march 2017 battlement mesa, colorado what a...
TRANSCRIPT
Introducing . . .
Brad was born in Carmel, California. He moved to Rifle at age 6,
where he attended school from first to eighth grade. “It was
great. I played baseball, golf, rode my bike. We’d go to the Hot
Springs Pool in Glenwood. I worked in my grandparents’ hydro-
ponic tomato sheds. Sometimes I’d also work at local farms. It
was a fun place to grow up. We knew everybody and everybody
knew us. I started skiing in sixth grade,” he said.
The family moved to Aspen in 1968, where Brad attended Aspen
High. “My first year I was in a ski race at Snowmass and broke
my humerus. By that summer I was able to play baseball. I was
a catcher for the high school team, but would play other posi-
tions if needed. We had a lot of fun. We thought we owned the
town. I worked as a hod carrier from my sophomore year until
1976, then also part time as a mason,” he said. Brad ski-raced
throughout high school, also playing baseball, football and was
on the track team. He went to State in track. “We won State in baseball my senior year,” he said.
Brad graduated from Aspen High in 1973. After that he played Rugby competitively with the Gentlemen of As-
pen team for 22 years. They toured the British Isles in 1976 and 1982. He also played on the Santa Monica
team from 1982 to 1984, and coached and played Rugby at Southwest Texas University from 1986 through
1988. “We won Ruggerfest 6 times when I was on the Gentlemen of Aspen team,” he said. After Brad retired he
Mesa Vista News
March 2017 Battlement Mesa, Colorado
What a Difference a Year Makes February 2016 February 2017
Despite reports of above average to soaring snowpack measurements throughout the Colorado
mountains, including McClure Pass at 130%, Grand Mesa at 135% and Schofield pass at a whopping
172%, we have been enjoying a very mild winter here at Mesa Vista and the surrounding area. That
seems to be just fine with most of our residents.
No one is sure exactly when it got started, but the
tradition of decorating the tree in the activities room is
alive and well at Mesa Vista. Each month the tree is
decorated by residents to reflect a current theme:
Halloween, Forth of July, Christmas, or in this case
St. Patrick’s Day.
“We had the bare tree and it needed something to bring
it alive. I thought it would be a nice idea to decorate it
differently each month. The first time we decorated it
all in flowers,” Marcelle remembered. The current
shamrock idea came from Allison. “She had the idea and
did most of the work making them.”
was asked to play in the Rugby National Tourna-
ment, which they won. During Winterfests of 1976
through 1979 Brad also skied on the Coors Pro Tour.
All of the rugby and skiing began to take a toll over
time. Brad has had 3 major knee surgeries and one
minor knee surgery.
Aspen was a fun place to live, but by the 1990’s Brad
felt that it had changed. “The billionaires were buy-
ing out the millionaires,” he said. Until this time he
had worked as a waiter at the Charthouse, and then
with his father’s plumbing business. His dad retired
and Brad moved back to Rifle.
He started working part time as a skycap at the
Eagle/Vail Airport during the season, golfing in the
summers and traveling the world on free airline
flights he received as a benefit from his job. In 2001
he got a job as a Fueling Line Service Tech, fueling
airplanes at Grand Junction Airport. “We had the
military contract so we got to work with all of the
military planes coming through,” he said. After that
he returned to Rifle where he delivered water for the
Clear Mountain Water Company. He eventually had
to retire when he developed Peripheral Neuropathy
in his legs and feet.
In retirement, he took care of his mom for the next 4
years, until she moved into a nursing home. Shortly
thereafter he fell backwards and split his head open.
After a month stay in the hospital, Brad had to un-
dergo 14 months of rehab in a skilled nursing center.
Brad moved into Mesa Vista in January of this year.
“I like it. I’m looking forward to the warmer weather
when I can get outside more and exercise, ride my
bike and fly a kite,” he laughed. “The staff is profes-
sional and friendly. The food is very good. The other
residents are nice, I just hope they like my sense of
humor!”
Adult Day Program
The Mesa Vista Adult Day Program is now
certified to accept Medicaid
Open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, from 10
am until 4:30 pm. Members participate in a full schedule
of activities, with snacks, soft drinks and coffee always
available. A hot lunch is served daily.
For further information call 970-285-1844
Page 2 Mesa Vista News
(story continued from page 1)
Wellspring of Life Church to visit
Mesa Vista on second Sundays
We are blessed to have the Grace Bible Church
service, The Lighthouse Church service and the
Gethsemani Youth group visits to Mesa Vista on
Sundays each month. Thank you all very much for
your dedication to our residents!
As many of you know, Father EJ from All Saints
Episcopal Church retired at the end of the year.
