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*** R O C K
Y M O U N T A I N H I G H
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The John Denver Internet Fan
Club
Monthly Newsletter
M A R C H 2 0 0 7
Editor: Emily M. Parris
Table of Contents
March
2007 * Issue #155
John Denver
Events..........................2
"John Denver's Crash Site Could Get
Memorial"
- Monterey Herald...............5
"Rocky Mountain High" as State Song
Denver
Post...............................6
"I Am The Eagle" by Carole
Romanowski.......7
"Christopher Westfall Returns to Aspen"
by
Judy Therrien.......................8
John Denver
Notes...........................8
Poetry Corner
"For John" by Will
Schuck.................9
John Denver Want
Ads.......................10
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J O H N D E N V E R E V
E N T S
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March 3, 2007 - UK - Concert by Neil & Gill
Sharman
"10 Years On - Remembering John Denver" at Ossett Town
Hall,
Wakefield, West Yorkshire 7:30pm
http://www.timberwolf-studios.com
March 4, 2007 * Palm Desert, CA * Judy Lunn sings
a Tribute
to John Denver 2:00pm / 73-300 Fred Waring Drive /
Admission
is free but seating is limited. Call the Palm
Desert Library 760-346-6552
x253 to reserve your seat.
http://www.judylunn.com
March 16, 2007 * Ijamsville, Maryland * The
"Friends With
You" Band (Mark Cormican, Chris Collins, Kevin
Delmolino,
Paul Swanton & Dave Howard) will perform a Tribute to
John Denver. Info: Kevin Delmolino (301) 845-6120
March 17, 2007 * Buckeystown, Maryland * The
"Friends With
You" Band will perform a Tribute to John Denver.
Info:
Kevin Delmolino (301) 845-6120
April 1, 2007 * Largo, Florida - "Rocky Mountain
Memories"
Concert, a Tribute to John Denver featuring Ron Rich and
the
Stone Tree band, shows at 2pm and 7pm at the Largo
Cultural Center. Tickets
$22 (727) 587-6793
www.largoarts.com
April 14, 2007 * Houston, Texas * The "Friends
With You" Band
will perform a Tribute to John Denver. For more
information
contact Hollie Carter holliecwoodstock@aol.com
April 28, 2007 - Altadena, CA - "The Earth Day
Concert 2007"
featuring Phil Christie, Mike Valentine, Ellen &
Steve
Stapenhorst 7:00pm - The Coffee Gallery Backstage,
2029 N. Lake
/ Altadena, CA $15 (626) 398-7917
www.philchristie.com * www.coffeegallery.com
April 28, 2007 - Churchville, PA - "An Evening of
John Denver
and Chris Westfall Music" $10 requested donation
Churchville Nature center / 501 Churchville Lane /
Churchville, PA (215)
357-4005
http://www.churchvillenaturecenter.org
April 28, 2007 * UK * In Concert: "Nickels &
Dimes" from
Holland at Walton Village Hall, Walton on the Hill,
Stafford 7:30pm Tickets: L10 (including light refreshments)
For tickets
please send a sae and a cheque made payable to
R. Gwilt to 29 Oldcroft
Road, Walton on the Hill,
Stafford ST17 OLS * < info@nickels-and-dimes.com
>
http://www.nickels-and-dimes.com
May 4-5, 2007 * UK * Pete Huttlinger, Mack Bailey
& Chris
Nole in a 2-night special John Denver Tribute / Tickets:
Check or cash to Jackie Freeman, Feet First, 53 High St.,
Stokesley, North
Yorks, TS9 5AD include SAE
Venue is Kirkby Church Hall, Kirkby in
Cleveland, North
Yorkshire (Near Stokesley) Info: 01642 713575 or
714061
May 12, 2007 - Atlanta, GA - The "Friends With You
Band" has
added a new concert to the tour. 7:30pm. Chris, Mark, Paul
and Kevin will peform for the benefit of "Spirit of a Child
Foundation."
