Charles Ramstetter was born in the old Eight-mile House in Golden Gate Canyon. His grandmother, Matilda, is the daughter of homesteaders Ernest, Sr., and Elizabeth Koch. His grandfather, Henry Ramstetter, Sr., was also a homesteader, as was Charles’ father, Otto. Charles’ mother, Bertha, taught in the Cheese Box, Mountain House, and Guy Hill schools. When Charles was 17, he joined the U.S. Army to see the world, and in 1965 transferred to the Air Force. He retired in 1979 as a Master Sergeant and returned to Golden Gate Canyon to raise cattle.

Mary Ramstetter grew up in Golden. Her father, Owen Acers, was an electrical contractor and one of the founders of the Golden Thespians. Her mother, Geneva Acers, worked on Court House Hill as Jefferson County’s payroll clerk. Mary was the secretary in the Humanities and Social Sciences Department of the Colorado School of Mines from 1958 until her retirement in 1981. She is the author of the El Dorado Trilogy—Over the Mountains of the Moon; Down the Valley of the Shadow; Ride, Boldly Ride—historical narratives of the American West, 1846-1869.

Together Charles and Mary run a commercial cow-calf operation in Golden Gate Canyon. They have four children and four grandchildren. Their registered Colorado cattle brand, read by brand inspectors as “c lazy 3” because the “3” is face-down, names their press. C Lazy Three Press publications have won a total of nine awards, including the 2010 Eric Hoffer Award for Legacy Fiction.