1 10 19 https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/483/Families-H1.pdf 68ac81036a489051a5264bc3303bea90 PDF Text Text outstanding softball pitcher and in 1932 led Seibert to the district basketball tournament. Jay (#3) followed in his older brother's footsteps by excelling in everything he undertook. Ventan (#4) died at an early age in the influenza and diphtheria scourge of the early 1920's. Robert (#5) was the youngest of the boys and carried on the Guy tradition in grand style. Then, "Lo & Behold," along came a girl Ada May (#6). She was the baby for many years and Hanison even reserved a seat on the school bus for her. Today in 1986, there are four of the Guy family left. Leroy is retired from thorobred horse training and lives in Phoenix. Garland is retired from Ford Motor Co. after 35 years of service and is really enjoying life by raising, breeding and racing thorobred horees in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Robert lives in Lag Vegas, Nevada, and baby Ada May and her husband, Merle, live in Phoenix where they slso race horses in Arizona & New Mexico. The Guy family has cnrne a long way from Grandpa & Grandma Jeffries and the Hotel and Poolhall in Seibert, Colorado. by Ada May Midgett GUY - WEMMER FAMILY filing the final papers it was discovered they were not yet 2L, the legal age to file a homestead claim, and they had to relinquish these claims. They then helped their father on the ranch until they were 21. At that time Francis turned the ranch over to his sons and moved to Eads, Co. where he opened a general merchandise store which he owned and operated until his retirement, then moving to Canon City, Co. In 1916 Jerry and Mabel (Pugh) were married and they and Jess continued the ranching operation. In the crash of "29" they lost the ranch. At this time Jess moved to Westcliffe, and later to Canon City where he owned and operated a green house. Jerry remained in the area, farming at various locations in the north part of Kit Carson County until in 1938, when he bought the old John Knodel homestead in the Settlement from the Federal Land Bank. In 1948 he retired and sold the farm to his son David, moved to Stratton, where he lived until his death in L977 at the age of 91. Eight children were born into the family. Richard of Bethune Colo., Jane (Bandimere) of Arvada, Colo., David of Stratton, Colo., Leona (Chapman) of Mesa, Arizona, Margaret (Chapman) of Mesa, Arizona, Pauline (Berver) of Silver City New Mexico, Joanne (Wolfl of Monte Vista, Colo., and Roberta (Kindred) of Spokane, Wash. Mabel passed away on April g, 1986 at the F246 age of 92 years and 9 months. by David Guy HALL FAMILY r.247 We, Robert and Maxine Hall, moved from southeastern Kangae in May 1948, to a farm 15 miles east of Fountain, Colo., known as the Hanover District. In Sept. of that year, our son James Michael (Mike) was born. In May of 1950, we moved to Flagler, Co. where farming prospects seemed much better. We beca-e acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. E.F. Wright of Flagler and he rented us some farm ground. We lived on the corner three fourths of a mile northwest of Flagler, where the oil road turns to the north. This house was owned by Guy Spear of Liberal, Kansas. He was the manager of the Baughman Land Company. He rented us more ground to farm. Our daughter, Vicki Sue, was born in March 1955. We bought a lot at the north edge of Flagler, from Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Huntzinger and built a quonset on it. In 1959, Mr. Spear wanted to sell the house and have it moved. We bought it and Hnm61 $1t"* helped us move it over to the lot where the quonset was. We remodeled it and are residing there at this time. Our son Mike, graduated in 1966 as class Valedictorian of the Flagler High School. He went on to the college at Boulder, Colo. and then to Medical School at Denver General in Denver. In June L972, he married Kathy Lorince, daughter of Delin and Tony Lorince of Arriba, Colo. Mike served in the Air Force in Washington, D.C., and their daughter Michelle Delin was born there, in March 1975. About two years latcr Mike was trans- GWYN - FISTIER FAMILY ferred to San Antonio, Texas. Later, he moved to Colorado Springs where they reside In 1906, the J.A. "Gus" Gwlrn family came at this time. Their son, Mathew Lorince, was born in April 1979. Mike is an Anesthesiologist at Penrose Hospital. Our daughter, Vicki, graduated as Saluta- they homesteaded on the SW 1/r -23-8-50. In 1918, they returned to Nebraska. In 1921, the youngest son, James Gwyn, returned to School. She went to college in Greeley, Colo. where she majored in Special Education. After graduating in June of 1977, she married F246 to Flagler from Decatur, Nebraska, where Flagler where he worked for the late C.J. Farr. On October L6, t924, he was married to lda Fisher. They lived on several places along the Republican River. In L942, they returned to their own place which was land Jim had bought from his father early in 1924. Their children were: Albert, born November 7, torian of her 1973 class at Flagler High Robert Sanderson, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Sanderson Sr. of Greeley. She began teaching at Madison Elementary. She got her Masters Degree in 1985 and is still residing and teaching at Madison, in Greeley. by Mrs. Robert llall 1927, and Margie, born September 10, 1929, on the original A.C. Fisher homestead, where their mother was born. Agnes was born Jess and Jerry Guy. No one is sure oftheir age in this photo but a good guess would be 18 months to two years. They were born August 30, 1886. In the late 1800's Francis and Matilda (Wemmer) Guy moved from the Wichita, Kansas area, along with their three children, daughter Myrtle (1884), twin song Jess and Jerry (1886), and their possessions in a covered wagon, possibly the last covered wagon coming to this area. They settled first at Laird, CO. then sometime later moving to a ranch north and east of Kirk, Co. When Jegs and Jerry turned 18, they each filed for a homestead north and west ofJoes, Colorado. After proving up their claim and August 8, 1932, in a eod house on the Wm. Kneis homestead. The family struggled along in the thirties - eating beans, going to town with the team and wagon - selling a few eggs, a dab of home churned butter to buy necessary groceries. Mr. Chas. Blake, the grocer, of Seibert provided a small sack of candy as a treat for the kids. In February of 1957, Jim and Ida traded their ranch for property in town and moved to Flagler. Jim passed away in December, 1959. Ida still lives in Flagler, enjoying her family and busy with her many hobbies. by Ida R. Gwyn HALL. GREENWOOD FAMILY F248 My parents, Winford (Wink) Scott Hall and Julia Boletta (Letta) Greenwood of Stratton, Colorado were married January 10, 1912 in Kit Carson County. They were early settlers of the county having homesteaded land as early as 1906. Winford was born May 31, 1882 in Knox County, Missouri. He was the son of William Graves Hall and Beatrice Maud Scott. His father was from Indiana and mother from Kentucky of Scotch-Irish ancestors. Boletta was born September 8, 1894 in Franklin County, Nebraska. She was the daughter ofTheodore Greenwood and Laura Delilah Haskins. Theodore and Laura were originally from Wisconsin. They moved to �County, Colorado where they stayed until about 1928 moving to Barry County, Missouri and then to Barton County, Missouri. They continued to be a farming family. Winford and Boletta had 4 children: Faye Winifred (Johnson), Portland, Oregon, Frances Dee (Daniel), Springfield, Missouri, Ray Alney, East Carbon, Utah and Alice Lee (Varner), Willard, Miesouri. Winford Scott Hall died April 7, 1975 and Julia Boletta (Greenwood) Hall died November 5, L977; both are buried in Clear Creek Cemetery in IIANSEN, JOIIN AND CORA F260 Greene County, Missouti. My parents had to work hard but had a very interesting life. At times when we would travel across Kansas by automobile they would point out places where they had spent the night in a covered wagon as they made two trips by wagon. One summer just after they were married they followed a threshing machine around the country during harvest season. My father hauled water for the steam engine and mother and another girl had the cook shack. They certainly had a long exciting life together celebrating 63 years of marriage before my father died in 1975. Winford Scott and Julia Boletta Hall - 50th by Alice Hall Varner Wedding anniversary' LXiz. IIALL, CLAUDE II. FAMILY F249 John and Cora Hansen, 1948 1917, Sod house of neighbors. Winford Hall standing behind man holding child. Julia Boletta Hall setting behind their two girls, Francis and Faye. Nebraska about 1886 staying there until about 1900 when they moved to Smith County, Kansas. Theodore and Laura moved to Kit Carson County about 1908 and homesteaded land south of Stratton. Theo- dore and Laura had five children: Frances Maud (Burggraff), Julia Boletta (Hall)' Harry Howard, Laura Ellen (Lowe), aod Russell Lyman. Laura Delilah Greenwood died November 10, 1934 and Theodore Greenwood died May 11, 1937. They are both buried in the cemetery at Burlington, Colorado. Winford Hall first came west from Missouri about 1906 in search of adventure and his goal to homestead land which he did. He filed his homestead affidavit with the Land Office at Hugo, Colorado on September 20, 1906 for 160 acres in Section 29, Township 10S. He moved on to the land in February 190? and farmed 35 acres the first year, 45 acres in 1908, 80 acres in 1909, 90 acres in 1910,95 aqes in 1911. In 1909 he filed for an additional 160 acres and proved claim to the land in 1912. The improvements made on the first 160 acres was a sod house 12x16 ft., sod and frame stable 16x40 ft., adobe henhouse 8x10 ft., frame buggy shed 8x12 ft., well, pump, windmill and tank, 13l miles wire fencing. Value $600.00. After Winford and Boletta were married they continued to live on the land in Kit Carson County until about 1919 when they moved to the Arkansas Valley in Bent Claude and Annie Hall along with their four children, Thomas, Goldie, Claude and Inez, resided on a farm in Clay County, Nebraska, until February 26, 1923, when they moved to a farm north of Burlington, Colorado. The farm was one mile south of the Broadsword School which the children all attended until they graduated from the eighth grade. Mr. Hall and family engaged i! farming 1320 acres of land adjacent to and near the farmstead. In 1933 they purchased a property in west Burlington and converted an unused paint shop into a residence and chick hatchery. Local poultry flocks were upgraded and the poultrymen sold eggs to the hatchery for producing the chicks. Baby chicks, ducklings, and poults were hatched for sale to growers, as well as pheasants for the State Game Commission. In 1936 Mr. Hall moved to Lakewood, Colorado, where he engaged in contracting and building homes. His son, Tom and his wife, Myrtle Kreoger Hall, remained in Burlington and operated the hatchery until 1939 when they, too, moved to Lakewood and joined his father and brother in the building business. When the building material freeze developed in World War II, the building came to a halt and the family members accepted positions with the duPont Company's Remington Arms Division to aid in the war effort. by Thomas Merlyn Ilall John Hansen and animals he made as a hobby John and Cora Hansen were maried May 9, 1906 on a cloudy, rainy day. They went 25 miles in a horse and buggy to be married in Orion, Kansas. They resided in and around Oakley, Kansas until 1911 when they moved to Cedar, Kansas where my father dug wells by hand and followed the threshing machine for a living. In 1914 they moved back to Orion, Kansas where Daddy worked on a farm. The farming was done the modern way of 1911, by horse and the walking plow. In 1928 my parents rented a farm and Daddy built a four room sod house south of Oakley, Kansas. It was in 1928 that he bought his first tractor and a Model T car. Their only means of transportation until this time was the horse and buggy. The next 6 yean saw them thru the dirty 30's. During this time their only means of heat were "Grassolines" (Cowchips). They would pick them by the wagon loads and stack them in a stack like you would bundles of feed. These were very hard times as it was for all the people in the 30's. Daddy worked asl an assessor for the county. He would do a lot of it on horse back, going from farm to �farm. One time he got caught in a dirt storm, so black that he couldn't see where he was going, so he just turned the horse, Buster, loose and he took him home. I do remember this terrible storm, guess just because Daddy wagn't home. In 1935 my parents moved to Firstview, Colorado on a farm south ofthere, where they rented a farm from J.W. Baughman. Daddy drove the school bus and Mother was the cook at the school in Firstview. She was the first cook at this school when the government put the hot lunch progrnm in the school. They received commodities and that time we paid 100 for dinner. Mother baked all the bread for the school. In 1941 we moved to Stratton. My parents purchased the Asa Wood farm southeast of Stratton. While on this farm they farmed and raised Hereford cattle. In 1948 when illness forced them to retire from farming, they moved to Stratton. They purchased the Ivan Houtz property. While living in Stratton, my father was the caretaker for the city park. The park at that time had not been taken care of and he restored it back to it's beauty. He enjoyed this so much. He enjoyed visiting with the people who came to use the park. Many times tourists would come back geveral years in a row and made sure that they would stop to visit with him. His hobby was making animals out of plywood. He made a complete set of Hereford cattle. He made a windmill that the wheel even turned. He placed these animals in the yard, which was a great attraction to many people, as they looked so real. My mother was active in the Legion Auxilary and the Ladies Aid. They celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in May of 1956. Many friends and relatives came to help them celebrate. Shortly after that bad health forced them to go to the Grace Manor Nursing Home in Burlington, Colorado. Theywere fortunate to be able to celebrate their 60th Wedding Anniversary before one was taken in death. My father passed away in 1968 and Mother passed away in 1971. They were blessed with 3 children, Letha, Hillis and Netha. Letha Gee lives in Denver; Hillis passed away in 1956. Netha Kindred lives in Stratton. Colorado. They had five grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. by Netha Kindred HANSEN, JOHN AND ROSIE F261 This article prepared by Lewis A. Flansen, Ann Misner, and Bernice E. Rudnik for the Centennial of Kit Carson County, Colorado. Our father, John Theodore Hansen, was born in Prasto, Denmark September 1, 1889 to Mr. and Mrs. Rasmuss Hansen. He came to America in 1906 and becnme an American citizen. Our mother, Rosie LaZetta Clark, was born to Elias Luther and Eva May Clark on June 2, 1905 in Hornell, New York. John and Rosie were united in marriage October 9, 1920 in Page, Nebraska. To this union ten children were born. After the death of their daughter, Eva May, the decision was made to leave Page, Nebraska and move to KitCarson County, Colorado. Wanting to provide a country environment for their children, they purchased a 160-acres farm one mile east and two miles south of Seibert in 1930. The children's names are IIARDIN FAMILY F262 Irene M. Hansen (Zahnter), Doris M. Hansen (Stewart), Nels R. Hansen, Hans P. Hansen, Louise E. Hansen (Harsh), Kenneth R. Hansen, Lewis A. Hansen, Anna Belle Hansen (Misner), and Bernice E. Hansen (Rud- nik). Because of ill health and bad times, Dad and Mom lost the farm in December 193?. Dad then moved to Nebraska and Mom stayed on in Colorado. She made her home in Seibert, then moved to Vona in 1941. She always enjoyed a large garden and, of course, her pet cow, which only she could milk. After manyyears of separation, Dad and Mom were divorced in 1945. Dad passed away Januar5r 19, 1958 in O'Neill, Nebraska. In 1946, Mom moved to Elsie, Nebraska for a year and a halfand worked as a housekeeper, then returned to Vona. Then on March 24. 1952, Mom married John Gray of Vona. He had been in World War I and also worked on the railroad. In later years, he took care ofthe cemetery grounds. Mom and John moved north of the schoolhouse in Vona until the school wanted to enlarge the football field. They sold the place and bought another home east of the Oasis Service Station. John had a small rat terrier dog which he took everywhere. He put a dish pan on the fender of the tractor for the dog to ride in. Mom had a passion for bright colors in her sewing and needlework and she loved to make beautiful tatted edgings for pillowcases and gifts. Then, in 1970, they moved to a retirement home in Buena Vista, but they didn't like it there and returned to Vona. John was enlarging the house and building a garage in September 1973 when he fell and broke his hip. Needing care, they moved to Grace Manor in Burlington. In December, he learned to walk again only to have a stroke and he died December 27,1973. Mom stayed at Grace Manor a short time and one day the discontented lady walked to the bus stop and went home to Vona. After several stays between daughters and nursing homes, she became ill and had surgery in January 19?8. She passed away October l9?8 and was buried in Vona. At the time of this writing, two sisters and one brother are deceased. Eva May died shortly after her birth and Doris Hansen (Stewart) burned November 11, 1945 in Stratton when she put kerosene in a hot coal stove. Kenneth Hansen was killed in Korea July 20, 1950. Irene is now a retired widow living in Syracuse, Kansas. Hans and his wife are now retired and living in New Jersey. Nels and his wife are farming in Walback, Nebras- ka. Louise is working at a nursing home in LaJunta, Colorado. Lewis and his wife are now retired and living in Northglenn, Colorado. Ann and her husband are farming north of Seibert, Colorado. Bernice and her husband are operating a paint and repair service in Burlington, Colorado. by Bernice Rudnik A.V. and Christine Hardin with great-grandsons, Steven and Kris Barber. Alton and Christine Hardin met in White Hall, Wisconsin; they were united in marriage July 21, 1906. In May 1907 on the ?th they came to Colorado where they homesteaded on a place west of Smelkers which is some eighteen miles southwest of Stratton. His parents, a brother Ralph and wife Anna, all came together. They brought two carloads ofhorses, machinery and house- hold goods. His parents put up a sod house. Part of them slept and ate there, but A.V.'s had a tent at first. They did not have any good sod, so Alton dynamited some rock on their place and built a two room rock house. Later they had to go to Goodland, Kansas, where A.V. got a job in the round house. They rented out their land to Ed Lowe, father of Art Lowe, who had lived neighbors to them in Augusta, Wisconsin. Faye was a baby then . . a very wee baby who needed a doctor's care if she was to live, so Christine and A.V. had two reasons for moving to Goodland. Because she was a skilled dressmaker and millner, Christine found much work also in Goodland. Every year they had to break out ten acres of sod on the claims, so Alton would come home every so often on the train from Goodland, riding in the engine and scooping coal for his ride. When his brother and father preempted their claims and paid one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, Mr. Hardin sent his horses back to Wisconsin as he thought they were not getting enough to eat. While he worked in Goodland, the depot there was a two-story affair, had some apartment, a dining room and a regular hotel within the depot building. In 1912 they witnessed the "big blizzard" that caused the death of so many cattle. The Lange outfit had about seven thousand head and lost most of them. Walter Harrison also lost most of his. Harrison and his helper got lost in the blizzard and cnme to Hardins' fence, followed it to their house, and came in and stayed all night. Lange had an angle fence from Cheyenne Vvslls nlmegl to Hardin's house, but after the blizzard the fence didn't stay long. The wires were cut loose and left laying on the ground. [t was at this farm home that they reared their two children, �Jess and Faye. This was their home for most of forty years. That stone part of their homestead is still standing. When the Hardins came to Stratton it had but recently been renamed from "Claremont" to "Stratton;" the name "Claremont" had not yet been removed from the depot. The forty-odd years in eastern Colorado were not always happy years for the usual hardships of pioneering confronted them, and the cycle of drouth and years of abundance that is a characteristic ofthis part of the United States had to be weathered. They always felt that the drought of the 1930's was the most severe trial. The Hardins owned the first automobile in their community,a 1916 Overland, which made trips to town less strenuous especially for Mrs. Hardin who learned to drive the car. A.V. and Christine saw many changes in Eastern Colorado, especially in Stratton which had very few buildings when they arived. Their daughter Faye and son Jess attended the Smelker School. Faye went to Vona High School, leaving in 1929 to go to California. Both children went to California, maried and raised their families. A.V. and Christine moved into town in Stratton in 1948, and again built their home which is where their daughter Faye now resides. A.V. always went to help the neighbors work on windmills. In his last years he was often seen sitting in his back yard grinding files and making knives for his friends. On Sunday, July 22,1956, an open house was held at the American Legion Hall in honor of their 50th wedding anniversary. A.V. fell and broke his hip and passed away in a nursing home in February, 1963. He is buried in Stratton Cemetery. Faye carne to take care ofher father, and when he was gone she remained to care for her mother. Chris- tine spent many hours making beautiful afghans which she gave to her cloee friends for wedding gifts. She always made all her own dresses, sewed for Faye and often for others who appreciated her dressmaking skills. A.V. and Christine both loved to dance. Christine continued to go to dances until her death at the age of95. She is buried along side her husband. by Faye Mohr sorority meetings filled the rest of their time. Daughters Joan Todd and Jean Andersen, both won 4-H trips to National 4-H Congress at Chicago in their foods projects. We enjoyed many good meals as they were learning their skills. After both were in college at Colorado State University, we planned a trip to ward off the empty nest syndrome. Visiting our Capital at Washington D.C., museums and theater at New York City, we found another dimension. In the spring of 1963, John had a survey done to determine the feasibility of another bank in this area. The need for a banking facility was indicated and John chartered the First National Bank at Burlington. In August the charter was approved by The Comptroller of Currency and with a lot of work the bank was ready and open for business in October of 1963. The need was there and with the support of the local stockholders, the F253 Our bumper sticker should read "Native" as both John and Norrene Harker were born in Eastern Colorado. John was born only three miles from where he established the headquarters for his farm which is twenty miles north and three miles east of Burlington. Eugene L. and Shirley Harker were his parents. They were from Missouri Valley, Iowa. Norrene was born at Holyoke, Colorado and raised near Arapahoe. She is the daugh- ter of Wilbur and Mildred Summers. The Arapahoe High School was attended by both John and Norrene and twenty years later by both of their daughters. Their life was adventuresome with ranching and raising wheat. Then the many social activities of church, school, 4-H, trapshooting, lodge and In 1882, Harrison married Miss Mary E. Knight of Bolivar, Missouri, and to them were born four children, Myrta, Millard, Carl (thats me) and Mary. In about 19fi), father moved to Wallace Co., Kansas, not far from Sharon Springs and Weskan, and in time acquired land, some on each side of the Kansas-Colorado line, about twenty miles south of Kanorado, where he carried on his cattle business, partly in Kansas and partly in Colorado. During the spring and summer of 1911, the grass didn't even green up on the surrounding range. So father decided that something had to be done concerning cattle pasture. In the late summer he rode west up into Colorado board ofdirectors, the main street businesses, until he found some wonderfully good grass the ranchers and farmers, the totals of the bank have continued to grow year by year. In about 20 miles southwest of Stratton. He located a homesteader who had become dissatisfied with the lot of homestead life, 1968, the Kit Carson State Bank was offered for sale by Don Collins to John. The transac- tion was made with John C. Clark also purchasing an interest and operating the bank as CEO. After his death in 1975, Bruce and Jean Andersen purchased his shares and now operate the bank. Another honor in banking was John's when he was elected President of the Colorado Bankers Association in May of 1976 after having served on the Board of Directors for four years. The bill for the electronic transfer of funds became an Act after many weeks of meetings during John's year of service. In the spring of 1977 , we made a move from the farm to the new home we had built on the golf course north of town. We still are not in town but so much closer. This is really nice for the business and social activities we are involved in. The Pink Ladies, Heart Fund, Woman's Club and Ladies Golf have all made claims on my time. Thirty years of living on the farm and also still being engaged in wheat production, has given us a real appreciation of the land and the tremendous capabilities of agriculture in these wonderful United States. Now with the loss of exports, a whole new set of problems must be dealt with. Our faith in God, in the land and in the fine young people of our country is the very substance that will be needed for the changes that lie ahead. HARKER, JOHN AND NORRENE and started for Kansas. They arrived at the Doc Hayes ranch near Russell, Kansas, in the fall of 1877, where they both took up homesteads, began farming some and getting started in the cattle business. As it is written in Psalms 128, we are blessed with grandchildren. Joan and Doug Todd live on a ranch at Rexford, Kansas. They have three children, Jay Todd, Jeff Todd and Jody Todd. Jean and Bruce Andersen at Kit Carson, Colorado have two sons, Aaron Andersen and Seth Anderson. With many successes in their own activities, they have already shown their capabilities and will be contributing citizens wherever their future plans will take them. by John E. and Norrene Harker HARRISON A. \ry. F264 A.W. Harrison was born near Birmingham, Ohio, in 1856. In 1877, on becoming of age, he and a neighbor boy between them bought a team of horses, harness and a light wagon and bought his relinquishment, got immediate possession, rode back home and moved his family and 600 head of cattle to their new home in October of 1911. It looked like a good deal, the cattle were filling up on the big grass and the free range was elmost limitless. Along in the late November, big snow storms began. Twelve to fourteen inches covered the ground and with it ca-e gale winds that whipped the snow into furious blizzards almost every day. There was six inches of grass under the snow but it didn't do a cow any good down there as they can't paw it out like a horse does. There was no other feed available in the country as the few homesteaders barely raised enough for their own use. At last father managed to buy a stack of feed from a neighbor, paying $75.00 for a couple of tons of cane, which was badly needed for horse feed. And so the winter continued, new snow being added every few days and blizzard conditions existing whenever the wind blew, which was often. Finally, an attempt was made to plow the snow off the grass with an A shaped snow plow made of lumber and pulled q'ith four horses. Some days they had a fair degree of success and the cattle would follow the plow and get some grass that was uncovered in this way. But on windy days the snow plow tracks would fill up with snow shortly after they were plowed out. Two car loads of cotton cake had been ordered earlier and had been delivered to Stratton, but it was a man sized job to buck the deep snow and blizzards everyday to and from Stratton. Father hauled it all himself with a four horse team and wagon, as it was impossible to hire a disinterested man to make the trip. It was a trip to Stratton one day and back the next, 20 miles each way. There were few fences and no lanes in those days and the road to Stratton was an angling cross country trail almost the entire distance. On some days when night would catch him before he got home and the trail would be completely covered with drifting snow, he would lose his way and wander until he would find some neighbor's place where he could spend the night. On one occasion when he had lost his way but was still continuing to travel in what he thought was the general direction of home, his team stopped suddenly and �dozed a few winks between rounds. On awakening he found that a large chunk had been chewed from his coat tail and about four feet of his bullwhip was missing. Despite the very gtrenuous life of the early settlers here and the tragic and discouraging results of their efforts, a great many of them made astonishing comebacks, continuing on in the only life and buginess that they knew. A.W. Harrison continued in his cattle operation at the old ranch site until 1928 at the age of 72. He and mother retired to an easier life at Colorado Spring, Co. by J. Carl Harrison HARRISON, E. E. F266 Elmer Ellsworth Harrison, the son of William and Anna Hanison, was born at The Building of the Rock Island Railroad two and one haU miles west of Vona, taken in 1887. Forman Bill of Roy Leapar standing on the track. E.H. Haynes, old time regident of Vona helped in the construction of the railroad near Bethune. Mrs. Jack McConnells grandfather, Albert Bradghaw was also in the crew. would not move any further regardless of his urging. He went around in front of the horses to see if he had come to a fence, but instead of finding a fence, he fell off a bank into the snow beneath which he was unable to see, but his horses could see. Some nights on losing the road he would get in deep drifts and he would have to leave his load until the next day. On one such occasion he traveled toward the only lightthat he could see and eventually arived at the homestead of A.V. Harden where he stayed until morning. ' At last father got the cake all hauled but cake alone with no filler wasn't sufficient feed for cattle. There was no way of getting the cattle to the railroad to move them out to feed and no way of getting enough hay to them if intended planting to corn and feed, and which was not fenced. The neighbor was it could have been bought. So before the snow melted off in the spring some time in March, father had lost more than half of his herd. father had lost 365 head of cattle, mostly big It kept one man busy skinning cattle most of the winter. The store keeper in Vona (Newt Howell) and others in Stratton used to say of father that he would bring in a wagon load of cow hides and take out a wagon load of supplies. Those starving cattle would eat anything that they could chew, such as harness straps, rope, soft posts, gunny sacks, rags, and clothing. They even chewed the twist off each others tails or horses tails if they could get them. In the spring, after the bone yard had rotted away, we found a great many hair balls as big as baseballs and smaller, that had formed in the stomachs of the cattle. In the spring of L912, father was notified taken somewhat aback when father offered to furnish posts and wire and help him fence his 40 acres and he could work out the cost of material working for father at his odd spare time on the ranch. The neighbor being somewhat belligerent before his call on father refused the offer, but when he reported at the next Association meeting, the offer that father had made him in regard to fence, the rest of the members of the Association quickly realized that they had nothing to fear of a man of that caliber, so their Farmers Protection Association just simply fell apart from that time on. Before grass came in the spring of 1912, steerg. Harrison had plenty of shed room for his cattle, but considering the outcome that wasn't too good an idea as the cattle with nothing to eat spent most of the time in the shed. The ground floor of which soon was llamped up into about a foot of sticky mud not fit for them to lay down in. After standing up constantly for a week or two, some of the weaker or tired ones would lie down. Then because they were so tightly crowded in the shed there would be 15 to 20 in a pile unable to get up because of the jam. So usually some on the bottom of the pile would be dead before we could get them all up. It became necessary for a man to stay up with the cattle at night constantly walking back and forth in the shed to keep them from piling up. by registered letter from his new homesteader neighbors that they had organized "The Farmers Protection Association" and in the event that his cattle trespassed on any member'g land, that he (Harrison) would be sued for domages by the Farmers Protection Association and assess their own estimate of Eventually we decided to try shutting them out of the shed at night, only to experience damages. Shortly after the letter arrived, a near neighbor, one of the Association members, made a personal call on father to give personal warning not to let his cattle trespasg on his forty acres of plowed land that he never stood up again. This tragic heart-breaking experience oc- Racine, Wisconsin on August 19, 1863. His father and mother were married at Maisey, l{ampton, England, on November 15, 1853 and sailed from Liverpool bound for the United States in the sailing ship, The Adriatic, on May 10, 1854. They arrived at New York on July 4th and from there they traveled overland to Racine, Wisconsin where the family lived until 1873. In that year they moved to Clay Center, Nebraska. On February 5, 1888 he married Mary Josephine Yarnell. They moved to Dundy County Nebraska where he had filed a timber claim and planted five acres of trees. For the benefit of better schools, Mr. Harison, with his family, moved to Burlington, Colorado in the fall of 1897 and purchased the Montezuma Hotel which he operated for several years. During this time he carried mail on a Star Route from Burlington to Goff, the home of J.T. Jones, thence to Lansing, the Lee Yount Ranch, and from there to Yale, the home of Sam Schaal Sr., a distance of 45 miles, using horses and a spring wagon or top buggy. In four years he missed only one trip because of snow. He served two terms as president of the school board, and was justice of the peace for ten years. In 1906 he filed on a homestead four miles south of Burlington which he improved and farmed until he proved up on it, and moved back to Burlington in 1909. During this year, Mr. Harrison and members of his family moved to Gypsum, Kansas, where he spent some months, considering it to be beneficial to his health. In the fall they moved back to Burlington. Elmer and Mary Harrison had five chil- dren: Ella Harrison O'Brian, Ethel, and Gertrude Harrison Punshon of Boulder, and two sons, Ben and Hobart. The Harisons were active members of the Methodist Church. a worse condition. The cattle driven from the wet would lie down on the snow and ice in the corral in temperatures around zero a good bit of the time, and would freeze their legs from their knees down and consequently they casionally had a humorous happening. One of the hired men who was assigned to keeping the cattle on foot at night, got sleepy and HARTMAN FAMILY F256 Ed and Eda Hartman moved from Blue Hill, Nebraska, to Colorado in 1925. They bought a half section of open prairie eleven and one half miles south west of Stratton. They moved a team of horses nnmed Dick �HARTMAN - VANCE FAMILY F268 A big snow in 1930 near the Hartman farmetead. SOth Anniversary of Herman and Augusta Hartman, married Sept, 11, 1919 in Stanton, NE. Taken Sept. 11, 1969 at Trinity Lutheran Church, Bur- lington, CO. also. The family name 'Hartmann' became 'Hartman'when Herman choge the drop the second n. Four children were born to this union: Hilda, Regina, Cecilia, and Ewald. Hilda died when one year old of indigestion. Due to the asthmatic condition of Regina, the September 11, 1954 when Ed and Eda Hartman won first prize as a bride and gtoom in a Stratton Day parade. and Dan, some bales of hay, and their furniture on the Rock Island train. Ed and Eda with their children, a daughter Louise, and a son Howard, followed in a Model T car. The furniture was surrounded with bales of hay in the yard in all kinds of weather while the house was being built by an uncle. I do not recall where the folks lived until a room in the house was finished enough to live in, but Howard and I went to stay with our aunt and uncle, Jennie and Louie Waechter, so we could go to school which was at Green Knoll. Later we attended Grandview. After the house was built, a cave was dug and a barn was built. Ed and Eda broke the farm ground with Dick and Dan. Eda worked in the field right along with her husband Ed. They cut across the prairie to get groceries from Stratton. Sometimes they went with a wagon pulled by Dick and Dan, sometimes in the Model T. Sunday School was started in the Grandview country school and they attended regularly. They saw many hardships when the great drought had set in with the crop failures that followed and the dust storms becoming more frequent. Then came the grasshoppers. Ed and Eda loved to be in Stratton parades. In 1954 they won first prize by dressing like a bride and groom in their old buggv. Their daughter, Louise, married Norman Smith in 1938 and they had three sons, Dean, Doyle and Denis. Howard never married and helped farm at home. by Louise Smith HARTMAN FAMILY F267 August Herman Hartman was born 3-91888 in Stanton Co., Nebraska. He was one of fifteen children. He maried Augusta Mathilde Maria Boldt 9-11-1919 in Stanton. She was born 8-10-1897 and raised in Stanton fanily doctor advised them to move to Colorado. They were farmers in Stanton Co. so sold their farm equipment and animals. Being Lutherans, they located a Lutheran Church in Colorado and in 1938 the Hartmans with their three children made their way to Stratton, Colo. in a 1929 Model A pulling a small trailer house containing all their possessions. The pastor of the Statton church advised them to live in Burlington because of more jobs being available there. In 1942 they bought a house at 193-13th St. in Burlington. Herman worked for Ernest 1973 Beet harvest at Ewald Hartman Farm 10 miles S.E. of Burlington. The Hartmans enjoyed playing cards and belonged to card clubs. Ewald Hartman and Yvonne Vance were married November 28, 1948 at the Burlington Methodist Church by Rev. Henry Beatty. We had both graduated from Burlington High but it wasn't until after Ewald returned from serving his country in World War II in the U.S. Air Corps as a B-17 flight engineer and I had graduated from business school in 1947 that we started dating. Ewald, with the help of his Dad and mine, built a little house southwest of the Burlington Court House where we lived for ten years. Two of our children were born while living there; Joedy Allen 1950, and Jana Lou 1953. Ewald worked for various local farmers during this time. His dream of having a farm of his own became a reality when we had the opportunity to move to and eventually purchase the Bob Schleusener place 6 miles east and 5 miles south of Burlington. The 1950s had been anything but a profitable time for local farmers. The drought caused terrible dirt storms and many had left the area but that didn't dampen Ewald's enthusiasm. So, March 5, 1958 we moved to the farm with 50 chickens, 5 milk cows, and a few pieces of used equipment. It wasn't easy but In the 1950s when Bonney Dam was being we never missed a meal, were never cold, had built, Augusta furnished room and board to young men who worked on the dam. g1t" considered them "her boys". Regina worked as a waitress and later left Burlington and moved to Mesa, Arizona all the necessities and each other. Our third child, Julie Kae was born in 1959. It turned out to be a good time to get into Lucke on a ranch NE of Burlington until 1946. He then farmed for himself on a small scale till 1961 when he retired. Augusta worked as a cook at Shanks Cafe and later as a clerk at Red Front Grocery in the early 40s. Ewald also counted eggs and carried out groceries. Herman and Augusta enjoyed their work in the Trinity Lutheran Church where Augusta taught Sunday School, served as alter committee for years, and was active in Ladies Aid. She always asked newcomers at church for Sunday dinner. She was a very active member of the Kit Carson Co. Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and spent hours making or mending gowns, sheets, and other supplies. where she died of cancer in 1978. Cecilia graduated from Burlington High School and worked as a telephone operator until marrying J.D. Piner and moving to Cedar Creek, Nebraska. Ewald also graduated from BHS. He was active in football and basketball sports. He served in World War II as a B 17 flight engineer, cnme home and married Yvonne Vance. They still farm and ranch 10 miles southeast of Burlington. Herman died in July 1979 at the age of 91. Augusta is a resident of Grace Manor Care farming for things started upward in the 60s. Irrigation was starting up big and in the fall of 1962 we put down our first well. Sugar beets - a frustrating crop to say the least were good to us. But, we had a big snow in October 1969 and much of the crop was frozen in the ground before the harvest was complete. During the warmer, thawing days we \ilere able to get a few loads out each day until we finally succeeded in wallowing the last beets out of the mud and hauled to the huge piles on the ground at Peconic Receiving Station on December 23. But all the beets - could be in the piles rotted before they processed. What a terrible loss to everyone in the county. The cattle kept us afloat that Center. by Ewald Hartman year; diversification paid off. We battled the problems that went with hiring and housing migrant labor and raised beets for 20 years. �I drove a truck for twelve. Ewald served as a director, sec.-treas., and president of the Kemp Beet Growers Assoc. from 1971 to 1976. We stood helplessly watching as the hail destroyed our wheat or corn crops through the years but the successful ones always outnumbered the lost ones. The children learned how to work and helped with whatever needed to be done. Ewald did well for himself and took pride in his farming. Our son, Joedy, seemed destined to be a farmer-rancher also. We worked together watering our crops with gated pipe until replacing the pipe with circle sprinklers in 1980. We also had time to play. We were both 4H leaders when all three of our children were very active ghnmpions. We both taught Sunday School and headed the youth group in our younger years at Trinity Lutheran Church where I played the organ for 35 years while Ewald served on all the various boards and Elder. Ewald enjoyed playing in the softball and bowling leagues and served on the board of Fellowship of Christian Athletes several years. I have enjoyed sewing for years and we both enjoy golf and bridge with our friends. Our annual 4th of July barbeque for the Hartman and Vance families at the farm has become a tradition. Have missed only 2 or 3 in the past 27 yeats. Another tradition - all granddaughters come to our house during the first week of December to help trim our Christmas tree. They have supper with us, help with the trimming, and stay overnight in sleeping bags across the living room floor. Fun for all! All three of our children graduated from Burlington High. They were very active in school and sports and we followed all activi- ties everywhere. Julie was an all-stater in basketball and clothing grand champion at Colorado State Fair. October 22,t985 Ewald had double bypass heart surgery. Joedy married Susan Hitchcock, built a new home on the section and is engaged in farming. They have three daughters: Jennifer Lynn, Renee Dian, and Kelly Ann. Jana married Vince Schreivogel. They own and operate "Vince's Chevrolet, Olds, Cadillac, Inc." (formerly Sim Hudson Motor Co.) in Burlington. They have three daughters: Jessica Dawn, Andrea Jae, and Lanie Jo. Julie is finishing her masters degree in Exercise Science at C.S.U. and will marry Donald Anderson of Otis, Colo. June 7, 1986. by Yvonne Hartman HARTZLER, ALFRED JEROME F259 Alfred Jerome Hartzler bought a farm three and a half miles east of Flagler and moved there in 1916. He developed the farm by opening up small springs along the Republican River and planting trees. He stocked the ponds along the river with fish. His livelihood csme from farming and livestock. He and a group of Flagler citizens developed the Crystal Springs Park with private funds. He was a charter member of the i Threshing in days long past. Flagler Farmers Union and its first president. Even with his failing health, he was retained as honorary president of this organization until his death on December 31, 1939. He was born February 13, 1859. He homesteaded in Sherman County, Kansas in 1887 and raised his family there. His son Melven Hartzler taught school in Flagler as high school manual training instructor about 1917 and 1918. His daughter Millie Gattshall taught school in Kit Carson County south of Flagler at Fairview in 1918, 1919 and 1920. She was at West Fairhaven in 1923 and at Sunny Slope in 1951 through 1954. Evidence of the efforts of Alfred Hartzler are still to be seen on his farm in spite of nearly fifty years of neglect and misuse since his death. Duane Loutzenhizer who owns the land today is a great-grandson. by Wallace Gattshall HARTZMANN MITCHEM FAMILY F260 Jacob Hasart, my great-great-grandfather, was born in 1865 in Germany. He immigrated to Russia with his parents during the rule of Catherine the Great. They remained true Germans and could not accept the Russian way of life. He came to America in the late 1800's. While living in Russia, he married Magdalena "Lena" Weisshaar. She was born in 1867 and was only 15 when she married Jacob. Jacob and Lena, with their son Tobias, went to Independence, Missouri, after crossing the ocean. From there they went to Cope, Colorado, then to Idalia. From Idalia they went to Lawrence, Kansas. They came back to Colorado to homestead on land north of Stratton. This area was called the Russian German Settlement. This was where Germans that had immigrated to Russia settled. Jacob and Lena had three more children: Lena, John, my great-grandfather, and Jacob. Jr. "Jake". Tobias died when he was a teenager. Magdalena died in 1943. Jacob died in 1948. My great-grandfather was born in 1896. He was married to Anna Dora Adolf in 1919. Anna was born in 1900. She was the daughter of August and Kathrina Adolf. August and Kathrina were Germans who had immigrated to South Russia. In 1888, they ceme, along with their two Russian-born children Danny and Katie, to America. After living in Scotland, South Dakota, where August was a shoemaker, they homesteaded on the Russian German Settlement in 1890. They were the second family to homestead on the settlement. August was a shoe cobbler here. Anna had four brothers and two sisters: Danny Katie; August, Jr. "A.W.", who was the first white baby born on the settlement; Luella; Chris; and Gus. Anna was the young- est. Danny died in 1901 when diptheria struck the settlement. John and Anna had 2 daughters: Leota, my grandmother, and Della. Anna died in 1930 of a brain tumor. My grandmother then had to take care of the house and cook. Della was raised by A.W. and Mary Adolf. My greatgrandfather was remarried to Edith Powers in 1938. They did not have any children. They are both still living in Stratton. My grandmother was born in 1920. She mauied Verl "Buck" Mitchem in March, 1938 against the wishes ofher father. Grandpa was born in 1914 and came from Kansas when he was four years old. In his early twenties he worked for Jake Hasart for awhile, then for John. This was how he met my grandmother. They lived on a farm north of Stratton. Their first daughter Drusilla was born in September, 1938. Their second daughter Cathy, my mother, was born in August, 1940. That same year they moved to Florence, Colorado. Grandpa worked for the steel mill. Later, they moved to Canyon City where he worked in the prison. They then moved to Simla where he worked in a filling station, then to Agate where he worked on a ranch. In L947, they ceme back to live on a farm north of Stratton where Grandpa helped great-Grandpa. In 1952, they had another daughter named Bunnie. Grandma died in 1967 of a massive heart attack. Grandpa was remarried to Hazel Fisher. They both live in Burlington. My mother married Wayne Hartzmann in April, 1962. He is the son of Lester and Ruby Hartzmann and was born in February, 1940. �They moved to St. Paul, Minnesota where Mom worked in an insurance claims office, government to put in the next crop in 1937. It was some better; at least we had enough feed. Frank caught skunks, coyotes, badgers for some money to eat on, also got a job up in the sand hills picking corn. It helped some. Jack-rabbits were plentiful so helped many families to eat. The lady cooks could cook a jackrabbit so it really was tasty. Frank was 21 and Dorothy still 16 when they were married in 1934. Didn't start their family too soon almost 6 years before Coreena Mae came- along on August 10, 1940, then Carl Ray, May 4, L945, then Sharion Rose Jan. 30, 1948, then Earl Dean Oct. 10, f951 weeks after the airplane crash in - at3 an Flagler air show which killed 20 people including Frank's brother Leighton's daughter Illa Mae Harwood. and Dad worked for John Deere. They moved back to Colorado in the beginning of 1968 and settled on a farm north of Stratton. They have two children: my brother Andy, age 15, and me, age L7. Note - John passed away Aug. 25, 1986. by Anna lfartzmann HARWOOD, FRANK F26I. In 1941 in April Frank and Dorothy and Coreena moved to the place where they lived for 45 years; moved in a two room house on his father's land he had bought in 1923. They kept making more improvements; a barn and chicken house; in 1946 built on the house so they had a big house for their family. They now have sold it to Frank's niece and husband Bill and Madlyn Grimes in 1980, then the -last 80 acres to Brad their sons in 1986. Frank and Dorothy Harwood at Akron, Colorado, just after their marriage, August 21,1934. Colorado, then took a week's honeymoon and bought treats because we knew we'd be chivaried which we were. They lived one year with his father. The fall of '34 was very dry, had no rain in '34, but it clouded up that fall and lightning struck the fence where the cattle had drifted and killed 1 cow and 1 calf so only left them Dorothy and Frank had bought another 160 to go with the 320 his father had to make 480 acres and they rented other land besides. They bought in Arriba, Colo. as houses were cheaper than in Flagler, so live in Arriba and are very happy there close to stores and post office. It's so handy and are both pretty well but getting older. Earl was our only redhead. We always wondered if the plane crash could have caused it. Maybe not, but we always wondered, by Frank Harwood with 1 cow and 1 calf. They had mortgaged the two cows and two calves to buy 4 horses and some harness to farm with. I don't expect Frank and Dorothy Harwood's 50th wedding anniversary. From left to right: Coreena, Carl, Earl, Sharon, Dorothy and Frank. Frank Harwood was born December 25, 1912 in a 2 room sod house to Sam and Fanny Harwood. Frank lost his mother when very young so didn't even remember her. Frank was raised by his father and the help of sister Rachel and Leighton; Hazel was still to young to help much. When Frank was only 4 years old his father built a new LVz story frame house. Frank and his brother and 2 sisters grew up to be independent and go ahead with the chores when the father had to go to town with tenm and wagon for supplies, a big day's trip. They all worked hard but kept their head above water. His father and mother had homesteaded in 1907. Frank was born there. In 1923 his father managed to buy another 320 acres 1% miles south of the home place which was 15 miles north of Flagler, Co. As Frank grew up and we finally got a car, he started dating the girls around and in 1933 met Dorothy Stedman and they were manied in 1934, August 21. Frank sold what little wheat he had for 54 cents a bushel to get married on; had 27 dollars and 2 cows and 2 calves, a lot of love, and as much determination. He decided he had just as much right to starve a woman to death as the other boys around, so Dorothy and Frank started their life together. We spent that 27 dollars to get married in Akron, Mr. Creighton would have let them have enough money had he known the lightning was going to kill half our cattle but it was too late for him to back out. We got the flood in 1935, so raised a little corn, had feed for the livestock. Frank and Dorothy went to New York in the fall of 1935, leaving the horses and cattle with his father. Frank was able to get some work there on a dairy at 30 dollars a month, a house to live in, and 1 qt. of milk a day. The day started at 5:00 o'clock in the morning; we started milking; when that was done breakfast, then back to work at 7:00 a.m.; got t hr. for dinner; then back to work; then 5:00 p.m. milking again and other chores and supper, and at 8:00 p.m. we could go after groceries or whatever we wanted to do. Frank played for a dance with his cousins every Sat. night. They got around 80 cents a piece which bought picks and strings but had a wonderful time. Got home about 2:30 a.m. then up at 5:00 a.m. to milk again Sunday HARWOOD, SAMUEL F262 Sam Harwood and children. Frank, Leighton, Rachel, Hazel and Sam at the homestead in 1915. M morning. We came back to Colorado about Christmas time. Colorado looked pretty good; at least it wasn't so cold and icy. The next spring we moved to the Sloanker place. In 1936 we planted 100 acres of corn with a 1 row lister and horses. It was so dry the corn hardly reached the top of the ridges, then died. We had rented 320 acres. By that time we had 2 cows and 2 calves and 4 horses but we had to buy feed that winter. It just didn't rain. We had to get a $100 feed and seed loan from the Sam Harwood and children on June 1, 1947. Rachel Kyle, Frank, Leighton, Hazel Conger and Sn-. �Sa- Harwood was born in 1874 at Angelica, New York, to George and Margaret "Well," he said, "One afternoon Les and I, Bunny Sue, Russell and Vickie all decided we were going to have a picnic so we packed lunches and got on our ponies and rode off for the afternoon, boy we really thought we were something! I remember when I got my first job. I was thirteen and I hauled irrigation pipe for one of the neighbors and I got five dollars a day but didn't manage to keep a dime of it. It always got spent somehow. When I went to the high school we went to the State Basketball Championship. I was just a sophomore but I was thdlled to have the chance to play." "And you were Prom King," I reminded him, smiling in the darkness at the picture in my mind of a much thinner Jerry sitting next to a very pretty Prom Queen, both wearing Harwood. As a young man of 22 he moved to Hubell, Nebraska, bought 40 acres, had a 2 room house, batched there 4 years, then sold. At the geme time he met Fanny Shook. They were married and moved to Agra, Kansas, where they had bought 80 acres. Two children were born there; Leighton in 1902 and Rachel in 1906. They lived there 4 years. Then he heard of homest€ad land in Colorado so in 1907 he took a homestead of 160 acree, 15 miles north of Flagler, went back to Kansas and came back in a covered wagon alone. He built a 2 room sod house and small barn, drove back to Kansas, finished the work there, loaded their household goods, and headed for Colorado again to live, the wife and 2 children coming on the train with other goods. He had a tubler well down for water. Everything was very hard. He broke some sod and got some feed planted for stock and some corn. About 2 years later the government allowed them to homestead another 160 a. if it joined the other land which they did; this made 320 acres. There was plenty of open range, so all crop land had to be fenced to keep range cattle out. In 1910 another child was born Hazel a girl, - along. and in 1912 Frank came - was still very hard. Fanny became Everything sick in 1913, the last of the year, and never improved, only got worse, and died in 1921. Sam raised the 4 children with the help of the older ones. In the spring of 1917 and that fall he built a ftame house which he lived in until leaving the farm in 1946. The children were all raised in that house. Many times things were very hard but he was able to save his land, and in 1923 he bought another 320 aetes lr/z miles south of the home place. His son Frank and wife lived on that land after they were married in 1934. Sam moved to Flagler in 1946 and passed away in 1956. Sam's children all married and raised their families nearby. Times were hard. A team of wagon or buggies was the mode of travel in those early days. He raised corn and hogs, feed and cattle, horses to farm with. Also raised barley, wheat, corn and oats. He'd shuck corn most of the winter. Sam died with cancer of the prostrate in 1956 at the age of 82. He had remarried in 1933 after the children were all gtown, but this wife also died of a bursted appendix in 1934 so he stayed single the rest of his life. by Dorothy Harwood HASART - SPELTZ FAMILY F263 The year was 1984, Jerry and I had been married all of two months and it was early in the spring and this had been a late winter with lots of snow and the rains had begun. Early one particular evening in June, Jerry and I sat watching TV when a subtitle ran across