$20 UU Metro Atlanta North Church /
11420 Crabapple Road / Roswell, GA
30075
holliecwoodstock@aol.com or stephdubick@aol.com
May 25, 2007 - Londonderry, NH - "Friends With
You: A John
Denver Tribute" 8:00pm Chris Collins, Mark Cormican, Kevin
Delmolino and Paul Swanton will perform many of Denver's
tunes as well as
their own compositions. $15
Tupelo Music Hall * http://www.tupelohall.com *
888-688-7356 Info: Richard info@nhfjd.org
August 18, 2007 * Estes Park, CO * Fourth Annual
Estes Park
John Denver Tribute Concert / Estes Park Fair Grounds /
Fiddlin' Foresters 5:30pm / Brad and Kathy Fitch and the
TropiCowboy Band
7:00pm $15 in advance $20 at the door
Children 10 and under free http://www.cowboybrad.com
September 1, 2007 * Fort Collins, CO / Brad and
Kathy Fitch
and the TropiCowboy Band 7:00pm Fort Collins Senior
Center,
1200 Raintree Drive near the intersection of Drake and
Shields. $15 (970) 221-6645 http://www.cowboybrad.com
September 22, 2007 - UK - Concert by Neil &
Gill Sharman
plus Special Guest "10 Years On - Remembering John
Denver" at the Wheatsheaf Co-Operative Theatre, Wyken,
Coventry http://www.timnberwolf-studios.com
October 10, 2007 * Aspen, CO * "Friends With You"
Concert *
Aspen Community Church / 200 E. Bleeker St / Aspen, CO
81611
* 7:30pm Tickets: $10 Send a check & SASE to
Sharon Carr / PO Box 912
/ Yucaipa, CA 92399
Band members: Mark Cormican, Chris Collins, Kevin
Delmolino,
Paul Swanton & Dave Howard. Info: alaskanchild@msn.com
October 11, 2007 * Aspen, CO * John Willcox will
present his
1970's John Denver video "Alaska: America's Child" and
share
photos taken during the filming at a fund-raising luncheon
Pine
Creek Cookhouse www.pinecreekcookhouse.com /
More info - Jennifer: windwalker@samsco.org
Note: **
This event is SOLD OUT **
October 11-13, 2007 - Aspen, CO - 10th Annual "A
Musical
Tribute to John Denver" - Wheeler Opera House
Thursday,
Friday, Saturday
October 13, 2007 * Aspen, CO * "Let This Be A
Voice" Concert /
Lunch / Auction 9:30am - 2:30pm at the Mt. Chalet $25
for
the lunch/concert/auction or $15 for just the auction and
concert. eagleshorses@yahoo.com Send a
check/m.o. & SASE
to Pam Beasley / 721 Ravencroft Dr / Garland, TX
75043
Pam's email: firendsky@mac.com
October 14, 2007 * Aspen, CO * John Adams and
Friends -
"Rocky Mountain High" - Wheeler Opera House 7:00pm
Tickets:
$20.00 and $35.00 (on sale July 2, 2007) at the
Wheeler Box Office (970)
920-5770 Band members include:
Guido Bos, Tom Paxton, Diane Ireland, Rusty
Speigle, Dave
Harding, and Randy Utterback. www.wheeleroperahouse.com
October 14, 2007 - Aspen, CO - Christopher
Westfall presents
"A John Denver Musical Retrospective" - Mt. Challet
Ballroom
8:00pm For tickets send SASE to: Tickets, CRW Concert
c/o
Judy Therrien / 12 Dunecrest Avenue / Monterey, CA
93940 * jht@spamarrest.com * www.chriswestfall.com
Branson, MO - Monday thru Saturday 10:00am * NEW
*
"Rocky Mountain High: A Tribute to John Denver"
James Garrett sings
John Denver's best-loved hits.
