Revelations ~ December 2019

This is a monthly column helping us to get to know our friends and members in a deeper way. 
We thank Monte High for taking the time to do these in-depth interviews for us.

     Joel Prudhomme was born in Denver, Edgewater to be precise. The family lived in a 500 square feet house that his grandfather built. The kids had to go through their parent’s bedroom and the only bathroom to get to the small room with their bunkbeds. When Joel was four years old the family moved to Kearney, Nebraska – into a 27 room house that his great grandparents built. The kids loved it. You could get lost inside it. And they did. The small town of Kearney was an idyllic setting – Norman Rockwellish. There was a park right down the road where they could go play. Yet, it was difficult for Joel’s dad to make a living because of the lack of jobs for an electrical engineer in Kearney.
 
     Dad got hired on with General Electric as a quality control rep for the Air Force jet plane engines. The Prudhommes moved to Manhattan Beach, California. Once again, the kids loved it – the beach was a wonderful place to explore. Yet, they barely got their feet wet before Dad was transferred to Albuquerque, and bounced from one Air Force Base to another – in Rapid City, South Dakota and then Colorado Springs. When Joel was 10, the family jumped off the caravan. GE transitioned Dad into working with industrial motors, and the family moved back to Denver – Arvada. Despite all the moving, Mom was a loving homemaker and the family activities were always consistent, regardless of where they lived at the time. From here on out Joel’s growing up years would be a more typical, suburban life.

     Joel was sandwiched between two sisters, but it was a different time and he wasn’t around them much. They did girl things and he hung out with the boys in the neighborhood and on various sports teams. He played everything (there were fewer sports to choose from back then) – football, basketball, baseball, and even hockey though it’s played with only a narrow slice of a ball.

     Joel was also a good student and earned a joint scholarship in academics and sports to the University of Colorado, Boulder. He started out as an engineering student, played on the freshman basketball team, and joined a fraternity. During his freshman basketball season Joel soon realized that there simply wasn’t enough time in the day for basketball, his studies and all the facets of college life; so, Joel gave up basketball. And later he discovered that engineering wasn’t a good fit for him. He chose business marketing because it seemed like the most practical choice. Joel was more interested in psychology. He was fascinated with behavioral research. He graduated with a degree in business marketing and a minor in psychology. The plan was to work for a while and then go back to school to study psychology.

     Joel was dead-broke after graduation, so he went to Chicago to live with his older sister and her family. He didn’t get a job offer in business marketing in Chicago, so he took a job as a ticket agent for United Airlines. He thought the free airline travel benefits would be great. This was before computers, so all transactions were paper ones. Re-scheduling canceled flights were done by thumbing through the big multi-airline book and then calling other airlines to see if they had seats available, and then handwriting tickets. Not easy and not much fun when 30 angry people were backed up at your counter!

     After only three months in Chicago, Uncle Sam came calling. I want you for the U.S. Army! It was 1969. Joel was against the Vietnam War. A sociology class, school newspaper articles and student harangues had enlightened Joel on the history of Vietnam and the scenario there. He applied for conscientious objector status through his Episcopalian background. Joel did his required service as a conscientious objector at the University of Colorado Medical Center library. Living in the Capitol Hill area was an eye-opening experience. The urban setting was very diverse. Many of the youngsters were living “alternative lifestyles” and Joel integrated into the community. He was involved in the very first Earth Day celebration in 1970. He met a vivacious, attractive young woman – Kathi. After Joel completed his conscientious objector service, he and Kathi moved to Boulder and got married. The wedding took place in a wildflower field in the foothills of Boulder. It was a simple ceremony. Joel’s close friend Marilyn, an assistant librarian at the CU Medical Center library, is the only person that attended who wasn’t a family member. During this time Joel was doing a lot of still black-and-white photography, and eventually transitioned into videography.

     In the spring of 1973, after a horrible winter in Boulder, Joel and Kathi drove through Grand Junction. They hiked in the desert. The fruit trees were in bloom and there was little auto traffic. Boulder housing was expensive. ($25,000 for a medium-size ranch-style home in a 15-year-old neighborhood!) They had gotten into the “back to earth” thinking; so, considering everything, Joel shelved his grad school plans and they moved to Grand Junction.

     But before the story shifts over to the other side of the continental divide, a little digression: while Joel was serving his conscientious objector obligation in the CU Medical Center library, his close friend Marilyn started dating a young medical student. Naturally, Joel got to know this young medical student pretty well. Warren’s family had a cabin up in the mountains that they would visit on the weekends. Joel and Warren played a lot of chess, epic battles that sometimes lasted four or five hours. Who was this young medical student? None other than the late Warren Petersen, who was a long time member of our congregation. When Joel finished his conscientious objector service, he moved out of the area and lost touch with Marilyn and Warren. Joel was quite surprised when Warren showed up in Grand Junction years later.

