Editor – The Broomfield Historical Society

The Broomcorn Express, Quarterly Publication of the Broomfield Historical Society
Vol. 6, No. 1, January – March 2026

Lloyd L. (Lew) Moir, Jr.
January 19, 1936 – February 12, 2026

Lew was a former president of the Broomfield Historical Society, as well as a longtime volunteer and lecturer at the Broomfield Veterans Museum.
This excerpt from a 2023 Veterans Museum presentation provides an excellent overview of Lew’s life and career.

Lloyd L. (Lew) Moir, Jr: Colonel, USAF Active Duty: 20 August 1956– 30 September 1984.Lloyd (Lew) was born in Le Mars, Iowa on January 19, 1936. He was raised on the family farm outside of Orange City, Iowa. During his youth, he attended public schools; his first four years were in a one room county schoolhouse. While in high school, he participated in football, baseball, softball, choir, dramatics, and student government.

After two years in college at Northwestern College and Iowa State University, he entered the Aviation Cadet program. On February 4, 1958, he received his pilot’s wings and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. As a Cadet he flew the T-34, T-28, and T-33 aircraft. Following graduation, he entered the advanced fighter training program flying the F-86F. With a follow-on assignment to fly F-100’s at George AFB, the unthinkable happened: President Eisenhower and Secretary Dulles made the decision that a sizeable tactical air force was no longer needed. National policy went with a strategic nuclear force. Six hundred tactical pilots were reassigned to the Strategic Air Command to fly the B-47, and Lew was one of them. The good thing to come out of this turn of events is that he met his wife of 63 years.

After a 28-year career in the Air Force, Lew retired on September 30, 1984, and joined IBM (International Business Machines) as a Program Manager. In that capacity, he led the development of the Battle Management/Command Control architecture for President Reagan’s “Star Wars” program. He went on to manage the upgrade of satellite ground systems, British Air Traffic Control System, and the consolidation and modernization of the British Ministry of Defense Voice and Data Communication Systems. During this period, Lockheed Martin purchased the IBM Federal Systems Division. He retired an executive manager from IBM and Lockheed Martin in March 1999.

A Hundred Years Ago in Broomfield…

Clyde Brunner was a baby. (Today, the Brunner Farmhouse is on Main and Midway in Broomfield. Photo below shows Les and baby Clyde Brunner.)

Les and Clyde Brunner, 1926, courtesy Broomfield History Collections

The Mosher family moved to Broomfield and Glenn Mosher started working for Joseph Huddart at the legendary Broomfield Lumber Company. (Image at top shows Glen Mosher in front of the Broomfield Lumber Company, c. 1930.)

The Boulder-Denver Interurban train was shut down. Read more about it here.

Boulder-Denver Interurban Train, courtesy Broomfield History Collections

Colorado was the first state to hold a referendum to repeal Prohibition. It failed. (Here’s the full story.) Eventually, of course, the 18th Amendment was repealed. Read more about “Broomfield in the Bad Old Days” on the BHS website.

In 1926, people in Broomfield worked hard, but they also knew how to have a good time! The Crescent Grange (photo below) and the pool hall offered central locations for people to gather, both formally and informally.