About the Author
Thomas J. Noel received his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Tom is a professor of history at CU-Denver and director of Public History, Preservation & Colorado Studies. He is a National Register reviewer for Colorado, a board member of the Colorado Historical Society, and author of Building of Colorado (Oxford Univ. Press, 1997), Mile High City: An Illustrated History (Historic Denver, Inc. & Heritage Media Corp., 1997), and with co-author Dan Corson, Boulder County: An Illustrated History(Historic Boulder, Inc. & Heritage Media Corp.). Tom's books include The Colorado Almanac (Graphic Arts Publishing), Historical Atlas of Colorado (Univ. of Oklahoma Press), Colorado: A Liquid History & Tavern Guide (Golden: Fulcrum Pub.CO.) and a dozen other works. His writing, teaching and tours have captured national prizes from the American Society for State and Local History and the American Institute of Architects, as well as the Dana Crawford Award for Historic Preservation and the Thomas Hornsby Ferril Prize for Lifetime Literary Achievements. Tom writes the "Dr. Colorado" column for the Saturday Rocky Mountain News.
Ron D. Sladek, a fourth-generation Coloradan, is a professional historian who did his graduate work at the University of Colorado. Ron, the founder and president of Fort Collins-based Tatanka Historical Associates, Inc., does cultural resource consulting throughout the West. He has researched, written and overseen numerous local and National Register nominations, led walking tours and obtained more than $1 million in preservation grant funds for clients. Ron and his wife, Toni, and their three youngsters, Sam, Maia and Sara, live in Fort Collins. Ron can be seen touring Fort COllins and the back roads of Larimer County behind the wheel of his restored 1957 DeSoto.