Father EJ generously conducted a service at Mesa
Vista for our residents on the second Sunday of each
month. Starting this month, Pastor Dave from the
Wellspring of Life Church has graciously volun-
teered to take over this monthly Sunday service.
Pastor Dave’s first visit will be Sunday, March 12th at
1 pm. Please give him a warm welcome! “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud”
- Maya Angelou
Tradition of the Tree
Pictured above, from left to right: tree-tenders
Allison, Mitzi, Marcelle and Agnes.
Evie Kriz - March 7th
Georgianna - March 8th
Bev Williamson - March 8th
Ernestine Adams - March 8th
Kathy Germano - March 19th
Jeff McFadden - March 23rd
Al Kulisan - March 28th
Fred Fiereck - March 30th
Page 3 Mesa Vista News
Mesa Vista Assisted Living 72 Sipprelle Drive, Parachute Colorado
(970) 285-1844 fax 970-285-6351 [email protected] http://seniorhousingoptions.org/properties/
mesa-vista/
Kathy Germano, Administrator
Tami Hammond, Resident Services Director
Michael Farrell, Activities Director, Adult Day Program Director, Editor
Crossing the Divide
Migrating animals – bison, elk, deer, bighorn sheep –
first established the trails across the Continental Divide
at Independence Pass. Stone Age hunters may have
followed, though their crossings are lost to the shadows
of prehistory. Millennia passed before men crossed the
Pass in hobnail boots, dragging sleds, shouldering loads,
laboring mightily in the thin air [12,100 feet].
These seekers were often hungry, thirsty, hot, wet and
cold. They endured sun, rain, hail and snow. They were
struck by lightning, cowed by thunder, blasted by wind,
imperiled by avalanches, harassed by insects, chased by
bears, benighted and lost. They were blinded by winter
white, dazzled by autumn gold, welcomed by spring
green and warmed by summer verdure.
Prospectors crossing the Pass in the late 1870’s reported
seeing blazes on trees they guessed were from the
1860’s. There was one earlier claim by a man thought to
have been one of the first white men to cross Independ-
ence Pass. He was known simply as the Old Pioneer.
According to an article in the Aspen Daily Times,
September 1885, he was “a poor, old, dilapidated-looking
specimen of humanity, with tattered clothes that had
seen a good many summers and several winters.” He
was noticed sitting on a beer keg in front of a Cooper
Street saloon. “His hair was uncombed, his beard long
and shaggy. He looked, indeed, like Rip Van Winkle. His
friendless look of desolate demeanor was such as to
soften a newspaperman’s heart.”
The curious reporter began his interview with the usual
question: “Who are you?” “My name is Henry Gleason,”
replied the Old Pioneer, “and I am the first man to ever
put a foot in the valley of the Roaring Fork. I passed
down this valley in the summer of 1850, and I feel
confident that no white man had ever been here before.”
If the pioneer’s words were true, he made the crossing 20
years before the Hayden Survey team, when the Utes
were still supreme in Colorado, when the land west of
the Divide was pure wilderness. Stunned by his claim,
the reporter asked about the old man’s origins. “I was
born in Spencer County, Kentucky, but I left home
young and have been a wanderer ever since. I have no
kindred ties in the world that I know of, and I reckon if I
had, they would not be very proud of me because I ain’t
no beauty, to say the least of it.”
Onlookers had gathered to listen to the aged relic, and
someone invited him to take a drink, as the reporter
noted: “He rose from his seat on the beer keg and sham-
bled into the bar, where he swallowed a glassful of whis-
key.” “Ah, that makes one almost feel young again,” mut-
tered the old man.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________———————————————————————--—____—___________________—-___________________
Mesa Vista News has received special permission to
reprint stories from the books written by author Paul
Andersen. Mr. Andersen’s engaging books provide a
wealth of information about the history and ecology
of Colorado. The following essay was taken from
his book, The High Road To Aspen. Mr. Andersen is
also the author of Aspen’s Rugged Splendor and Elk
Mountain Odyssey.
Happy Birthday!
March 2017
S U N M O N T U E W E D T H U F R I S A T
1 Salon is Open
10:00 Vitals Clinic
11:00
Crafts Workshop
2:00 Shopping Walmart
3:30 Rummy
6:30 Bible Study
2 Salon is Open
10:00 Morning Walk and Exercises
11:00 Skin Care and Make-up with
Brenda 1:30 Bingo with
Grace 3:30 History of the
West with Al 6:00 Coloring with
3
Salon is Open 10:00
Bible Reading 10:30
Paws to Love 11:00 Morning
Walk & Exercises
1:30 Bingo with Grace
3:30 Baking
4
10:00
Coffee Klatch
2:00 Bingo
6:00
Roundtable with Fred
5 1:00 Coloring
with Diane
2:30 Grace Bible
Service
4:00 Club Suzie
6 10:00
Horseshoes
11:00 Exercise Fun with Grace
2:00
Popcorn Classic: The Secret Life of
Walter Mitty
4:30 Jenga
7 10:00
Art Workshop
11:15 Wii Bowling
1:30 Bingo with June
3:30
Word Search
6:00 Poker Night Happy Birthday
Evie!
