Name: Sandy Carlson Maiden: Bell

Personal narrative! (2009)
Hello, 45 years! Wow - where do I start? I married Randy Carlson (class of '61) in August after graduation (what was I thinking?). We have had a wonderful marriage despite the ups & downs of life. Six years later our daughter Jenifer was born and 3 years after that our daughter Erica. We bought a hobby farm south of Berthoud which was a great place to raise our girls. Both girls graduated from CSU - Jen in physical therapy and Erica in journalism. Jen now lives with her husband, Joel, on the CSU Maxwell Research Ranch north of Ft. Collins. The ranch is on 12,000 acres where "the deer and the antelope roam" plus herds of elk. Both are big hunters (bow & rifle) and always get an elk or 2 and also antelope which they share with us. They have 2 children - Mitchell 3 & Kaycee 1. Erica's life is totally different. She married Inigo who is from Spain and has lived in Spain for 10 years. Inigo completed his doctorate in sports physiology a year ago and got a job with the CU sports medicine department in Denver. They moved here in October with their daughter, Amalia 4, and just had a baby boy, Liam, this past month. It's so wonderful to have everyone so close especially since we had to travel almost 24 hours to see Erica's family. But, of course, traveling to Spain was not a hardship. We have gone there several times with side trips to France and Portugal. We have been fortunate to stay with friends and family so that we get to know the real culture of the country not just the tourist perspective. We're looking forward to seeing more of Europe in the future.

After working 18 years at jobs he hated, Randy started his own business. I about fainted when he announced that he was going to buy a semi and start trucking. This business grew to 8 trucks and was successful due to very hard work and Randy's good management skills. We sold the business in '99 and Randy now drives for Wal-Mart and is considering retiring sometime next year so that he can play with his antique cars and continue the quest for the perfect wine. When Randy started the business, I decided we might starve if I didn't go back to work so I got a job with Thompson School District and worked at Ivy Stockwell Elementary in Berthoud for 25 years - 22 of those years as the librarian. I retired last May which was a very difficult decision because I dearly loved it and the kids and staff was a second family. But it was time to move on. During those years I went to college and spent several years taking classes at night and in the summer. It's amazing how you appreciate school as an adult.

I have sung in our church choir for 33 years and still occasionally play the flute. I'm hoping to sing and play in some community venues during retirement but right now my 92 year-old mother takes a great deal of my time. After being in the same house for 50 years, she has just moved into the Hillcrest independent living facility - the old hospital on Douglas Ave. This has been hard for her and she is still trying to adjust. We sold our place near Berthoud and built a home southeast of Loveland where we now live. It's still our "new home" even after being here for 13 years. Although I have written a tome, there's still more to tell so I hope to see you all at the reunion to catch up on your life. Joy and blessings to you.

Sandy Bell Carlson

Loveland memories from 1950/60 era!
I remember the great English teachers we had especially Miss Stepp. When we studied Chaucer as seniors, I was assigned a certain story for an oral report. I hated to stand in front of the class - it was sheer torture. I blurted out "this story is about fairies" forgetting the other meaning of fairies. The whole class roared with laughter including Miss Stepp. It broke my tension and I have never been nearly as nervous when speaking in front of group since. Band was my salvation in high school. I remember the pride of marching (yes, I liked marching) at Boulder Band Day and the thrill of playing the 1812 Overture and Mr. Yarberry throwing his baton at the drummers because they weren't paying attention. Then there was Rag Day, all the sports and Wigwam where I met my husband.

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