In 1974, Dan Fogeberg decided to move to the Mountains of Colorado, a place where he found solace and inspiration. The beautiful music of Dan's "Nether Lands" album was inspired by his time living in this home, situated at 9000 feet on the top of a mountain.Below is the story of how Dan purchased the home in Nederland, and how his legacy lives on in the lives of those who purchased the home from him.
Dan Fogelberg’s legacy lives on in Nederland, Colorado
The year was 1974, and a young, aspiring singer songwriter was performing at Ebbet’s Field in Denver. Between songs he felt led to share the following information: "I don’t know if it’s any interest to any of you people but I’m looking at a house tomorrow up in Nederland I may buy, because I love it here."* Fogelberg had previously driven through the Rocky Mountains in 1972 and said this regarding his experience, "I just fell in love with it, and I decided if I ever had any money, this is where I wanted to live."** Fogelberg finally had the money, and his dream of living in the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains became a reality when he moved into his home in Nederland. Inspired by his surroundings, he named his 1977 album Nether Lands, as a reference to his new home, and said in a televised interview on Good Morning Colorado in 1991 that the album, "was written really about that whole experience of living up in the Nederland area; it was really not a coincidence- the title…it was about my first experiences living in these mountains and how it affected me as an artist. A lot of my work has been directly affected by my love for the Rocky Mountains and for Colorado."
Fogelberg lived in the Nederland area for about eight years before selling his home for another Colorado residence.
Fogelberg’s Nederland home was purchased by an entrepreneur and Colorado native named Tom (last name withheld). Like Fogelberg, he loved the Rocky Mountains and was inspired by the surroundings of the Nederland area. Tom enjoyed sharing his love for the wild places with his many friends, and through a chance meeting with a lovely woman of German descent, found that special person with whom he spent several years in the beauty of Colorado’s wilderness. Tom and his bride, Heike, loved the mountains and enjoyed skiing, hiking, and four wheeling. The two shared many memorable trips together throughout the Rocky Mountains, until Tom’s untimely death in 1993. Recalling their time together, Heike told me in an interview, as we sat on the porch of their Nederland home, facing the Continental Divide, "We loved the winters here together…Tom knew how to enjoy life." She spoke happily of their many wilderness excursions, citing a camping trip to the Yankee Boy Basin near Ouray in particular. She seemed to be deep in thought, then after a while turned to me and said, "It is an unforgettable and wonderful memory." Perhaps her fondest recollection involved a campout where Tom cooked a leg of lamb over their open campfire… "we waited hours for it to be done, but it was absolutely delicious!" Heike remarked time and time again that she and Tom loved being together out in nature, and that it was what they loved doing together most. Like the previous owner before them, the beauty of the Colorado wilderness, the "Wild Places," had become an inspiration and a means of solace and grace. When asked why she has stayed on in the home these past seventeen years by herself, Heike appeared very peaceful and softly said, "I feel I live in paradise, that’s why I’m still here…I just feel like I live in paradise."
Thirty five years ago, a young singer songwriter came to these mountains seeking a home of solace and inspiration-he found it, and through his music, others have found it too. The Fogelberg legacy lives on, as the home that gave him comfort, now affords the same solace and inspiration to another soul who feels the comforting embrace of this Colorado home.
Kevin Ingalls
All rights reserved 2010
* Live statemennt at Ebbet's Field, Denver, CO 1974.http://www.youtube.com/user/beggarsgame#p/u/27/xymE1qEHrl4
** Colorad Springs Gazette, Life section, July 7, 2001 by:SteveRabey http://www.danfogelberg.com/manonmountain.html
