Dear Friends of History at Fort Lewis College,

Welcome to the return of our Newsletter! It has been a while, so this issue is a bit larger than usual as we have lots to talk about since the last issue (which was back in November 2019).

There are so many exciting things to tell you about! Along with our Newsletter, we are bringing back our speakers series. The first will be our Reece Kelly Distinguished Lecture Series this April (information on that coming soon, and mentioned below!) and then this Fall the return of our Public History Speaker series. We are also working on creating a living/learning history lab space for our students in room 150 of Noble Hall. There is so much to talk about, let’s just get started!

In summer 2021, FLC History alumnus Guy Pfalzgraff, and his wife Mary, approached the FLC Foundation to discuss supporting the History Department. Guy’s reflection on his experience at FLC inspired him to generously donate $100,000 to support the History Department. 

Guy wrote in 2021: "I felt that I was able to obtain the benefits of a liberal arts education. I learned to think more critically, to be more analytical in addressing issues and problems, and certainly learned to write a lot more coherently. I also appreciated the mentoring I received from a number of these people. I felt all of these folks were knowledgeable and committed in their desire to present a good product (history) to their customers (students). But the department was small and had limited resources. Opportunities for independent research, attending meaningful conferences, and accessing hard-to-locate resources were problems that hampered the instructors and students.”

That last comment sums up their donation quite well. Their donation has helped the History Department faculty and students achieve meaningful impacts of studying history that Guy had had at FLC. It has already assisted students traveling internationally with Dr. Ellen Paul, and helped Dr. Michael Martin travel to Europe to do research on his two latest book projects (as well as work that will support his classrooms and teaching). Future projects include Dr. Paul taking students to Germany in Summer 2023, and Dr. Paul Kuenker taking students on various field trips.

Guy and Mary Pfalzgraff have been married for 52 years and have two daughters and four grandchildren. A native Coloradan, Guy lived most of his life on the Western Slope. He graduated from Fort Lewis College with a baccalaureate degree in history in April 1970. Following a short stint in the Peace Corps, where he met his wife Mary, Guy obtained master’s degrees in Vocational Rehabilitation and Public Administration.

Guy had several careers, all of which involved teaching students, training employees, and auditing skills. He worked with the Delta Montrose Vocational School, the Training Advantage, and the Department of Labor for the State of Colorado. He also served on the Delta City Council, including a time as mayor.

History remained Guy’s avocation throughout the years. He has not only kept his college history textbooks – he still reads them! The FLC professors he learned from have now retired, but they instilled the joy of research and the importance of learning from history.

Mary is retired from a career in long term care. She was the Administrator and minority owner of Colorow Care Center in Olathe, Colorado for over thirty years. Along the way, she bought and transformed an old hotel into an assisted living facility. Mary is committed to health care excellence and person-directed care, and continues to volunteer as an Eden Alternative Associate, Educator, and Mentor.

With the belief that no one should be hungry, Mary and others founded the Delta Food Pantry in 1983. She has served as their co-director for the last six years. In 2022, they initiated a satellite site at Delta Technical College, helping them to be the first technical college designated a Hunger Free Campus. As a Colorado Master Gardener, Mary volunteers time educating and assisting others in becoming successful gardeners. When Guy can’t find his wife, Mary is usually on her bike or enjoying the plants in her delightful growing dome.

Their generosity funds a tremendous impact for our students and faculty, and we’re so grateful to have their support and advocacy. Thank you, Guy and Mary!

Proposed look for the HEARTH. Image provided by ProSpace Interiors, Inc.

The ‘HEARTH’ (History Education And Research & Teaching Hub) space will be coming to Noble 150 soon. This will be a multi-purpose space for our History Majors and Minors as well as for all of the general education students who take our introductory survey courses as part of their graduation requirements. We want this to be a welcoming space filled with not only resources and assistance, but also a space to bring history alive. We will show students the many benefits of studying and knowing history along with the many job opportunities out there with a history degree in hand. Our Peer Educators and Tutors will hold assistance hours in there, as will faculty.

The space is currently under development. We are working with ProSpace Interiors, Inc. to provide the furniture. We have new carpeting and a newly painted wall. We hope to have an open house event in the Fall. Please watch for that email invite!

