EVERGREEN, Colo. — His footprint is everywhere. He touched everything in Evergreen.
You could say that Evergreen's middle name is Hank Alderfer. He died just days before Christmas Day. But his legacy lives on through his dedication to the Colorado outdoors.
"For Hank, it was preservation," said Peter Eggers.
Eggers has been on the board of the Evergreen Parks and Recreation Department on and off for 24 years. He's known Hank for close to 50 years.
"He wanted to make sure the open spaces were available to everyone. He was growing a community responsive to its citizens, giving them what they want and making people feel seen and wanted. That was his goal. A founding father of Evergreen," Eggers said.
At a downtown Evergreen coffee shop called Java Groove, three Evergreen historians met and talked about Hank's vision.
Hannah Hayes said that his footprint is everywhere. She wrote the book called "Yesteryear," a compilation of Hank's columns from the Canyon Courier newspaper.
"He was a topographical map, a genealogist, an historian and a land preservationist," she said.
With a smile, Greg Walz and Pete Anderson said Hank was no flash in the pan.
"He continued his whole life doing public service. We owe him a debt of gratitude in Jefferson County," Walz said.
They talked about Three Sisters Park, how it's nationally famous, and that people come from all over to hike it. Hank donated the land to make sure it stayed as an open space for visitors to enjoy — like Marcus and Jeremy, visiting from Oklahoma. It's their third time back.
"Everybody should have the opportunity to be able to appreciate something like this and it's great that someone who is part of the community, who knows everyone, gives back to said community," Marcus said. "Hopefully, I can achieve the same things in my life."
