If you have ever shared a hiking trail with Betty Clifford, or enjoyed a chat with her at a 100 Club dinner, it may surprise you to know that this friendly, unassuming woman is a retired Navy commander and a published author who probably knows more about Rifle area history than any other person.

 Betty was born and grew up in Rifle.  Her childhood memories, many of which have been published in a series of weekly columns in the Rifle newspaper, are of a colorful western lifestyle in a town where no one was a stranger and youthful misdemeanors were almost certain to be observed and reported to parents.  Betty and her two brothers were brought up to be campers and lovers of the outdoors.  With her father she visited many wilderness attractions in western Colorado and eastern Utah that were not well known then but have since become national parks and monuments, or meccas for skiers and fishermen

 After graduating from Rifle Union High School (“Yes,” she says, “my picture is on the wall!”) she went to Mesa Junior College on a Lions Club scholarship.  She transferred to the University of Colorado’s school of nursing and applied for the Navy Officer Candidate Program, which paid for the remainder of her education.

 After graduating in 1969, she served as a Navy nurse on Taiwan before seeking a master’s degree in community health nursing at the University of Maryland. “That was funny,” Betty comments, “because the Navy doesn’t have Public Health nurses.”  During her twenty-year career as a Navy nurse, while attaining the rank of commander, her state-side assignments included Camp Pendleton, Pensacola, Quantico, Albany GA and Bremerton WA.  In 1979, given the choice of either Iceland or Okinawa, she opted for the latter so that she could get a good deal on a Yamaha piano.  During her overseas postings she learned to appreciate Asian cuisine and has always enjoyed cooking Chinese dishes for family and friends.

 Returning to Rifle was far from Betty’s thoughts in her Navy years, but when she retired and her mother needed her, she found herself back in her hometown, wondering what came next.  She soon filled the vacuum with an admirable array of civic and volunteer activities.  She served on the Rifle City Council and Grand River Hospital’s board of directors.   She contributed her nursing expertise to help establish an early Lift-up clinic in Rifle, and later served as a Public Health volunteer in their clinic at Parachute.  In 1992 she received the Garfield County Humanitarian Service award.  She became a certified lay speaker in the Methodist Church, and was active in its “Walk to Emmaus” program that encourages church leadership.   She also continued her love of outdoor activities by enthusiastically hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing with the 100 Club.

   Betty’s first love, however, has been researching and preserving the rich history of the Rifle area.  For many years she has written a column of historical anecdotes for The Rifle Citizen-Telegram.  In 2003 she gathered some of these into a book, Rifle Vignettes, which is currently enjoying a second printing. (It’s available at Through the Looking Glass in Glenwood, Karylett’s in Rifle, and the Picket Fence in New Castle.)

 In 2003 a stroke curtailed many of Betty’s activities, but physical therapy and a dogged determination to get well have brought her back to independent living with her beloved dog Blackie and renewed community involvement, as well as her unflagging historical research.  She has resumed writing her column, works steadily at her rehabilitation, and hopes to get back to hiking soon.

by Doris Lee Shettel