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Roadhawg Takes His Last Ride

By Julia Caulfield

Dick Unruh Guest DJing on KOTO in 2024

Telluride has seen many icons in its time, but few reach the heights of Richard “Dick” Unruh, Roadhawg to many.

“Dick was certainly unique. He was smart, he was wild. Funny guy, great sense of humor, great athlete, great personality, loved music, loved people. One of the best of the best. Despite his wild heartedness, he was a very kind and sensitive personality, who really cared about people, and he is just an admirable character.” remembers longtime friend Mick Obrand.

“I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes remembering all these years and what a joy and pleasure and blessing it was to have known him,” adds Roudy Roudebush.

Unruh passed away on the night of December 24th. He was 84 years old.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1940. Unruh found Telluride in the early 1970s, becoming a staple of Telluride’s wild west days.

He lived in a small Victorian house in Town Park (what is now the Parks and Recreation offices). He and Roudebush worked the Unstable Riding Stables, pasturing horses in Town Park and Bear Creek.

Over the years he was an attorney, horse wrangler, KOTO DJ. He was the head of the San Miguel Democratic Party. He was the loving father of three children. Unruh was instrumental in the land transaction that would become East Ophir. He set the bar high with incredible compassion. He was a hippie, a cowboy, an outlaw.

For those who loved Unruh, they know the best stories aren’t suitable for the radio.

“The stories that he would tell. The stories that he forgot about, he was a true Telluride legend,” says Brian Ahern. He called Unruh a friend and mentor.

The stories are indeed many.

“I’ve had some chairlift chats the past couple days. Somebody saw the post I made when I learned of his passing, but a lot of people are like, ‘I have a similar story’. He helped a lot of people,” says friend Jereb Carter.

Cindy Obrand remembers when she first met Unruh. She and her husband Mick were new to town, with two small kids in tow. They went down to the Sheridan Bar to meet some of the characters in town.

“I mean we thought we came to town as outlaws. When we met Peter Pitts and Dick Unruh, we realized we were Sunday school teachers,” Cindy Obrand chuckles.

Unruh sometimes lived life on the edge. An attorney on all sides (both a district attorney and defense lawyer) he also had his own run ins with the law. He was disbarred for several years in the 80s before being reinstated.

“He was a one of a kind. He was a friend to people who were down and out. I don’t think he ever met a person he refused to represent as a client. That wasn’t because of the money, but because he believed in standing up for and defending people’s rights,” says Ahern “He was an advocate for those who couldn’t fight for themselves or couldn’t afford to hire an attorney. He was a true gentleman.”

Roudebush remembers someone saying “If it wasn’t for Unruh, who would defend the justly accused?”

Roudebush reminisces, “Mark Twain had written: ‘a real friend is someone who stands behind you when you’re wrong’. Uncle Dick stood behind me in courtrooms, watched my back in the Sheridan bar, and defended me on Sunday mornings in front of the post office.”

Outside lawyering, Unruh was a staple at the beginning of KOTO. He hosted the Open Road Show with Roadhawg.

“Unruh, the old Roadhawg, really influenced. I absolutely loved his show,” says Cindy Obrand. “I thought Texans were wild, but I’d never met a Kansas City boy like Dick Unruh. He gave us all license.”

On or off the mic Unruh could sweet talk anyone.

“Loved to make folks laugh. Biggest flirt in town. He made flirting an art. It was his form of communication with everybody, from a baby, to a dog, to a good-looking woman. He could flirt your cowgirl boots off,” Obrand remembers.

At his core, Unruh was someone who supported those he loved, stood up for the underdog, and fought for what was right.

“He had seen many trials and tribulations throughout his life that mirrored some of my own difficulties. He had a way to bring it down to the ground level. ‘Get out of our head. You’re your own worst enemy. Whatever you think you may have done, I’ve done ten times worse. This is the way you navigate the waters.’” Ahern remembers Unruh’s advice. “Not how many times life knocks you down, but how you get back up, and how you deal.”

“He changed the course of my life. It could have gone bad had it not been for someone like him in my corner,” says Carter.

“Bless his heart. 25 years ago, I got yet another DUI, and Uncle Dick said ‘you better go down to some AA meetings, so we’ll have something to tell the judge’”, Roudebush says, “I’ve been sober 25 years thanks to Dick. I wouldn’t be alive on so many different things. I owe him my life.”

If you ask Roudebush, the world’s a little darker without the old Roadhawg.

“He made the world a better place,” says Roudebush. “We took a lot of pictures and we left a lot of hoof prints. I’m blessed to have known him, as we all are.”

Dick Unruh showed Telluride what living life sincerely, wildly, and to the fullest looked like.

Roudy Roudebush (left) and Dick Unruh (right) as “The Outlaw Hour” on KOTO in 2024

A Poem for Solstice

By Julia Caulfield

Courtesy photo: Joanna Yonder

On Saturday, December 21st, the Northern Hemisphere celebrates the shortest day of the year, and the longest night. In San Miguel County the sun will rise at 7:23 a.m. and set at 4:55 p.m. on the winter solstice.

The day holds special meaning for San Miguel County Poet Laureate Joanna Yonder.

“I think observing solstice can be permission to yourself to understand that this is a time of hibernation and that brighter and more energetic days are ahead. But it’s also okay to rest and go inward a little bit.”

Yonder spoke with KOTO’s Julia Caulfield to share a new poem (so new it doesn’t have a title) on honor of the winter solstice.

