2020 HONOREES

Lydia Ruyle (1935-2016) was an internationally recognized artist, leader, mentor, and scholar, as well as a community leader. She produced a dazzling array of visual art, including oil painting, sculpture, papermaking, and lithography. Her works have been exhibited around the world, including in England, Germany, France, Turkey, Russia, Peru, Korea, Nepal, and Italy, and at such iconic locations as the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the United Nations World Conference on Women. Lydia met her future husband Bob when both were in kindergarten at Cameron Elementary School. She later graduated as valedictorian from Greeley High School in 1953, and was a recipient of the coveted Boettcher Scholarship, which she used to acquire a Bachelor of Arts degree (Magna cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa) at the University of Colorado. She went on to attain her Master’s Degree in Fine Arts at the University of Northern Colorado. She later taught Women’s Studies and Art History at UNC. Her intense interest in women’s issues led her to create and operate Goddess Tours and YAYA Journeys, which produced spiritual pilgrimages for women. A major force in the creation of the Union Colony Civic Center, Lydia also served on the Greeley-Evans District 6 School Board, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the Colorado Council on the Arts and Humanities, and the Colorado and International Women’s Forum. Lydia lived with her husband Bob, and son Stephen in Alles Acres in Greeley, the subdivision which was formed out of her grandfather’s farm. Perhaps her best known works were completed in conjunction with Louise Kearns: rip stop nylon “Goddess Banners” which displayed over 300 sacred female images from many cultures worldwide. She lovingly referred to them as “my girls.”

The Stampede Troupe was founded in 1974 by three Greeley men, Central High School choir teacher the late Harold Hamler, Central High theatre teacher Jim DeMersseman, and local artist and sign painter Kent Smith. Looking to fill what they perceived as a gap in performance opportunities for non-student aged singers, dancer, actors, and musicians, Hamler (music director), DeMersseman (artistic director), and Smith (technical director) chose “Annie Get Your Gun” as the Troupe’s first production, scheduled for June of ’74. Performed in the Greeley Central High School Auditorium (not air conditioned!) during a scorchingly hot weekend, “Annie….” drew large and highly enthusiastic audiences, eager to see and hear their neighbors and friends perform on stage. The group, then called the Greeley Independence Stampede Troupe, went though several name changes, including The Troupe, and the Greeley Community Civic Theatre, before deciding to call themselves what everyone knew them as anyway, The Stampede Troupe. Little did the founders and the cast and crew of that first show imagine that 46 years later, that small band of performers on a dimly lighted high school stage, with cardboard sets and costumes mostly pulled from the actors’ closets, would grow into an organization which has featured over 2300 local citizens in its nearly 200 productions. The original schedule of one musical show in the summer has evolved to feature up to six productions per year, including two by its Children’s Theatre company, with large and small musicals, dramas, comedies, classics, Shakespeare, and original scripts, all performed in Greeley’s state-of-the-art Union Colony Civic Center. From “Annie Get Your Gun” and “Li’l Abner” in the ‘70s, to stunning performances of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Shrek the Musical” in the ‘10s, the Stampede Troupe, now led by President Ken Andrews and a governing board of 8, is looking forward to its 50th Anniversary in 2024. For more information on The Troupe, visit its website at stampedetroupe.com.

The Fortnightly Music Club was formed in 1907 by ten local woman: Katie Bullock, Louise Bunker, Katherine Darby, Lucy Delbridge, Alice Doane, Eva Earle, Blanche Hughes, Elizabeth Kendel, Mary Shattuck, and Edith Strong. The group promoted two goals: to stimulate musical interest among the citizens of Greeley, and to develop the musical talents of its members. In its early years, the Fortnightly Music Club was successful in luring nationally and internationally known musicians to Greeley to give performances for the citizenry. And many of its members worked for and performed with the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as teaching music and other performance groups. In recent years, the Club has moved away from bringing in outside performers, but a good number of its members still work and perform with the Philharmonic and many music groups and organizations. Among its hundreds of members since 1907 are many of the best known and most beloved Greeley musicians. Two of its past members, Howard Skinner and Ruth Savig, were inducted into the Arts Legacy Hall of Fame in 2019. Other local music luminaries who have belonged to the Fortnightly Music Club, and who may be familiar to modern Greeley music lovers, are Beverly Buss, Polly Cronin, Phyllis Eaton, Virginia Himmel, Bob and Sally Johnson, Germaine Johnson, Evelyn Kulp, Sheryl McBride, Sue Pfund, Fran Townsend, Sandy Varley, and Diane Westrup and many others. The Club, now 113 years old, is still active in the Greeley musical scene, with members teaching, accompanying, directing, and performing.