Our People

By Bette Erickson

Editor’s Note: Each month Our Broomfield Magazine profiles different members of the community. Through Our People: Meet "insert name," our goal is to introduce Broomfield change-makers and highlight their contributions.

Meet Anthony Massey

About Anthony Massey

Anthony is a writer who has lived in Broomfield for 34 years and has also lived in London, Florida, Maine, and Virginia. He and his wife, Darlene, raised their two children, Erin and Elyse in Broomfield. His hobbies include hiking and traveling.

Q: Tell us a little about the two books you’ve authored.

A: My first book, The 18 Year Quest, is a small coffee table pictorial book, with several near-death summit stories, that was published in 2014 after having completed the summit of all of Colorado's Fourteeners in 2012, all while wearing the same pair of boots. My second book, Mountains for Peace, which just published, is a memoir of my work with Project Children while simultaneously climbing mountains and finding a healing process from a traumatic childhood.

Q. What do you enjoy most about the writing process?

A: Writing requires a mental focus like climbing a mountain. And the route to a successful story is not always apparent when you start out. It also requires collaboration and sound boarding with others to find the route to a good story.

Q: When did you become involved with Project Children?

A: Project Children was started in 1975 by Denis Mulcahy (retired NYPD Bomb Squad detective and twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize), his brother Pat, (retired NYPD officer) and others of the Irish community in Greenwood Lake, N.Y. I became the Colorado Coordinator in 1998. After almost fifty years of peace work, including bringing 23,000 Catholic and Protestant children and young people to America for summers together, it helped pave the way forward for the negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement and an end to The Troubles in Northern Ireland. The documentary, How to Defuse a Bomb, (narrated by Liam Neeson), recounts this powerful and emotional story. Combined with my Irish roots, (my mother is from Dublin and my grandfather was given full IRA burial honors when he died in 1965), I had always had a sensitivity toward the struggle for freedom for Ireland and for children in conflict.

Q: What do you and your family enjoy most when spending time together?

A: When we've travelled together, we've always enjoyed meeting other people and sharing our life journeys.

Q: What is your favorite restaurant and park in Broomfield?

A: The Burns Pub is our favorite restaurant and I enjoy walking around the open space near Highway 287.

Q: Who is the most interesting person, past or present, you’ve met in our community?

A: Dianne Primavera stands out the most. I met Dianne many years ago at the Broomfield Recreation Center. She was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives at the time. I learned of her surviving multiple cancer challenges and now, as Lt. Governor, she provides our Governor and Legislature with a wealth of knowledge and quiet leadership.

Q: What is something unique about Broomfield?

A: The sense of being relaxed and safe.

Q: In your book, “The 18-Year Quest” you describe summiting all of Colorado’s Fourteeners. What advice would you give fellow hikers?

A: Climbing Colorado's Fourteeners is hard, risky, and exhilarating. Be willing to embrace exhaustion and pain and try not to go alone.

Q: Who or what inspires you to be a better person?

A: People like Denis Mulcahy, who has dedicated his life to the work of peace in Northern Ireland while also willing to lay down his life to protect others while serving in the NYPD Bomb Squad.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: All of my travels, having flown more than three million miles, and meeting people from so many backgrounds and countries, has broadened my horizon so I now see myself as a citizen of the world.

Bette Erickson writes about people, places, and events. Contact her at bette_erickson@hotmail.com.