ABOUT US

 

Jack was born and raised in Denver, CO. He attended public schools there graduating from North High in 1947. He graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in 1951 with a degree in Metallurgical Engineering. He worked for the General Electric Co. from 1951 to 1990, most of the time at the Research Laboratory (later R&D Center) in Schenectady, NY. His GE career was interrupted by a    two-year stint with the U. S. Army from Sept. 1951 to Aug. 1953.

Barbara Ann MacManus was born in Des Moines, IA. She attended public schools in several Iowa cities until she moved with her parents to Denver and enrolled in North High in 1945, graduating in 1947. She attended Denver University and Iowa State Teachers College from 1947 to 1949.

We were married in Denver in Sept. 1950. Our daughter Margaret Ann was born in Schenectady in 1954; our daughter Katherine Elizabeth was born in Schenectady in 1957. Barbara's career was Stay-At-Home-Mom. After the girls went to college, she was active in several civic groups including the League of Women Voters and the Law, Order and Justice Society.

Jack went on paid permanent vacation (retirement) on Jan. 1,1991. We moved to Ouray County from New York State in November 1990, and moved into our newly built home at the north end of Log Hill Mesa in early 1991. Jack joined the Log Hill Volunteer Fire Department in June 1991, and was an active member until 2010. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Log Hill Mesa Fire Protection District from June 1993 to January 2000. For most of his time on the BOD, he served as Secretary/Treasurer.

In 1996 we started to accumulate historical information about Log Hill Mesa. Our approach was to seek information from people who lived on the Mesa for many years, which included oral interviews and searches of newspapers and library records. We published two books on this subject.

In 2012 our interest shifted to the study of Ouray County history. We used the same general approach in researching local history publications and seeking information from people who lived and/or worked in the area.

We established this website in 2017 to report our history studies that are pertinent to the entire Uncompahgre Valley.