It is winter, and your presence is requested.

In the winter, when it’s time to go

deep, deep inside yourself and find the stillness,

You may be the quiet snowbank, waiting.

You may be the whisper of the icy winter wind.

You may even be the bleached bone in the field,

the misty ring swirling around the clouded moon.

During this time, do not forget

that beneath the surface of the frozen stream

is still a gushing torrent. Inside

the stark and silent aspen,

sap is green and vivid.

Full of life.

While you may go inward, this remember:

That the stillness and the later blooming

are not enemies, but friends.

That dormancy exists in service

of eventual flourishing.

- Joanna Yonder

Amidst Fire, Community in Nucla Burns Bright

By Julia Caulfield

West End community members serving food for wildland firefighters during the Bucktail Fire (Photo: Julia Caulfield/KOTO)

The snow is flying, biting the mountaintops. But it wasn’t so long ago that fire was burning across the region. In August, the Bucktail Fire burned over 7,000 acres just outside of Nucla.

Dani Reyes-Acosta was driving home to the West End from a camping trip when she heard about the fire.

“Coming down from the mountains, and realizing I’d spent so much time doing something that felt like I connect to myself and people I love and the land. To go home and realize that this land, separated only by a few miles, but connected by a waterway was burning,” recalls Reyes-Acosta. “And there were people out there actively putting their lives in danger and what was I going to do? Just let it happen?”

No. Reyes-Acosta decided to show up in a way she knew how. Food.

She was going to cook dinner for the firefighters battling the Bucktail Fire.

On her way home, Reyes-Acosta stopped by the Clark’s Market in Norwood to pick up supplies.

“As I’m going through the aisles picking up 12 pounds of dried beans and 15 pounds of onions – because of course I’m going to make a Mexican homecooked meal from scratch. It turned out that Tonya Stephens from Nucla-Naturita Fire and EMS is on the phone with the Norwood store manager. Tonya is getting everything arranged so we can have food donated to these folks,” says Reyes-Acosta.

As it turns out, the wheels were already in motion.

Tonya Stephens has been a volunteer EMS firefighter in Nucla for over 20 years. The day the fire started she sent out a message on Facebook.

“I sent this out about 10 [o’clock at night]. I said ‘I’ll be at the firehall in Nucla at 5 in the morning to fix breakfast for the firemen. Message me if you can help’,” says Stephens. “I had eight people respond almost immediately. I went to bed at 11 and I knew that I had help in the morning.”

From there, a community swell of support blossomed. Folks in the West End, young and old, showed up to donate ingredients or money, and give their time to prepare food.

Preparation moved from the fire hall to the community center. Dozens of members of the community came in and out to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner for over 150 wildland firefighters.

“In the mornings, at 4:30 in the morning, we get together and we split it in shifts,” says Cassandra Farmer, another Nucla volunteer EMS firefighter, wife, mom, general do gooder in the community. “4:30 a.m. they get together. They get breakfast made. They get lunches made. It has to be to the fire by 6:30 in the morning, so the firefighters can eat breakfast. At 7 o’clock they have their roundup, they figure out what they’re going to do for the day, grab their lunches and head out to the line and fight fire,”

Farmer says second shift comes in the afternoon. "Then we come back together in the afternoon, cooking dinner, prepping lunches for tomorrow. And then about 6 p.m. we take dinner up to the line, get it all ready, firefighters start coming in and we feed them all. They come through, they eat dinner, they go to their little camp at basecamp,” says Farmer. “We clean up, we come home, and we do it all again tomorrow until the fire’s over.”

Fire camp is several miles outside of Nucla. Juniper, oak brush, pinion pine stretch into the distance. The fire is out of sight, over a ridgeline. Over the course of several hours, men and women covered in soot and dirt file through getting their warm meal.

Several remark it’s the best food they’ve ever had at fire camp.

Wildland firefighters collect dinner while fighting the Bucktail Fire (Photo: Julia Caulfield/KOTO)

It’s an expression of ordinary people doing extraordinary acts for the common good. But Stephens and Farmer say in Nucla it shouldn’t be a surprise.

“When somebody needs something. If somebody is in trouble, if something is happening and they need support, we all come together and we support them. It is just what we do,” highlights Farmer. “When the firefighters come through that line to get their dinner and they’re so excited and they’re so genuinely thankful. That feeds your heart, and that makes your heart happy to know that you’re part of that.”

The Bucktail Fire burned across the mesa for several weeks. In the end, a Nucla man pleaded guilty to starting it.

While the fire has been contained, the power of community coming together is still there for Reyes-Acosta.

She muses, “when we own the fact that we are small but mighty. Whether it’s one person or one community, but we step into our power of saying ‘what can I do?’ That’s where beautiful things happen.”

The smoke may be gone, but the strength of Nucla, its heart, is still burning bright.

A Flute, Saxophone, and Bass Walk Into A Bar

By Julia Caulfield

Project Trio isn’t your typical chamber trio. Greg Patillo understands that.

“You don’t often see a flute, saxophone, base trio. What kind of a trio is that even?” he jokes.

Patillo is the flute component of Project Trio – a genre-bending ensemble, pushing the boundaries of chamber music to include jazz, hip-hop, and world music influences.

Patillo joins saxophonist Daniel Berkley, and double bassist Peter Seymour.

