Crested Butte . . . Love at First Sight
by Sandra Cortner (±õ³Ù²¹±ô’68)
Wild Rose Press, 2015; 196 pages
Crested Butte . . . Love at First Sight is a sequel to Sandra’s first book Crested Butte Stories . . . Through My Lens. She blends her experiences of more than 40 years as a photojournalist with true tales of Crested Butte, its foibles, goofiness, tragedies, and resilience. Her rich vignettes chronicle a few of the natives, second and third generation Europeans and Slavs, who remained in their homes after the coal mines closed in 1952, and many who arrived later, drawn by the beauty of the mountains, but captured by the love of the people and tightly knit community.
In stories about Crested Butte and the East River valley, Sandra writes of events, traditions, and personalities. You’ll meet the Host with the Most, Allen Cox; enjoy fondue, poviticas, and the Steakhouse biscuits on her dining tour, learn about the history of the Art Festival, how to catch chipmunks at the town dump, and read about the resourceful residents who built a temporary water pipeline to rescue the town in the dead of winter. You will get to know some ranchers down valley, including Joe Danni, many with Crested Butte ancestors and ties to the land. You’ll even wander through the Jack’s Cabin cemetery.
Of course, no book about Crested Butte could be complete without stories of the ski area, which opened in 1961, and is for many where it all began.
Crested Butte . . . Love at First Sight is illustrated with 121 of the author’s candid black-and-white photographs from the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, including some never before published, such as the infamous public message to a mining company. This book is a product of Sandra Cortner’s years as a photojournalist deeply in love with a unique small town, high in the Colorado Rockies.