the screen warning of a tornado north of Vona. "That'g awful close," Jerry observed, "let's go see if we can see it." "Where are you going?" I asked. foil covered cardboard crowns. The only Jerold and Beth EIIen Hasart, married April 7, 1984. "To the bedroom, maybe we can see something from the west and north windows if the lightning flashes." He got up and turned off all the lights in the house as well as the TV. Then he took my hand and led me to our extra bedroom and there he sat next to the north window and I sat by the west window. With each strike of lightning I would look out to the horizon for any ominous cloud formations that looked threatening. The silence was deafening and the darkness seemed to cover me like a blanket. Panic was beginning to form in my mind and I realized that this was not just an exercise of curiosity but a real threat to our livelihood as well as our very existence. The atmosphere was as tense as any of the barbed wire fences on the farm. Jerry seemed to sense my panic or just because he was tired of the quiet, he began to speak. "You know when I was a kid I remember inviting all the neighbors over and having weiney roasts. We burned corn cobs in a five gallon bucket to cook them." "That sounds like fun," I said, anxious for him to continue. "Sometimes Grandpa Hasad would come out in his green Ranchero and would bring us a treat usually lemon drops. The thing he loved mostwas the garden and hewould come out and spend the entire day. We grew every kind of vegetable imaginable. One year he even tried to grow peanuts. Grandpa, Les and I would work in the garden until fair time and then we spent the day before the garden show picking and sorting each vegetable exhibit until it was perfect. Seemed like we always did pretty good at the garden show at the fair. After the fair it was up to Mom to can and freeze eve4rthing and that meant lots of work for her. After the fair Grandpa was done with the garden, all except the pumpkin patch which he carefully tended until fall, his goal was one large pumpkin." "You must have had lots of good times with yourgrandpa,"Isaid. "Yes, I really miss him, " Jerry said quietly. Eager for my new husband's easy walk through memory lane to continue, I urged him on as it was calming to hear him as I watched the storm edge closer and closer to the farm that had taken three generations to build. "What else do you remember from your younger days?" I asked. evidence that this had ever happened was a very outdated pair of wingtip shoes sitting next to a stringless banjo in the closet. "You've lived a charmed life hon, hasn't anything bad ever happened to you?" I asked. "Oh sure," he replied without hesitation. It was the Friday before graduation and somehow I managed to forget my cap and gown and I was half way home when I remembered them so I turned around and headed back to town but by the time I got there all the doors were locked. Luckily I found an open window, crawled on the hood and shimmied through the window. I got my cap and gown and since all the doors were locked from the inside all I had to do was walk through the door. There was a moment of silence as I heard the distant rumble of thunder. "How about you Beth, what was growing up like for you?" Jerry asked. "Oh, much different from your life. Growing up in a large metropolitan area there were always lots of kids around. Almost every summer all the neighborhood kids got together for a picnic on top of the hill about 3/ of a mile away. We packed lunches and rode our bikes to the top where an irrigation ditch and lots of cottonwood trees where, there we ate and waded until it was time to go home. In the evenings we gathered under the street light to play kick the can and on the Fourth of July some of the neighbors would come over and light fireworks. You know, Jer, I remember one time Terry and I got in big trouble. Mom had left us off at swimming lessons and was to pick us up at 11:30. By noon we decided she had forgotten us so we started to walk home. The thing we didn't know was that both of our grandparents had come to visit and after a while Mom sent our two grandfathers to pick us up. By the time they caught up with us Grandpa Spelts was nearly as red as his Rambler, boy, he sure was mad! I'm sure he thought we'd been kidnapped and couldn't possible return without us." Suddenly the room was lit for a split second, followed by a horrible ripping sound. It was as if the sky was being torn like an old rag and then there was a huge crash. I could hear a slight patter on the window pane as the rain began. Jerry stood up and stretched. "The folks just lost their electricity, I suppose we'll be next." He sat down again to resume his vigil looking out between the drops of rain. I too sat peering out into the darkness, but in my minds eye I was years and miles away with Grandpa and Grandpa Spelts in their red �Rambler and their small camp trailer at our annual family ssmp out above the Poudre River. It's odd that our childhood memories are so sketchy and of all the camping we've done and only a few incidents are prominent. Like the mooge who stood by the roadside in Canada and the deer that resided in the city park at Jaspar (Canada). The bear that ate the leftover spaghetti from the trash can one night. As the rain becsme more intense, Jerry left the room, but his absence had escaped me as my train of thought had changed from snmping to snowmobiling. We spent two or three glorious winters snowmobiling abnost every winter weekend. During one of these trips we found ourselves at Tiger Run. It was a hunting lodge that was being converted to a ski lodge. The day had been nasty, cold and windy. By early evening the electricity was out and being too early to retire, we went to the lodge where a group of college students had gathered and were singing "Peter, Paul and Mary" songs. We all joined in and had a great time. New Year's celebrations for us during that time consisted ofhot dogs roasted on an open fire built in the snow and chempagne (pop for the kids) consumed on a mountain top somewhere. A truly unique the back of my knee. Terror seized me as I byes were said and off the couple sailed to was sure the next thing I was going to feel was somewhere near Idalia, Colorado. We do not sharp teeth ripping and tearing into my flesh. In a split second, I pointed the flashlight down only to find our blue healer pup had climbed into the pen. She had an expression on her face that seemed to be laughing and saying "gotcha." One thing I know for sure, Jerry was in absolute agreement with her. Here it is almost four years later and I have learned to work with the hogs and become a capable farmers wife overcoming lots of fears and growing to be more confident in difficult situations. We becnme the parents of a baby boy, Joshua Jacob, on March 1, 1988 and it looks like that we will have manv adventures ahead of us. by Beth Hasart HASART WEISSHAAR FAMILY F264 The "fateful" message came from America. I hadn't seen any funnel clouds yet. Jerry This letter came to the family of Jacob Christian Hasart Sr. Newly married on February 10, 1887 to Magdalena Weisshaar and with one son just over a year old this "We gotta shut those hog feeders before the doctor had told Jacob that he had experience. The storm was increasing in intensity but csme in and handed me a jacket and grabbed a flashlight. they're a mesg." "Jetry?" "Ya?" "Did I ever tell you about the time Kerry Sue brought me home from college?" ttNott "Well on the way home she started talking about this guy who went out to feed his pigs and while he was feeding them he had a heart attack and died in the pig pen and she said the pigs ate him!" I gave him my best 'please don't send me out to the wife eating hog pen'look but to no avail, I slipped on the jacket which completely covered my top and shorts. It was pitch dark out and the wind and rain felt cold against my bare legs. Our only light was the flashlight that Jerry held. At the firEt feeder I stood safely outside the pen holding the flashlight as Jerry flipped the letter brought hope and promise to them as tuberculosis and that he had one year to live unless he would leave the country. The area around the Black Sea was damp so they needed a place where the air was dry. His brother-in-law wrote that "this country could be the answer to their desires of wanting to go to a better place. Here one could hope for a better life and with hard work and the blessing from God a new beginning could be made." The thought of obtaining "land for the settling" was a dream to those whose future was very bleak due to crowding and life under Russian rule. So the decision was made to leave. Good- know which port of embarkation that they arrived, just somewhere on the east coast. They made arrangements with the railroad people to go to Idalia but they could not find it on the map so they figured that Otis, Colorado was near there. Their thoughts of this trip are mostly unknown but we do know that it took them three weeks to sail across and they came in stearage class and brought along bread and cheese to eat on the trip. One comforting thought was that they were going to be with relatives and Lena's brother, John Weisshaar, lived near Idalia. Upon arriving at Otis they hired a man with a team of thin horses and a wagon to haul their trunks and little children. Two other families came with them on this trip. They were the Kamlas who later went on to St. Francis, Kansas and the Howagners. The adults had to walk along and they were very depressed. Lena said that she was so frightened on this trip from Otis to Idalia because the man who was taking them could not speak German and they couldn't speak English. She was afraid that this man was not taking them to the right destination. They stopped at farms along the way and they were given shelter for the night in their barns. They stopped at a farm just south of what is now highway 36 justnorthof Kirk and found that this family, the Reidasels, could speak German and she was so happy to know that they were near their destination. At this time Jacob vowed that as soon as he could earn enough money they were going back! No one could live on this bleak barren land, the rabbits even died here as they found dead rabbits along the trail. It was in April that they arrived in Idalia and found the farm of John Weisshaar. They had left Russia on March 11, 1889 and on May t he took up a homestead five miles southwest of ldalia. He purchased a relinquishment and took a tree claim. They must have lived with the Weisshaars until they could build their home which was made of rock held together with adobe. That first year he broke out 20 acres and planted it all to feeder lid and locked it down. The next feeder, however was very tall and the lock had been broken. Jerry began to gather some old bricks and broken pieces of cinder block to weigh the lid down. He said that he would climb up and shut the lid and that I was to hand him the bricks and blocks. This of course meant that I would have to get inside the pen. Shear panic was welling up inside and all I could think was "I'm going to die!" I could see in my mind a tombstone that read "Here liee Beth who was dumb enough to get into a hog pen in the middle of the night." With these thoughts firmly planted in my mind I did as I was told, climbed in the pen and reflected the flashlight on the feeder as Jerry shut it. But every few seconds I would whoop and holler in hopes that it would frighten the hogs enough to stay away. We staded putting the bricks and cinder blocks on the lid and everything seemed to be going well. My screnming was working and it looked as if I was going to live to tell about it. When I felt something bump up against 'fhe liasan, ianri, Idalia, Colorado. 1903. Jacob ready to go to the field and John, Magdalena, Lena and Jake ready to leave with the horse and buggy for town. �wheat. He had obtained a pair of oxen and some implements and tools. The other set- horses and arrived in the middle of the night and he headed out across the prairie with the ing rock out of native limestone and threshed the wheat. He was able to sell his extra wheat to the miller. He also worked for J.P. Evans horses and arrived at the farm by daylight. After John and Jake were married Jacob and Lena moved to Burlington where he helped construct the "Penny" building on Main St. This building housed "Penny" Bros. Machinery and Hardware for many years. In 1930 they moved to Stratton, Colorado where they spent the remaining years of their lives. While living on the farm they were mem- tlers made fun of him for doing this. At harvest time he cut it with a hand scythe and stacked it. He proceeded to fashion a thresh- and they became very good friends. He possibly worked for others to earn the much needed cash and was able to purchase a saddle horse. Supplies were hard to get so he and a neighbor went to Burlington, a two day trip, with the team sn4 *rton. Mrs. Lehman came to stay with Lena and Toby as it was very scarry to stay alone out on the prairie. After it was dark the women heard something outside. Mrs. Lehman's son Eads thought it was Indians. They kept hearing this scratching sound and were really frightened so they decided to put on the coats and hats of the men folk and lit the lamp (there were no curtains on the windows) so the Indians would think the men were home; they stayed up all night. The next morning they gathered their courage and went outside to find that the source of all the sound was the horse. It had gotten loose and had rubbed on the house all night. Such was the life on the prairies. They saw very few Indians as they rarely bers of Immanuel Lutheran Church and Jacob helped supervise the building of the new church building in 1925-26. All the benches were made in the barn by him with the help of others. He also constructed the barns and other buildings on the home place and John's place. The frame house on the home place was built in L925-26. Jacob Christian Hasart Sr. was the oldest son of Tobias Hasart and his wife Frederika. He was born in Lichenthal, Bessarabia, South Russia on November 2, 1865. He was married to Magdelena Weisshaar on February 10, 1887. Lena was born on September 29, L867 at Lichtenthal, Bessarabia, Russia and died on May 7, L943. Jacob died on October 1, 1948. After Lena passed away Jacob went to live with his sons Jake and John. They were members of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Jacob made caskets for the community. Stratton. Their children were Tobias who died in 1902. Magdelena (Lena) Kirby of Great Falls, Montana; John F. of Stratton; and Jacob C. of Burlington. All of the One winter he ran out of lumber and there children are deceased. Grandson Jim Hasart passed through and they were in small groups and bothered no one. was another death so he pulled up the flooring in his bedroom and made the casket. They stayed on the farm and survived the dry years in the middle 1890's. Their children Lena, John and Jacob Jr. were born during this time. Toby became ill with osteonyelitis and died on March 10, 1902 and was buried in St. John's United Brethren Church's cemetery. In 1904 Jake traveled to Fall River, Kansas to see a farm that was for trade. He was pleased with what he found and the trade was made with the Motsenberger family. They wanted to go where there was more rainfall so they loaded up their personal belongings, as they had made a swap for the machinery and other farm items, boarded the train and moved to Kansas. When they got there and looked around they found that the equipment that they had traded for was all gone and had been replaced with other pieces. They were heart broken as they had left good equipment back in Colorado. Jacob went to the barn and brooded for days. They made the best ofthe situation and proceeded to get to work. While in Fall River the children attended school and Jacob also attended so that he could become proficient in the English language and could figure and learn the skills necessary for the carpentry trade. The family never spoke German at home as they were in America now and they were Americans. They farmed and raised Galloway Angus cattle and were able to make a go of the farm. They lived in Kansas until 1918 when they moved back to Colorado where their boys, John and Jake were living and working. They had bought the farm land from the Fisher brothers who moved back to Nebraska. This farm is located 7 miles north and 4 miles east of Stratton, Colorado. At that time there was a trail that headed northeast across the prairie that came by the farm. When Jake cnme out from Kansas he brought some now resides on the farm northeast ofStratton along with his sons, Jerold who lives on John's farm and Lester who lives north of the home place. by Marlyn Hasart HASART, JACOB AND NETTIE F265 Jacob Hasart Sr. came to Colorado from Russia in 1889 and had settled on a farm south west of ldalia before moving to Kansas in 1903. Jake, John and Lena were born in Idalia. Jake was born on December 2L, 1897 and attended school in Kansas and then worked with a threshing crew that traveled with the harvest across Kansas in the summer. In 1917 Jacob Christian Hasart Jr. came to Colorado to help his brother who had been working for J.P. Evans and was farming 7 miles north and 4 miles east of Stratton. Jake's dad, Jacob Hasart Sr. was still living in Fall River, Kansas but had purchased several quarters of land from the Fisher brothers who wanted to move back to Nebraska. Because John and Jack were facing induc- tion to serve in World War I, their parents moved back to Colorado. Jake farmed and lived with his parents as John had purchased land from J.P. Evans just east of the home place and started his own home. Before his marriage Jake had acquired 2 quarters of land and rented the remaining farm ground. Jacob and Annette (Nettie) Adolf were married on April 27, L927 at Immanuels Lutheran Church north of Bethune. Colorado. Nettie and Jake Hasart, taken in the early 1970's in Phoenix, Arizona. Nettie Adolf was born on December 21. 1907 in Michaelsfeldt, Bessarabia, Russia. She ca-e to this country in 1908 as a baby with her parents. They established a homestead north of Bethune where she grew up and attended school at Prairie View and the German school at the church. She was the next to the last child of 11 children born to William and Margaret Adolf. She grew up learning how to work outside milking the cows as well as helping with the household chores. She also worked in other households caring for the children and helping cook when illness struck. She and Jake made their first home in the small adobe house on the home place. She brought 1 cow, a bed, and some bedding with her to start their new household. Nettie soon began to take part with the farm work by helping bring in the milk cows and helping with the milking and other chores. Jakes mother never milked and the cattle were afraid ofher so it took awhile before the cows settled down and let her milk them. That fall of 1927 they raised a good corn crop and Jake and Nettie worked side by side picking corn starting a pattern of sharing the farm work for as long as they lived on the farm. Dry land crops of corn, barley, wheat, and cattle and horse feed were raised. Jake raised work horses running about 75 head of horses and only 25 or more head of cattle during the 1920's and 30's until tractor power took over the farming work. He also bought and traded yearling horses matching up teams and training them every winter. This was difficult physical work which took lots of patience. Bus Guy came in the winters to help him break the horses to work as tesms. There were Iots of run-a-ways and lots of wagons destroyed in the process. Jake always attended the sales and bought young calves over the years. Later their cattle herd grew and replaced the horses. Jake and Nettie purchased the home place soon after they were married and moved into the frame house after Jake's parents moved to Burlington in 1928. That year on April 5, �their first boyJerald was born and died 6 days later from a difficult birth. On November 10, 1929 their second son Jimmie Lee was born and on January 24, L932 their daughter, Virginia was born. Jake and Nettie worked together bundling the children up and taking them to the field with them as they picked corn and shocked the feed. They always milked several cows and sold the cream and raised chickens, setting eggs under the old hens which wasn't easy, raising 100 or so chicks for fresh meat in the summer and had eggs to sell providing money to purchase their groceries and clothes. Later the chicks were purchased from the hatchery. In 1931 Nettie hatched 200 turkey poults from eggs set under the hens. She ended up with 75 turkeys that she sold for 100 a pound. This wasn't an easy job as turkeys are "born to die" making them difficult to raise. The "bad years" of the 30's came along with the drought and the financial collapse of the nation causing a very stringent lifestyle. They managed to stay on the farm and live even though it was difficult to raise feed for the horses and cattle. Cows were herded in the road ditches and thistles were harves- ted for food. The dust storms and grasshoppers cr-e and went leaving little behind but bare ground. The dust that came into the house was a source of constant irritation as you had to hang wet sheets over the windows and beds so one could breathe and live. Cooking was done on a cast iron stove using corn cobs as fuel. Most living was done in the kitchen until propane was available to the farm and they could heat the house with it. They purchased a Servel gas refrigerator in 1938 and it was such a help and joy to have. Nettie washed by hand and used a gan powered washing machine carrying the water over to the wash house. They didn't have running water into the house until 1942 and a bathroom wan built in 1943. Electricity came in 1947 and that was the best thing that happened for farm families. This farm was located along the route where people from the Settlement traveled to Stratton and back. This farm was used as a watering stop for the horses. It seems as if they were always short of water. At first a cistern was dug by the corral to help maintain more water supply butif the wind didn't blow developed osteonyelitis and was very ill until 1945 when he recovered. Virginia was married to Lowell Corliss in November 6, 1949 and on June 6, 1954 Jim married Marlyn Magee. Atthis time Jake and Nettie moved to Burlington, Colorado fulfilling a dre"- of Netties to live in town. She had always wanted to work in a restaurant so she soon found employment in town working until 1960. Jake came out to help with the farm work until his health declined. They were able to spend several winter months each year in Phoenix, Arizona until the middle 1970's when Jake had a heart attack. Jake passed away on April 25, 1976. Nettie has remained in the home and celebrated her 80th birthday on December 21, 198?. She is active in her womens group in church and enjoys her home demonstration club. She fills her time by crocheting and making many craft projects with the Senior Citizens group. She has made many beautiful quilts that she has given to her children. Jake and Nettie were members of Immanuels Lutheran Church north ofBethune until they moved to Burlington at which time they transferred their membership to St. Paul's Lutheran Church. Jake served on the church board of Immanuels serving as secretary and president for many years. He also served on the board of directors of the Stratton Equity Co-op and after moving to Burlington he served on the board of the Equity Co-opera- tive Exchange. by Marlyn Hasart HASART, JIM AND MARLYN Jimmie Lee Hasart was born in his grand- mother Adolfs home north of Bethune. Colorado on November 10, 1929. Jacob Hasart Jr and Nettie Adolf Hasart are his parents. Jim grew up in the farm that was Jim and his sister, Virginia spent their early years helping on the farm and attending Union school where he graduated from the 8th grade. He walked the three miles to school the first year and the next summer his small pony was bought and he rode "Tippy', to school those first several years. Jim was baptized and confirmed at Immanuel Lutheran Church by Rev. Woebler. Jim loved the outdoors and spent summers herding the milk cows and bringing in the work horses first thing in the mornings. In the winter he set traps to catch skunks and coyotes. Some days he was late for school and the teacher didn't appreciate the aroma that was on his clothes. He remembers standing on the edge of the stock tank to climb on the horse and his foot broke through the ice filling his boot with water and upon arriving at school his boot was frozen on so he sat bv the stove to thaw the ice. His teacher liked to trade her "store bought" cookies for his homemade ones as he thought her cookies were a special treat. One day while the teacher was ringing the bell he ran by her and the bell came down and struck him on the forehead and he still has the scar. The bovs played games and some times bucked their horses out ofthe barn. Those were rough and tough times. Jim bought his first heifer calf when he was in the 8th grade. Jim stayed at home helping his parents on the farm. They raised cattle and dry land crops of milo, feed for the livestock and corn., The first tractor that he purchased was an M & M tractor on propane. His first car was the 1926 Model T that his grandad Hasart gave him. On June 6, 1954 Jim married Marlvn Vera Magee of Burlington, Colorado. They were married at Immanuel Lutheran Church during a terrible dust storm. Marlyn remembers riding in the car with the doors open so they could determine where the edge of the road was. Some people didn't make it because of the storm. Jim always said that when he got married he'd have a big "blow out" and there was! Marlyn is the last daughter of Clarence (Jack) Magee and Vera Harbison Magee Reeve. She was born in Burlington and grew up and attended school at the Burlington Public School. In 1950 her father died. In 1952 she moved with her mother to Denver or the cattle and horges came in to drink the water was soon gone. This was a constant problem for years. Household needs come last, it seemed. Their first tractor was purchased in 1936 and Jake taught Nettie how to run it so she could help pull the binder and the combine in those years. The winter of 1942 Jake had an infected throat putting him in the hospital for two weeks in Burlington and was sent to Denver. An abscess formed in the throat and this broke as they were waiting to get on the train to go to Denver. They made the trip and bhe Dr. treated him and sent him home. Jake always said he had a barley beard caught in his throat causing the problem. That winter where she lived and worked for her room and board with Dr. and Mrs. Hicks. There she attended and finished her sophmore year at East High school. That summer she went to live with her aunt and Uncle Howard and Evelyn Kite of Auburn, Nebraska attending her Jr. year at Auburn High. She returned to Burlington the summer of 1953 and finished her Sr. year in Burlington. Jim and Marlyn moved on the farm as his parents moved to Burlington. That first year was terribly dry and very little crop was raided. The 1950's were very dry with 1954 being the dryest year on record for this area. Jim baled up thistles and anything else that he could find. They sold some cattle and bought feed and determined that this was a loosing game. Jim fixed up his tractor with a homemade heat houser and went out that bhe snow and cold was bad. The windmill quit and needed fixing so Jim and Marvin Schaal had to haul water from the neighbors in banels with the horses. In the late 30's Jake and Nettie purchased more land and in 1941 they purchased 5 quarters ofland from the Federal Land Bank. Their son Jim became ill in 1943. He had F266 purchased by his grandfather, Jacob Hasart Sr. in 1917. winter to chisel up the fields that were Jim and Marlyn Hasart, June 6, 1954. blowing and finally using a lister to keep the ground from blowing. In 1955 they put in their first irrigation well �,J''' ,,.':t , ,:r. -. ';,L:, :];,irr ,r: il;r.,.,:;; 1fl '.,.. .,,i :,:. .,,. weather. In 1959 we had a terrible blizzards in the spring. It snowed for 3 days and 3 nights. The cattle had drifted south and Jim found dead cattle everywhere. We lost 25 head, mostly cows. They had smothered. We :,:i:,,:,,,&,,7 ),:,, &,i: I ,.., .:ilr:..,:i' ,,.,$,,,1::.. t:.. .:',*:, l: Y , ti:,' ; lost one fourth of our cattle herd. Two more irrigation wells, one in 1961 and the other in 1968 were developed. All the irrigation was done by ditch and siphon tubes those first years. It was a family affair when it was time to change water usually twice a day and sometimes more often. Later Irriga- ::: ''fu;L ;,. $:*:: ti' .:t l::. tion pipe was purchased and now 4 sprinklers have been installed. At first Jim raised cane for silage and milo for grain. Later sugar beets, alfalfa, and corn were raised. Wheat, both dry land and irrigated, corn, alfalfa, cane for silage, and millet for feed are raised now. Jerry and Lester attended school in Stratton and graduated from High School in 1974 and 1976. They joined in the operation of the farm and are full partners in its operation. Jim's father retired from farming in the mid 1960's but continued to come to the farm and help put out a large garden with the help of the boys and Marlyn. Some years it all was destroyed from hail so Jake built screens to cover the plants. The family participated in the Kit Carson County fair when the boys were old enough to join 4-H. Jim and Marlyn were leaders of Country 4-H Club for several years. Jim participated in the Opel Class Crops division while the boys exhibited in the Jr. Gardens The Jim Hasart family, Lester, Jim, Marlyn and Jerold. 1984. and Crops departments. They also had sheep and hog projects. Marlyn was Open Class to raise feed for the cattle. They watered to pay for their groceries. Jim always enjoyed hunting so they enjoyed pheasant and duck some wheat and they sold all they raised for seed for $2.00 a bushel that fall. Jerold Garvin Hasart was born on December 18, 1955 in Burlington. He was beptized to eat when in season. They loved to go fishing and went to Bonny Reservoir when Those first years were spent farming and there was only barren pasture along the shore Iine. On March 30, 1958 Lester Jacob Hasart was born. He was baptized by Pastor Boese coming from a town) selling eggs and crenm at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Living on the farm raising livestock and crops one is always concerned about the at Immanuel Lutheran Church by Pastor A.F. Boese. milking 6 or 7 cows and raising chickens (which was a new experience for Marlyn .P^ ; ':, .:: .iii: .,tr.:flr]..i::iti,:.i '"'l:,-'L'1; ":;' il;,' r, --. "r . 'il: :- | '1' ..rr.. .,.i ,,., I, ii$:. . ir:..1 ,J t' "--,'" Baking champion in 1974. In the early 1970's Marlyn learned how to do oil painting and has been pursuing this hobby since. Jim had always made his toys as a child so he tried his hand at wood carving and has many beautiful carvings of waterfowl, game birds, and characters of people. In 1984 he completed carving a miniture "carousel". Jim does the carving and Marlyn puts the finishing painting on them. Improvements added over the years have been the metal shop and machine building erected in the1960's along with several grain storage bins had new corrals. The windbreak planted in the 60's provides us with excellant protection from winds and shelter for the livestock and wild animals. The new home was built in 1975 replacing the small house that Jim's grandfather had built in 1935. InL977 we had a terrible storm with 90 mile per hour winds which caused dirt to blow as in the fifties. Two weeks later we were victims of the worst blizzard that can be remembered with winds of 100 miles per hour blowing snow so hard that the trees were buried in the windbreak and the couals were filled level with snow and the cattle walked out of corrals on the snow drifts. The boys built fences on top of the drifts to keep that cattle from walking out. In 1981 a devastating hail storm (Solf ball sized and larger hail stones) swept through the farm breaking windows in the house, pickups, and tractors destroying our entire corn crop. The leaves on the trees and bushes were completely stripped from the limbs. It looked like late October because everything died. Some golf ball sized hail fell destroying the shingles and rain gutters around the The Hasart farm and ranch farmstead northeast of Stratton, 1980. house. We found hail stones and debris from the trees in the living, dining and bedrooms on the main floor and the basement had 5 �windows broken with the screens destroyed. Jim and Marlyn were in the process of turning off the irrigation wells when the storm hit and they will never forget the sound of being pounded by those hail stones while creeping home ae visibility was only about as far as a vehicle length. In May of 1982 another hail storm pounded us. The winter of 1983-84 it snowed and snowed with a total snow measurement of over 100 inches falling during that period. In 1976 Marlyn was asked to prepare a program featuring "Pioneer Women" from the county for Church Women United. She presented this progrnm many times. Jim and Marlyn are active members of Immanuel Lutheran Church with Jim serving two terms on the board and Marlyn teaching Sunday School for many years. She is active in the women's group being a delegate to the National ALCW convention in Detroit. Michigan in 1984. Marlyn has been active in the Republican Party and was elected as delegate-atJarge from Colorado to attend the National Republican Convention in Dallas, Texas in 1984. Jim, Marlyn and sons have shared the work of the farm with everyone helping out where needed. Jim, Jerold and Lester are managing and working the farm that has been in the Hasart family since 1917 when Jim's grandfather purchased it. by Marlyn Ilasart HASART, JOHN AND EDITH I.267 John Frederick Hasart was the second son bornto Jacob and Magdelena Hasart, on Dec. 31, 1896, at Idalia, Co. Jacob and Magdelena came from Russia to homestead in 1888. John came from a family of four; three boys and one girl. He attended school at Idalia for three years, then the family moved to Fall River, Ks. in 1903 following the death of his older brother, Tobias. Here John completed the 8th grade. He began working for the neighbors, then in 1915 he went to Sterling, Co. where he worked for his cousin. In 1916, he csme to the Stratton vicinity where he bought his first piece of land through the encouragement of Mr. Evans. This became his home until 1963 when John and his wife Edith retired and moved to Stratton. On March 20,L920, he married Anna Adolf and to this union 2 daughters were born, Leota May and Della Ann. Anna passed away in Sept. 1930. John and Leota made a home together until Leota manied in March of 1938 and his marriage to Edith Powers on April 17, 1938. Della was cared for by her aunt and uncle A.W. and Mary Adolf. He met Edith and married her in 1938 and at that time staded attending the Church of God. Until that time, he was Lutheran. He helped build and finance the new Church building in 1965. He took care of the lawn and shrubs for approximately ten years. He served on the Fire District Board for 18 years. He joined the Coop in 1916 and has been a member for 79 years. (The following as related to Lynn Ware) "He ghared several storiee, all of which I was so interested in. He told me of when Collins bought the lumber yard and built the motel in 1921, the names of his first three school teachers, and about the dirty 30's. He knew of only one living classmate, Anna Flurkie of Idalia. My favorite story was how a man no-ed Fuller traded land for a grocery store. Ed Dischner's dad, Tony, made that trade. John passed away at the Kit Carson County hospital on Aug. 25, 1986 at the age of 89 years. He left his wife Edith of the home, his daughter Della,6 grandchildren, 8 great- grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren. The following is a story of his life and times. "In 1919, we had a good corn crop. Corn was a good price but the people held their corn for a better price, corn went down to 21 cents and in 1920 some people burned ear corn all winter and said it was cheaper than coal. I bought the rent share from one one of my neighbors for 21 cents a bushel and then corn went up to a fair price again. Then the dirty 30's cnme. It was so dry you couldn't raise a thing. There was so much dust in the air you had to have a light in the house to see. I had a windmill in Section 21 and I went out to turn the mill on and it wouldn't run, so my brother, Jake, and I went and pulled the pipe and the cylinder was full of mud. There was a drift of dirt in the front of my grainery seven feet high. It took me a half day with a tenm and scraper so I could get the door open. At that time the government came and bought cows, anything that was in good shape they shipped out but what was a little thin, they shot them. They set a day for people to bring the cattle to town. I saw them get up on a truck and shoot them right in the truck. I sold yearling steers and heifers for 2 cents a pound. In those days some people picked cow chips to burn and in 1938 things got better and it was good until 1952 and'53. In 1953 it was so dry we didn't have any grass so I sold all of my cattle but 20 head. I had to stad again. Then people started to put down wells and you all know how it is now. In 1963 I retired, sold my cattle, rented my farm and moved to town. Been here 20 years now and all I do is work a little in the yard and garden, sit in my rocking chair and sometimes think of the past. It was in 1921 the Equity built the gas station across the street and later they sold propane. I bought my first tank in 1947 and the boys that managed it were Bob Collins, on the river. Some of the people on the river said that it rained 18 inches. I had 8 inches at my place and a man and his wife were drowned. Rosser Davis found the man at his place and they never found the woman. Then in 1932-33 and '34 it was so dry nothing would grow and the jack rabbits were so thick they would eat anything that cane up. Then they started the rabbit drives. They made a large pen with a wing on two sides and the people could start several miles away. People came from towns to help sometimes. They had over 1000 rabbits in the pen. Boys with clubs would go in to kill the rabbiLs. The men that had charge of the drive sold the rabbits to anyone that had hogs for 10 cents and also sold them to some fur company. It makes me think of a story. There was an elderly man and his wife, lived on a small farm. They had 1 milk cow and a team of horses and the cow died. The people went and sympathized and he said it could be worse. Then one ofthe horses died, they went again. He said it could be worse. Then his wife died and they sympathized again. The old man said it could have been worse. Someone said, How could it be worse? He said, It could have been me. And that is the way of the past, it could be worse." John loved good quality livestock. He raised registered Hereford cattle and sold breeding bulls for many years. His v5rrk horses were good animals, large and beauti- ful. He worked very hard and established a nice farm north east of Stratton. by John Hasart HASART, LESTER AND DIXIE Lester Jacob Hasart, son of Jim and Marlyn (Magee) Hasart, as born March 30, 1958 at the Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital in Burlington, CO. Lester has one Lyle Hooper, Delbert Kordes and Larry Dasenbrock. Larry was there for a long time. In the 20's the Equity built a house for the manager. It is the house that Rev. Bloomer lives in now. In 1930 they sold the house to my dad for $2,800 and in 1943 he sold it to the Church of God. In 1947 I built a new house and sold the little house to Terry Atkins. He sold it to Jack McConnell. Terry built some rooms on it. It is the house Mrs. McConnell lived in. In the early days we had floods. In 1925 there was a cloud burst on Spring Creek and the water was backed up around the railroad bridge. A train from the east went across. The engine, coal car and baggage car got across and the bridge collapsed and two pullman cars went into the water. Several people drowned. One girl from New York. Her mother put up a reward of $500 to anyone who found her. Fred Meyers and the dreyman by the name of Turner found her about 12 miles north. Then in 1935 was the big flood F268 Lester and Dixie Hasart, 1986. �Lester put over 5000 miles on his pickup. A lot of Lester's trapping is done as preditor control as coyotes are very hard on sheep, calves and farm birds. Last year, Lester did preditor control for the Jim Leoffler farm south of Stratton. Coyotes had killed approximately 50 lambs. Lester and Jim took over 45 coyotes offhis property from July'86 to April'8?. When Lester isn't trapping he does maintenance and mechanical work for the farm and with his brother and dad raise cattle, hogs, corn, wheat and feed. We also have cows so in the spring we're kept busy checking on the baby calves. It seems there is always something that should have been done the day before but I guess that is farm life and we love ,",,i$-}:, it. :r..r:... 1986-87 season catch, approximately 180 coyotes, 2 red fox, 4 kit fox, 7 raccoon, and several badgers. brother, Jerald Garvin born Dec. 18, 1956, married Beth Ellen Spelts on April 7, 1984. The Hasart family farm and ranch northeast of Stratton was bought in 1917 by Lester's great grandfather, Jacob Hasart Sr. Lester, his brother and neighbor children enjoyed many Sunday afternoon swims in the family irrigation pond when he was young. Later. Lester's interest turned to motorcycles. He and his friends raced dirt bikes at the blowouts north of Bethune. Lester raced in St. Francis, Kansas and won third place in a wheely contest. He and his brother now use motorcycles to move cattle. Lestpr graduated in 1976 from Stratton High School. After graduation he and his brother farmed and ranched with their father. Lester also worked part-time during silage and corn harvest, and beet harvest for neighbors and friends. Lester is active in the Immanuel Lutheran Church, serving on sOveral committees. He is also involved in the Republican party, serving as chairman and currently vice-chairman of the First Senatorial District. Active in the Colorado Trappers Association since approximately 1979, he is currently serving a second term on the board of directors for the CTA. In 1984, Lester designed and built a passive solar home, just north of the family farm, which we live in today. In 1986, Lester manied Dixie Gale Wachs, the daughter of Ivan G. and Bonita J. (Ruddell) Wachs. Dixie was born Dec. 18, 1960 at the Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital in Burlington. Her sister, Anna Lea was born Jan.27,1963 and she married Craig Quint of Cheyenne Wells on July 29, 1983. Dixie has one brother, John Marlin born March 5. 1970. The Wachs family lived south west of Burlington on a farm owned by Marvin Grusing, farming and ranching for the Grusings from 1958 to 1971, dad then accepted a position working for Kit Carson County. After we had moved to town, Anna Lea and Dixie were thrilled not to have to ride the bus. However, dad informed us differently. Living nert to the fairgrounds we were still in the country, so we rode the bus until 1974 when dad and mom bought the house across the street. Anna, cousin Brenda and Dixie spent meny enjoyable afternoons walking home from echool and stopping on the way at the bakery and checking out the stores. When Dixie was 15 1/2, Anna and our two cousins, Brenda and Doug, all went to work for the Western Motor Inn. I worked there for about 1 Vz years and then at Skelly Truck Stop for 2 years as waitress. After graduation in 1979 from Burlington High School, I went to work for the Burlington Record in the advertising paste-up department. In 1982, Dixie took her faithful companion, Sadie, and moved out on her own. She lived across from the Record office so was able to walk to work and church. Dixie held the offices of Treasurer, Missionary President and Secretary at the Church ofthe Nazarene. She also enjoyed teaching Sunday School for by Les & Dixie Hasart HATFIELD, GORDON LESLIE AND MABELLE GERTRUDE F269 junior and primary classes. She was also Caravan Leader on Friday nights and helped to keep the grass mowed, the church clean, the walks scooped in the winter and pick up the children on Sunday mornings. Dixie is glad now that she had the opportunity to serve her church when needed as the church is a very important part of their lives. In 1985. Dixie moved to a little house on 17th Street and was living there when she met Lester in January of 1986. She was swept off my feet, he even talked her into going dancing for the first time in her life. Lester and Dixie were married on Friday, May 23,1986 at the Church of the Nazarene. Rev. Richard Messer, his wife Elaine, Betty (Boland) Chandler and Kevin Weisshaar were our witnesses. We spent our wedding night in Goodland, Kansas and surprised everyone on Saturday. (Maybe we didn't surprise them as much as we thought). Dixie still works for the Burlington Record but with 20 miles to town, she only works part-time is still secretary for the Church of the Nazarene and Lester and Dixie try to take turns going to their churches. Dixie has learned how to drive a truck for ensilage and corn harvest and in her spare time she enjoys oil painting. Lester and Dixie both enjoy hunting and fishing. In Oct. of 1986, they went elk hunting and Lester got his first elk, a cow, with a muzzleloader. It took a day to pack it back to camp and another back to the road. We also like to hunt antelope and deer and Lester enjoys trapping. From the middle of November to the middle of January, he is gone most every day running his trap line. Mostly he catches coyotes and he tries to skin them as soon as he gets home. On her days off, Dixie fleshes and washes the hides. Then they are stret- ched, dried and taken to the CTA Fur Auction. There is a lot of work involved and also a lot of miles covered. This past season Leslie and Mabelle Hatfield Gordon Leslie Hatfield and Mabelle Gertrude Hatfield moved to Stratton, Kit Carson County, Colorado, from Fowler, Meade County, Kansas. A strong desire for a "place of our own" had sent them West searching for just the right place. I do not know why my parents chose Kit Carson County to fulfill their drearns, but I do remember waiting in the car while they looked at many places from Flagler to Burlington. Exhausted and discouraged after looking for days at every place the real estate agent had to offer and finding nothing, we were ready to start back to Kansas. It was evening and the real estat€ man had just one more place for us to look at and it was on the way, no problem, just two miles East of Stratton on Hiway 24 on the South side of the road. We drove into the yard and looked around. Dad got out ofthe car and walked out to the granery, crme back and leaned in the caf window to talk to Mom. I can still hear him say, "Mom, if the house will do for you, this is it". And that was it, we moved that fall, October, 1944. It was a good time, a time of growing and changing. As wheat farmen', crops were good. It wasn't long before the folks expanded buying more land as well as business build- ings in town, owning at different times the theatre building, the drug store building, the grocery store building and the dry goods building. They even operated the dry goods �store for awhile. It was during World War II and I remember it was very hard to buy items such as sheets, towels, overalls and nylon hose. It wasn't long before they realized a store wasn't for them and it was then sold to Waldrons. Many changes were taking place during this time. The school district consolidated and school buses beco-e a part of our community. The fire district was also formed and I remember Dad working long and hard for a fire truck to service the country people as weU as the city folk. He worked especially hard for this aft€r he was burning weeds in the ditch and the fire got away from him and burnt the neighbors feed stack. Then we got a telephone. What a thrill for a teenager to have a phone. Dad served on the Equity Board and Mom worked at her Home Demonstration Club. They were strong workers in the Evangelical United Brethern Church and served their community at every opportunity. Eight children were born to Leslie and Mabelle Hatfield; Geneva, Howard, Harry, Fontella, Marvin, Melvin (Leslie Kenneth, who died in infancy) and Joy. Gordon Leslie passed from this life December 25, 1970, and Mabelle Gertrude died November 25, 1981. As I said before, I do not know why my parents chose Stratton, Colorado to make their home, but I am glad they tid. Faith in God, the love of the land, the lriends of a rural community and the values ;aught me . there could be no better .nheritance. by Joy Blancken HAUGHEY, JOSHUA ALLEN F270 Joshua Allen Haughey was one of the six :hildren of Stephen G. Haughey, and descenled from Thomas Haughey who migrated iom Ireland in L725, whose line of descent vas Thomas Haughey, John Haughey, lhomas Haughey, Barnett Haughey, John {aughey, and Stephen, Joshua's father. loshua was born at Winterset, on April 17, .863, and married Margaret Hooton in \urora, Nebr. They had one child, William \llen, born in Omaha, Nebr., on Nov. 11, 905. Mr. Haughey's formal education ceased n the 6th grade, but he persisted, and learned urveying and trigonometry, later surveying he town of Burlington, in the "Dirty Thir- ies", conforming it to the original Rock sland survey. His conversiou of the Monezuma Hotel from a 50 foot square 2 story ize to the present structure was his major rroject. In Omaha, he headed 150 carpenters n the Omaha Central High School, the ugest building under one roof in the world t that time, and etill in service today. While rorking there, he felled a 100'brick chimney, llling it on a predetermined spot in a ongested area after several "professionals" ad failed. He also raised a 6 story 100'X 100' uilding 8 inches and formed a new foundaion under it, after it had settled due to the lose proximity of the Missouri River. He built the Anderson (Coast to Coast), {idway (lengthened twice), the north addi.on to the High school, (now demolished), Penny (Vance Decor.), Haughey Shop (Hoskin) buildings, and many of the homes in the area, two ofwhich are at 1692 and 1820 Senter Street., and drew up specifications for many "They just nailed those blocks on too Damn tight." by William Ifaughey others. One interesting sidelight of his career was the Haughey's homestead area near Keota, Colo., where they lived in 1916, in a 14'X 16" home, for a few months, with rabbits, antelope and rattlesnakes, and where Mr. Haughey refused to return the second year, which HAUGHEY,'W. A. AND RUTH I. F27r ended that episode. During the Montezuma construction he installed a gasoline powered electric plant in the basement, and before the exhaust was connected, he started the engine to test the plant. Feeling woozy, he climbed the stairs and started to walk across the street. when some of the town loafers spotted him and remarked, "Look, there goes old man Haughey, drunk as a Lord!" This happened long before the danger of gas engine exhaust was known. Other areas of the county where he oper- ated included the construction of the west half of the Cope School, which he built around 1922. He also built the brick church north of Bethune, built around 1926, and several homes in the country, including the Buettel home southeast of Burlington, and one on the Louis Hann farm, now owned by the Schaal family, northwest of Burlington. Mr. Haughey also acted as Architect's Superintendent for two large building projects for Krein & Krein Architects of Kansas City, Mo. The first one was in Beatrice, Nebr., where a large Junior High School was built, plus two grade school buildings and remodeling of several others in L924. After his return to Burlington, he was again called by them to Lexington, Mo. where Bussboom Brothers were in charge ofanother large school project, with another Junior High project, plus remodeling and enlarging four other area schools. Mr. Haughey also developed and patented a glass cutting board and rule, which used the parallel ruler principle enabling much more accurate cutting, because of which he was able to sell many boards and rules to companies who did very close and accurate work with glass, for the geared rules were not capable of such fine work. Although he was then 84 years old, with the help of Oscar Olson, he built cabinets for the J.V. Brown house and worked on installing them the day before his death. On Sunday, April 6, 1947, Mr. Haughey, following his life long custom attended services at the Christian Church, now the Masonic Temple building. During the services, while the congregation was singing the hymn, "Have Thine Own Way, Lord", he was stricken by a fatal heart attack and passed away in the church, a glorious end to his lifelong dedication to the church. During his years of activity in Burlington, he trained many young men as carpenters and builders, instilling in them his pride in workmanship and accomplished craftmanship, giving them by example the foundation for a worthwhile life. In the many years of working with Mr. Haughey, Bill says that he heard a single swear word from his Dad, when someone nailed on furring blocks too tight on concrete forms. After several had pulled out previously, one particular board ripped out five of the blocks, and Mr. Haughey said, Both Bill and Ruth were born in Nebraska, Bill at Omaha on November 11, 1905, and Ruth at rural Plymouth, on May 1, 1906, but it took about 30 years for them to meet. Ruth attended a small country school near Plymouth, and later high school and graduated as a registered nurse in 1931. Bill went through grade school in Omaha, Nebraska and through High School in Burlington, plus one year at C.U. and learned cabinet making, plumbing, sheet metal work, gunsmithing, and precision machine shop work. They met through mutual acquaintances and were married in 1936 and began house' keeping at 1670 Senter Street for one month, moving to their present location at 192 L4th Street in July of 1936, where they still reside. Carol Haughey arrived in 1937 and James was born in 1939. There are many memories of that period of their lives, much centering on the "Trolley", where most of the neighbor- hood children spent hours riding, without many serious injuries. After high school both attended college, Carol at C.W.C. and Jim at C.U. Carol is now Mrs. Ken Taylor, of 5280 W. Plymouth Drive, Littleton, Colorado and has four children, Carrie, Curt, Paul and Mike. Jim is Dr. Jemes Haughey, General Practitioner in Los Angeles, California. Bill and Ruth have engaged in many activities in Burlington, beginning with Bill's appointment as a Postal Clerk in 1930, with Bob Wilkinson as Postmaster. Years later Bill was appointed Assistant Postmaster under Mike Vogt, and later transferred to Rural Carrier on the northwest route from Burlington. Bill retired in 1970. Bill was active in Company I of the Colorado National Guard for many years, attending samp each year at Golden, and earning a spot in the Colorado National Guard Qamp Perry rifle team in 1931 and placing in the Chief of the Militia Bureau Rifle Matches several years. During his membership he also acted as Instructor on Rifle Marksmanship, first aid, musketry, and served as Company Clerk and Supply Sergeant, and has used much of this training in outside activities over the years. After retiring from the Postal Service in 1970, Bill says that is when he got busy! During the war, he felt that his skills were needed more in instrument making, and worked a short time at Hathaway Instru- ments in Denver, during which time he made parts for the recording oscilloscope which recorded the first atomic bomb blast at Los Alamos around 1940. He also has been a member of the Burlington Masonic Lodge No. 77 for 58 years, serving as Worshipful Master in 1937, as District Lecturer from 1959 to 1970, and as Secretary from 1983 to date. Shortly after High School, Bill was interested in music, tenming with Claude Smith and Carol Fundingsland in a small Jazz band which played in the Walters "Sheep Shed" northwest of town, and many other locations �in the area plus the Burlington Town Band, and engaged in the mass band concerts in the District Mass Band Meetings. awhile. approximately 30 years in Goodland and Burlington, some of it being part time, and has been a member of the local P.E.O. and East€rn Star organizations for many years. Outside activities for the Haugheys include nembership in the United Methodist Church, gardening, restoring and refinishing antique furniture, and creating new furni- Carson County. We then moved to Bur- Ruth worked as a registered nurge for ture. by Bill Haughey After returning to Vona, and building our house there, we lived here a year, and then my husband was elected County Judge of Kit lington, and lived there for eight years. Then we returned to our homestead to live. We had five sons and one daughter. I enjoy recounting the experiences of the early days in this country; I shall always appreciate the friendships made and the neighborly folks who were willing to share in our joys and sorrows. We have seen the town of Vona grow from a railroad well and section house to the substantial little place it is today, and we rejoice to know that we did our bit towards the development of this new HAYNES FAMILY I.272 I was born in Clay County, Kansas on Sept. 21, 1864. I spent my youth in Kansas with my parents, then was married to Elmer H. Haynes in 1887, and came to Colorado with my husband and baby son in 1887. My husband had come out eight months before and taken the homest€ad which is part of the Haynes Addition to the town of Vona, Colo. On this homest€ad site he built a dugout and we lived there for a few weeks, then we bought a frame building which was originally a saloon, and moved it to our location, and lived there for seven years until we proved up. My husband was a contractor, and helped to build three miles of the railroad; his business was what caused us to come to Colorado. He followed this work for about fifteen years, and we lived in different places during that time, but always keeping our homest€ad. Finally we returned to Vona, and built the frame house we lived in. When we first came