Pioneer of Year Sundberg brings life to history

By Dan MacArthur
North Forty News

Wayne Sundberg has earned his unofficial title of "Mr. Fort Collins History."

The foremost authority on the city's heritage has dedicated his life to imparting his passion for the past to generations of students who anointed him with the title.

But beyond his encyclopedic knowledge, what sets Sundberg apart is his emphasis on the human element. He's convinced that it's the people who bring life to the dry dates and facts that can otherwise induce sleep.

His dedication and skill as a scholar, author, activist and teacher have earned him numerous awards, most recently as the Pioneer Association's Pioneer of the Year.

A Volkswagen Squareback brought the Michigan native west in 1966, Sundberg joked in his dry-as-dust demeanor. He had earned an education degree from Central Michigan University just the previous year following a tour in the Navy and was on a quest for graduate studies.

Sundberg came to Fort Collins after a series of calamities blocked his admission to that other university in Boulder. It proved to be a fortuitous event.

He landed a job teaching a swarm of subjects including history and geography at Lincoln Junior High School, where he remained until retiring in 1993.

Sundberg said he loved the old school, located at the current site of the Lincoln Center, and its diverse mix of students. He had to turn away when his old classroom was leveled as the original Lincoln was demolished to make way for the civic center.

It was then he became active in establishing the Landmarks Preservation Commission, serving as its chairman for the first three years. The LPC then was engaged in an underdog effort to preserve historic structures increasingly falling to bulldozers, clearing way for bright modern buildings that were bigger and better suited to accommodating the city's exponentially increasing population.

Prominent historic banks, schools, churches and homes kept falling until "all of the sudden people kind of woke up," said Sundberg.

After victories saving the Avery House, preventing a street extension that would have decimated Old Town, and establishing Old Town Square, historic preservation gained a place at the table during development discussions.

But the struggle continues today. Sundberg said it appears likely the last surviving "beet shack" in the Buckingham neighborhood soon will bite the dust. It is the last of 13 built by the Fort Collins Sugar Co. to house the German-Russians who immigrated to this region at the turn of the last century to homestead and work in the sugar factories.

Despite a determined effort, Sundberg said, no site suitable for relocation has been found.

"We fought a good fight, but I think we're going to lose it," he said.

While it's a disappointment, Sundberg necessarily has developed a sense of resignation about the historic structures that got away.

"You can't save everything," he said. "There have to be some practical reasons for saving things." But at the same time he laments that every loss diminishes the physical record of how the city evolved.

"If you tear that down, once it's gone it's gone," he said.

In addition to his pioneering work in historic preservation, Sundberg also was an original organizer of the Fort Collins Municipal Railway, which was responsible for restoring a portion of the city's trolley line. He continues to serve as a conductor and public face for the nationally recognized rolling historic landmark.

The Colorado Historical Society recognized Sundberg's research and writing with an award for his second book, "Fort Collins First Waterworks." His previous book, "Historic Fort Collins," earned the Fort Collins Historical Society's Research and Writing Award.

The Colorado Education Association and Poudre School District have honored Sundberg for his enthusiastic efforts in introducing thousands of junior high school students to Fort Collins' rich history. Sundberg also taught Colorado history for 20 years as an affiliated professor at Colorado State University. He takes great satisfaction in noting that he is the only one ever to earn a master's degree in the history of Colorado and the Southwest from CSU after persuading colleague Liston Leyendecker to sponsor him in the custom-tailored program.

Still going strong at 72, Sundberg continues conducting tours and volunteering with the museum and the Avery House Guild. He also is active in ongoing efforts to preserve the waterworks and organize the annual cemetery stroll.

His family is the only thing Sundberg treasures more than his work to foster an appreciation for history. He hopes his efforts will help future generations realize that history really matters in "making us what we are today."

"We're talking about our heritage," said Sundberg, "where did we come from, why are we here."