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ENERGY IS SYNONYMOUS
WITH THE PALMERS!
By
Sandy Hembd
I can’t imagine what Pete and Pat Palmer were
like when they were younger. They must have been like whirlwinds. In
retirement they are mighty busy and I would challenge anyone to try to keep
up with their activities. Volunteering in many capacities, they both have
been instrumental in making Pine Brook a better place to live.
It didn’t take them long to jump right into active
volunteering after their move from Stoneybrook, New York, in June of 1980.
That October, there was a wildfire on the front hill that burned 64 acres
and came within one thousand feet of their front door. Both Pete and Pat
joined the Fire Department immediately and have served for many years. Pete
retired from the department in 1990 but still sits on the Fire Board as
treasurer. Pat, who also served as our Fire Chief, will retire at the end
of June. During her time with the department, she reached a C-8 rating,
making her one of two administrative officers with the department. Pat
recalled the progress of our Fire District from the early days of everyone
pitching in (some without benefit of training) to the professional training
system we now have in place. In 1978, beepers became a part of the system
and the Pine Brook Fire Department changed to a Fire Protection District.
That meant that the budget would be funded by tax levies.
The Palmers helped our district to attain an
Insurance Services Organization rating of 6, benefiting our individual
insurance rates. The city of Boulder has a rating of 4; an unrated district
is rated at 10. The ISO of 6 means, among other things, that all homes are
within one thousand feet of a water hydrant. This is very good for a
mountain community. We are thankful for the Palmers and others who worked
for that.
The Palmers don’t take retirement quietly. They
are both very accomplished race walkers and compete in the Rocky Mountain
Senior Games (age 55 and over) and the National Senior Sports Organization
Games. Pat finished third in her age category in the 1993 Bolder Boulder.
Competing with the runners, her race walking time was 81 minutes! Pete came
in ninth in his age group. In the ’89 and ’91 National Senior Games, Pat
won a silver medal in race walking. They are both looking forward to the
August Rocky Mt. Senior Games in Greeley.
Individually, they keep busy too. Pete, retired
from the Geological Society of America, has been volunteering on a ten-year
project for them developing a 40-volume anniversary set entitled
Decade of North American Geology. Close to completion, it has
involved approximately 2,000 volunteers. Pete has an interest in the
geology of PBH and has, in the past, given PB residents a field trip and
video presentation entitled, “Our Earth Has a History.” If any
of you would be interested in asking Pete to do this again, please call me.
The Palmers have done a major remodeling of their
home to accommodate a lab and prep room for another of Pete’s interests, his
research as a Cambrian paleontologist for the Institute of Cambrian
Studies. In other words, he loves fossils from the earliest geologic period
of the Paleozoic era.
Pat keeps herself busy as a Board member for a
couple of nonprofit organizations, one of which is the Parish Resource
Center. As one of six in the United States, this organization provides
professional consulting and training to member churches. Pat also has an
interest in theatre and does monologues, one-woman shows. She especially
enjoys doing pieces on aging from the book Green Winter.
This talented, energetic couple have five grown
children scattered throughout the US and Canada. None of the five live in
PBH but they come here for visits and all were home for the memorable
Christmas blizzard of ’82. Pat and Pete are permanently planted in PBH and
continue to recruit for our Fire District. In fact, Pat, as “Chief
Recruiter of PBH,” just found two more volunteers at the last social. We
are lucky to have such selfless volunteers as the Palmers. They have truly
contributed many hours of personal time and talent for the benefit of our
community. We say thanks for the many years serving our Fire District and
being such fine role models for the rest of us. Give them a pat on the back
the next time you see them!
From the Pine Brook Press, Summer, 1994 |