“There’s a little something for each person in the audience,” says Seymour. “If you don’t like the tune we’re playing, you might like the next one and the next one. We’re ever changing. Throughout a Project Trio concert you’ll here all these genres brought together.”

This week, Telluride Chamber Music is bringing Project Trio to the box canyon for a high energy performance at the Alibi.

Adding to an already untraditional trio format, Patillo brings a unique element to the group.

“I am known not only for traditional style of flute, but I’m also known for beatboxing on the flute,” Patillo explains. “Beatboxing is doing drum noises, percussive sounds at the same time as playing the flute so I’m able to get some interesting and funky sounds on the flute. Something not a lot of people have heard before.”

Throughout the concert, Seymour says there’s a little taste of everything.

“We play music of Mozart, Blue Rondo à la Turk. We play Charlie Parker, Hall of the Mountain King. We play the great Lennon and McCartney. We play a lot of original music. We have an homage to the great Django Reinhardt, the father of French Hot Jazz. We have an original salsa tune called ‘Bodega’ inspired by the streets of New York. It’s a whole smorgasbord,” he says.

Patillo says they want to think outside of the box and give the audience a proper show.

“We’re trying to be entertaining. We’re not looking to do things correct. We want to have everyone have a blast, come out to the show, see something new, have something different to talk about after the show,” he notes.

Project Trio will play at the Alibi on Thursday, October 24th at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at telluridechambermusic.org.

Norwood Teacher Named One of The Best

By Mason Osgood

Photo courtesy Norwood Public Schools

Rain clouds hovering over Norwood didn’t diminish the buzz of excitement inside the Norwood school. It’s Tuesday, September 17th, and a group of administrators and visitors gather to surprise second and third grade teacher Shelley Donnellon.

Emma Garrett Nelson is Chief Communications Officer with the Colorado Department of Education. For the past two weeks, she and her colleagues have been traveling around the State to announce the finalists of Colorado Teacher of the Year.

“We have this program called Teacher of the Year and we ask everybody in Colorado, we ask who are your favorite teachers, and we got one thousand nominations,” Garrett Nelson explains to students. “A thousand teachers in the entire state were nominated including your teacher, and out of those thousand we had ninety three teachers do an application process. It’s a very hard process, and oftentimes teachers don’t like to brag about their awesomeness and that can be kind of challenging for teachers to do. Out of those ninety three applicants we had seven finalists, and your teacher is one of those seven finalists”

It's a big deal. There are about 55,000 teachers throughout the state of Colorado, and as Garrett Nelson shares, Donnellon is one of the top seven. Garrett Nelson hands over a check for $1500 dollars for Donnellon to use as she likes, in addition, a $500 donation to Norwood schools on behalf of the Boettcher Foundation.

Gathered in Donnellon’s second and third grade classroom is the who’s who of Norwood. The Superintendent, Principal, School Board Members. The Norwood Town Clerk; even her husband, San Miguel Sheriff Deputy Michael Donnellon.

While the state is now recognizing Donnellon’s accomplishments in the classroom, for her students, it's no surprise. 

“She makes her teaching fun, she gets nice cool activities, fun and activities,” says one student.

“She lets us do fun activities, and she’s so nice and pretty and just makes us all happy,” chimes in another.

Donnellon and her extended family have been in Norwood for over four generations, and she's taught for eleven years. Garrett Nelson, is excited to be in the Norwood school district, and to meet Donnellon in person.

“We’re just really excited to be here, our teachers are absolutely phenomenal and extraordinary and especially in a District like this and when you have someone who is homegrown and who has made the choice to be here who just loves this district,” Garrett Nelson says, “she described herself as ‘Norwood through and through’ and I think thats something thats really really special about Shelley.”

Todd Bissell, Norwood’s newest superintendent of three months, already has high praise of Donnellon. 

“She has made so many contributions to the school over the years, I’ve only known her for about three months being new here but going into her classroom it's always engaging, students are on task, they’re having fun, smiles on their faces, and that's what we like to see,” Bissell says.

Donnellon’s giddy students gather around her for a group photo, as she holds her award and check for $1,500. The seven finalists will go through a second interview process, and classroom visits from the state of Colorado, before a final winner is announced in early October. 

But Donnellon says it’s incredible to make it this far. “I am shocked and honored, so I never in my wildest dreams thought that this was and option,” she says “I appreciate everyone, I couldn’t have done it myself, the kids here are great, the families here are great, the staff, the support, the town, I mean this is just really the best place”

As the celebrations draw to a close, staff goes back to work, and the students take their seats for the next lesson, standing at the front of the room is one of the top teachers in Colorado. 

Well Dunn

By Julia Caulfield

Those who tune in regularly will have noticed a new voice on the airwaves. Eliza Dunn joined the KOTO News team in June as a summer intern reporting on everything from government meetings, to birdwatching.

But now a new school year beckons and she’s heading out on the next adventure. KOTO’s Julia Caulfield sat down with Dunn to hear how the summer has gone, and what’s coming up next. Dunn starts with her thoughts on the summer.

Single Use Plastic Asked ‘To-Go’

By Julia Caulfield

Frequent local restaurants and businesses in Telluride and you may notice something missing. Single use plastic.

“Mainly what’s changing is related to food service and things related to food service. But it’s not solely that,” says Darin Graber, Sustainability and Grant Administrator for the Town of Telluride. “it also applies to somethings you might not expect, toothpicks can’t be wrapped in single use plastic, or cotton swabs with plastic stems are prohibited under this ordinance.”

