Hope and Trust December 31, 1915 My only hope is to continue. No hope is despair and death in deep snow. Hope is slighter, tougher, less tangible than trust. In good times we trust life and in bad we hope. I hope I have the courage, confidence, and optimism to succeed, to live. I trust […]
Welcome to the Wild West
It is said, a woman never steps into a river twice, for she is not the same woman nor is it the same river. The ebb and flow of life brought me the passion to write. After a career in commercial photography, I could not leave the stimulating the imagination, black and white photography behind. Thus, I have created books of words and pictures. I hope you will enjoy these historical stories and share my website with friends and associates.
Then & Now, published in 2009 with a grant from the Colorado Historical Fund shows the built environment of Steamboat Springs from the 1880’s to the 21st Century with the town’s history recorded by decades and photographs of buildings then and today. It is a coffee table book in its third printing.
$34.99
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Victims of Love, Banished in 1914 combines archival era images, Colorado history and a romantic love story of two British immigrants meeting in a thriving wild west town, Steamboat Springs. Heartbreak, adventure, danger, fly fishing, and a quest for women’s freedom of choice builds a dialog driven plot of a gentleman, formerly of the servant class and an undaunted, privileged lady struggling with the stigma of tuberculosis. Passion persists in a rigid social structure resisting a woman’s right to free speech.
$25.00
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Then and Now - A History of Steamboat Springs, Colorado presents a series of images that immerse the reader in currents of twentieth century history. Ken Proper's architectural photographs delineate the physical essence of a small western town's birth and development. Harriet Freiberger's words complete a larger picture, connecting people and events in Steamboat Springs with America's progress toward maturity.
Recent Blog Posts
A Letter from CorinaRead More
December 27, 1915 Gentlemen, I write this letter in haste. Thomas, I regret the dilemma I have caused. Julius and Anthony are somewhere on the Continental Divide in the snowstorm. They planned to go to a train station, and it could be Hot Sulphur. JJ discovered du Bois deserted the war and escaped to Colorado. […]
Coal for ChristmasRead More
December 29, 1915 Du Bois had frostbite. The tips of his toes turned dark gray. The pins and needles pain to his feet increased this morning and I did not think he could walk. His boots were still not dry, anyway. By rationing food, I figured, we had enough for a couple days. I wondered […]
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Ken Proper is a career commercial photographer in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Since 2009, he has been a frequent contributor of feature stories and photography in both American and Southwest Fly-Fishing magazines. He co-authored, also in 2009, Then and Now: A History of Steamboat Springs with Harriet Freiberger. The first and second editions sold out and is now in a third, which continues to sell well.
Currently, Ken Proper self-published a historical fiction novel, A Diary by Victims in Love: Banished to Steamboat Springs in 1914. The love story is weaved with archival, early Twentieth Century photographs and illustrations. The books are available on this website and in Steamboat bookstores.