Public officials in Durango are not unlike Ken and Barbie dolls.
People like to see them dressed up in different costumes, everything from woolly Western wear to the stretchy spandex of superheroes.
Former Mayor Doug Lyon will pose as the city’s first Catholic priest, the Rev. Luke Harney, and current Mayor Pro Tem Sweetie Marbury will portray Stella Dempsey, a lady of the evening and the sister of heavyweight champion boxer Jack Dempsey.
They will bring these pioneers back to life for the Greenmount Cemetery tour during the Durango Heritage Celebration on Oct. 12.
The festival’s theme this year is saints and sinners. Actors will wear authentic 1880s fashions, which for Marbury means a simple white cotton dress and not the more glamorous satin dresses worn by madams in the Hollywood Westerns, said event organizer Suzanne Parker.
Stella Dempsey was so socially unacceptable that her siblings had to fight for her right to be buried at Greenmount, said Marbury, a regular actor in the Greenmount Cemetery tour who considers it an honor to portray the many different types of people who made up early Durango.
Evildoers should not snicker too much at the thought of a politician masquerading as a lady of the evening.
Marbury’s other alter-ego is that of Amazon princess with the golden lasso, invisible airplane and bullet-deflecting bracelets, Wonder Woman.
The faces of city councilors and top city staff members were super-imposed onto superheroes for a gag at a city picnic. The poster is now on display in City Hall in the hallway outside the City Clerk’s office.
Superheroes were the theme of the party. Staff members came dressed as their own superheroes, such as “Records Girl” or “Water Cops” depending on their job.
Executive types got the honor of representing the icons of popular culture.
To Marbury, the poster is “just a picture.”
Durango “is full of many wonder women, those fighting breast cancer, domestic violence, supporting their children by working two jobs. Those are the real superheroes,” she said.
Nicol Killian, a city planner, made the poster and all the hero selections, according to Amber Blake, the city’s multi-modal director and an organizer of the picnic.
Some of the selections had an obvious connection.
The top administrator, Ron LeBlanc, the city manager, was Superman.
Steve Salka, the utility director responsible for the sewers, was Swamp Thing.
Greg Hoch, responsible for city planning, got the superhero who climbs up the side of buildings, Spider-Man.
Others were assigned a hero.
Councilor Christina Rinderle was Supergirl. According to her caricature, which exposes a bare midriff, her super power appears to be amazing abs.
Rinderle said the poster gave her a boost.
“I feel like I can handle anything except for kryptonite and plastic bags,” said Rinderle, joking about one of the city’s more contentious issues.
Andy White, the library director, was the Green Lantern, a good match because White shares the superhero’s vulnerability to the color of yellow.
“Yellow is not my color, either,” White said. “I don’t look good in yellow.”
jhaug@duranogherald.com
Durango Justice League
Superheroes and their Durango alter egos according to a poster made for city picnic:
Aquaman: Keith Brant, councilor.
Bat Girl: Julie Brown, finance director.
Batman: Jim Spratlen, police chief.
Captain America: Mayor Dick White.
Captain Marvel: Dean Brookie, councilor.
Cat Woman: Cathy Metz, parks and recreation director.
Daredevil: Bob Kunkel, business development director.
Green Lantern: Andy White, director of Durango Public Library.
Hulk: Roy Petersen, director of operations.
Iron Man: Eric Pierson, information technology director.
Robin: Kevin Hall, assistant director of community development.
Silver Surfer: Kip Turner, director of aviation.
Spider-Man: Greg Hoch, director of planning and community development.
Spiderwoman: Amy Phillips, city clerk.
Supergirl: Christina Rinderle, councilor.
Superman: Ron LeBlanc, city manager.
Swamp Thing: Steve Salka, utility director.
Thor: David Smith, city attorney.
Wolverine: Phil Campbell, communications center director.
Wonder Woman: Sweetie Marbury, councilor.
