LCF awards $35,000 in college scholarships to local students

By Kate Schnepel Redstone Review

LYONS – Lyons Middle Senior High School celebrated the accomplishments of graduating seniors at its awards ceremony on May 10. During the ceremony, seven students were awarded a total of eight scholarships from the Lyons Community Foundation. These scholarship program, “The Lyons Community Foundation is proud to support the young people of Lyons as they continue their journeys into higher education. Scholarships such as those endowed by the LCF Board and generous families in our community act to give students some well deserved support to undertake the challenges of going to college and beginning their careers. Scholarships are also excellent indicators of the hard work and dedication to their future success that these

LCF Events in June

students have shown extraordinary leadership and meaningful work in the local community in addition to their academic and extracurricular achievements.

This year, thanks to the generous donations given by our financial supporters, LCF was able to substantially increase the amount of money awarded in scholarships. Instead of the $21,500 originally budgeted, the LCF Advisory Board voted to award a recordbreaking $35,000 in scholarships for 2023.

Gwydion Winkelmeyer, chair of the LCF Scholarship Committee, said of the young people have displayed.”

The Lyons Community Foundation Mission Scholarship was awarded to Maya Caplan. This $5,000 scholarship recognizes a student from the greater Lyons area who embodies LCF’s mission of improving the quality of life, building a culture of giving, and encouraging positive change for the greater Lyons area.

The Lyons Community Foundation Two-Year Study Scholarship was awarded to Lochlan Osborne. This $5,000 scholarship recognizes a student who plans

History of a house long gone

By Monique Sawyer-Lang Redstone Review

LYONS – In the early morning hours on January 12, 1975 a stately home located on the northeast corner of 4th Avenue and Evans was destroyed by fire. The owner of the home, architect John Knudson, who had only owned the home for about six months and was in the process of restoring it, was away.

The January 16 edition of The New Lyons Recorder newspaper described the scene: “Ample water was available but the –10 degree temperature made the job extremely difficult. Firemen were soon encased in ice from the fire-quenching water and billowing clouds of steam rose from the building.” The fire brought to an end the storied history of one of the earliest homes built in the newly founded town of Lyons.

A second article in the January 16 newspaper recounted a list of the previous owners of the stately mansion that now lay in ruins. The following is a brief biography of some of those homeowners.

The home was originally built in 1882 by Lyons town founder Edward S. Lyons. He lived in the home with his second wife Adaline and his four children Lillie, Leonard, Eva, and Frank. Adaline passed away in 1889 and Edward married Carrie Byrd in 1890. Tragedy struck the Lyons family in November of 1893 when their two-year-old son, who was suspected of playing with matches, accidentally set his clothes on fire and died. Edward and Carrie divorced soon after and in 1895 Edward left for California, to attend a two-year program at college/university, trade school or other technical/vocational training. The scholarship was also designed to recognize a student who embodies LCF’s mission.

The Uncle Louis “Bud” Winkler Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Hunter Powell. Honoring the memory of businessman Louis Winkler, this $5,000 scholarship is intended for a student who plans on majoring in business or finance.

The Janet Orback Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Samantha Rickman. Established in 2018, this $5,000 scholarship honors the memory of lifelong Lyons resident Janet Orback, who along with her husband Dave, tirelessly helped to provide support and friendship to her neighbors whose homes and lives were destroyed in the 2013 floods, as well as being stewards of the Lyons Cemetery for over 15 years.

The Gerald Boland Memorial Scholarship, in the amount of $5,000, was awarded to Cambria Burton by Amy Hoh. This scholarship was created to honor the memory of Gerald Boland, a 54-year resident of Lyons who taught in Lyons Schools for 31 years. Mr. Boland was a coach, Boy Scout Leader, and mentor who had a passion for learning and the outdoors. This scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior who shares these passions.

The Scholarship in Memory of Steve Ralston was awarded to Cole Thomas. Created in 2009 to honor the memory of Lyons resident, businessman, and community supporter Steve Ralston, this scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior who best expresses their passion for learning and sharing their interests, skills and joyful life experiences with their community.