     Joel and his dad purchased a 14 acre fruit orchard in Palisade. Joel worked the orchard, and also worked as a cinematographer – he shot 16mm game film for School District 51 high school teams and the Mesa College football and basketball teams. But these endeavors were not lucrative enough, so after several years Joel sold the orchard. Joel got a marketing job at Rocky Mountain HMO, where he worked for eight years. Then, he and a friend started a processed fruits business. Joel worked in the business and did the marketing for 14 years. Joel and Kathi had two daughters – Abby and Megan. They both attended Grand Junction High School. Joel’s daughters now live in Fort Collins, Colorado and Charleston, South Carolina. Each daughter has three boys, and the oldest is 11, so when all six of Joel’s grandkids get together they create quite a commotion.
When the processed fruit business began to struggle, it put a lot of financial stress on the marriage. In 2001 Kathi and Joel divorced.

     Joel’s friend talked him into getting involved with his construction business. Over the years Joel had also been renovating houses. He would remodel one house, and then move on. Joel has had six different residences in Grand Junction. Construction seems to suit his temperament. He’s a practical guy; it is fulfilling to build something and see the result of his work. Joel started working for Vostatek Construction, doing extensive work and supervising major projects. He was not your typical supervisor, however. When he saw something that needed fixing, he would often do it himself. He wanted to keep in touch with the hands-on part of construction. Vostatek industrial construction projects that Joel worked on included multiple repair/classroom remodels/roofing/irrigation projects for the City of Grand Junction, school district 51, the state of Colorado, and Colorado Mesa University. They also constructed new buildings at Highline State Park, and did extensive work at the Colorado Department of Wildlife and the County Hazardous-Waste facility, to name a few. Most importantly, Joel supervised the construction of Bananas Fun Park!

     Joel also joined the UU Congregation in 2001. Joel has always tended to be a bit reclusive. He liked having a progressive community to participate in, and he wanted to give the spiritual thing a whirl. Over the years Joel has been a part of almost every committee or team in the UUCGV. He’s been particularly active in the property team, doing everything from yardwork to inspecting and doing building repairs over the years. He worked on the irrigation system, and built the beautiful fence on the east side of our current property. Several years ago our community began actively searching for an available building that we could purchase, because the mortgage would actually be less expensive than the rent. Joel is a library patron, so he got advanced notice that the library was selling the property at 536 Ouray. The lightbulb immediately turned on inside of his mind. He knew the building had a strong foundation and could withstand a major renovation. It had beautiful, mature vegetation. And the location was outstanding. Joel actively promoted the purchase of our building and was involved in the initial design work. 

     In 2004, Joel was attending the Alternative Christmas Fair when he met a tall, ethereal being. Immediately he could tell that she possessed an uncommon kindness. Kindness was etched across her beautiful face. He could hear it in her voice. He could see it in her graceful movements. She had a delightfully playful sense of humor and a genuine, everlasting smile. And she was the organizer of this entire shindig – the Alternative Christmas Fair. Tables were set up throughout the expansive room, each supporting a different nonprofit humanitarian or environmental organization. The idea is to purchase a gift card as a donation to a nonprofit, and then gift it in someone’s name as a Christmas present. It is a way to give a gift that also improves the condition of our world and doesn’t contribute to the materialism of Christmas. Karen Sjoberg was running Grand Valley Peace and Justice at the time. It was easy for Joel to see that Karen was deeply compassionate, and devoted to working toward improving living conditions for all of God’s children.

     Joel and Karen were married at one of the overlooks on the Colorado National Monument. They are now living, happily ever after, in a little duplex on the Redlands. Together they are saving the world. Joking! If anything they are consoling one another. As long time activists, they have both learned that expectations are easily dashed. They try to focus on the joy of the moment, and are satisfied knowing they are attempting to put their best foot forward. Satisfaction, after all, is a key to happiness. It might also be the key to our current environmental crisis. How much do we really need? We need food, shelter and love.

     To give you an example of Karen’s current effort toward peace and justice, she is the founder of Citizens for Clean Air. Over the years Joel has been involved with many humanitarian and environmental causes. These endeavors give him a great deal of satisfaction. They make him feel good. Giving has that effect on people. “What do I value?”  “Am I willing to support it?” Joel chooses to give generously of his time and money.

     Joel tried to retire. He recently decided to phase away from big jobs for Vostatek Construction. Yet, he continues to work six days a week. Part of the reason is that he can’t say no. He continues to do mostly smaller remodeling projects and repairs, including work at area nonprofits. Joel enjoys being a helpful handyman.

                                                Life goes on…    in endless song…