west the little station at Vona had just been built and the place named "Vona" after a daughter of one of our pioneer printers, Fred King, living at Burlington. The railroad had dug a well here, and this is where we got our water, water was hauled from this well by people who were living on homesteads ten or fifteen miles away. I shall always remember how very frightened I was in this new place, so many strangers around, and so many tramps going acrose country and following the railroad. My husband was away so much of the time he gave me a revolver with the caution to always keep it handy, and never open the door at night. One night a knock cnme to our door, and I did not open it but called out "Who'g there?" A gruff voice answered "Open the door, I'm about to freeze." I did not open the door but told him to go to the section house where he would find ehelt€r. Next day I learned it was just another tramp. While returning to Vona from Burlington one day the conductor on the freight train told me the day before he saw a woman running towards the train and waving to the crew, and a man running after her. So the conductor stopped the train, and when the woman came up they learned that the man was a trnmp who had broken into her house, she had gotten away from him and seeing the train, had run towards it for protection. The crew chased the tr4mp over the prairie for some distance but he ran to Burlington and got away, but had the crew caught him they would have given him something to think about for country. Dated Jan. 24,L934. by Mary Belle Kiser llaynee HAZEN. JONES FAMILY I.273 The Jones family came to this area from Kentucky in 1907, along with the McCon- to them in the lemplight. She earned many pennies, nickels, and dimes showing her precocity. One of eight children in the farnily, Della had memorized most of lhs alynans6s by listening to her older brothers and sisters reading aloud from them. The children had found the almanacs left behind by former tenants when the Gnmbles moved from Missouri to Iowa in March, 1874. Della Ganble is now Della Hendricks. She celebrated her 101st birthday last December 7th. She must wear glasses and use a large magnifying glass, but she is still an avid reader. Living at Grace Manor in Burlington, Kit Carson County, Colorado, Mrs. Hendricks has two sons and their families nearby. Although her mind betrays her now and then, she recalls most of her life very clearly. In 1878, the Gambles moved from Iowa to a farm in Harrison County, Missouri, a short distance from where Della had been born. Being close to a school, Della began to attend school in 1879 and quickly learned to read this time not by memorizing what she heard others read. The school was interrupted in 1881 by a fire and classes had to be held in a one-room shack, but Della was always one of the few pupils present. The school was at what was Dolton, Missouri, and Della laughs now as she t€lls about the school's rule regarding whispering. nells, Hughes and Henry Wilsons. They all homesteaded southwest of Stratton. They were all related the Jones being cousins to the McConnells. Ethel Jonee attended the Boden School. Ethel said she often walked that four miles when it was stormy, cold and windy. Ethel married Truman Hazen who came here to homestead in 1906. Their place was three miles east of her parent's home. It has been said that Ethel would get in the car, take a Those who whispered three times got a "whuppin". "One day, I went to the outdoor dinner for the farm workers. They were a real delicacy. In the beginning all of the buildings on Truman's homestead were made of sod. Later some frame buildings were built. In the engaged to. Gossip caused mothers to take their daughters out of the school, but Mrs. rifle and go out hunting young jacks for later years they sold out and retired and moved to a home in Stratton. Truman passed on and is buried in the Stratton Cemetery, and Ethel lived several years alone. She now has passed on and is buried beside her husband. by Florence McConnell HENDRICKS FAMILY F274 Della Hendricks "Would you like to hear me read?" "Read? You? Why, I'll give you a dime if you can show me that you can read." Four year old Della Ga-ble reached for the almanac on the oak table, opened it, and read aloud in her little high voice. The year was 1875. The place was the living room of the home of John R. and Bliza J. Hughes Gamble. Locatedtwoand ahalf miles east of Garden Grove, Iowa, the Gnmble two privy," Della says, "and I saw two boys playing marbles. The boys'parents thought they were in school and the teacher thought they were at home. I'd already been caught whispering twice, but I whispered again when I got back in the school room. The teacher let me off, however, and I didn't get a 'whuppin'." At one time during Della's school years, the teacher suddenly married the girl he'd been Gamble decided the school was not involved, and Della remained in class, the only girl left. The parents of the teacher had a niece come to stay with them and go to school so Della would have company. Telling about her school days, Della says, "A little later, we had a teacher who could teach me high school subjects. Then I went to Grand River College in Edinburg, Missouri. The college had an academic department where I could take Latin, physics, and other subjects. I passed high school examinations while carrying my college work. I studied all the time and graduated in 1891 (at the age of nineteen after only 12 years of formal education). H.W. Owens was the college President." While attending Grand River College, a coeducational institution where strict rules were enforced relating to boy and girls and their relationships, Della and a boy were late getting to class. Although, according to regulations, the boy should have stayed a few feet behind Della, neither he nor she would stop in their haste to get into the building and to class. Out of several windows schoolnates called warnings that both of them would be disciplined. Della and the boy pushed through the doorway together and somehow Immigrants trekking westward were often both avoided punishment. Della says, "I guess I was just lucky." Gamble home, and the travel weary lodgers by M. Hendricks story house was on the Mormon Trail. provided with overnight shelter at the were delighted to have darkhaird Della'read' �HENDRICKS FAMILY F276 Della llendricks Grand River College was an exceptional school ofhigher learning. Opened in 1850 and chartered in 1851, the college offered instruc- were at Seibert, in the eastern Colorado county of Kit Carson. Della and Dick decided to join them and in March, 1908, they and their small children moved via boxcar, settling on a homest€ad three and a half miles south of Seibert. While Dick worked at getting the homestead on a self-sustaining basis, Della found employment as a clerk in the A.V. Jesse students. At the time, Della Gamble graduated from Grand River College, she was asked to teach at Stevens School. The honor of being asked to teach at a certain school did not come to Department Store in Seibert. She had to take young Samuel with her and keep an eye on him while waiting on customers. The store's long hours often required Della to be on the road in her buggy before the sun was up and after the sun was down. In summer there was the added danger ofrattlesnakes on the road. For protection Della carried a .25-30 rifle in her buggy and knew how to use it. With her two older children going to school in Seibert by means of a buggy and an old horse na-ed "Hop", and having to drive another rig back and forth to her own work, Della realized it would be much better to live in town. In the fall of 1910 the family moved into a house in Seibert. but retained the every graduate. Stevens School was also homestead. tion to women on an equal footing with men at the exceedingly early date of its opening. One woman was included on the first faculty of the school. It was eventually absorbed by the William Jewell College at Liberty, Clay County, Missouri. A grade school now stands on the original Grand River college site. An appropriate marker telling of the College is on the school grounds as the result of efforts by Della and a few of the other former referred to as the Rock Island Schoolhouse. Della taught this ungraded school for the by Mary Hendricks 1891-1892 term; then taught a spring term and the following winter, 1892-1893, at a school north of her home and nine miles south of Mt. Moriah, Missouri. It, too, was HENDRICKS FAMILY F276 ungraded. Continuing her teaching career, Della taught her 3rd and 4th term at Springer, Missouri; her fifth term at the Knightstown school, four miles from her home. Both of these schools were ungraded. She then taught at Ward 9 school, out of Bethany, Missouri, and it was while she taWht at Ward 9 that state grading began. Della remained at Ward 9 for six years. During this time, she had a five room house built at Gilman City, about 16 miles from Bethany. She taught the first school Gilman City had. While preparing to teach at one of these rural schools, where she had to find room and board, Della had a cousin from the district ask her to tutor her son in return for board and room. Della says, "The man realized his son was mentally retarded as he was unable to keep up with the other children his age, and the child needed additional help. I accepted the offer. When I went to the boy's home and was introduced to the youngster, I ssid, 'I've come to teach you'. The boy answered, 'I knowed it.' I corrected him immediatelywith,'No, you knew it.'The next morning the child's mother looked out of the kitchen window at newly fallen snow and said to me,'It snew last night."' Between regular school terms Della attend- ed sessions of Teachers' Institute, one of which was held at Trenton, Missouri. These Institut€s gave the teacher information on updated teaching methods, new books and materials, and helped them improve their teaching credentials. At Gilman City, Della met Norman Miles "Dick" Hendricks, a veterinarian. She and Dick were married on Valentine's Day, 1901, at Gilman City. Three children were born of this mariage: Williem, in June, 1903; Elaine, in March, 1905; and Samuel, in December, 1906. By this time, Colorado was drawing many settlers from 'back East'. Among them were a number by the name of Hendricks, all from Missouri. Five of Dick's uncles and auntg Della llendricks earned as a teacher. Books, such as geographies, were liberally illustrated and were printed in language the child could easily understand. There were no libraries in the schools, and the students had to provide their own books and other supplies, such as slates. Slates were often received as Christmas presents and the children were always proud of them. ln Colorado, certificates for teaching were issued according to the amount of education a prospective teacher had and the grades achieved in school. A third Grade Certificate was issued if a person completed eight years of school, was 18 years old, and had an average grade of 75. This certificate was good for one year of teaching. A 2nd grade Certificate was issued upon completion of 12 years of schooling plus special instruction at a "Teachers' NORMAL', held a various points in the state. lst Grade Certificates, good for three years of teaching, were not given until a teacher had at least 9 months of teaching experience and then took an exsrnination to qualifY. According to records from the office of the County Superintendent of Schools, Kit Carson County, Della Hendricks received a lst Grade Certificate in 1915. Della taught First, Second, and Third grades at School District No. 37 in Seibert, for two terms, 1915-1916, and 1916-1917. One of Della's pupils at this time was the son of Mrs. V. Morrison, owner and editor of The Seibert Settler newspaper. During the summer of 1917, when the neighboring town of Burlington was looking for a good teacher However, Della's love for teaching reasserted itselfand, after Sam started to school, she was again teaching in country schools near of Seibert's Seibert. She bought a car - onealong first her way and picked up children for a school 4 miles east of Burlington, - Other children came to school on to school. District No. 34, Mrs. Morrison unhesitatingly recommended Mrs. Hendricks. Della was hired immediately and that fall she and her children moved to Burlington. The homestead had been sold but the house in Seibert horseback. was kept. Telling of those days, Della says, "A big dust storm came up one day. The children's horses were tied outside the barn in which I kept my car. I thought the car could stand the dust better than the horses, so I put the car on the protected north side of the school and we got the horses tied down in the barn. Mine was an open car, as most carg were then, and I had to spend an hour getting the dust out before I could drive home that afternoon. We had dust storms and terrible blizzards, but kept our schools open if we possibly could." Teachers had a lot of bookwork to do, including keeping attendance records. They also often provided crayons, chalk, and other supplies out of their meager wages for those children whose parents were unable to afford them. Teachers in rural schools were their own janitors and had to chop wood for kindling to start the fires in the coal stoves in the schools. They had to bring in the coal from a coal pile nearby, and if they wished, "banked" the fire in the stove for the next morning. Many of the early schools were "soddies" with dirt floors; later, wooden planks were used for flooring. Desks and other pieces of furniture were of the simplest design and manufacture. The fathers of the children built the furniture when they didn't have the money to buy it. The teacher, if from outside the area of the school in which she taught, had to find room and boardwith some family near the school, usually one of the School Board members. Payment for room and board was also from the small wages Before moving, however, Della took the first group of 4-H Club girls to the County Fair in Burlington. Her work with youth was not limited to school hours. by Mary Hendricks HENDRICKS FAMILY F.277 Della Hendricks Della's daughter, Elaine, joined the 4-H Club in 1917. She and another Burlington girl, Bertha Boger (now Mrs. Bertha Wear), took part in a canning club during the summer of 1922. With Della's help, they entered into a 4-H Club canning competition. In August of that year, the girls entered competition as a team at the State Fair at Pueblo, Colorado, and won. They were the only entries in the Regional Competition and automatically won that. Going into the National Competition, held at Chicago in December. Elaine and Bertha won second place. With the two first place winners, the two Colorado girls were awarded a trip to France, where they demonstrated to women in war devastated areas how to can their home grown produce and fowl. Both girls felt they owed much of their success in the competitions to the help and encouragement �they'd received from Della. With her interest in school, it was natural for Della to consider the office of County Superintendent of Schools. Running for the office during the fall of 1922, she won the election in November and won reelection two HENDRICKS FAMILY r.278 Della Hendricks years later. While performing the duties of her office, Della was instrumental in starting many young people on a teaching career, among them being her own son, Sam. Another, now Mrs. Blanche Lipfored Carper of Flagler, Colorado, says, "Mrs. Hendricks was always interested in getting young people to teach. She would give teachers whatever breaks it was possible for her to give." A pupil during Della's terms as County Superintendent, now Mrs. Marie Fisk Smith of Flagler, remembers that she "was always scared when Mrs. Hendricks came to visit the school. She was so dignified and all business. No nonsense was accepted in Della's schools, particularly those in which she taught. Children went to school to learn, and learn they did." Della made it a point to visit each school in the County at least once during each school term. In visiting School District No. 10 in the southwest part ofthe county, she recalls she "drove ten miles over hills and plains where the horizon seemed to retreat farther and farther under an immense sky before I saw a habitation of any kind. In fact, I saw only the schoolhouse and wondered where the children lived." State Teachers Normal Institutes, which had begun in 1904, came to an end during f925. The state was divided into 13 Normal districts, Kit Carson, Lincoln, and Cheyenne Counties making up District No. 6. Each county seat held the Institute in turn. The last Institut€, in Burlington in 1925, had an enrollment of t25, the largest attendance on record. Della conducted this last Institute. State laws regarding teacher training had been changed, thus eliminating the Institutes. The money on hand in District No. 6 was used to purchase books for a county school library which was placed in the office of the County Superintendent. The books were checked out to teachers, filling a school need at that time. The winter of 1926 was a sad time for Della. Although she was happy with the birth of her 2nd grandchild in October, she lost her bid for reelection in November. In December, her daughter, Elaine, died of complications following the birth of her first child, a daughter; Della's first grandchild. Della returned to teaching District No. 34 for the term of 1927-1928. In July of 1928 the winner ofthe 1926 election resigned and the County Commissioners asked Della to serve out the rest of the term. On October 31, 1928, Della Hendricks wag awarded a State Teacher's Honorary Life Certificate, which states: "This is to certify that Della Hendricks, having shown superior ability as an educator in the State of Colorado by distinguished success as attested by satisfactory testimo- nials. has been awarded this Certificate which confers authority to teach in any Public School in this State." The certificate was issued by the Department of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, sigrred by State Superintendent Katherine L. Craig. by M. Hendricks In November, Della was elected again, and, two years later, reelected. In trying to be of assistance to the county's teachers, she began issuing a regular bulletin each month. In her December bulletin, she urged the organization of music classes in the schools, an innovation much to the liking of teachers, pupils and parents. Again visiting the schools in the county, Della went to visit a school district in the northeast part of the county, a district which in 1928 was conducting its second term of school. Della had heard ofthe school and had frequently inquired about roads leading to the school but had been unable to get any directions. She finally decided to take her time and hunt for the school house. After leaving the graveled roads and following a trail which, she said, "might have been made by the ancient aborigines", she came upon a modest little school, attractively built and well equipped. She found the teacher and students engaged in industrious work and the school, as a whole, spoke ofgood results being obtained. Mrs. Hendricks made a lengthy call at the school as it was their first visit by a County Superintendent. Then she went to the County Commissioners and asked for a better road into Peaceful Valley, the site of the school. While on her county crossing trips, Della had become fascinated with the history of the area and the many kinds of wild flowers found on the open prairies. Having started accumulating material on both the history and the flowers during her first years as County Superintendent, she now continued these activities. Roads had improved and she found it easier to hunt out Indian artifacts and historical markers. and locate the few remaining residents who had helped settle the county. She added to her own writings which she'd started in L922 and went on with her scrapbooks, ofwhich she had literally dozens. Obituaries of the county's earliest settlers were of great help and constitute a history in themselves. She had also gathered impressive amounts of data on the wild flowers of the country side. At the end of her second four year term as County Superintendent of the Kit Carson County schools, Della again returned to teaching, this time at District No. 71 in the Flagler area. Here she taught during the school terms of 1932-1933 and 1933-1934. staying at the Ollis James farm home during the school months. In the fall of 1934, Della went back to District No. 34 and taught at this rural school just out of Burlington for four years. Evenings were devoted to the work required of her as a teacher, but weekends and vacations were spent in searching out "ghost" towns long forgotten by most of the people. She spent many hours typing up pages for her files and her scrapbooks. Becoming known for her insistence on facts, Della was called upon by historical societies and publishers of historical periodicals to verify writings of others or to supply information. Students of the pioneer West came to regard her as an authority. In the realm of wild flowers, Della familiarized herselfthrough long and careful research with most of the native species so she could recognize them on sight. She was a true pioneer of this work in her part of Colorado. She also readily knew on sight the differences between edible and poisonous mushrooms found on the virgin prairie land. Della's interest in flowers extended into her own garden. She held a lifetime membership in the Burlington Garden Club and was a staunch promoter of conservation long before the word began to receive national notice. At one time her garden contained a collection of 140 different varieties of iris plants, many of which cnme to her as gifts. by M. Hendricks HENDRICKS FAMILY F27S Della l{endricks Della's long years of teaching appeared to come to an end with the 1938-1939 school term which she taught at District No. 21 out of Burlington. She had seen schools develop from one room "soddies" to one or two room frame buildings, then to gradual consolidation of districts and larger school buildings. Instead of one teacher for a group of children of varying ages and grades all in one room, there were now separate rooms for each grade and a teacher for each grade. Few children depended on a horse to get to school consolidation had brought busing of the children to the larger schools. Teachers were required to have more and more years of education before receiving credentials for teaching. But Della did not retire. In addition to all her other activities, she had been active in Red Cross work for many years. She became County Chairman in L942. Also in 1942, Della was appointed Stat€ Chairman of Consewation of the Colorado Federation of Garden Clubs. She received official notice of the appointment in a letter from the State President who said, "We won't take 'no' for an answer." Telling about the appointment, a local newspaper said, "We doubt if the Federation could find a more able head for this important department. Mrs. Hendricks is a keen student of nature and an authority on Eastern Colorado wild flowers and is interested in conservation of all wild life. The Burlington Garden Club is honored to have one of its members thus recognized. According to Della's own personal notes, she was employed to open school at 1st Central District No. 29 and to teach until the school board could get a teacher. She taught grades 9 through 12 and acted as principal. Interestingly, Della's first grandchild, Jac- quelyn Hendricks (Snm's daughter), was teaching grades 1 through 4 at this school at this ssyne time. Della wrote in her notes. "f taught 9 weeks my last teaching." She was 74 years old. - During the years of World War II, Della grew her'victory garden'and continued with Red Cross work. The funds of the Red Cross would go only so far and Della refused to turn �down a call of distress. She often used her own money to help a stranded service man or extend aid to the traveling family of a serviceman. In 1946. Della received a letter of commendation from the Colorado Gover- nor, John C. Vivian, and a citation for "meritorious personal service performed in behalf of the nation, her armed forces, and suffering humanity in the Second World War", signed by Harry S. Truman, President of the United States, and Basil O'Connor, National Chairman of the American Red Cross. The mounting number of candles on her birthday cakes did not deter Della Hendricks. She continued her research of Eastern Colorado history and other activities. In 1952, she received a gift from Ed C. Johnson, the United States Senator from Colorado, for the Burlington Library and also a gift for the auction which was to be held for the benefit of the new Burlington Library building. These gifts were being assembled by a group known as Friends of the Library, of which Mrs. Hendricks was a member. She also remained active in the Garden Club and the Inter SeSe Sorority. Many nights she would fall asleep while typing her notes or articles relating to historical events or personalities of Eastern Colorado. Her interest in this never slackened. Sponsored by the Burlington Library Board, an Open House was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Sem Hendricks on December 7, 1961, in honor of Della's 90th birthday. During the afternoon, between 65 and 70 friends came to greet her and many friends and relatives, unable to attend, sent cards or called on her later. The next spring found her with spade and rake in hand, planting her garden as usual. Throughout the years, Della's husband, Dick. had carried on his work as a veterinarian and had spent most of his later years on one of the family's farms. However, he and Della were living in a small house in Burlington in January of 1965 when Dick suffered a massive stroke and died a few days later. Following the death of her husband, Della went to live at the home of her son, Snm. She had her own telephone, desk and typewriter, and spent her time reading, typing, talking to old friends, and carrying on her extensive correspondence. She was still receiving and answering queries about persons, places and events of Eastern Colorado such as frontiersman Kit Carson; William H. Bleakley, the first aviator in Burlington, who in 1915 was instrumental in forming the National Guard in Kit Carson County; the Battle of Beecher Island; early political figures; and the sit€s of historical markers. Later in October of 1968, at dinner time one evening, Della fell. Although not serioue- Congressman Frank E. Evans. She also received many gifts, flowers and telephone calls from people unable to attend the reception. Della's son, Sam, taught for several years and later entered the U.S. Postal Service from which he retired in 1969. Her son. William, became a mortician, owning and conducting the Burlington Mortuary and Ambulance Service. He is now semi-retired. the business being carried on mainly by his oldest son. Besides the two sons, Della has 8 grandchildren,25 great grandchildren and 2 great great grandchildren. Today Della Hendricks, 101 years of age, maintains her interest in local and world affairs. Ifshe were to walk into a schoolroom today, with all the changes that have taken place she would still be a schoolmarm, one of the very best. Della died at Grace Manor on July 22,L973 at the age of 101 years, 7 months and 15 days. by M. Hendricks HENDRICKS WILSON FAMILY F280 In the latter years ofthe 19th century and the early years ofthe 20th century, there were Great Uncles and Great Aunts of Bill Hendricks that migrated from Missouri to what is now known as Kit Carson County. Some data about these individuals follow. A.F. Hendricks was the first Dry Goods Merchant in Burlington, the old building that housed the store was eventually razed by Doren Knapp. This edifice was probably in the vicinity of the present day Equitable Savings and Loan. A.F. Hendricks moved to Denver in 1890. Abrahsm, commonly known as Abe, was one of the committee who journeyed to Denver to establish Kit Carson County of Eastern Colorado. He moved to Denver and later to Kansas City, MO. Oliver and his wife, Tammy moved to Seibert, CO. and built the first hotel in that community. Oliver planted a grove of trees north of Seibert which became a popular spot for picnics. In 1888, he sold the hotel to his sister and her husband, Kate and Lee Hutchens who had also migrated from Missouri to Seibert. They continued the operation of the hotel for many years and they also farmed. Two brothers, George and Bert operated the first land business in Seibert. Later, both moved to Denver. Two sisters, Harriet Brown and Alice Carter and their husbands lived on homesteads S.E. of Seibert. As previously mentioned, several Hendricks families had migrated from Missouri to the area of Kit Carson County. In March of 1908, Dick and Della Hendricks, parents of Bill Hendricks, had decided to join their kin and moved via box car, settling on a homestead 372 miles south of Seibert. While Dick worked on the homestead Della found employment in Seibert as a clerk in a department store. She took her son Sam who was a mere toddler with her. Two buggies were making the trip to town drawn by her, the other by her young -sonone Bill with his sister Elaine who attended school in town. So Della realized it would be much better for them to live in town. In the fall of 1910 the family moved into a house in Seibert but they retained the homestead. By profession, Della was a school teacher. After Sam started to school she taught in schools near Seibert. Eventually she bought a car one of Seibert's first. It was a 1916 Model- T. William R. Hendricks (Bill) of Burlington, CO has resided in Kit Carson county for approximately eighty years. Following are episodes relating to those years and also some historical events that involved him. Bill had a vivid memory of his childhood and adolescent years. To this day he will not eat rabbit regardless ofhow it is prepared. It seems that rabbit was a prime source of food : -::tr:.- {ll *' '.1i.. ly injured, she had to be hospitalized for about two months. Upon her release from the hospital, Della went to Grace Manor, a nursing home in Burlington, where she has continued to reside. On December 7,197L, Della celebrated her 100th birthday. A reception was given in her honor at Grace Manor by her two eons and their wives, Mr. and Mrs. Sa- Hendricks and Mr. and Mre. William Hendricks. Approximately 150 relatives and friends attended. She received nearly 150 cards, a personal letter from President Richard M. Nixon and a congratulatory greeting from Colorado George and Bert Hendricks. First land office in Seibert, Colorado, 1890's. ff t4 ...,1;;,i.,.,:l1:r.r.,i:ill �when living on the homestead south of Seibert. He remembers going to school in Seibert he and his sistcr Elaine - via an old buggy and the old horse "Hop". Bill was only five years at this time when he had the responsibility of driving the rig 3% miles back and forth to school. He was seven years old when the family moved to town. From the stories he tells, one concludes that he was quite an ingenious young lad. By connivance won't tell you - heAlthough they he acquired two oxen. how were -approximately the same height, they did not match, one was full bodied and had a smooth hide; the other was scrawny and scraggly. With the help of a local blacksmith, Bill made a yoke to fit the oxen. He would hitch the oxen to any old wagon, sled or buggy that he could gain possession of and using a rope for reins he would drive those "critters" all around town and the surrounding areas. He could leave the oxen at a halt, enter a store or go wherever he wanted to; however, regardless of how long he was gone, the oxen would still be standing wherever he had left them. by Mary Hendricks HENDRICKS WILSON FAMILY individual owners. For this chore, Bill was paid a dollar a month for each "town cow". One summer while still living in Seibert, Bill went to his Aunt Kate's to help with putting up hay. She had a number of hired hands working for her. Among them was this "mean man" - this is what young Bill called him. Other workers, including young Bill, teased this so called "mean man". One day he beceme very irate with young Bill and took after him with a pitch fork. Instead of running away from him in an open space, he ran into the barn and was trapped against a stall. The pitch fork aimed directly at Bill was getting very close; however, quite suddenly this so called "mean man" was grabbed around the neck with such force and strength that the pitch fork fell to the ground. The man's name who saved Bill's life was Claude Huges. Following this incident there was much commotion for a while. Soon Aunt Katc had this culprit running down the road. Years later when operating Hendricks Ambulance Service. Bill remained somewhat intimidated by the mentally deranged. He could perform his duties with compassion, concern, and professional efficiency; however, arriving in the corridors of a mental hospital and a door was unlocked for him to enter with his patient and then the door locked behind him - sometimes this proce- dure repeating itself several times - Bill had F28t to overcome his fear of being trapped. The boyhood experience he had had with the "mean man" had made an indelible impression on his memory. Young Bill had a memorable experience when he was nine years old. At this time his father Dick Hendricks, was operating a livery stable in Seibert. His service included rental of a buggy and a horse and, when needed, included rental for a rig and a driver. At this specific time there was in Seibert a gentleman, Alvin T. Steinel, editor of the Southwest Trail, a farm magazine. He needed to go to Flagler. Young Bill who had earned reputation of successfully making many trips, was chosen as driver for Mr. Steinel. Driving a buggy pulled by a horse named "Old Fred" they began their journey. They t'--*ii: Willie Hendricks, age 9, Seibert, Colorado. In those early days people were permitted to keep horses, chickens, hogs, cows - whatever - in town. One of Bill's main sources of making spending money was to herd what they called "town cows". After milking them in the morning, he would round up the cows and drive them to a near pasture where they could graze. Before milking time in the evening he would drive the cows back to their encountered a torrential rain. Although they managed to cross the bridge that spanned the Republican River, in a short time they were forced to find shelter because of road conditions, wind and the down pouring rain. Shelter was found in an old abandoned shack. The Editor. Bill and of course "Old Fred" remained in the shack until the storm receded. Then once again the horse was hitched and without any further trouble they arrived in Flagler where young Bill spent the night. The next day he returned home safe and happy - the buggy seat was loaded with candy and nuts. Later Steinel came to the Hendricks'home at Seibert to get Bill's picture. The picture and the story ofthe trip appeared on the front page of the Denver Post. The Burlington Record on Apri6 l, 1978 printed an article captioned 1912 Newspaper Clipping Lauds "Willie Youngest Livery Man". The conclusion of the article was verbatim -. Mr. Steinel mentioned by the News later beco-e editor of Western Farm Life Journal and the boy, a father, grandfath- er, and great grandfather many times over - now affectionately called "Pa Bill" by his progeny who would agree in retrospect, that there was a lot of "Pa Bill" in young Willie and still much of Willie in Pa Bill. Bill Hendricks was at this time 75 years old. by Mary Hendricks HENDRICKS WILSON FAMILY F282 During the summer of 1917, the town of Burlington was looking for a teacher for a school east of Burlington. Della Hendricks was recommended and was hired immediate- ly. The following fall, the homestead was sold and Della with the three children drove the car and moved to Burlington. Later Dick joined them walking and driving three milk cows all the way from Seibert to Burlington, a distance of thirty-two miles. Bill Hendricks was in his early teens when he moved with the family to Burlington. Most of the summers he spent living and working on farms. He had varied employment while attending high school. He worked at a soda fountain, a restaurant, a bakery and also in a men's clothing store. In his senior year, Bill played basketball position center. The tenm made state playoffs - Boulder - lost. He was also on the first football team organized at Burlington High School. He played tackle, year 1920. After graduating from high school in 1923, Bill went to work at Penny Hardware which was owned and operated by Orin P. Penny. As was common in those days, the store's merchandise included furniture and in addition was licensed for funeral and nmbulance services. There was no mortuary edifice. Caskets were displayed in the basement of the hardware store and it was also there that the preparation room was located. Quite frequently families, mostly those living at the settlement, would request that their departed one be embalmed and prepared for burial in the home. Many nighls Orin and Bill would be secluded in an unheated, cold room with only an oil lnmp or lantern for light. The trips to the home would occur every day - carr)nng supplies and equipment - until after the funeral was conducted. The funerals were held sometimes in homes, churches or a schoolhouse. Bill Hendricks'interest in mortuary science was activat€d when first employed by Orin Penny and remained steadfast throughout the years. In the late spring of 1926, Bill met Mary Louise Wilson. Her parents, Rolla and Myrtle Wilson, had given up housekeeping immediately after Mary left for college in Missouri - 1925. Rolla Wilson was the head buyer of Arizona Packing Co. He and wife Myrtle traveled extensively, their home, hotel rooms. However that spring of 1926 a school teacher of Burlington High School, J.R. Walters, was leaving with his family to attend summer school in the east. They rented their home intact for the summer months to Rolla. The Walters family moved out - the Wilson family moved in. The address of this house is 150 14th St. Today it is the home of Bertha B. Wear. The house directly south was the home of Dick and Della Hendricks and their son Bill. With the assistance of Della Hen- dricks who was at this time County Superintendent of Schools, Mary started a summer �ded one sometimes found herself in an atmosphere of black, oily particles that were adhering to everything. One of the happiest days of my life was when my grandfather Earl gave me a green and ivory colored cook stove. All that space on which to cook and there was also a water weU so I readily had access to hot water. The large oven had no thermometer; however, I soon learned to gauge the temperature by holding the palm of my hand just outside the open door ofthe oven. I sincerely believe that during the eighty years of my live have I ever baked better bread, cookies, biscuits, cornbread, cakes, pies, etc. I graduated from the kitchen range to what was then the ultra modern bottled gas stove. It boast€d a deep well cooker that operated similar to our present day crock-pot. Every Sunday the children and I could leave home for Sunday school and church with me content that the bulk of our dinner was slowly cooking. It was a Sunday ritual for Bill's parents and my mother to join us for noon time dinner. In addition, as long as Bill remained active, I knew knew, Sundays or week days, how Burlington High School football team, 1920. Kindergarten. She was given permission to use the facilities of a room in the school house. Some of her wee-little students are still living in this area - among them are the Ford brothers, J.C. Penny and Betty Chal- fant Sutton. The romantic relationship that developed between Bill and Mary continued throughout the summer; however Mary was adamant about one matter - Bill must go to Mortuary School before they could marry. In the fall, the Wilsons moved to Norton, Kansas taking Mary with them. They had been advised by an eye specialist that Mary should not return to college for at least a year. Eventually, Mary planned to teach school so following her year of inactivity she decided to postpone college, go to Burlington where she could take the exnmination for a teachers certificate and then teach for a year or so. It was at this time during her stay in Burlington that she realized that Bill - due to family circumstances - would not go to mortuary school in the very near future. Bill and Mary eloped and were married in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado on April 27, L927. Following the marriage, Mary's frugality alienated some members of the Hendricks family; however, she was persistent in her determination to help raise sufficient funds for them to go to Kansas City for school. She augmented her hoardings by the approval of her application for a substitute teacher at Smokey Hill. Mary taught seventh and eighth grades and Latin and English to the upper classmen. At this time, Ora Cruickshank was a teacher at Smokey Hill some will remember her. "The icing on the cake" - so to speak - followed. In her will, Bill's grandmother, Martha Hendricks, was leaving one hundred dollars to each of her grandsons. When she becnme aware of Bill's endeavor she advanced his legacy to him. ln January of 1928, Bill and Mary left for Kansas City where he attended Williams Institute of Mortuary Science. After receiving his degree he went to Denver, took the state exnmination and in 1929 was awarded his first State Mortuary Practitioners License #459. When Bill returned from school. he resu- med his emplo5ment with Orin Penny. Most of Bill and Mary's friends were as hard pressed for money as they were; however it did not necessarily take much money to have entertainment. They played games and there was extensive visiting in homes. Square dancers would gather in country homes and dance the hours away. In Burlington, the dilapidated old armory as it is today, was built in 1926. For many years, it was an ideal place for dancing. The dance floor was superb - the rest rooms were clean, shiny and most accommodating. One of the outstanding dances of the year was the Fireman's Ball. Many of the ladies wore formals. Over the years, Bill Hendricks, bit by bit, was acquiring land, some cattle and horses (always horses). His family was multiplying, Wilson Robert (Bob) was born on July 30, 1928; Dixie Lee was born on July 15, 1931; John Joseph (Joe) was born on December 29, 1932; and George Thomas (Tom) was born on September 24, 1936. Twice he quit his employment at Penny Hardware. His wages were always frugal. He sold cars for C.D. Reed Motor Company and also at one time joined Rolla Wilson in his buying and selling of hogs and cattle. by Mary Hendricks HENDRICKS WILSON FAMILY many extras he would bring home for a meal. I learned to improvise; I never knew whether I would feed six, sixteen or more. In later years when we were blessed with daughters-in-law, I assiduously discouraged them from becoming slaves to lavish Sunday meals. I remembered my self inflicted martyrdom. Following a Sunday dinner Bill took the grandparents home for their naps, the guests would leave and Bill and the children left to ride the horse. I remained home faced with a "slug" of dirty dishes to wash by hand. There were so many women like me in those days; did we think we were saints by being martyrs? I laud the modern day women! "You've come a long way, baby!" We must acknowledge that during our life span we all experience obstacles. Some are world wide - some national and others a bit closer to home. Seemingly there are people who live in gloom and despair - others who learn to handle troubles and never lose sight of the miracles of "progress". One summer grasshoppers were spotted in one of the fields that Bill was farming. Grandpa Dick, Bill's father, drove an old pickup all around the boundaries ofthe field. I rode in back - legs hanging over the tailgate scattering grasshopper poison along the edges of the field. Today there are planes equipped to spray entire fields using a formula specified for the encroachment of the bug or insect. Hundreds of acres are sprayed in less time than it took to toss grasshopper poison to the boundaries for the field. "Progress". F283 How did I do it? I was always a stickler for well balanced meals so I know I prepared hearty meals three times a day for four children and Bill and I. How did I do it on just a two burner kerosene stove and without a single electrical appliance? In those days there were no packaged foods nor were there any frozen items; all cooking was done from scratch. One advantage, no worry about preservatives. Does anyone reading this recall how the wicks on those ancient kerosene stoves had a tendency to creep when lit? If left unatten- Having lived in Burlington for 60 odd years, I have experienced and lived through many types of dirt storms. The rolling type of the Dust Bowl of the thirties were hellions to me. All window curtains, wall pictures and bric-a-brack were concealed in any drawer or covered space available. Damp sheets were in the bathroom. Whenever I would spot a monstrous, vicious black cloud rolling in the sky, I would hang wet sheets on the window curtain rods. Soon that cloud would settled over the house like a canopy, dirt penetrating every crack and crevice. When the hellish cloud eventually rolled on and away I would carry out the dirt using a shovel, broom and coal bucket. At this time Bob was in Kinder- �city resumed the annual 4th of July fireworks display. On July 18, 1929, a Rock Island passenger train traveling east while attempting to cross a bridge collapsed. The story is that two cars had safely crossed before the breakdown of the bridge which plunged several cars into the water. Ordinarily the creek was dry; however due to a torrential rain there was adequate depth to the water to trap and drown the passengers. All bodies were taken to the Penny Mortuary. Bill Hendricks today doesn't remember for certain how many - over the years he was involved in many drowning tragedies. The local weekly newspaper published that were were 15 or more. Bob Hendricks of Hendricks Mortuary, has searched through all old records of Orin Penny but can find no mention of this specific tragedy. In thoee days, detailed records were not compiled and filed as they are today. The catastrophe of the train wreck caused a gteat influx of outsiders to Burlington. Besides editors, reporters and newspaper men, there were many curiosity seekers. Seibert Boys Band, July 1916 at Colorado Springs band competition. Standing, I to r; G.W. Klokenteger, Paul Morrison, Parker Calvin, Elmer Ericson, PauI Jeffries, BiIl Klokenteger, Elmer Everett. Seated; Ted Cruickshank, Wm. Hendricks, Lindley Cates, Snm Hendricks, Reginald Allen, Monta Jeffries, Floyd Johnson, Harry Simmons, Dwight Frankfather, Abe Hendricks. garten. On stormy days he was sent home, Dixie was a toddler and Joe a crawler. I scooped dirt out of the kitchen sink and the bathtub before flushing with water. I had a horror of mud plugging the drains. During those days we women fought our battle to protect our families and our homes. Our battles were minimal when compared to those of the farmers and merchants. New methods of farming and the ever increasing Pse of irrigation have helped diminish the in Burlington a business man by the name of Earl Baber. He unexpectedly approached Bill and Mary and offered to finance the transaction of the sale of the mortuary business. It didn't seem to worry Earl that Bill and Mary did not have sufficient collateral for the loan. He remarked, "You two will make it". They did make it! The following fall Bill had a bumper wheat crop. Earl was paid in full. enter competition against him. Twice Bill was offered financial support for a mortuary business of his own. Bill remained loyal to his promise to Orin. John Curtis and Gene Penny, sons of Orin, approached Bill. They informed him that they had no desire or intention to operate a mortuary. They advised Bill to persistently tag their dad and culminate a sale of the business. October 1944, Penny Mortuary became Hendricks Mortuary. After all these years, the dream and goal of Bill and Mary's became a redity. Orin was surprised when Bill paid him cash for the business and equipment. There lived that is how he - in Burlington that referred to them, who were he had a friend Grace Milburn, stay with Mary and baby, Billie Bob. Mary remembers one heartbreaking story that Bill told her about one of the victims. A young girl was returning home from a swim meet where she had won the championship. She drowned in Spring Creek. by Mary Hendricks HENDRICKS WILSON FAMILY atrocious dirt storms of bygone years. ttProgress". seemingly can be completely devastated. If mother nature works in her wondrous ways giving us sunshine, moisture, adequate temperatures, etc. in one years'time our lands can again display luxuriant growth. Always, after Bill had quit his job at the hardware store and mortuary, Orin Penny would contact him and induce him to come back to work for him. Definitely Orin Penny needed Bill. He had built a small mortuary and had depended on Bill for many years to do all the professional work. This reactive cycle would tire Mary; however in due time proved beneficial. Orin held a restraining advantage over Bill. He had had Bill promise that he would never the many vagabonds by Mary Hendricks possibilities of a recurence of the violent, How many people in the world live in a "Garden of Eden" as we do? Our land Some one had to be on duty day and night at the mortuary. Bill Hendricks would return home only long enough to bathe, shave and change clothes. He was so concerned about HENDRICKS WILSON FAMILY F285 r.284 The train wreck west of Stratton, Colorado. One girl wasn't found until 5 days later. 1929. The bon fire celebrating the end of World War II in Burlington. Bill Hendricks had heard that the signing J.E. McFadden, age thirty-three, a mail carrier for the Burlington Postal Service, suffered a tragic and brutal death on July 4th, 1928. He was the one discharging all the fireworks display for the annual 4th of July celebration sponsored by the City of Burlington. One of the rockets back fired and exploded in McFadden's face. Orin Penny and Bill Hendricks were morticians and coroners at this time. Mr. McFadden's wife and eleven children were left to mourn his death. A duration of years passed before the of the Armistice that would end hostilities of the World War would officially be announced in the afternoon of August 14, 1945. He anticipated the mob-like hilarity, jubilance and the intensive high to celebrate. With the cooperation of the local merchants in Burlington and the help ofyoungsters, the alleys were confiscated of all boxes, papers, wood anything that would burn were piled - and at the intersection of 14th and Senter. On the roof of the Bank of Burlington Bill placed a music box illd emplifier. �Crowds were gathering in anticipation. When the announcement was broadcast by PresidentTruman at fiive o'clock, pandemonium broke loose. The bonfire was ignited, people were crying, laughing and hugging one another. The din of the sirens, cars honking, music blaring, noisemakers and wildly happy shoutings ofthe people who were gathered in the paper and confetti strewn streets was immense. All boys and men had to forfeit shirts and ties - some their coats and haLs - to the bonfire. Tears mingled withthe smiles of more than one in the community as thoughts were turned to the boys who made the supreme sacrifice and would not be coming home rmong the several hundred from this county. Fuel was added to the big bonfire until the midnight rain came to put an end to the festivities. Although celebrating was riotous throughout the county, Sheriff R.W. Plummer, undersheriff Roy Peters, nor the Hendricks Ambulance Service received a single call. The majority of the residents remained quietly and thankfully at home listening to the radio for further details of Japan's unconditional surrender. On Wednesday a joint religious service was held at the Community Center, preceded by band and decorated floats at 2:00. Following that, a huge crowd enjoyed a free show and several barrels of lemonade, donated by the city. A big dance at the State Armory climaxed the day. During the war's duration of three years, eight months and seven days, Kit Carson County folks had done their utmost toward this victory raising more than the alloted quota on all seven war bond drives, donating thousands of dollars to the Red Cross, USO and other similar causes, sending preciorur sons and daughters to the Armed Forces and taking over the work on the home front, planting and harvesting three record food crops. by Mary Hendricks IIENDRICKS WILSON FAMILY F286 Bill couldn't delay contacting architects and contractors for bids on building the mortuar5r. He had only a five year lease to rent the Penny edifice. After that he would be compelled to move out. Orin Penny died during this period and his son, John and his wife Deane had plans to remodel and enlarge the building and make it their home. An architect from Denver and Bill and Mary compiled a blueprint for the mortuary to be built. To hire a contractor becnme a big headache. All prices they would quote were exorbitant for Bill. There was no possible way he could raise the money any one of them were asking. At this time there \Das a gentleman, Leonard Krebs, living in Burlington who did construction work. He and other parishioners had recently built their first St. Paul's Lutheran Church. The construction was most impressive. Leonard Krebs became the supervisor for building the mortuary. He was very meticulous, wouldn't tolerate a flaw; however he had the personality and ability to cooperate with all labor and the ability to relieve any tension that would occur. Most labor was local men. Some construction necessarily had to be contracted such as the brick laying, plast- ering, wiring, plumbing, etc. but whenever feasible the contractors were local. Bill sold land, the farnilyhome and borrow- ed money to finance the building. He had always said that if it were ever possible for him to build a mortuary he wanted a building that the town, he and his children and future grandchildren would be proud of. He anticipated the growth of Burlington which is an explanation for the size of the building. Also he wished to discourage competition. When the five year lease on the Penny building terminated, John Penny immediately began excavating and Bill was forced to vacate and move everything to his mortuary that was still under construction. The preparation room was completed; however, that was the only room ready for use. Caskets that would eventually be displayed in the Show Room that would be located in the basement quarters were lined up in the room that was to become the chapel. They were covered with heavy plastic sheets. When Bill had an undertaking call and the family of the deceased was expected, all construction on the main floor would come to a halt. The men would sweep up shavings, sawdust and any other debris from the bare wooden floor and remove the plastic sheets from the caskets then Bill or a member of his staff would ready them for display. Bill and Mary always marveled at the public's tolerance of their crude facilities. After the sale of their home the family moved to a tiny three room apartment in the back of what was then Ed Hantens Dress Shop and was located directly across the alley from the Penny Building. Mary had packed in crates and boxes all but the bare essentials. These were stored in the basement of the Hantens and that is also where the boys slept. Ugh!Bugs! Mice! On New Years Eve the Hendricks family vacated the Hanten apartment and moved bag and baggage to the top floor of the mortuar5r which was to be their home. Heat, water and electricity were available and also there were bathroom facilities, a kitchen sink, a stove, a refrigerator, an automatic washer and some furniture. There were no doors, rods, hooks or cupboards and the bare floors were splotched with plaster. Mary especially appreciated the many windows that would afford sunlight and fresh air. The Hanten apartment had only one window located in the small kitchen. Trying to keep abreast of the book work and the care of the family in that stagnant air had begun to make Mary sick. Following the move, the Hendricks tribe became increasingly involved in the construc- tion work of the mortuary. They were assigned their daily tasks by Leonard Krebs. Bill and Mary have repeatedly said that they could not have built the mortuary nor functioned in the early years without the labor and dedication of their family. During the early years there was a shortage ofmoney available to hire help. All through high school and during college vacations their family was on call at the mortuary. At the time the mortuary also had the Ambulance Service and the Flower Order Business. There were times when the progeny were tempted to leave it all and find a good paying job but their loyalty remained steadfast. Perhaps they had pride in what all were trying to accomplish. Bill suffered a coronary. Joe postponed entering college for a year so he could help with the farming and the mortua4r business. The mortuary, as all new buildings do, gradually reached creditability. Mary revels in her contribution. The outmoded, very rough plaster used in those days could not be painted for a year. Painting the walls and ceilings on three floors was emong her contributions. Although Bill Hendricks had many interests and hobbies, the mortuary took precedence over all. Except on occasions when he was gone, he made it clear to his family and all employees that he was "Boss". When conducting a funeral he expected complete autonomy - the funeral must run smoothly and in his way. Anyone helping him must be alert and be able to interpret his little hidden gestures of hand or head and then follow through. In 1974, Bill relinquished his status as "Boss" to his son, Bob and wife Bonnie. They moved to the apartment while Bill and Mary moved to a house at 85 Cedar Circle, that is owned by their son, Joe. Mary said that she almost shed tears ofjoy when Bonnie told her that she was willing to move to the mortuary. Mary was becoming very tired; she had experienced much satisfaction in her close association with the many diversified responsibilities, however the years were taking their toll. Bill had insisted that she continue with all bookwork; however she knew her methods were most antiquated in contrast to son Bob's. Also she was worried about Bill's health. She realized that the many stair steps were becoming a problem - she wanted to move before health conditions forced them to do so. In June of 1984 Bob and Bonnie Hendricks purchased the mortuary; they also own a Funeral Home in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado. They have spent much time and money on repairs, decorating and remodeling. Mary had inherited money from her Aunt which made it possible for them to sell the mortuary debt free. by Mary Ilendricks HENDRICKS WILSON FAMILY F287 The Flagler plane tragedy occurred on September 15, 1951. Surely someone from Flagler will contribute the details of the crash. Although no one from the staff of Hendricks Mortuary or Ambulance Service was present at the time of the tragedy, Bill and Mary and staff allocated many hours in Flagler subsequent to the tragedy. Mary speaks; "I, with a friend Peggy Shamburg, were returning home from Ft. Collins, we had taken my daughter, Dixie, back to college. To accommodate all her paraphernalia I was driving a station wagon that could be converted to a small ambulance. I became apprehensive, didn't know why, but felt the urgency to return home quickly. On the way, the Hendricks embulance wan �taking a patient to Denver and passed us. A.