A fly fisher’s paradise is located 7.5 miles west of Lyons, Colorado, in an area now known as the Button Rock Preserve. Starting in 1928, however, former CU president George Norlin and 13 others owned a ranch in the area they called St. Vrain Ranch.
The community of Lyons dubbed the ranch “The Professors’ Ranch,” as 12 of the ranch’s initial shareholders were CU faculty or administrators. Norlin, whose flies are pictured to the right, had a cabin built on the land. After his academic year in Berlin, Germany, from 1932 to 1933, he wrote several addresses from the cabin regarding his experiences and views of Adolf Hitler.
After graduation ceremonies, Norlin typically brought the commencement speaker up to the ranch for a few days of relaxation.
Photo courtesy Mona Lambracht, CU Heritage Center
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