In 2022, Telluride Town Council passed an ordinance to ban single use plastic in the town, with the implementation date of July 1, 2024.

Under the ordinance, single use plastic containers are prohibited (such as Styrofoam, cups, bowls, plates), plastic straws and cutlery are a no go, same with condiments, and plastic stirrers or garnish spears. Single use plastic water bottles under a gallon are prohibited. In addition, customers at a restaurant or business must request cutlery or napkins, rather than getting them automatically.

There are exceptions for fire, EMS, and law enforcement if they need single use plastic in an emergency situation, or in the case of a town wide emergency or natural disaster. Single use plastic will also be allowed for medical use.

You may also still see single use plastic at the grocery store as prepackaged items that come from large distributers, or if it has to do with food safety.

“So obviously we’re going to have milk cartons, or a plastic bottle of milk. The things we need to change are the items that we’re serving over the counter. If I have a raw ingredient in my hand and I need to put it in something to give to a customer, that receptacle needs to be compostable,” notes Chris Jackman, Store Director at the Clark’s Market in Telluride.

Jackson says there have been a number of changes at the store since the ban went into effect, but he’s up for the task.

“It does seem a little daunting at the beginning especially when you start making a list of all the things that need to be changed over,” he says, “but there are a lot of suppliers that provide those items.”

The main challenge, Jackman says, is getting vendors to stock the items specific for Telluride.

“Because they service a larger community. They’re servicing Telluride, and Norwood, and Ridgway, and Montrose, and Grand Junction. So to have these niche items for Telluride can be difficult, but I haven’t talked to anyone who is not supportive of it,” he says.

Jackman adds with a higher demand on eco products he anticipates running into supply chain issues, with certain products being out of stock.

Despite shifts or any potential challenges for the Market, Jackman says he’s supportive of the ban.

“To have such a small community like Telluride be a role model for the rest of Colorado and the rest of the United States is a great move for us,” he muses.

Scott Keating is the part-owner of the Coffee Cowboy, a to-go coffee shop in Telluride (photo credit Julia Caulfield/KOTO)

But not everyone is fully sold.

“Our business is a to-go business, and we’ve been using compostable cups since we bought it in 2020,” says Scott Keating is part-owner of the Coffee Cowboy. “So for our to-go cup scene, nothing has changed.”

Keating’s not against compostable cups. As he said, the Coffee Cowboy has been using them since the beginning, but he’s skeptical of the benefit to the environment.

For the compostable cups to properly break down, it requires an industrial composting process, something the Telluride region is working towards, but doesn’t have readably available.

Some research has shown that compostable material still takes years and years to break down in a landfill, and as they do, they can emit the greenhouse gas methane.

“It’s great in theory, if we’re actually composting it,” Keating says “But to put all that energy in to something that’s actually worse for the environment, it doesn’t make sense. At the end of the day I feel like we’re greenwashing to make ourselves feel better.”

That’s not to say he’s against the ordinance, but he wants to see the conversation go further.

“This is a great first step. I’m not trying to sh*t on it,” Keating says, “I’m trying to be a realist of if we want to think of wide scale problems and think it through, let’s not do it 20%. Let’s really think about them.”

For Keating, it’s about a culture shift. To that point, Graber agrees.

“Trying to really push toward a different mindset of refuse, reuse, then think about recycling, then think about everything else,” says Graber. “Shifting people’s habits might seem like a big deal, but I think in a year or two it’ll be so normal, and we can push to a much more sustainable lifestyle than the consumption based lifestyle we have nationally.”

A national culture shift to zero waste may be a big goal, but Telluride is trying to do its part. One cup at a time.

The San Miguel Rodeo Saddles Up

By Eliza Dunn

Photo Eliza Dunn/KOTO

It’s a Saturday night in Norwood. The late summer sun is setting over the mountains, but in the San Miguel County Fairgrounds, excitement is rising. 

Over the loudspeaker, the announcer’s voice booms, “well, good evening rodeo fans, and welcome to night number two of the San Miguel Basin CPRA Rodeo.” 

The first event of the night is bareback riding. The gates open and a wild bucking horse charges out into the ring, kicking up dust and tossing the cowboy around like a ragdoll. The goal is to stay on the animal for eight seconds.

Next up are the roping events. Down by the grandstand, a few cowboys tie up their horses after their ride. 

Bryce Grant just finished the tie-down roping, a fast-paced event that requires both speed and precision from the cowboy. 

“It’s a single-cowboy event, where it’s just you and your horse and you’re tied on,” Grant explains. “So you have a calf and they get a head start. You go down rope, and then you get off and flank him and tie three legs.” 

As he rides into the ring, Grant says, he tries to block out everything around him: “I try to just focus on myself. I try to get myself really angry and really aggressive, because that’s something that I’ve really struggled with lately. So I just really focus on what I'm going to do right then and there. Get out good and just go do my job.”

Next up, the cowgirls take the ring. Breakaway roping is an all-female event that moves at lightning speed. In a matter of mere seconds, competitors attempt to chase down and rope a calf.

After her ride, Ashlin Spitzer explains that she does breakaway roping because “not only does it take horsepower, which is instrumental, but also the intelligence of the roper itself, and making sure that you make the right call at the right time. And you’re almost in sync with your horse. But it’s also just so beautiful to watch and to actually see someone rope sharp or the proper form. I think it’s one of the most beautiful things.” 