Trish Hamilton started in September 2022. She is the Administrative Assistant for the School of Culture and Environment. In addition to helping us out in the History Department, she also assists Gender & Sexuality Studies, Native American & Indigenous Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, and Sociology. She graduated from Fort Lewis with a BA in Environmental Studies in 2013. She enjoyed her time attending college at the Fort and is happy to be back working on campus. Trish has lived in Durango for the last 13 years with her husband and 3 cats. She enjoys cycling and hiking all the beautiful trails Durango has to offer. And she loves discovering new wine, music, and food.  

Grace Foster is the first Fort Lewis College History student to participate in the FLC/CU Denver 3-2 program. The three years that she attended Fort Lewis College prepared her to join the University of Colorado-Denver graduate program by teaching her a wide range of subjects within her field of study, Public History. As she writes: “The CU Denver graduate school is full of diverse students with many backgrounds and I never felt as if I couldn’t keep up. In fact, I think FLC over prepared me for graduate school. During my time at CU Denver, I have had many opportunities to partner with other cultural institutions that have helped me develop new skills in the Public History field. These partnerships include History Colorado, the Golden History Museum, the Broomfield Depot Museum, and the Golda Meir House Museum. Many of my classes here have also helped me develop my writing and research skills.” Grace is scheduled to graduate this Spring 2023 and will have received her Bachelors and Masters degrees in 5 years. Congratulations Grace!

As mentioned we are bringing back our Reece Kelly Distinguished Lecture Series. Dr. Ingrid H. Tague, Professor of History at the University of Denver, specializing in eighteenth-century British history, will talk on “Pets and Their People: How Pets Took Over Our World.” The talk will take place on Thursday, April 13, at 7:00 p.m., in the Lyceum in the Center of Southwest Studies. 

We certainly hope to see you there! If you have any questions please contact Dr. Michael Martin at 970-247-7147 or at martin_m@fortlewis.edu

On Saturday, April 22, 2:00—3:30 p.m. in 130 Noble Hall we will host our annual Senior Seminar Presentations. This is an exciting time each year as we our future Historians present their research. There is also then a reception afterward to celebrate their accomplishments.

These are open to the public.

We have three seniors presenting:

Sam Riess
The Foundation of England: Anglo-Saxon Fortifications, 878-1066

Elizardo Urbalejo
Working Class on Trial: The Formation of Labor Narratives in 1877 Pennsylvania

Matthew Waid
The Walls They Prayed Behind: The Perception and Use of Space in Irish Monasticism, 807-915 C.E.

For more detailed information on each student's presentation, please click the button below:

Although it would seem that COVID put a halt to many things, the History Department faculty would not be stopped! Research and publication continued, and planning continued for activities such as experiential learning in the classroom (as well as travel abroad trips), and we began the work on Noble 150 as already discussed above. For more detailed discussion of our work, please click on the button to take you to the History Department's Faculty webpage. You will find general information on that page, but if you would like to know more, please click on "View Full Bio" beneath each picture.

In January 2020, Michael went on a sabbatical research trip to Guatemala to carry out work that would lead to revisions of his book-length historical monograph, tentatively entitled Becoming Ladino: Land & Community in the Guatemalan Montaña, 1700-1840. The goal was to study key primary manuscripts at the national archives, the Archivo General de Centro América, and to take notes in the national Hemeroteca, a repository of old newspapers.

When Michael got back to teaching at the College, he had to scramble to learn how to teach with Zoom, which he had never heard of. With the challenges of Covid and some personal medical problems, he had to stall work on Becoming Ladino, but he has recently been working again on the project.

Dr. G. spent the summer of 2019 doing research for his book on the history of the 1.35 million acre Bears Ears National Monument in southeast Utah. In 2016 President Obama declared the monument which is the first ever request to use the Antiquities Act (1906) by five Native American tribes. The goal was to preserve, protect, and interpret tribal sacred places and traditional gathering areas. In 2017 President Trump shrunk the monument by 85%. Dr. G. spent the next several years writing the history of the area with modern chapters about tensions related to competing uses of American public lands and Presidential executive authority granted by the Antiquities Act, which was signed into law by Dr. G.’s hero Theodore Roosevelt. The book, Bears Ears: Landscape of Refuge and Resistance, is now out. Please read the press release for more:

He continues to hear from former students and Dr. G. welcomes email contacts and connections. Like all of us in the History Department, he is proud of our student successes. Email Dr. G. at Gulliford_a@fortlewis.edu

In Fall 2022 Paul taught his “Technology and American Modernity” course for the first time in a couple of years. Students traveled on the Durango and Silverton Railroad, explored 19th century cameras and stereoscopic imagery housed at the Center of Southwest Studies, and even blacked out Dr. Kuenker's office windows with aluminum foil (with one tiny hole opened in it) to create a walk-in camera obscura that projected an upside-down image from outside onto the opposite wall. Paul's article, “‘How Shall We Save Ourselves’: Transportation Disasters and the Rights of the Traveling Public in the Age of Steam” will be published in the forthcoming volume of the Massachusetts Historical Review and he will be working to submit his related book manuscript to publishers this Spring. 