^ Since Bill had gone to Eads, Colorado to the races, I realized that our son Tom - 15 years old - was alone at the mortuary. That did not cause me great concern since I knew he could ^^l 71"fui' / clov Hotsl, Seibert, rely on Steve Rockwell at the hospital to aseist in atty emergency. I was nearing the grounds of the air ehow at Flagler and noticed that traffic was being directed at the gate. This appeared normal to me since I had heard a large attendance was expected. After driving a ehort distance, a string of cars, one with a siren, and all driving very fast was approaching me. I hurriedly parked the car on the side ofthe road and told Peggy to help unload. We had spent the night in Ft. Collins so there was luggage. Riding in a car approaching me wae a fireman who on recognizing me and the car that could be ueed as a small nmbulance. took the cue and practically jumped from his vehicle to the one I had been driving and shouted "A plane cragh". I do not remember who brought me home to the mortuary. I can still see young Tom sitting on the outside stairway looking quite forlorn and lonely. He said "Gosh, am I glad to see you". There was no 911 to dial in those days. Tom, however, who all his life had been associated with emergencies, had called Steve Rockwell at the hospital, Bob Shamburg who was a fireman and called the sheriff and state patrol. I contacted an operator at Limon and asked her to alert someone who would flag down Hubert Hill. driver of the Hendricks ambulance and give him the message to go directly to the grounds of the tragedy at Flagler. A call from Flagler was received informing me of the urgent need of Bill Hendricks, the county coroner. I replied that Ralph Clapp who Iived in Flagler was deputy coroner and to call him for all duties. I was dismayed when told that Mr. Clapp was on a plane that was flying his critically injured wife to Denver. I called Dr. H.M. Hayes to go help in any way he could until I was able to send Bill. After calling Bill at Eads he immediately left going directly to Flagler. After identifying the 20 dead, the morticians who had come to Flagler to help insisted that Bill who was still recuperating from a heart attack go home. Hubert Hill remained. For the following two days, Bill and I were occupied at the funeral home in Flagler compiling essential data for death certificates and burial permits. Our contacts with the mourning families were heart breaking. Twenty died and thirty or more were injured at this tragedy." by Mary Hendricks A.--rt*l-:* Aunt Kate's Hotel, Seibert, Colorado, 1908. passing was a great loss to us all. Dick Hendricks, Bill's father, was affectionately called "Grandpa Dick". He lived with us periodically over the years. At one time he lived on a farm 2Vz miles north of Burlington that Bill had leased from Merritt Stanton. Merritt and Dick batched. They farmed, raised garden, chickens, hogs and milked cows. Every day Grandpa Dick brought us milk and cream and when in season a variety of produce. He helped our boys train horses and break and ride the many colts born at this location. After Merritt died. he moved to town and Bill did not renew his lease on the farm. During the final years of his life, Grandpa Dick helped at the mortuary discharging the small tasks that his health would permit answering the door bells, moving the hose, emptying wastebaskets and licking stamps on statements and other outgoing mail. Grandpa Dick suffered a stroke and died shortly after at the Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital on January 28,1965 at the age of 92 years and 15 days. Many, many tears were shed - he was loved dearly. My parents, Rolla and Myrtle Wilson, bought a home at 295 14th St. and moved from Goodland, Kansas to Burlington. This home is today the location of Tyrrell Insurance Agency. Rolla Wilson was the head buyer for Arizona Packing Co. Due to a head injury he received in a car accident, my father died of a cerebral hemorrhage on May 26, 1933. He left my mother Myrtle Wilson, financially HENDRICKS WILSON FAMILY F288 independent. Prior to her move to Burlington she suffered a broken hip. She was crippled for the remaining years of her life. "Mamo Myrtle" as she was lovingly called by her grand and great grandchildren, had many, rnany friends and was on the go I have been told that a history on the life of Della Hendricks, Bill's mother, is being included in another story, so I will not dwell on her many accomplishments as County Superintendent of Schools in Kit Carson County, as a school teacher and historian. Her progeny called her "momee". Della died at Grace Manor on July 22, L973 at the age of 101 years, 7 months and 15 days. Her whenever possible. She loved parties, her card clubs and the association with Eastern Star and the Methodist Church. Before arthritis severely crippled her hands, Myrtle Wilson was an artist with her needle and also with her Archer foot controlled sewing machine. She made aprons, some quite fancy, for her family and friends; she crocheted insertion lace and embroidered dozens of pillow cases; she appliqued many tea towels and pieced quilts for all members of her family including grandchildren. She crocheted and embroidered most intricate works of art. The pot holders she crocheted were awarded first prizes locally, nationally and internationally. It seems that all friends and members of her family wanted a pot holder that Myrtle Wilson had crocheted they decorated kitchens in many, many homes. She was able to remain living in her home for many years; however in her later years she became pathetically crippled with arthritis and made her home at Grace Manor. Follow- ing a stroke she passed away at the Kit Carson County Hospital on February 14, 1970 at the age of93 years, S months, and 17 days. She never lost her mental faculties. There are ones today who say to me "You had a wonderful mother". I agree. By 1973, Bill and I had lost both our parents. We were grateful that they had never experienced isolation from family. Many a feast was shared and happy hours were spent in family togetherness. Bill had a sister, Elaine, born March 5, 1905. The summer following her graduation from Burlington High School in 1922, she and another girl, Bertha Boger, (today known as Bertha Wear), won a 4-H canning competi- tion and were awarded a trip to France where they demonstrated to the women in the war devastated areas how to can their home grown produce. Elaine's first year of college was at Greeley - the following two years at Colorado State University (then known as Aggies) - Sorority Gamma Phi Beta. On August 15th, 1925, Elaine married Holmes Burnett of Fort Collins. They had one daughter whom they called Connie. On December 27, L926 Elaine died of complications following the birth of her daughter; never had she been able to leave the hospital which was over a period of two months, Bill's brother, Snm, died at a Care Center in Denver at the age of 79 years, 11 months, and 8 days. Lucille, his wife, continues to live in the home she and Sam bought. Her two daughters and a son are scattered from � https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/483/Families-H2.pdf 8e212c986ff3dd11cf94411c87e59eec PDF Text Text Denver to the west coast. All of the Bill Inclusive in membership were Rotary, Jay- Manor. Hendricks family love "Aunt Cille" very cees, Elks, Odd Fellows, Golf Club, Country William R. Hendricks (BiU), was bornJune much. Club, Cattlemnns and Quarter Horse Associations, etc. He received life membership in Burlington A.F.&A.M. Lodge #77, also in ?, 1903 at Cross Timbers, Missouri. At the age of five, via box car, he moved with his parents, In his younger years Sam taught school. For a number of years he was associat€d with Bill in farming with the title of "Hendricks Brothers". Before retiring he was the city mail carrier. I had one brother, Cecil E. Wilson, that was two years older than me. He wae born on February 23, 1905. At the age of 2L he joined the navy. As a Warrant Officer, he was a prisoner of war in Japan for 3% years. After 30 years of distinguished service in the U.S. Navy he retired as a Captain and was a recipient of many medals. He and his wife, Louise, had no children. As in a Navy tradition, when Cecil andLouise died in 1984, their bodies were cremated and the ashes gcattered in the Pacific Ocean. by Mary Hendricks HENDRICKS - WISON FAMILY d,?^* t rbl F289 Denver Rocky Mountain Consistory and Denver El Jebel Shrine. Mary says that Bill over the years developed a great pasgion for horses. In the thirties when their children were small he owned a pony and a pinto horse. The pinto, whom the entire family adored, was sold to pay the delinquent rent on their home. Bill continued to "wheel and deal". He bought, sold, raised and traded horses. He had registered stallione and collected stud fees. His boys broke the colts and his sons were also his best jockeys. His race horses traveled all over the state of Colorado, Lincoln, Nebraska, Cheyenne, Wyoming and New Mexico. As BiI grew older his physical disabilities worsened and also following the sale of the mortuary, he and Mary were living on a fixed income. Bill had to be persuaded to relinquish his long love affair with horges. It was tough! In the fifties, Bill suffered an emergency appendectomy and a short time following he had a heart attack. In the sixties he was diagnosed as having Parkinson; however for several years the disease was not excessively debilitating. In addition to his customary 8Ll*u '8*',( activities he and Mary enjoyed tripa abroad. They traveled to the Hawaiian Islands, to St. Croir, went down the east coast of South Anerica on a ship that docked for tours of varioug countries. They aleo traveled extensively in Africa with a camera Safari. Shortly after returning from Africa, Bill's lifestyle changed drastically. During the next several years he was a patient at St. Joseph Hoepital in Denver or Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital in Burlington sometimee two or three times each year. He had five operations on the bladder to remove malignant tumore, a hernia operation, one on his back and two on his hip. In July of L974 Bill and Mary moved from their apartment at the mortuary to a home owned by their son Joe. For awhile Bill's recuperation permitted him to walk with the Pa Bill ag "Buffalo Bill" on Baby Ki August 1, 1964. Won lst prize in the "Old Timee" contegt, Ttail Ride Days in Burlington. Bill Hendricks was a gregarious fellow. He sincerely likes people and he wants them to like him. During the years that he was physically active he seldom missed a celebration held in the tovms of Kit Carson County. He loved to join the people in their revelry. The County Fair Days were very specid to Bill. There may be a few who remember him leading the parade riding his palamino horse, "Wildo". His sons would show hie horseg and aleo were the jockeya for his race horses. During World War II Bill helped instigate the Sunday free rodeos held at the Fairgrounds. The participants were mostly local - male, female, children and adults. At the conclusion ofthe rodeos war bonde were eold. Bill wag nmoDg the instigators of "Trail Ride Daye". In 1964, dressed as Buffalo Bill and riding his horse "Baby Ki", he won first prize in a Trail Ride Parade. Several mem- bere of his family also participated in the parade including grandchildren. He was a "joiner" during his active years. aid of a cane or a walker and also to drive hie pickup. However, rapidly his health deteriorated and soon he was a wheelchair patient. Linda Romer, companion and nurse assisted in the care of Bill for over two years. Bill and Mary loved her dearly. She was on duty eight hours a day for five days a week. In addition to the usual care, he continued with his "outings". He especially enjoyed the trips to the Burlington Bakery where he drank coffee and visited with his friends. Bill wae a big man - six feet and one half inches tall and at this time weighed around 190 pounds. He was becoming more and more dependent and the bulk of his medication wag caueing confusion. Mary is around five feet three inches and her weight varies between 90 and 100 pounds. The care of Bill on weekends, morning, evening and night hours were becoming arduous tasks. She finally agreed with her fanily and the full consent of Bill that he ghould make his home at Grace Manor Care Center. He moved July 24,L984. He received excellent care which includes T.L.C. He never complained and his seemingly innate beautiful personality prevailed. As etat€d before, Bill was a gregarious person. He was surrounded by others at Grace Dick and Della, a young sister and brother, Elaine and Sam, to a homest€ad south of Seibert. When he was 13, he moved with his folks to Burlington. Burlington was his home for the remainder of his life. Bill passed away on August 28, L987 at Grace Manor Care Center at the age of 84 years. by Mary Eendricks HENDRICKS WILSON FAMILY F290 During our 60 years of marriage our family has always come first. Our four children and their marriage partners have given us 16 grandchildren and they in turn have awarded us with 13 great grandchildren. We happily anticipate many more "greats". We are a most fortunate fanily. All our progeny are healthy, handsome and seemingly well adjusted individuals. I reluctantly realize there is not space in this history to elaborate on their lives. (I will strive to be brief and concise.) Son W.R. (Bob); CSU, degree Psychology, Frat. Sigua Chi, Air Force, politics, CSU Alumni, horses, wife Bonnie, own and operate Hendricks Mortuary in Burlington and Cheyenne Wells,6 children; Daughter Vicky Tapis, Brush, Politics, city clerk, husband Ken, RN - 2 children Joshua and Joy. Son Terry, Tucson, wife Lynn, 3 children, Angel, Bart, Jake. Daughter Tammy Baughn, Englewood, handwork in great demand, hus- band Russell, machinist, 3 children - Becky, Aaron, Daniel. Son Randy, Austin, TX, degree Stering, Durango - Social Service Hot Line, single. Son, Troy Vance, Burlington, degree paremedics, Denver, College of Mor- tuary Science, Austin, TX, single. Vickie Vance, degree Sterling, Larnmer Vo-Tec, Orthodontics assistant, Ft. Collins, single. Daughter Dr. Dixie Sullivan, California, Degree Psychology, CSU, Sorority Tri Delt, PhD Degree, California, lucrative clientele, Rolling Hills. widow, 3 children - John, Los Angeles, Degree Mexico and California, Masterg and PhD from USC, wife Angelina, 2 children John, Carlos. Erin, San Francigco, degree Loyola Marymount Univ., Mgr. of Employment Randolf Hines Inc., single. Bill, Los Angeles, degree Loyola Mar},mount Univ., P.R. Profs. Surfing Ass. of America, single. Son Joe, Ft. Collins, CSU, Frat. Sigma Chi, football, army, J.J. Hendricks Realty, Broker, Ft. Collins and Burlington, wife Pat, 5 children - Ki, CSU, Lic. real estate insurance, owner and mgr. Rocky Mtn. Escrow, Estes Park, single. Mike, degree CSU, football, Hendrickg Reality, broker, Burlington, wife Nancy, 2 children, Barrett and Jacky. Wyn, art, travel agent, employed Rocky Mtn. Escrow, Estes Park, CO. divorced, 1 child, Jordon. Dai, Dickerson, CO, co-owner Health Spa, Phys. therapist, husband Dennis, Pres. Rye Telephone. Tobin, college, repair and sales of cars, Mesa, AZ, single. Son Tom, Burlington, CSU, Air Force, counselor alcohol and drug abuse, farming, �think not. There are old timers and their progenythat remain with us and ask us about the many eventg of the past. AU this eulogizing has a tendency to make Bill appear a saint, that he is not. He is just an ordinary run-of-the-mill man (Question mark here). He has been known to be miechievous and full of tricks. Although he had always had a tenacious attraction for the female gender, he is basically, a Man's man. During his younger active yeara he was often lazy. He would nonchalantly sit and watch otherg work. Luckily for me, he cannot expose my many idiosyncrasies. In 1977 our caring family sponsored a 50 year wedding anniversary celebration for us at the Country Club; in 1987 the again Bill and Mary Hendricka on their 50th wedding anniversary, Prairie Pineg Country Club, Burlington, CO. trucking, insurance, divorced, 2 children. Tryn Pizel, Lakewood, CO. VO-Tec Goodland, Ks. Secy-Mgr, Howard Electric, husband Mike, Howard Electric, mechanic, no children. Todd, Burlington, Vo-Tec Good- old song?) "I Can't Help Loving That Man of Mine". To many, Bill and I are known as Pa Bill and Mnmo Mary. land, KS, mechanic, single. by Mary Hendricks HENDRICKS WILSON FAMILY sponsored an Open House in celebration of our 60th wedding anniversary, this time at Grace Manor. Blees our family! Over 100 joined us for this social time and we received over 200 cards. God bless all ofyou. I am more fortunate than so many lonely and elderly women. I wish they could have the concerned attention that is mine. Our son Bob and his wife live close by as do our grandson Mike, with his wife, Nancy, and their two children and our son Tom lives with me. They all humor and wait on me. They glorify this old lady's life. Nevertheless, I do miss Bill. I may be or not be prejudiced; however the absolute truth is (remember the by Mary Hendricks HENRY, LEROY AND CINDY F29l D2S2 The passing of time has a tendency to play tricks on ones memory. There may be thoee who do not recall episodes or dates ag reiteratcd in this history. Memorieg are as diversified as the people that have them. I have heard said that with each telling of history, history changes a bit. Anyone reading this history will readily conclude that it wae writt€n by an (elderly) woman. I have in my family members of the male gender. Although they encourage me to write the history their cooperation ie minimal. It is impossible for me to depict the male vergion of a conglomeration of episodes and events that happened over the yeare relating to Kit Careon County. I have concentrated at times on the woman's interpretation of events, her lifestyles, bad and good tines and obstacles that were overcome. During these yeals, man's lifestyles, his ways and meane, delineated progress and simultaneously it was so for woman. A few days ago a highly respected and long time reeident of Burlington, Henry Hoskin, was visiting with me in my home. He told me, Mary, that Bill Hendricks had always been one of his most favorit€ people. We spoke of his sincerity, nothing phony about Bill, hie love and respect for otherg was absolut€. His generosity and trust in mankind caused him at times to experience costly and unhappy repercussions; however it did not seem to dnmage his continuous trust and generosity. Bill was active as a mortician, nmbulance Mary and Bill Hendricks celebrating their 60th wedding anniversar5r at Grace Manor Care Center. Leroy and Cindy Henry, May 28, 1983. operator and coroner for over 50 years. Never did he become calloused to the anguish and In January of 1982 Leroy Henry, a handsome young bachelor, wentto supper at Velda suffering of the fanilies he served. His compassion and sympathy were always manifeet. There is a possibility that I, Mary, Bill's wife, have been a bit prejudiced in my commendable nanations concerning Bill. I Adolfs house and met an "old maid school teacher" nemed Cindy Kosley from Vona. Velda was a mutual friend and was not really trying to introduce Leroy and Cindy. Several months later, Leroy hit Cindy with a sledge hammer and asked her out for their first date. �They dated several months before Leroy asked if they could have their first kiss. Two weeks later he proposed. On May 28, 1983 LeroyLynn Henrymarried Cindy Sue Kosley at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They now live six miles southwest of Kirk on the farm that Leroy's parents purchased in 1953. Leroy is busy ranching where he raises hogs and cattle. Cindy enjoys her fanily and tcaching Kindergarten and Special Education at Lib- erty School. Leroy Lynn Hen4r, second child of the late Ralph and Lois (Corliss) Henry Schafer was born January 12,L955 at Kit Carson Memorial Hospital in Burlington, Colorado. He has lived on his parents'farm four miles south and two and a half miles west of Kirk all his life. Leroy went to school in Kirk until the school moved to Liberty in 1966. During his high school years, Leroy played football and basketball and participated in FFA activities. He graduated in 1973 and began raising hogs with ten gilts he had purchased. He has expanded his farrow to finish hog operation managing over eight sows. He also has a small cow herd of his own. Leroy has two brothers, Clifford Eugene and Melvin Lee and one siet€r Maltha Marie Kroll Maxey. Cindy Sue Kosley was born to Raymond and Christina (Manyik) Kosley on December 13, 1956 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Cindy attended school in Colorado Springs and graduated from Waseon High School in 1974. She went to the University of Northern Colorado and earned her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary and Special Education: EMR in 1978. She then taught for two years in Pueblo, CO. In 1980 she moved to Vona and began teaching Special Education at Hi Plains Schoolg for the East Central BOCES (Board of Cooperative Education Services). She taught four years in Vona and Seibert and went to Aniba on Mondays for one year. During the summer of 1988, Cindy began working on her Master's degree in Special Education: Emotionally Disturbed and Learning Disabled. She received her Master's in August of 1983. In 1984 she transferred to West Yrrma School District R"I-l to teach Kindergarten part-time at Liberty. Cindy has an older brother, Andy Joe Kosley and a younger sister, Becky Rae Kosley. On August 9, 1984 Nicholas Sherman Henry was born on his Grandpa Kosley and Grandma Lois (Henry) Schafer's birthdays. He was no-ed after his Great Grandpa Sherman Henry Corliss. One year later on the fourth ofJuly, Daniel Raymond Henry was born. He was named after his Grandpa Raymond Edward Kosley. Both boys have been a very special addition toour family. We do hope toadd to our family sometime and look forward to raising our family on the farm. by Cindy Henry HENRY, RALPH AND LOIS F293 1931 he moved with his parents to the Seeman farm 17 miles north of Vona. This is where Ralph grew up and attended the Searnan school. He graduated from the Kirk High School in 1947. Ralph worked in Denver for a short time with Gates Rubber Company. Ralph returned to his father's farm and started his farming career. He also bought a Minneapolis Moline corn sheller and did custom shelling for several years. On June 10, 1951 at Goodland, Kansas, Ralph married Lois Marie Corliss, the daughter of Sherman and Grace Messing Corliss. Lois was born August 9, 1935 at Burlington, Colorado at the home of her Aunt Luella Hitchcock. Lois grew up on her folks ranch northeast of Stratton, near the Republican river. She attended the South Tuttle School and two years at Kirk High School. Ralph was inducted into the Army November 15, 1951. Leaving Burlington, he was sent to Crmp Gordon, Georgia for his basic training, later taking special schooling for the signal corps. In June 1952, Ralph was sent to the Marshall Islands. He was stationed on the island Eniwetok, and while there he partici- patcd in Operation Ivy (testing of the Hydrogen bomb). Ralph returned to the states in January of 1953 and was stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia and was assigned to duty at the Pentagon at Washington, D.C. Ralph was honorably discharged November 15, 1953. Lois joined Ralph whenever she could while he was in the service. Clifford. our first son, was born November 4, 1953 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. After Ralph's discharge we returned to Kit Carson County, buyrng a farm 1? miles north and.2r/z west of Stratton. Here we raised our family of four children. Leroy was born January L2,l9ll,Melvin, March 1, 1956, and Martha, May 7, 1957. Our children attended Kirk School. In 1955 Kirk and Joes consolidated, the school was named Liberty and is located three miles east of Joes, Colorado on Highway 36. This is where the children all graduated from high school. In December of 1973 Ralph became ill. His illness was diagnosed as leukemia. Ralph passed away May 17,1977 in Denver at the age of 47 and is buried at the Kirk cemetery. I have continued to live on our home place with our sons. As time went on each son has married and lives nearby with their families, Clifford and Gay (Mitchell) Henry, Leroy and Cindy (Kosley) Henry, Melvin and Peggy (Becker) Henry, and Martha and Robert Maxey of Denver. by Lois Henry HERBURGER - SHORT FAMILY F294 Roy Herburger had been working in Haigler, Neb. when he purchased the Stratton Press. He bundled up his baby daughter, his one-and-a-half year old son, and his wife in On November 10, 1929, Ralph Orin Henry his Nash and arrived in Stratton in the beginning of 1932 to take possession of his Elizabeth Avirene Sea-an Henry, four miles west of Kirk, Colorado, Yuma County. In new enterpriee. His wife Gladys, had a feeling of dread when she surveyed Stratton's treeless, barren lands. The stormy day did not was born at home to Earl Eugene and help her depression. Roy, the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Joseph Herburger, had been born March Brd, 1901 in red Cloud, Neb. He met his bride-to-be. Gladys Ahilda Short, daughter of Chester and Jennie Short of Prairie View, Kansas, in McCook, Neb. while he was working on the Camfli6*", Neb., CJorion. Gladys was a doctor's assistant. Roy and Gladys were married July bth, 1929 in Norton, Kan. They purchased the Haigler News before selling it and moving to Colorado. The only house available to rent in Stratton was a one bedroom house on the edge of town and it was in such a sad state that the family had to stay in the Collins Hotel a few days while it was being cleaned. Their baby LaRene, born Nov. 21, 1931, in Haigler was cranky, and their son, Roy Emmel, Jr., born Aug. 2, 1930 in Cambridge was sick, as they crammed the cribs into a large closet of the small house and began a stay that last€d for twenty seven years. In April, 1935, Gladys wrote in her diary, "I can't keep the house clean. I can't keep the children clean. I've never disliked land so much as I dislike this land. The dust is so thick that we must turn on the lights.', Farmers were forced to sell their farms because of lack of rain for their crops, or the farms were foreclosed and Roy printed hundreds of "Sale Bills" which listed farmers' belongings for sale, cheap. But things did improve and as they did, the family becnme valuable members in the town. Roy served three terms on the Stratton Town Board, was on the council almost every year that they were there for St. Paul Lutheran Church. He was on the WW II Selective Service Board, Head of the Scrap Iron Drive, was active in the promotion of "Stratton Days" and the accompanying parade, was a charter member of the Rotary Club, among other things. Gladys, who was co-owner of the Stratton Press and an active participant in the operation of the business wag also an active helper for the town. She was one of three women who were head of the planning and excavation for the city park. The other two women who oversaw the WPA project were Elora (Mrs. Ray) Calverly and June (Mrs. Jerry) Schofield. Gladys was one of the founding members of MSA Club and was twice their president; she was an active assistant with the 4-H clubs; was Sunday Superintendent and teacher for St. Paul Lutheran Church. During this time there were no school buses so she volunteered manv hours driving students from the Stratton Public Schools to sports events, to Drama meets and to Band events, often getting stuck in heavy snow drifts or finding herself driving after midnight with weary pep club members. The young family, during the "Dust Bowl Days" often went arrow-head hunting in the wind swept fields around Stratton. Roy had many frames of beautiful artifacts on the walls of his office and was known as being quite knowledgeable about the area's history. Their son, Roy Jr., was active in sports, drnma and band at Stratton and graduated from high school i 1948. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1953, served with the U.S. Airforce, and eventually ended up near Sacrarnento, Ca. He married July B, 1954, in Riverton, N.J. to Mary J. Hull. To this union were born two children: Elizabeth �Jo, born oct.17,1962, and David Roy, born June 6, 1965. In Nov., 1981, in Manila, Philippines, Roy manied Aurora Santiago. They have a baby girl, Leah, born Oct. 1982. Roy has been a successful newspaper man' owner, publisher of several newspapers in and near Sacramento. He'g been a civic leader, head of many organizations in communities where he owns newspapers such ag Elk Grove and Galt, as well as being the chairman of the Camelia Feetival in Sacremento. He currently livee in Sacremento. LaRene also graduated from Stratton High School where she was a member of the pep club, the drama club and was in the musical activities. She was the piano player for the Rotary Club and St. Paul Lutheran Church moved to eastern Colorado where we settled she graduated from Stratton High School. She graduated with her undergtaduate de- side. from the time she was in eighth grade until gree from the University of northern Colorado and with her graduate degree from the University of San Francisco. On Sept. 2L, L954, ehe maried Harold Dean Kauffman, They lived in Denver, Germany, Illinois, and finally settled on the Monterey Peninsula in Ca. where their son Eric was born on Feb. 21, 1962. Remaining in on a farm about eix to eight miles south of Bethune, Colorado. I (Luella) moved to Denver in May, 1938. I went to the Emily Griffith Opportunity School at night to brush up on typing, shorthand and bookkeeping. I have worked for various companies including an orntmental iron company. The owner bought in with a steel company in 1964, and took me along to work in that office. I retired in January, 1979. In 1970, I was able to go to Europe and the Holy Land on a three week trip with a church group from Kansas City, Mo. Thiswas a trip I'll never forget. Also, in August, 19?7, Violet and I took a trip to the Scandanavian countries as well as Amst€rdam and London. We visited five different families in four cities in Sweden, all related to us on my mother's My folks moved to Denver in 1941. My mother passed away on January 19, 1957 and my father passed away September 24, L97L, and both are buried at Crown Hill Cemetery is a t€acher in the Pacific Grove Public in Denver. Gordon married LaDene Mock. Their oldest son, Robert, was born in 1943, and Kris wag born in 1946. They lived in Denver after Gordon was discharged from the eervice. A few years later they moved to Greeley as it was more central for his work as a traveling St. Timothy Luthern Church in Monterey. don retired in May, 1985. Ca. after the death of her husband, LaRene Schools and is organist and mueic director for She is also an active member of organizations in her community and in the tcaching profession. While they were in Stratton, Roy and Gladys had a third child born to them. Sharon Leah was born April 23, 1949 in Goodland, Kan. She was in Girl Scouts, in the St. Paul Sunday school, and was also a musician. Sharon graduatcd from Loveland, Co. High and on Oct. 10, 1967, she married Gerald Thomas lrvin at a ceremony in ldaho Springs. Sharon graduated from the University of Neb. at Chadron. She and her husband are the parents of Lisa Ann, born Aug. 10, 1968. They are teachers and are presently living in Seward, Alaska. They are active in their church and school and community affairs. Gladys and Roy sold their newspaper in 1959 retiring to Loveland, Co. Roy died in Loveland on July 5, 1966. Gladys moved to Pacific Grove to be near her daughter in 1976 and presently resides there. by Gladys llerburger, LaRene Kauffman in Burlington, later being transferred to the phone company in Denver and in Portland, Oregon in the early 1950's. She married Edgar Storey in 1952. A son, Jnmes was born in 1953. In June, 1954, they moved to Denver. In 1955 another son was born, Jeffrey Earl. Jeff was killed in 1973 in a motorcycle accident when he was a senior. Jim is married and lives near Mesa, AZ. Violet graduated in 1934. She married Leo Kirkendall in 1936, and lived in Burlington where Leo worked in the courthouse and later for the T.W. Backlund Co. They had two daughters: LaDora and LaDene. Leo worked with Elnore in the heating business for a number of years, and Violet worked for the Denver Motor Vehicle Dept. until she retired in 1977. Leo died suddenly in 1977 of a heart attack. by Luella Ilernblom HERNDON FAMILY F296 saleeman. They have 4 grandchildren. Gor- Roland married Edna Sealock in April, 1942 in Goodland, Kansas. They have one son, David, born in Stratton in June, 1945. They lived in Burlington a number of years where Roland worked for the T.W. Backlund Co. Later he worked for hie brother-in-law, Wayne Clark. Roland and Edna now live in Stratton. Their son, David, went to Anderson College in Indiana. After graduation he worked for an accounting firm for one year before enlisting in the Air Force. He married Mary Lu Waggy in Denver in March, 1970. They have three children: Christy, Richard, and Ryan. Elmore married Irene Calvin on July 5, 1935. They had a double wedding with Clarence Iseman and Allie Jean Beck. They were married by Rev. R.E. Hooper at his home south and east of Stratton. They had a daughter, Karolyn Marie, in 1937. They moved to Denver that summer to look for work and to get away from the dust storms we were having. A son, Gary Kelvin, was born in 1939. ELnore worked at various jobs and learned the heating and air conditioning business. Later he formed his own heating company - L&H Sheet Metal Co. He had to retire early on account of his health and his George Washington Herndon and Emma Wood Herndon, parents of Walter Herndon. son, Gar5/, took over the business. They George Washington Herndon was born in Daviss County, Missouri, April 18, 1863. His wife was Emma Florence Wood, born in Boon mother, Edith E. Olson, married on February 20, 1907 in Stromsbwg, Nebraska. Seven children were born on their farm located 4 miles northeast of Stromsburg. The oldest one died when hewas five months old. Roland was born on July 20, 1909; John Elmore was born June 26, 1911; I (Luella) was born August 7, 1913; Violet was born January 28, 1915; Gordon was born September 30, 1917; Gladys was born January 8, 1920. We attend- moved to Arizona in 1978. Irene developed cancer in 1983. On Feb. 16, 1985, Elmore had a heart attack and passed away. On Feb. 27, Irene passed away. Both are buried in the Crown Hill Cemetery. After graduation in 1939, Gladys came to Denver to look for work. She married Lyle Hooper, also from Stratton in 1943. They had three children: Barbara, Ron and Don. Lyle worked for many years at the Gates Rubber Company in Denver before retiring. Clarice and Cleona graduated in 1940. In 1946, Clarice and Vearl Fager were married. They lived in Pratt, Kansas. They had three day School and Church. In April, L922, we daughters and one son. Clarice n9w has seven grandchildren and lives in rfrfrchita, Kansas. Cleona worked for the telephone company Elsie and Wdt Herndon taken in the 1930's. HERNBLOM, DAVID F296 My father, David A. Hernblom, and my ed a school a half mile north of us. We attended the First Baptist Church for Sun- County, Indiana, March 6, 1864. They lived �before buying our farm. [t was only two miles from where I was born. The years of 1955 and 1956 were bad drought yea$; we had to sell our stock and look for work. Our children were gone from home, Hazel maried Ernest Adolf and Roy had a job. We lived in Colorado Springs since Sept., 1956. Archie first worked at a tree nursery, then at School District #11, where he retired from in 1978. I worked at Pike's Peak Green House for gome time. The last four and a half years, I worked ae a cook in Wasson High School. In 1970, my sister Elsie passed away in Iowa, and in 1973, my mother passed away and in 1983 my brother Harold passed away. Were such sad times. Archie retired in 1978. Seems our happiness these past few years has been our 6 grandchildren and our 5 great grandchildren. We now live in a beautiful Mobile Park of 240's mobiles. We have activitieg to keep us busy and enjoy our good friends. by Clara Matthies Hicks The Herndon family, gtanding: LeRoy, Leola, and Dean. Seated: Elsie and Walter. in Daviss County Miesouri. Their children were: Harley Webster, born Sept. 8, 1890; Clarence Elmer, born Nov. 8, 1892; Lydia sworths. At this time, back in1906 and 1907, my father Fred Matthies was a bridge on September 8, 1929. They have three children: Leola Mae (Herndon) Bunch, foreman on the railroad. My oldest brother, Harold, was born in Norton; the other brotherg and sigt€rs were born out on the homeet€ad. There were 6 boys and us three girls. For several years even after taking the homestead my father still worked on the railroad. My mother and my grandfather put in the crops. After a few years my dad quit the railroad and got involved in his ranch work. He wan more of a stock'nan than down to earth farmer. In the 1924 and 25 winter, we children had the scarlet fever and had a quarantine put on our house, for the second time as there were geveral of us children to take it. The disease Edwin LeRoy and Darrell Dean. Walter and Elsie farmed in the Stratton and Bethune area until 1935 when they moved to Oregon. While there Walter worked in the lumber industry. They later moved to California left my brother, Okie, who was 4 years younger than myself, with Bright's disease. He was but a little over 5 years old when he passed away, afber eeveral months of being quite ill and a stay in the Children's Hospital where he was employed by General Motorg until 1942. At that time they moved to a farm eouth ofBethune. In 1948 they purchased a farm south of Stratton. They resided there until 1976 when they retired and moved into Stratton. Walter died in May 1987. Elsie lives in Stratton. As ofthis writing the only one of Walter's brothers and sister yet living is his sister, Lydia Herndon Tschanz, who is 93 yeare old. She liveg in Eldorado Springs, Missouri. in Denver. Myrtle, born Dec. 20, L894; William Woody, born March 10, 1897; Homer Lewis, born March 14, 1899; Ora Lester, born January 3, 1902; and Walter Lee, born April S, 1904. Wdter and possibly some of the other children were born in Dedrick, Miesouri. The family moved to Colorado in 1915 and lived in a sod house on a homeetead beeide the Smokey, south of Bethune. The children attended school at Firgt Central. Later George and E-ma lived in Stratton and then moved back to Missouri in 1945. Walter wag married to Elsie Mae Beeson by Eleanor Herndon IIICKS AND MATTHIES FAMILY Then in the winter of 1932, my brothers Paul age 23 and August age 2L both passed away within a week of each other of flu and pneumonia; Paul leaving a wife and small daughter. All the family were ill at this time. December of 1932, there was no Christmas at the Matthies house this year. My mother and youngest sister were the only ones who kept well. I feel the reason for keeping mother well was to care for the sick ones. Eighteen months later my dad passed away from a stroke; this was in June of 1934. Archie had been working as a hired hand for the folks for sometime. In Sept. of 1934, he and I were married and we made our home with mother for the first 7 years as she needed I am going to begin the history of us back to where my parents moved from Norton, help with the farming and ranching. We milked 60 to 70 cows and sold the cresm to keep bills paid. Our two children were born through this time. Hazel in 1935 and our son Roy in 1937. These were my very happiest days. My two children were my joy. Kansas to their homestead 20 miles south of Burlington. This homestead joined the homeetead of my grandparents; the Ell- In 1942, we moved to a rented farm, our two children, our stock and what we'd accumulated through these years. We lived here 1 year F2S7 HINES, DARWIN WILBER F298 Darwin Wilber Hines was born in Guthrie County near Guthrie Center, Iowa on January 3, 1877, first child ofJohn and Florence Hines. In the fall of 1878, John Newton Hines (Darwin's father) moved by covered wagon to near Long Island, Kansas. Darwin, a sister Estella and their Mother followed sometime later, after the father had established their new home. At the age of twenty-three, Darwin Wilber Hines was united in marriage to Ethel Arvilla Hicks on February 28, 1900 in Norton County, Kansas. To this union were born seven children - five boys and two girls. Darwin, (Dar, to all who knew him), his wife and their first child, Viola, departed Norton County on September 3, 1901 by covered wagon. Four days later they arrived at their new home, a rented farm, 772 miles southeast of Kanorado, Kansas. Although they were sad to leave their families and friends, they were looking forward to building a home on the virgin plains of Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado. The winter of 1902-1903 wae spent working at the Dyatt Brothers Ranch where their second child, Marion, was born. On March 23, 1903 they moved back to their farm and obtained the property through a tax titled purchase. An uncle and previous owner, Elmer Harrington, was paid one hundred dollars for his imagines equity. On this farm their third child, Clifford, was born. In the spring of 1904, Dar traded a cow, valued at twenty-five dollars, to Wallace McKinzie for a homestead relinquishment located in Kit Carson County, Colorado, four and one-half miles west of Kanorado, Kansas. Dar filed for the land, under the homestead act, on April 4, 1904. He built a two-room sod house and moved onto the homestead in August of 1905. Final homestead proof was obtained on February 20, 1911. Four children were born on the homestead, which complet ed their family. �passed away Januar5r 16, 1933 and was laid to rest beside his wife. Mr. Hines was a soft-spoken, self-made, righteous man. He treated all acquaintances with respect, never ggadgmning Snyone, speaking only oftheir good qualities, and not of their faults. by Velna Hines HITCHCOCK, GORDON A. AND Dar and Ethel Hines Homestead LUELLA (CORLTSS) F300 Our Dad, Gordon A. Hitchcock, born in Douglas County, near Lawrence, Kanoas, on April 28, 1890, and Mother, Luella YaIe Corliss, born on December 29, 1894, in a sod house, at Yale, Kit Carson County, Colorado, were married in Burlington, Colorado on July 25,L92L, by Rev. C.A. Yersin, in the home of H.G. Hoskin. Thie becnme my (Marie Hitchcock Hoskin) home when I married Henry Y. Hogkin, in 1951. Dad cnrne to Colorado in 1911 with his parents, A.E. and Rose Holloway Hitchcock, from Lawrence, KanBaE, and homesteaded south of Kirk, in Kit Carson County, Colo- Dar and Ethel Hines 1931 rado. Dad and hie father built the house, which still stands in the curve ofthe Stratton- By 1916, the Golden Belt Road (the only graded road in Kit Carson County at that Kirk road. They evidently believed the time), now marked "U.5.24", was being resurveyed, for grading with dirt, and would property line to extend farther west than it pass through the sod house on the homest€ad. Mother's father, A.N. Corliss, came to Kit Carson County in 1889 from Vermont, home- did. Being forced to move the buildings that were on the homest€ad because of the highway, Mr. Hines built a well improved farm about a mile southeast of the homestead. On steaded near Yale, Colorado, and manied Lillian Yale. Dad served in the Army Ambulance Corps in World War I in France and Belgium. On his return he took a homestead near Delhi, Las Animas County, Colorado. He and October 30, 1917 they moved to their farm. They lived on this farm nearly twenty-five years, before retiring to a modern home in Burlington, Colorado on September L, L942. Ethel Hines was well known for her unselfish assistance to friends and their neighbors. She often traveled by wagon, brggy, sled or auto to care for the sick, or to act as midwife with many deliveries, when a doctor could not be present. One trip, in particular, occurred at night during a blizzard, and required traveling 15 miles on a large, flat barn door, drug through the snow by a team ofhorses - to assist a young mother in the birth of her first child. Mr. and Mrs. Hines, being of hardy ancestry, following the pioneer life of their era - planning and toiling for the future, never faltering and facing hardships with a determination that never failed. by Velma Hines HINES, JOIIN NEWTON John and Florence Hinee 192? Emily Harrington on February 17, 1876. Mrs. Hines was born in Guthrie County, Iowa on October 16, 1869. To this union were born seven children - five girls and two boys. The two eldest children, Darwin and Estella were born in Guthrie County, Iowa. Late in the fall of 1878, Mr. Hines moved by covered wagon to a pre-emption in Phillips County, west of Long Island, Kansas. Mrs. Hines and the two children came west after the home was established. While residing there, John was employed as mail carrier the only time he engaged in an enterprise other than farming. Tbice a week he hauled mail, express, and passengers by springwagon from a post office west ofLong Island to Norton, and returned; the next trip being to Republican City, where he stayed overnight and returned the next day. Later, he moved to a homest€ad timber claim in Norton County, Kansas. At this residence, five children were born, completing their family. F299 John Newton Hines was born in Urichsville, Ohio on March 26, 1853. His parents and family moved to Lucas County, Iowa in 1861, residing there until 1867, at which time they moved to Guthrie County, Iowa. John Newton Hines married Florence On June 12, 1905, they arrived at the home they had purchased in Kit Carson County, Colorado - near Kanorado, Kansas. They lived on this farm until 1911, when they built a home in Kanorado, Kansas and retired. Mrs. Hines passed away at their Kanorado home on November 6, L929. She was laid to rest in the Kanorado Cemetery. Mr. Hines Mother lived in a tar paper shack on this land the first year and a half they were married. Following Delhi they went to live on her fathers ranch on the Republican River where they spent the next 11 years and where their four children were born; two daughters, Rose Mae and Marie, and two sons, Merton (Mert) and Albert (Bert). In the early days of the depression, when the bank in Burlington went broke (1931), Mother and Dad lost everything. Shortly after this Dad became ill and spent several months in hospitals. Mother was left to run the ranch, care for 3 children, and she wag expecting a fourth child. Because of his illness, we moved to Burlington, Colorado in 1933, where Dad plowed gardens and did odd jobs. We kept 2 horses, a milk cow, chickens and a pig or two. In 1936, Dad built a service station at the corner of 18th Street and Rose Avenue in Burlington, Colorado, which wag a family operated business. We all learned to pump gas and check oil! From 1941 to 1949 our home was connected to the station, and during World War II operated 24 hours to accommodate service men and truckers. In addition to the service station, Dad beceme the bulk agent in 1945 and continued in that capacity until 1953. Mother and Dad sold the gtation in 1949, and moved to a home at 153 17th Street where they lived the remainder of their lives. �In retirement Dad worked on and repaired bicycles for many children of the area. They were both active and interested in community affaire. Dad in American Legion and Masonic Lodge. Mother, American Legion Auxiliary, two Extension Homemakers Clubs, Hospital Auxiliary, Garden Club, Eastern Star, United Methodist Women and a Church Circle. Both were active and long r& * is ..wrr time members of the Burlington United Methodiet Church. Mother was one of the t* {' .*..ir. t* {$ *, * .@- -i .-rtJtr first Cub Scout Den Mothers in Burlington. She received the Kit Carson County Homemaker Award in 1967. Mother and Dad were charter members of the Polka Dots and Dashes, a square dance club that was active in Burlington for some twenty years. Dad played the fiddle for some ofthese dances and Rose Mae played the piano. Both of us, (Roee Mae and Marie), married local men and have always lived in Burlington. Rose Mae married Hubert Tyrrell who owns and manages Tyrrell Insurance. Marie married Henry Y. Hoskin who owns and manages the Kit Carson County Abstract Company. Our brother Mert lives in Salina, Kansas, and brother Bert in Ellsworth, Kansas. Dad died September 25, 1966, and Mother on August 19, 1980. r It, ir ."d. ,*. ;m- &ft 31 - | ffi* *"!.*,.. '{ * *l 6s ''$ t-I ). t t li::irlrrr,::;, ,-& SLA(I.F: R. Key: 1915, Flagler High School built in 1915, Burned down in 1951. 1917, Remodeled Lutheran Church. 1893, Public School in Flagler, Grades 1 thru 8, Farmers State Bank-was changed to First National in 1918. 