Loveland in Larimer County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)
"Home Town"
A Loveland Story In Honor Of
| — | Mary Erdley Shaffer and Henry Kennedy Shaffer | — |
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 30, 2026
1. "Home Town" Marker
We drove down Derby Hill, which used to curve and then come down. Here was this valley with Loveland in it. I can remember Mother saying, "Henry, this is where we are going to live. This is beautiful!"
— Ruth Shaffer McEwen
My mother was very creative - drawing the Tudor plans for the Grant house, designing and hand stitching my gown I wore at my college senior piano recital. With her sense of thrift she cut open envelopes and that was our scratch paper to do our homework. On the butcher paper the meat came in, she would make house plans.
It was an age of innocence because we could go anyplace without fear of any danger. Music was everywhere in Loveland. We had an award winning high school symphony performing Beethoven and Schubert, with the chorus, the cantata "Pan on a Summer Day.” My sister Glada May played violin. The Loveland Boys Band did summer concerts in West Side Park. When the band attended the Worlds Fair in Chicago, my little brother, H.K. Jr., who performed on drums at age 10, was the band spotlight. To finish the silent movie matinees at the Rialto Theater I'd take the organist's place and follow
this page online
Everyone, it seemed, had a cherry tree. In the spring the beauty of the orchards west of town was breathtaking - red soil, black trunks and an umbrella froth of white blossoms.
Raising sugar beets happened on most surrounding farms. Our mothers made clothing out of sugar sacks. You'd see "Great Western Sugar" printed on the bloomers of kids pumping up on swings at school.
Etched in our constant awareness was the twin profiles of Longs and Meeker [Peaks] - snow capped all year. I taught at Twin Mounds School located east of Loveland on two prominent hills of wheat land. Twin symbols to the west of my home town and twin symbols to the east of my home town.
My father made his own toolbox - long enough to hold saws of every length. I can remember my dad planeing [sic] blonde wooden curls, which we kids picked up, pinned in our hair and became Goldilocks.
On Arbor Day, we planted the Washington Elm that's still up there on Lincoln Avenue.
Our treat was May Day, when we hung baskets filled with candies and spring buds on door knobs as a message of affection. It was a secret.
Lindberg
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 30, 2026
2. "Home Town" Title Marker
King Tut was big news. We dug a tomb on the Lincoln School grounds. We studied the contents of Tut's tomb and duplicated them in miniature using gum wrappers, cigar boxes and the contents of our mothers' sewing machine drawers as source materials.
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George W. Lundeen — Sculptor
Erected 2006.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Settlements & Settlers • Women.
Location. 40° 24.357′ N, 105° 4.762′ W. Marker is in Loveland, Colorado, in Larimer County. It is at the intersection of Grant Avenue and 13th Street, on the right when traveling south on Grant Avenue. Memorial is in Dwayne Webster Veterans Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 400-422 West Eisenhower Boulevard (US Highway 34), Loveland CO 80537, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Front Range. It is also in the American Mountain West. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere,
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 30, 2026
3. "Home Town" Marker Quotation
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Veterans Memorial (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Harold Dwayne Webster (about 400 feet away); Replica of the Statue of Liberty (about 600 feet away); Rialto Theater (approx. 0.8 miles away); Downtown Loveland Historic District (approx. 0.8 miles away); First United Presbyterian Church (approx. 0.8 miles away); Lone Tree School (approx. 1.2 miles away); The Planting of a Sculpture Garden (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Loveland.
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 30, 2026
4. "Home Town" Marker Quote
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 30, 2026
5. "Home Town" Marker
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 30, 2026
6. "Home Town" Marker Quote
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 30, 2026
7. "Home Town" Marker Quote
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 30, 2026
8. "Home Town" Marker Quote
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 30, 2026
9. "Home Town" Marker Quote
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 30, 2026
10. "Home Town" Marker Quote
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 30, 2026
11. "Home Town" Sculpture
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 30, 2026
12. "Home Town" Sculpture
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 30, 2026
13. "Home Town" House
Across from park and sculpture, at 1302 Grant Ave
Credits. This page was last revised on October 29, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 28, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 7 times since then. Photos: 1. submitted on October 29, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 28, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. submitted on October 29, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
