The Glenwood Springs Historical Society’s board of directors has selected individuals and businesses for our “History Hero” award for 2020. With the award, we recognize people who have been actively helping to preserve our region’s deep and fascinating history.

To be nominated for an award means a person or an organization has demonstrated a commitment to our local history by performing some action, or actions, that merit public recognition. This year we are giving three categories of awards: individual, nonprofit organization and for-profit business.

The first category for outstanding individual achievement goes to Carleton “Hub” Hubbard for his lifetime of caring about, and stewarding, our local history. He has rightfully earned the title of Glenwood’s Historian.

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Hub’s accomplishments within the Glenwood community are legendary. He was recognized as “a walking encyclopedia of the history of Glenwood Springs,” by Tillie Fischer when she presented him with the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association’s Citizen of the Year award in 2010.

For most of the Glenwood Springs Historical Society’s existence, Hub has supported us. More specifically, he donated his Buick in the name of the Carleton Hubbard family to the society when he quit driving; the proceeds from its sale helped keep the doors of the Frontier Museum open this past year.

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He and his wife Miriam “Mim” also contributed their unique collection of documents and photos that Hub had gathered over the years during his title insurance career.

The next award, in the nonprofit category, goes to Christopher Tribble of Versatile Productions and his nonprofit the True Media Foundation, for filming and producing the 2020 Ghostwalk.

Dragging the ton of equipment up and down the Linwood Cemetery to film our “ghost” actors over the years was a feat, as was all the work that went into producing the alternative COVID-appropriate live-streaming event at the historic Hotel Colorado last fall. (We will only mention in passing the crew’s additional stress of having to work under the watchful eyes of the resident ghosts!)

Through his True Media Foundation, Chris has helped many youths make history come alive by using video to capture stories of some of the area’s pioneers which included Northern Ute elder Clifford Duncan. The kids’ interviews resulted in the Making History video about how we all make history in our own way. It’s preserved in the Frontier Museum’s archival collection.

Last, but certainly not least, are Ed and Jennifer Johnson, owners of Vision Security. In 2017, when we placed Doc’s Collection in the lower level of Bullocks where the old Hotel Glenwood once stood, the Johnson’s installed a state-of-the-art security system at no cost to the historical society.

Since that time, Ed and Jennifer’s hard working crews have maintained the equipment that keeps the collection safe and secure at no charge. That was no easy task during the Grand Avenue Bridge construction. Technicians from Vision Security had to make many trips to adjust the sensitive equipment that keeps the derringer alarm from going off due to vibrations from construction.

What motivates and inspires these History Heroes? They want to make a difference in their community by helping to preserve the past, contributing their time, treasure, talent, services and more.

To make a difference yourself, it isn’t a requirement to have the same level of passion for history as these awardees. It’s more about the difference between talking about and caring about history, and then taking action to help preserve history.

It’s about whether you only consider becoming a member of the historical society, and actually becoming a member. We’ve made it easy on our new website, GlenwoodHistory.com, with a click on Membership. Or, if you want to donate without becoming a member, that option is available too.

It’s about taking time and making the effort to recognize the value of history, and the fact that it belongs to all of us.

Bill Kight is the executive director of the Glenwood Springs Historical Society and writes a monthly column about history. He can be reached at 970-945-4448.