1921, Improved farm buildings of Wm. Hohenstein who homesteaded 4 miles West and 4 Miles North of Flagler, in 1907. Our grandmother, Rose Holloway Hitchcock, made her home with Mother and Dad Zastrow, cnme to Colo. from Vernon Center, Minn., and each filed for a claim side by side, 4 miles west and 4 miles north of Flagler. At the very beginning, they dug a "Dugout" in a side of a small hill, and they lived in it for 3 months. They had just enough money to buy a teem of horses and a wagon. Many until her death in L944, at the age of 92. by Rose Mae llitchcock Tyrrell early settlers shared their farm equipment with each other. Dick Blanken was one who shared in many ways with William and HOHENSTEIN, WILLIAM 'ii i \' Herman. F301 In 1908, William married Minnie Blanken. They made their home in a one room house William (Wilhelm) Hohenst€in of German nationality was one of the many settlers in Kit Carson County, who filed for a claim under the Fed. Homestead Act. In 1907, at the age of 21, William and his cousin Herman On the left is the one room house. After 4 years, two rooms were moved from another farm and added with space in between. on his homestead. Thru hard work, other buildings were added, and finally, around 1917 to 1920. a new house and barn were built. William and Minnie parented four children: Hartwin, Erwin, Lorena, and Alma. William was an active member in the commu- nity and also a charter member of the Lutheran Church. All their children were baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran i,, i I.ii' Faith, and were educated and graduated from the Flagler High School. As years went by many changes occurred, and finally, his son, Erwin, operated the farm. William and Minnie retired in Denver, Colo. Erwin farmed the land until he sold it and moved away in 1960. Hartwin worked in the CC Qamp during the depression years and later spent most of his life in Denver. Alma taught in a rural school near Genoa, Co., later going to Denver to work for the government during World War II. Lorena'g first teaching job was at the Brownwood School, locatcd 10 miles north, and 4 miles east of Seibert. She taught in the Arriba Public School, and at Olathe, Co. During W.W. II, she worked at the Reception center at Ft. Logan, Co. On her 50th high school reunion, she donated a painting that she had painted of buildings, (that no longer exist) to the Flagler Historical Society. Front row: Harwin Hohengtein, Erwin Hohenstein. Back row: Alma Hohenet€in Thyssen, Lorena Hohenetein Davig, Minnie Blanken Hohenst€in, Willian Hohenstein. by Lorena Davis �good; however we did end up with 8 grand- HOLDEN FAMILY kids, 12 great grandkids and 5 great great grandkids and there were some girle among them and they were all beautiful children. F302 by Mrs. Anna Moore HOMM FAMILY Fairview School in 1928: Front row, Ieft to right: Warren Clemens, Irene Holden (me), Isaac Gustin. Second row: Gracie Moody, Eva Johnson, Clarence Holden. Third Row: Marjorie Clemens, Pauline Moody, Maxine Clemene, Oscar Gustin. Back row: Frances Holden. Mrs. Dora Wolverton, Beulah Guetin, Mildred Holden. My mother, Iva Van Syoc, cnme from Milo, Iowa to Colorado and homest€aded 16 miles north of Flagler in the year 1909. She married Charles Holden on March 12, 1911. He had a homestead in Lincoln County; they chose to live on her place, in a dugout or now they call them "outdoor cellar". As the family enlarged, they built a two room frn-e house. Just before I was born in L922, they built a cement house that was home for us 9 children altogether. Charles died in 1958 and Iva in 1959. They were still the owners of the homestead. We went through dirt storms and floods, hail outs and drouth, but we had love in our home. Our school dietrict # 14 had four schools in it Mount Pleasant, White Plaine, Dazzling Valley, and Fairview. We went to Fairview School, a one room school house with eight grades. I spent all my eight gtades there. Then we had a big graduation the last day of school with a picnic dinner and games. We had to walk three miles to school. Bad days my dad took us in the wagon. He was on the school board with Aaron Thompson and Charley Huntzinger. My dad, Charles Holden, served 12 years on the board. We had literaries or talent progrnms, pie suppers and Chrigtmas programs in the school for entertainment in the winter time. We all met at Mount Pleagant for Sunday School and Church. Everyone took baeket dinners and stayed all day in the summer time. The picture was taken in 1928 and includes Clemene, Holden, Gustin, Moody, and Johnson children. Our teacher that year was Mrg. Dora Wolverton. "Going to Town?" Shown in the picture, L. to R. are: Chris Dowell, Annie Glaister Hawthorne (wife of John Hawthrone,) Esther Glaigt€r Dowell (wife of Chris), Elizabeth Glaister Holliday (wife of John Holliday), and Annie Holliday (later Mre. Frank Moore). The youngeat on the cart floor is Verla Holliday (Mrs. Dan Sheratt). Taken at Seibert about 1905. er Holliday. I had just started to the 5th grade of school in Lafayette, Colorado, when my parents decided to go to the barren plains of Kit Carson County. It broke my heart to leave my friends and I never went back to school after that. Some of our relatives who had already settled in Seibert were my Uncle Walker Glaist€r, who was a school teacher, a lawyer, a county judge and hardware store owner. (A Walter Caywood had a shoe shop and a harness shop in the back of his hardware etore.) The Hawthorne's, the Jef- fries and the Guys were all realted by marriage to my family. My folks took a homestead claim about Yz mile south of Kipling Crossing, and there my dad built a 2 room frnme house to which he added 2 more rooms and we ended up with a 4 room shack. He ueed to get railroad tieg which he sawed for fuel for the little kitchen stove, our only source of heat, and once in a while, he would buy a ton of coal, but for the most part, we burned cow-chips which we would gather during the summer and fall until there would be a high pile on the side of the house, but by early spring, these would be gone. Dad smoked a corncob pipe and had a spittoon which I had to clean. This was the worst job I ever had. We had feather beds which are hard to make and we sank out of sight in them when we went to bed. Our only floor coverings were home-made rag rugs but it helped keep our feet warm in the winter time. It seems to me that all we did was work. When I was 17 or 18, I working in a regtaurant across from Aunt Kate's Hotel and one time, when I was working for Tom & Gladys Manion, ghe had her first baby and I helped fp. llnmle1g deliver it. This muat have been about 1910. We had a couple of cows which eupplied milk by Irene Barnum HOLLIDAY GLAISTER FAMILY F303 and we had chickens which mother would cook for Sunday dinner with home-made noodles made from flour and our own eggs. We had a garden in the summer time and I would have to carry water in a bucket from the horse tank to the garden to water the plants. As I remember, we had potatoes, squash, lettuce, and some oniong. Pancakes were generally made for breakfast. The winds Annie Holliday Moore was born on the 29th of July, 1891. This is her story of Kit Carson County as told to Jack Messinger on the 16th of January, 1986: I am 90-what? I think I an 93 but I wouldn't swear to it. My maiden name was Annie Margaret Holliday. My father's nryne was John (Jack) Holliday and my mother's nnme was Elizabeth Glaist- F804 were terrible, sometimes with dust and sometimes with snow, but just the winds were bad and they seemed to blow all the time. Afrb,er we left the homestead, I married Frank Moore and we had 3 boys: Bill, Fred and Jack and my husband, Frank, would ask why we couldn't have a gitl and I would say because you're no do-n good-you're just no damn Howard and Burdine Richards Homm. Iloward Homm I was born March 18, 1921 to John and Zuella (Knapp) Homm at the farm that my folks bought on S.3-T.6-R.44 about 2 miles northwest of the Spring Valley Ranch. I staded to school at 5 years old at the north school in District #3. I and my family lived there until I was 8 years old. This was cattle country and I learned things about cattle even at my young age. One of my first lessons in the cattle industry was one ofthe funniest that has even happened to me even though I didn't think it was very funny at the time. I was about 5 or 6 years old when my Uncle John (Hans) Knapp one day gave me a young billy goat for a pet. I taught him to lead and generally played with him and had a lot of fun with him. The goat loved staying with the cattle and when the cattle would come in for water I would catch the goat and tie him up to play with him, but if he ever got loose then he would go back out with the cattle. Our cattle were used to him and would pay no attention to him. Now the Rhineholt Brothers were leasing the Spring Valley Ranch, and running a lot of cattle there at the time. Slats Senti was the foreman of the Rhineholts and lived on the Spring Valley Ranch. This particular day Slats and some of his cowboys were moving a big herd of cows by our place. I had my goat tied to the leg of the windmill. Just as the cows start€d to come up the hill east of our house a terrible thing happened. My goat got loose and went down the road to meet that herd of cattle. I ran and tired to catch him. I don't think these cows had ever seen a goat before becawe when they saw hin back they went and nothing the riders could do would stop them. They really made a cloud of dust and when it cleared so you could see there in the road were three cowboys and Slats in his old model T car. Now if you knew �Slats Senti you knew a man that would stutter and a man who could cugs. He caught the goat for me. He was really mad; he said "SSSSSon of a GGGoathome and youtie him up and keep him tied up." I promised him that I would never let my goat loose again. It must have been an hour or more before they got the cows gathered up and moved on past our house. It was a real catastrophe for me that day but today I have to smile when I think about it. At the age of about 13 years I joined the 4H at Happy Hollow Club. Reuben Anderson was my first club leader. I selected a steer from my Grandad's herd. I fed steers for three years. In 1936 I caught a calfin the "catch-it- calf'contest at the National West€rn. In the three years I saved and put together enough money to buy two registered herefords. In 1940 I made an agreement with E.D. "Doc" Mustoe, Manager of Foster Farms of Redord, Kansas to run gome registered cows on ghares. We had barely gotten started acquiring cows when we dissolved because of the possibility of me being drafted into the Armed Forceg. I bought Mustoe's shares to add to my herd. I now had 15 or 20 head of cows. On February 3, 1945 I married Burdine Richards, daughter of John and Mayme (Anderson) Richards. The first five years aftpr we were married we lived on the old home place (where I was born). In 1949 we built a house on the ranch down on the river and moved there in early 1950. It was then that we joined my Father, John and Brother, Jim in the operation of John Homm & Sons. We specialized in the production of registered Herefords. I was in charge of registered cattle, records, selection, and fitting. I exhibited carload buls in the yards at National Western from L944tn 1984. I helped organize the Kit Carson County Hereford Breeders The Homm Fa-ily, standing, Larry, ZuAnn, Richard and John. SeatBd, Howard and Burdine. the way to a very successful judging career. Three of our children took music lessons and make an attcmpt to play music. ZuAnn played the piano, John played the accordian and Dick played the guitar, and for a while had a Country Western band called "The Outlaws". At present our oldest son Larry lives on the ranch. He attended Colorado State University and graduated with a degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. He then manied Dorthea Ruple of Kremmling and they have two children, a daughter, LaDee, and a son, Wade. Association and served that organization as Our second son, John, also lives on the ranch. John attended Chocise College in number of years. We also have staged many production sales of our own. One of my most prized possessions is a plaque I was presented in 1941 by the Kit Carson County Farm Douglas, Arizona and University of Texas at El Paso on a baseball scholarship, Colorado State University and graduated from University of Southern Colorado with a degree in President and also Sale Manager for a Bureau naming me the outstanding 4-H member of the year. Another honor ofwhich I am equally proud is a silver platter presented to the Homm Family in 1983 by the Colorado Hereford Aseociation nnming us the outstanding registered breeders of the year. It was presented at the Annual Banquet during Stock Show to my wife, Burdine, and I and our children and grandchildren present. We have four children and ten grandchildren. by Howard Homm IIOMM FAMILY F305 IIOWARD IIOMM Our children and grandchildren have all been active in 4-H work. They mostly have projects in Market Beef, Breeding Beef, Swine, and Horses. Starting in 1960 and continuing for about 15 years Homm Ranches Inc. sponsored a 4-H and FFA beef judging contest during Christmas Vacation in December. We are proud that the contest and workshops etarted many 4-H beginners on Accounting. John married Gail Silcott of Castle Rock and tbey have three children, girls, Erin and Jacie and one son, Bret. Third son, Dick lives on the ranch also. He attended college at Northeastern Jr. College in Sterling and Lo-ar Community College, La-ar. He joined the Army and spent a year in Viet Nam with the 101st Airborne Division. He maried Marilyn Armagost of Yuma, and they have three children, daughter, Kristi, and sons, Cy and Bob. Our daughter, ZuAnn, attended Northeastern Jr. College in Sterling, Colorado State University and graduated with a degree in Psychology from Southern Colorado State University. She marriedRon Hogan of Lamar and has a son, Glen and a daughter, ZuElla. They presently live in Yuma, Colorado. Through the years we have been active in a number of Civic Organizations. In addition to the Hereford Associations I have been on the School Board, served for 20 years on the board of the EquityCo-op Exchange, andwas a 4-H Leader when my children still had projects. My current interests include help- ing on the ranch as usual and square dancing which I find very enjoyable. by Howard llomm HOMM FAMILY F306 Iloward llomm I was born August 25, L926 on this ranch where we presently live. Part of this ranch was homesteaded by my grandfather Wm. A. Richards. I have lived on the same ranch my entire life. I walked to school at No. 4&I which was only a short way from our house. The 9th grade was also taught there, but I graduated from the Burlington High School in 1944. I then taught school at the home school, #4&I, for one year. As long as I can remember Grandpa Richards lived with us until he moved to Burlington in 1945. My Grandma Richards passed away shortly after their youngest child was born in 1900. I still remember the big gardens that Grandpa planted and how hard he worked at it, as we kidg had to help him plant, hoe and etc. He rode a little black ponyto church whichwas about 7 miles away. He passed away in 1947. I can remember a number of tragedies: there was the blizzard of 1931 where a number of school children froze to death on a schoolbus at Towner, Colorado. Then there was a great drought of 1933-34-35. The dust storms followed and were caused by the drought. I remember in some of these dust storms it would get so dark in the house that my mother would soak sheeta and blankets in water and hang them at the windows to keep some of the dust out, and taking the blankets down they were pure mud, while outside you couldn't at times see more than 8 or 10 feet. The dirt and dust drifted everywhere just like snow in a blizzard. It covered roads, fence lines, and put big drifts around houges and barns. There were many people who moved away at this time. In the spring after those t€rrible dust storms we had cattle that just layed down and died. By cutting them open it was found their lungs were filled with mud. Also we were invaded by millions of jack rabbits during these drought years, there were rabbit huts where �the people drove the rabbits into pens where they would kill them. From these hunts there would be truck loads of dead rabbits hauled off, some were even sold. There was the 1935 flood which sure had a deep impression on my mind as I could never build or live on the river bottom since. There was a lot of rain one night and my mom got up and locked our porch door as the wind and rain was so strong it would blow it open. When we got up the next morning the flood was on, water was ever5rwhere the glow water was around our chicken house and barns. We could see animals and barn roofs etc.going down the river which wag very fast. Out in the center the waves jumped, 20 ft. high. You could see big trees fall in the water and would not see them again for about % of a mile down the river. My Dad lost a number of cows and a few horses in the flood. Dad found some of them dead as far away as Benkelnan, Nebraska. There were some reports that we had around 24 inches of rain. Many people in Burlington did not know it rained that muchanywhere. This flood ruined all the nice level hay land in the valley, the irrigation ditches and any thing else that happened to be in its way. It turned it all into one big sand creek. The next year the river bottom came up with lots of trees which are very pretty today. There were not that many trees before the flood in 1935. I have been very active in different organizations. I was the first president of the Kit Carson County Cowbelles, an office I held for a number of years. During the time I was president we put together the Kit Carson County Cattleman's History. This book was started by Roy Bader, he put alot of hard work into this and it was after his death Avis Bader, Harley Rhoades, and myself had the book completed and published. I was a director of the Colorado Hereford Auxilary and also was the president for 2 terms. We in the Hereford Auxilary are in the procese of compiling a book on the History of Herefords in Colorado. Howard and I have 10 grandchildren, 5 boys and 5 girls. We enjoy them very much as we all go camping and swimming in the dnms in the summer. They like to come to our house and help me paint, sew, or what ever I have to do. Howard suffered a heart attack in April of 1985; since then he has turned more of the active management of the ranch over to the boys. We still live here on the ranch and we do what we can to help out. by Burdine llomm HOMM FAMILY F307 The Homm family came from Ostfriesland, Germany. Herman, the oldest child, cnme first. He worked very hard, saved his money and sent for the rest of the family, which was George, the father; Altamina, the mother; and John, George, Anna and Henry. They came in a German sailing ship and took 3 weeks because the weather was so bad. This was in December of 1869. A friend persuaded George to take along his son, John Bruns, because his stepmother made life so miserable for him. When they arrived in New York (Ellis Island), John Bruns eyas so lousy they wouldn't release him until he was deloused. Altamina didn't want to stay and wait for him so they went on to lllinois. When John got deloused they put a tag on him and sent him to Illinois. While he was walking to the Homms and he heard horses coming, he'd think they were Indians and jump into the brush and hide. Father George died in Illinois. He was hauling wheat to town in a wagon with one of the boys when he had a heart attack. The mother, Altamina, went to Grinnell, Kansas, with several of her children. She took a homestead, as well as George and Henry. She died in 1893, before proving up on the homestead. George's girls, Alma and Minnie, can remember that they went to their grandmother's a lot of times and she always fed them prunes. The son, George, married Anna Duelm in Illinois before moving to Kansas. They lived in a part dugout with the front laid up with magnesia rock. There was a spring close to the house where they kept their milk and butter. In 1889, George went to St. Francis, Kansas, to cut corn, then brought his family there in a wagon with a team of mules, one black and one white. Then he went back to Grinnell for his cattle. On the way back to St. Francis he drank from a pond and contracted typhoid fever. He died after 5 days. He is buried at St. Francis. Since typhoid fever is contagious, Anna took care of him in St. Francis and got a neighbor girl to stay with their little girls. The girls remember that the neighbor told ghost stories and had them scared. Another neighbor, Mrs. Shanklin, cnme to help get the girls ready for the funeral. George's brother, Herman, came from Kit Carson, Colorado, to help with the cattle and other things. Herman had lost his wife, Emma, in 1888, and his 2 daughters, Minnie and Mary, were living with their Lengel grandparents at Grinnell. Herman took the mules back to Kit Carson with him and sold the cattle to John Lengel in Colorado. Anna went back to her parents in Illinois and son George was born there. In 1892, Herman went back to llinois and married Anna. They, along with her children, Lena, Kate, Alma, Minnie, Mary and George came to Colorado and lived on a rented place on the Republican River just above where Bonny Dnm is now located. They had 2 more children, John and Tillie. In 1896, Herman got a carbuncle under his arm and soon died. He is buried in the Lutheran Cemetery on the Kit Carson-Yuma County line. That left Anna a widow again and now she had 6 girls and 2 boys to raise. She had some cattle on the rented place which had irrigation so they could always raise something. Later she bought the home ranch and homesteaded 160 acres nearby. The girls had to help with the cattle, irrigating and other work until George and then John got big enough to work. Part of the time she sent her cattle down to pasture on the Smoky, southwest of Burlington with hired men, Charlie Stump, Glass Davis and Jake Lengel. Anna lived alone for several years after her children were grown and later spent some time with some of her children as she got older. She died in 1941 and is buried at the St. John's Cemetery south of ldalia. Lena married Carl Zick, Kate married Charlie Stump, Alma married Jake Lengel, Minnie married Glass Davis, Mary married John Brenner, George married Clara Fleer, John married Zuella Knapp and Tillie married Roy Russmann. Kate and Charlie Stump took their fanily to Oregon in 1936. The others lived around the BurlingtonIdalia area. Only George's wife, Clara, is still living. Of the 8 Homm children, 5 celebrated their 50th wedding anniversaries. There were 39 grandchildren. George built a sod house and brought his bride there in 1912. Gilbert was born there in 1913, Velma in 1915 and Clifford in 191?. They moved to the Herman Zick place in Kit Carson county and Hazel was born there in 1921. Later George bought his mother's home place and they lived there while the children were going to school and growing up. The children attended the Newton school. In 1963, George, Clara and Gilbert moved to Burlington and George died there in 1969. Hazel married Ernest Langendoerfer in 1941, Velma married Hugh Gerber in 1943 and Clifford married Carolyn Chase in 19b1. There are 5 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. George was always interested in the better- ment of the community. He encouraged literary at the school, organized several ball teams in the area and donated land for the teams 1P 01"t. Clara's greatest joy is to have her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren around her. George and Clara spent many hours entertaining the grandchildren by telling them stories and taking them fishing. by Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Homm HOMM FAMILY F308 A herd of horses that belonged to Herman Zickmn on the range. Nothing had been done with them for so long that they had nearly turned into a herd of wild horses. I remember Grandad bought those horses and brought them home and sorted them out. There were about 8 or 10 head of pretty nice young horses. Grandad hired a man named Joe Queen who lived up by Cope to take and break them. There were four or five that broke out real gentle. One of them was a beautiful gray mare that Grandad gave to me. I rode this mare home and nemsd her Grace. I rode Grace for a couple of months, one day my dad needed a saddle horse and he didn't have a bridle or saddle. He put a blinded bridle on her, (one from a work harness) and got on her bare back. All of this change spooked her and she threw him off. After this Dad wouldn't let me ride her anymore. He said that she couldn't be trusted and she might hurt me. He finally sold her to a horse buyer that cnme through from Arkansas. I remember many times of helping Grandad salting the cattle. He would come by in his old Dodge coupe and take me along to open gates. Grandad leased the old Zick and Jansen places as his summer range. In the early 1930's Grandad sold the north part of the ranch, on the Republican, to Foster Farms, one of the most prominent Hereford breeding establishments in the nation at the time. They bought the ranch and had plans to establish a registered polled hereford herd there. The flood on Memorial Day 1935 changed all their thoughts and I'm sure they �were more than glad to sell it to the Government where they built Bonny Dam. My uncle Don Knapp had kept the part of the Godsman ranch on the Launchman. The U.S. Government took this land too when acquir- ing land for Bonny Dam. Don moved on a Iittle farther south and bought the old Homm Ranch from my uncle George Homm. Don's wife, Violet lives there yet today. I also can remember my Mother's Grandad John Knapp. He was very old when he used to come and visit my Mother and Dad. I remember that when he came he would always ask mother to play the piano for him. He was a Civil War Veteran and his favorite song was "Marching Through Georgia". by Howard Homm HOMM FAMILY F309 When I was a little boy my Grandad had a favorite trick he used to play on me. First he would ask me what I had in my pockets, I knew I didn't have anything, he would have to look and everytime he would find a nickel. I always ended up with the nickel. It took me quite awhile to figure this trick out. I remember a story my mother used to tell about when Grandad was the Sheriff. During the summer mother and her sisters and brothers stayed out at the ranch and helped out there. On this certain Saturday evening the kids were making plans to go somewhere to a dance. They had the good driving team and they were primed for a great time. Along about dark Grandad sent word out that he had an unexpected sheriffs call to make and he wanted Clyde to bring the driving team and buggy to him. Of course the kids were all mad so Clyde hitched the team to the buggy and got up in the driver's seat and rapped the horses a good one with the end of the lines. The horses reared up and came down and broke the tongue out of the buggy. Sometime about the last day of World War I Grandad disposed of most of his ranching operations and went to drill for oil in Wyoming. It proved to not be a very profitable move. Not that he didn't find oil but because the refinaries were all owned by the major oil companies and they would not buy his crude. In the early 1920's he came home and started over. Grandad first acquired the Dr. Godsman Ranch on the Launchman. I remember my folks taking me to the Godsman farm sale. I remember my uncle Johnny Knapp, (Hans) and how he carried me around and the big crowd of people that were at the sale. Later Grandad lived back and forth between the Godsman Ranch and his house in town. At this point Grandad had a pretty big operation, lots of cattle and horses not to mention several hired men. I'll never forget the old bunkhouse. I spent many an hour there playing records on the old Victorola they had there. I also remember that down in the feedlot where Grandad fed steers and hogs there was a spring that ran, Grandad had a dam put across this gulley and made a nice pond. Everyone referred to it as the "Hog Pen". It was a real good fish pond. I Jim Knapp, father of Zuella Knapp Homm. I Remember Grandad The things that I remember my Grandad for are probably different from other people. The Grandad I'm talking about is J.H. "Jim"; spent many happy hours there as a boy. Grandad at one time bought the entire registered Hereford herd owned by Julius Stutheit. He ran them as commercial cattle. My first steer I fed when I started in 4-H came from his herd. by lloward Homm Knapp. My Grandad Homm died in 1879 when my Dad was only 2 years old. So the only Grandad I ever knew was my Grandad Knapp. My first memories of him were when he lived in Burlington during which time I was only 2 or 3 years old. He lived in the house now owned by Lucy Russman across the street southwest of the Post Office. He also owned the lots south of the house now occupied by Dave's Body Shop and the library. He had a big corral and barn and always had a lot of horses there. Many times his well drill would be parked there too. I also remember a friend of my Grandad's. His name was Grant Mann. He was a short heavyset man with a big handlebars mus- tache. He must have owned a lot of horses and mules for everytime I saw him he would ask me if I came to ride his "Hee-Haw" todav. John and Zuella Homm, parents of Howard Homm. open range; it was open at that time from his place to the Bar T. Dad leased a water gap from the Bar T on the lower end of the Bar T close to Lee Yount's irrigation dam. The cattle could get water there when they were on the north end of the range. In 1923 we raised a real good crop of corn, he put his steers in the feedlot, fed them out, and had a very successful financial experience, while making a good profit. However, from then until 1929 his corn was hailed out 5 times. He ended up returning to the river to put up hay on shares with his father-in-law (Jim Knapp) to keep his cattle through the winter. In 1929 after being hailed for the 5th year they decided to give up and move back to the river where hay was a little more dependable than farming crops. And so they bought and moved to the Herman Zick Ranch which is on Highway 385 at the Kit Carson - Yuma County line. Here they raised commercial cattle as their main occupation. In 1936 they built a filling station and general store, called The County Line Store. They operated it until 1939. In 1939 John traded his ranch and store for the ranch which is the headquarters for the present day Homm Ranches Inc. Only 31,'z years earlier this ranch had been hit by the worst flood that the Republican River has ever known. All fences had to be replaced, hay meadows had to be cleaned up and irrigation ditches had to be rebuilt. This took much HOMM - KNAPP FAMILY F310 John Homm married Zuella Knapp, daughter of J.H. Knapp and Celia (Barkley) Knapp. They had two sons, Howard born March 18, 1921 and James Herman born, August 20, 1926. They first started farming and ranching on the farm they bought on S.3T.6-R44 northwest of the Spring Valley Ranch. They were here from about 1919 to 1929. They farmed 300 acres to wheat and corn. Horses were used to plant corn and the wheat was then planted in the cornstalks in the fall of the vear. Dad also ran steers on the hard work. In 1932 John had bought the first registered Herefords, 15 head of late heifer calves that were bred by Rosser Davis and Sons. This was the start of an operation that has run through three generations. For 20 years the purebred Hereford operation was known as John Homm and Sons consisting of John and sons, Howard and James. In 1959 the partnership was dissolved. John and Zuella retired. Howard kept the home ranch and purebred cattle and James took the commercials and the place on S.3-T.6-R.44. Zuella passed away in 1968, and John died in 1975. James married Lois Thomas in 1953; they lived on the place on S.3-T.6-R.44 for a number ofyears when they sold the farm and moved to Burlington. They have 2 daughters and a son. Their daughter, Dorothy, married �Richard lbbetson and lives at Yates Center, Kansas, she has two boys and a girl. Daughter, Barbara married Torrence Button and lives in Denver. Ron, their son, is unmarried and also lives in Denver. Jim died in 1973 in a truck accident. His wife, Lois, still lives in Burlington. by Howard Homm IIOMM, ANNA F31r I was born in Warsaw, Ill., on September 29, 1856, and spent my girlhood days there with my parents, then came to Kansas and lived there for nine years. I came to Colorado on July 19, 1892, coming by train to Burlington, and hiring a wagon and team, went to a rented farm then owned by Sam Shepherd of Denver. We built our sod house, plastering the walls with native lime and covering the roof with tar paper and sod and putting in a wooden floor. We made our furniture from packing boxes and a little lumber; we made a table, bedstead, bench, or two. Then we bought some chairs, two other bedsteads and a stove. Our supplies were brought from St. Francis, Kansas, from Wray, from Burlington and some were shipped from Kansas City. I had six daughters before my sons were born, so the girls had to help my husband in the fields, with the cattle and with the irrigation. Mail was brought every other day to Newton, Colorado, a post office about a mile and a half from us. A Miss Linnie Jones was the mail carrier. We kept a herd of two hundred fifty cattle and it was a necessity for the girls to help care for them. One very severe winter when the cattle had to be fed all winter and then in the spring .we lost forty-five head by a disease known as blackleg but that goes with the life of a pioneer farmer. My husband did not live long after we settled here and then I had to raise my family alone, but we managed to keep going and when land was not selling at boom prices, I bought 305 acres right down on the river bottom for which I paid $1050.00. Later, I sold this same piece of land for $10,000.00. My children went to school at Newton, Colorado. Miss Annie Attis was the first to our house to ask for some cough syrup for one of his children. We noted then, that he had a revolver with him. He went out, presumably to go home, but met two neighbor men coming into our yard. One of those men accused him of stealing a pig. There were some words, then we heard a shot and discovered that Munsinger was lying in the yard dead, by the cellar door. None of us saw the shooting or heard the quarrel, but the man claimed that he shot in self defense as Munsinger tried to get his gun first. The body lay there all night; there was no coroner near and the two neighbor men left at once to go and surrender and send the coroner out. Note: As this was across the county line in Arapahoe, now Yuma county, accounts for the delay in getting a coroner or deputy, as Denver was the County seat. The two men involved were August Meyers and Bill Harachek. They were tried and acquitted. The Munsinger family moved to Denver after this tragedy in their lives. The mother died within a few years and the children, it was reported, were put into foster homes. One of the children was named Ralph. Named for Ralph Talbot, the attorney at Denver, who defended Munsinger for the slaying of the Bar T. foreman. Mr. Allen. by Della Hendrickes HOMM, CLIFFORD F3l2 Clifford John Homm was born in a sod house in southern Yuma County, December 7, LgL7. His father, George, had built the house in 1912 just before he married Clara Fleer, daughter of Louis and Caroline Rohlfing Fleer of the Idalia community. They also had a sod barn. chicken house and nice cemented cellar. The farmstead looked very nice with a big garden and alfalfa growing all around the house, but it was away from the road and Clara got lonesome with George working away from home all day. "Doc" Godsman's wife saw how nice the place looked so she persuaded her husband to buy it for her. She was a school teacher in Chicago so she never did live there. The Homm's moved to Herman Zick's place along the Launchman Creek then, It was a new cement brick house. Herman had painted the living room red. He said all the parlors he ever saw were painted red. He also planted rows of cottonwood trees all around The furniture was moved into one room and everyone danced. The very small children were put to sleep on beds or any available place. Each family brought something for a midnight snack. Sometimes the dance would last until dawn. Another pastime was card parties. They especially enjoyed Auction Bridge. A few times they and their company were still playing when breakfast was ready. One visitor got disgusted with his playing or luck and took the lid off the kitchen range and dropped the cards into the fire. That stopped the party. Most evenings just the family would gather around the kitchen table and play games by the light of the kerosene lamp. In 1931, George, Gilbert and Clifford bought their first registered Hereford cattle from Rosser Davis who lived just up the river. This proved to be a profitable and very enjoyable venture. Hereford breeders are noted for their hospitality and the Homm's took many trips to see other herds. The Fulschers of Holyoke and Wyoming Hereford Ranch of Cheyenne were the favorite places to see good cattle. The Homms liked to show their cattle to visitors, too. They have now sold their cow herd and retired. In 1939, Clifford bought Herman Zick's place where he had lived a few of his early years. He and his family, except Gilbert, moved there. Gilbert bought the home place and he stayed there. The men always worked together, however. The girls, Velma and Hazel, ran the grocery store and gas station on Clifford's place that John and Zuella Homm had started. As soon as Clifford bought his ranch he started making improvements. All the outbuildings were eventually removed and new ones built and corrals were improved. More trees were planted nearly every year. The house was enlarged and remodeled. Y.W. Electric came with an electric line in 1950 and an irrigation well was put down. Electric appliances were put in the house and other buildings. In 1951 Clifford married Carolyn Chase from Beecher Island. George Howard was born in 1952 and Helen Elaine in 1953. Now the family is complete. George and Helen went all 12 years to Burlington schools. George got a B.A. from Boulder and law degree from Denver University. He practices law in Burlington. Helen got a B.A. and M.A. degree from University of Northern Colorado. She was a librarian at Burlington then Stratton. Now she is the librarian in the Holvoke school teacher and Sam Nelson was the second. The children walked and when it got real cold they wrapped their feet in gunny sacks to keep them warm. In the early days we did not buy anything that was not really needed. I bought calico and made the girls dresses and when a bit of the farmstead. After only a few years, Clifford and the rest of the family moved to another house. By 1926, George had bought his lace was added, that became their best or Sunday dress. They were just as contented as could be. I made my yeast cakes, my soap, and by for Grandma Homm to live. The Homm children walked to Newton school. As long as Clifford can remember, they HOMM, IIERMAN saved in every way that was possible, but we always had enough to eat and although we worked hard, we had good times also, for we had a number of good neighbors around us. received the daily paper. Sometimes when he and his father walked to the mail box, they'd stop along the way to read the sports page so they could see how the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals were doing. Clifford was and 1850. He was 14 years old when he cnme with We were acquainted with the man Munsinger, whom we always classed as a desperado and who kept the neighborhood in fear by his actions. He killed a man, a Mr. Allen, shot at others and caused the home of a neighbor to be burned and was finally shot by one of his neighbors in our back yard. He always carried a pistol and this night he had come system. by Mr. & Mrs. Clifford Homm mother, Anna's, home place and the family moved there and built a smaller house close is a loyal Cubs fan. George rooted for the Cardinals. Literary evenings were an enjoyable community pastime. Nearly everyone participated in the plays, programs and debates. As the children grew, the whole family went to house dances in the neighborhood. F3r3 Herman Homm was born in Germany in an Uncle to the U.S. A short while later the rest of the family came to this country. Herman's family consisted of three brothers, one sister, and his parents. They settled in Illinois across the Mississippi River a short way from St. Louis. Later the Homm family moved to western Kansas to a place south of Grinnell. Herman's brother John and sister Anna stayed in Illinois. �At Grinnell one of their neighbors was the Lengel family. Here Herman met and married Emma Lengel. Two girls were born of this union. Later Herman took his family with his brothers-in-law, Jake and John, and followed the railroad on west to Kit Carson, Colorado. Here the open range offered many opportunities to one interested in the cattle industry. Here at Kit Carson they ran cattle for a number of years. According to stories Iater told by Uncle Jake they grazed their cattle at such places as: Big Springs, Little Springs, Rush Creek, Sheridan Lake, Sand Creek, and the Smokey. This country was all open range at that time and the cattle were moved around and grazed in any area where there was water. At the museum in Old Town at Burlington there is an old sword that one of Herman's men found near the site of the Sand Creek Massacre near Chivington when they were moving cattle through there. No one knows whether the old sword belonged to an Indian, an Army Officer, or a Soldier or who? Even though the Kit Carson area was a good grass country they found that it didn't offer much for protection of feed during the winter. There were some winters that they moved the cattle to the Republican River north of Burlington and on down the river as far as St. Francis. Here they leased corn stalk fields from homesteaders to feed on when snow covered the grass. Later Emma died and Herman took her back to Kansas for burial and left the two little girls with the Lengel Grandparents. These girls, Minnie and Mary, both died in their teens. Later he left Kit Carson and went back to Illinois. It was in Illinois that he married Anna Homm. Anna was his brother George's widow. George had died of Typhoid Fever. So Herman and Anna and her family of six children came back to Colorado. This time they settled about 20 miles north of Burlington, Colorado where the Republican River and the Launchman Creek meet. This land today is owned by or covered by the waters of Bonny Reservoir Here they leased a ranch, stacked the hay in the fall and grazed their cattle on open range. Much open range was still available on the Smokey south of Burlington and Stratton. For many years they trailed their cattle south to the Smokey. It was a hard drive to take the cows south in the Spring, but it was an easy job in the fall, the cows would nearly come home by themselves. Dad told about a year when they were coming home, they reached a spot somewhere east of Stratton where some homesteaders had the road fenced on both sides for about a mile. They thought this an ideal place to bed down for the night. They ran the cattle in the long lone, they parked their chuckwagon in the north end of the lane, staked out their horses and layed down in their bed rolls in the north end ofthe lane. It had been a long day and they were very tired. Long about midnight someone woke up to hear the last cow slip by. The cows had crept by them one by one during the night and were headed on home. So everybody got up, packed their things, mounted their horses and followed the herd on home. They made it on home the next night and were a very tired bunch of cowboys. Uncle Jake told about a time they were moving the cows south one spring. There on the prairie they came upon a herd of wild horses. The horses ran on ahead and soon out ofsight. A little farther on they were surprised to see a little baby colt following the chuck wagon. They caught the little fellow and put him in the wagon, and took him home and raised him on a bucket. Dad said he never did get very big, he was quite a pet and was kind of ornery. Uncle Jake told many tales of wild horses. It seems these horses were a constant threat to all of the other horses in the area. If horses were turned out in the pasture wild stallions would many times come in at night and drive off the mares. Many a homesteader thought horse thieves were responsible only to find them with the wild horses. One of the worst things the early day cattlemen had to contend with was the gray wolf of which there were many of in this country. There are people today wl,o are worried that the gray wolf will become an endangered species, I just don't understand. Uncle Jake always told about the time when he rode up on a pair of old gray wolves who had just cut down a four year old bull. The wolves would cut the ham string in the rear flank and then the animal would go down and could not stand up. In this case the wolves had eaten part ofthe rear quarter and the bull was still alive. Jake said he killed the bull and tried to get the wolves. It is easy to understand why early day cowboys killed every wolf they could. Herman died in 1897 and is buried in the old Evangelical Luthern Salem Church cemetary north of the Spring Valley Ranch at the county line. After Herman died Anna stayed and operated the ranch with the help ofhired men and the help of her family who were all quite young. She held on until her boys were big enough to take over. Few people realize the hardships that were endured by this strong willed pioneer woman. She died in 1942 and is buried in the St. John Church Cemetery south of ldalia. Anna's children were: Caroline, Lina as she was better known, married Catl Zick, lived in Burlington. Kathrine, known as Kate, married Charlie Stump, lived by Kirk, and later in Oregon. Minnie who married Glass Davis lived by Kirk, and later in Burlington. Alma who married Jake Lengel and lived a mile or so southeast of the home place. Mary married John Brenner and lived south of Idalia. Son, George Jr. who lived on the home place and married Clara Fleer. In addition to Anna's family Herman and Anna had two children of their own. Matilda, or Tillie married Roy Russman. Son, John born in 1895 married Dee, LaDee, Wade and Larry Homm. Shirlene Walters; Ray, Roger and Catherine Richards, Wilma Schaal. Also there were Bruce and Dale Richards, Dennis and Linda Moore, Kenny, Mary Lou, and Betty Thomas, Lora and Karen Schlichenmayer, Rick and Randy Pratt, and Phyliss and Don Scheir. In the fall of 1960 this school was closed and everyone was bussed to Burlington. My first year in High School 1959-60 I stayed in town with Ray and Sara Rhoades. I graduated from BHS in the spring of 1963 and attended CSU that fall. My roommate was Bruce Poley from Burlington and we stayed in Braiden Hall on campus. I attended Vet College until 1971 when I received my DVM degree. I moved to Glasgow, Montana and started work at a vet clinic. While in Vet College I met Dorathea Ruple and we were married on November 6, 1971 in Grand Lake, Colorado. Dee, as she is known was originally from Kremmling, Colorado, and was working at LaPlatta County Hospital in Durango when we were married. We moved to Montana and lived there until the spring of 1972 when we moved back to the Burlington area. Dee has worked as a registered nurse at the Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital since 1972. We have two children. LaDee Ann was born March 11, 1976 and Justin Wade was born September 13, 1978. LaDee and Wade are both active in 4-H and enjoy working with animals. LaDee also enjoys art and Wade likes working cattle. I have a limited vet practice since my ranch work takes up most of my time. I still enjoy veterinary work and raising cattle. by Larry Homm Zuella Knapp. by Howard Homm HOMM, LARRY AND DEE HOMM, RICHARD AND MARILYN F3r5 F314 My name is Kristi and I am proud to say that I am a part of the Homm family. My family has lived in Kit Carson County for as I was born January 31, 1946 in Burlington, long as I can remember, which isn't very long since I'm only 16. I currently am attending CO and grew up on a cattle ranch on the south fork of the Republican River. I attended country school, Ritizius 48J, for eight years. I started first grade in the fall of 1951. My first grade teacher was Lucy Russman. Other teachers I remember were Mrl. John Schaal. Mrs. Leo Devlin, Mrs. Jesse Wagoneer, Mrs. Willi Schrayer, Mrs. Bergstein, Mrs. House, and Ms. Gay Rigdon. People that attended school during this time were Jerry and Bob Paintin, Sharon, Beverly, and Sandy Langendoerfer, Larry and Stan Mangus, Carole and Burlington High School. My interests are writing, reading and riding horses, I also help with the ranch work as much as possible. My family is a source of much talent; we all do as much as we can to promote and encourage people to follow their dreams, if someone hadn't then none of us would be where we are today. My Grandfather on my mother's side, or Poppy as we call him is very special to me. His name is Mervin and my grandmother's is Roberta or Bert as she is commonly called. �4-H. I have been in for eight years and enjoy it thoroughly. My real love is horses and I would like to learn everything I can about them. I used to have this old horse that would not get into the trailer for my dad or anyone else, but when I would go and tell him to stop all this nonsense and just get in the trailer he would just step right in. This same horse used to hate to be worked in the round corral so he would just follow you everywhere you went in the corral. I have this friend that hadn't ridden before and I took her with me. She rode behind my brother Bob, we were almost back to the house without any trouble when the horse takes off and she is sitting there with both hands on the saddle horn and she totally let go of the reins. All she could say was help me, help me, and all I could do was laugh at the very sight of her. Finally we made it back to the house and got her hands pried off of the horn. purchased a home in Stratton where he and his wife resided until her death in 1956. Mr. Hoot also owned another place, which he rented to Elvin "Boots" Wilson. The Wilson daughters remember him as a very kind man. When he came out to check the land which he did often he always brought them all day suckers. After her death, he went to Denver. to make his home with his sons. He lived to the age of 100 years, 6 months and 28 days. by Florence McConnell HORNUNG FAMILY F317 by Kristi llomm Richard and Marilyn Homm. HOOT, J. H. FAMILY F316 Edith and Swidbert Hornung Swidbert A. Hornung rode through Eastern Colorado on a train with his parents on a family trip when he was ten years old and made a vow that he would live in this area Joseph, Nellie Hoot and son Dale in front of their home in Stratton. Joseph Henry Hoot was born in Freeport, Ill. Nov. 3, 1869 to Ira and Maria Young Hoot. Mr. Hoot Iived in Illinois until the age of 3, then in Missouri for four years. He moved to Johnson County, Nebraska where he received his early education in rural schools. He gained a high school diploma at Tecumseh, Nebraska and attended State Teach- er's College in Peru, Nebraska where he Kristi, Cy and Bob Homm, children of Richard and Marilyn Homm. My mother has five brothers and sisters: Sandy currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona, Hope lives at Yuma as does Jack, Peggy, and Pat. My Grandfather has sold seedcorn since 1957, and currently sells and farms northeast of Yuma, CO. My Grandmother Homm is a great storyteller. She tells of a time when my dad and his brother were supposed to be trimming their steers, but instead they were shaving their sister's favorite cat like a lion. It seems to me that they were always doing something that they knew would get them into a lot of trouble. I have two brothers that take after their father and uncle. They are usually up to something and it isn't always on the best of their judgement or common sense. Cy and Bob, my brothers, have both had their share of stitches and knocks in the head or all over. The whole family is or has been active in earned his teacher's diploma. He taught in county schools near Tecumseh for ten years. Joseph was united in marriage to Nellie L. Beech at Tecumseh in 1895. Nellie was born at Bedford, Iowa July l,1874. She attended elementary school at Red Oak, Iowa, learning all the counties in the state beginning at the northeast corner. Her parents, Hiram and Alice Friar Beech, got the western fever and moved to Dundy County, Nebraska and fought the grasshoppers and dry weather for two years. Giving up pioneering, they moved to Arapahoe, Furnas County, Nebraska, where Nellie graduated from high school and taught school for two years. Here is where she got acquainted with Joseph Hoot. Joseph taught school for five years after they were married. Three sons Joseph W., Wilber M. and Henry Dale, were born and a daughter died in infancy. Getting an urge to farm, Mr. Hoot bought a farm near Goodland, Kansas which he tilled for three years; then he purchased a farm south ofStratton, Colo. which he operated for 17 years. In 1952 Mr. Hoot sold his farm and some day. In 1943, "Swede" brought Edith, his wife, and their children, Palamon, Albert and Joyce to Stratton, Colorado. They first settled about nine miles northeast of Stratton. Swede, not only farmed, but he also was a real estate salesman. He first started working at Batt Realty, and later he bought Batt Realty. He trained and employed Joe Hendricks before Joe went on to Burlington to form his own business. Swede was very active in the community. He served on the Stratton Town Council. He promoted many community projects: a swimming pool, the Stratton Days barbeque. He had Mr. John McCracken of Holly, Colorado, come show Stratton people how to set up the barbeque process. Swede pushed for progress for Eastern Colorado and Stratton. He was one of the first farmers to produce sugar beets, as well as irrigate his land. He convinced several people from his hometown area in and near Spearville, Kansas, to come live in the Stratton and Burlington areas. Swede and Edith (Kasselman) had four children: Palamon William, Albert Maurice, Joyce Marie, and Kenneth Vincent. All three of the boys graduated from Colorado State University - 1961, 1961, and 1968, respectively. They majored in agricultural business, engineering and physical education, respectively. Pal farms in Stratton. He and his wife, Shirley, have four children: Stan, Whitney, Susan, and John. Albert works for Brock, Easley in Englewood, Colorado. He and his wife, Carla, have �two girls, Tara and Kendra. Albert was previously married to Elaine Smelker and they had four children; Devon, Kris, Kirk, HORNUNG, PAL AND SHIRLEY and Lane. Joyce and Ron Austin live in Stratton and have five children: Rhonda, Lyle, Debbie, Julie, and Roger. Ken was married and is divorced and has Swede and Edith Hornung's oldest son, Palamon, returned to Stratton in 1972 because he wanted to farm and raise his children in his hometown. Pal met and married Shirley Andrews from McDonough County (Industry), Illinois and Grand Junction, Colorado, at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. Pal and Shirley lived in Fort Collins, Des Moines, Iowa; Portland, Oregon; and Colorado Springs, Colorado before returning to no children. He has his own business, a recreational distributorship in the Kansas City area. by Shirley Hornung HORNUNG - LISTUL FAMILY Stratton in L972. They had four children; Stanley Byron who presently lives in Dallas, Texas, and is a manager trainee for NW Transport trucking F318 Terrence Hornung and Shelley Listul were married in Stratton on April 23, 1977. Now, in 1985, we are lucky enough to have four children. Michael was born in November, 1977; Jonathan in March, 1980; Thomas in November, 1982; and Savannah, our daugh- ter, born in August, 1984. In 1980 we purchased the farm we are living on from Val Kordes. Terry was born in Stratton on October 19, 1947. He is the oldest child of William Hornung and Joan (Conrardy) Hornung. His parents had moved here from the Spearville, Kansas area. Terry went to school at St. Charles Academy and Stratton High School. He graduated from Colorado State University in 1970. He is farming and raising cattle. F319 lines; Whitney Anne who is a public relations director for one of the five casts for "Up with People", an international musical tour group; Michael, Jonathan, Savannah, and Thomas Hornung. 1985. Susan Lynn, a senior at Colorado State University who plans to continue on to law school; and John Robert who is a senior at Stratton High School. He presently serves as Student Council President and loves varsity Colorado when I was 8 years old. That was where I grew up and went to high school. My great-grandparents emigrated from Norway and Sweden in the 1880's to homestead in North Dakota and Minnesota. Stan and Whitney graduated from Colorado State University in 1984 (the 100th class to graduate from Colorado State University) by Terrence Hornung Class of 1986 from CSU. Stan was a Colorado All-State basketball I was born in Grafton, North Dakota on March 9, 1955 to Norman Listul and Avis (Anderson) Listul. As a small child I lived in North Dakota, California, and Westminster, Colorado; but my family moved to Elizabeth, basketball. and Whitney graduated with honors in the and football player and received a footballacademic scholarship to both Colorado University and Colorado State University, upon high school graduation. Whitney was selected to Who's Who at CSU along with several honorary society invitations. Susan will be graduating from Colorado State University in 1988 with honors. John is first in his class academically and is senior class president. Pal has served on the Stratton Town Council, Stratton Swim Pool Association, Plains Ground Water District Board, Burlington Soil Conservation District Board. He too has his real estate sales and brokers license. He has been active in Knights of Columbus, Lions Club, PTA and 4-H. He received his Bachelors Degree in Agricultural Business from Colorado State University in 1961. Shirley received her Associate of Science Degree from Mesa (Jr.) College in Grand Junction, Colorado, in 1958 and then went on to Colorado State University. She majored in Home Economics and Sociology. by Shirley Hornung Terry Hornung and Shelley Listul, in April, 1977. Also in the picture are David Hornung, Robert Cure, Tammy (Monsebroten) Grasser, Arlene (Hornung) Brinkhoff, Patrick Hornung, Dennis Listul, LaDaen Polzin, and Mark Hornung. �The storm in 1977 left 20 and 30 foot drifts in the trees. The cattle could walk over the fences of the corrals, but lucky enough they didn't. Instead, we had cattle walk into our corrals from outside. We lost 27 head of steers that were in a shed when the weight of the snow caused the roof to collapse. The feedlot construction started in 1954. Almost every year additions and improvements have been made, until now it has capacity for 3,000 head. We have seven sons: Terrence, Stephen, David, Patrick, William, Jr., Timothy and Mark; and five daughters: Victoria, Cynthia, Arlene, Janine and Annette. The children attended St. Charles Parochial Grade School until it closed in 1965 and then they attended the Stratton Public Schools. Terrence graduated from Colorado State University. He and his wife Shelley Listull have four children: Michael, Jonathan, Thomas and Savannah. Terry is farming near Stratton. Victoria received her R.N. degree from St. Joseph School of Nursing in Wichita. She and her husband Richard Sutton have six children: Stephen Jad, James, Jeffrey, Lindsey, Sara and Kathrine. In 1966 Stephen won the catch-it calf Stanley, Whitney, Susan and John with their parents, Shirley and Palamon Hornung IIORNUNG, WILLIAM AND JOAN F32o nie Conrardy, at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Wright, Kansas. Joan attended school in Wright and Dodge City, Kansas. Before she married, Joan was a student nurse in the Nurse Corps program. On November 13, 1946 we moved on a farm, 7-112 miles northeast of Stratton, owned by Swidbert Hornung. When we arrived we could hardly get to the farm. There was 30 to 40 inches of snow on the level. Bill and Ray Schiferl fed cattle by pulling a sled behind a tractor. The snow was almost all melted by Thanksgiving. In 1948 we purchased the farm owned by Carl Arends just 1/2 mile north of Swede's farm. After our good wheat crops in 1958 and 1959 we built our new house on this farm. Harvest crews from Oklahoma were William, the son of Andrew and Elizabeth Hornung of Spearville, Kansas was born in 1923. Bill attended school in Windthorst, Kansas. On March 30, 1944 he was inducted into the Naval Air Corps Reserves and was discharged on June 6, 1946. Bill was in Portland, Oregon when World War II ended, ready for action with flight crews in the Aleutian Islands. On November 12. 