Photo Eliza Dunn/KOTO

Spitzer grew up riding horses, but didn’t start riding rodeo until recently. “I got into rodeo because it was…. COVID happened and it was time for change and to try something different and I had always been fascinated with rodeo and horses,” Spitzer remembers. “And so I decided to go to college and work for it and it’s paid off and it’s better than I could’ve ever dreamed.” 

Patting down her horse, Gopher, Spitzer says tonight wasn’t her best ride, but she’s okay with that. “Nonetheless, this is my hometown rodeo, and I absolutely love it here and I’m happy when my friends get to come out and see,” she says. “And if I miss, if I don’t, there’s always something I can take away from it. Of course winning’s great, but you can always learn something.”

Photo Eliza Dunn/KOTO

As the sun disappears behind the mesa, the competition rides on. One after another, riders take the ring, going up against bucking bulls and wild steers. It’s a dangerous sport, and sometimes competitors are only a few inches away from a stray hoof or horn. Still, Grant says, when he rides out of the box, he’s not afraid. 

“No, I enjoy it too much to be scared,” he says. “And then when you’re riding good animals who are your best friend, it makes it so much more worth it.”

That connection with your horse, Spitzer agrees, is key: “You know, your horse can feel every single feeling you feel. So they can feel when a little fly flies onto their back, they’re going to feel all the tension you hold. To me, as a rider, I think it’s important to be as calm and collected as possible so he can go out and do his job and I can do mine.”

As the last events draw to a close, the ring empties out and the animals get loaded up for the night. A band starts up and competitors and spectators alike gather under the stars, to celebrate another summer of rodeo in Norwood. 

Love and Loss with “Love Letters to Vincent”

By Julia Caulfield

“Love Letters to Vincent” is a poetic, musical, multi-media journey into love and loss. A creation from local poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, and pianist, composer, and historian Kayleen Asbo, the performance leads the audience through the work and life of artist Vincent Van Gogh. Wahtola Trommer and Asbo spoke with KOTO’s Julia Caulfield about the performance.

That was Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer and Kayleen Asbo speaking about their upcoming performance of “Love Letters to Vincent”. The performance will take place at the Palm Theatre on Saturday, July 27th at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at telluridepalm.com.

Shakespeare in the Park Brings Cross-Dressing Revelry

By Eliza Dunn

Shakespeare in the Park runs on Town Park Stage (photo courtesy of Telluride Theatre)

It’s a warm July evening in Town Park. The skate park is full, softball is in full swing, and kids are kicking a soccer ball around on the grass.

But on the Town Park stage, a storm is brewing, and a ship is going under.

It’s Telluride Theatre’s annual production of Shakespeare in the Park. For the past eight weeks, the cast has been hard at work, memorizing lines and bringing Shakespeare’s words to life. 

This summer’s play is an adaptation of Twelfth Night. As is the movie She’s the Man, if you’ve seen it.

Director Jim Cairl’s take on the story is a balancing act.

“I think Twelfth Night itself is a play that is a tightrope walk between this wonderful romantic comedy and this kind of silly, vulgar clown show,” he says, “We're saying it’s kind of like When Harry Met Sally meets Dumb and Dumber.”

This version of Twelfth Night takes Illyria, the mythical setting of the play, and reimagines it as the quintessential American tradition: summer camp. Cast members have enjoyed transplanting Shakespeare into this new setting.

Ursula Ostrander plays Olivia.

“I think that the summer camp twist really lends itself to the lightness of the play, the fun,” Ostrander says. “Already it is a play that is full of hijinks and lots of silliness and it just heightens it.”

“The summer camp setting is fun,” Cairl agrees. “I think that, you look at things like Meatball, Wet Hot American Summer, there is this almost built in version of Illyria where you have rival summer camps or you have the romantic comedy subplot. I think that we already have his trope built into our own American movie sensibilities, that it made sense to try and reinvent Shakespeare through that lens.”

Photo courtesy of Telluride Theatre/Clarke Dyer Photography

Sasha Cuccinello, Telluride Theater Artistic Director and, in this play, Lady Tobi Belch, says that performing in the physical setting of Town Park makes the production even more special.

“We get to play on the most beautiful setting in the world—we’re on Town Park stage, looking out on the beauty of Telluride. And because we set it at a summer camp, the audience is facing the beauty of Telluride, so you know, every night we have something different—we have a good sunset, a rainstorm, a lightning storm, whatever it is, you just never know,” she says.

Against the backdrop of Telluride’s rocky canyon walls, Shakespeare’s words take on new meanings.

“Viola has a speech that she says to Olivia when they first meet. And there’s a moment where she says ‘halloo your name to the reverberate hills,’ and it’s really fun to get to say that literally yelling out to the reverberate hills in this Box Canyon,” says Julia Caulfield, playing Viola in the production.

She says that with opening day quickly approaching, there’s excitement in the air. “And then think there always gets to be a point where you’re like, oh we’re ready. We need an audience, we need other people to be in the space, people to witness to level up. And I feel like we’re getting there, and that’s always a really exciting thing.”

“Shakespeare… it comes alive when you're in front of an audience, because you get the audience’s reactions,” Ostrander echoes. “There are things that you just don’t—you hope they’ll play well, but you don’t know until you get in front of an audience, and also the audience gives you so much energy.”

