On a clear November night, sitting under the lights at Flagstaff Mountain is a popular place to catch the action happening below in Boulder.
One man who knows that view better than most also knows the history of shining lights, too. His name is Craig Reynolds, but he tells us the Boulder Chamber calls him "the star man." He's maintained the star on Flagstaff Mountain for nearly the past two decades, back when his hair looked a little different.
"Wasn't grey when I started on it," he said.
Even back then, the star was an institution. It was originally set up in 1947 as a symbol of the holidays and has since taken on different names and shapes.
"I think they called it -- back in the old days -- the Christmas Star," Reynolds said. "Now we've changed that to the Holiday Star, the Boulder Star and the Flagstaff Star."
When the University of Colorado won the national championship back in 1990, people rearranged the star to look like a one, according to Reynolds.
"It's been changed to a peace sign," he said. "I don't know what year that was but probably in the late '60s. Someone even tried to paint it green not too long ago."
For Reynolds, the star has some personal history, too. It's the site where he proposed to his wife, however, he didn't care to talk too much about that because he said he doesn't maintain it for his own purposes.
"I do this for them, for all of them," Reynolds said as pointed to the city below.
And he'll keep taking care of it because the Flagstaff Star still has a lot more history to make.
"I don't think it's going anywhere," he said. "It's been here way too long."
The Boulder Chamber takes donations in exchange for Christmas cards that feature a painting of the star.
