50 Years, 50 Stories - James Haislett

Today’s installment of “50 Years, 50 Stories” comes from James Haislett, a longtime client of Imagine!. Imagine! employees who worked at our Dixon Avenue or Coal Creek Drive buildings a few years ago may remember James pedaling his three-wheeled bike back and forth between buildings, delivering mail and other important items. Ultimately, health issues forced him to stop doing deliveries, but he still visits often and the fond memories linger.

Thanks for sharing, James!

 

Brave Since I Was a Kid

By James Haislett

James taking pictures and looking dapper back in the day.

I was born in Akron, Colorado and rode horses bareback with my brother David on my family’s ranch. We went really fast. When I was six or seven years old I moved to Grand Junction State Home and Training School. It was OK. I made a lot of friends and went to school there. They had a garden and a dairy farm. We got to go out for ice cream and movies.

In about 1975 I moved to Carmel on The Hill in Boulder. A lot of my friends moved there, too. I worked at the workshop, but I wanted my own job so I started working at Boulder Community Hospital doing cleaning.

I moved to Kelwood and worked washing dishes at the Hilltop Building on The Hill. They had a belly dancer. I told Dunkin’ Doughnuts that their parking lot was dirty and they should pay me to clean it and they did. I worked there until they closed a few years ago. I delivered the Rocky Mountain News on my bike, too.

One time I rode the bus to Nederland with my bike and rode down Boulder Canyon all the way back to Manhattan. It was really fun. There was a lot less traffic then. I like to travel and camp and ski, and I am working on my ham radio certification. My friend Julie says I was brave ever since I was a little kid.

James in the mountains.

James on the slopes.

James' skiing medals.

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!