Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
What gives Aspen its soul?
In this deeply personal and historically rich conversation, Soul of Aspen host Joanie Klar sits down with longtime Aspen resident, environmental advocate, and cultural storyteller Chip Cumins to explore the people, ideas, and moments that shaped the Aspen Valley’s unique DNA.
From washing dishes at John Denver’s Tower Restaurant to founding renewable energy initiatives, from WindStar and ARE Day to the legacies of Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke, this episode traces Aspen’s evolution as a global center for culture, environmental leadership, and creative thought.
Along the way, Cumins shares intimate stories of John Denver, Aspen in the 1970s and ’80s, the birth of sustainability movements, indigenous partnerships, and the artists, thinkers, and “eclectic visionaries” who believed there was a better way to live.
This is not nostalgia—it’s living history.
Topics include:
• John Denver’s legacy in Aspen and the world
• The origins of renewable energy leadership in Aspen
• WindStar, Our Day, and sustainability activism
• Aspen’s cultural pioneers and environmental guardians
• Art, music, skiing, and the soul of a mountain town
If you care about Aspen’s past, present, and future, this conversation belongs in your library.
Know Aspen. Watch GrassRoots.
GrassRoots programming is made possible by the producers' creativity itself, direct contributions from viewers, members of the Roaring Fork Valley community, and through grants from the Pitkin County Healthy Community Fund, The Town of Snowmass Village, the City of Aspen Community Non-Profit Grant Program, and The Aspen Thrift Shop.
Founded by citizens of Aspen, Colorado in 1972, GrassRoots TV is the first and oldest community operated and programmed open-source media center and television station in the United States. Virtually all of the programming is created by local residents, occasionally with world renown guests.
In partnership with the American Archive of Public Media and the Library of Congress, GrassRoots is currently cataloguing, restoring and digitally archiving 700 of the most at-risk original video programs out of its 45,000 title Community Video Archive.
Help sustain this community treasure by donating now! Go to:
bit.ly/GRTVContribute
Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE, HIT LIKE and leave a COMMENT to let us know if you enjoyed this video, it is important to us and the community for you to become part of the conversation. Thanks
for tuning in!
Download the GrassRoots Community Network iOS and Android apps
Subscribe for more videos: bit.ly/2Ycpi4P
Facebook: facebook.com/GrassRootsCommunityNetwork
Twitter: twitter.com/grassrootstv
Web: grassrootstv.org
What gives Aspen its soul?
In this deeply personal and historically rich conversation, Soul of Aspen host Joanie Klar sits down with longtime Aspen resident, environmental advocate, and cultural storyteller Chip Cumins to explore the people, ideas, and moments that shaped the Aspen Valley’s unique DNA.
From washing dishes at John Denver’s Tower Restaurant to founding renewable energy initiatives, from WindStar and ARE Day to the legacies of Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke, this episode traces Aspen’s evolution as a global center for culture, environmental leadership, and creative thought.
Along the way, Cumins shares intimate stories of John Denver, Aspen in the 1970s and ’80s, the birth of sustainability movements, indigenous partnerships, and the artists, thinkers, and “eclectic visionaries” who believed there was a better way to live.
This is not nostalgia—it’s living history.
Topics include:
• John Denver’s legacy in Aspen and the world
• The origins of renewable energy leadership in Aspen
• WindStar, Our Day, and sustainability activism
• Aspen’s cultural pioneers and environmental guardians
• Art, music, skiing, and the soul of a mountain town
If you care about Aspen’s past, present, and future, this conversation belongs in your library.
Know Aspen. Watch GrassRoots.
GrassRoots programming is made possible by the producers' creativity itself, direct contributions from viewers, members of the Roaring Fork Valley community, and through grants from the Pitkin County Healthy Community Fund, The Town of Snowmass Village, the City of Aspen Community Non-Profit Grant Program, and The Aspen Thrift Shop.
Founded by citizens of Aspen, Colorado in 1972, GrassRoots TV is the first and oldest community operated and programmed open-source media center and television station in the United States. Virtually all of the programming is created by local residents, occasionally with world renown guests.
In partnership with the American Archive of Public Media and the Library of Congress, GrassRoots is currently cataloguing, restoring and digitally archiving 700 of the most at-risk original video programs out of its 45,000 title Community Video Archive.
Help sustain this community treasure by donating now! Go to:
bit.ly/GRTVContribute
Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE, HIT LIKE and leave a COMMENT to let us know if you enjoyed this video, it is important to us and the community for you to become part of the conversation. Thanks
for tuning in!
Download the GrassRoots Community Network iOS and Android apps
Subscribe for more videos: bit.ly/2Ycpi4P
Facebook: facebook.com/GrassRootsCommunityNetwork
Twitter: twitter.com/grassrootstv
Web: grassrootstv.org
