Papermaking in the Sangres!

Today was a red-letter day - my Hollander beater arrived from New Zealand!! For the uninitiated - this is a machine (dating from the 1600s) used to make pulp for papermaking from cotton rags and plant materials. I am really looking forward to making paper from some of the native plants (and noxious weeds!) of Colorado. I hope to someday start a summer papermaking workshop for artists and others in the beautiful Wet Mt Valley. I am going to have some fun this weekend!!

Big money for little towns

One thing that has really stood out ever since we moved to Westcliffe is the staggering level of volunteerism in the valley. At a time when libraries in Colorado have been cut to the bone by legislators, our 10,000 volume county library has raised over $500,000 to build a much needed addition. How? Not only has the librarian written mucho grants, but the residents have been extraordinarily generous. A series of fund-raising events, ranging from an auction, a cowboy sit-down dinner, historical tours, arts and crafts shows, musical events which have been heavily attended and generously contributed to by locals means that by this time next spring, we'll have a new local history center and community events room.

I just attended a pre-workshop for Rural Philanthropy Days on behalf of the Custer Co. Historical and Genealogical Society. All the non-profits in town were invited to learn how to make the most of this opportunity to meet and pitch to Colorado foundations and govt. agencies.