IMAX Little Opry Theatre / 3562 Shepherd of
the Hills
Expressway / Branson, MO 65616 (800) 419-4832
<*> <*> <*> <*>
<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>
<*>
"John Denver's Crash Site Could Get
Memorial"
Pacific Grove: Family, fans push city for plaque
Montery
Herald
By DANIA AKKAD
Herald Staff Writer
A permanent tribute to musician John Denver may
soon be
built on the shoreline near where his plane plummeted
into
Monterey Bay nearly 10 years ago.
The Pacific Grove City Council
has been asked by the
California Friends of John Denver and Denver's family
to place
a memorial rock between Acropolis Street and Asilomar Avenue
near
Point Pinos.
The request for a memorial has come before the city
twice
before. Soon after Denver's plane crashed Oct. 12, 1997, the
City
Council rejected a proposal. Some members said they
didn't want Denver's
death to attract tourists to the town.
In 1999, the council changed course
and approved the plaque,
but plans were put on hold at the request of the
singer's
family, according to city officials.
On Friday, Denver's older
brother Ron Deutschendorf said he
is "totally supportive" of the plaque and
appreciates fans who
gather each October at the spot in Pacific Grove. The
group
often walks along the coastline and performs beach cleanups.
"I
think it's a wonderful thing," Deutschendorf said. "It
certainly honors John
and what he believed in and talked so
much about."
Deutschendorf, who
is the president and chairman of the
board of Windstar Foundation, an
environmental education
organization Denver started, said he worked with an
artist to
create a likeness of his brother for the plaque.
Deutschendorf
said he hopes lyrics from Denver's "Windsong" will be on
the
plaque.
"The Wind is the whisper of our mother the Earth.
The Wind is the hand of our father of the sky.
The wind watches over our
struggles and pleasures,"
Deuschendorf sang over the phone. "It's a really
pretty song.
It has some beautiful lyrics that seemed appropriate."
Deutschendorf stressed that the plaque is really the work
of Denver's
friends. "Everybody else is responsible for
putting this together," he said.
"I've just done my part to do
it correctly."
The California Friends of
John Denver would pay for the
plaque's installation and upkeep, according to
a council
report.
When the council votes on the plaque, it will also
decide
whether to hold a plaque commemoration Sept. 23, 2007.
City
recreation director John Miller said Friday that the family
requested
that the plaque be unveiled before the anniversary
of Denver's crash so that
the focus is on his life, not on his
death. Denver had lived in Carmel
Highlands for about a year
before his crash.
Moe Ammar, executive
director of the Pacific Grove Chamber
of Commerce, said at least two people a
week call or come by
his office searching for the site of the crash. Some
want to
say prayers. "We've had people from Australia, New Zealand
and
England," Ammar said. Ammar acknowledged that there's a
certain
sentiment that people don't want to commercialize the
oceanfront, "but in
this case, it's such a good cause. He's
such a good person."
"I just
think that it's a good thing for the city," Miller
said. "It's a good thing
for the family to put closure on that
and something also to remember John by.
It was a very sad day
in Pacific Grove when that happened."
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"'Rocky Mountain High' As State Song?"
Denver Post 3/6/07
Aspen - A lawmaker wants to make John Denver's "Rocky Mountain
High"
Colorado's second state song, saying the official song
just isn't as
memorable. "You hear a few bars of John Denver
and you recognize it"
Democratic state Sen. Bob Hagedorn told
the Aspen Daily News in today's
editions.
The current state song is a turn-of-the-century
waltz,
"Where the Columbines Grow" by A.J. Flynn. "That's not a song
that
a lot of Coloradans know or can hum the lyrics to said
Hagedorn, who
represents the Denver suburb of Aurora.
Hagedorn wants to introduce
legislation this month that
would make "Rocky Mountain High" an official
state song
without displacing "Where The Columbines Grow". He said most
of
the copyright arrangements have been made and now he is
trying to line up
support in the state Senate and House.
