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Reported by: KUSA
Monday, Jul 13, 2009 @08:44am CDT
IF YOU EVER NEED ADVICE ON LIFE'S UPHILL CLIMBS, TALK TO JIM BISHOP.
"I'm Jim Bishop, I'm the castle builder,"
A HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT, BISHOP BOUGHT TWO ACRES OF LAND NEAR RYE, COLORADO FOR
NEXT TO NOTHING WHEN HE WAS 15.
"That'll work right there"
IT STARTED OUT AS A FAMILY CABIN
"Then in June of '69 I started building the stone cottage and people called it
a castle and here it is,"
AND THAT'S WHEN BISHOP FOUND HIS LIFE'S CALLING.
"41 years this year, by hand by myself"
HE HAD A FEW EXTRA HANDS ALONG THE WAY, BUT IT'S HARD TO FIND GOOD HELP WHEN
YOU'RE A PERFECTIONIST.
YOU WON'T FIND ANY CRANES, OR PULLEYS, JUST BISHOP AND HIS VISION.
"Slow but sure, it adds up"
WHEN HE'S NOT WELDING AT HIS ACTUAL JOB...HE'S OUT HERE....ON HIS OWN.
AND WHERE HE'S WORKED SINCE HE WAS A TEENAGER.
"I'm 65, but I'm in pretty decent shape"
WE FIRST MET A YOUNGER BISHOP IN 1992.
"I'm Jim Bishop, I'm the castle builder,"
BACK THEN....THE WALLS WERE UP.
AND SO WAS THE DRAGON, COMPLETE WITH SMOKE...
ONCE FUELED BY A CAST IRON STOVE......
IT'S MADE OUT OF RECYCLED HOSPITAL TRAYS.
WE COULDN'T HELP BUT MARVEL AT WHAT WE SAW THEN.....
SO, WE HAD TO COME BACK.
AND SO DID THE TOURISTS.
"I came here when I was a little girl, probably when I was 10. A lot has been
done since,"
SINCE '92 HE'S ADDED A SPHERE AND A BRIDGE TO THE CHIMNEY TOWER.
"And that's quite a big change"
"I just think it's incredible. I wish I had this kind of imagination,"
JIM BISHOP'S FAIRY TALE IS IMPRESSIVE TO SEE, NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO FOR A
LIVING.
"I'm in the landscaping and tree maintenance business, and I've got a fairly
good feel for what it takes to do some of this work, and I'm amazed by it,"
WROUGHT IRON BRIDGES.
STAINED GLASS WINDOWS.
"His creativity is second to none."
THE TOWERS WILL REACH 250 FEET WHEN THEY'RE DONE.
THEY'RE CONNECTED BY WALKWAYS.....AND BISHOP'S PAST.
ONE IS NAMED AFTER HIS LATE FATHER.
THE OTHER, AFTER HIS 4 YEAR OLD SON WHO DIED FALLING FROM A TREE IN THE WOODS
MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO.
EVEN THAT DIDN'T STOP HIM.
"Nope. I just work and cry. Work and pray. I work on through it. You can't
hide from nothing."
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT HIS WORK IS THERAPY.
"I think he tries to do it to get at the government."
JUST STICK AROUND LONG ENOUGH AND YOU'LL HEAR HIS OTHER PASSION.
"I don't need to be governed. I'm not hurting nobody by hauling these rocks.
I'm doing a public service."
HE'S GONE BACK AND FORTH ON PERMIT ISSUES, BUT EVEN HE KNOWS HIS VISITORS GET
TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT IT.
"Quit it Jim Bishop. Quit it. You're getting out of line."
BISHOP SAYS THE REAL REASON HE KEEPS BUILDING, IS BECAUSE HE JUST CAN'T STOP.
AT LEAST, UNTIL IT'S OUT OF *HIS HANDS.
"And I decided when I open the paper one morning and read my own name in the
obituary, I'm not even getting out of bed that day. Then it's time to quit I
guess,"
ALL HE CAN DO.... IS WHAT HE KNOWS BEST......WORK.
Bishop hopes his children and grandchildren will continue working on the castle
or give tours when he's gone.
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