The Life Of A Firecracker
Janine Conklin Is In The Room
When lifelong Park Hill resident Janine Conklin enters a room, she infuses the space with energy.
Effervescent, with a broad, infectious smile, and a distinct, high-pitched laugh, Conklin always seems to be enjoying herself, and life in general. Whether she’s arranging the mystery section at the Park Hill Community Bookstore, volunteering at the Museum of Nature & Science, working as a videographer for the City and County of Denver, leading tours of downtown Denver, kicking up her heels with an Irish dance troupe, taking dance at the Park Hill Dance Academy (where she is known as a “firecracker”), or caring for orphaned pups at the Dumb Friends League, she does it with unadulterated gusto.
She and her boyfriend of 20 years, Bill MacAllister, live in the two-story Denver Square she grew up in on Colorado Boulevard.
Conklin’s father was an Irish-American from Wyoming, her mother an African-American with roots in Atlanta.
“When my mom and dad got married, it was a big deal, very controversial,” says Conklin. “In some states, bi-racial marriages were simply illegal.”
Her parents were divorced when she was 1, and the first and only time she remembers seeing her dad was when he showed up one night in 1976. “I asked my mom, ‘Who is this guy?’” Conklin recalled that she showed her father some things she had made at camp. “He tucked me in and that was the last I saw of him.”
A few years later, her father was killed in a hit-and-run accident in New York City. Her mother died when Conklin was only 22.
To say that her childhood was difficult would be a considerable understatement. In addition to the often-challenging reality of being bi-racial, she had to care for a mother with rheumatoid arthritis, literally lifting her up and down stairs, and a twin brother, Jeff, who was born with cerebral palsy. (Jeff now lives independently in a downtown apartment, and works at Home Depot.) Conklin speaks about these challenges with no detectable trace of resentment or bitterness, or asking, “Why me?” “You just do what you have to do,” she says.
Conklin was brought up by her mother to be proud of her African-American heritage, and socially she identified as black. She was a debutante at the Owl Club, for example. Nonetheless, she sometimes felt ambivalent about race. “I have been asked to declare in some fashion or another what I am. I had someone ask me once for the directions to the Indian center, assuming I was Indian. Someone once asked me if I was Mexican. It gets comical. The labels aren’t important. I enjoy being a nice blend.”
Conklin grew up in an era following the bitter racial turmoil of the 60s and early 70s, when discrimination in housing was rampant and educational opportunities for black people were limited by segregation.
“I have never been political,” she says. “Aside from the Martin Luther King Parade, I haven’t marched or demonstrated against racism, but I have occasionally called people on their prejudice. At East High School, the whites and the minorities did separate socially. I was aware of it subconsciously, but not bothered by it. In any case, my mixed heritage was a very positive thing to me. I embraced it. Bicultural is not confusing. It’s cool.”
A racial “incident” entertained Conklin in the early 90s, when she was a Metro State intern working at Aurora Community Television (ACT) as a videographer. The Ku Klux Klan had announced they were going to crash a Martin Luther King, Jr. parade. A reporter wasn’t available and Conklin was asked to fill in. “It was hilarious,” she remembers. “I interviewed several KKK people. They were relatively harmless.”
After her internship, Conklin was hired by ACT, where she met MacAllister, a fellow videographer. She worked there until 2008.
Conklin is a 15-year veteran practitioner of Irish step dancing, an activity that allows her to express her love affair with music and movement.
“I prefer music with a strong beat,” she says. “And I get a kick out of editing music and video. I’ve created many music beds for news features.”
She was a big fan of MTV. “I go for pop music. Bill is into more subtle, low-key stuff, like Yes.”
Conklin grew up devouring Nancy Drew books. She read all 54 of them. Her favorite was Mystery at Lilee Inn. She also had a significant crush on Shaun Cassidy and had all of his albums.
You can often see her riding her bike around Park Hill. “I like to reduce my carbon footprint, so I only drive when I absolutely have to.”
Conklin is an employee of a private tour company. Every week, she takes visitors on two-hour walks from the State Capitol to Coors Field. Most common question? “Where are the good restaurants?”
Why has Conklin remained in Park Hill all her life? “I’m lucky to have grown up here. I love the history and architecture of Park Hill. I love how we’ve learned how to get along. I was walking around the other day, doing my steps, when I stopped and just looked around. I thought, ‘wow’, this is beautiful. I don’t get how some people want to ‘escape’ the city and settle in the suburbs. To me, that’s crazy.”