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On the Corner, 3rd Quarter 2023

On the Corner, 3rd Quarter 2023

Bluebell Avenue resident had unusual past,

By Silvia Pettem

In last month’s “On the Corner,” I wrote that early real estate developer David Dobbins built four almost-identical brick bungalows, one on each of the southeast corners of Bluebell Avenue and 15th, 16th, 17th, and 19th streets.  

The house at 1604 Bluebell was owned by Miriam Rieder who lived there from the late 1930s to her death in 1957. Rieder was an assistant professor of Romance Languages at the University of Colorado. She also was considered an eccentric, and she had an unusual past.  

At the time, acres of undeveloped property surrounded Rieder’s home. She bought the land and preferred it wild and unkempt with native plants and flowers providing a sanctuary for ground-nesting birds. After one neighbor complained of her “weeds,” she wrote a scathing letter to the editor of the “Daily Camera.”

“What is the matter with people who are so blind that they see beauty, and utility, only in their own little clipped lawn?” Rieder asked. “How can people go to church and sit in pews and worship God, and then devote their weekdays to trying to destroy what He has generously given us to enjoy?”

Rieder regularly patrolled her property and carried a pistol to scare off intruders. Parents of neighborhood children complained that she chased and shot at them. In 1950, the then-61-year old woman pleaded guilty in court to “threatening the lives of young people,” but she claimed she only did it to frighten them off of her land.

  The public was unaware during her lifetime that Rieder was the daughter of former German professor Mary Rippon.  At CU’s recent May Commencement, the highly acclaimed Rippon received a long-overdue posthumous honorary doctoral degree. But in 1889, she had secretly married one of her adult students, and they had a child. That child was Miriam Rieder.

Rippon conveniently took a year’s sabbatical to Germany where Rieder was born in 1889. Then Rippon returned to CU and continued to teach. The little girl was left in orphanages and passed around an extended family of aunts and uncles for the first few years of her life. Rippon (who would have lost her job if her marriage had been known) never lived with her husband. Eventually he remarried and was able to raise their daughter.

When Rieder lived at 16th and Bluebell, she was separated from her husband Rudolph. Their son Wilfred is now deceased, but he spent most of his adult life on the East Coast. Think of Rieder, her birds, and her unusual background, as you drive by her former home.

Cutline: Miriam Rieder’s former home at 1604 Bluebell Avenue was one of four (initially!) almost-identical brick bungalows built by real estate developer David Dobbins.

 

Silvia Pettem is the author of “Separate Lives: The Story of Mary Rippon,” available in local bookstores and at www.thebooklode.com.

Early editions of On the Corner (2006-2015)

Enjoy archived editions of the On the Corner newsletter right here!

On the Corner, 4th Quarter 2021

On the Corner, 4th Quarter 2021

Early Chautauqua visitors were music-lovers

by Silvia Pettem

In 1898, when Chautauqua opened as a summer resort, the auditorium and the dining hall were its only buildings.

Out-of-town attendees lived in tents, and luxuries were few. But those who came and stayed demanded live music.

"Without music," stated an early Chautauqua Bulletin, "Chautauqua could not exist. All lovers of music are invited to the feast, spread daily under the cooling shadows of the rock-ribbed mountains."

The fifteen-piece Kansas City Orchestra (known for livening up the mostly Texas crowds with the song "Dixie") gave

weekly full-length concerts in the Auditorium during the venue's first year. The orchestra also played six weekly outdoor concerts, as well as "sacred" concerts on Sundays.

On the Corner Vol. 14 Issue 3 Q1 2021

Anne Ophelia Todd Dowden was a renowned artist with a life-long love of nature Born in Denver in 1907, Anne Ophelia Todd’s family moved to Boulder in 1910. The Todd family, like many who were affiliated with the University of Colorado, lived in a bungalow in the University Hill neighborhood. Anne’s father was a pathologist on the faculty of the medical School when it was located in Boulder. Their neighbors and close

family friends were Dr. T. D. A. Cockerell, a notable zoologist who wrote extensively on bees, and his wife Willmatte, a science teacher and botanist, who propagated a red sunflower.

