Steve Sabol

AP/Photo Daniel Hulshizer


Steve Sabol passed away Tuesday, he was 69. Steve, along with his father started NFL Films.

Steve was a running back for Colorado College, here in Colorado Springs. He was majoring in art design, he left in 1969 to start NFL Films with his father, Ed and the rest is history.

He will be missed

Bambi Venetucci

picture courtesy of Fountain Valley News


Yesterday, I re-posted the story of Nick Venetucci, the Pumpkin Man. Today, I thought I would share about Bambi, his wife.

Since birth Bambi has been blind. She attended the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind as a student, then became a teacher for the school as an adult and before marrying Nick.

She still lives in Fountain, Colorado. She was the guest speaker at the senior fellowship group of Faith Lutheran Church in Feb 2011. She had her audience rolling with laughter as she shared the funny parts of her life story.

Bambi wrote her life story and it was published in 1996. It's called "Dammi La Mano - Give Me Your Hand" by Bambina Marcantino Venetucci. And yes, it is in English.

Her life was not an easy one but she faced it with courage. Her book is a good read :)

Bambi and Nick were famous here in Colorado Springs and beyond because of their pumpkin give away each year in October. Bambi's beautiful and giving heart matched her husbands. And just as Nick is remembered in October, so is she.

Exploring The Past

I was reading the newspaper the other day and saw an older house for sale. The paper had done an article about it and said that one of the owners of the house had been friends of my dad. Soooo, I had to research it.

The house is at 1830 Wood Ave (it is beautiful and selling for 1.1 million) The article said Berne & Portia Hopkins were friends of my dad, they might have been but Portia never lived in that house. This is what I found out:

Berne Hopkins was married to Isabel in 1908, they had one son by the name of Winchester. Berne made his millions in oil but started out in the railroad. They bought the house on Wood Ave in 1915.

By 1923 Isabel has filed for a separation, which she  got $600,000. That was a LOT of money back then. The gazette paper printed that Berne married Portia in 1924, there are even pictures. Butttt, Berne & Portia's marriage certificate says they were married April 16, 1927 in St. Louis, Missouri.

See, that's what I like about our newspaper, they can predict the future and even include pictures, lol.

The house on Wood Ave was sold in 1923 to William Ehlers. Isabel disappers from the pages of history. Berne, in 1923, has bought a farm in Iowa, the name of it is Ben Marks Farm. He has announced that he will be living there.

By 1925, Berne and Portia are living in St. Louis. Berne owns, what is called, Family Hotels on Armour Blvd., its what we call an apartment complex now. It has become part of the historic district in St. Louis but is not called Family Hotels, its called Pre World War ll apartments.

The last I find of Berne is from the gazette paper in 1956, saying he has passed away. I do not know what became of Portia.

The house by the way, was sold to Don Alexander in 1938. He is another colorful person in Colorado Springs history but that is another story.