As the cast rehearses, they joke around with each other. Cuccinello says the camaraderie among actors is a big piece of what sets this theater company apart. “We have a great crew of locals, I mean that’s what makes Telluride Theater special, is like, we are a local theater doing it for our community.”

Cairl, who is a visiting director at Telluride Theater, agrees. “Well, I’m from New York, so the first week was spent learning how to breathe. But I came into the company, I’ve never worked with Telluride Theater before, and everybody was so welcoming, and so open, and so willing to play, that it made my job much easier.”

The cast is only a few rehearsals away from seeing all their hard work up on stage, facing the reverberate hills.

“I’m feeling great! Why should I be worried? Should I be worried?” Cairl jokes. “No, I feel really good. You know, knock on all of the wood, but it’s going very well.”

Opening night for Shakespeare in the Park is this Saturday, July 20th, and it will run through the 28th. If you haven’t already bought your ticket, you can do so at telluridetheater.org. 

Celebrating the Class of 2024

By Julia Caulfield

The Class of 2024 (courtesy of Telluride School District)

The Class of 2024 will gather their diplomas on Friday heading off into the next chapter of their lives. Earlier this week, graduating seniors took to Main Street for the annual Graduation Parade. KOTO’s Julia Caulfield was there with a question for those watching the parade: what advice do you wish you got when you graduated from High School?

A Vigil for Palestine

By Julia Caulfield

As dusk falls over Telluride on cool Thursday evening around fifteen members of the community hold a candlelight vigil for Palestine in Elks Park.

“A vigil is an opportunity to come together in a more spiritual way, a more mournful way, to be able to honor and hold sacred space for the events that are taking place right now,” says Lauren Norton one of the organizers of the vigil.

“Candlelight vigils are intentionally peaceful. Candlelight vigils are intentionally an opportunity to grieve our collective humanity and our collective losses. I hope that even though there’s a sign here that says ‘Palestina Libre’, I hope everyone gets the sense that all we want is an end to violence and an end to our dollars being used to fund, in my eyes a genocide, in others eyes a war, in others eyes a conflict. That, for me, has been going on for far too long and caused way too much harm. The opportunity to come together and see people coming together is powerful for Telluride even in these quieter off season moments,” says Norton.

As the group gathers, people share thoughts on why they joined this evening.

“In my eyes, even if this isn’t productive in the sense that we would ideally want it to be, Palestinians also just deserve to be honored and mourned and thought about on a day to day level,” one member says. “I’m doing this for them, even if it has no impact whatsoever. I feel like it’s my responsibility to at least try to have our voices be heard because theirs are not.”

“Anger does have a place and it’s important to feel anger and anger is like a nuclear energy. It can be used destructively, but it can also be used to fuel good. It felt good because I feel anger,” another shares. “Hope is action. When we throw our hands up, there’s nothing we can do, Telluride doesn’t matter. Then we’re not taking action and we’re not engaging in hope at all. As long as we’re doing something, there’s hope to be had for more peace.”

The group takes five minutes of silent reflection as birds whistle springtime songs, cars rumble along.

To close out the silence Norton reads the poem “If I Must Die” by Refaat Alareer.

If I must die, 

you must live 

to tell my story 

to sell my things 

to buy a piece of cloth 

and some strings, 

(make it white with a long tail) 

so that a child, somewhere in Gaza 

while looking heaven in the eye 

awaiting his dad who left in a blaze— 

and bid no one farewell 

not even to his flesh 

not even to himself— 

sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above 

and thinks for a moment an angel is there 

bringing back love 

If I must die 

let it bring hope 

let it be a tale

The group heads down Main Street, in a candlelight march.

Community members plan to hold more events to show support for Palestine throughout the summer, including a “teach in” to help the public learn more about the war in Gaza.

Telluride Art Goes to Washington

By Julia Caulfield

Photo by Julia Caulfield (KOTO)

Take a trip down memory lane. To March 2020.

In a newscast from March 18, 2020, KOTO News reported, “with coronavirus spreading across the world, local health officials have been moving fast to keep residents of San Miguel County safe and healthy. Over the past week there have been declared local disaster emergencies, schools and libraries have closed, food establishments are switching to take out only, or closing all together. Now we’re being told to shelter in place.

In Telluride, one of the first things to go was the Free Box. But where some saw a beloved town staple gone, one person saw an opportunity.

‘My name is Brandon Berkel. I’m a local artist in Telluride, Colorado. When you see something you really like you have to just move fast and take it.’

What Berkel saw was a mural canvas.

Just days after the free box was boarded up, the original plywood was transformed into a community art installation.”

courtesy of The Smithsonian Institution

Those around in the early days of the pandemic will remember the free box mural. A cowboy with Tom Hanks’ face, covered in a mask, spraying a large green germ. A quote from Toy Story “this town ain’t big enough for the two of us” written at the top.

“Berkel says part of the beauty of the mural is that it won’t be there forever.

‘The mural will be taken down. The Free Box will be open again. The Town will start moving as it always has. It’s still giving little hope that we’re going to make it through this.’” the newscast reported.

courtesy of The Smithsonian Institution

But that mural was just the beginning. Jump to months later in the pandemic, Berkel, along with fellow local artist Molly Perrault-Daniel created a series of posters, encouraging residents to COVID safely.

“If you remember in 2020, at the very beginning of the pandemic there were some very scary public notice graphics around town ‘stay at home’ ‘where a mask’ they looked very governmental,” says Perrault-Daniel.

