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Marc Sobel and his wife moved to Boulder in 1998, some years after they had retired from careers at IBM. He describes volunteer work he did after moving to Boulder. He and his wife moved into the Frasier Retirement Community at the beginning of 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit Boulder. He describes the pandemic lockdown at Frasier, the protocols that were followed, the relative success of these protocols at keeping people healthy, and his role in developing a Zoom-meeting program to help counteract isolation among residents. He reflects on the ways things changed as more became known about the disease and how different people handled the challenges of the pandemic in different ways. Other topics include social aspects of living at Frasier, Resident Council committees, the national response to managing the pandemic, and the way residents used the Touchtown social media program within Frasier to keep in touch and keep informed.

Jane Brautigam was Boulder’s city manager from 2008 to 2020. She describes how she grew into her career as a city manager; other places she worked, both as a city attorney and a city manager; and how she came to be hired as Boulder’s city manager. Her wide-ranging discussion of issues handled as Boulder’s city manager include guiding Boulder through the financial crisis of 2008 (the Great Recession), capital bond projects undertaken including facilities updates and expansions, zoning policy changes, attempts to municipalize the city’s electrical system, providing services for the unhoused population, policing and race, priority-based budgeting, transportation including RTD services and the Folsom bike lane experiment, prairie dog management, the city/university relationship, student alcohol use, planning for the CU conference center, the CU South land with regard to flooding and development, racial equity, and handling emergencies—such as floods, fires, and the Covid pandemic. Other topics include the variety of problems with which a city manager deals, a city manager as a facilitator of solutions to these problems, Boulder in 2008, the relationship between city manager and city council, characteristics of a good city manager, retirement, and continuing to serve on nonprofit boards and as a mentor to others. Note that further biographical information about Jane Brautigam is available at Boulder’s Carnegie Library for Local History; and Jane’s curriculum vitae is added to the bottom of the transcript.

Gladys Forshee grew up on a dryland wheat farm, north of what is now Denver International Airport, then lived in Commerce City after marrying Larry Forshee. In 1970, they moved to Superior. From 1970 to 1973, she had the job of town clerk. Topics related to her time as town clerk include public health improvements; obtaining firefighting services for Superior, which eventually became the Metro West Fire Department; and the “Flamettes” women’s firefighting group. She describes using excess money that had accumulated from the Superior Volunteer Fire Department to create historical markers. She talks about the creation of the Superior Historic Commission and describes her research for and the writing of local history books, including a cookbook for the Superior centennial, a book about the Box Elder farming community that was located near where Denver International Airport is today ("Where Memories Linger Silver Birds Will Someday Land: From the Quiet Farm Life of Box Elder Community, Adams County, Colorado, to Denver International Airport," published in 1994), and two other publications that were ready to go to the publisher when they were destroyed in the Marshall Fire. The last part of the interview contains a detailed account of her self-evacuation during the Marshall Fire, the difficulty of finding a place to stay during the fire, and the aftermath of the fire for her as she worked to find housing in the wake of her house having burned.

Dr. Reiland Rabaka is a professor of African, African American, and Caribbean Studies, as well as the founder and director of the Center for African & African American Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. In this interview, he details being raised by his grandmothers and his mother in Texas. He speaks of the effects of poverty and racism, but also of the positive ways his family shaped him through the social justice and feminist theology of his family and the Black church. He talks about the early and deep influence of music in his life and the impact of his early education at arts-oriented, integrated schools. He details his path through higher education and his academic career, including his approach to teaching; the field of Black studies; inspiring mentors he has had; his transition from teaching at Cal State, Long Beach, to the University of Colorado, Boulder; experiences with racism and classism in academia; enthusiasm of Boulder students for the subjects he teaches; and the founding of the Center for African and African American Studies. Other topics include the cultural and sociological importance of the African American church, the deep influence on him of W.E.B. Du Bois, Africana critical theory, the Black community in Boulder and Colorado, Black feminism, and reflections on the legacy of slavery.

Eric Harris talks about growing up in segregated Texas in the 1950s and 1960s. He discusses his school experiences both before and after integration in Galveston, Texas, including the experience for both him and his brother, William Harris, Jr., of playing high school football as Black athletes. He came to the University of Colorado, Boulder, on both athletic and academic scholarships and graduated with a degree in business. He describes experiences of racial discrimination while playing college football and ways in which his teammates did and didn’t support the Black students on the team. He also describes his brother’s experiences of racial bias while playing in the NFL in the south in his post-college years. He reflects on race, inequality, and progress in the US during his lifetime. He talks about his personal family history as an adult, including his marriages, the illness and death of his second wife, the support of his wife’s family and the Boulder community during this crisis and beyond, his approach to parenting, his children’s experiences as people of color in Boulder and their ultimate career paths, and some of his community involvements in Boulder.

Common threads appearing in the interviews: Families came mostly from northern Italy ; Italian language not spoken ; coal mining was a commmon occupation ; most families were poor ; family units were cohesive.