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Arthur Trevino describes the damage to his rental home in Longmont, caused by the Boulder County Flood of 2013. Art's experience was complicated by several factors: he had moved to Boulder only four months before the flood; during the most severe flooding, he was negotiating flooded roads between Westminster and Longmont while his wife with Alzheimer's disease was at home being taken care of by his adult son; and his landlord was out of town for more than a month after the flood. Art describes the work that he and his son did to reclaim the house from damage. He talks about his calm and resilient attitude in the face of challenges; the plentiful help provided by rescue workers, volunteers, government workers, and neighbors; and the general feelilng of heightened community that was a silver lining of the disaster.

Harold Dominguez, the city manager of Longmont, was born in Lubbock, Texas, in 1972 and grew up in the nearby town of Sundown. He talks about his upbringing and the people iln his family who were mentors for him. After graduating from Texas Tech University, he earned a master's in public administration. He describes early jobs in Lubbock and San Angelo, and then goes on to talk about becoming Longmont's city manager. He describes his family and their mutual support for each other; his greatest challenge so far as city manager, which was the major flood in September, 2013; and his philosophy of public administration, which involves being in responsive partnership with the citizens of Longmont.

David Kimmett describes his experience commuting to and from work by bicycle in Longmont, Colorado, on September 12, 2013, in the midst of the widespread flooding that happened that week. He details the state of creeks, rivers, roads and bridges, both in the morning and evening of that day, as well as the day after. His descriptions include dramatic pictures painted of the extent of the flooding, including minor waterways that turned into large raging rivers, bridges that ordinarily had been 15 feet above the water being wiped out by floods, and the amusing sight of people fishing with nets in the middle of the street as the storm sewers backed up with river water and spewed out water and fish into the air.

Heriberto (Beto) Moreno, an engineer with IBM and one of the founders of El Comite in Longmont, talks about his roots in Mexico, growing up in El Paso, Texas, how he gained an education, and how the Latino community in Longmont took shape during the 1970s.

Marta Moreno is the Executive Director of El Comit{u1EBB}, a non-profit organization that focuses on helping underserved people in Longmont, primarily Latinos, solve legal problems, achieve citizenship, recoup wages, and overcome unfair treatment among other services. She talks about growing up in El Paso, Texas, the influence of nuns and priests had in her life, and her educational experiences there. She moved to Boulder in the mid-1970s when her husband was hired as a mechanical engineer for IBM. She talks about leading a movement to have the Catholic churches here offer Spanish Mass. Later she moved to Longmont. She describes discrimination against Latinos in El Paso and in Boulder County. She ends by explaining the history of El Comit{u1EBB}, and describes many of the ways in which it helps the community.

Esther Blazon tells about moving around during her childhood while her father was a migrant farm worker. She married while still in high school and had children shortly afterward. When her children grew older, she went back to high school to earn her degree, and graduated in 1968. She worked for Head Start, then received a Migrant Education Program scholarship to the University of Colorado at Boulder. After graduating, she worked for the St. Vrain School District, then earned her master's degree in counseling in 1980 from the University of Northern Colorado. She speaks of her involvement with El Comit{u1EC1} after a police shooting of two Latino youths. She also talks about the importance of her relationship with her husband and his support of her goals, and of her respect for her father. She describes discrimination she experienced when buying a house in Longmont, as well as racism against her children by other students in Longmont schools. She ends by describing work she did in Ecuador as part of a mental health team.

William ("Hank") Blazon was born in Longmont, Colorado, in 1942 to a farming family. His father came to Longmont in 1927 from Avondale, Colorado, where he was born, and did various kinds of work, including owning a pool hall. In 1942, he bought a farm near Mead. Hank relates stories of his father being harassed by police and his uncles being refused service at a Longmont restaurant due to their being Latino, in spite of having served in the military during the Korean War. Hank graduated from Mead High School, was trained in electronics and as a machinist; worked for Beech Aircraft, Rocky Flats, and IBM. He tells of family traditions and also discusses changes for Latinos in Longmont that were brought about by affirmative action and the efforts of the Chicano movement and the 1980 murder of two young men, and how it led to the formation of El Comit{u1EC1}.

