always, by skiing.
Elliot is one of the founders of the Wolf Creek Ski Area, the National Ski Patrol and is a past president of the Gray Wolves Ski Club. He was inducted into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 2011 and is a lifetime member of the National Ski Patrol. Elliot is credited with bringing skiing to the San Juans in 1934 and has skied every year since, except for four years during World War II when he served in the military. He continues to ski beautifully and actively participates in the sport that has brought him so much pleasure for nearly 80 years.
Friends will celebrate Charles’ remarkable life at the Wolf Creek Ski Area, one of the nation’s oldest still active ski areas. Conditions and his health permitting, those in attendance hope to be able to make a few runs with Charles.
Join in celebrating Charles’ remarkable achievements at the Wolf Creek Ski Area on Tuesday, Nov. 19. Celebrants will gather at Base Camp at 10 a.m. to ski, then hold the birthday celebration at 11:30.
For more information, go to www.graywolfskiclub.com or contact Simon Fuger at simonfuger@msn.com or 264-1003.
Michael A. Gallegos, a senior at Colorado State University, is the recipient of CSU’s Gerald and Martine Conway Foundation Scholarship for the Warner College of Natural Resources, for $2,000 for the 2013-14 academic year.
Gallegos was also awarded a Colorado State student grant for $1,250 and is a member of the Xi Sigma Pi Honor Society and Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society. He is majoring in wildlife biology and is a 2010 graduate of Pagosa Springs High School.
Paul and Etta Faye Day will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary Dec. 27, 2013.
This union started in Etta Faye’s parents’ living room in 1953 in Jessieville, Ark.
The Days made their home in Pagosa Springs, where they own and operate Day Lumber Company. They have four children: Paulette (Raymond) Hise, Aztec, NM; Rocky (Kelli) Day, Pagosa Springs; Tracy (Greg) Lucero, Pagosa Springs; and Benjamin (Sherri) Day, Kuna, Idaho.
They also have eight grandchildren and three great-grandsons.
The family is hosting an open house in honor of this momentous occasion at the Ross Aragon Community Center in Pagosa Springs on Saturday, Dec. 28, from 2-4 p.m.
All friends and family are invited to join in the celebration.
Paul and Etta Faye Day will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary Dec. 27, 2013.
This union started in Etta Faye’s parents’ living room in 1953 in Jessieville, Ark.
The Days made their home in Pagosa Springs, where they own and operate Day Lumber Company. They have four children: Paulette (Raymond) Hise, Aztec, NM; Rocky (Kelli) Day, Pagosa Springs; Tracy (Greg) Lucero, Pagosa Springs; and Benjamin (Sherri) Day, Kuna, Idaho.
They also have eight grandchildren and three great-grandsons.
The family is hosting an open house in honor of this momentous occasion at the Ross Aragon Community Center in Pagosa Springs on Saturday, Dec. 28, from 2-4 p.m.
All friends and family are invited to join in the celebration.
Photo courtesy Becky Jacobson
Terry Schaaf receives the Meritorious Service Award from Epsilon Sigma Phi Zeta Chapter at the annual CSU Extension Forum awards banquet. Terry was recognized for her dedication to the Extension program and her work at the Archuleta County CSU Extension Office.