1946 Bill manied Joan Conrardy, the daughter of August and Min- Cynthia graduated from the University of Northern Colorado. In 1971 she was Kit Carson Queen Attendant. She married Kent Luebbers and they have two daughters, Kerri and Kendra. David attended Northeastern Junior ColIege in Sterling. He and his wife Barb (Schwieger) have six children: Andrew, Christopher, Brian, Darren, Marci and Greg. David operates his own farm. Patrick attended Southern Colorado State College in Pueblo, majoring in woodwork and constructional engineering. Pat is now farming near Stratton. furnish meals for them when weather permit- Arlene graduated from Parks Business School in Denver as a Medical Assistant. She and her husband David Brinkhoff have four ted them to work. children: Shantel, Matthew, Benjamin and During the winter of 1960 we received a lot of snow. It snowed every day for weeks. The ground was frozen before the snow so that when the snow started to melt, the moisture could not go into the ground. AII the creeks were up and it was almost impossible to go anywhere except on horseback. Arrangements were made for the school children to stay in town for a week as so many students were absent from school. Terry and Steve stayed with the Ray Schiferl family. Vicki and Cindy stayed with the Myron Dischner's. In 1964 we drilled an irrigation well just Cassandra. hired to combine our wheat. We had to Bill and Joan Hornung, November 10, 1986 on their 40th wedding anniversary. contest, fat beef Champion and the Hereford Steer Champion at the Kit Carson Fair. He attended Northeastern Colorado Junior College in Sterling. On March 1, 1970 Steve and a former high school classmate were killed at a railroad crossing in Stratton. north of our home. Before that we were renting irrigated land. We then began raising our own sugar beets and corn. All ofthe wheat was dryland. It was not until we had our irrigation well that we were able to get our shelter belt established. It had been planted three times. The third time is a charm. After the 90 mph wind and dirt storm on February 23, 1977 and the 90 mph blizzard on March 12th and 13th of that year the shelter belt was severely damaged. In 1980 we replanted trees and added five more rows using the drip irrigation system. Janine is married to James Fox. She and Jim have four children: Corey, Amanda, Kyle and Cody. Annette is a hairdresser and she and her husband Lee Bennet Short have a son, Luke. William, Jr. attended the University of Northern Colorado. Billy married Jeanine Stegman. They have a son, Louden. Billy manages Triple-H feedlot. Timothy graduated from DeVry, Phoenix, Arizona as an electronic technician and is currently employed in California. Mark is busy with high school, sports and helping on the farm. In 1982 Bill ran for Kit Carson County commissioner of the 2nd district and was elected. He started his second term in 1987. by Joan Hornung �HOSKIN FAMILY F32r Henry G. Hoskin I was born in Perranporth, Cornwall, England, March 30, 1871, not far from Land's End, and in the historic setting for the adventures of King Arthur. My father was a blacksmith in the tin mines. When I was about five, my father and mother crossed the ocean in the steamship "Cirsassian" and we finally arrived at certain mines in Nova Scotia, located just across the "Basin of Minas" from the early home of Evangaline. After spending a very short time here we entered the United States in the year 1876 and located at New Diggings, Wisconsin. Two of my father's brothers had preceded him to the U.S. and one located in Wisconsin at a small town near New Diggings and the other in Central City, Colorado. When the lead mines played out, my father decided to go out to Colorado and find a job. My mother, brother, sister and myself were left in Wisconsin. Father found a new place to work and live at the Freeland mine, several miles above Idaho Springs, Colo. Very shortly thereafter, my mother and her children took the Union Pacific train for Colorado. One particular item that stands out in my mind from this trip is our arrival at Windsor Hotel in Denver, and the Negro porter, who carried our luggage up the broad stairway, broke off the handle of a parasol that stuck out from a shawl wrap. It was soon found out the altitude was too great for my mother and the doctor ordered us out of the mountains. Stopping for a week or two at the city of Golden, we went on to Denver. Here my father found work at his trade, first with Colorado Iron Works and later with the Rio interested and The Burlington Shops. When the Burlington short cut was built into Denver, many of the railroad men became highly interested in the cheap farms along the route and we finally moved to Holdrege, Nebr. in 1883. However, it took money to buy even a cheap farm so my father went back to his old trade of blacksmith. When the Rock Island road was built in 1887 and 1888, it attracted a great deal of interest because it was opening up a new tract of land to homesteading. In L886, a rough character in Holdrege, who claimed to have been a buffalo hunter and to have traveled over all of what is now Eastern Colorado, made up a party to go out to the new country and take up tree claims. They took the train to Wray, Co. and there, this buffalo hunter, named Baker, had a light covered wagon. They drove south from Wray about 70 miles and each person in the party filed on a tree claim of 160 acres. After leaving Wray, the party passed through country that was occupied only along the three streame that were crossed. This man, Baker, had already been tried for assault with intent to kill and was later to be lynched at Cheyenne Wells for shooting a man who drove across the corner of his homestead. As this will probably be completely covered by other parties who are better posted than I am, I will not tell this story. In 1888. father moved his blacksmith equipment to Beloit, Colorado, eight miles south and two miles west of Bethune, Colorado. This town had been largely boomed on the strength of a survey that had been made which would take the Rock Island through Beloit. However, the Rock Island went through eight miles to the north and Beloit soon passed from the picture. Our pre-emption had been taken near by, and as father wanted to have holdings close at hand he filed on a homestead in the adjoining section. In 1892, I filed on my homestead so we had 800 acres in a fairly compact body. By this time, the original settlers began to leave and by 1894, we had no neighbors closer than seven miles. This was fine for a ranch and we exerted every effort to increase our holdings ofhorses and cattle. In 1895, we took 600 head ofsteers to hold for the Bar T Ranch and I got my first experience of what life in the saddle really meant. These were all big southern steers and could be at the ranch house in the morning and in the other county by morning. However, with some breaks and some assistance from the Bar T people we accounted for every head. We lived on the ranch until the early 1900's, when the younger children began to need schooling and the folks moved into Burlington, leaving me on the ranch. In 1905, I was candidate for the office of County Treasurer, running against Fred Flexer and was defeated. In the same year, I moved into Burlington, selling the stock and equipment. In Burlington, I was the first Clerk of the county court, for Walker Glaister who had been elected County Judge and did not care to leave the school he was teaching to stay in the office. This lasted four months. by Henry Hoskin HOSKIN FAMILY F322 Henry G. Hoskin In the middle of the summer of 1905, Mrs. W.D. Selder offered me a place in the Stock Growers Bank at $12.5 a day. Later this was raised to $65.00 and I felt rich enough to marry. I married Nannie B. Yersin, whose people had homesteaded near us at about the same time we did. This has been the outstanding good fortune of my life. Since joining the Stock Growers Bank I have been continuously connected with the banking or abstracting business until the present moment. In 1916, I purchased from Geo. D. Gates, the Abstract business and incorporated the Kit Carson County Abstract Company of which myself and family hold all the stock. My education was begun in a small one room school at Freeland, Colorado, continued at the Twenty-fourth street and Gilpin Schools in Denver, and ended in the early part of high school at Holdrege, Nebr. I received a teachers certificate from the county Supt. of Elbert county in 1888 and held a certificate for many years thereafter under both Elbert and Kit Carson counties. I have taught in seven different country schools covering a period of 10 years. I now hold an honorary life certificate from the State of Colorado. Also I have been both Sec. and Treas. of the old Beloit Dist. #29, and was for ten years Sec. of the Burlington Consolidated Dist. school board. I have since, coming of age, taken an active part in politics and have voted at every election, at which I was eligible to vote, with two exceptions in that entire period. I have been precinct committeeman for many years in different precincts and for four years, county chairman for the Republican party and served in the state legislature in 1927 and again in 1929. For ten consecutive years, I managed the Kit Carson County Fair. And so this is the story, the short and simple annals of the poor and I find myself at 62, with my fortune consisting of my wife and two children, Katherine and Henry, having enjoyed immensely the years as they have gone and hoping to enjoy many more as they come. by llenry G. Hoskin HOSKIN, H. G. F323 I was born in Perranporth, Cornwall, England, on March 30, 1871, not far from Lands End and in the historic setting for King Arthur. My father was a blacksmith in the mines. When I was about five years of age, my parents, a younger brother and sister and myself crossed the ocean in the steamship 'Circassian'and we finally arrived at certain mines in Nova Scotia, located just across the 'Basin of Mines' from the early Evangeline. After spending a very short time here we entered the United States in the year 1826 and located at New Diggings, Wis. Two of my father's brothers had preceded him to the United States, and one was located in Wisconsin at a small town near New Diggings. The other was at Central City, Colorado, and had been doing very well for himself. The lead mines on which New Diggings depended played out and my father decided to go on to Colorado and find a job. My mother, brother and sister and myself were left in Wisconsin until he could locate a place to work and live. He found this at the Freeland mine, several miles above Idaho Springs, and very shortly thereafter my mother and her children took the Union Pacific train for Colorado. It was soon found that the altitude was too great for my mother, and the doctors ordered us out of the mountains. Stopping for a week or two at the city of Golden, we came to Denver. Here my father worked at his trade. When the Burlington short-cut was built into Denver many of the railroad men became highly interested in the cheap land and farms along the route and we finally moved to Holdrege, Nebr. When the Rock Island was built in 1887 and 1888, it attracted a great deal of interest because it was opening up a new tract of land which was open to homesteading and a party came to the new country. They took a train to Wray and driving about 70 miles south each person in the party filed on a tree claim. In 1888 father moved his blacksmith equipment to Beloit, Colo., eight miles south and two west of Bethune. This town had been Iargely boomed on the strength of a survey that had been made which would take the �Rock Island through Beloit. However, the Rock Island went through eight miles to the north and Beloit soon passed from the picture. Our Pre-emption had been taken nearby, and as my father wanted to have holdings close at hand he filed on a homestead in an adjoining section. In 1892, I filed on my homestead, so that we had 800 acres where she grew up. Grandfather Bert (Barney) Hough was born in 1863 and came with his father, three brothers and one sister from Saaler, Norway when he was 7 years old. He was the youngest. His mother had died in Norway. They came to Ottertail County, Minnesota, which was mostly timber country and also some farming. His father's name was Ole Nyhougen, but in a fairly compact body. By this time the original settlers began to leave, and by 1894, we had no neighbors closer than seven miles, We lived on this ranch until the early 1900's when the younger children began to need schooling and the folks moved to Burlington, leaving me on the ranch. In 1904 I was a candidate for the office of county treasurer, running against Fred Flexer, and I was defeated. In the same year I moved to Burlington, selling the stock and equipment. In Burlington, I was the first clerk of the county court for Walker Glaister, who had been elected county judge and did not care to leave the school he was teaching to stay in the office. In the summer of 1905, W.D. Seider offered me a place in the Stock Growers State Bank at the salary of $1.25 a day. Later this was raised to $65.00 per month and I felt rich enough to marry. I married Nannie B. Yersin, whose people had homesteaded near us, and about the same time as we did. This has been the outstanding good fortune of my life. Since joining the Stock Growers State Bank I have been continuously connected with the banking business until the present moment. In 1916 I purchased from George O. Gates the abstract business and incorporated the Kit Carson County Abstract company of which my family and myself hold all stock. My education was begun in a small oneroom school at Freeland, continued at the twenty-fourth street and Gilpin schools in Denver and ended in the early part of high school at Holdrege, Nebr. I received a teacher's certificate from the county superintendent of Elbert County in 1888 and held the certificate for many years thereafter under both Elbert and Kit Carson counties. I have taught in seven different country schools covering a period of ten years. I now hold an honorary life certificate from the state of Colorado. I have also been secretary and treasurer of the old Beloit district No. #29, and was for ten years secretary of the Burlington consolidated district. Ever since coming of age, I have taken an active part in politics and have voted at every election at which I was eligible to vote, with but two exceptions, in that entire period. I have been precinct committeeman for many years in different precincts and for four years I was county chairman for the Republican party, and served in the State Legislature in 1927 and,1929. For ten consecutive years I managed the Kit Carson county fair. (Mr. H.G. Hoskin passed away in 1949.) by H.C. Hoskin HOUGH FAMILY F324 Grandmother Petra Gilberts was born in Iowa in 1862. At an early age she moved with her parents and their family to South Dakota and then to Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, he shortened it to Ole Houg. There were so many Hougs around there, some of them started spelling it differently to avoid confusion. Haug, Huage, Haugen, Houg, Houge, Howg. Barney added a silent "H" making it Hough. He worked in the woods and farms around Barnesville. In 1882 he married Petra Gilberts, and they started housekeeping in Barnesville, and three children were born there. In 1892 they decided to join many relatives and friends from that locality who were going to Roberts County, South Dakota, where the government had opened up part of an Indian Reservation for homesteading. They filed on a claim of 160 acres, 1 miles northeast of Sisseton, put up some buildings and started farming. Five more children were born there. Then in 1904 they moved to Sisseton where Grandpa went into the grain elevator business. Herbert (Bert) the last of their nine children was born there in 1905. In the spring of 1908 they moved to Cheyenne County in eastern Colorado where they had bought 320 acres of land with the intention of farming. There were six children with them when they moved. Oliver Melvin, the oldest boy, died in 1907 and was buried in Sisseton. Ida was working in a store in Omaha. She married James Chase, a circus performer. After a few years of traveling with circuses in all 48 states, they settled in Chicago. After James died quite young in 1939, Ida ran a rooming house. She was quite influential in Democra- tic circles, a trait she inherited from her father. She died in Chicago in 1970 leaving one son, Bruce, who has a wife Phyllis and four children. Albert had moved to southern Alberta, Canada, with quite a few relatives and friends from Sisseton. and homesteaded 160 acres of land. He never farmed it. He went into the Iumber business in Enchant. Alberta. He was not married so when Grandma needed a home for herself, Bernice and Bert, it made it nice for her for a few years. He got married late in life and moved to St. Paul, Minnesota. Died there in 1937. No children. When Grandpa and Grandma moved to Colorado in 1908, this turned out to be a very disastrous move. That territory was having a cycle of short rainfall at that time. After two years ofno crops, they had to figure out some other way to make a living. they moved to Wild Horse where Grandmother started a restaurant and Grandpa did construction work. He took quite an interest in politics and was a leader in Democratic circles. This rubbed off on some to the children, Ida and George for sure. He was killed in an accident in 1911. Joe and George had stayed in Colorado as they were working there. Elmer .went to Sisseton to stay with relatives and then she went to Canada with Bernice and Bert and stayed with Albert for some time. In 1918 she moved back to Colorado with Bernice, but Bert stayed in Canada where he had gotten into banking early in life. After working in many towns there, his company, The Canadian Bank of Commerce, moved him to Los Angeles, and he worked for them until retiring. He married Ellen (De De) Lee in 1940 and they are living in retirement in Temple City, California. They have no children. Grandma got married again in 1924 to arr old neighbor, Iver Peterson, from Wild Horse, He was section foreman for the U.P.R.R. there. He had two daughters, Ida and Ellen, who were welcomed to our family. They were near in age to Lucille and Eunice Beeler, and they had many good times. They also acquired a grandpa of whom they were very fond. They enjoyed for Grandmother Peterson to visit them in Flagler. She came on the train and sister Marian would meet her at the depot, with her little wagon and bring the luggage home. Ida Ristesund lives in Manning, Alberta, Canada. Ellen Patterson is deceased. Bernice married Claude Kelly and moved to Denver. but died before she had been married very long and is buried in Denver. Had no children. She had TB and was never in very good condition. Joe and George both moved back to South Dakota. Joe was in the army for a time at Fort Lewis, Washington. When he was discharged, he went to Canada to live. He managed grain elevators in southern Alberta and married Vera Dawson in 1934. When he retired, they moved to Calgary where they still live. They have one son, Alan, who has a wife Carol and two children. George went back to South Dakota in harvest time 1914. He worked different places before stopping at Bradley. He married Vera Phelps there in 1924. They farmed in that locality until they retired and moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota in 1962, where he still resides. They had three children. Herbert, the oldest, died in 1969 at age 44. He and his wife Marcella Schneider had one daughter. Gordon married Janet Marx. They have three boys and one girl. Avanell lives in Olympia, Washington. Her name is now Mrs. George Taylor. Elmer Hough worked in North Dakota, Wyoming and South Dakota. He married Effie Johnson near Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, and had a timber farm there. He died there in 1980. He left a son Merle at Detroit Lakes and a stepdaughter Mrs. Mavis Frazier at Pelican Rapids. by Lucille M. Morgan HOWELL MUSSELMAN FAMILY Clara had married a rancher in Kit Carson County named Hubert Beeler, and they were living on a ranch near Flagler, so there were five children left now. Grandma got married in 1914 to a man n"med Braley and with her three youngest eastern Colorado in the spring of 1887. They moved with him to Missouri. This did not turn out very well, so she left him and moved to St. Paul in 1915 with her three youngest. came from the Lacona - Chariton. Iowa vicinity. They shipped a team and wagon from Omaha, Nebraska by train to Haigler, F325 The Sylvester L. Howell family came to �helped plant trees at the Kit Carson County Court House. In addition to farming and raising cattle, S.L. wag also a Land Agent. He measured the land by tying a rag on his wagon wheel and figuring so many wagon wheels per mile. He would meet prospective buyers at the train and show them around the country. Four more children were born, Ruby R. in 1890, Henry 1892, Harry E. 1895, and Clark A. 1900. In 1915 they moved to town and built a house on Howell Street. Clara Howell wae a charter member of the Vona Baptist Church and remained active until about a year before her death. The lots for the church were donated by the Howells. She also served on the School Board. She was affectionately known as "Grandma" Howell to all who knew her in later years. She related a story to me about one time that S.L. had gone to Haigler for groceries and left her alone on the North farm. He gave her a pistol and showed her how to use it. When night came on the coyotes started howling and scaring her and the children, so she opened the door and shot out into the dark. when morning came she found a dead one lying in the yard. She also told of a few Indian stragglers who roamed the prairies. They were friendly and moved around and camped wherever they found a dead animal to eat no Fo-ily reunion, Howell - Musselman. Back row, L. to R.; Ruby Howell Fuhlendorf, Charles Howell, Clark Howell and Glenn Howell. Front row; Harry Howell and mother Clara Howell. Nebraska and then traveled on to the Vona rrea by wagon train. S.L. as he was known, married Clara Alice Musselman in Lucas County, Iowa. Clara suffered from malaria rnd it was thought a dry climate would help her. Their oldest son Charles was born in 1881 in Iowa and traveled to Colorado with them. They took a pre-emption two miles west rnd eight miles north of where the town of Vona is now located, and they lived in their wagon until they built a sod house. Water was hauled form a spring on the Republican River, about six miles away, for some years. Mail was brought from Haigler, Nebraska, to Floyt, Colorado, a small town and post office north of where Seibert now stands. S.L. was I freighter for some time until the railroad :nme through and freighting by rail estab- lished. He freighted from Haigler to Hoyt, using a horse team and wagon, and taking rbout six days to make the round trip. He rsually made a trip every week, bringing in lupplies for the whole community as well as lor his family. There were lots of buffalo on the prairies and they were selling at 'ones r pretty good price, so S.L. always planned o pick up a wagon load on his way to Haigler, ;hus getting money enough to buy groceries. Ihe first well in the community was a handlug well 280 feet deep. Water was hauled up ry a windlass by horse power. This well was ;ood for years, and supplied many families rnd livestock with good water. In 1888, Vona was eetablished when the lock Island Railroad came through, so in t890 S.L. took a homestead, and drove to Kiowa, the County seat of Elbert County, to ile his papers. He moved his family including ris son Glenn, who was born in 1889 to the romestead two miles north of Vona. There he rlso took a tree claim which consisted of rlanting trees and caring for them. He also matter how long it had been dead. S.L. Howell was born September 7, 1853 in Iowa and died February 15, 1928 at Vona. He was the son of David L. and Malinda Howell. Clara Alice Musselman was born September 19, 1864 in Lucas County Iowa, the daughter of Daniel E. and Nancy Musselman. They were married there December 23, 1881. Clara died June 19, 1950 in Burlington. Charles R. married Laura Evans and they had one son Rex G. Glen L. married Blanche Bridge and had two children Velma and Roy. Ruby R. married Arthur Fuhlendorf and they had two sons Leland and Gus, and three daughters Alice, Wilma and Mildred. Henry died as a baby and Clark married in Califor- Harry and Amelia Howell. moved to Paonia Colorado where Don was in partnership with his family in a garage and machine shop. Our two children graduated from Paonia High School. Don graduated from Colorado University in 19?5 as a pharmacist. He and his wife own the Medicine Shoppe in Delta, Colorado. On September 4, 1976 he and Judith Pecharich were married in Paonia. They have two children, Donald Joseph born June 7, tgTg and Cheryl Renae born April 18, 1982 on her great grandmother Amelia Howell's 89th birthdav. Beth attended Mesa College and on July li, 1973 she married Ross A. Allen at Paonia. They own and operate a sheep ranch and reside at Hotchkiss, Colorado. They have two sons John Donald born July 5, 197b and Gregory Mark born April 2, 1978. Kit Carson County holds many fond memories for me and my family. by Betty J. (Howell) Chapman nia. by Betty Chapman HOWELL - WEPEL FAMILY F326 My father and mother, Harry Howell and Amelia S. Wepel were married April 15, 1916 at Burlington, Colorado. Amelia was the oldest daughter of Martin and Sarah Wepel. She was born April 18, 1893 in Hamilton County Iowa. Her mother died when she was 12 years old and she, her father and sisters, Odessa and Rachel all moved to Vona in 1911. Martin farmed and raised cattle on a farm two miles west of S.L. Howell ranch. In August 1913 he passed away while harvesting at his place. His body was taken back to Webster City Iowa for burial. When the girls returned to Vona they moved to town. I was born November 24,1929 in Vona and graduated from Vona High School in 1947. On June 11, 1950 I married Donald L. Chapman of Bethune. We lived in Bethune when our two children, Donald Howell. March 2, 1952 and Elizabeth Anne, Septem- ber 8, 1954, were born. In June, 1956, we HOWELL, GLENN AND BLANCHE F327 I was born in Colorado on a homestead near what is now Vona, on May 2, 1889. My parents came from Iowa to Haigler, Nebr., then joined a wagon train coming to Colorado, arriving in the spring of 1887. Among others in this emigration were the Ferris and Walton families, both long-time residents of this county. Father took a pre-emption two miles west and eight miles north of what is now Vona. He and mother lived in the wagon until our sod house was built. Father was a freighter for some time until the railroad carne through. He freighted from Haigler to Hoyt using a horse team and wagon, and taking about six days to make a round trip. He usually made a trip every week, bringing in supplies for the whole community as well as for his family. For years we had no cows or chickens, then father traded for a cow and we had our own milk. I do not remember seeing any buffalo, but there were lots of bones on the prairies and �they were selling at a pretty good price, so father always planned to pick up a wagon load on his way to Haigler, thus getting money enough to buy our groceries. I used to have some very fine specimens of buffalo horns, but in moving I have lost them. The first school I went to was located in Vona, and was held in a little frame building. The first teacher was Ruth Burnett. Our greatest danger was the prairie fire, which when started would get out of control. I remember of one time when a fire burned up to within 100 feet ofthe barn, and it took some hard fighting to hold it there. The largest fire around here was start€d by a man burning weeds and let the fire get away from him. I took a homestead in 1910 and proved up on it, and then took additional land in 1919, and own both lands now. My wife, Blanche and I are now living in Vona, and have four small orphan children which we have taken Hudler III and Adrian Wellington Hudler II. John III was married to Linda Christian Liley in 1982. Hudler editors of the Republican Record include Bill, his son John, and his grandson Rol. His great-grandson John III is anticipating the job in the future as he learns the ropes from his Dad, as generations before have done. by Maxine Hudler HUDSON - POOLE PURINTON FAMILIES F329 by Glenn Leroy Ilowell Older brother Clyde lived close by and F328 Adrian Wellington (Bill) and his wife Martha May Houbbold Hudler cnme to the Burlington community in the fall of 1919. They were both born and raised around Audubon, Iowa, where they were also married. Bill was a "Printer's Devil" as a very young man but poor health forced him to change jobs at the age of 23 at which time he and Martha homesteaded in South Dakota for several years. However, he kept at hie printer's trade by publishing a "Claim Paper" while living there. Upon returning to Iowa, Bill went into the real estate business in Audubon where their My mother, Dolly Barker Hudaon, Aunt Amber Hudson Purinton, in front of the "Ma Hudgon" home, 210-12th, in the mid 1920'g. in Yuma for a couple of years where Bill The history of The Burlington Record now includes fotr generations of Hudlers. Bill and Martha'e son John was manied to Maxine Frances Backlund in 1936 and to this union was born a daughter, Adrienne Anne, and a son, John Rollin, Jr. Adrienne was married to Eugene Donald Fasse in 1961 and the Fasses have two children, a son Ernest Dean, and a daughter, Francine Anne, who manied Gregory Scott Floerke in 1985. John Rollin, Jr. (Rol) and Joy Lindsey were married in 1960 and they have two sons, John Rollin Mexican sniper, he becnme a mechanic in his own service station. He had borrowed $500 from Wanen Shamburg to start his business. 13th Street where Duerst's Machine is now located. In the early 20's he bece'ne the Chewolet dealer in Burlington and soon moved around the corner to Senter Street, where he later established the Sim Hudson Motor Co. The "Garage" remained at the same location until 1983, when his widow Hazel (my st€pmother), sold the sixty someyear-old business to Vince's Chewolet, Olds Same company. Burlington Record. having been shot through the knee by a Before long he began selling Whippet cars on worked for the Wolf Land Company, later transferring to Burlington working for the papers merged to become the present day wet and chilled during his first winter in greatly assisted the family, so that, although Sim no longer attended school, the younger ones managed to keep going to a nearby country school. Often they would ski or ride horseback in order to get through the deep snow that lay on the ground. The family stuck it out near Elizabeth for five or six yeare before moving to Burlington, where 33 year old Bert was quite well established as a custom thresher (using a huge steam threshing machine so common to the times). They did fairly well, financially, until Sim was called by the Army to the Mexican border at Nogales, LZ. ta frght Poncho Villa (1917). In order to survive, Grandma and Aunt Amber provided room and board for several bachelors and schoolmarms, while Pete and Mike did odd jobs. When Sim returned from the Army, after HUDLER FAMILY Burlington Call from the Wilsons and the two children, moved on to Elizabeth, CO., where in 1910, Deck died of pneumonia after getting overnight, doing the farming as best he could, with Grandma and the smaller ones (Pete 11, Amber - 8, and Mike - 6) doing the chores. Dated Jan. 24,L934. He eventually left the real estate g'me to go back to his first love, the newspaper business, working for many years for Arthur Wilson, editor of The Burlington Call. In 1930 Bill and Martha bought The Burlington Republican and Record from the family of George (Stormy George) Wilkinson, who founded the paper in 1888. The name was changed to The Burlington Record and in 1944 the Hudler's son John purchased The moved from Lenora to Goodland, KS. for about four years, and then with their younger Colorado while he was feeding the family's dairy herd. Since Sim, just 15, was the oldest child at home, he became head of the household to raise. son, John Rollin, was born. When John was two years old they were forced to make another move because of their son's bout with asthma. The Hudlers moved west and settled stopped by lndians, who only wanted to do some trading, which was much to the relief of everyone who had thought they were being attacked. Grandma's parents later moved to Wyoming, homesteading there. While in Kansas, when Grandma was only 10-12, a neighbor, Deck Hudson (born 1857), came to work for the Poole family as a wheat thresher. He kidded Grandma that when she grew up he would marry her, which he did. . . when she was all of 14 in 1880. From 1883 to 1904 they had eight children: Bert, Only, Clyde, Bertha, my dad Sim (born Dec. 9, 1894), Pete, Amber and Mike. The family Grandma Susan Hudson and I (Georgeanna) in the early 1930'g by a spruce tree that still stands at 1187 Donelan looking NE. - My grandmother, Susan Poole Hudson, was born in New York State (Apr. 15, 1866), where, living on a houseboat, she learned to swim before she could walk, because her mother would tie a rope around her babies' chests and toss them in and fish them out of the water, until they managed to stay afloat. Then when Grandma was just barely old enough to remember, her family came in a covered wagon to western Kansas, settling near Lenora. On their way west, they were and Cadillac, where it still remains today. During the years 1919-1926, Sim married my mother, Dolly Barker, Bert married Mabel Walters (later Mable Parke) and Amber married Ed Purinton. Within a year of his marriage Bert died (age 38); within six years Ed died and in 1938 my mother died (age 36), when I was eleven. Since death struck so often and so early, our family learned to survive byjust plodding on, rather than caving in to each unhappy situation. But this was no different than what most pioneer families did in order to survive. Over the years, the various Hudson brothers and sisters moved to other Kansas and Colorado locations, leaving just Sim and Amber to make their homes in Burlington. For seven years Sim and Mother lived in the "Ma Hudson" household consisting of �Grandma. Pete. Amber and Mike. Then I was due to arrive so they moved across the street to 1187 Donelan, where a previous Methodist parsonage had been relocated and where I was born (L527). By 1931 they had added on more house than was originally there, built a two-story, two-car garage, a large sunkin lily .l 'irrr..'i"'1.!. pond that accommodated 10-15 neighborhood "swimmers", and had planted many trees including the huge spruce trees that still stand today. The next year, when I was 5, Sim added on, and extensively remodeled his Garage, having a grand opening that featured an Indian doing a native dance on the long counters in the showroom, and I was absolutely thrilled to be so close to a "real" Indian! li. After Mother died. Sim and Hazel Carmichael of St. Francis, KS. were married and they, along with Eldon Snowbarger, maintained the Garage as a thriving business, selling and servicing Chevrolets, Oldsmob- $&:,, .@ .,,'ll :llilli .. . .l:il l5:l.,',11i1 iles, and Cadillacs for many years. l.*'r:rr After Ed died, Amber, along with her children (Eddie - 4, Gwendolyn - 2, and Raymond - 8 months) moved back home with Grandma. From that time on Amber dedicat- ed her life to serving others, although she never considered it a sacrifice. Because of Grandma's weak legs, even though she was otherwise quite healthy and did most of the cooking, the work burden fell on Amber and the kids. Grandma lived until 1959 (age 93); then Sim died in 1960. and soon afterward Raymond ceme home to live with Amber since he had recently been paralyzed from the chest down, in a swimming accident. In spite of his paralyzed hands, he learned how to repair antique clocks, which frequently made it necessary to cease conversation every hour, on the hour, due to all of the chiming and cuckooing that was taking place. For 23 years, until Raymond's death in 1983, Amber unselfishly cared for him, and together they led a happy life despite their individual obstacles that most people would've considered insurmountable. By now all the Deck Hudson family is gone except Amber who presently makes her home in Arvada, CO. with her daughter and son-inlaw, Gwen and Roy Courtney. by Georgeanna Iludson Grueing Vena Scheierman age 2. This was by the homestead sod house. Vena's birthplace. . .,4.;:.,..::, HUGHES FAMILY F330 Schools and Early Settlers Harve Hughes and Rosa Wilson Hughes ;- l were born and grew up at Marion, Kentucky. They married there and lived on a farm. After a few years, they decided to go West and take a homestead. Raymond Lester Hughes and Martha Wilson Hughes Reeder were born to them in Kentucky. They, with two other families, moved their household goods and some livestock (cows and horses) in a railway car. They stopped at Seldon, Kansas and farmed two years. Hail and drought took both years crops. Ida Wilora Hughes Waite was born to them in 1903. In 1907, they filed for and received a homestead eleven miles southeast of Claremont, CO. (now Stratton, co.) They brought their household things in The Hughes family and their horses by the homestead sod house. -&--.. �for the kitchen and cellar. They burned cow chips and after they began to raise corn for livestock and chicken feed, they burned big ears of yellow corn. It was cheaper than coal and made a hot fire as there was no wood. Fresh fluffy white corn shucks or barley straw made stuffing for bed mattregses. A heavy musling was used to cover these mattresses. It cost from 20 to 50 a yard. Most household needs cnme by mail order. Mr. Van Hook drove a one horse buggy in summer and a sleigh in winter and brought 1:' j the mail. Most clothing and some foods were ordered by mail. The children cut cardboard insoles to go in their shoes when the soles wore out. These soles wore out in a day at school. All the cardboard was saved and sometimes my father made new leather soles on our shoes by using cow hide, a shoelast and tacks. Two pair of shoes a year was about it. One pair was for school and chores and a pair for Sunday School. Three children were born to Harve and Present Hughes homestead, the Herbert Scheierman Ranch, 1980. The sod house was torn down and this 8 room frnme house and porch was built in L922 for $1200.00. Rosa Hughes on the homestead. They were Vic Hughes Whitmore, Vena May Hughes Scheierman and a little brother, James Thomas Hughes. James Thomas passed away when young. There were six schools in this area south of Claremont. Bethel, a sod school house was located one half mile east of the present Ed Herndon home. Bethel Sunday School was held there also. A sod wall fell in on this building and a frame school building nnmed East Bethel was built. It was near the Clarence Borden home. Another school was built on the R.O. Hoover land. It was called West Bethel. This land is now the cow pasture near the Hughes homestead. There was a school nnmed the Day School. This was one and one half mile south of the Hughes homestead. District 58, an adobe building, near the Weingardt farm is still standing. Two other schools, North Pious Point and South Pious Point were in this vicinity south of Claremont (Stratton). First Central School was located on the correction line, four miles south of the Hughes homestead. It was a grade school and a high school at one time. Early teachers at the Bethel sod school were, Ella Rhen Dunlap, Shek Mc Connell, Ray Dorothy, Dora Jean Baird, Miss Root, and Miss Troup. The following is a list of early settlers and homesteaders. Not all homesteaded. Some families bought Iand or rented it from Vena Scheierman 1970. Harve and Rosa Hughes. covered wagons from Seldon to the home- this was much better than the path out to the adobe outhouse that my father built. What were homesteaders to do for a home? Buffalo Grass with prairie rattlers was about all there was in eastern CO. at that time. They plowed and cut large pieces of this sod and neighbors gathered in for a work day and neighbor wives brought food, as the sod walls stead that is now known as the Herbert Scheierman Ranch. The horses and cows were led or trailed back of the wagons. Along with them they brought bedding, clothing, two stoves, utensils, wash stand, wash pans, tubs, a sewing machine and sewing needs. They also brought hand pieced quilts and coverlets that my mother and her mother (Martha Paris Wilson) had made in Kentucky. They also made wool and linen bed spreads. We still have some of these items. They brought wool blankets and rugs that my mother wove on a loom. They brought a table, which I still have. There were four chairs and two benches. and featherbeds. Tucked in somewhere in these wagons were blue and white enameled cha-bers. These were to go under the beds and on a zero degree night, for a house were laid. The wooden roofs, doors and windows had to be shipped into Claremont by railroad. They put pieces of sod and tarpaper on the wooden roofs. These houses were warm in the winter and cool in summer. The deep windows were ideal for the popular geranium houseplants. A wagon with two or homesteaders. These people at one time lived south of Claremont (Stratton) in an area 10 miles wide and extended to the correction line. This area is five miles east of the Hughes homestead and five miles west. Harve and Rosa Hughes, (parents of Vena M. Scheierman), Henry and Ida Wilson, George and Mattie Hopkins, Alice Webster, Roy and Addie Hoover, Ray and Zelia Deakin, Hope Root, Faith Root, Ed Hooper, Walter and Lulu Hooper, Ray and Winnie Hooper, Albert and Minnie Clift, A.D. and Julia Reeder, Mr. and Mrs. Coad, Charlie and Iva Day, George and Orpha Hodge, Julia four horses made the trip to Claremont Felch, Jap York, Ed and Mable Besson, Charlie and Pearl Kern, Ora and Lettie Wellman, Mr. Filback, Alpha and Sarah Waite, Mack and Myrtle Whitney, Bill and Bess McFarland, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Collins, Mr. and Mrs. Howe, Mrs. Rhen and daugh- hauling the wood for the sod house. They also brought coal, two or three bushels of apples, sacks of flour, sugar, coffee, and other staples ters, Ada Kalb, Ella Rhen, Tina Rhen, Grace Rhen, and son Sam Rhen. Mr. and Mrs. D.L. Walker, Mrs. Phoebe Simpson, Mr. and Mrs. �Weingardt, Jim and Ruby Hollaway, Mr. and Mrs. Harris, Mr. and Mrs. Dargraval, Mr. and Mrs. Stein Dunkle, Mrs. Mc Pheeters and son Jim, Dr. and Mrs. Troxel, Mr. and Mrs. Tape, Mr. and Mrs. Dave Megel, Mr. and Mrs. Zern Ryan, Bill and Esther Brantley, Asa and Anna Wood, George and Bertha King, Frank Yelek, Bert Hull, Mr. and Mrs. Tom McMahon, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Burgraff, Harry and Eva Hamiliton, Mr. and Mrs. Nevins, Fabe and Dell Anderson, John Gerhke, Mr. and Mrs. Wence, Jerry and Miranda McNair, Mr. Huntleys left behind a rich legacy of family and service. by The Editors Their children, Ruby and Albert, were born in the sod house, but Homer and Agnes had the honor of being born in the frame house built ]n 1922. The children attended the Liberty School, two and one-fourth miles HUNTZINGER BRANDENBURG FAMILY and Mrs. Obermeyer, Leonard and Kate Calvin, Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Holstein, Mr. and Mrs. Grinnell, Mr. and Mrs. Unger, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Collins. Mr. and Mrs. George Church, Mr. and Mrs. Higgins, Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Bradshaw Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Cook, Paul and Edith Webster, Charlie and Lucy Barr, Mr. and Mrs. Boehm. south of their home. Ruby and Albert F332 by Vena Scheierman HUNTLEY - JOHNSON FAMILY 1917: My parents first home - Gerda and Sidney Huntzinger's F331 first generation English immigrants. He was educated in the common schools of Spring- Flagler. Their daughter, Agnes, attended St. field, Illinois, near his father's farm. Anna E. Johnson was born near Springfield, Illinois, other necessities. In 1921 they moved into Flagler and were active in building the community. A Republi- can in political matters, George served as county commissioner from the third district from 1904-1908 and 1920-1928. From 19291930 he also served as deputy sheriff. The Huntley's were faithful and active members of the Flagler Congregational Church and involved themselves in other community organizations. George was a member of Kit Carson Lodge No. 127, A.F.&A.M., serving as master of the lodge for two terms. He was also a charter member of the Flagler Lodge of the IOOF. Anna was a charter member of the Order of the Eastern Star. In his later years, George was one of the organizers of the Crystal Springs Country Club, and invested much time and effort in making the lake a popular family recreation area. George passed away on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1931. Anna died ten years later on November 5, 1941. They left behind nine children: Freda, Opal, Vernon, Gladys, John, Cecil, Lloyd, Maurice, and Donald. As one of Flagler's pioneering families, the attended high school for two years at Shiloh School, four miles northeast of their home. Albert, Homer and Agnes graduated from Flagler High School but had to board with families in Flagler and their parents had to pay tuition for their education. Sidney was a wheat farmer and a stockman. They managed to persevere during the dirty 30's even though Sidney spent a month in Colorado General Hospital in 1934 with dust pneumonia. Sidney raised Black Angus cattle and was well known in the area for his fine herd. He usually fattened his own steers in his feed lot before selling them. Gerda raised lots of chickens to eat and for eggs to sell. The family milked lots of cows so they could sell the cream. Red Duroc hogs rounded out the diversified farm. Their son, Albert, served in the Air Force in World War II. Their son, Homer, became interested in irrigation from deep wells and drilled the first two irrigation wells north of George W. Huntley was born in Franklin, New Hsmpshire, on September 4, 1862, to where she was schooled and raised. The two were wed in 1882, and continued to farm in Illinois until 1884 when they moved to Nebraska. However, the lure of the West had captured George's imagination and in 1887 he came farther west to Colorado, where he was the first to file a homestead in the western part of Kit Carson County. There, the Huntley's first home was a oneroom dugout that was later replaced by a sod house. In the early days, George would gather up a wagon load of bones from the prairies, haul them to Haigler, Nebraska, the nearest trading point, where he would sell them and return home with a supply of groceries and probably how she became a crack shot that was used to good advantage during the depression and dry years of the 30's, when Sidney and Gerda hunted rabbits, skinned them, stretched and dried the hides to sell. Lukes Hospital School of Nursing during World War II, graduating in 1946. Agnes, Homer, Albert and Ruby Huntzinger, ages 4, 6, 10 and 11 years in 1929 Sidney V. Huntzinger was born at Thurman, Colorado on his parenLs', T.J. and Elsie Huntzinger's, homestead. In 1900 when he was four years old the family moved to land they had purchased twelve miles northeast of Flagler in Kit Carson County. He attended the sod school known as the Huntzinger School near Hell Creek. He was able to attend only when there was no farm work to do and managed to complete the 8th grade at the age of 18. In 1915, Gerda Brandenburg, daughter of Ferdinand and Emma Brandenburg of Creighton, Nebraska, arrived to keep house for her brother, Conrad, who lived northeast of Flagler. She was told that she would have to cross the "river" three times before she arrived home. Little did she know the "river" would be the loops of the dry Buffalo Creek. Following the war, Albert returned to the area with his wife, Allie Jo (Kountz) and began farming south of the farm that Sidney and Gerda now owned. In 1950, Sidney and Gerda sold most of their farm land and moved to Flagler. Following Albert's death from cancer in 1964, his widow sold their farm and in 1981 Gerda sold the last section of their farm land. 1981 was the first time since 1900 that no farmland was owned by Huntzingers in Kit Carson County. by Agnes Ottenan HUNTZINGER. GREENWOOD FAMILY F333 Thomas Jefferson Huntzinger came to Colorado with three brothers in 1886. They walked in from Independence, Kansas. He was born in Anderson, Indiana on May 18, Her brother, Conrad, got acquainted with Cora Huntzinger, who lived a few miles northwest of them. Cora's brother, Sidney, got acquainted with Conrad's sister, Gerda, and the couples were married in a double wedding in Burlington, Colorado, June 26, 1917. Sidney and Gerda began their married life in a sod house on land owned by Sidney's father thirteen miles north and two miles east of Flagler. Gerda remembers setting the kerosese lamp on the floor in the evening while she waited for Sidney to come in for supper. With the lamp on the floor she would take the 22 rifle and shoot the mice that poked their heads out to investigate. This is December, L924: Jeff and Elsie Huntzinger and their 7 children in front of their home north of Flagler: Edith (Gering), Charles, Ida (Jensen), Sidney, Ivan, Harvey, and Cora (Brandenburg). �1864. The brothers became disillusioned and left. T.J. or "Jeff'staked his homest€ad east of Thurman in Washington County. In a letter he wrote in 1934, he stated that he had the firet sod shanty between Akron and Hugo. He also wrote in that letter that he had plowed the first furrow in that part of the county. There was nothing on the prairie but buffalo grass and one thistle. He said that you could plow a furrow and leave it for two years and no weeds grew on it. In 1888 the Charleg Sala Greenwood family arrived from Kangas to help build the Rock Island Railroad. One of the brothers had a contract for one mile of grade in the Limon area and the father and brothers helped him with his contract. The mother, Sarah (Cook) Greenwood staked a homestead claim east of Thurman. Before coming to Colorado, Charles and Sarah helped build the church in Iowa that was made famous by the song "Little Brown Church inthe Vale". All eleven of their children were born in Iowa. According to fanily records, the ancestors of Charles Sala Greenwood fought in the Revolutionary War. His great great grandfather, Sylvanius Perry, was one of the patriots at Lexington who fired the shot that was heard around the world. On October 21, 1891, Jeff Huntzinger and Elsie Jane, the daughter ofSarah and Charles Greenwood, were married at a small church east of Thurman. Their first five children were born on the homestead in Washington County but by April, 1900 they had moved twelve miles northeast of Flagler in Kit Carson County. Their children were: Charles, Edith (Gering), Sidney, Harvey, and Cora (Brandenburg), all born at Thurman, and Ida (Jensen), Thomas, and Ivan, all born north of Flagler. Thomas died in infancy. All their children except Ivan attended the sod house Huntzinger School near Hell Creek. Ivan attended Liberty School which was a frnme school built in 1919 one mile west of the Jeff Huntzinger home. The oldest son, Charles, went to Wyoming to live and make his home. The rest of the children established homes on farms near their parents north of Flagler. When the Huntzingers moved north of Flagler, their home was on a direct trail for wagons coming from the north going to threshed into the wagons and then scooped into the bins at Thurman, then when all finished it would be scooped into wagons and hauled to their farm north of Flagler and scooped into the bins. Then when that was completed it would be scooped into wagons and hauled to Flagler where it would be scooped into the granary there. When the sons had enough to fill a rail car it would be scooped into wagons, taken to the railroad and scooped into the car on the tracks. Sidney used to say the wheat was worn out by the time it was shipped out. Ivan remembers that it was scooped into the bins at Flagler and scooped back out and scooped into the rail car to save the two cents per bushel that the elevator charged for handling it. by Agnes Otteman HUPPERT, GEORGE F334 My grandfather, George Huppert was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1868. His parents were Frederick (1831 to 1895) and Elizabeth Fritz (10-10-1840 to 7-7-L922). They were MoIIie Huppert America with an older brother and Elizabeth came by herselfat the age ofsixteen. She had followed Fred here and could not speak any English. Fred had settled in Milwaukee, homestead. At that time the land was still being surveyed and the young people would gather at the surveyor's station and that is where George and Mollie met. They were both born in Germany. Frederick came to Wisc. and Elizabeth had taken a train to Wisconsin to be with Fred. They were married in Mequon, Wisc. in 1862. Fred moved his family to Blue Hill, Nebraska where they homesteaded. At that time you had to plant a tree claim. Some of those trees are still standing at the farm 3 miles west of Blue Hill. It is recorded at the Red Cloud married in 1898. George had a threshing machine and moved houses for a living. My Aunt Tres said My grandmother, Mollie Lichleiter, was that when World War I ended her dad started up the steam engine tractor and let the kids blow the whistle. In 1921 he shipped the tractor and thresher to Stratton, Colorado by train. Some friends from Blue Hill had moved here earlier and told him there waa a need for a thresher in this community. He cnme back born in lllinois on April 15, 1880. Her parents were Mathias (1831) and Mary Armburster (1839). They also both came from Germany and moved to Nebraska from Illinois. They again came out during the harvest season and rented a farm so he could move his family to Colo. court house in Webstcr County on 12-8-1880. bought land 3 miles from the Huppert to Blue Hill for the winter and in 1922 he When he returned to Blue Hill. Mollie was Flagler for supplies. Their home became the stopping place for water for the horses and even milk for the babies if needed. Ivan rememberg his mother recalling that she had counted up to forty teame and wagons going by. Ivan recalls that his dad bought the tax title on two quarters of land for $64.00. During World War I, Jeff mortgaged seven quarters of land for $4000.00 to the State Land Bank so he could buy Liberty Bonds, thus assuring himself of getting the job of going around the countryside to sell bonde. Afterwards he failed to pay off the mortgages when he cashed the bonds. During the depression he wae unable to pay the interest and taxes and the land was put up for sale but no one would buy it. The State land Bank leased it back to the family and it was later purchased by sons, Sidney and Ivan. Jeff and Elsie moved to Flagler after celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in 1941. One of the stories that Sidney used to tell was: Jeff built a granary in Flagler for grain storage. It was built on the site of what is now the Community Medical Center. The wheat from the homestead at Thurman would be George Huppert family taken in Blue HiIl, Nebraska shortly after Mollie's death. Back row L to R: George, Tres, Mary, Gertrude, Frank, Helen. Front row L to R: Dorothy, Mildred, Leona, Irene, George. �very ill and died on Aug.ust 29, L922. George moved the family out to Stratton in June 1923. They lived 1 mile south of Stratton. At that time their neighbors were John Gerke and Pautler dairy farm. They shipped the furniture and other belongings by train and moved out here in a Model T touring car and Ford truck. Circles painted in colors on telephone posts were the highway signs. Free range was the law and only fields were fenced. There were many acres of grass land and cattle roamed freely. It was not unusual for some farmers to come by looking for their cattle and if it was meal time they were always invited to come in for a meal. Later George moved his family three miles east and one and a half south of Stratton. George's son, George, drove a team of horses and a wagon and took the children to school. Later on they drove a car. Aunt Tres went to high school and Leona, Irene, Mildred, George and Dorothy went to grade school at Stratton's St. Charles Catholic Grade School. In 1926 George became ill and had an operation for cancer in Denver at St. Joseph Hospital, and the day he was to come home, he died from a blood clot. There were 11 children in the family and three are still living. Frank (10-12-1899 to 85-1961) married Catherine Colgan. They had 2 children. One died as an infant. Helen (1901 to 1968) married John Harrison. She taught school in a country school in Stratton. They moved to Missouri. They had 5 children. Mary (8-26-1902 to 6-11-1957) married Joe Kloecker and lived in Denver. They had 5 children. 1 son died. Gertrude (3-27 -L904) married Tony Beller. They had 5 children and still live in Denver. Theresa (8-19-1907) maried Raymond Bush and had 4 children. ISEMAN FAMILY F335 Febr. 1924 brought Ralph and Josie Iseman to Kit Carson County with their children Clarence, Loraine, Agnes and John. Ralph had been out from Burlington, Ks. to look things over earlier. So with the George Bailey and Hill families they loaded their household items on two immigrant cars on the train. They drove out in a Model T car. The windows were ising-glass. The weather was very cold and they kept warm with a heater that had something like charcoal briquettes inside. The trip took five days. They stayed at the Collins Hotel in Stratton until the Austin place was available. Ralph always said that his ancestors were Pennsylvania Dutch. How right he was. In reality Pennsylvania Dutch means German born. The first Iseman of Ralph's family to enter America was Peter and he came from Germany in 1749. Those first Isemans spelled their name many ways: Eyseman, Eisaman, Eiseman, Isaman. Westmoreland Co., Pa. has many of Peter's descendants and most of them spell their names Eiseman. The ones from Freeport, Pa. spell their name Iseman. Ralph's father and mother, John Andrew and Evaline Nancy (Hill) Iseman, were born in Freeport, Pa. One of Ralph's distant cousins lives outside Freeport on Iseman Rd. Ralph was the seventh generation of Isemans in America. John Ralph Iseman was born in Guthrie Co., Iowa in 1890. Ralph married Josie Thene Updegraft 23 Jan. 1912 in Burlington, Ks. Josie was born in Burlington, Ks to Sidney Denton Updegraft and Susan Lane Dawson Loraine, Agnes, and John were born in Burlington, Ks. Wayne and Maxine were lives there. George (10-10-1910 to 7-12-1950) married Tbila Boul and they had 4 boys. Pauline died at the age of 3 from measles and is buried in Blue Hill, Neb. Irene (8-25-1912 to 1976) married Walter Halloway and lived in Denver. They had 5 children and 1 died as an infant. Walter still lives in Denver. Leona L924 to L946. chtenbach. Millicent Luebbers, daughter of Gertrude and Willard, Walter and Wilford Huppert and their mother Twila, sons and wife of George. After the death of their father Uncle Frank and Aunt Tres took care of the younger children until they were able to be on their own. My Aunt Tres had started a business known as the T V Booties after they had moved to Denver awhile. by Betty Jean Brachtenbach lius Wood. Neil died in 1985. Loraine still lives in Burlington. Agnes married Leonard Beeson. They live in Burlington and are still involved in farming and cattle south of Bethune. John married Ellen Bemis, a Kansas gal. They live in Burlington, Ks and farm in the area where Ralph and Josie first lived. Wayne still lives and farms south of Bur- lington. Maxine married Jake Chandler. They are both retired and living in Denver. Josie died 9 Sept. 1974. Ralph died on his 96th birthday 27 Oct.1986. Both were real pioneers. Their friends and family loved and respected them. Ralph spent the last 6 years of his life in the Grace Manor Nursing Home. His determination and out look on life was an inspiration to all. by Lenora Sexson JACKSON, DEWEY AND REVA (BRALY) F336 13 Nov. 1893. Their children Clarence, Two boys died as young men. They lived in Denver and moved to Lag Vegas, Nev. in 1981 where Raymond died in 1985. Theresa still (5-25-LgL4\ married Val Kordes and has 5 children and farmed in Stratton area. Mildred (1916 to 3-19-L924) died of sugar diabetes and is buried in Stratton. Dorothy (12-19-1919 to 5-19-f96f) married Coy Pearson. No children. The family of George and Mollie that still reside in Kit Carson County are their daughter Leona Kordes and her daughters Patsy Eisenbart and Betty Bra- selling cattle and fishing. Ralph and Josie's family was so important to them. Clarence married Allie Jean Beck. He still owns land south of Stratton. Allie Jean and Clarence are retired and live east of Colorado Springs. Loraine married Corne- born south ofStratton. Ralph and Josie lived and farmed on the Austin place, Glaze place, Collins Ranch and the Beveridge Ranch from Memories of the family include the time spent hunting the driest, most productive spot for cow chips, loading the wagon, getting them all home, keeping the pile dry and removing all the ashes that hot fire created. The fun basket dinners after church and Sunday school at First Central included fried chicken, rhubarb pie, lemonade!!! The Ladies Aid and sewing clubs provided needed social contact for the women in the neighborhood. From these activities beautiful quilts were created and close friendships developed. There were the local ballgames on Sunday afternoon for the old and young to enjoy. In the 30's there were very few fences. Most of the cattle ran free and the crops were fenced. The grasshoppers were terrible. The poison was placed around the fences because the grasshoppers even ate the fence posts. You never left leather harnesses out because in a few hours there was nothing left but the metal. You could take a clear drinking glass and coat it with smoke from a kerogene lnmp, to protect your eyes as you looked directly at the sun, and see the grasshoppers flying through the air. In 1946 Ralph and Josie moved to Burlington. Josie babysat with grandkids and Jeanne Zick. Josie loved to sew and make quilts. Many a wedding dress, Raggedy Ann, and quilts are prized possessions of her descendants. Ralph kept busy buying and J. Dewey Jackson's first residence in Kit Carson County in 1925, shown with his 1916 Reo truck, 1925 Fordson tractor and a new Ford car J. Dewey Jackson was born north of Phillipsburg, Kansas in 1898, the 5th of ten children born to William A. Jackson and Betty Mae (Bales) Jackson. He walked to school 2t/z miles. While still at home he took a correspondence course on Basic Electricity out of Chicago, Illinois. He rode a horse to Woodruff, Kansas, 19 miles for 8th grade examinations. To help the family income he did trapping; then skunks were worth $20 a piece. When he started his one year of high school, his mother gave him a gold pocket watch to encourage him not to start smoking. This prized possession was pawned several times thru the years to buy life's necessities. The winter of 1917 he went to Kansas City, Kansas, worked as a street car conductor, and attended Sweeny Automobile School. Summer of 1921 traveled to Canada where he was a jack of all trades: helped paint a church, built a school house, hauled logs, and then summer of 1922 helped build a wooden elevator at Sturgis, Saskatchewan. In 1923 back to Alma, Nebraska to rent a garage for one year. Then in L924he traded all the shop supplies for half of the cost ($10 A.) on his first purchase of land in Colorado. His dad � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families of Kit Carson County Description An account of the resource Brief biographies of the founding families of Kit Carson County Colorado. