Esther Papenfus first came to Foothills Art Center in 1978, to see if she could sell her crocheted snowflakes in the annual holiday art market.
In return for the opportunity, she volunteered for shifts, at first organizing the artwork people brought.
It was not something she considered her strength.
Then she started working at the front desk. Then she asked if there was something else she could do. Then she created a master volunteer list and a regular schedule on yellow paper.
“I’ve still got that yellow sheet,” Papenfus said, sitting at the marble table in the sculpture garden at the center.
Many of the volunteers she called during her first days at Foothills are still working at the arts center.
“She made herself indispensable pretty quickly,” said Foothills curator Michael Chavez, who called Papenfus the liaison between Foothills and Golden residents.
Papenfus worked full time at the art center ever since, though she has long stopped selling her snowflakes. Now, she gives them away as Christmas presents.
Papenfus was honored for her 30 years of work at Foothills Sunday, June 28 with a garden at the art center dedicated in her name.
“A legacy of kindness, integrity, hard work and community,” reads the stone plaque nestled near a waterfall.
During her time at Foothills, the art center has more than tripled in size, as the gallery space and administrative offices grew.
“Each director brought in a whole new set of ideas,” Papenfus said.
And Papenfus was there to support them.
She has vacuumed the carpet, cleaned the kitchen, made hors d’ oeuvres for receptions and coffee for the art classes. She even shoveled snow. Papenfus has also rallied a team of volunteers to help her.
“I didn’t pay anybody to do anything … It’s amazing what they’ve done to keep this up,” Papenfus said with a grin.
After her last day of work in March, Papenfus thought about Foothills every day. “I just had to back off,” she said, although she points to the remnants of an “I love Foothills Art Center” temporary tattoo Chavez stuck to her hand during Golden’s 150th anniversary.
Papenfus is optimistic about the future of Foothills. She would like to see more of Golden’s newer residents become active with the organization.
“Each person will come along and have their own idea … I think that’s probably the way that you can stay as long as you do, because people work together, and of course, if you’ve got an idea, you get to do it,” Papenfus said.