Drawn to the Mountains: Mid-century Migrants to Steamboat Springs

During the 1960s and 70s, young adults from all over the U.S. were migrating from urban to

rural areas in pursuit of a different life. They were often stereotyped as hippies and ski bums.

Steamboat Springs was one of the small Western towns that experienced an influx of young

adults who mainly wanted to ski in the newly opened ski resort. Some were back-to-the-land

types, some came to start over after a break-up, some followed friends or relatives, some came

because of the music scene, and most came to enjoy skiing and outdoor life. They were drawn to

the Rocky Mountains and the beautiful environment. Many ended up staying and making

significant and lasting contributions to a town and culture made up primarily of ranchers,

cowboys and miners. Drawn to the Mountains contains the life stories of sixteen of these people

who arrived as young adults.

Drawn to the Mountains opens with a Prologue that explains how the authors learned about

Steamboat Springs through meeting, by chance, a couple from Steamboat while living in Iran,

and what inspired them to compose this book. The authors, years later, moved to Steamboat

Springs themselves and, over the years, met many more people who had migrated to Steamboat

as young adults. The Introduction describes the town and valley and the characters. The main

body of the book recounts the life stories of a selection of those who migrated, most written in

first person by the migrants themselves. With humor, wit and grit, they describe their struggles to

find housing, their entrepreneurial efforts to make the Yampa Valley their permanent home, and

their many adventures along the way. Some fit the hippie/ski bum stereotype, for a time, but

most had college degrees and soon grew out of that lifestyle as they created their new careers in

this remote mountain town.The concluding chapter summarizes how these sixteen people made significant contributions to

the development of the city and county through community service - one as a county

commissioner, another by serving on city council, another by serving on the school board,

another by securing grants for the city, several by raising funds and lobbying for historic

preservation, environmental causes, and the arts. Two became college and middle-school

teachers. The artists and musicians contributed to the culture of the area. All of them enriched the

local community with their talents and their efforts confirm the positive impact of these

midcentury migrants. This book fills a gap in the history of Steamboat Springs and the Yampa

Valley - the impact of the midcentury migration of young adults all across America.

Author: Mayling Elizabeth Simpson,Paul Vinson Hebert
Publisher: Four Bears Books
Published: 03/02/2026
Pages: 276
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.82lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.62d
ISBN: 9798994236901

About the Author
Simpson, Mayling Elizabeth: - Dr. Mayling E. Simpson was raised in Ohio and Virginia and graduated from Longwood College in 1968 with a major in biology. She earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of North Carolina. She has been an assistant professor in Population Dynamics at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, a senior technical officer in Community Water Supply and Sanitation at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and a senior technical health advisor for Catholic Relief Services in East Africa. Her career involved both research and developing programs applied in communities. She has lived and worked in Ireland, Iran, Nepal, Switzerland, Serbia, Ethiopia and Kenya. A published author, her publications are found at maylingsimpson.com. She currently lives with her family in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Her most recent book is "Lives Guided by Honor- How VMI Shaped the Class of 1968," published by Kohler Books in Virginia Beach Virginia, in April 2024. She has written extensively for the World Health Organization and Catholic Relief Services.Dr. Mayling E. Simpson was raised in Ohio and Virginia and graduated from Longwood College in 1968 with a major in biology. She earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of North Carolina. She has been an assistant professor in Population Dynamics at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, a senior technical officer in Community Water Supply and Sanitation at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and a senior technical health advisor for Catholic Relief Services in East Africa. Her career involved both research and developing programs applied in communities. She has lived and worked in Ireland, Iran, Nepal, Switzerland, Serbia, Ethiopia and Kenya. A published author, her publications are found at maylingsimpson.com. She currently lives with her family in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Dr. Mayling E. Simpson was raised in Ohio and Virginia and graduated from Longwood College in 1968 with a major in biology. She earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of North Carolina. She has been an assistant professor in Population Dynamics at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, a senior technical officer in Community Water Supply and Sanitation at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and a senior technical health advisor for Catholic Relief Services in East Africa. Her career involved both research and developing programs applied in communities. She has lived and worked in Ireland, Iran, Nepal, Switzerland, Serbia, Ethiopia and Kenya. A published author, her publications are found at maylingsimpson.com. She currently lives with her family in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.Hebert, Paul Vinson: - Dr. Paul V. Hebert was born and raised in Virginia and is a 1968 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) with a major in civil engineering. He holds a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Hebert spent the first half of his career training engineers in water and sanitation in developing countries in Asia and Africa with The World Bank. The second half of his career was with the United Nations (Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) in response to wars, droughts and floods in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He and his family have lived in eight foreign countries and now reside in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Dr. Hebert taught at VMI 2013-2019 and is currently on the board of VMI's Alumni Association.