Lauren Bloemsma
By Emily Dresslar

Lauren Bloemsma is the capable, well-spoken executive director of the Telluride Historical Museum. But while devouring a plate of roasted vegetables at La Cocina de Luz with her faithful black mutt, Shiprock, underfoot, she's just an everyday Tellurider. For more than 10 years, Bloemsma has partaken in typical mountain-town pursuits: threading through hiking trails, volunteering for various organizations, watching soccer from the sidelines, soaking in hidden hot springs and learning to telemark on the ski hill. In the evenings, she loves to share her passion for cooking, especially when she gathers a crowd of friends and nearby family members at her in-town condominium.

Like most Telluriders, Bloemsma has run through a litany of jobs over the course of her tenure, hitting the resort sectors of lodging, bookkeeping for small businesses, retail and property management. Even her how-I-came-to-Telluride story has a familiar ring. "I remember my first visit clearly," she says. Parked on a downtown bench, she struck up a conversation with Glider Bob, the friendly sailplane pilot. "By the end of a half-hour conversation, he had offered me a room to rent, and I had spent the whole time staring at Ingram Falls. I decided quickly that this was the place for me."

But like the museum she oversees, which is freshly restored on its perch at the top of Fir Street, an ordered and smart exterior hides a few extraordinary details. Although she had no prior experience working in museums, a brief glance at her past explains the natural fit. "I'm a military brat who's traveled all my life," says Bloemsma. "I grew up all over the world and have always had an appreciation for different cultures."

Her father was a Dutchman who was raised in Indonesia. As a child and young adult, Bloemsma spent time overseas and in too many places stateside to name. To this day, she orders her chocolate and cheese from across the Atlantic. She picked up the language while living in France and even learned some Farsi during her studies in Iran. As a teenager, Bloemsma spent three years living there with her family. "I loved the people of Iran and the culture. We left in 1979, right before the Shah was dethroned, but I still keep in touch with people there to this day." She plans to return to Iran someday, but in the meantime will continue to explore new cultures. This spring, Bloemsma aims to visit a historic Zulu retreat in South Africa before squeezing in a trip to the island nation of Madagascar.

Bloemsma's ease with and respect for different ways of life has helped place her in front of a cultural resurgence in Telluride. It began several years ago when the town backed a renovation of the historic museum landmark, which formerly served as a hospital for miners and their families. Several years after the renovation was completed in 2001, a member of the museum’s board of directors encouraged Bloemsma to apply for the vacant director position. "I had no museum experience, but they had this beautiful building and sought someone to get the museum back on the map, especially with locals," says Bloemsma. "I have a great board of directors, and they were supportive as I made the transition from for profit to nonprofit, which helped a lot."

Once shuttered and crumbling, the museum is now a gleaming showpiece. Bloemsma's mission is “to get every local to visit the museum," she says. "We're still working on it."

The building itself isn’t the museum's only treasure. Many exhibits honor Telluride’s mining past, some are a nod to the building’s original calling as a hospita, and the local discovery of AC current is celebrated. But the crown jewel of the collection may soon take center stage this fall, when the museum hopes to unveil a rare prehistoric textile that has become known as the "Telluride Blanket."

Over the last two years, the museum has installed a number of enhancements, including security measures and climate stabilization, to prepare for the display of the artifact. First discovered in the Abajo Mountains of Southern Utah more than 100 years ago, the blanket, believed to be the work of Ancient Puebloans, was found buried in an urn that preserved the weaving and its unusual dyed colors. The blanket found a home in Telluride near the turn of the century and changed hands several times before becoming a part of the museum's collection. "The Telluride Blanket is a unique and treasured piece," says Bloemsma, her voice lighting with excitement. "It's one of five known to be in existence."

Bloemsma's passion for different cultures goes beyond foreign, historical or even prehistorical, circling right back to her current hometown. She views the Telluride Historical Museum as a key player in preserving the town’s backstory, as well as the many layers that create Telluride today. One of her favorite aspects of town is its population, which she feels is quickly slipping away. "I think we're in danger of losing our community," says Bloemsma. "I want to continue to serve to help retain the culture of Telluride, with all of its different facets intact."

Bloemsma particularly enjoys greeting visitors who remember Telluride as a hardscrabble mining town. "I've found that one of the parts of my job that I really enjoy is taking time to talk to the old-timers who stop in,” she says. “They tell me that this building is where they were born."