Denver, who lived in Aspen, died
in a plane crash near
Monterey, Calif., on October 12, 1997. His brother,
Ron
Deutschendorf, supports Hagedorn's idea, saying Denver would
have been
"proud and honored." "It's been discussed for a
period of time, and this year
is the 10 year anniversary of
his accdient," Deutschendorf said.
This
is not the first attempt to supplement or change the
state song. In November
1997, just one month after Denver's
death, then fourth-grader Kari Neuman
enlisted her classmates
at Johnson Elementary School in Fort Collins in
a
letter-writing campaign to change the official state song to
Denver's
"Rocky Mountain High." The kids thought it reflected
the state's heritage
more than the official song.
In February 1998, students from Kruse
Elementary School in
Fort Collins also weighed in, trying to change the song
to
"The Colorado Song", written in 1966 by the musical troupe "Up
With
People." No bills were introduced to change the song.
<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>
<*> <*> <*>
Recently the Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining, NY and
12 other
organizations sponsored the NY State Hudson River
Eaglefest which I had been
to a few years ago and wanted to
visit again! Nearly 400 bald eagles, mostly
from Canada,
winter there in the Lower Hudson Valley.
My interest in
this event developed from John Denver's
autobiography, "Take Me Home", when
John had his first
experience holding an eagle. The eagle stared at him for
20
seconds - John felt the power in that look - as if the
connection was
"seeing into each other's spirit." When the
eagle then closed his eyes -
dismissing John! - John was
humbled and learned to be "grounded by nature"
from the
experience. He subsequently wrote his song, "Eagle and the
Hawk",
and another eagle fan - me! - was born.
From my visit, I learned the
American bald eagle has
recovered greatly since the '70's - statewide, 442
individual
bald eagles were recorded and last year 112 breeding pairs -
a
record year for these creatures - and the eagle is likely to
be removed
from the federal Endangered Species List by June
29th of this year. A large
part of this is due to the banning
of DDT in 1972, a pesticide used by
farmers and others which
weakened eagle eggs to crack, lowering the number of
the
species being born.
I also learned the proximity of humans and
their activities
near the species is at the center of a controversy
over
eagles' removal from the endangered list. The US Fish and
Wildlife
Service, which oversees most of the endangered
species, is developing
guidelines to allow people to properly
use land where an eagle roosts, hunts
or nests. This affects
what developers can do in or near bald eagle habitats
to
prevent habitat loss. Eagles and their eggs, nests and
feathers are
fully protected, and taking, killing or
possessing eagles is illegal.
A
representative from a nearby Raptor Center held a
beautiful bald eagle for
all of us to get a closer look - what
a magnificent creature with it's white
head, golden beak, and
dark torso! Eagle fans also went outdoors with
binoculars to
spot perching eagles who, when seen, flew away - obviously
not
people fans!
Thanks, John, for my interest in our nation's symbol.
One
of my dreams is to obtain a raptor glove and sport a bald
eagle on my
arm - and one day I will!
<+> <+> <+> <+> <+> <+>
<+>
"Christopher Westfall Returns to Aspen"
by Judy Therrien
The last time Christopher Westfall sang in Aspen was for
the 5th
John Denver tribute weekend 5 years ago. This year he
will be there again
singing at the "John Denver Musical
Retrospective" on October 14, 2007 at
the Mountain Chalet
Ballroom.
Chris has been performing since he was
15 years old for
fans of John Denver and has moved so many with that
fire
behind his strong pure unique voice. Chris has wowed and
mesmerized
audiences from both sides of the country. He is an
accomplished pianist as
well as a skilled guitar player. This
past summer, Chris cruised to Alaska
and presented several
concerts on the Sapphire Princess Cruise Line on their
inner
passage cruise. Each year, legions of loyal fans flock to
First
Night Haddonfield, NJ for his three concerts there.
Recently, Christopher
presented a huge concert to benefit
Urban Promise, a ministry to help inner
city children.
