Sara Sandstrom-Kobi, Peak to Peak. The majority of people in the area know Doug Armitage and Barbara Hardt for the music store and the newspaper. They are a team in every sense of the word. They are dedicated to their extensive communities and to each other.

Barb moved to Nederland in 1986 when her dad was transferred with IBM from Southern California to Boulder. She attended Nederland and Boulder High Schools. Barb married twice, raised four kids, was a surrogate for a friend, and divorced twice.

In 2007 Barb bought The Mountain-Ear. She has kept the local newspaper going week after week. This paper is her 693rd consecutive publication. The  Mountain-Ear connects our mountain communities, which is something both Doug and Barb are passionate about. 

Doug moved to Nederland in 1974, then moved, married twice, raised a family,  divorced twice, and lived life for the next 35 years. Doug moved back to Nederland in 2008 and opened Brightwood Music, right before the Christmas holiday. He has been a musician for decades, working at Folk Arts Music, in Boulder, in the early 1970s, and several other music stores around the country. He is the guy people go to for repairs. He is an expert in building and repairing stringed and fretted instruments. 

After The Mountain-Ear ran a story about the new music shop in town, Barb went to the store to see about taking some lessons. Doug started teaching her the mandolin once a week. They spent a lot of time talking and Doug made her realize that a love for music doesn’t always mean you are a musician. Barb laughs and says, “I play the radio. I’m almost a professional at this point.”

In 2010, they started to socialize together with friends. Then, Barb heard Doug sing Jersey Girl by Tom Waits and her heart melted, and still does. Both Doug and Barb are originally from New Jersey and only a town apart. One night, Doug invited Barb to come to his house to “just cuddle” and they have been together ever since. 

Barb says their relationship is a true partnership. Together they have the ability to constantly adapt and work through complex situations. Doug has great compassion, patience and understanding. His humor and wit calm the most stressful of situations. And there is always a bit of sarcasm sprinkled in. Barb has a realistic understanding of life in a small town that Doug appreciates.

In this partnership Doug has the ability to take a situation and come up with logical solutions with gentleness and understanding. Barb questions everything and finds compassionate solutions. They run two businesses together and have faced multiple medical issues together. Doug talks about how appreciative he is of Barb’s patience with him and her ability to help him through rehabilitation and healing. 

Together they love to read books, play or listen to music, and spend time with the kids. They love to sit down with a glass of wine and simply enjoy each other’s company. They get through each day and try to cherish the little moments that mean so much. Barb says, “Sometimes Doug is the strength and sometimes I am.” They are in this life together. Constantly supporting and loving each other. 

(Originally published in the February 13, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)