8 Salon is Open
10:00 Crafts with Penelope
3:30 Dealer’s
Choice
6:30 Bible Study with Marie
Happy Birthday Georgianna, Bev &
Ernestine!!!
9 Salon is Open
10:00 Morning Walk and Exercises
11:00 Skin Care and Make-up with
Brenda
1:30 Bingo with Grace
3:30 History of the West with Al
6:00 Coloring with Allison
10
Salon is Open 10:30
Paws to Love
11:00 Morning Walk & Exercises
1:30 Bingo with Grace
3:30 Ice Cream Social
6:00 Poker Night
11
10:00
Coffee Klatch
2:00 Bingo
6:00
Roundtable with Fred
Daylight savings time: Turn clocks ahead one hour
at bedtime
12
1:00
Wellspring of Life Church
Service
2:30 Coloring With Diane
4:00 Club Suzie
Full Moon Tonight
13 10:00
Horseshoes
11:00 Morning Walk & Exercise
2:00 Travelogue:
Alaska
3:30 Hangman
14 10:00
Assisted Living Food & Resident
Council
11:15 Wii Bowling
1:30 Bingo with June
3:30
Wits End
6:00 Poker Night
15
Salon is Open
10:00 Art Workshop
11:00 Crafts with Penelope
2:00 Shopping Walmart
3:30 Rummy
6:30 Bible Study with Marie
16 Salon is Open
10:00 Morning Walk and Exercises
11:00 Skin Care and Make-up with
Brenda
1:30 Bingo with Grace
3:30 History of the West with Al
6:00 Coloring with Allison
17
Salon is Open 10:00
Bible Reading 10:30
Paws to Love 11:00 Morning
Walk & Exercises 1:30 Bingo with
Grace
3:30 St. Patrick’s Day
Party with live Irish music
18
10:00
Coffee Klatch
2:00 Bingo
6:00
Roundtable with Fred
19 1:00 Coloring
with Diane
2:30
Gethsemani Youth Group
Visit
4:00 Club Suzie
Happy Birthday
Kathy!
20 10:00
Horseshoes
11:00 Morning Walk & Exercise
2:00 Popcorn Classic:
3:30 Word Search
Spring Equinox
21 10:00 The Good
Old Days with Charlotte &
Michelle
11:15 Wii Bowling
1:30 Bingo with June
3:30 Wits End
6:00 Poker Night
22 Salon is Open
10:00
Crafts with Penelope
11:00 Lunch at the Senior Center
2:00 Shopping local
3:30 Dealer’s Choice
6:30 Bible Study with Marie
23 Salon is Open
10:00 Morning Walk and Exercises
11:00 Skin Care and Make-up with
Brenda 1:30 Bingo with
Grace 3:30 History of the
West with Al 6:00 Coloring with
Allison
Happy Birthday Jeff!
24
Salon is Open 10:00
Bible Reading 10:30
Paws to Love
11:00 Morning Walk & Exercises 1:30 Bingo with
Grace 3:30
Table Topics
6:00 Poker Night
25
10:00
Coffee Klatch
2:00 Bingo
6:00
Roundtable with Fred
26 1:00 Coloring
with Diane
2:30 Lighthouse
Church Service
4:00 Club Suzie
27 10:00
Horseshoes
11:00 Morning Walk & Exercise
2:00
Hangman
3:30
Travelogue: Brazil
28 10:00
Art Workshop
11:15 Wii Bowling
1:30 Bingo with June
3:30
Wits End
6:00 Poker Night
Happy Birthday Al!
29 Salon is Open
10:00 Crafts with Penelope
2:00
Shopping Walmart
3:30 Rummy
6:30 Bible Study with Marie
30 Salon is Open
10:00 Morning Walk and Exercises
11:00 Skin Care and Make-up with
Brenda 1:30 Bingo with
Grace 3:30 History of the
West with Al 6:00 Coloring with
Allison
Happy Birthday Fred!
31 Salon is Open
10:00 Resident Boards and Tree
10:30 Paws to Love
11:00 Morning Walk & Exercises
1:30 Bingo with Grace 3:30
Ice Cream Social
6:00 Poker Night
Schedule is
subject to
Change