Old Timers

Once again it was the Old Timers Party on Sunday and Monday of Labor Day weekend. Aspenites and former Aspenites had a wonderful time talking about the “good ol’ days” and telling and retelling stories. The weekend this year was held in loving memory of Art Pfister, who died this spring and who, with his wife, Betty, held the party for many years. The event is now hosted by the Aspen Historical Society at Bumps restaurant at Buttermilk. Sunday afternoon is a barbecue and Monday morning is a brunch, which gives everyone lots of time to catch up with old friends. The Old Timers includes anyone who lived in the Aspen valley 35 years ago and was 21 or over at that time (in 1972). Every year a new batch of people qualify for the party (spouses and significant others are also invited, so the crowd grows with the passing of each year). I have so many photos that I will run half this week and half next week.

Longtime former Aspenite Jan Fox has returned to live in Aspen, and she is staying with Janet Guthrie. Had a nice visit this summer from Janet Westoff, who now lives in Silt. She grew up in Aspen, living on Bleeker Street, as her parents were Kay and Art Franklin. Janet now has six sons; five are in the military serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.Another good visit this summer was from former Aspenite Tom Fitzsimmons, who worked here at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel (now the St. Regis) and as a freelance photographer. He is now living in Cambridge, Mass., and is the photographer for Sen. Ted Kennedy. An exhibition of the works of former Aspenite Bill Jamison was held over the Labor Day weekend at the Kathleen Ewing Gallery in Carbondale. The exhibit included more than 20 watercolor paintings, 10 bronze sculptures and a selection of prints. Bill was active in the Aspen art scene during the 1970s and early 1980s, and his home-studio-gallery in the barn at the base of Aspen Mountain was a favorite center for artists and writers. In the mid-1980s, Bill and his wife, Lucia, moved to a ranch in western Colorado.

Brooke Klinger, who was a principal ballerina with the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet for 11 years (she was one of the first to join the company), was feted at a celebration recently at L’Hostaria that was co-hosted by the restaurant and Sherry and Eddie Wachs. After living in Aspen for many, many years and having a toy store and then working at the Visitors Center in the Wheeler Opera House, Carole Hershey has moved to Glenwood Springs. Undercurrent … It’s time to stand at a corner in town and visit with friends you haven’t seen all summer.