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The Town of Palmer Lake Web Page has a nice write-up on Estemere.06-Nov-2005 Estemere is the home of Kim and Roger Ward. It is not now, nor is it going to be, a Bed & Breakfast! Many have asked how Kim and I came to Estemere. For several years we had talked about where we wanted to live when I retired from Quartzdyne. We liked Utah and our home in Park City, but we wanted to build a one-level home (because of arthritis limiting our ability to climb in our later years) somewhere else. Park City winters can be rather long. It would be a zero-upkeep house on a no-maintenance lot, like our home in Park City. We had several requirements: 1) it had to be within an hour of a major airport. 2) It had to be near a college. 3) It had to be within an hour of a major hospital. 4) The climate must have a moderate humidity and four distinct seasons. Very few locations met these requirements. In April, 1997, Kim attended a meeting at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. Since we had lived in Loveland, Colorado, (about 110 miles north) from 1979-1980, Kim remembered how much we liked Colorado. But, we hadn't spent any time around "The Springs," and realizing that The Springs met our requirements, she contacted a real estate agent to show her some raw land around The Springs. She immediately found several lots that she liked, so I took a long Fourth of July and we flew out to look around. We spent a day with the real estate agent, then on Monday we went out on our own. We looked at a lot in Palmer Lake, but it was five acres straight up a mountainside. Since it was lunch time, we went into O'Mally's Pub (affectionately called "the Biker Bar") and had a snack. As we left, Kim said, "I love this town. I want to grow old and die here." I said, "You've gotta be kidding." Kim wanted me to drive around town (all five streets). We quickly were in front of a large stone wall with a wrought iron railing atop. Behind it was a tall, unusual yellow house with a red roof. I said, "Wow, look at this place. What's it doing in a small town like this?" There was a hand-lettered "for sale" sign in front of the wall, near the street. Kim wrote down the number but we both knew we would never call on it. About 20 minutes later, we were driving around across the Glen looking at houses and lots. A guy was watering his newly seeded lawn. Kim said let's stop and ask him about the area. I said you've gotta be kidding! You never want to stop and ask anyone anything! Kim said he looks nice. The guy turned out to be Dale Platt, a local developer. After answering several questions, I asked him why he was home on a work day. He said he was semi-retired and that he was taking his son and a friend to Canon City on Tuesday to look for dinosaur bones. He mentioned that his friend was the caretaker for the Estemere Estate. I asked Dale if that was the large yellow house. Dale asked if we would like to see it. Since Kim and I like old houses and antique furniture, we jumped at the chance. Dale tried to call Dan Fraley, the caretaker, but he wasn't home, so Dale had us follow him to Estemere. He showed us around and I was infatuated with the place. Kim kept saying, "You want a zero upkeep place. This place will require infinite work!" After looking around, I asked Dale if he knew the asking price. Dale said that he had been considering buying it himself and thought that Jim Peterson, the owner, would take $600k. I was quite surprised at this "low" price since there were six buildings on 6.5 acres. The next day we met Dan and he told us more about the place and gave us the booklet on Estemere by the Pitts. We read it thoroughly on the plane to Tulsa to visit my mom that day. Dan had invited us to spend a weekend at Estemere so Kim and I came back twice for visits before we made an offer. We closed on Estemere on 02 January 1998. The rest, as they say, is History! |