50 Years, 50 Stories - Ed Schlichting

Today’s installment of “50 Years, 50 Stories” comes from Ed Schlichting, who began receiving services from Imagine! back in 1974. You will see that Ed leads a very active life, and contributes to his community in many ways. This story was the result of several interviews conducted with Ed, and was done prior to Out & About’s annual Centre Stage performance, held on March 1. By the way, Ed was fantastic in the play!

Ed Remembers

By Ed Schlichting

I came to Imagine! in 1974 and lived at Imagine!’s Kelwood Place, which was at 13th and College in Boulder on Uni Hill. Later, I got to meet people such as Ricardo Haskins, Brenda Denzel, Jane Laughlin, Julie Hartman, and the counselors.

In one of the years, we had a weird counselor. He just decided one weekend that we’d go on a trip, and on this trip we didn’t get to bed until 2:30 at night. We went to Aspen. When we got back, we were greeted by Brenda, saying, “Where have you guys been?” Word then got to Imagine! staff. One of the things that happened the very next day is that I had a job at Beech Aircraft. I took a nose dive in airplane parts as I was stamping them. At one of our next Kelwood meetings we decided not to do any more of that. End of story.

After that I moved to Imagine!’s Manhattan Apartments in 1984. In 1987 I got chosen to go to Special Olympics International. On the trip we had two problems with airplanes. The first one, we were sitting in Stapleton for an hour and ½, and the copilot quit so we had to wait for another one. Coming back home after the games, we got to Chicago and when we were leaving the gate and being pushed back onto the tarmac, the tow bar broke. I got to go to South Bend Indiana, and the competition was at Notre Dame. The coolest thing was after our softball team won a gold medal (I was the pitcher), we decided to watch the basketball team win gold. That was a team from Colorado. Presenting the gold medals was my teenage idol, Maureen McCormick (Marsha, from the Brady Bunch TV show). Two months after winning the gold medal, I got to move to Imagine!’s Canyon Creek Apartments.


Ed with former University of
Colorado Football Coach
Dan Hawkins

In 1995 I was watching a display in ham radio, and after this I became a ham radio operator. I am now a part of BCARES, which is Boulder County Amateur Radio Emergency Services. After I got my ham radio license, I now do special work with Boulder County. I got to work at CU football (we filmed the crowd) at CU football games. I am one of the many few that hold an extra class license who are handicapped.

Even though I was let go in football, I still am having fun being a ham radio operator. I am now the manager for the Central Colorado Traffic Net, and I am the beginning part if Boulder County has an emergency. 

I am still going on the Hill and looking around at old stuff, and boy did they ever remodel Kelwood. It is now a student home for the University of Colorado. I’m also having fun with Best Buddies. Best Buddies is in affiliation with the University of Colorado and Imagine! and not affiliated with Out & About (which I’m part of) as it is a special service that the university provides. I got to meet who was then University of Colorado Head Coach Dan Hawkins and got a photo with him. He liked when I let him know that I helped out making the football games safe.

It sure is fun getting to see people from yesteryear, such as Julie, and Rick, and all the people I mentioned above. Having fun reminiscing about old stuff. Two people that used to live at Kelwood have passed away, and I always had fun watching wrestling with them -- Pat W. and Teddy S.



Ed rehearsing for a play

I’m going to a rehearsal right now for a play that I’m going to be in. It is Thriller/Hotel Transylvania, and the play will be March 1st, at 7:30, at the Broomfield Events Center. My parts in the play are I’m a flight steward, then a bellhop, then an investigator, and back to bellhop again. I’m an honorary drum major in the CU marching band, too. I’m having fun with one of my lines. Everywhere I go, I’m always hearing it, “Oh my aching back.” It might even be done tomorrow night at a dance I’m going to with Friday Night Out. Tonight we’re working on our costumes, and we get our pictures taken by a photographer from the Broomfield Enterprise telling about the play. And tomorrow night, I’m going to be wearing my Amtrak uniform, full-fledged, as it will be my month prior to working with Amtrak as a cop for one year.

Are you interested in sharing your story for “50 Years, 50 Stories?” If so, contact Caroline Siegfried at caroline@imaginecolorado.org or 303-926-6405. We’d love to hear from you!