A View of the Mesa
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Meet our Writers
Alice Andersen As a military dependent, both as a child and a spouse, Alice Andersen has lived from coast to coast, along with eight years in Germany. Her hometown is Flour Bluff on the Texas Gulf Coast. Her husband, Dan Andersen, retired from the military in the Seattle area, and they moved to his hometown in Cedaredge, Colorado in 2011. With job experiences ranging from transcriptionist for Army CID (military detectives) to purchasing agent for a foundry supply business, Alice has met many people to spark her imaginative streak. She is currently working on a novel and writes short stories for fun.
Rene’ Janiece is a writer, musician and artist, exploring what it means to meet his world with the heart of a poet. She lives in Cedaredge, Colorado and just published her first chapbook.
Terry Jarbo Terry Jarbo was born in Greybull, Wyoming and raised in the Pacific Northwest. After High School he joined the US Army and served in Europe where He received Jesus Christ as Lord of his Life. He pastored for over thirty years, encouraged believers while in New Zealand and India and authored “Uphill Skis”, a children’s book. He also wrote columns for two local Colorado newspapers. Terry and wife Carol have been married 58 years. They moved to Cedaredge in 2005 operating Creek Side Bed and Breakfast for seventeen years and have resided in Colorado for forty four years.
Laura McCrackin was Born at Lakenheath AFB in England. Laura grew up all over the country as a daughter of a fighter pilot. She attended RIT and was the commander of the ROTC Corp of Cadets. She graduated from Georgetown Medical School and trained as a Physician and Surgeon at the University of California, San Francisco and University of South Florida. Laura served at the Army Institute of Surgical Research, Brooke Army Medical Center Burn Unit and with the 101st Airborne in Fort Campbell, KY. She is a Veteran of NATO’s Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia as a member of a Forward Surgical Team. She and her husband moved to the Surface Creek Valley over twenty years ago where they raised their family as Laura dedicated her Surgical Career to the people of Delta County. She is a member of the Cedaredge Writers Collaborative.
Sheri McFaddin is a lifelong resident of the Surface Creek Valley. A direct descendant of Clyde and Alpha Brewer, she grew up in the town of Cedaredge, and as a young adult lived within blocks of her parents, grandparents, and great-grandmother. Alpha Brewer influenced Sheri’s professional life by instilling in her a love of reading and writing. One of her hobbies is the collection and storage of family stories and artifacts. She enjoys finding ways to share those narratives with others who are interested in local history.
Kathy Sparacino Katherine Sparacino began writing at an early age inspired by an aunt who was a teacher. She worked for a newspaper composing her own column entitled, “Thru the Years.” Living in a historic mining and railroad district inspired research for her writings. Upon leaving the hectic urban existence she moved to the clean and peaceful rural area of Western Colorado. Her love of children has involved her in various kids’ ministries.
Patricia Stirnkorb Patricia Stirnkorb was born and lived in SW Ohio until three years ago when she, husband Rick and son Eric, along with his wife, Nyki and daughter Emery, relocated to Cedaredge. Patricia has been a writer most of her life, writing for many national publications, editor at a Cox News newspaper, and author of 22 books. Her background in sales and publishing has allowed her to experience many things that she could not have accomplished otherwise. She is a member of New Hope EV Free church where she works with the woman’s ministry and teaches a Ladies’ Sunday School Class.
Ronn Brewer, Local Cedaredge Historian. Ronn was born in 1944 and raised in the area, as well as being the mayor of the town from 1980 to 1984. He was contracted to write an historical account for the 100-year celebration in 2007, making our town now 118 years old. The book is available in our local library and details more than we could possibly cover here.
Ronn married Judy (maiden name) in 1963 a the Grand Mesa Chapel. Judy, also born and raise here, lived in the same house nearly all the days of her life. When they began their marriage, Ronn worked at the orchards owned by Skyland Foods and spent most of his career in the fruit/produce industry. In 1975 they bought the house on Main Street owned by her parents and lived there until her death in 2020.
Jim Leser was born in Boston, Massachusetts moving to Santa Barbara, California and then Las Vegas, Nevada. He and his wife Jeanne met while in college and were married just prior to Jim reporting for active duty with the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman. They have been married for 57 years and raised two beautiful boys. He is a current member of the Cedaredge Tree Board and has been a Colorado Master Gardener volunteer since 2008. He continues to write his biweekly column for the Delta County Independent.
Shawnee Barns Shawnee's career began as a child abuse investigator with the State of Utah, advancing to become a trainer and supervisor. She taught criminal justice as an adjunct professor and collaborated with law enforcement on complex cases statewide. Relocating to Colorado, she continued her law enforcement career until she recently retired. She holds two undergraduate degrees and a criminology certificate from the University of Utah. She began her writing journey in Ireland. She now is a resident of Cedaredge where she enjoys reading, traveling, quilting and exploring the outdoors with her partner, Rob.
William French
Kelly Lubin