See a slide show featuring your friends and neighbors profiled in the first week of Portrait.
STORIES
Farmhouse to steakhouse When The Packing Shed, 351 W. Eighth St., in Palisade opened in June 2004, owner Bruce Jensen already was dreaming about opening a steakhouse in the old farmhouse that sat back on the same property.Flying high Peering down on a landscape threatened with change, Bruce Gordon is flying to make a difference.Movie man Its a Thursday evening at the Avalon Theatre in downtown Grand Junction, and Bryan Wade is doing something rare.Guitar hero Occasionally chords from a guitar lesson at Starrs Guitars in Cedaredge waft downstairs. Like stew cooking in a slow cooker, the music warms the whole place up.Mr. Politics John Redifers deep passion for politics began literally at the dinner table.True innovation On a midwinter morning carrying a wind almost as cold as the national economy, Konrad Kraulands warm smile was more welcome than usual.Love of the land GLENWOOD SPRINGS When Martha Cochran recently set out to write a book, she found her subjects to be people who generally have little to say about themselves.Head of the table People notice when Donna Gardner enters the room. That may be because the 76-year-old woman with a head of carefully coiffed white hair poised above her small stature is likely to beat them at their own game.Solar power The year was 1979. Jimmy Carter was president. Virgil Boggess had moved to the Grand Valley from Evergreen with his wife and was looking for a new career.Palisade's social salon A glance out the window to see whos pulling up to her home-based hair salon west of Palisade sets Ruby Stewart into motion.Something to talk about Retirement isnt a topic Beth Carlucci talks about much.From Katrina and disaster to Fruita and doohickeys Dawn OGrady is rebuilding her life one colorful block, toy doll and piggy bank at a time.This isn't the job 'to sugar coat anything' For most of us, well probably never meet Steve Stogsdill unless its one of the worst days of our life, when a loved one dies.Police pride Terri Gird tends to like a guy in uniform.Dr. Design From the observation platform of the steel tower that rises above the Museum of the West in downtown Grand Junction, you can see the past, the present and the future.Passionate advocate You cant miss Steve Laiche.One door closes, another opens Anne Hart came to the Grand Valley six years ago without intentions of opening her own business, but fate surprised her by opening a door she never would have expected.Youthfulness at its finest It was blowing off his boss to go to lunch on Aug. 3 13 years ago that landed Curt Martin where he is today.Keeping up with Dean Paul can be a chore Follow Dean Paul around for a week. Just try to keep up.Turning the page Nature or nurture is no debate with Maxine Curley.'He is truly genuine' When Dan Hooper Jr. moved to Grand Junction as a 7-year-old, his father took a job as pastor of a 19-member church. ¶Official Warrior Randy Powell always has a lot on his plate, whether its his day job, night job or hobbies.Thrift store ladies make Palisade a home away from home for migrants Every year the orchards in Palisade and on East Orchard Mesa blossom, bringing prosperity to Grand Valley farmers and a bounty of fresh produce to the rest of us.Rebeca Barnes uses her history to help the future of her students Rebeca Barnes has been through too much to look at things pessimistically.The king of everything At the start of a concert, Charles King flashes his toothy grin to the packed bar and the song starts with sound rising in his belly, it builds in the lungs, moves up his throat and bursts from his lips like a burp that tastes like rock n roll.Dr. Sports Dick Bell was a practicing lawyer and professor, when he saw an ad in an airline magazine and discovered his true passion.New director hopes to expand appeal of downtown GJ Every time Heidi Hoffman Ham peers outside her office window, the executive director of the Grand Junction Downtown Development Authority sees one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Grand Valley.Forget the couch, give Jose Iglesias a mountain Jose Iglesias is as comfortable climbing a mountain as he is walking around his house.24 years later and still sacking lunches Janet Mossburg said she hated packing lunches for her own kids.One sly fox Dave Fox is one of the enduring faces of coaching in the Grand Valley.A girl and her golden horn If marching band was easy, they would have called it football.Fit and healthy at age 60 At 60 years old, Sheryl VanHole claims she has never been healthier or more physically fit.If you need him, he'll be walking the dogs Most people love animals, but there may be no one who loves them as much as Robert Anthony.A real science to it all Rick Dujay has more past lives than uranium has half-lives, or so it seems.A match made in Metropolis On their honeymoon to Metropolis, Ill., where they reveled in the annual Superman Celebration and met the original Lois Lane, Kyle and Mandy Hagerman thought they had glimpsed a gem.Everybody knows his name -- Really! Hi, Im Tater. How are you doinngg, buddy?
