The Grand Dames Of Niwot Nostalgia Day
Three of Niwot's Best Named As Grand Marshals
By Julie Fowler
Talking to the three ladies who are this year's grand marshals for the Nostalgia Days parade is like marching back through time in Niwot.
Consider, for example, that 81-year-old Idell Leinweber was born and raised here. Or that this was the first and only place Mildred Seader, 92, and her late husband, Jacob, ever owned a home. Or that 86-year-old Naomi Tilbury lived here from the age of 9 to 70.
Each of these ladies remembers the days when Niwot's roads were dirt and the fields were used for agriculture. Niwot holds a special place in their memory. That's why they are being honored Sept. 10, during Nostalgia Day festivities, the theme of which is “Celebrating the Past.”
“All three of them are really the essence of celebrating the past,” said Pat Murphy, who helped choose the grand marshals.
Although Idell is the only one who still lives in Niwot, both Naomi, who moved to a more manageable house in Longmont 16 years ago, and Mildred, who followed suit in December 2004, will tell you they consider Niwot home.
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Idell Leinweber
Idell Leinweber's grandparents moved to Niwot in 1888. She can tell you just about anything you need to know about Niwot's past. Not only can she detail specifics about where certain buildings were located, when roads were paved or who did what in town, but she also has a collection of priceless photographs, each labeled with names, documenting the town's people and places.
“If anybody wants to know anything about what's happened in Niwot over the last 50 years, we send them to Idell,” said Murphy. “She's the knowledgeable one.” In 1943, Idell married Charles Leinweber who moved to town when he was 15. At one point, the couple took over the farm Idell's grandparents built on 240 acres that stretched from what is now the Waterford neighborhood all the way to Niwot High School.While Idell worked full-time, she and her husband also raised two sons, started the local Gem and Mineral Club, and helped found the Niwot Historical Society.
Mildred Seader
Mildred, known as Millie to friends, was born in Loveland as one of 13 children. Her family moved every few years, mostly in and around the Longmont area, depending on which farm her father found work.
That transient lifestyle continued for 19 years after she married Jacob Seader. But when Mildred, a straight-talking lady with a quick wit, closes her eyes, she brings into focus the day Jacob brought her to see what would be her home for the next 54 years. “It was a Monday because I always did wash on Mondays,” she said, recalling that she had just finished that particular chore when her husband asked her to get in the car. “I had never been on the west side of 95th Street. That's the first house I ever could say was my home.”
For this little slice of heaven – a house with 1.75 acres on Neva Road near downtown Niwot – the Seaders paid $7,500 in 1950.
Mildred, who raised two children and took pride in the garden she tended, has been an active Granger for 55 years and enjoyed volunteering in first grade classrooms at Niwot Elementary in the late 1990s.“Everybody was nice to me in Niwot,” she said. “I loved everybody. It's the only home I ever knew.”
Naomi Tilbury
Just two doors down from the Seaders, at the corner of 5th and Murray streets, lived Gordon and Naomi Tilbury.
Naomi is a quiet soul who enjoys talking about her past. “We lived side by side – one house in between – for 30 years,” she said. Gordon passed away in 1985.
Naomi's mother started the Niwot Garden Club of which Naomi was a member until it disbanded a year ago.
When asked about what Niwot was like years ago, she detailed weekly dances at the Grange, a town that boasted two gas stations but few cars, and a true sense of security.
“It was only about 100 people,” she recalled, a smile spreading across her face. “We never locked a door. We would go visiting 200 miles away and never lock a door. You knew everyone. Niwot wasn't even on the map.”
Putting the extravagance of today into perspective, she explained that it was a special occasion when Jell-O was served and that she finished school through eighth grade because her family had only one car and couldn't drive her to Longmont every day for high school.
Naomi, a Granger for 40 years, was a full-time caregiver to her handicapped daughter until she died at the age of 24. Niwot holds a special place in her heart.
“It will always be home.”
Photo by Curtis Jones
The parade started early for Idell Leinweber, Mildred Seader and Naomi Tilbury, pictured here during the 4th of July parade. The triumvirate is being honored as grand marshals for the 2005 edition of Niwot Nostalgia Day.
History oic 1, 2, 3
Photo courtesy of Mildred Seader
At the age of about 17, Mildred Seader sat for a portrait in 1930 with her future husband, Jacob.
Photo courtesy of Idell Leinweber
Idell at age 13, sits between her parents, Idell McKee Kneale and Al “Super” Kneale, ca. 1937.
Photo Courtesy of Naomi Tilbury
A 15-year-old Naomi Tilbury poses for the camera, ca. 1931.
By Ron Goodman
The original Rocky Mountain Christian Church (RMCC) application for expansion was submitted to the Boulder County Planning Commission several months ago. The Planning Commission, viewing the proposal excessive and inappropriate for semi-rural Niwot, unanimously rejected it.
In July, RMCC submitted a revised application to the county. According to county procedures, if the changes are significant, the application must be resubmitted to the planning commission; otherwise it can be forwarded to the county commissioners, with the planning commission recommendation of denial, for a final decision.
Todd Tucker, the planner responsible for this project, stated, “There is no significant change in the application. It is essentially the same proposal that was submitted to the planning commission.” The Boulder County Commissioners will hear the application at 2 p.m. on Nov. 1.
