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The Ridgway Railroad Museum Board
The Ridgway Railroad Museum was founded in 1998 by Austin Baer, Terry Blackford, Jim Wing, Greg Posta, John Billings and Karl Schaeffer. Austin Baer served as President from 1999 to 2001. Gregory Posta was president from 2001 to 2006 and Karl Schaeffer served president 2006 to 2022. Hale Houts assumed the role of President in 2023. For a history of the museum see the January and February 2009 Museum Newsletters as well as the Museum's book Railroading in the San Juan Triangle. The Ridgway Railroad Museum is governed by a board of
directors consisting of seven members including
president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer and
three general board members. The current officers as
well as profiles and photos for each of the current
board members are given below: President - Hale Houts Director - James Collier Vice-President - Jim Pettengill Secretary - Position Open Treasurer - Mike Dunphy Don Paulson serves as both the
Newsletter Editor and as Membership Chairman. Karl Schaeffer Craig Fleetham
Karl Schaeffer grew up and went through secondary school in Montrose. He received two degrees from Colorado School of Mines and one from University of Colorado and then married his wife Janet. He worked for the Denver and Rio Grande Western RR for a little over 22 years. Most of his work was in various capacities in the Mechanical Dept up to Assistant Chief Mechanical - Locomotive for the SP/D&RGW RR. Karl retired to Ridgway in 1997 and in 1998 became one of the founders of the Ridgway Railroad Museum which he now serves as president. He became a volunteer with the Telluride Adaptive Ski Program where he has have been an instructor/trainer for 10 years. Karl built a recreation of RGS Motor No. 1 and was the lead restorer on RGS Goose No 4. Both run occasionally at the Ridgway Railroad Museum.
Rod Bunyard has loved trains since receiving a Lionel train set as a child. He switched to modeling HO scale in high school in Colorado Springs. After graduating from Fort Lewis College in Durango, he became a displaced Coloradoan by moving to Kansas City, Mo, to work for the Social Security Administration. After retirement Rod returned to western Colorado, moving to Montrose in 2003 and worked several years as a handyman. After retiring again, Rod helped in the restoration of Motor Number 4 and was selected to be lead motorman for Motor Number 1 at Goosefest in Golden in 2012. He currently serves as president of the model railroad club in Montrose. Rod and his wife Judy enjoy traveling with their travel trailer and visiting train museums and model railroads and riding tourist trains wherever they go.
Jim Pettengill grew up near Spencerport, New York, attended college in Meadville, Pennsylvania and Flagstaff, Arizona, and worked as a geologist for the U. S. Department of the Interior for 27 years before retiring to Ridgway. Now he is an active freelance writer and photographer. His great-grandfather was a locomotive engineer for the Atlantic and Great Western; Erie; and Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh railroads from 1870 through his retirement in 1910. Jim is currently vice-president of the museum.
Don Paulson: After receiving his Ph.D. from
Indiana University and a post-doctoral fellowship at
the University of Chicago, Don joined the faculty of
California State University, Los Angeles in 1970. He
chaired the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
from 1982 through 1990 and retired from Cal State LA
in 2006. He and his wife Beth began coming to Ouray on
vacations in the 1980s and built their home here in
1999. Don has a passion for mining and railroads. He
is on the Board of the Ouray County Historical Society
and serves as the museum curator. In his spare time he
enjoys photography as well as hiking and jeeping in
search of yet another mine or railroad right-of-way.
Craig Fleetham: Born and raised
in California, Craig and his wife Joyce moved to
Montrose upon retirement in
2012. A train enthusiast since getting is first
toy train in his early childhood, he has been
model railroading off and on ever since. Once in
Montrose, he joined the local model railroad
club, where he is currently Secretary/Treasurer
and shortly thereafter became a volunteer and
joined the museum. He is now a Life Member of the
museum. He has been active as a
volunteer having helped in the construction of
track, restoration of car 252 and a number of
other projects. He is currently the Train Master,
helping schedule operations. He operates
equipment during open house days and tours as well
as training new operators and providing
docent services.
 Hale Houts: Hale grew up in Glen Ellyn, Illinois and received a BBA degree from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. He worked for Ford Motor Credit Co. for 28 years and help various management positions around the country. After retirement he relocated to Ridgway, Colorado. Hale’s retirement activities include working at the Ridgway Railroad Museum, woodworking, skiing, bicycling, climbing the via feratta, hiking and coordinating the trail maintenance activities for the Ouray Trail Group. |
