(This post pertains to the future drivers of Aspen in the 1970’s)

Getting your driver’s license is like a “rite of passage’.  Something almost every soon to be 16-year-old looks forward to.  It is the first step of many in their journey to freedom and away from the tyranny of family life under the rule of “because I said so!”  The soon to be emancipated youth of the Roaring Fork Valley were no different.  They had waited long enough to be able to drive and not rely on their siblings for rides, or even worse, their friend’s control of when and where they would take you.

Through all the joy and expectation of the approaching 16^th birthday, was the event that would change everything!  Going from a student driver to that of a bonafide licensed driver.  Well one obstacle did exist and it was not lost on any soon-to-be 16-year-old or soon-to-be licensed driver of any age, and that was Officer Mark Potter, state certified DMV inspector and savior of the pedestrians of the Roaring Fork Valley.  He loomed on the horizon like Zeus’ Fist, which is a cursed pile of rocks for those of you not into mythology, of which no new driver could avoid.

Mr. Potter was known for having a rather unpleasant disposition to put it mildly.  There was no room in his life for stupid questions (all questions asked of him were considered stupid) or dumb people.  He arrived on-time and closed on-time.  Don’t even consider asking any questions or even greeting him when he was not on duty.  And don’t even think of showing up for your driving test without an appointment. Okay, in fairness he might not have been that bad but we will never know for sure.  But what every kid that faced him for the written exam or actual driving test can confirm is that he was what nightmares were made from.

If you failed the driving test, he would find the furthest out possible appointment for your retake and would pencil you in.  Yes, pencil you in as he owned you at that point and you were at his mercy, if you want to call it that.   Those who faced the dreaded Officer Potter were probably the best drivers or at least the best educated drivers in the valley but it was not without a certain amount of anxiety along the way.

The DMV office was originally, well for my generation, in a motor home out at Sardy Field behind the Aspen Airways hanger.  By mid-1974, the DMV office was relocated to Holland Hills, just south-east of Basalt on highway 82 to make it more centrally located in the valley.   Mr. Potter moved on shortly after that and was replaced by Willie Williams.  To say they were nothing alike would be an understatement.

Mr. Williams used to love to play practical jokes on people at their most vulnerable time, taking a test, but it was all in good fun.  He was even known for giving unsuspecting test takers the written exams in one of the foreign language formats just to watch them squirm around in their chairs afraid to ask for help.