At the time of the first application, before the planning commission hearing, the Niwot Community Association (NCA) commented negatively on the
proposal and undertook a community-wide survey relating to the plan. According to the NCA, the community sentiment was strongly against the proposal.
Neil Anderson, president of the NCA said, “The board has not yet taken a position on doing a new survey (as requested by RMCC). We are planning on preparing a new fact sheet to analyze the current proposal because it contains a substantial number of items worthy of NCA Board review and comment.”
Courier Launches New Email: Address@lhvc.com
Same Great People, Same Great Little Paper
By Mary Wolbach Lopert
The Courier is proud to announce our new email addresses. The new addresses make it easier and more convenient to contact the paper or your favorite reporter.
Have a question for editorial? Email us at Editorial@lhvc.com.
Do you know of a sporting event in the works? Send an email to Sports@lhvc.com .
Need advertising information – just type in Advertising@lhvc.com for instant contact with our advertising department.
Additionally, emailing reporters will be easier than ever. To contact our reporters simply send emails to the following addresses:
Claire Chase - ClaireC@lhvc.com
Mary Lopert – MaryL@lhvc.com
LuAnn Piccard – LuAnnP@lhvc.com
Mandy Sutyak – MandyS@lhvc.com
Ron Goodman – RonG@lhvc.com
Or just email Editorial@lhvc.com .
We're eager to hear from you so give our new system a spin.
Have questions or comments for the Courier? Email us at Editorial@lhvc.com We're looking forward to hearing from you.
By Ron Goodman
The four willow trees on Niwot Road are back in the news again. A community meeting will be held on Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. during the Niwot Community Association meeting at the Grange to help the county make a decision on what action to take on these dying trees.
As the Courier previously reported, Kathy Philtzan, a county arborist, said that while the trees are not yet dead, they “are not going to make it. They are using the last of their reserves. I know it is hard to take down a tree with green leaves on it,” she said, “but there are so many dead branches, over the road and the grass area. They are very dangerous and several have fallen recently.”
More large branches from the most westerly of the four trees fell on Niwot Road during a storm.
Pam Hansen, an engineer with the County Department of Transportation is responsible for gathering information and public sentiment on this issue for the county to make a final decision.
Cottonwood Park West HOA owns the land on the south side of Niwot Road from the North 79th Street and Niwot Road intersection west to the intersection of Franklin Street. The HOA waters this area from a private well and maintains the grass up to the curb along Niwot Road. The HOA plans to plant a number of new trees on its property in the fall.
What is your opinion?
The Courier is interested in your views concerning the trees on Niwot Road to help the county make a decision that reflects, as closely as possible, the sentiment in Niwot. Please go to the
LEFT HAND VALLEY COURIER TREES SURVEY, to complete the following survey:
• Should we keep the trees and trim them as required until they finally succumb?
• Should we remove the trees now?
• Should we remove the trees, leaving several trunks, which can be carved with symbols of Niwot's history?
Go to LEFT HAND VALLEY COURIER TREES SURVEY to make your opinion count!
Fun Times At The Gunbarrel Western Round Up
Photo by Mary Wolbach Lopert
By Claire Chase
The third annual Gunbarrel Community Western Round Up & BBQ contest on Aug. 27 in the Gunbarrel Shopping Center brought out neighbors of all ages to join in the fun. Weather was fantastic. Carnival games were popular with the younger crowd, while a bevy of barbecues were tops with adults in attendance. The fest included prizes for the best of the barbecues and a silent auction for the Special Ties Foundation. 
Bal Patterson of Page Two, who was spotted distributing licorice whips to folks both young and old, said, “It's good to see the community out here. We've had a pretty good turn out, and it's been a great day for it too.”
By Mandy Sutyak
Emily Harrington, a 2004 graduate of Niwot High School, recently placed second in the lead event at the prestigious International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation's World Championship in Munich, Germany.
The championship is held every two years with participating countries each sending five competitors. In the lead event, competitors climb a route on lead on a 20- to 30-meter wall, with the competitor belayed from below. The climber who climbs the highest or greatest distance wins. The event is a tournament format with a different route for each round. Climbers have no prior knowledge of the route before they climb.
Harrington, who has been climbing since she was about 11 years old and competing as an adult since she was 16, spent about two and a half months in Europe this summer on the World Cup circuit and is currently ranked 22 on the Continuously Updated World Ranking (CUWR). She has been invited to compete at the Arco Rockmaster event in Northern Italy in September, but is still debating whether to go.
Her love of climbing began when her father took her to Boulder Reservoir where there was a climbing wall. After that she started climbing at Boulder Rock Club. Chris Wall, training and coaching director at the club said, “Emily was definitely a talent from day one. She has put in an enormous amount of effort over the years.” Wall is also head coach of the Women's Bouldering Team. Harrington was a member of that this past season.
A student at CU Boulder studying International Affairs and Economics, Harrington said, “I've enjoyed the traveling. I have gotten to go to so many cool places. Without climbing I would never have had those opportunities.”
Harrington's advice to budding climbers is “keep it fun. It's important to just enjoy it.”
Mandy Sutyak can be reached at MandyS@lhvc.com .