She says it was Berkel’s idea to take the energy from the mural, and create posters to soften the blow.

She says the idea was “to replace the scary public announcement posters and have a friendlier approach to these very important messages that need to go out to locals, visitors, to politely ask them to wear a mask, make sure public distancing, all the messages that went out over COVID.”

Perrault-Daniel and Berkel – in collaboration with the Telluride Arts District – created a series of collage posters.

“They’re just funny little animal faces that we slapped on human bodies,” recalls Berkel. “Local animals: elk, beavers, bobcats, fun little western animals. People. Animal people.”

courtesy of The Smithsonian Institution

For months, the artwork hung as a banner across Main Street, on signs along the Spur, as posters around town.

Jump even more years in the future, to now, and those posters are part of Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History archives. The Smithsonian is collecting art and artifacts to preserve and document moments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was spring of 2021, I got a phone call from Ellen Kramer,” Berkel says, “She bought out our posters at the Transfer Warehouse in 2020. She saw that the Smithsonian was collecting COVID art, so she thought it would be fun to donate it and see if she can get her name in the Smithsonian.”

In a description of the art, the Smithsonian comments on the United States’ long history of using posters (humorous at times) for public service announcements, noting Berkel and Perrault-Daniel’s work does just that. Reflecting “both a humorous approach as well as imagery which specifically reflects the community and history of Telluride.”

The posters aren’t on display anywhere (at least currently) but Berkel and Perrault-Daniel say it’s an honor to have their art recognized.

“My grandmother is so pumped. She’s been telling everyone. My family is very proud,” chuckles Berkel, “I don’t have a college degree, but by having this thing archived it gives the feeling that I did something with my education, which was art growing up. It’s like a certificate that I did something.”

Perrault-Daniel, who also works at the Telluride Historical Museum adds it’s not just about them, but the future, and the past.

“It’s a cool reminder that we’re history in the making,” she says, “We’re making history as we go. These posters that we made less than five years ago are part of our active history and people are going to look back on that. And we contributed to it.”

courtesy of The Smithsonian Institution

As for what’s next for the artists?

“I’m just going to keep on making collages,” Berkel says “Cutting things up.”

That way they’ll be ready. For the next global pandemic.

Remembering a Telluride Matriarch

By Julia Caulfield

Wendy Brooks was a matriarch of Telluride. She was a world traveler, a lover of all people, fierce, a north star, a doer.

“My mother created everywhere she went,” says Dylan Brooks, one of Wendy’s sons. “My mother was first and foremost an advocate for children and working people who are raising children. To her, all the people of the world were one community and they should all be brought together to make art and to love each other and to do something interesting. Don’t be boring.”

Wendy Brooks passed away on March 26th at her home in Troncones, Mexico surrounded by family. She was 84 years old.

Brooks moved to Telluride in 1976. Leaving her three sons, Demian, Darius, and Dylan with their grandmother in New Jersey.

“My mom set off to look for the next place we were going to live. She drove across much of Colorado and hadn’t found her place and was heading towards New Mexico. She was driving past Placerville and a barefoot kid of ten, hitchhiked, flagged her down and asked if she would take him to town,” Dylan remembers. “She didn’t know what that meant, but thought sure, I’ll give this kid a ride. She drove into Telluride, fell in love with the quirkiness of the town and the beauty of it at once. She sent for the three of us and we moved out at the end of August 1976.”

That fall, Dylan remembers they had nowhere to live so they parked their VW van in the Telluride campground. The boys registered in school with the address “site #7, Telluride campground”.

Brooks had a can do spirit, a hard worker until the end. Salli Russell, a friend of Brooks, remembers the beginning of their friendship.

“Telluride was a very matriarchal society. If you wanted something done it was usually a woman that was going to start making that happen,” Russell says. “I was in awe of Wendy and what she had already accomplished when she moved here with three young boys.”

Brooks helped create Telluride’s Medical Center, the freestyle ski team, the Telluride Science Research Center. But, to many, she was most known for creating the Telluride Academy, starting “basically in her backyard” according to Russell.

“A place for children to play and yet, have some kind of freedom to be who they were, and to empower them to be who they wanted to be and who they could be,” says Russell.

Brooks’ belief in and passion for those children, was endless. Elaine Demas is a friend of Brooks and former director of Telluride Academy. She remembers when she started the role, asking Brooks to help make sure she knew how to do everything right.

“And she did it without hesitation. Right back in there. Every day with me. Helping me navigate hundreds of families,” remembers Demas. “She had a remarkable memory. She had every family and child in her head. Never had to looking anything up. If I had a question she could answer it at the drop of a hat. She was so generous with her time and her knowledge.”

Brooks’ legacy of adventure, gumption and joy is what current Telluride Academy executive director Jason Merritt says he hopes to continue.

“As the current stewards of Telluride Academy, I think it renews and reignites our commitment to doing the very best we can to continue to realize her vision and to do so with total humility and earnestness,” says Merritt.

While Brooks touched the lives of thousands of children, at the center of that world were her grandchildren, including Julian Brooks.

“My grandmother, Wendy Brooks, she wasn’t mine. She was everyone’s grandma,” says Julian Brooks. “The amount of people I knew personally that have reached out, is such a small sliver of the 84 years that she impacted lives. It’s incredible that a woman can do that much. Seeing her now, at rest, at peace, knowing that she left a world that was lucky to have her, it’s a beautiful thing.”

There will be a memorial service for Wendy Brooks in Telluride later this summer.

