Regional History

Alli Carter Close is a freelance journalist who lives in the shadow of Pikes Peak. She lives with her husband, two children and four dogs.

Long time resident of Colorado Springs until 2018. Graduate William J. Palmer High School. Numerous instructor positions teaching English Rhetoric and Composition at CU-Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak Community College, and CSU-Pueblo. Have taught British Literature 18th- to 20th-century, American literatures including Latino/Latina, Chicano/Chicana, Native American, and African American, and Introduction to Humanities.

A writer, seminar leader, and former English professor, Durthy A. Washington has taught graduate, undergraduate, and adult education courses at several colleges and universities including The Colorado College, UCCS, and the US Air Force Academy. Durthy is the founder of LitUnlocked, which offers workshops and seminars dedicated to the art of mindful, culturally responsive reading. Each workshop centers on the LIST Paradigm, an innovative approach to critical reading that helps readers unlock the power of literature with four keys to culture: Language, Identity, Space, and Time.

Award-winning Children's Author, Elaine Pease, has three picture books, a middle grade novel GHOST OVER BOULDER CREEK, the journey of a half-Cheyenne boy as he searches for his white father with Buffalo Bill in 1860s Colorado, and her most recent: an easy reader chapter book based on the true heart-warming stories at Colorado Horse Rescue, SAFE AT LAST.

Doris McCraw,writing fiction as Angela Raines, is an Author, Speaker, Historian specializing in Colorado and Women's History. Born and raised in West Central Illinois, she grew up on history. She likes to say it's in her DNA. After moving to Colorado, Doris spent many a day traveling the state, soaking up the history. She has presented at three of the Pikes Peak Library District's History Symposia. She writes non-fiction and poetry under her own name and historical fiction under her pen name. Doris as also worked as an actor along with teaching the subject. In her spare time she has taught music, speech and writing workshops.

Ashley Eiman is a professional editor and writer living in Colorado. She loves Downton Abbey, country music, and all things Jane Austen.

John Wesley Anderson, MBA, is a published author, storyteller, and TEDx speaker. He enjoyed a 30-year law enforcement career, retiring at the rank of sergeant after 22 years with the Colorado Springs Police Department, followed by 8 years serving as the elected sheriff for El Paso County, Colorado. After being term-limited as Sheriff, John retired from public safety and was employed in homeland and corporate security for ten years in the private sector. He retired from the Lockheed Martin Corporation in 2012 to launch a consulting business allowing him the freedom to pursue his love of history, writing and the arts. In 2022 John was honored to receive the Golden Quill Award from the Friends of the Pikes Peak Library District. Although John has traveled around the world, including several adventures on a catamaran sailing the Caribbean, three corporate security assignments into a combat zone on the Horn of Africa and landing on an aircraft carrier at sea in the Pacific Ocean, he remains most fascinated by the rich history and art discovered in his own backyard in the American Southwest.

I grew up in Denver and had an astonishing career as an educator in Canon City, CO. I moved to Ivywild, Colorado Springs in 2012. This lively, expressive, charming, and historic neighborhood inspired our book. I worked with Linda Johnson, long time resident of Colorado Springs who was the owner of Ivywild Costumes from 1983-2015.

Esther Clibon was a Colorado native, born in a sod house on her father's homestead in Eastern Colorado.

Her obituary which appeared in The Gazette is available with the following link: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/gazette/obituary.aspx?n=esther-e-clibo…