YOUR AD HERE »

Schober, Barnes, the Andersons all important women for Vail

Dick Hauserman
Daily file photoIsabel Shober
ALL |

Isabel Bolin Schober

When the Kansas City Ski Club visited Vail in 1963, one of its members fell in love with her ski instructor and thus became one of the strong women of early Vail. Her name then was Isabel Bolin, soon to become Mrs. Manfred Schober.

After several trips back and forth to Kansas City, Isabel decided to settle in Vail. She and Manfred were married shortly thereafter and became one of the town’s most popular couples.



Isabel Bolin Schober was a doer. She, along with several other women, helped start the Vail Mountain School. She worked on countless committees, mostly fund-raisers for prizes. Each year for the Interfaith Chapel, she would make about 40 Christmas wreaths to be auctioned at the big fund-raising dance. In 1964, she worked as a salesperson at Vail Blanche Sports Shop, but according to Isabel, she was fired by the owner for not dusting enough.

When asked what was most important about her time in Vail, she replied,”My two wonderful sons – I’m so proud of them. Their good sense of value and responsibility had to do with the atmosphere in which they grew up.”

Support Local Journalism



She feels that being in Vail in the early years was most gratifying. There weren’t many people, but they were all friends and helped each other. It was so friendly, she said, that she could put a single beer on her tab at Donovan’s Copper Bar.

Marvel Barnes

Marvel Barnes was born in Red Cliff, where her father worked for the Gilman Mine. She worked for Rod Slifer and ran his home rentals department. Later on she owned Vail Home Rentals.

Known as a “one-woman chamber of commerce,” Barnes was very active. She did everything for everybody and was on many committees. The Echo Ranch is grateful that she was a founder and board member. When she died a few years ago, the church was packed for the funeral.

The Anderson Sisters

Doris Anderson Bailey arrived from Cleveland in 1963, and her sister, Shirley Anderson Ward, followed in 1964.

Although both are single now, they are still living in Vail and have compiled enviable records in business and community activities. With her architect husband, Dick, she first lived in Fitzhugh Scott’s Bridge Chalet in 1963. This first building in Vail held the dubious distinction of housing the first running shower and bathroom.

After a few years, the marriage failed when Dick Bailey moved to Scottsdale, Ariz., to become a principal in the development of Desert Highlands. Doris Bailey, meanwhile, was very active in the early cultural development of Vail. She set up the Vail Convention Center, which was part of the Vail Resort Association. Today, like many others, she is a prominent real estate broker.

Shirley Anderson Ward started her career in Vail in the winter of 1964 by working for Loyette Goodell in Vail’s comptroller department. She held many odd jobs, one of which was working for her sister Doris at the Vail Resort Association. She also did secretarial work for a number of men in town. In 1965, she was active in the international races, doing administrative and organizational work, as well as on-site meeting and greeting.

During that period, she did a lot of transcribing of conversations between Roger Brown of Summit Films and skiing greats like Fred Iselin, Anderl Molterer, Jean Claude Killy, and others. It was a fun time for her.

“I skied a lot, worked a lot, and spent a lot at Donovan’s Copper Bar,” Shirley recalls.

Finally, she worked for Roger Behler, manager of the First Bank of Vail, as administrative assistant.

She gave birth to Vail’s first set of twins, born July 11, 1969.

Editor’s Note: In a continued effort to help the community understand its roots, the Vail Daily for a second time is serializing Dick Hauserman’s “The Inventors of Vail.” This is the 117th installment, an excerpt from chapter 13, “The Women of Vail.” The book is available at Verbatim Booksellers, The Bookworm of Edwards, Pepi’s Sports, Gorsuch Ltd. and The Rucksack, as well as other retailers throughout the valley. Hauserman can be contacted by phone at 926-2895 or by mail at P.O. Box 1410, Edwards CO, 81632.


Support Local Journalism