This interview begins by covering Virginia Alvarez's early life in northeast Boulder County where her parents were farm workers. Her parents moved to Boulder County from Mexico in 1929, before Virginia was born in 1942. When she was a child, they did farm work in the Longmont area, moving around from one farm to another annually. Virginia talks about feeling isolated when she was very young because there were not many Hispanics in her elementary school and initially she did not speak much English. She went to school in Longmont from first grade through high school, and she remarks on the dynamics between Hispanics and Anglos in the schools, which were, for the most part, lacking conflict. IBM brought in many new Latinos in the 1960s. She describes her family as being poor, too poor for her to join clubs at Longmont High School, for example. She worked for an OEO program with senior citizens in the 1960s throughout Boulder County. She learned her life philosophy from her family, which is to respect people and to do whatever job you're doing the best that you can. Virginia says she sees less division now between Anglos and Hispanics in Longmont, in part because Hispanics have opened businesses that non-Hispanics also support, and in part becasue Hispanic children are getting educations that are opening doors for them.

Salvador was born in Guanajuerta, Mexico in 1996. When he was 4 years old he came to Colorado with his parents and brother to join his grandma, who was already in the U.S. His parents said they came for their children: a better education, more opportunity, a better life. His father has worked in a series of unskilled jobs; his mother works in a tortillaria. Salvador went to Columbine Elementary School, Trail Ridge Middle School, and had just finished his junior year at Skyline High School, all in Longmont. His teachers treated him well, but he was aware of discrimination elsewhere. He hopes to go to college and become an architect.

Edwina Salazar is the executive director of the OUR Center in Longmont, Colorado. She was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1948. Her father's family, of Jewish origin, was from Northern New Mexico but had moved to the San Luis Valley in Colorado. Her mother's family members were farm workers who settled in Erie. Ms. Salazar attended a liberal Catholic school in the 1960s where the nuns and priests were active in civil rights and anti-war movements. Her mother, who died when Edwina as 14, cleaned houses and insisted Edwina get an education so she could do better. Ms. Salazar attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins where she discovered her passion for social work. She describes civil rights and anti-war agitation while she was there. She has bachelor's and master's degrees in social work. She moved to Longmont in 1992, where she helped arrange for a monument in Kensington Park for two unarmed Hispanic youths killed by police in 1980. She describes the OUR Center and her work with it.

Boulder native Rosemary Campbell discusses growing up on a Boulder farm during the 1940s and 1950s. Her education began at a country school and progressed to Casey Junior High and Boulder High; she recalls cultural differences such as playing softball in the country, whereas in the city, there were no teams on which a girl was allowed to play. Campbell remembers the day-to-day experiences of living on the farm: from the early days without electricity when her family sat around the kitchen table reading by the shared light of a kerosene lamp, to acquiring phone service that was shared by twelve families; from the chores that she disliked - gathering eggs and butchering - to the chores that she enjoyed - driving 100 head of cattle by horseback across US 36 up onto Sugarloaf Mountain. She recalls the intimate learrning about the life cycle that occurs when one grows up in the presence of animals; living with the inevitability of death as an integral part of life. When asked what our modern society may have to learn from a girlhood spent in the country, Campbell mentions the modern lack of quiet and the current rarity of appreciation of just being, of reclining on a hot day under summer trees, content with doing nothing.

Mary Blue was a member of the Longmont League of Women Voters from mid-1980s until 2003. She also has been active in local and state politics and served on the RTD board of directors, among other community involvements. In this interview, she describes many of the advocacy and public education services provided by the League of Women Voters as well as reflecting on the was in which the League has provided women with political and leadership training over the years.