Young Anne was influenced by their work. As children, Anne and her sister explored the outdoors in Gregory Canyon and in the hills behind Chautauqua Park where she claimed to know every rock and bush. In an oral

history interview, she said, “I can’t imagine a more perfect place to grow up than Boulder.”When not running free in the outdoors, she learned to paint with watercolors, which would become her favorite medium. Drawings she made as a teenager of some of her father’s specimens were published in a textbook….

Boulder County Buzz - December 2020

Boulder County Buzz - December 2020

It’s December? Holy Schnikes! And despite the grip of Covid-19 on our country I have to say, it feels nice to welcome the winter transition here in Boulder County. One of the greatest gifts this Christmas season will be to say buh-bye to 2020 so we can begin to get back to normal with vaccines coming into view. The year 2020 has been full of strangeness, uncertainty, wonder, sadness and joy, but hello 2021!

What are your plans for 2021? Maybe a change in your real estate landscape? It's never too early to start planning for the busy spring season and if real estate is on your horizon, I’ll be happy to help you with your goals and to share my perspective on the current housing market in your 'hood. It’s not too early to get started.

Expert predictions on the 2021 housing market are very positive. Will pent up consumers be ready to spend? 2020 was a very strong year for real estate — how will 2021 compare? I can’t wait to see.

Please visit my featured Boulder property this month; 11264 Uptown Avenuelocated in Broomfield, CO. This ridiculously awesome townhome at Venue at Arista in Urban Transit Village is totally custom and comfortable. Please contact me today for more information and yes, share with your friends!

Take a minute to tune in to my YouTube Channel and watch From the Trail #46. Who are you grateful for? I’m grateful for the many things my dad showed me all through his life, to make me a better person. Thank you dad!

And this month I’m featuring non-profit program The National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Please see how important this program is and consider giving today!

Thank you all for asking me to help with your real estate adventures in 2020 and for referring friends and family to me. I appreciate it so much.

Happy holidays to you and yours, and see you in 2021!
HATCH

Boulder County Buzz - September 2020

Boulder County Buzz - September 2020

"What's new is old,
what's old is gone
You're pushed up to the edge
So put your wingsuit on.”


-Anastasio/Fishman/Gordon/McConnell

As you know, last week we had 100 degree temps and then within hours, falling ash from Colorado wildfires was replaced by a falling snow. The wet and heavy snow stuck to still full green leaves and large branches snapped and fell to the ground. The crash waking us from our slumber was rather unsettling. It’s not the first time this year we’ve been jostled and made uneasy. We’re reminded how quickly things can change. How things can break. How things can go in a different direction than we want. How do we handle this? Can we pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off? How do we do that? Nature has provided us a wonderful escape this summer with camping in the woods more than ever before. Getting into nature and tuning out has a been valuable reset tool and I trust you’ve been able to find yours.

We're just a few days away from the Autumnal Equinox. This too feels like a good time to recalibrate. I look forward again to my favorite trout hunting season. It’s usually a quiet time of the year to slow down and reflect on all that we have to be grateful for. Many have lost something or someone this year but I hope you’re reminded of what you do have. I’m very grateful for such a good community Kristin and I have and we appreciate your friendship. May you find solace this fall. And please go out and VOTE!

In good vibes,
HATCH

Boulder County Buzz - June 2020

Boulder County Buzz - June 2020

"From high above we're all the same down here
Without a map the lines all disappear
We're so tired of our senseless fight
The one thing we can all do right
Is come together, come together, come together.”


