If you see a tractor plowing snow around Niwot, chances are Ray Newman is driving. Newman volunteers to help his neighbors and is delighted by the people it has allowed him to meet. "Volunteering doesn’t pay much, but there are other benefits," he said. "You have friends wherever you go." 

Ray received the May Left Hand Laurel for his dedication to helping the Niwot community for over 30 years. He has lived in his Niwot home since 1964, when he helped build Boulder Steel. He grew up on a farm in Iowa, where shoveling snow and taking care of the landscape were a part of daily life. 

He began shoveling driveways as a favor to some elderly neighbors. "Clarence Conilogue, who was about 90 years old, would always get out and shovel. I told him, ‘I could do it so easily,’ so I started plowing for him and others." During one blizzard Ray cleared 30 driveways.

Starting in 1975, Ray shoveled Neva Road for the students walking to school. Six years later, the school district offered to pay Ray for his work. Ray continued shoveling around the Niwot and Gunbarrel areas until three years ago when back and hip problems limited his activity. Now that he has recovered, he continues to clear snow in his neighborhood, especially for those who have trouble getting out and doing it themselves. He also plows snow for Divine Savior Lutheran Church at 83rd Street and Niwot Road.

Ray has used his small, self-remodeled tractor to shovel snow from his neighbors’ driveways. During the summer, he mows, cleans up and cares for a strip of land by the railroad tracks that had become a fire hazard. 

After retiring in 1977, he was at home one day when he saw a train set fire to the field across from his house. "First I saw a fire down at about 6th Street. I had a shovel in my hand so I thought, ‘Oh, I will just put it out with the shovel.’ But I noticed there was a fire on the other side, and I knew that I couldn’t be both places at once. So, I decided to clean that up." 

He picked up the trash and mowed the area to keep the weeds down. The concerned neighbors were very grateful, and many gave him money for gas or gifts of homemade sausage and bologna. "It’s little things like that. I appreciated them just as much if not more than money. I wasn’t doing it for the money. I was doing it to help them out." Ray continues to care for the lot.

For Ray, the Niwot area is "changing too fast." He has been supportive of the community work to keep the Old Town of Niwot unincorporated. He recalls the days when Rev. Taylor’s was a grocery store, and the town had a railroad depot and a successful blacksmith. While he is wary of the growth, he does his part to keep a community spirit thriving in Niwot.

Ray lives with his wife Verna of 33 years. They have three daughters, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren who live in Erie, Denver and Pueblo. The Newmans are active in many community groups, including the Telephone Pioneers of America and the Niwot Senior Advisory Council. They were competitive square dancers for 31 years, which allowed them to travel around the country. For the last five years, Ray has pulled floats for the Niwot High School Homecoming Parade and the Niwot Nostalgia Days.

According to Niwot resident Linda Kunches, "I’m glad to see him get the Left Hand Laurel. He used to come and mow our open space behind our house before our homeowners association got going. Over a glass of lemonade, he would tell us great stories about ‘the Old Days.’"

For what has been a lifetime of community service the Left Hand Valley Courier is proud to give Ray Newman its Left Hand Laurel for May.