Bayfield celebrates its heritage

Coinciding with the annual sheep migration from the mountains to the lowlands, Bayfield's annual Heritage Days festival takes the town back more than 100 years to a time when sheep herding was big business, a way of life that is disappearing. "There are only about three families that still have sheep that go to the mountains through Bayfield," Pine River Valley Heritage Society member Jim Frahm said. "One hundred years ago, there were a bunch of them. Thousands of heads of sheep went through every spring and every fall. ... It's not a big thing now, but it is to the people who do it." J. Paul Brown, an Ignacio rancher and a candidate for Colorado House District 59, acknowledged that most ranchers have made the switch from sheep to cattle or left the ranching business entirely. But for Brown, whose grandfather began raising sheep in the area in 1947, his sheep are a way of life he will not soon part with. "Sheep make a little bit more money, and it's a little bit more work, but we like sheep," he said. "It's just kind of part of the heritage of the whole valley." According to Mayor Rick Smith, the annual event helps remind Bayfield's current residents of the town's agrarian past. "The sheep were here, the ranchers were here," Smith said. "Heritage Days is about recognizing that and bringing people into the realization that this is our roots." In addition to a parade, live music, food, beer and all the usual trappings of a festival, Heritage Days sought to educate those attending. Live demonstrations of sheep shearing and wool spinning drew crowds at Joe Stephenson Park, and the Heritage Society's museum stayed open for much of the day...more