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Book Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families- H Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1988 Description An account of the resource A brief history of the founding families of Kit Carson County whose names begin with "H." As told in the book, History of Kit Carson County. Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Janice Salmons Marlyn Hasart Dorothy Smith Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. History of Kit Carson County Volume 1 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Curtis Media Subject The topic of the resource History Kit Carson County Biography Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/454/Families-A.pdf c93a6850513e73db071eed31a81f84c3 PDF Text Text ADOLF - WEISSHAAR FAMILY FI the range all winter. There was very little snow in the winter and no snow storms until 1899, had a big snow that left 20 inches on the ground and stayed on all winter. No feed and no grain, no way to buy feed, so the cattle started to starve to death. We had a neighbor by the name of John WaN who had a big herd of cattle and no wav to buy feed or grain, so he had tojust see them die.The neighbors came and heiped skin the cattle which they got 2b cents a hide for. He loet the entire herd. That may sound bad, but I-saw that myself, the cows got so hungry that they ate their own manure and the hoisls ate the boards of the corrals and the hair of each other's manes and tails. In 1902, diphtheria broke out and with no doctor in the eettlement, we lost 10 or 12 persons, and we lost our oldest brother. A.W. Adolf during a blizzard in t87 4. They didn't have electricity due to the storm. Note thi gloves are made out of beaver, the fur coat is one hJ wore many years ago, the lap robe is made from the hide of his favorite horse, Tony, made in the early '20's. The following story was told to A.W.'s grandaughter Egther Young in Nov of 1g77. "My father, August Adolf, and my mother and two children moved from South Dakota to Burlington and took a homestead nine miles north of Bethune (now known as the Edgar Stahlecker farm) and lived in a oneroom dugout the roof covered with sod and no other -buildings on the place. May 8, 1890, I was born. My Dad had to haul the water from the Republican River a1d h9d just two barrels on the wagon. So when he came home and wae going to-unload the barrel, it slipped out of his trotd and he lost all the water and they did not have enough water to wash me. There was all open range: no fences, no ^ farming, no plowed ground . . . all grass at that time . . . the Indians killed t[em for their hide. All that was left was a pile of bones where one could find an arrowhead that killed the buffalo, of which I still have eome of the arrowheads I found. There were lots of antelope, coyotes, prairie dogs, owls, prairie chickenJ and rattlesnakes. Later, the country was filled with cattle and horses that roamed the prairies. As ti1e went on, the fanily grew to four -boys and three girls. Father hid-quite a few cattle and, to my knowledge, theri wagn,t a horse on our ranch that was not broke to ride or to drive and if I could not ride him, I had a younger brother, Gust, that could ride him. I was born in the saddle and with boots on and still wear boots and want to be buried with boots on, so much for that. I was baptized 28th December, 1890 at the John Dobler home by Rev. D. Meyer. There was no church building at the time. so thev had the service in one home. pastor Meyer was the firet minieter in the settlem ent. 27th March, 1904, I was confirmed in the old stone church, the Immanuel Lutheran Church, by Rev. Robert Ackerman of Yale, Co. and on Nov. 10, 1912, I was married to Marv E. Weisshaar by Rev. N. Brun in the Immanuel Lutheran Church, the old stone church building. Il ttr:9arly days there never was any hay stacked, for the cattle and horsee wet" out on Danny, and one of my aunts. One thing that the old settlers feared the - most was prairie fires. There was a prairie fire that started at Yuma and jumped the Republican River and burnid clear to Cheyenne Wells. Next was the rattlesnakes. and they were plenty. _ In 1907, a disease broke out among the horses, called the ,.blind staggers", .r,dthey died all over the county. My Dad lost all bui two head, lost 15 head, so all he had left was an old mare and colt, and at that time horses were very valuable; that was the only way to farm or even to get to town, as we depended 9n -hgrseg for everything. It took years to buildthe herd up again, but in those days the neighbors always helped when anyone nee_ ded help. There were very few hogs on account of grain, but if one farmer had a sow that had pigs, then at weaning time the farmer gave eagh g pig as far as they went so they could raise it for the meat and lard. And to git more meat they could shoot antelope, but there was only o-n9 biq rifle, a 3SG, in the neighborhood, owned by Gottlieb Bauder so if one wanted meat, he borrowed the gun from Mr. Bauder. There were plenty of antelopes. In 1908, the grasshoppers were so thick that at times they shaded the sun, and when they lan4ed they just ate everything that was green. There was no way to destroy them, no poison, and no spray. .And talking about high wages now days, when I wae 20 years old, lworked for a farmer in Riverton, Neb., by the name of Herman Amman, for $10 a month and room and board and worked harder than ever in mv life. I worked for him two years and I pick'ed corn for one cent a bushel. . Thgp wer_e the good old horse days. Then, their big problem was water for the iivestock. No well diggers in the country and most of the wells were dug by hand. Most of them were 200 feet deep and the water was drawn by hand with a bucket and a winch. A man by the name of Jim Knapp got a well-digging rig which was driven by a team of mutesl Then came the O.K. windmills to solve the problems. Cost of an eight-foot windmill was $25 "wooden wheel." I had nothing to start with and I think I still have half of it left yet." August William Adolf, better known as A.W. was born to Russian - German homesteaders August and Katherine Richter Adolf in the "Settlement" north of Bethune. Au- gust was the first male birth registered in the newly incorporated Kit Carson County. A.W. only had three years of formal schooling but always had a high regard of education and served on the school board at Bethune for many years. He was an early member of the Kit Carson County Cattlemen,s Association and hadthe first registered Angus herd in the area in the 1940's. He loved hoises and loved his Palominos and Percheron draft horses. He.enjo-yed riding in parades and enjoyed the trail rides. A.W. and his wife Mary enjoyed ?2 years of married life and had a family of siieirls and_two boys. He passed awaron Feb]tz, 1985 at the age of 94. by Eva Wood ADOLF - WEISSHAAR FAMILY F2 I'll start my story with a bit of history of my parents who were Johann and Chrislina Margareda Wilhelm Weisshaar. Johann was born Nov. 5, 1868 and Christin" *"s loi" April 11, 1865, they were both born in Lichtentall, Russia. Shortly after their marriage on Feb. 28, 188b, they left Russia and came west and settled first in fnlmsgs, Nebr. It was here that my oldest sister Le"na Schlichenmayer w€ul born on June 1, lgg6. They were not quite a year in Nebr. when they heard that there were people from the s4me place that they were from in Russia. living around ldalia, Co., so they once more packed their belongings and headed west. They took up a homestead four miles south_ east of Idalia where I was born; Eva Maria (Mary), on Nov. 27, l1g2. In the-spring of 1900, when I was eight years old, we moved from Idalia to lhe "Settlement" north of Bethune, Co. where about 15 families of Russian German decent were living. My Dad bought a relinquishment deed from a family by the name of Mack _B_ev!er, It is the place my youngest brother Karl Weisshaar still owns northwest of Burlington, Co. We were a family of seven gills and four boys. Lena, myseif (Mary), John Frederick, b. Sept. lb, fggl, died-io 1?97; Christina Margaret Fischer, b. Sept. 80, 1889, died in Nov. 19?8 ; Fredericka Fischer, b. Mar. 29, 1891;Margaret Stahlecker b. Nov. 15, 1894; Jacob (Jake) b. Dec. 12, 1g96; Karl Frederick b 1898 and died at age 2 weeks; b. July 27, Lg}O; Ig.y]i"" Sjhlichenmayer (Bill) William 951;.1ian b. Sepi. zsi, tgozi Anna Dorthea Adolf b. Oct. fl, fSO+; and Karl Bernhard b. Feb. 19, 1910. Mrs August Adolf, Mrs. William Adolf and Mrs. Sherilan Yale were the mid-wives in the area. We went to a little one room school located where Hope Church, north of Bethune now stands. I was 8 years old when I started school and 12 before I ever got to go to Burlington. tly cutting across prairie and pasture land it was about 3 % miles to school. It was only on very_ cold days or stormy days that my bad would take us to school and come get us with the horse and buggy. We did not have overshoes and on the days when there was snow a couple inches deep Mother would tie gunny sacks over our shoes to keep our feet from getting wet. I was confirmed at age lb and this-also ended my going to school AI ot us krds were confirmed at the Immanuel Lutheran Church. �my days were full of cooking, cleaning, sewing, tending the garden and milking as we always milked 8 or 9 cowe. I raised a lot of turkeys, ducks, geese and chickens. Our first w mattress was filled with corn husks, but I made the pillows of duck and goose down. I never bought a pillow and I gave each one of my children a pair of these down filled pillows when they married. The moet difficult timee for us was the drought and the "dugt bowl days". How we "3',*:i' : '-,':',']ll' A.W. and Mary Adolf taken in 1915. $400. Our youngest son, Allan and his wife still live there. This is where I went as a bride. It had a small shack and a rock barn. We started with very few possessions; a team of horses and a top bnggy, and my folks gave us a wedding gift of two milk cows, a dozen chickens, and a hog. The first summer I had crearn, butter and eggs to sell so I could buy groceries. OfcourseI always raised a big garden, about a acre of potatoes, along with a big waterr'Tgl9n n1tcf. i remember when coyotes would bite a hole in a watermelon, eat out the insides and leave the shell! What we didn't eat fresh from the A.W. and Mary Adolph on their 70th wedding anniversary in 1982. I remember Dad hitching up a team to the wagon and all of us going out in the fall qf-the y"i to pi"k up dried cow chips for fuel. Since lhere were no trees for firewood, this was often the only fuel we had, especially at Idalia. We also burned corn cobs to get the fire started. We also went along the railroad to pick up coal. This was a long way-s to go so didn't go very often. One time when we were hunting for coal, a train came by and when the men saw us kids they threw out a couple shovels full ofcoal for us. Later on we bought coal in Burlington. Uy folks are both buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery. Dad died at the age of 53 on Dec. 6, 1916 and Mother died Feb. 28, 1946 at the age of 80. On Nov. L2, LgLz I was married to A.W. Adolf in the Immanuel Lutheran Church. It was a beautiful day. A.W. and I, along with our attendants had to sit on the front pew thru the morning services. Right after church we then were married. Afterwards the whole congregation cnme to my folks'home where they ate dinner, spent the afternoon, ate supper and stayed until late that night. It was a long day but a lot of fun. A.W. bought a 7z section relinquishlrent deed from a man named L.L. Leonard for garden I always canned or pickled. Always lad a barrel of sauerkraut, one of pickles and even made watermelon pickles. Oh, this was so good! We also (continued Story lf 4). Dried corn and beans. In the fall Papa would sell a wagon load of wheat to buy flour to last for the winter. Bill Davis, a neighbor, drilled our well shortly after we moved on to the place. He drilled most of the wells in the neighborhood. Ifwe had a good corn crop, we would burn the cobs in the cook stove and buy a little coal for the heating stove. The house, adobe, was warm during the day, but we slept in cold rooms at night. A lot of mornings there would be frost ott the blankets. We used a lot of dried cow chips for fuel too. Papa and I were married about 6 years before were able to purchase our first car, a Ford Touring car. I never did learn to drive as the kids and Papa always did the driving. For social life, besides going to church, we attended literary meetings held in different country school houses. An early day school teachei, Tom Dillion, who lived near Bethune, organized them. On Sunday afternoons, after church, people would go visiting and the children played singing games like: "Last Couple Out", "Drop the Hankie"' "Home on the Range", and also played "Andy, Andy Over". I would often play the mouth harp to furnish the music. I still play the mouth harP once in a while. As the family grew to six girls and two boys, survived is beyond me. The wind would blow day and night and many mornings when we got up you could see where we laid on the pilow, outlined in dust which sifted in. I iemember one dust storm which came up like a dark cloud, all of a sudden with no warning. Our oldest Bon, Art, was out in the freld. He couldn't see where to go, so he unhitched the horses and let them find the way home. He was almost choked to death by the dust before he got home. During worst of the storms we had to light the lemps during the day because it was dark outside. A lot of mornings after one of these storms we took a shovel and scooped out the dust from in front of the door and the windows. All of my children, except Allan, was born on the home place. He was the only one born in the hospital. The two mid-wives for the area were Mrs. Sherman Yale and Mrs. August Adolf, Sr. who was my mother-in-law. My children are: Hilda b. Sept. 26, 1913' married Otto Ziegler Sept. 30, 1932; Amanda b. Feb. 20, 1915, married David Richards Sept. 6, 1933; Leona b. June 3, 1916, manied Hary Hefner Sept' 11, 1946; Gladys b. Nov. 27, L920, married Hugh Patterson June 20, 194?: Art b. June 5, 1918, married MarY Heisel Sept. 24,L945; Della b. Oct. 17' 1929 married Robert Pugh April 8, 1949; Eva Marie b. Dec.4, 1933, married Edward Wood June 5, 1955 and Allan, b. Feb. 22' 1935 married June Cole August 23, 1956. During the 42 years Papa and I lived on the homestead we made manY changes and improvements. We retired and moved to Builington in 1956. My husband and I celebrated our ?2nd anniversary in 1984. He passed away on Feb. 12, 1985 atthe age of94 and is buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Church CemeterY. This was told to her daughter Eva and grandson Pastor Greg Adolf. by Eva Wood ADOLF STAHLECKER FAMILY F3 Gottlieb Adolf, Sr., was born to William and Margrette Adolf on November 3' 1891 at Anaba Michaelfeld, South Russia, which was a small village near the Black Sea. He sailed to America with his parents on May 8' 1908 and settled on a homestead north of Bethune, Colorado. He later took his own homestead north ofBethune and batched for a few years' Barbara Stahlecker was born December 24, 1885 in Tripp, South Dakota, to Martin and Katherina Stahlecker. At the age of eight years, she moved with her parents to a farm north of Bethune, Colorado. �born princess who ruled Russia as Czarina from 1762 to 1796, initiated an era of German colonization of southern Russia along the Volga and Dnieper Rivers and around the Black Sea. Lavish promises were made by the Russian government to German craftsmen and farmers, including free land, initial subsidies, and important guarantees of rights of local government, freedom of religion, and exemption from military service. Many Germans were induced to "homestead" in Russia by these promises and by the desire to leave the areas devastated by war in Europe. In 1817 one such family, the Adolf Family, emigrated from West Prussia to Bessarabia as part of this resettlement. They settled in the new town of Briene, sharing in the communal life of these German towns, where everyone lived in the village which centered around the Lutheran Church and School, plying their trades and working small fields in the surrounding countryside, as they had in Germany. This "communal" feature of German rural life, caried into Russia and then into the United States, marked the Germans from Russia ag "clannish" but was really part of a centuries old culture. Life on Gottlieb and Barbara Adolf about year 1950. On February 3, 1910, she was married to Jacob Wiedman. To this union one son George was born. In March of 1911, Jacob passed away. On March 25, LgL4, Barbara was married to Gottlieb Adolf. To this union, four children were born. Gottlieb Jr., Leah, Herman and Ella. Ella passed away at the age of 21 months. Gottlieb and Barbara made their living and raised their children on a 480 acre farm 15 miles northeast of Bethune, Colorado, known as "the Settlement." Their children attended the Yale School (a one room adobe building) later known ag the Schaal School which was one mile from the Adolf farm. Their fust car was a 1917 Model T Ford Touring. They lived on this farm until the "dust bowl days" of the thirties when they and all their family moved to Springbrook, Oregon in 1935. There they rented a small acreage and all worked at different jobs, etc. In 1937, they all moved back to their farm in Colorado and lived there until in 1953 when they moved to Burlington, Colorado where they retired until their deaths. Gottlieb died November 14, 1963. Barbara died November 23. 1973. by Leah Schick ADOLF, AUGUST AND KATHERINE the isolated homesteads of the American prairies was a real hardship for many of the Germans from Russia, accustomed as they were to shared village life. Beginning in 1871, a series of government actions under Czar Alexander II began to affect the German-speaking colonies in Russia in many far-reaching ways. The acts were part of the "russification" or forced absorp- tion of foreign minorities into the Russian culture. Local government wag abolished in the German-speaking areas in 1871 and in the autumn of 1874 the Russian army began 'drafting' young men from the German colonies. The loss of these important guarantees, which the Germans had received when they first settled in Russia a century before, triggered a slow but increasing flow of German families and young men eligible for army service to leave Russia for North and South America. This movement increased rapidly in the 1880's as the promise of abundant free lands available overgeas drew more and more Germans out of Russia. The new wave of emigration continued until the First World War in 1914 and brought many thousands of Germans from Russia to the United States, Canada, Brazil and Argentina. August Adolf was one of the young men caught up in this great westward wave of emigration. Married in 1884 to Katherine Richter, they left Russia in 1888 with their two children, Daniel and Katherine ("Katie"), following the tracks of other Germans from Russia coming to the American West. They settled briefly in Scotland, Kit Carson County was August Adolf, who South Dakota, (one of the "jumping off' points for newly arrived immigrants), but moved on quickly to the prairies of the 14year-old state of Colorado. Arriving in Burlington in March of 1890, August Adolf and was born to Christian and Friederika (Steg) his family, together with a few other Germans F4 The first of the Adolf Family to settle in Adolf in Briene, Bessarabia, a province in southern Russia, near the Black Sea, in March, 1862. As many of the early settlers in the area north of Bethune (still known as "The from Russia, settled north of Bethune, near other German fanilies from Russia, among whom were the Doblers, Strobels, Schaals and Baltzers. Settlement") came from southern Ruesia in Their first homes were dug-outs, carved into hillsides with planks, covered with sod, the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a brief serving as the roof. Later, adobe houses were background sketch of these Germans from Russia may be helpful. In 1763 Catherine the Great. a German- built which were much better than the sod houses most of the other early settlers had. On May 8, 1890, a son, August William Adolf, was born. He was the first baby to be born in "The Settlement" and, was the first registered male birth in the newly-incorpora- ted Kit Carson County. An often-repeated family story is that when August Adolf arrived home from the Republican River, where the settlers had to go to get water before the first wells were dug, and learned that his son was born, in the excitement the horses bolted, overturning the water banels. It was two days before August could safely leave his wife and new son to go for more water, and so the baby was a few days old before he could have his first bath! August Adolf was a shoemaker by trade in Russia and so beside caring for his homestead and his growing family, he walked to Burlington approximately 15 miles across the prairie - to make and repair shoes and boots, earning- 25 cents a day. His wife, Katherine, was one of the first mid-wives in the area. She and "Grandma" Yale, another of the early mid-wives, delivered many of the children born in those years, and sometimes assisted Dr. C. Gilette, one of the first medical doctors in Kit Carson County, with practical nursing. There were no buffalo left in Kit Carson County when these first German settlers arrived, but there were antelope to supplement the meager meat supply. The only gun in "The Settlement" was a 33-gauge rifle, owned by Gottlieb Bauder, which was shared by the people of "the Settlement," as were their other tools and their skills. Gradually, cattle herds were built up and more ground broken for growing grain and feed. Earlier Germans from Russia had brought with them a hardy winter wheat, well-adapted to the cold, dry winters of the prairies. It was the introduction of this winter wheat which opened much of the "high plains" to wheat production. (An unwelcome "hitch-hiker" was the Russian thistle, which has become a kind of "trademark" of the American West: the tumbleweed!) In 1892 August Adolf was able to arrange for his father and mother, Christian and Friederika Adolf, together with their children, Frederika, Andrew, and Katherina, to come to the United States. Christian and his family settled near Denver when they first arrived; he and Andrew worked in the smelters. Later, they came to "The Settlement," where Christian practiced his trade of blacksmithing. In 1896, Frederika Adolf married the widower, Franz Kramer, raising his children, Frank, Marie, Christine, Margaretha, and Rosie, as well as their own children in time: Christian, William, Katherina (Jurgens), Frederika, Amelia (Stahlecler) and Pauline (Kloeckner). In 1908 the last of Christian and Friederika's five children came to the United States. Wilhelm and his wife Margaretha (Buchfink) came to Colorado from Michaelsfeld in Bessarabia. He was a skilled wagon-maker by trade, but had to sell his tools for passage money for the fanily. Their children are: Margaret (Meyer), Gottlieb, \{illiam, Christina (Lessing), Mary (Kramer) Carl, John, Christian, Nettie (Hasart), and Frieda (Weisshaar). Andrew Adolf married Margaretha (Schlickenmayer) and raised nine children in "The Settlement": Jacob, Karolina (Golle), William, John S., Emanuel, Fred, David, Frieda (Gramm), Martha (Weiss), and Gotthilf. The children of August and Katherina �Adolf are: Daniel (who died in a diptheria epidemic in 1892), Katherina ("Katie") (Wahl), August ("A.W."), Gustaf, Christian, Luella (Holwegner), Anna (Hasart), md Daniel Jacob. From these four children of Christian and Friederika: Frederika, August, Wilhelm, and Andrew, are descended many of the residentg of eastern Kit Carson County, many of them still living in "The Settlement" north of Bethune. by Pastor Gregory Adolf ADOLF, AUGUST AND KATHRINA F5 We Helped Start the Settlement August and Kathrina Adolf were Germans who had immigrated to Briene Bessarabia, South Russia. In 1888 Mr. and Mrs. Adolf and their two Russian born children, Danny age 3 and Katie age 1, carne to America. They made their first home in Scotland, South Dakota, where others of their nationality had settled. Here Mr. Adolf worked as a shoemaker. In March 1890, the Adolf family along with others came to Burlington and started what is now known as and cdled the "German Settlement," an area north and east of Bethune. The new railroad had just come many died. Wahls lost three children, Strobels logt one, August Adolf, Sr., lost one and others whose nnmes cannot now be recalled. August Adolf was a shoe cobbler and besides caring for his cow, two horses and what little feed he could raise, he walked to Burlington every morning and home every evening for the approximate earnings of twenty five to seventy five cents a day. Many times he carried a sack of food home. A 50 lb sack of flour could be bought for 75 cents. A two year old steer sold for $10.00. Good cows also sold for around $10.00. Horses were scarce and were treaeured. Their water was hauled by wagon from the Republican River. There were no buffalo left in this area, but there were hundreds of antelope. There was only one gun in the Settlement, a .32 rifle owned by Gottlieb Bauder. It was used by anyone wanting to hunt. The women spun their own yarn from the few sheep that they raised. All the socks, caps, coats, sweaters, etc., were hand knitted. The mattresses for the beds were filled with either gtraw or corn shucks. Ifthe crops had been good, they were filled with new straw each year, Fire was a great hazard in those days. A plow, barrel of water and gunny sacks were their fire fighting equipment. One bad fire recalled was one which started at Yuma, Colorado, and was never stopped until it reached the railroad at Cheyenne Wells, Colorado; it had even jumped the Republican River. by Della Adolf Pugh through this new country. August and Kath- rina were the second fanily to claim a homest€ad. The firstfamilywae Mr. and Mre. Christ Dobler. Soon aftcrwards the Strobels, Schaslr, Baltzere and others also homesteaded. The settlers'firet homes were dugouts with planks covered with sod serving as the roof. Rattlesnakes were their constant danger. ADOLF, CHRISTIAN F6 Christian Adolf and Friederike (Steeg) Adolf were born and raised in Brienne, Bessarabia, South Russia. They were married in 1859. Friederike was born on February 19, 1842. They had three sons and two daughters. In 1889 they left Russia and came to the United States with sons, August who married Catherina Richter, and Andrew who manied Margaret Schlichenmayer, and daughters Friederike who married Frank Krsmer, and Caroline who died at an early age (16) after arriving in America. Their son Wilhelm (William) Adolf and wife Margaret (Buchfink) Adolf and children remained in Brinne. The family settled on what was then barren plain about 18 miles northwest of Burlington, Colorado, in what is known as the German (Russian) Settlement. Together with other early settlers, that colony of industrious frugal saving people have made that portion of Kit Carson County one of the most beautiful spots in Eastern Colorado. What was once the home of the wild beasts and the red man has now become an oasis of fertility, dotted here and there with happy homes, big barns, fine churches and well kept stock of all kinds. Thanks to their energy and persever€ulce and cultured home sunoundings, that portion of Kit Carson County more nearly resembles the typical eastern farm neighbor- hood than almost any other part of this county which extends about 60 miles east and west and for a distance of 36 miles in width. It is these early pioneers who have redeemed Eastern Colorado from its pristine waste. Freiderike and Christian Adolf lived for 65 years together as companion and helpmate. Friederike died at her home north of Bethune, Colorado on Februar5r 5, 1924 at the ripe age of 81 years 11 months and 16 days. Christian Adolf was featured on the May 10, 1919 edition of a Lincoln, Nebraska Later on they plowed the ground making large clots of dirt. They would shape them into equares and etack them one on top of another making a wall. The roofs were also planks covered with sod. Still later on, they made the houses out of adobe. This was a mud and straw mixture. A large round vat shaped place was made in the ground to which dirt, watcr and straw were added. Horses were led to walk around and around in the vat to mix the mud mirture until it was the right thicknees. Then it wag cut into blocks. Thege blocks were then carefully piled about one foot high around the desired size of the room wanted. After it had dried sufficiently another foot of adobe was added and so on until it wag the degired height. Sometimes a shingle roof would be added. Others would just use mud covered planks. Some two etory houses would be built this way. On May 8, 1890, Mr. and Mrs. Adolfs son, A.W. Adolf, was born. He was the firgt white baby to be born in the Settlement. There were no doctors in this area, so all new babies were delivered by women who were called midwivee. One of the first was Grandmother Yale. The first doctor to come to this area wag Dr. Gillette. However, before he cnme the settlers relied on home remedies. It was remembered that about six years after the gettlere came, diphtheria struck heavily and Christian and Frederike Adolf working in their garden. Notice hand made hoe and rake with rock house in background. �mill. Times were very hard. When spring arrived, moet of the families started large gardens. Not much wheat was seeded because there were very few draft animals to do the plowing. All started large gardens and everything they planted provid- ed a bountiful harvest for them. Some planted fruit trees, mainly mulberries. Starlings were a problem. These they tried to frighten away with a loud noise maker. In the second year, 1818, a small caravan of 30 families cnme from the province of f Wurttemberg, also called Schaben, Germany. r All these people settled in the colony. Every one got their 60 desjatins of land from the government. Heinrich and Carlotta Rossman Adolf had seven sons and no daughters. They are Karl r'"*.:,'::ii. gl:i: - r' '%r.' J1. '" :: :u.. 4-.t - *a' 'w . tlt w- Tfr who married Eva Kuch, they had five sons and two daughters. Johann who married Eva Klaf, they had four sons and five daughters. Wilhelm who married Barbara Maier, they had two sons and five daughters. Heinrich who married Magdalena Oster, they had three sons and five daughters. Christian who married Friederike Steeg, they had three sons and two daughters. Fredrick who married Elizabeth Schell, i they had five song and five daughters. Daniel who married Katherina Zinc, they had seven sons and seven daughters. This short history of the grandparents was translated from a German diary in 1954 by Fredrick Adolf who was 87 years old. He was born March 9, 1868 in the German colony of Brienne, Bessarabia, South Russia. He came to the United States with his parents in 1889 and settled in the area of North Dakota that is now known as Hazen. * by Victor Knell ,ttt ,li. '.1ilr,. ;': 'r:rrr:il ADOLF, WILLIAM F8 William (Wilhelm) Adolph, son of Christian and Friederika (Steeg) Adolf was born t t,, Christian Adolffeatured on the cover ofthe May 10, 1919 edition of a Lincoln, Nebraska weekly farm paper. weekly farm paper. This is a photo of Christian Adolf shelling corn with a hand corn sheller. He was born in 1.839 and died on August 3, L925 and was a blacksmith by trade. They lived just east of Hope Congregational Church. The Adolfs were life long members of Immanuel Lutheran Church. Christian was partially blind when he was 80 and they went to live with son William and family who cared for them til their death. by Marlyn Hasart ADOLF, HEINRICH in Brienne, Bessarabia, SouthRussia, on May 22,L867. He was baptized three days later by Pastor Benenann and was confirmed March 24, L883 by Pastor Leshe in the Lutheran Church. He was a wagon maker by trade. He was married to Margaretta Buchfink on May 21. 1887 in Brienne. Margaret Buchfink Adolf was born on F7 Heinrich Adolf and Carlotta Rossman Adolf were born in Berlin, Germany. They migrated to Brienne, Bessarabia Russia, with 70 other families in 1817. This colony was established in 1816. They made the trip to the unsettled Steppe with much difficulty. Food was scarce and the sky was their roof and the earth their bed. The Russian government gave them a little money to build a house and 60 desjatin (162 acres) of land and clothing was provided to last a year. Grandfather Adolf had brought a little money with him. He built a wind mill right away, since he was a miller by trade. He milled the people's wheat into flour. For his work he took a portion of the wheat, that is from a pud (40) pounds, then charged a garnitz for his work. There are 8 garnitz in a pud. He also asked 5 pounds for the use ofthe November 7, 1868 in Teplitz, Bessarabia, South Russia. She was baptized when she was three days old by Pastor Luman and confirmed in 1883 by Pastor Leshe in old Artzies. Margaret was the daughter of John Buckfin. Her parents died when she was 7 years old and she went to live with her sister Katherine Gast until womanhood. William and Margaret were married on May 21, 1888. In 1889 the family moved to the colony of Michaelsfeld near the town of Anaba, South Russia, near the Black Sea. Here William pursued the trade of wagon maker, making wagons and selling them at the market place. Because of deteriarating relations with the Russian government and the German colonists William and family decided to come to America. The Russian army was drafting the German boys into the service and they did not want their sons to be drafted. Williems' �AESCHLIMANN FAMILY F9 Rudolph Aeschlimann was born on September 7,L877 in Hubel, near Bern, Switzerland. He grew up in Ruti, Switzerland and becnme a policeman in Bern. Rudolph was a detective and after solving an underworld case he took a leave and came to the USA on October 28, 1905 to visit his sister Rosa Aeschlimann Chavet at Omaha, Nebraska. During this visit he fell in love with Martha Schnuelle and on February 18, 1909 they were married. Martha Schnuelle was born on November 10, 1884 in Baxter, Iowa. They moved to Colorado and for a very short time in 1919 they lived near Burlington on the Dvorak farm. Rudolph was called back to Switzerland due to the illness of his mother. His wife and two sons, Armand and Edwin returned to Nebraska during his stay in Switzerland. Rudolph was being detained because ofa European Quarantine caused by The family of William and Margaret Adolf. Standing L. to R.: Gottleib, William, Margaret, August, Nettie, Carl, Mary, John and Christian. Seated, Willio-, Frieda, and Margaret. A sister Christina is not pictured. parents and brothers and sister were already in Colorado so they sold their home and left all their possessions except clothing and bedding and left Russia arriving on May 8, 1908 at Galveston, Texas, with their ten children, Margaret, who married Conrad Meyer; Gottleib who maried Barbara Stahlecker Wiedman; Willinm who married Margaret Bauer; Christina who married Richard Lessing; August who married Mabel Blackburn; Carl who married Clara Stahlecker; May who married Frank Kramer; John who married Martha Stahlecker; Christian who married Anna Weisshaar; and Nettie who married Jacob Hasart. Frieda was born in their home north of Bethune Colorado. She married William Weisshaar. Three children had passed away at an early age in Russia. Because they were lacking money to pay for their passage the family in Colorado went to Mr. J.P. Evans to borrow the needed funds. It was agreed that the boys would work for him to repay the debt. Upon arriving in Galveston, Margaret was quarantined due to an eye infection, so Mother Adolf and baby Nettie, and brother August remained in Galveston until September. Father William and the regt of the family journeyed by train to Bethune, Colorado and then on to the home of his parents north of Bethune. Their first home was s'ith Williams parents on their homestead 12 miles north of and I 7z miles East of Bethune. That summer a two Gottlieb and Bill remained home to care for the farm. To provide food for their family Margaret raised lots ofducks, stored lots ofvegetables in the cellar, made barrelg of pickles and watermelon pickles, and sauerkraut. These barrels were 15 gallon in size. Willinm always helped the neighbors butcher bringing home a length of sausage. He had a smoke house filled with sausage, cured ham, ducks, and rabbit legs. Orvel and Hildegarde Kloeckner Aeschlimann were married on September 20, L944. They have two sons, William and Rodney. William of Hurley, South Dakota, lives on a farm and is a commercial lsmb feeder. of Housing at Old Dominion University. William and his wife Carol have three children, Kristin, Eric and Chad. Rodney and his wife Vickie have two children, Ryan and Kendall. Orvel and Hildegarde own 1055 acres of cropland and rent 1300 acres ofgrassland and 160 acres of cropland. This farm is locat€d just two miles west of the Colorado-Kansas border and north of Interstat€ 70. They raise Registered and Certified Seed Wheat, have a cow-calfcattle operation, raise hogs and for many years had a laying hen enterprise consisting of 2400 to 3600 laying hens and marketed eggs in Goodland and Burlington. Orvel and Hildegarde are active members of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Burlington and are presently active in Kit Carson William died of lung cancer on September 4, 1948. Margaret died of old age at the age County Farm Bureau where Orvel is chair- of 91 years, 9 months, and 14 days on August 21, 1959. Margaret made her home with her children when she became blind. Her last years were spent in Heinrichs Rest Home in Burlington, Colorado. Colorado. They lived in a large tent. Sons members. school. homestead 12 miles North and 3/4 mile west of Bethune. This home was adobe with a sod roof. The boys began farming. William had sold his wagon making tools in Russia so he Those first years were very difficult providing the necessities of the family. They were so lonely out on the prairie and homesick. Many tears were shed. The country and climate were so different from their home near the Black Sea. For several summers William and Margaret took part of the family to work in the vegetable fields near Brighton, three sons: Armand, Edwin and Orvel. They joined First St. Paul's Lutheran Church on January 15, 1934 where they were active Rodney of Norfolk, Virginia, is the Director Margaret was the community midwife. She was always on call and very busy. She also helped whenever anyone was ill. She would go and stay as long as needed sometimes staying as long as a week. She never charged for her services but would receive a free will offering. Many shared food with her. She had a little wooden box which contained scissors, dissenfectant, bandages, cord, a clean apron, a medicine book, and chamomile tea. She would remain with the new mother until she was able to eat and take care of her family. She delivered many of the children in the Settlement north of Bethune. The Adolf family were active members in Immanuel Lutheran Church. William served on the church council and taught sunday room home was constructed on William's could not work at his trade. Hoof and Mouth disease. After his return they lived in Nebraska for 10 years and returned to Burlington in 1930 to the farm where their son Orvel now lives. Rudolph and Martha Aeschlimann had by Marlyn llasart man and Hildegarde is State Women's Chairman of the Colorado Farm Bureau. They have served in these capacities along with serving the community in other activities over the years. by Orvel Aeschlimann �zania. This was in addition to teaching Sunday School and serving as Chairman of the American Lutheran Church Women's AESCIILIMANN, ITILDEGARDE Flo Hildegarde Aeschlimann is the Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico regional winner of the Agri-Woman of the Year award for 1987. Mrs. Aeschlimann and her husband, Orvel, own and operate a diversified farming opera- tion in Kit Carson County, Co. She was selected for this honor on the basis of her continuous efforts to promote the agricultur- al industry at the local, stat€ and national levels. When asked what factors influenced her decision to become involved in the promotion of farm issues and the agricultural Organization. Besides being a tireless promoter of agriculture and the church, she is a supporter of the arts; serving as Vice-Chairman of the Burlington Community Concert Committee. Mrs. Aeschlimann has been honored by the Colorado State Extcnsion Service being selected the Mast€r Farm Homemaker in ing with a general business degree. She "I started out my life as a very shy person," guccegs.tt by Diane clames AKERS - BENNING FAMILY Fll James William Akers was born June 19, manied Orvel shortly after graduation and 1930 in Monument, Colorado. Shortly there- settled into the role of a farm wife. This year, after the family moved back to the Seibert, the Aeschlimanns celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary. Today the Aeschlimanns own 1,055 production acres and they rent another 160 acres for farming and 1,300 acres of summer pasture for their commercial Simmentalcross cow-calf operation. They also grow and sell certified and registered seed wheat and run a farrow-to-finish operation involving 45 sows. Mrs. Aeschlimann is very modest about her role in the management of the couple's farm. She helps move and work cattle, drives that long road to the "parts store", listens to the daily grain and cattle market reports, weather reports, and reads the farm publications and agricultural information the couple receives, passing this information on to her husband. Currently, she is serving her 10th term as the chairman of the Colorado Farm Bureau Women; a position she has been repeatedly re-elected to for the last 21 years. The main objective of the Colorado Farm Bweau Women state committee is to promote, protect and represent the business, economic, social and educational interest of Colorado farm and ranch families. As chairman of the state committee, one of her main goals is to encourage and increase the participation of women in promoting agriculture at all levels. Some of the progrems her committee has developed and is responsible for implemen- ting are: Farm Bureau Coffee, Senior Field Studies, Farm Day and Meet the Candidates. The committee also has developed political and educational progta-s and materials for groups and women's programs, which pertain to the issues of water usage, food costs and education. Mrs. Aeschlimann has represent€d St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Burlington, Co. as a member of the American Lutheran Church District Council. She also has had the honor of being the first woman ever elected to serve on the ALC National Church Council. InLg77 she was a delegate for the Lutheran World Federation meeting in Dar es Saalem, Tan- Fr2 she recalls. "I made myself become more involved in promotional activities because I realized involvement was the key to getting things done." "And promotion is the key to shrug, smiles and simply says, "I married a Bethune, Co. Her family moved to the county seat of Burlington when she was 14. It wag in high school where she met her future husband. After high school, she attended Blair Business College, Colorado Springs, graduat- FAMILY L974. industry, Mrs. Aeschlimann gives a little farmer." Mrs. Aeschlimann grew up on a farm near AKERS - GALES Colorado area. "Frosty," as he was known in the Seibert school system, graduated in 1947. He spent his summers working for a family from Brewster, Kansas where he met his wife, Louise Benning. They were married in her home on September 29,1949. They had four children, Larry Eugene and Gary Dean twin sons, James William Jr. and Ann Marie. All the children were born at the Flagler Hospital attended by Dr. John C. Straub. After their marriage they lived in Seibert until 1961 when they moved to Limon, Colorado. Frosty worked for the Colorado Department of Highways and retired after 30 years of service in 1983. In 1961 they built a Dairy Queen in Limon and operated it for twenty-five years. In 1975 they bought another Dairy Queen in Sterling, Colorado for their son Larry to operate, which he now owns. Their children all graduated from Limon High School with James Jr. and Ann both graduating from college, Jim from Western State at Gunnison and Ann from Fort Lewis at Durango, Colorado. Jim is an accountant and Ann a teacher. Larry and Gary went to a trade school in Goodland, Kansas. Gary became an electrician. Frosty loved the outdoors and sports. He spent quite a bit of the time camping, hunting and fishing and skiing. Frosty and Louise have six grandchildren. Gary and wife Belinda have one daughter and one son. Larry and wife Glenda have two daughters and one son. Ann and her husband Douge Goode have one son Forrest. As of this writing James Jr. is not maried, but enjoying life. by Dorothy (Akers) Noel John Ernest Akers, US Navy, World War I. John Ernest "Elnie" Akers was born Feb 6, 1896 to George and Martha Hayes Akers in Enfield, Illinois. He was one of twelve children and went through eighth grade. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War I as a radioman. He received his training at the Naval training Center in Great Lakes. He served on a sub-chaser out of Halifax. Nova Scotia. He often told about his experiences in the navy which we loved to hear. In 1919 he and his three brothers Orlin, Willard and George came "west" to homestead and look for work. Dad homesteaded in the Kit Carson area during the "cattle-sheep" feud and his partner was shot, so he left for Park County and left there when he couldn't grow potatoes or crops on rocks. He came to the Seibert area where he found work picking corn for James (Bill) Gales. He later maried their daughter, Fern Artie, born Nov. 22,t908 and to this union five children were born: Darlene Marie 1925, Elbert Eugene 1926, Harold Dean 1927, James William (Frosty) 1930, Dorothy Maxine 1932. They lived on many different farms north of Seibert and a short time in Monument, Colo. In 1944 they moved to Englewood where the parents were divorced. He married Rosa Boyd, aunt of Jean Sperry, moving with her children Barbara and Joan to the farm four miles north of Seibert, remaining there until he retired in 1954, then moving to Denver. He passed away in October, 1960. He was a machinist by trade but chose farming as his ancestors had before him. He wasn't the best, but struggled to provide for his family the best he could. We always had a large garden and canned wagon loads of corn and other home grown vegetables. Several times he went with Lewis Reid to Eads, Colo. to get carp and packed it in salt for the winter. In the summer when the �Crystal Springs dam would flood we would go down and pick the fish out of the river and come home with wounds from their horns. Dad dug us a hole in the river and that was our swimming hole. We had many weiner roasts and picnics on the Republican River with the Lewis Reid's. We would go frog hunting and cook fresh frog legs. Many timea we went rattlesnake hunting in the fall. We children were on our own and to this day I hate snakes. Dad felt that education was very important and encouraged his children to complete high echool and was very proud when we did. He was active in the R.L.D.S. church at Fair Haven where we took a wagon to church until it discontinued. He was an active member of the Farm Bureau, I.O.O.F., VFW, 4-H club and Community Country Club, in the north area. He helped to refloor the VFW hall in the late '40's and loved to watch us roller skate with him participating many times. He was a great ice skater and went often on the Republican River with ue. Ernie and Rosa loved to have the youth come to our home for gnmss and they would teach us games from their times. He raised watermelons and didn't mind if the young people "Took them" as long as they didn't destroy them. He was an avid Republican. In 1948 the youth were at the house and we gave him such a time while listening to the election results. He loved to watch his children participate in sports, plays, music and tried to attend them all. When he married Rosa the Odd Fellows chivareed them and it nearly scared her to death with all the noise they made. This was her initiation to the "country life". Dad had a favorite saying, "God helps Colorado. Ricky and Cindy have two daughtere and aleo live in Lamar, Colo. Rocky at this time is not married and is traveling with an entertainment group. Shirley passed away in May, 1984. by Dorothy (Akers) Noel by Dorothy (Akers) Noel AKERS - IIARTLEY Fl3 My brother Elbert Eugene Akere was born July 12, 1926 in Seibert, Colorado and graduatcd from Seibert High School in 1944. He seni'ed in the U.S. Navy during World War IL He returned to Seibert to help his father on the farm and worked on the R.E.A. He was married to Shirley Hartley, daughter of George and Lola Hartley on December 6, 1952 and to this union three sons were born, Randy, Ricky and Rocky. He was a very athletic person and played basketball, baseball, and track, winning many awards. He refereed basketball for many years. He worked with many of the youth in scouting and just by "listening to them". He was active in the R.L.D.S. church, 4H Club, I.O.O.F. He always was a willing worker with a helping hand, and a true friend. He worked for the County Highway Department and latcr the Colorado Highway Department, and at the present time is a eupervisor of the La Junta area. During the depression, he and the family skinned thousands of rabbits and sold the skins with the carcasses going to Denver for feed. He did a lot of trapping and one time he and Harold got squirted by a skunk, which we appreciated. He hae always loved the outdoors and any sport activity. Elbert and watchful eye of their pet bulldog. Gorton's always had a drawing so most parents brought us to town for this event. In 1946 I was snowed in at the George Hughes home along with my brother Frosty and others. Betty and I passed our time by posing on the huge snow banks in some moth eaten wool bathing suits. We had a lot of fun but I always felt sorry for Thelma for putting up with us singing, arguing and playing gnrnes. I enjoyed it more as I didn't have to milk cows. Joan was snowed in atthe Mullens AKERS - NOEL FAMILY F14 I was born on the old Tom Jones place north of Seibert, Colo. on Feb. 2, 1932. My dad and Lillian Reid delivered me and my brothers and sister thought it was coyotes. Dr. McBride didn't register me, so in 1953 my Dad went to Burlington and got my birth certificate. Our family and the Lewis Reids were very close. I remember going to their place and going ice skating on their pond one wintpr. My brother Harold, decided to test the ice, and he jumped up and when he came down all fell in. David went under the ice; they had to dive down to pull him free. I was on the side of the pond keeping warm so didn't get wet. It was a long cold walk to the house but when Dad got through they were warm, at least in one spot. We often went rattlesnake hunting and on picnics where we hunted and ate frog legs. Orlen and David Reid rode their horses four miles to our house to catch the school bus those who help themselves". FAMILY Shirley's sons and their families were very important in their lives. Randy and Karen have a daughter and son and live in Lamar, to attend high school. While in high school Bonny (Boren) Hughes and I told Dale Hargrove if he bought a raffle ticket for a turkey and won, we would clean the turkey for him. Well!! He won and we spent Saturday night "plucking turkey" at the Earl Borens instead of going to a dance. I'm sure Mrs. Boren appreciated the mess in her kitchen. I remember in the late thirties we participated in making comforters, quilts, pillows and mattresses from baled cotton the government supplied. We had to beat it forever or so it seemed. My mother was very good at sewing mattreeses, eo did a great deal of them. We rode a horse drawn sled to the Prairie Gem school house and it was very cold with lots of snow. In the late thirties the family participated in the "Old West Days" pageant that V.S. Fitzpatrick presented. We would refurbish an old covered wagon as authentic as we could and I rode with Dad. If you can convince a "small" child it was not real when an Indian was whooping outside and running through the wagons with one burning, "good luck". My brothers were lndian waniors and Mom and Lillian Reid were squaws. Darlene was the maiden they carried away one year. There was a bar-b-que and rodeo afterwards on top of Rock Hill. The Reids still have Lillian's squaw costume. One of the important events of our lives was at Christmas time when Santa would come to town and give us a sack ofcandy, nuts and mogt important an orange or apple. We would go to Gorton's Store and sit on the benches around the pot belly stove and open our sacks to see what wae inside under the south of town also for two weeks. While in high school I played on the VFW Basketball team and we won chnmpionship in 1949 with Fosha Gorton coaching. I loved sports and when in California Darlene and I played on a softball tenm and won city shsmpionship. I married Claude Rogers, son of Alvena Rogers Chubbuck on Sept. 19, 1950. We moved to Kansas City where Clifford and Benny Hughes lived until the big flood of 1951. We lived in Denver, Arriba, and Wichita, Kansas where Claude died in Sept. 1956. Two children John Roland and Cecilia Annette were born to us. I moved to Reseda, California in December, 1956, after my sieter called and said they were swimming and the roses were blooming. We were in the midst of a bad ice storm. I married Willian Guy Noel in 1960. We have three children, Christopher Ernest, Todd Alan and Guyla Mae. Bill was Chief Petty officer in the U.S. Navy and while working on recruiting duty in 1962 in Denver he adopted John and Annette. I remained at home until the children were raised. I was a room mother, 4H leader, PTA member and active in the R.L.D.S. church. I attcnded college taking fun courses. Bill retired as a Master Chief from the Navy in 1966 aftpr 30 years and went to work in Aerospace. He had been with Hughes Aircraft for the past 17 years. I went to work outside the home in 1980 and truly enjoy it. John had four children John, Jacob, Joseph and Kristina. He is with the postal service in Portland, Oregon after serving nine years in the U.S. Marine Corps. Annette is a school teacher in the Los Angeles school system and is married to Chris Caldwell. They have two girls Melissa Nicolle and Amanda Noel CaldwellChristopher is in construction work and has one son Ryan Christopher Noel. Todd married Cheri Swenson in October 1987. He works with the largest catering company in California and caters parties in many celebrities homes. Guyla manied Dan Caldwell in 1983, who ig in the U.S. Air Force and, they have two daughters, Elizabeth and Heather. He is Annette's husband's brother. They are stationed in Louisiana. We stilllive in CanogaPark, California, but I come "Home" to Seibert every time I can to see old friends. As the saying goes, "You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the Girl." by Dorothy (Akere) Noel �an active leader and took the scouts down the AKERS ZUCIJELKOWSKI Colo.rado River every year in canoes. My family participated one year. He hiked to the top of Mt. Whiten many times with the FAMILY F15 Darlene Marie Akers was born at Seibert. Colorado, January L4, lg25 and graduated from Seibert, High School in ig+2. She moved to Denver and went to Business Qollege and then worked at Buckley Field in Civil Service. For a short time she lived in Van Nuys, California before returning in 1946, to teach at Fair Haven north ofSeibert. then returning to Denver to work at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital where she met and gar-rig$ Army Master Sergeant Vernon Ray Zuchelkowski. They traveled to many bases before his retirement in 1968 in Reseda. California where they bought their home and were rearing their three children, pamela Kay, Vernie Rae, and Nancy Marie. Darlene worked for Rockwell International until her retirement in 1983. Her husband died in scouts. He continues to work with them. Both of his sons achieved Eagle Scouts by the age of fourteen. Liz enjoyed going with the famiiv down into the Grand Canyon and they continue to go each year for their vacation. Harry was an avid reader in school and continues to read huge smounts of books. He attended college in California and works for General Dynnmigg in San Diego where they live. He is active in the union at Generil Dynamiss. Their sons are married and live in southern California. by Dorothy (Akers) Noel ALLEN - WAGONER FAMILY Fl7 1967. While teaching at Seibert, she was active in the R.L.D.S. church and organized the youth ofthe church. She is still active in the church and youth work. Her home is open to all and is seldom silent or empty. White in high school she was active in church and 4-H town to be in the band. She could hear a song once and then play it on the piano. She was g yery good softball pitcher in Denver, Indianapolis and Los Angeles. She coached and pitched the team sponsored by Rockwell International in California to City Championship in 1957. Her children: Pamela lives near her in Reseda, California. Vernie Rae mauied Tom Kgnt and they have an adopted son Jason Thorq'as. Nancy ig married to Larry Norris q1d has three children; Jackie, Mathew, and Sierra. Larry works for the U.S. Forestrv Department in Louisiana Darlene spends as much time with her children as poseible. She has shared her home yth ganV people in need of a place to stay for a short or lengthy time; she enjoys cooking and entcrtaining. by Dorothy (Akers) Noel before Jack's arrival. They stayed Genoa area. Times were hard and Jack lost everything farming, so on August b, lg3g, Jack and Earj Toveg to-Seibert, Colorado and opened up the old A.V. Jessee Garage. (Later caled ttre Allen Garage). Grace stayed on the farm at Genoa, temporarily with her chickens, etc. Later, Ed Knowland, with his 1929 Chewolet truck, moved Grace, with her belongings, to Seibert. Jack and Earl had a total of a'Uout $1q00 between them, so stopped at the bank at-Flaglerto get change for the cash register. Bill and Clarence Rowley, who owneil the Genoa Oil Company financed them by deliverjng gasoline, oil and tires on consiglnment. dcposits and paid for the inventory and tools that wele in the garage. They keptihe garage open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The-re