Christopher's CD with Chris Nole, Pete Huttlinger and Jim
Horn
was released last year to rave reviews and is getting airplay
across
the country. http://www.chriswestfall.com
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J O H N D E N V
E R N O T E S
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Grammy Award
video clips include
John at the 1978 Grammy Awards
http://music.yahoo.com/promo-25023071-147-20051221-
-
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The State of Colorado is
considering making "Rocky Mountain
High" its official state song. Colorado
Governor, Bill
Ritter, has a website: http://www.colorado.gov/governor/
Bill Ritter, Governor
136 State Capitol
Denver, CO
80203
Email: Governor.ritter@state.co.us *
800-283-7215
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-
Jan Carter < jank56@yahoo.com > I read John's
autobiography,
"Take Me Home" quite a few years ago when it was
first
published and enjoyed it a lot. One day in a record store I
happened
to see "Take Me Home" as a recorded book read by John
himself. I picked it up
but didn't get around to listening to
it 'til much later (on a road trip). It
was amazing to hear
John's own voice reading those words, with his
inflection, and
to hear his wonderful laugh. I was just delightful. It
felt
like he was right there. I highly recommend it if you can find
the
recording.
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-
Helen Stanford < helen.stanford@gmail.com >
With
input from another JD fan, I've created a new forum/board
called "Starwood,"
The Spirit of John Denver.
http://starwood.proboards78.com/index.cgi
It's
a different type of venue, well-moderated and for all
fans of John
Denver.
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You
can cast a vote for "Rocky Mountain High" to be the state
song through the
Denver Post:
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5360319?source=poll
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Christine Moon
< fojdclub@fojd.org.uk > Those of you
who
attended our last Denver Day in November (2006) will know that
it was
decided to hold this year's autumn event a little
later, both to avoid
following too closely after people's
return from Aspen, and to enable us to
have something a little
different - a themed Christmas event. So our
Christmas Denver
Day will be held on 15 December 2007. The day will
be
concluded with a special evening Christmas concert by our own
Mark
Robinson, featuring seasonal favourites that were
included in John's
Christmas concerts as well as some of
Mark's own songs. http://www.fojd.org.uk
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For information on how to order the
"Alaska: American Child"
DVD please contact
Jennifer Moore at
windwalker@samsco.org
Order forms
will be available at the Aspen-in-October events
at the Mountain
Chalet.
Note: Christine Moon of the Friends of JD in the UK
provided
the information, but she isn't the one handling the
sale of the DVD's.
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J O H N D E N V E R P O E
T R Y
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For John
by Will Schuck
I'm going to a secret place
That I've always known
Where I see myself
face to face
And escape the self outgrown
There, the sparrow sings of yesterday
As the trees reach for tomorrow's
sun,
And neither lacks faith
Nor say their day has come.
There, John sees truth in eagle and star
He sees forever from the
mountaintops
He knows the sun's twinkling rays
Upon the water on a
summer's day
His voice is one crying in the wilderness
Declaring the allness and
beauty of One,
While trying to understand what it means to love.
John renewed me and now I long
To understand that the soft raiment of
serenity
Is natural to man
_____________________________
Copyright 1998 by Will Schuck
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JOHN DENVER W A
N T A D S / F O R S A L
E
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John Denver Band and
the Columbia Orchestra - CD
from the 2005 John Denver Tribute concert at
the
Wheeler Opera House $20 (plus $2.50 s/h) (Make
checks payable to "The
M.U.S.E. Foundation") to
"Flying Again"
c/o "A Musical Tribute to
John Denver"
102 W Pennsylvania Ave - Suite 504
Towson, MD
21204
www.musicunites.com * Phone:
888-384-5054
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The cd
"The Essential John Denver" was released on
February 27, 2007. $19.97 at http://www.amazon.com
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*************************************************************
Rocky
Mountain High: The John Denver Internet Fan Club
emily@parris.net http://www.rockymtnhigh.org
March
2007 * Issue #155 * Editor: Emily M.
Parris
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