Paul’s office windows covered.
Photo: Fort Lewis College

No, this photo is not upside down, it is actually the projected image!
Photo: Fort Lewis College

As Michael's sabbatical in Spring 2021 was interrupted by COVID, he was able to return to Europe last summer to work in the archives at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris and St John’s College in Cambridge, England. This work will contribute to two book projects he is currently working on: first, a critical edition of a Latin commentary on the Psalms written in Ireland c. 820 (which will be published through Brepols Publishers); and, second, a monograph on how peasants learned theology in early medieval Europe c. 750—950 c.e. (under contract with Amsterdam University Press). In March 2022 a book he was collaborating on with Martin McNamara was published through Brill Publishing: The Bible in the Early Irish Church (A.D. 550 to 850). Since 2021 he has also been a member on an Advisory Panel for the Colorado Historical Foundation (Preservation Services Program) to develop an LGBTQ History Sites Survey Plan.

Again, we would like to thank Ellen for her four years of service to the department as Chair for now she is the Faculty Senate President. Congratulations!

Thanks to a generous donation to the History Department Ellen traveled with 9 students to Europe last May.  They studied the Holocaust and its memorialization, from Berlin to Warsaw to Prague.  The group also learned about the Cold War and Central European cuisine.  The donation allowed the Department to give a sizable stipend to offset expenses for the students.  Several students said that the stipend was just the incentive they needed to take the plunge.  Ellen is actively recruiting students for another study tour in May 2023.

Ellen and her Summer 2022 students in Prague.

Doug joined the Department last term as a visiting assistant professor teaching courses in world history. Doug has been coming to Durango for more than 25 years—he has family in Durango and Silverton. His research focuses on the history of religion (especially Buddhism) and colonialism in Asia. 

2023 marks the appearance of Doug’s first book, Dust on the Throne: The Search for Buddhism in Modern India, to be published as part of Stanford University Press’s South Asia in Motion series.

Students in Doug’s HIST 150: World Civilizations I at the Centre of Southwest Studies in November 2022. Curators, Elizabeth Quinn and Amy Cao, curated a unique set of pre-Columbian cotton textiles produced by Ancestral Pueblo peoples and Incans, including a rare 13th century cotton manta in the Centre’s collection.

Students in Doug’s History of Buddhism course inside the library of the Durango Dharma Center. During the 90-minute visit, students had a conversation with Durango Dharma Center Elder, Katherine Barr, and were able to compare the role that Buddhism held in a place like Durango as compared to places like India, Thailand, and China.

As a new visiting faculty member at FLC, Colin has been teaching American history and a course incorporating his research on consumption and commodity history: Colin’s 2023 Spring Semester course, “Alcohol in the Early Modern World,” focuses on a variety of topics intersecting with alcohol consumption including trade, gender, colonialism, religion, sociability, and health, among others. He was awarded an FLC “Experiential and Community-Engaged Learning” [EXCEL] teaching grant to take students in this course to Fenceline Cider’s production facility in order to connect historical course readings with the living alcohol traditions of Colorado. 

Colin continues to work on his book manuscript for McGill-Queen’s University Press. He is enrolled in FLC’s “Empower Pedagogy and Ignite Change” [EPIC] program to spur innovation in teaching methods. He also is arranging to bring the University of Denver’s Dr. Ingrid Tague as this year’s Reece Kelly Lecture series speaker, and serves as faculty advisor to the college’s Anime club.

We are very proud of our alumni and would love to share their stories. Please email us with stories of how you have used your History degree, or places you have visited with some historical connections you would love to share, along with a photo of you there, or at your job putting that degree to work!

We also have a map of the United States in our department hallway. We would love to pinpoint where our alumni are at. Eventually we would like to build up an electronic version to include on our website in the Alumni Updates section. Please let us know where you are at!

If there are any errors in the profiles below please let us know and we apologize in advance.