The CEMEX Environmental Stewardship Scholarship, which is brand new for 2023, was awarded to Keara Ping by Michael Clausen of CEMEX. This $1,000 scholarship is open to students with a planned field of study in natural resources,

• Artisan Market – Sunday, June 4 in Bohn Park

• Movies on the Lawn –Thursday, June 1 at A-Lodge

• Sandstone Concert Series –Wednesday, June 21 at Sandstone Park

• TOL Adult Softball League –Thursday evenings

• Ride the Rockies – Friday, June 16 Lyons is a rest stop for riders on this multi-day bike race engineering, wildlife biology or geology. The Lyons Garden Club Scholarship, in the amount of $4,000, was also awarded to Keara Ping by Sara Erickson of the Lyons Garden Club. This scholarship, which is new in 2023, is open to students who intend to study horticulture, agriculture, landscaping, botany, plant ecology, forestry, plant pathology, or any field of study involving plants. of the Lyons Mercantile Company, which was located on the northwest corner of 4th and Main. Gilger’s youngest daughter, Claudine, was born in the house on April 29, 1911. His eldest daughter, Zella Mae, married Carl N. Frank in the home on October 5, 1917. Mr. Gilger made a number of changes to the property and house. He landscaped the yard and planted trees, shrubs, and flowers. Additionally, he added a circular stone veranda and white pillars to the house. Gilger and his wife Mattie divorced in 1920 and the house was sold in 1924. never to return to Colorado.

To volunteer at any of our upcoming events, please visit https://www.lyonscf.org/volunteer.html and fill out the volunteer interest form.

Student scholarships have been an area of focus for LCF since its inception in 2006, and in that time approximately $110,000 has been awarded to Lyons-area students. If you are interested in learning more about these scholarships, or in contributing, please visit http://www.lyonscf.org.

Kate Schnepel is the Marketing and Communications Associate for the Lyons Community Foundation. She has worked in the non-profit sector for more than two decades, primarily with animal welfare organizations like Best Friends Animal Society and Wildlife SOS India. She moved to Lyons in 2019 with her husband and daughter, and spent nearly three years as a member of LCF’s Advisory Board before moving into her current consulting role.

Following Edward Lyons’ departure from the home, the house operated as lodging for tourists arriving by train to Lyons. An advertisement in the 1899 The Lyons Herald newspaper noted that Mrs. Lillian McAlpine managed what became known at that time as the Lyons House and that they specialized in the accommodation of Estes Park tourists because of their convenient location one block south and east of the Depot.

In October of 1900 Swedish emigrant Anna Halliday operated the Lyons House, where she served meals and ran a boarding house for railroad and quarry workers. In November of 1905 she leased the house to William F. Cantwell. Mr. Cantwell was one of the owners of the Lyons and Estes Park Stage Line and briefly operated the Burlington Hotel on Main Street from 1908 to 1909.

In 1906 the house was purchased by U.G. Gilger, owner

Lyons Redstone Museum

For several years the history of the house is quiet. A Mr. and Mrs. L.A. Lynch lived there in the 1940s and in the late 1950s Daisy Moffit operated the Moffit Nursing Home in the house for a short time. The stone walls made the house difficult to heat and by the early 1960s the Moffit Nursing Home moved a block down the street. The home was then owned by Mrs. Scott Pease who converted the house into apartments.

In 1963 the property was purchased by Dick and Ann McDowell and an extensive restoration was begun. They spent over ten years working on the house before they sold it to its last owner John Knudson who was continuing the restoration at the time of the fire. The fire brought an unfortunate end to a long and storied history of a stately home in Lyons.

If you would like to learn more about Lyons’ history visit the Lyons Redstone Museum at 340 High St. The museum is open weekends in May and on Memorial Day, May 29. It will be open daily June 1 to October 1. Hours are MondaySaturday 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sunday 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Monique Sawyer Lang is the Collections Manager of the Lyons Redstone Museum. She is also a volunteer with the Lyons Food Pantry and a former member/chair of the Lyons Community Foundation Board. She lives in Spring Gulch.