Our clients and referral partners (that's you!) have graciously helped Homestead Roofing grow through another year. And what a year it's been! There were 9 hailstorms in 2016, starting on May 7th and culminating with the “granddaddy of 'em all,” the huge storm on July 28th! It looks like we'll be in for another wild season in 2017, as just last night my house was hit with hail from a scary-looking cell that prompted an “imminent, severe” tornado alert to come across my phone. Wouldn't you know it? We happened to be just starting to try to round up a loose steer at a house where my daughter is pet-sitting for a vacationing neighbor!
Family Introduction
Here's a brief run-down of who we are.
Homestead Roofing is owned by Tracy Bookman and his wife of 29 years, Beth. That's the whole Bookman family in the photo. Sadly, we don't have a more recent portrait than this one in 2013. Our oldest son, Kramer (26), is in the Navy and will be moving his little family to Japan soon.
Our 2nd son, Benjamin (22), is preparing to be a missionary pilot and is, at this writing, in Uganda. Son #3, Josiah (20), is currently a college student, but was the Homestead Roofing office administrator for a year until he decided to “hit the books” full-time.
Our 4th son, Aaron (18), is an electrician's apprentice in Denver.
Our only daughter, Havilah (
16 on July 3rd), manages our little herd of sheep and dairy goats and has a thriving kitten business, and Jonathan (11), manages our chicken flock and is looking forward to his first hunting trip this coming fall. My wonderful wife has homeschooled all of the children through every grade!
Prior to starting Homestead Roofing, Tracy had owned a business in a different industry, but when the economy tanked in 2008, so did that business, so he went to work for a roofing company. It didn't take long to discover how unethical that roofing company was and to see the problems in the industry, so that prompted Tracy to start Homestead Roofing.
In July of 2014, we added Steve Moon as a sales & project manager, who retired from a 31 year career at FedEx to come work for Homestead, and in April of 2015, Tanner Johnson also joined us as a sales & project manager. In the aftermath of the huge storm last year, we added a 3rd sales & project manager, Zach Brown. On January 2nd of this year, my brother-in-law, Shawn Stickel, hired on as the office manager and keeps all of us in line! Almost from our very first day in business, we have had an excellent labor crew, led by Juan Lomeli. Homestead Roofing would not be nearly as successful as we are if it weren't for Juan and his crew. They are honest, humble, and hard-working men whom we have all grown to appreciate and love.
All this growth has far exceeded what I could have ever envisioned for Homestead Roofing and each one of you has contributed to our growth and so we thank you. Thank you for trusting us to serve you. We view what we do as a means of honoring God by serving the people who He brings our way and it is truly an honor to be a part of your lives, too.
A “Homesteading” Family In Colorado Springs
My paternal grandmother's side of the family arrived in Colorado Springs in 1880 from Salt Lake City, where my great-great-grandfather, Michael Stockdale, was an indentured servant for the Mormons, and was a construction worker on the Mormon Tabernacle. My dad still has the wooden mallet Michael used to hammer wooden pegs on the Tabernacle, as they didn't use hammers and nails in its construction.
Upon arriving in Colorado Springs, my great-great-grandfather built a house just near the corner of West Dale St. and Walnut. That house, just west of I-25, behind what used to be the old Bristol Elementary School, is still there.
My great-grandfather, Charles, was, among other things, a mechanic. He also drove a trolley car in Colorado Springs. To the left is a photo of him at the helm of the Knob Hill trolley car.
He built a house next door to his father's house. Since he was a mechanic, he needed a place to work on the vehicles brought to him, so he built a carriage-house and workshop next to his house. My grandmother was born in Charles' home and grew up there. Later, the carriage-house was converted into a real house by my grandfather, Fred Wager, and it was into this house that he and my grandmother moved after they got married. The Wagers had been dairymen around the Pueblo/Hanover area when Fred was born in 1899. A neighbor of mine was at a farm auction a couple years ago and bought a milk can in hopes of restoring it and selling it. As it turns out, it was one from the Wager dairy and had my grandfather's brother's name stamped into the side of it, so I bought the milk can from my neighbor. There are a lot of entrepreneurs in our family history. The Stockdales owned the Stockdale Packard Motor Company and the H & G Cigar Shop, and Grandpa Fred owned Jay's Bike Shop, all in downtown Colorado Springs.
All three of the original family houses are still standing, and have been very well cared for. Great-grandpa Charles' house is currently owned by the curator of the Pioneer's Museum.
As you can see, my family has deep roots here and I hope you've enjoyed this nostalgic journey through our family history in Colorado Springs. My wife and I still live in the area. We go to church here. We do business with other local companies, and we have no plans or desires to ever move. We love it here and we're sure you do, too.