We are very proud of Fabian Martinez! From his post (with permission):

"I am honored to receive two awards from the Native American Journalist Association (NAJA) in 2021. A third-place award was given to me for my article detailing the history of the La Boca bridge and it’s repair in 2020. Writing that article was so much fun as I was able research the history of the railroad in the Drum’s archive and talk with elders who lived during that era. That bridge has been not only an important piece of local history, but also an important piece of history for my family. Winning this award has been a big step in my career as not only a (part-time) journalist but also as a (amateur, lol) local historian.

Also a big congrats to my coworkers at the Drum on their cumulative 14 NAJA wins and a big thanks to Jeremy for letting me tackle this article!"

After graduating from FLC in 2017, Brianna earned her Master of Social Work from Western Carolina University in May, 2021. Based in Asheville, NC, she has been working on the Opioid Workforce Expansion Program through the Health Resources and Services Administration, and working on a State Opioid Response grant through Community Impact North Carolina. She has begun a position serving youth age 16-25 as they transition from child to adult services, providing support and outpatient therapy. As she writes: “My history degree from FLC provided me a strong foundation to better understand systemic challenges that families and individuals face, and sharpened my macro lens. Remaining rooted in history helps me better serve my clients, as I have a deep and rich understanding of the complexities of systemic inequities, shortcomings and challenges. When I work with clients I am better aware of the inherited generational trauma factoring into present challenges. My long term career goal is to work in immigration and child welfare policy. The history department rocks! I am deeply fortunate to have learned from such talented and knowledgeable change agents."

Recently Luke took a job in the Marketing and Communications department at History Colorado and has been doing loads of work to promote awareness of the copious historical projects, series, and exhibitions work being done by History Colorado. He is also at CU Denver working on his Masters in Public History.

Alexander recently graduated from his master's program with honors from the University College Dublin and the University of Potsdam. He has had the opportunity to study with some amazing professors from around the world as well as live in and experience different cultures and societies. He has friends and colleagues from all over the world and now considers Ireland and Germany to be home.  He also recently was hired as a teacher in South Korea and will begin teaching this March.

As for his thesis, Letters to Gidra: An Unrecognized Source for Understanding the Asian American Movement, 1969 – 1974, he focused on the Asian-American Experience during the Vietnam War era. In particular, he looked at a newspaper that was started by a group of Asian-Americans that discussed issues concerning the Asian-American community. As he writes: "I wanted to understand more about the public response to the Asian American Movement, so I analyzed the letters to the editor column in the newspaper. Honestly, this was by far one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done in my life and I have a whole new respect for high-level research.”

Chelsea Rodriguez earned a Master of Science (M.Sc) in Educational Studies at KU Leuven, Belgium, with an emphasis on educational history. She has moved to The Netherlands where she is working on her PhD in Educational History at the University of Groningen, and, as she writes: "I am so happy and grateful for where life has taken me." She has also published her first article with co-author Sarah Van Ruyskensvelde: “A rising tide of discontent: mediocrity, meritocracy, and neoliberalism in American education, 1971–1983” in Paedagogica Historica: International Journal of the History of Education, published online 02 Dec 2021.

In 2021 Harris and his family returned to Durango and in 2022 he became the Director of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum where he manages displays, collections, and lead tours.

Prior to his return to Durango, as he writes: “Following graduation from FLC in 2014 I pursued my hands on historic preservation ambitions as a timber framer where I practiced traditional woodworking.

In 2017, working as historic interpretive guide wrangling with the world famous Grand Canyon mules, I was exposed to the epic and often inaccurate stories surrounding the Bright Angel Trail. Setting out to correct the record, I began writing a book on the trail’s fraught history. Through grant’s provided by the National Park Service, I received a full scholarship and funding to Middle Tennessee State University’s Public History M.A. program. While writing my thesis on the Bright Angel Trail and Grand Canyon National Park, I worked as a researcher for the Center for Historic Preservation, were I crafted historic nominations, historic structures reports, and community planning measures. Following graduation, I became the Historic Preservation Specialist for a general contractor focusing in historic buildings in National Parks, however Covid abruptly ended contract work."

Greg is Manager of Enterprise Crisis Management for Zions Bancorporation. His department ensures continuity of business operations for the Bank in the event of a disaster or emergency. As he writes: “Geez how has it been 16 years!”

As always, your ongoing contributions are most appreciated and helps our faculty and students do the work that you have been reading about above. Please consider donating to one of our funds to help us continue to do that work.

History Associates Fund

Reese Kelly Excellence Fund

Public History Fund