-Anastasio/Nicholson/Greenberg


It's clear that emotions are running high right now. We have been completely shaken by the impact of this pandemic. We’ve lost jobs and loved ones. There is deep political discord. It feels like we are now more divided than ever. Racial tensions are elevated. And so it’s easy to feel discouraged, to harbor anger and fear and to be discouraged. But change is on the way and I say stop watching the news and go out and take a hike and breathe the air and touch the trees or the grass out there. Be the change by being happy and alive. Do what you love. Find something, or better yet, find someone to celebrate. Consider holding those who have lost something. It’s time for us to rise up and come together!

And what better way to rise up, than to get down; like with our friends in the Acoustic Ambush band who played live at Chautauqua Park. What a celebration!

For me and my real estate business, I couldn't be busier today. The market is returning to some normal behavior after weeks of the covid19 chaos. It’s not all the way normal but it is more vibrant than we maybe expected. Thank you as always for finding me and for referring business. Pease stay tuned for a new featured listing in the Lower Chautauqua neighborhood in Boulder coming later this week. This home at 2132 Bluebell Avenue is a 2-story, 4bd/4ba, 4,300sqft Craftsman-style home with a double lot in the best neighborhood in Boulder below Chautauqua Park. A deep lot on this lush and wooded property designed by nature especially for your tree-climbing adventurer. Priced at $1,985,000. You will want to check back in on this one soon for gorgeous virtual tours!

Thank you all for being you and for staying positive!

HATCH

Boulder County Buzz - August 2019

Boulder County Buzz - August 2019

This summer has been awesome! A balance of lots of work and fun trips Montana, Ohio, Maine and Philly to see family and friends and Phish and camping with Krissy and the kids! It’s always such a busy time, with so many festivals and events. And there's never an end to fun things to do in Boulder County! As summer starts to wind down, with kids going back to school, and pool season coming to an end... we're so close to enjoying the cool relief of fall and an end-of-summer party at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City. I hope you've made lots of great summer memories in 2019 with your friends and family. I can't wait for a beautiful fall that's coming up fast!

FROM THE TRAIL - PART 33

"The #33 is a vibration of number 3 that appears twice and enhances its significance and influence. Number 3 indicates an increase, expansion, spontaneity, encouragement, broad-minded thinking, skills and talent, communication and self-expression, assistance, and manifestation. Angel number 33 shows the energies of blessings, companion, honesty, inspiration, courage, bravery, and discipline and symbolizes guidance..."

Boulder County Buzz - July 2019

Boulder County Buzz - July 2019

The hottest part of the year is here in Boulder County, finally. We asked for summer — we got it! The Boulder Creek is now about three times higher than it was at this time last year. In fact, the city needed to push back tube-to-work day by a couple weeks to let the high run-off subside for tuber safety. Suffice it to say we didn’t tube for my daughter Phoebe’s 15th birthday this year.

Boulder County Buzz - June 2019

Boulder County Buzz - June 2019

Summer is just a few days away and that means it's time to barbecue and relax, right? While I love savoring the long evenings and enjoying the summer breeze with a cold beverage in my hand, it’s time to get busy! My business, after an unusual spring, is taking off in all directions. It’s exciting.

Boulder County Buzz - May 2019

Boulder County Buzz - May 2019

Spring is finally in full swing, and summer is only a month away, which is hard to believe. Now that we've surely seen the last of the snow and cold, it's time to think about our gardens. The Hatches raised garden beds are starting to see sprouts from radish, kale and beet seeds pushing through the soil. And the hops vines are reaching higher by the minute. I have a great article here on container gardening, and some helpful guides from Colorado State University with a lot of info if you're just starting out as a green thumb.

Boulder County Buzz - April 2019

Boulder County Buzz - April 2019

Springtime in the Rocky Mountains!!!! The snow has all but melted off the Boulder Flatirons (for now) and in my yard at the Red Door Ranch the crocus are flowering, the leaf buds are pushing out and spring tunes from songbirds fill the morning air! And ahhhh, the sunsets most evenings are remarkable.