The Telluride Academy is setting up a scholarship in memory of Brooks to support children in the program.

Anyone can honor and celebrate Brooks everyday by living a life of love, creativity, adventure.

Telluride Celebrates Hockey State Champions

By Julia Caulfield

“We are a ski town with a hockey problem,” proclaims Telluride Mayor Teddy Errico from the steps of the San Miguel County Courthouse.

It’s a classic spring day, with skies moving from bluebird to overcast in the blink of an eye, and the Telluride community showed up to celebrate its two hockey state champions with a parade down Main Street.

Telluride High School Students, who play on the Durango Demons Hockey Team and make up half its players, became 4A State Champions after winning 4-2 over Summit, the Lizard Head U12 PeeWee defeated Vail 4-3 in double overtime.

Telluridians young and old line the streets, cheering, as players parade through town, followed by a bright green Zamboni.

Grayson Fertig, Executive Director and coach of the Lizard Head Hockey program, says he couldn’t be more proud. “This is what a wild success looks like for recreation approach to community hockey,” he says.

Fertig is excited to see hockey become part of Telluride’s culture.

“Hockey’s happening in Telluride because people are figuring out what a fun game it is. You can’t even imagine, high fives all around,” he explains looking around the parade crowd. “These kids thrive when they’re working together and that’s hockey.”

Fertig is joined in that sentiment by Jereb Carter, a proud hockey dad.

“It bonds the community even stronger. It’s all about community strength and I think it’s going to encourage a lot of younger kids to come up in the program. These kids are going to have a lifelong bond out of this,” Carter says. “Even if they don’t play starting tomorrow, from here on out they had this moment. Look at all the younger kids in the parade following around their state champions, they’re all smiling, their parents are smiling. Everyone is happy.”

Following the parade, from the steps of the San Miguel County Courthouse, flanked by the Championship teams, Mayor Errico says it’s a good day for hockey, but a great day for Telluride Hockey.

“For a town of our size to compete with some of the big boys is something we can all be very proud of,” he says.

Hockey coach Jesse DiFiori highlights the win isn’t just felt by the teams themselves, but the community as a whole.

“Today’s victory is not just a win for the team. It’s a win for every single one of us. It symbolizes what we can achieve when we come together, united by a common goal and a shared passion,” DiFiori says from the steps. “It’s a reminder that no dream is too big, and no challenge is unsurmountable when we stand as one.”

With spirits high, Mayor Errico speaks into existence what many on Main Street are feeling.

“What I’d like to see, and what I think everyone here would like to see is, someday soon, Telluride competing under its own flag, under the Telluride High School,” Errico exudes.

The season might be over, but by all accounts it’s just the beginning for Telluride hockey.

Telluride Stands with Palestine

By Julia Caulfield

It’s a blustery Saturday morning, with wind whipping down the box canyon.

Roughly thirty Telluridians, young and older, stand outside the Courthouse, chanting, sharing stories, showing support for the people of Palestine.

“We have to connect to our humanity because this is a human rights issue,” says Tabassum Siddiqui, one of the organizers of the march. “They are being starved. They are being terrorized. This is the act and function of Zionism. This is the act and function of white settler colonialism. This is white supremacy. This is racial capitalism. If you think this has something to do with Judaism, it absolutely doesn’t.”

Telluride joined in on an International Day of Solidarity, with millions of people protesting across the world, to support Palestinians and those in Gaza.

Lauren Norton, another of the organizers, says it’s important for Telluride to look beyond its mountains.

“We sometimes feel like we’re separated from the rest of world in our box canyon. We can get closed in and look inward a lot, which is great,” she says. “But there are moments when we need to stand up and say we’re part of this bigger system, the world in general, we’re all connected. And we need to be part of this as much as anyone else.”

While the march focuses on the bombardment in Palestine, Siddiqui, and many members who gather, draw connection to other parts of the world.

“Haiti is under occupation from this kind of system. Every possible country you can think of,” says Siddiqui. “In the Congo, in Sudan, in Yemen, in Iraq, everywhere.”

“My grandfather escaped Germany and the genocide there. My grandmother left a dictatorship in Chile, backed by the United States and U.S. imperialism,” one protestor emphasizes. “Change can happen. People fight for it all the time. It is the most disenfranchised people who fight for it always, and the most privilaged people who ignore it, always. This is in our bones. It’s in our blood. And if you don’t feel that, you have lost your soul. Indigenous folks talk about soul loss. You have lost your soul. Necesitamos cambiar el mundo,” she says "es posible. Yo sé, porque vive en mi sangre. En mi sangre, la guerra.”

Across the march, protesters highlight the importance of connection and shared humanity with those in Gaza.

“There’s times that I feel like I’m removed from a lot of what’s going on, even though we’re seeing it on the internet all the time. Even just small acts of protest and making our voices heard,” says protestor Ian McMullen. “Standing up for people that are across the world, that we don’t even know feels like a deeper human connection.”

It’s a small march, but that doesn’t dishearten those gathered. For Siddiqui it’s a starting point.

“We’re here because we want to build a different world for ourselves. We don’t want a world of suffering. We don’t want a world of oppression,” Siddiqui says. “That’s not the world I want to live in. That’s not the world I want for our young people.”

Protestors march down Main Street with signs saying “Fund Communities, Not Genocide”, “I stand with Palestine”. Organizers don’t have another event planned yet, but they say more are to come.