August 17, 2003
Contacts: Pat Jorgenson 970-535-4294
Pauli Smith 970-535-4936
News Release
From Blues to Polka and Swing, Area Bands Will Provide Music, Saturday, at Highlandlake Hey Day
Editors Note: Highlandlake is the correct, official spelling, in this instance. For background on the Highlandlake Church, see your files or call the above contacts.
Mead, CO --- Three area bands will provide music Saturday afternoon at the Highlandlake ‘Hey Day’, Saturday, August 23, at the lake on Weld County Road 5,
one mile west of Mead. The day-long event is being held to raise funds for the structural renovation of the Highlandlake Church, which was damaged by the heavy
snows of this year’s March blizzard.
The music will begin at noon, with the “Good News Blues,” of Longmont, an eight-piece band that offers blues with a Christian slant. The leader of “Good News
Blues” is Bill Wilkenson, who plays bass guitar and who is also the director of the Silver Creek High School band. Tom Clements of Longmont plays drums with
“Good News.”
From 3 to 5 p.m., “Bob Schmer and the River Boys” will take the stage with a mixture of polka and country music. Jerry Hergenreder, who grew up in the
Highlandlake/Mead area, plays accordion in the band. Davey Beitz, Longmont, plays dulcimer, and Steve Dines of Ault, plays bass guitar. Bob Schmer is from
Scottsbluff, Neb.
There will be a musical break from 5 to 6 p.m., to allow, “Common Ground” to set up for the evening entertainment. “Common Ground” plays jump, swing and blues
music. The leader, Gary Hamon of Mead, plays upright bass; Robert Gibson Taylor, Del Camino, plays guitar and sings; Jeremiah Horner, Longmont, plays
keyboard; and Larry Hill, Loveland, plays drums. The group has become popular at Abbodanza’s Pizza, in Longmont, where they hold an open jam session, every
Tuesday evening.
All three bands will perform at the north end of the Highlandlake concession stand, with a covered area for dancing or just sitting and listening.
In addition to the bands, there will be numerous other diversions for visitors to the event. The day will begin at 7 a.m., with hot-air balloon rides, and a fishing contest
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Other attractions are a paddleboat race, lawn games, miniature steam train rides for kids, and a 100-mile “poker run” for motorcycles and
classic cars.
Food will be available all day, beginning with a pancake breakfast, from 8 to 10 a.m., prepared by area volunteers. Throughout the day and early evening,
sandwiches, snacks, drinks and desserts will be available from the Highland Lake concession stand and the Mead Cafe booth, with all profits donated to the church
restoration fund.
Funds raised by the event will be used to help pay for structural reinforcement of the 107-year-old church, which was damaged by the weight of heavy snow on the roof,
which caused all four walls of the wooden church to bow, and the entire structure to shift on its stone foundation.
A total of $200,000 is needed to pay for the repairs. Grants from the Colorado State Historical Society, amounting to $150,000, are being applied for, but those
grants require that 25 percent of the total, or $50,000, be donated by the private sector. To date, $15,000 has been received, according to Carla Brossman, treasurer
of Historic Highlandlake Church, Inc. (HHCI), the organization responsible for the maintenance of the church. The group has until Feb. 1, 2004 to raise the additional
$35,000, according to Pauli Smith, a member of HHCI who is preparing the grant applications.
Highlandlake began as a spring-fed buffalo wallow that was dammed to hold irrigation water for the Highlandlake Reservoir Company, and for more than 100
years the lake has served as a recreation area and community center for southwestern Weld County. The church and lake were used in the filming of the
movie, Die Hard II, starring Bruce Willis.
In addition to attending the Highlandlake Hey Day on August 23, tax-exempt donations, payable to Historic Highlandlake, Inc., may be sent to HHCI treasurer,
Carla Brossman, at 1794 WCR 34, Mead, CO 80542.
This page was updated on November 1, 2009