Family Roots and Architecture

I guess I can partly blame my DNA for my passion for historical buildings. My grandfather and my brother are both architects, and my dad might also have practiced that profession if he had not grown up during the Great Depression. My grandfather, Robert E. Seyfarth, worked mostly in the Chicago area for more than 50 years between 1898 and 1950. The photo of the red door at one of his houses is from a website where you can see his designs at http://www.Robertseyfartharchitect.com. Of course I have a bias, but I think his home designs are very graceful. My grandfather got his start working for the architect, George Maher, and you can clearly see Maher's influence in grand dad's earliest designs. Maher was on the cutting edge of Prairie Style architecture. There is a new Maher website at http://www.georgemaher.com. My brother tells me that some of Maher's furniture and interior finishes are very "hot" on the collectible market right now. I wish I had received some of my family's artistic genes; but since I did not, I spend a lot of time and energy studying interesting architecture and analyzing how the designs and materials reflect the values and technologies of their times. I never knew my grandfather--he died before I was born, but I "know" him through his buildings, a lovely legacy he left for me and everyone else.

Wooden Skis and Deep Canyons

If you are a fan of canyon country or old time skiing in Utah, check out these two new books.  I have an inside scoop on both books because the authors are good friends with great stories to tell. In "Wooden Skis",  you can read all about the founding and development of the unparalleled ski area of Alta, Utah. Kim Morton tells the tales of her father, the legendary Chic Morton, and his lasting impact on Alta. Kim has mastered the burden (and honor) of being the child of a famous figure in ski area history, by carving out her own place in the world of skiing. She is a ski professional who was nationally honored as "Ski Instructor of the Year", complete with a rather strangely out-of-place recognition ceremony in New York City.  Do they ski there??  Her book is available on Amazon.  Also at Amazon (thanks to their self-publishing program) is a wry book about the history of Trail Canyon, a beautiful place located southwest of Cortez near the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. This is no nature book.  While it introduces you to the beauty of the country near McElmo Canyon, this volume is full of wonderful anecdotes about the people who have attempted to live in this very demanding place.  The book is called "Trail Canyon: 6 Miles Long, 10,000 Years Deep." The major four instigators of the book, nicknamed the odd quad, share their stories with the help of a local Durango writer. Look for it on Amazon under the title or via the lead writers, Howard "Bud" Poe and Ann Butler.