was a little room behind the office where thev Allens on vacation at Seibert about l94g by Martin Joh-nson home: Front, left to right: Virginia Rose Mullen, Mary Christie Allen, -Grace lJbn and Martin Johnson; Back row: Virginia Christie Mullen, Earl Allen and Jack Allen. Jack H. Allen, born in Green Castle. Missouri, on September B, 18gl and Grace Irene Wagoner, born in Boonville, North Caroline, on October 30, 1890, were united in marriage on August 21, lg1g, at Marshall- took turns sleeping at night. After about a year, they were able to hire a man to work nights. Several people had tried to make the garag-e pay, after A.V. Jessee passed away, but they all gave up because times were so hard. Earl will never forget that on about the first night in Seibert, J.E. Andre made this remark: "I will give you one month in this garage and you will be under like the ones before you". Earl never did tell Jack of this because he felt that Jack had enough worries and didn't need any more. Anyway, as it SARAGE. AKERS, HAROLD F16 My brother Harold Dean Akers was born on August 18,1927 in Seibert, Colorado and graduated from Englewood, Colorado High School in 1946. While in high school f,e participated in football and wrestling where he won many awards. He was activJ in the R.L.D.S. Church as a youth. He served in the U.S. Navy and while in New York met his r:r:ttil wife Elizabeth and was manied after he moved to California. They have two sons, Nicky Dena and Paul. While his boys were in scouting he becnme u"b " short time at the original destination, movine to a farm north of Genoa, Colorado. In th6 years to follow, three moves were made in the They, the Rowleys, also paid thJir first month's rent in advance, made the meter club, where she raised pigs, black angus cattle and in home economics. She participatcd in V.S. Fitzpatrick's band and was gifted in her music and continues to play the piano and sing in the church choir. She played the clarinet that was borrowed from the Art Miller family and had to walk four miles to town, Iowa. They traveled to Jack,s sister,s home in Burley, Idaho, for their honeymoon. They returned to Iowa and farmed near Greene. To this union, one son, C. Earl Allen. was born on June 3, 1912. In March 1921, Jack and Grace sold their farm in Iowa and moved to a place near Hugo, Colorado. Jack moved on an emigrant traIn, with his horses, stopping at intervals to feed and water the animals. Grace and Earl moved on the passenger train, so arrived several davs Jack and Grace Allen in front of garage they operated in seibert, taken 198?. �turned out, Elbert Andre, bless his heart, was wrong and Jack and Earl made it go, we-re out of de-bt and bought a new 85 h.p' Ford from Leon Lavington in 1937. weather was nice I would walk. Later on when my sister started to school, we had a buggy business college, Earl bec"me Town Clerk and Treasurerbf Seibert. Then, a few months later, he was appointed Town Marshall, in addition. World War II broke out and on March 24,Lg42,Earl went into the Army Air Force. Fortunately, he got back home safely and was discharged on August 30, 1945.In the meantime, Earl and Mary Christie had been going together and engaged, so on September Z, 1945, were married at Lawrence, Kansas. Fier parents, Mitchel and Ada Christie, had movCd from Seibert to Baldwin City, Kansas, ned until the roads could be traveled. Aunt Martha was going to get married in Denver to George Fisher. My mother took my brother George and me along. [t took four horses on a wagon because of the deep snow to take us to Stiatton to get on the train. We stayed at the hotel managed by Mr. and Mrs. George Elsey. This was the first time I had seen Delestial, the girl I later married. I remember that she was very pretty and she was two years old and I was seven. Early the next morning aboutS:00 a.m. the train came in and I was standing between the depot and the train tracks; when the engine came by I would have fallen over backwards if someone had not caught me. It was the biggest moving thing I had ever seen. WL did not see my aunt get married as they got in a hurry and got married without us. In abouf 1940, uPon graduation from during the war. In about 1942, Jack became manager ofthe Seibert Equity Co-op and remained until the Allen family moved back to Iowa, in 1947. There, Jack and Earl worked at the John Deere Tractor Works and Mary at the Iowa Public Service Company. Earl later became a City Letter Carrier and retired from that in December 1978. Jack passed away December 18, 1963 and Grace on March 25, L982. Earl and Mary presently (November 198?) are enjoying retirement and reasonably good health in Waterloo, Iowa. Their daughter, Kristi Allen, is a Registered Nurse and works at the Allen Memorial Hospital, in Waterloo, Iowa. by C. Earl Allen to ride in. I remember one night before Thanksgiving we had a heavy snow and school was postpo- Mother and I thought it was a dirty trick not to wait for us. After dad's folks were all moving back to Franklin County, Nebraska, he thought it would be nice for us to try and trade our property for a place back there. In July of fgfl we had a chance to trade our place for a farm near Riverton, Nebraska. We had a large sale in August to get rid of the many things we would not need on the Nebraska place' We shipped a car of furniture and farm machinery. We had to haul part of the things in wagons and drove the iattle and horses to St. Francis, Kansas. The AMMAN, ALBERT AND DELESTIAL F18 In 1901 grandfather again got the "Western Fever" as homesteads were plentiful in Colorado and some of the children were old enough to file on a homestead. So once more they headed WEST. My father, Herman Amman, filed on the place where Phillip Stolz and family are living now north and west of Bethune, Colorado. My grandfather bought a relinquishment one and % mile souih of us. A relinquishment is buying the rights of a person who had homesteaded and had made some improvements and wanted to sell. We moved to Colorado in April of 1902. Herman Amman was born on SePtember 4,L872 in Bremer County, Iowa and his wife, Auguste Peter Amman was born on January 30, 18?5 in Johannstadt, Germany. Their children are Albert G. born on September 18, 1901 in Ash Grove, Nebraska; Viola Amman Barrett born on December 4, 1903 at Bethune; Lillie Amman Hattan born October 23, 1905 at Bethune; George C. born August ?, 190? at Bethune; Louis C. Amman born August 8, 1909 at Bethune; and Freda Amman Scarpace born November 21, 1915 at Riverton, Nebraeka. In September of 1907 Albert started to Union school. My first teacher was Mrs. Hayes. She had her sister Miss Sprague to stay and live with her in the school house. ThLy had a folding bed which thev would let down each evening and put it up early the next morning before school took up. Some times my father would bring me to school on horseback but most of the time when the reason for this was to get on the Burlington Railroad so we would not have to reload at Norton, Kansas from the Rock Island Rail- road. We had some very good neighbors who helped us move. We lived on the place at Riverton until 1920 when Dad bought a place near Naponee, Nebraska. We moved again. I came back out to Bethune and Kit Carson County in 1926 and farmed with Gus Adolf. I located Delestial Humphrey in the summer of 1926 and we continued going together. We were married on SePtember 7, L927 in Goodland, Kansas. Our family consists of; Albert G. Amman born on September 18' 1901 in Franklin County Nebraska and Delestial Humphrey born on September 16, 1906 in Jackson County Missouri. Our children are Ivan Robert Amman born on July 28, 1929; Gene DoYle Amman born on February 26, 1931, both born in Greeley, Colorado. Maureen Amman Fellger born on August 3, 1933 and Delos Albert Amman born on December 17, 1935, both in Bethune Colorado. We lived and farmed one mile east of the Lutheran church north of Bethune. Our real good and the ice was very slick. Here I come about thirty miles per hour and the front end of the car caught the edge of the snow drift throwing the car end for end and upsetting it on top of a snow bank. It happened so fast I did not have time to get scared. It was the first time I had rolled the windows to get out of the car. I had money (stamp money) all over the car as I had not closed the box that contained the stamps and change. There were many times in the thirties and forties when I started out on the route and the wind would come up and the dust was so bad that I could not see the road and hoped that someone else would not be coming up the road and have a collision. I am truly thankful that never happened. On October 18, 1.966 I started out with the mail. It was cloudy and misting. When I had driven several miles it started to rain and when about half over the route it started to snow. I stopped at the Post Office and left what mail I had picked up and picked up the mail that came in as the mail truck was late that morning. I thought that it was not too bad to take care of the south half of the route. I got to the south end and started west when it got worse. I made it to Leonard Beeson's place and going north when the wind came up blowing about sixty miles per hour and snowing so I couldn't see anything and the wind blew me in the ditch. They had had rain earlier and the blow dirt was very slick. I was stuck so I stayed in the car until the storm let up and then I walked down to Leonard Beeson's to get help to pull my car on the road. Lucky for me when I got down there Len was home and putting chains on his pickup. He had come down to the place that morning to take care of the cattle. He pulled my car up on the road and I came here' Albert and Delestial are active members of Immanuel Lutheran Church north of Bethune since 192?. He was elected to the board council and served several years. Later he was elected Chairman of the church board and served for three years from l97L-73. Albert served as secretary of the Bethune School board, District #24 and'also served as secretary of District I in Bethune for several years. He served on the town board of Bethune from 1937 to 60 and was elected Mayor of the Town of Bethune in 1970-82. Albert was a member of AF and AM Lodge #77 of Burlington. Albert carried mail out of Bethune, Colorado from 1936 to 1965 on Rural Route #2 and when Routes #1 and #2wete combined he carried mail from 1965 to 1971 for a total of 35 years retiring in 1971. Albert and Delestial are still living in the home in Bethune where they raised their children. Delestial spent her years managing the home and making many quilts and also nearest neighbors were Frank and Mary helping Martha Weiss and Mrs. Minnie Chalfant with the repairing and dressing of dolls that were collected for distribution to moved into the town of Bethune that year. An incident that happened on the route on December 24, L968 was this. We had a blizzatd a few days before which left some deep drifts and the county maintainer had wenl through once and the weather warmed up. A truck loaded with a tank of water had wlnt through the evening before to water the livestock located a mile north of Duaine Beeson's place. The night was very cold-and froze real hard. The next day it warmed up the less fortunate. Kramer. Albert started to carry mail on Route 2 south of Bethune in 1936 so they by Albert Amman �AMMAN, KARL GOTTLOB on November 12, 1893 in Franklin County Nebraska and died on February 22,1956 in Fr9 My Great Grandfather Karl Gottlob A'nmannan{ family lefttheir home in Memmingen, Bavaria Gerpany on April 4, 1850 for America. They sailed from the harbor at Bre4en, Germany to Ellis Igland, New Ygrk. After being cleared by customs they took a boat to Albany, New York, then took a train to Buffalo, New York. From there they took a boat to Saginaw, Michigan. From there they traveled by wagon to the new colony of Frankenhilf. This colony wqs several miles distant from Saginaw. Rev. Loehe's putpose for establishing colonies was to bring the poor people from Germany to America and give th€m a new start and a better life for themselves. Rev. Loehe always drea-ed of becoming a miesionary to the Indians. My Nebraska. Grandpa.rents A'nman and family had been living near Maxfield, Bremer County, Io-wa for several years whe4 they decided to move to Franklin County Nebraska. Land fqr t-he takiTrg and iqproving besides sorne of the children could also take homesteads. They lived on their homestead near Ash Grove, Nebraska. Grqndfather Amman helped to erganize the Turkey Creek St. Paul's Lu- theran Church. In 1901 they moved to Colorado and in 1909 returned to Nebragka. by Albrert A-mmen ANDERSON FAMILY F20 great grandfather was the foreman or leader of this mission and with great sacrifice established the Frankenhilf colony in Michigan in 1850. After a few years ofbuilding log houses and clearing the land for planting crops some of nal differences, in 1883 they decided to go to Iowa City, Iowa but found more suitable surroundings near Strawberry Point. They bought land near where St. Sebald's Church was later built. They built a log building on t-he land to live in and also used it for cbwch purposes. Great Grandfather Karl Gottlob Ammann gen, Germany. He married Christina Keller in Memmingen and their children are great aunt Anna Amman Schuchmann born on A\rgust 2, L84L; grandfather Gottlob Karl Ainmann born on November 4, 1843 and great aunt Katherine Ammann Krebs born on April 18, 1&t8 all in Memmingen, Germany. Grandfather Gottlob Karl Ammann married Elizs[s65 Groseman on April 10, 1866. These are their children; Charles Gottlieb Amman born on May 10, 1867 in Bremer County, Iowa and died on July 21, Memphis, Tennessee, In 1894, Cyrus & Lula and their one year old daughter, Winnie Augusta, left Illinois, and traveled by wagon to eastern Colorado to claim a homestead Cyrus had selected some months earlier. The homestead was located 3 7z miles west of Flagler. The Andersons soon realized the flat terrain of their homestead was not ideal for ranching, so traded for land eight miles northwest of Flagler on the Buffalo Creek. Here the Diemond-Bar-A Ranch was born, and Cy & Lula Anderson settled in to raising their family and a notable herd of Black Angus cattle. Other children born to Cyrus & Lula in addition to Winnie A., the eldest, were Nina R., Dewey L., Abner E., J. Keith, and Paul D. All the Anderson children born to Cyrus & Lula in addition to Winnie A., the eldest, were Nina R., Dewey I., Abner E., J. Keith, and Paul D. All the Ander$on children received their elementary education at the rural school known as the "Huntley School" north of Flagler, west of the Thurman Road. Winnie & Nina were in the first graduation classes when the Flagler educ.ation system offered a ten year high gchool. Both Winnie & Nina later obtained teacher certificates and taught in the Flagler rural schools for several years. the people got digsatisfied. Because of doctri- was born on September L2,L8L2 in Memmin- child, Lula's family moved to a farm near Sod house ofCyrus J. Anderson and Lulu Anderson viewing in a Southwest direction, six miles north and two and one half miles west of Flagler, Colorado. Cyrus J. Anderson was born February 6, 1863, at Alta Pass, Illinois, the child of Amos J. Anderson & Lourinda Keith Anderson. As a young man, Cyrus worked on the Mississippi floating logs from Alta Pass to Memphis. He met Lula Lee Moore at Memphis, and on March 14, 1886, they were married at Leaners, Arkansas. Lula Lee was born the child of David C. & Sarah S. Moore on November 25, L867, in Georgia. As a young Cyrus & Lula Anderson were a strong part in helping establish many of Flagler's organizations. In addition to the school system, they were organizers and members of the Congregational Church, the Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star. Lula was also instrumental in organizing the church's "Ladies Aid" and a rural organization made up of ranching and farming families and known as the "Country Club." Cyrus & Lula operated their ranch until the death of Cyrus in L927. Lula continued ownership of the ranch until her death in 1936. By the mid 1930's all the Anderson children had moved from the Flagler area with the exception of Winnie. In 1915 Winnie was married to W. Aubrey Walker who lived north of Seibert on his homestead. Aubrey & Winnie resided in the Seibert area untillgz?. [t was during those years their four children were born. The eldestchild, Dale Aubrey, was born in 1920 at the old Anderson Homestead L924 in Nebraska; Paul Georg Amman born Jvne 22,1869 in Brepmer County Iowa and died on April 4, L947 in Nebraska; Herman Gottfried Amman born on $epteqber 4, 1872 and died on July 16, 1934 in Colorado; Mary ;t-. f -.."I *-*'.*'*'irf Amman Worsham born gn April 21, 1874 in Bremer Iowa and died on March 28, 1955 in Nebraska; Anna Amman Etherton born on February 23, L876 in Bremer County Iowq and died on September 10, 1930 in Nebraska; Emma Amman Kleber born August 5, 1878 in Bremer County Iowa and died on MaJ 22, 1913 in Colorado; Albert Frederick Amman born on August 17, 1880 in Frauklin Couniy Ne.braska ind died on July 1?, 1S56 in Migsouri; Bertha Anman Hackenberger born on July 21, 1883 in Franklin County, Nebraska and died on May 1, 1940 in Miosouri; Martha Anman Fisher born on July 9, 1EE4 ip Franklin County Nebraska and died on January 13, 1981 in Oregou Nannie A:nman Kleber born on August 23, 1889 in Franklin Cgunty Nebraska and died on IVIay 3, L974 in Washington; Amanda Amman Sindt born on October 12, 1891 in Fra.a-kl.in Coupty Nebraska aud died on January 31, 1945 iri Nebraska; Frederick Gottfried Anqman born faken in front of Cyrus and Lulu's sod house. Far left: Aubrey Walker and Winnie Andergon Walker. Far Right: Cyrus J. Anderson. Teken about 1915. �Western Kansas. They received many trophies for Grand Champion bronco rider. Another form of entertainment was going to the dance held at Hale, Colorado. It was a good place to see their friends. Reuben met a registcred nurse, Anne Irene Shirley, who had just completed her training at St. Lukes Hospital in Denver, Colorado and planned to work in the area. Anne's sister, Vera Cody, her husband fuch, and their children played the music for the dance. Reuben and Anne were married in Goodland, Kansas on July sod house northwest of Flagler. K. Lavon was born in 1921 at the Walker Homestead north of Seibert, as was Helen O., who died when less than two years of age. Nina Lou, the youngest, was born at Seibert in L927. Early 1928 found Aubrey & Winnie living on the Anderson Homestead following the death of Winnie's father, Cyrus Anderson. The Walkers operated the Anderson Ranch for only a few years before purchasing their own ranch-farm which connected to the Anderson ranchland. In 1943, Aubrey & Winnie sold their farm holdings and moved to Flagler where Aubrey began employment as a bookkeeper for Fruhling Motor Co., a Chewolet agency. He held this position until he retired at the age of 85. Aubrey, Winnie & their children continued the "Anderson" involvement in the Flagler Community. In addition to the church and lodge, this involvement was expressed through organizations that included the Town Board, Flagler Development Association, Lions Club,4-H Club, scouting and not the least, the school and its many activities including membership on the Board of 24, r93r. Reuben and Viola Anderson on their wedding day, April 29, 1946, in Goodland, Kansas. Archie and Juanita Anderson accompanied them. My story of the Anderson dates back to 1887 when Anders and Maria Anderson homesteaded north of Burlington on the Colorado-Kansas border, moving there from Bohulsem, Sweden. They are the parents of Oscar Anderson who married Nettie Latelia Anderson on January 2, 1899. Nettie's parents and grandparents were Directors. also born in Sweden. When she was 1% years Winnie Walker passed away June 4, 1961, and Aubrey died October 25, 1981. As Flagler nears its centennial mark, the Anderson-Walker family have shared in the joys & sorrows, and the trials & successes of old she went to live with her grandparents, this community through most of the century. AT this writing, Mr. Paul Anderson, youngest of the children of Cyrus & Lula Anderson is the last living member to hold the family name in this Anderson Lineage. The family line continues at Flagler through Reuben Charley, was the oldest child, born Pat & Lou (Walker) Ford and their son's family, Tony & Debbie Ford. Living in nearby Limon, Colorado, are Dale & Betty Walker and their two sons and their wives, Dale Jr. & Dawn. and John & Cheri Walker. Living in Colorado Springs is Wilbur & Lavon (Walker) Keeran. by Dale A. \Malker ANDERSON FAMILY I.2l Charlotta Katherina and Anders Gustar Anderson, because her mother had died. They moved by covered wagon to north of Kanorado in 1888 and also homesteaded. February 27, L902. He attended "Beaver Valley" country school as long as he could, but when there was work to do at home he stayed home and helped his father. He rode his horse to school. The first year was very difficult because his parents talked Swedish and English, Reuben confused the languages and the other children would laugh at him. So the family decided to speak English only, but his mother still sang Swedish songs and played the accordion for her family. Oscar's brother Otto had a grocery store in Kansas City, Kansas. Oscar's family sent milk, crenm and butter by train to be sold in Otto's store. They also raised corn, husking it by hand. During the 1920's Reuben and his brother Archie enjoyed riding in the rodeos held in the communities of Kit Carson County and Anne was the daughter of Adelbert and Anna (Denker) Shirley of Brewster, Kansas. Del's family were originally from England and Anna's from Germany. Reuben and Anne purchased a farm 21 miles north-east of Burlington for $12.50 per acre in 1932. They were interested in the community of Beaver Valley, being involved with the Soil Conservation District and practicing the latest improved farming methods. Reuben loved the land and working hard. They were active in 4-H work. Anne helped organize the Happy Hours Home Demonstra- tion Club in 1935. Their four children were born during the depression: Jim, Kathryn, Charlene and Dick, all later marrying into local farm families. Jim married Gwendolyn, daughter of George and Thelma Andrews. Kay married Gene, son of Carl and Mary Morgan. Charlene married Bill, son of Earl and Josephine (Nohr) Jemes. Dick married Janice, daughter of Bernard and Louise Conrardy. In 1940 they kept a record of all their expenses and their income from the milk, cream eggs (at 8 cents a dozen), pigs, crops of oats and wheat and it totaled out to the seme emount of $1,700.00. Also. in the 1940's Reuben and his friend Sam Morrow purchased a Minneapolis threshing machine from Reuben's brother Ivan for $350.00. They used it in the neighborhood to custom thresh all ofthe fall crops. While the neighborhood men harvested, the women would prepare the noon meal for the whole crew. Everyone enjoyed this time together eating, laughing and joking. Anne was seriously burned in a butane gas explosion in their cellar; she died February 26, L943 at the Hayee General Hospital in Burlington. Reuben endured many hardships to keep his family together but never complained. All of the neighbor ladies gave a helping hand, washing,ironing, cleaning, mending and also canning the meat, fruit and vegetablee. Their love qrill never be forgotten by the fanily. On April 29, L946, Reuben wae unit€d in marriage to ViolaElizabeth, daughterof Emil and Pauline (Grnmm) Schaal, who lived north of Burlington. The Schaal's and Gramm's were a part of the settlement that cayne from Russia in 1898 and settled north of Bethune, near the Republican River. A Oecar and Nettie Anderson with their family in October 1931 on their homestead on the Colorado-Kansas border, daughter Helen, eon Ivan, son Rueben and his wife Anne, son Archie and his wife Juanita and their children Loranell and Darrell. Stella, another daughter and family were not present. daughter, Lola Mae, and a son, Paul Dean, were born to this marriage. Lola married Walter Cary of Springfield and Paul married Mary Louise Cheseny, also of Springfield, Missouri. In 1949 Reuben was elected as one of the Kit Carson County Commiesioners, serving a four year term. During his tenure and Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital was opened, the remodeling of the court house was completed, new cattle-chutes were built at �the county fairgrounds and some county ANDRE, JOHN ELBERT roads were asphalted. Reuben departed this life on May 11, 1984' a proud Grandpa of his sixteen granddaughters, five gtandsons and eleven great-grand- children. He always caried a little blackbook, and in it he list€d aI of the grandchildren. His brother Archie passed away in February of 1984. Archie's family still lives 10 miles south of Ruleton, Kansas. A sister Stclla Weller lives near Kadoka, South Dakota on a cattle ranch. Another sister Helen married Melvin Sall. They own and farm a place between her parents homest€ad and Reuben's place. Ivan, another brother still lives on the "Old Anderson Homestead". by Kathryn Anderson Morgan ANDERSON McCONNELL FAMILY r.22 F23 John Elbert fuld1e sems to Colorado in 1910 to take a homestead of 320 acres north of Flagler. He built a two room frnme house. January 20, LgL2 he married Berniece Elsie Wynne in Hugo, Colorado by a Judge by the name of Miles. They drove their team of one horse and blind mare hitched to his buggy to his home north of Flaglsl smid snow and ice. They had three children, daughter Gladys Kerl of Stratton, Colorado, Son George Robert of Mesa, Arizona, a daughter Leora Mae, now deceased. Their crops weren't much that first year. They ate a lot of corn bread and beans. Selling the homestead they moved to Colorado Springs where Elbert worked at different jobs returning to Flagler some time in 1918 where they farmed. Then in the 20's Elbert taught the Dazzling Valley School in District 14. At one time he also taught the Mount Pleasant School. One of our former citizens, Fabe Anderson, is the only one of my knowledge, to go to the Klondike. I have not been able to get much first-hand knowledge about his trip' So many of those times are gone, as is Fabe and his wife. In 1886 George Carmack of lllinois discovered gold in the region of Dawson, near the Klondike River, which flows into the Yukon River in Alaska. It created quite a lot of excitement and a nrrmber of gold seekers traveled there to try their luck. Dawson is in Canada, but mostpersons went to Alaska. We have not been able to dig up a good story of his trip. We do know he went and his son Carl remembers, he met up with some man from California on his travels and they made the journey together. Carl has a gold ring with the inscription of Nome on it. That is the western point ofAlaska, not far from Russia, probably called Siberia then. The ring has a small amount of alloy in it so Carl cannot wear it much, it is to soft. It was in 1897, that so many gold seekers flocked there, and in that year two million dollars in gold was taken from there in the form of nuggets and grains. Since the price of gold has gone down it has not encouraged such prospecting. It is mostly in a free etate and obtained by washings. What an interesting story that would have been off his hardships, disappointments and adventures. He married Del McConnell after he cnme back from the Klondike. They homesteaded on a place one half mile from his wifes parents home. to this union five children were born, Geneva, Ina, Carl, Shelly, and Wilma. All the children grew up and married and left the county except one son Carl who settled in Burlington, Colo. His wife paased away in 1937 leaving Fabe with a family to raise. He later left the county with his younger children to seek work elsewhere. He was brought back to the county where he was laid to rest begide his wife in Claremont Cemetery, Stratton, Colo. by Dessie Cassity To have a certificate to teach he borrowed books from the County Superintendent to study. Elbert and Arthur Rob went to Burlington and took the teachers examination which made them eligible to teach. After the children were out of grade school the family moved into town in Flagler for them to attend High school. Elbert worked in the grocery store for Bob Brian. After some years and other places Elbert and Berniece returned to their beloved Flagler to retire and spend their remaining years, by Gladys Kerl ANDREWS FAMILY F24 Edward Andrews was born February 1, L874, at Gage County, Nebraska, to Addison and Lucretia (Hamilton) Andrews. On February 24, 1896, he was united in marriage to Edward Leoan Andrews and Buelah Molinda (Marchant) Andrews, parents of Edith Francis Lightle, Grandparents of Harold Lightle, Great Grandparents of James and Jerry Lightle. fire. The cow chips were the hard sun-dried droppings of the cattle herds and remaining buffalo that roamed the prairie land. Many a good loaf of bread was baked by the hot fires. In those old days, when they butchered, they would fry the meat and put it in stone jars, pouring grease over it. Sausage was made into patties, fried and stored in crocks filled with lard. Illnesses were treated with homemade remedies. Only during the most severe illnesges, was a doctor summoned. Their daughter, Edith, married Curtis Lightle, February 16, 1926, and raised a family of fifteen children: Francis, Eva, William, Harold, Erma, Vera, Franklin, David, Carl, Elmer, Margaret, Linda, Matilda and Larry, one son died at birth. Edith still lives on a farm near the old homestead Beulah Marchant, near Emporia, Kansas. Edward and Beulah came west in a covered wagon on their honeymoon and settled southeast of Hale, Colorado, near Jakeway, Kansas. Edward's parents and family came from Kansas at the same time, and they played for dances on their way out to pay and five of her children, William, Harold (my husband), Carl, Elmer and Larry reside in Kit their expenses. Edward played the violin and played for many dances in the BurlingtonIdalia area. Around 1898 he took a homestead about five miles north of the Republican River in Yuma County. He proved up on his homest€ad and about 1916 he took a timber claim 12 miles northeast of Stratton, Colorado. He lived here several years proving up on the timber claim. He then sold this and moved to Dresden, Kansas and Missouri for a short time. In about 1926 he moved his family back to Burlington, Colorado, where they spent ARMISTEAD FAMILY their remaining years. Edward and Beulah had a familY of 12 children, Marion, Maude, Reva, Florence, Leon, Elridge, Hazel, Edith, Elizabeth, Dorothy, Gilbert and Mazie. Times were hard, and the big wood cookstoves burned cow chips which made a good hot Carson County. by Eilene Kreoger Lightle F25 On a bleak March day in 1932 Charles and Alma Armistead with their five oldest children, Irene, Phillip, Bonnie, Elizabeth, and Charlene moved from the economically depressed Dust Bowl of western Kansas to the same kind of environment thirtpen miles north and three miles east of Flagler; from a large farm home near Goodland to a tworoom basement. I recall neighbors gossiping that Mother must be out of her mind to move anice white ena-el babycrib intosuch agrim abode. However, that crib became the first bed of four other children. Sometimes, the new baby lived in a laundry basket; sometimes in a daintily lined box. Jim, Jerry, Shirley, and Juanita were all born at home �small rooms, but a mansion to us. That place was a half mile from the Leseberg farm where Ralph and Elizabeth (Armietead) now reside. After that to a place a mile east of Flagler and then into town. Duringthose years Dad drove a truck for the DLS (Denver-Limon-Bur- lington) truck lines, delivered gas and oil for the Co-op, janitored for the high school. By 1957 the nest was empty except for me. When I went to teach in Calif. I incuned a spinal cord injury causing permanent paralysis. I was lovingly nursed and nurtured by a caring family and supportive community for eleven years until I was admitted to Craig Hospital in Denver for rehabilitation. When I began to work there in 1962, Mother and Dad moved to Denver to be with me. I am now retired. Each of us has gone in a different direction. Aftcr serving in the Navy during World War II, Philmoved to NewYorkwhere he married, worked for the telephone com- pany and later bought a dairy. Bonnie -f, x,,$,,;llb married J.C. Conrad who farmed near Flagler before moving to the Denver area. Elizabeth t The Armieteads, 1956: Back row - left to right: Bonnie, Charlene, Jim, Jerry, Phil, Juanita; Front row left to right: Shirley, Alma, Irene, Charles, Elizabeth. and delivered by Dr. Neff or Dr. Reed, usually agsisted by Gerda Huntzinger. At that time, it was believed new mothers should stay in bed for two weeks. When Shirley was born, I missed echool. An entry in my diary: "I stayed home and did the work for 17 days, scrubbed, washed, baked bread, cooked, and kept house in general. I was 13 years old. I bathed Shirley so sweet and kept her feet warm with the hot water bottle." The white ennmel baby crib was a symbol that was typical of Mother in her endeavors to keep that dugout cheerful and pleasant, although life was hard raising nine children in such a small space and on a poverty income. Cleanliness was imperative in spite ofour carrying water both down and up those basement stairs. Mother used hand-me-down clothes and flour sacks to fashion dresses from pictures in the Montgomery Ward catalog, cutting her own patterns from copies of the CAPPER'S WEEKLY, our only publication in addition tathe FLAGLER NEWS. To add to the attractiveness ofthe clothes she embroidered a special gtitch that I have rarely seen. Among my cherished treasures are items with that stitch. Although food was scarce and limited in variety, Mother used her imagination to create all kinds of dishes from the wild rabbits that Dad and Phil shot. We planted large gardens. Sometimes the hawest was successful with many vegetables to can. Some years there were as many as 9fi) quarts. Some years the plants succumbed to drouth, hail, or the grasshoppers which ate the plants into the ground. Dad tried to farm, using horses and inadequate machinery. Farmer after farmer failed to produce a crop due to the extreme drouth and a lack of knowledge of more successful dry land farming as we know it today. Our few cattle gtazed, on the "free range", which ie now privately owned. Many of them died due to dust pneumonia or bloating from eating the young, green tumble weeds. After the cattle had decayed and the bones bleached, Phil and I picked up the latter to sell to purchase roller skates which we used in the barn loft. All of us picked up dried cow chips to burn for both cooking and heating. Actually the iron cookstove served for both. When he could, Dad was a helpmate in assisting with the grueling household work. He tried very hard to provide for the family. What a blow it was to Dad's pride, when he had to apply to work on the WPA (Works Progress Administration). Often that meant he was gone throughout the week as he was assigned to other parts ofthe county building bridges, schools, etc., which left much of managing the home to Mother. We lived three miles from Liberty, the country school for all eight grades. Phil started to school when he was very young so I would not have to go alone. Part of the time we took the horse and buggy, rode horseback, walked, rode two miles with Homer Huntzinger in his Model-T Ford. How frightening it was to be caught in a dust storm on the way home! The barbed wire fence on either side of the road (now it seems more like a trail) served as a sentinel to keep us on coutse. Liberty was the "community center" with pie socials, literary, Sunday School, and occasionally a preacher. How pleased I felt to play the p rmp organ. But life was not all drudgery. We made our fun. No plastic toys then! Playhouses in the grainery with broken dishes, different colors of soil for "cooking", gunny sacks for beds, polywogs in a quartjar for goldfish, plenty of space to draw houses or whole towns on the barren ground, playing cards and dominoes at the oak table. Sometimes there were trips married Ralph Conrad; they have lived around Flagler most of the time. Charlene is manied to Lyle Garner and lives in Stratton. She worked at the Flagler Hospital and later at the Stratton Co-op. Shirley graduated from University of Northern Colorado, and married Sherman Henry. Both of them are teachers and live in Branson, Mo. Juanita married Tom Ellison and lives in Northglenn where she works for the Credit Union. Jim was killed in a crane accident in 1979. After serving in the Navy during the Korean War, he married Esther Schlichenmayer of Burlington. Following high school Jerry served in the army. Upon discharge he worked in Holyoke where he met and married Anita Thietje. He died suddenly in L977. Having lived hard, busy lives with a full measure of worry, sadness, and joy, Dad died in December, 1971 at the age of 86; Mother died just after her 84th birthday in March, 1982. They are the forebearers of 9 children, 22 grandchildren, and 39 great-grandchildren. by Irene Armistead ARMSTRONG TOWERS FAMILY F26 My father, John Everett Armstrong, was born in 1881, in Melbourne, Iowa. He and his to town with a nickel for penny candy; Sundays might be spent with neighbors. From Dad most of us learned the joy of reading to escape to other times - toForlearn, and places. a very special treat we could persuade Dad to play the harp, featuring "oldies" with which he grew up. In 1937 when I graduated from the 8th grade, we moved to the Jackson place to be on the bus route so I could attend Flagler High School where each of the nine of us eventually went. Wow, a real house with four John and Elizabeth Armstrong Iived in this house in 1950. This picture was taken by Carol Wendler later. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families of Kit Carson County Description An account of the resource Brief biographies of the founding families of Kit Carson County Colorado. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Book Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families- A Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1988 Description An account of the resource A brief history of founding families from Kit Carson County whose names begin with the letter "A." As told in the book A History of Kit Carson County Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Salmons, Janice Hasart, Marlyn Smith, Dorothy Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. A History of Kit Carson County Volume 1 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Curtis Media Subject The topic of the resource History Kit Carson County Biography Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/455/Families-B1.pdf 243b51c6efa871f7f074c4397be39e33 PDF Text Text grandchildren, and 12 great great grandchildren. by Georgia Megel BABER, Vy. EARL F27 W. Earl Baber, retired rancher and farmer of Burlington for many years, was one of the leading ranchers in this area. Mr. Baber was owner ofa fine operation where he specialized in the feeding of cattle and hogs. His brand was Inverted TY. His main crops were feed wheat. Mr. Baber cnme with his parents to Cheyenne County in 1906 where they took a homestead of 160 acres. In 1913 Earl Baber took a homestead of 320 acres. He still has his original papers of relinquishment, signed by L. to R.: Mattie (Br"-meier) Smith, Everett Armstrong, Georgia Megel, Betty Smith, Clara Brammeier, Emil fumetrong, Cora (Petefish) Youet (oldest), Charleg Armstrong. Front: Mary Elizabeth and John Everett Armetrong - SOth Anniversary, April 8, 1958. father, Lonson Butler Armstrong, came to Kit Carson County, Colo. in 1906, south of Burlington, to a homest€ad. The Butler, in his name. was his mother's maiden name. Lonson married Cora Smith, they had three children, Cora, Mattie, and John Everett. Cora, the mother, died when John was 1 year old. Grandfather Armstrong worked as a janitor for Dr. and Mrs. Gillette in the old Burlington hospital. My mother, Mary Elizabeth Towers, was born July 6, 1886, in Illinois. She came to Burlington about the snme time in 1906, with her parents, George and Emily Towers and brothers and sisters, by emigrant train. Emily Towers was a Ruddel. Her brother helped build or rather brick the old Burlington courthouse. Grandfather Towers raised fancy horses and brought them on this train also. They stopped in Kansas City to feed the horses. My mother, Mary, took her two sisters into the drug store here to shop or look around. Mary lost track of her younger sister, she went right up to the store owner and accused him ofstealing her sister. But the girl was later found and she was neither lost or stolen. They homesteaded south of Burlington, about 1 mile north of the correction line and 6 or 8 miles to the west. My mother was 18 at the time and she also took a homestead of her own. Grandfather Towers ran the last livery stable in Burlington. John Everett Armstrong married Mary Elizabeth Towers in Burlington, April 8, 1908. They raised 8 children, 5 girls, and 3 boys. I, Georgia Lonzona Armetrong (Megel), was born the 2nd daughter on Nov. 13, 1910, on the farm south of Burlington. I was named Georgia Lonzona after both my grandfathers. I remember going to a school where the teacher was Della Hendricks. When my brother Everett was born, I was going to school in a adobe school house. We only went to school five months one year. Joe Boyles was a neighbor to father and when they moved into Burlington, they gave father a boat. Dad would hitch the horse up to the boat and haul us kids and the school teacher to school in it in about 1918. Mrs. Borten, whose maiden nAme was Wedmore, had 3 children and she taught them and me school in her own house. Once I boarded with a neighbor, Clarence Nickerson, and his wife Blanche. They didn't have any girls so I stayed with them. They bought me a newgxeen coat. I well remember his beautiful white horse, he'd put me up in the saddle with him and we'd ride. They were Seventh Day Adventists, and once they took me to Denver to a meeting in tents with them. One tent for the colored folks and one for the white folks. We kids went right in the colored tent and sat down. My oldest sister, Cora, didn't want to leave home or board out so she rode a horse to her school about 5 miles away. I remember I took the eighth grade twice, because Dad wouldn't let us girls go into Burlington to work. They said I was too young and should take the eighth grade again for something to do. So I did. All my brothers went to the service during W.W.IL Everett was a tank driver, in the Army in Germany and he got wounded and Woodrow Wilson. Mr. Baber lived on this land until 1944, at which time he moved to his present home in Burlington. Mr. Baber and his family underwent many hardships during the dust years, but by dint of.hard work and courage, they cnme through with flying colors. "Baber Corner" has always been a landmark in the area, as it is about halfway between Cheyenne Wells and Burlington. At the time the homestead was taken in 1906 there was only one other house on the route to Cheyenne Wells. W. Earl Baber was born in 1892 in Jameson, Missouri, to Josiah S. and Susannah West Baber. His parents were married in Indiana in 1883 and lived to celebrate their sixty-third wedding anniversary. Earl Baber attended public schools in Missouri. He married Gladys Harker, the daughter of Clinton B. and Mary Logan Harker, in Cheyenne Wells in 1923. Mr. and Mrs. Harker were married in Missouri Valley, Iowa, in 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Baber are the parents of three children: Carol, Williem E. Jr., and Joseph Lynn. Carol is maried to Martin Darnall, and they are the parents of six children: Linda, Lelia, Jimmie, Judy, Timmie and Terry. William Baber Jr., married the former Lois Pratt, and they have two children, Jerry and Betty. William is the manager of the International Harvester store in Burlington and in 1959 earned a trip to New York as top salesman of farm equipment. Mr. Baber served as a member of his district school board. He is well known throughout his area as a hard-working, resourceful farmer whose perseverance has been rewarded with success. received the purple heart. Emil was in the Air Force and Charles was in the Navy in Japan. Sister Clara married Elmer Brammeier. They lived south of Burlington in a sod or adobe house. Sister Mattie married Edgar Brammeier, brother Emil married Betty Yotsey. (Betty's mother was also a Brammeier). Sister Betty married Jack Smith after the folks moved into Denver. Everett married Laura Wright from around Denver, and Charles married Dolores from Kansas. My folks moved into Denver and daddy worked at Denver General Hospital. He took the trays of food up to the patients. Mother and daddy stayed in a nursing home to the last. Mom was buried in Burlington, July 9, 1973, and Daddy died in 1975. All my family and uncle Bert Towers are buried in Burlington. They left 51 grandchildren, 60 great by Janice Salmans BACKLUND FAMILY F28 Alvin Lorenzo Backlund, born in Stromsburg, "The Swede Capitol of Nebraska," on Nov. 8, 1885, and Florence Judith Elmgren, born in Ogallala, Neb., Jan. 3, 1888, were united in marriage Nov. 12, 1911. Both were of pure Swedish descent, their parents migrating to America, the land of the free and the brave. Following in their parents' footsteps the Backlunds, with their two small children, Alvin L. Jr., and Maxine Frances, "migrated" �to Burlington in March of 1920 to seek their fortune in the undeveloped west. Mr. Backlund, along with his brother Theodore William, come to Burlington several weeke in advance of his family, the two men starting an implement buginess known as Backlund and Company, dealers for Hart Parr tractors and other farm equipment. According to the daughter, the arrival of the family on the scene was an unforgettable day. They traveled by train, there being six passenger trains daily in Burlington, stepping off of the train into a raging dust storm go intense you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. To add fuel to the fire, Mr. Backlund was not on hand to meet the train and the mother, having lived in the city most of her life, was appalled by her first glimpse of the little one-horse town. The children heard her mutter as she grabbed their hands and start€d walking down Main Street, "Now, why did Al ever bring me to this God forsaken hole?" Yet when they moved back to Lincoln, Neb., in 1938 because of poor economic conditions, she cried the hardest because she didn't want to leave her beloved home in Burlington. Brother Ted remained in the community and operated Backlund and Company until his retirement in the late took turns in teaching small groups of boys and girls who attended school. The gray wolves were very bad in the northern woods, but I never heard of them attacking a person. They were rather curious animals, and would follow a rider or sleigh for miles. I remember the spring I was four years old, we drove to town and the wolves followed the sleigh home, a distance of fourteen miles. Mother used to trade with the Indians and get venison for tea, sugar and other supplies they wanted. We never had any trouble with them, and they seemed quite friendly. When I was nine years old we moved to Lake View, Michigan and there I saw my first church and Sunday school. We lived here three years, then father, who was a country doctor, and of a rather roving disposition, decided to return to the lumbel samps. We lived there for awhile, then again we moved back to Lake View and lived here for three years more. By this time mother's health was very poor and she was ordered further west. We got a light wagon, fitt€d it up with a mattress and made it as comfortable as possible for The family used to sit around and tell tales of early days in Burlington and one of their mother, loaded our belonging on other wagons, and started west. We did not hurry, and enjoyed camping and visiting at other camps and small towns as we cn-e along. We always planned to stop at a town or farmhouse where we could procure eggs, butter and milk. When favorites was when their Dad told them about the land promoters bringing people by train we cnme through the northern part of Iowa, it was still unsettled, nothing but shanties '60's. to the community to endeavor to sell them land. In order to impress them with our "western hospitality" they would go out in the country the day before the arrival of prospective buyers and pay a rural family to have a bounteous meal ready at noon the next day. They would then act as if they just happened to be in that vicinity at mealtime and the "friendly" family would "invite" the group into their home to share their meal. Another son and daughter joined the family circle while they lived in Burlington, Carl William and Charlotte Anne. When they returned to Nebraska, all of the children moved with them with the exception of Maxine. She married John Rollin Hudler on Nov. 12, 1936, and has stayed in the good old home town, the Hudler family having owned and operated the local newspaper, "The Burlington Record" for the past 55 years. Mr. Backlund moved back to Burlington following the death of his wife Florence in 1965, living here until his death in 1976. The two brothers now make their respective homes in New York City and the younger sister in Log Angeles but Burlington will always hold a soft spot in their hearts. by Maxine lludler BAKER, ELMER C. F29 I was born March L3, 1872 near Detroit, Michigan and while still a small child, moved with my parents into the north woods of Michigan among the big lrrmfel camps, and lived in a dugout during the severe winters. I went to school in a log house; the seats and desks were made from split logs. I started school to my own mother when I was three and one-half years old. My mother was a teacher and she and a cowin, dso a teacher, and long grass. I remember some of the natives showed us how they would wind the long grass into rolls for fuel; and it was surprising to us how long it would burn. We traveled on west and finally we arrived in McCook, Nebr., and settled south of Indianola, on Beaver Creek,living there and helping to build the railroad from Oxford, Nebr. to St. Francie, Kansas. This was in 1886, and the town of Danbury was just start€d. In 1886, we came to St. Francis. Kans. and father took a homestead out north of Kanorado, about eighteen miles and about five miles south of Jacqua, which at that time was composed of two small general stores, one drug store, and a small hotel. When I was seventeen years old, I began teaching school in the district in which we lived, and that little frame school house is still standing. I taught there the first term and Miss Jessie VanWinkle, who later becavne my wife, taught the second term. I taught several terms of school in Kansas, then cnme to Colorado and taught in the public school for two and one-halfyears, resigrring the position to work in the office of the county treasurer. I worked in this office about four months and then became affiliated with the Stock Growers Stat€ Bank, and stayed in this work from 1902 to 1907. I then organized the Baker Abstract company, and began my work from the original set of books started by Daniel Kavanaugh, the first county clerk (elected) of the new county, and containing entries made from Elbert county before Kit Carson County was organized. In 1910, I returned to the bank and worked at banking and abstracting until 1,916, when I gave up banking and devoted all my time to the abstracting business, in which I'm still engaged. In the early days we used parched rye for coffee, and hauled our water from the Republican river. One of our neighbors by the nnme of Van Horn had a hand dug well over one hundred feet in depth. He would charge us five cents for watering a team and ten cents a barrel for water hauled. The emmigrants used to resent this charge. They did not stop to consider the expense of putting down a well like that. We used sagebrush for fuel and would plow up the plants, thus getting the long tough roots which made good firewood. This was stacked up close to the house and was easy to get in all kinds of weather. This was an interesting country; people came from everywhere, bringing with them their talents and culture, their ideals and nmbitions. We tried to make the best of the conditions and times in which we lived. Everybody worked at what they could get to do; amusements were few and we learned to be content with what we could work for and get for ourselves. by E. C. Baker BAKER, R. E. FAMILY F30 Robert E. Baker and Bonnie (Wanda Lee) and son Bobby David age 7, migrated to Burlington, Co. in June of 1955 from Cozad, Nebr. In Oct. of the same year another son Barry Lee wag born. In partnership with George and Aldean Pischke they purchased the Ford Garage from Perry Miller, located on the corner of 13th and Martin. Two years later the dealership was enlarged and moved to Rose Ave. located at the now Chadderton Ford. In 1962, the dealership was sold to Edmund Ebeler. The Bakers then purchased "The Men's Shop" in partnership with C.E. McCartney and H.J. Mcune. Later Bob purchased C.E. McCartney's interest. Bob and Bonnie were active members of the United Methodist Church serving on numerous committees. Bob was church treasurer and Bonnie taught children and adult Sunday School classes. Bob, an active member of the business community, served as President of the Chnmber of Commerce, President of the Lion's Club, Master of the Masonic Lodge and President of the Golf Club, is now serving on the Local Housing Authority Board. Bonnie was President of the Ladies Golf Club, President of the Quo Vadis Womens Club and President of the Library Board. In 1962, Bonnie assumed the job of the Swimming Director of the local swi--ing pool located at 18th and Senter. She was instrumental in planning the new pool located beside the High School and introduced many swimming progra-s including Competitive swim program affiliated with the West Kansas Swim League and was a qualified Missouri Valley A.A.U. Referee. Bonnie retired from the pool in 1982 and became more active in the operation of the Men's Shop. Bob has many hobbies including golf, fishing, motorcycling, wood working and is interested in art and does watercolor, pen and ink and oils. Bonnie's hobbies are sewing, reading, and as a member of the Library Board is looking forward to the construction of the new Library. Son Robert David graduated from Burlington High School in 1966, and served in the Navy Seabees for four years, two of which �were spent in Vietnnm. After the service he attended LaJunta Jr. College and graduated from the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley, Colo. in 1975. Now he has his own business, "Baker Development", in Greeley. His main hobby is Hot Air Ballooning. Barry L. graduated from Burlington High School in 1975, and attended General Motors training school in Dallas, Tex. He is now employed at Weld County Motors in Greeley, Colo. Barry regides in Fort Collins, Colo., with hig wife Valerie and two children: Bryson and Breanne. Barry's hobbies are his family, golf and boating. Valerie operates her own Day Care Center. by R.E. Baker BANEY, LELAND F3r The Baney's, Leland and Dorothy with their two small daughters, Ann and Linda moved to the Smoky Hill Community in January of 1950 from Benkelman, Nebraska, locating about two miles south of the Smoky Hill School in an adobe house. Leland, farmer and rancher, had the opportunity to lease some of the land his late father-in-law, Edward Zorn had acquired in the late thirties and early forties. About two years later the drouth of the fifties hit with the next four or five yeare being rough financially. Our cow herd had to be gold when the pastures remained dormant. In fact for four years little was produced with many very bad dust storms. One night we were with Allen and Eloise Joppa returning from a card party at the Bob McClelland home when the wind and dirt hit' making it impossible to see. Until you have experienced this situation, it is hard to degcribe. Only by putting his head out of the car window were we able to find our way A blizzard in early November 1957 is not to be forgotten. The day had been warm and dressed accordingly, Leland accompanied Leo Windscheffel to Burlington to a night meeting,leaving his car on the correction line. When leaving town it was snowing hard with a strong wind. Not realizing the motor had blown full of snow, Leland started for home. After two miles the engine drowned out from the melting snow and he was marooned for 32 hours, near the Wayne Iseman home which was then vacant. Fortunately the temperature didn't drop much below freezing. Recess at Smoky Hill was usually a ball ga-e and everyone played. This particular day eight year old Ann was catcher with Kay Meyers Carson batting. Ann, too close to the home plate, was hit in the head when Kay swung. The wound required several stitches and proved a valuable lesson for the young player. Ann and Linda both love the farm and enjoyed feeding cattle, branding, moving irrigation pipe, changing water, harvesting wheat, trucking the grain, shocking feed, etc. So many young people today will never experience these things and the beauty of nature which God has provided because the fanily farm is rapidly fading away. The dry, windy years, grasshoppers, hail, late and early frosts, blizzards, sometimes one following another had been hard, but we have had many bountiful years, too, with the good outweighing the bad. The area has been very good to us, the memories are plentiful, with many wonderful lifetime friends and a place we will always call home. by Dorothy Baney BARBER, MADGE PETERSON F32 home. We found this to be an active community with the Smoky Hill Gun Club, Friendship Circle H.D. Club,4H, community church and Sunday School, Friday night pinochle parties, pot-luck dinnere plus all of the school activities. Smoky Hill even had a volleybdl team for several years, entering a tournnment in Goodland, Kaneas. Players were Orville Chapin, John Robertson, Bob McClelland, Tom Lnmb, Joe Long, Claude Bell, and Leland Baney. They won every game to the finals being defeated only by the Goodland coacheg te"m. During a Christmas progrnm at Smoky Hill, Helen Woods Newberry was playing the role of Mary in the Nativity scene, singing to her newborn son, Jesus. Linda, age 2, seated on the front row got up, went up on the stage and stood looking in the cradle. When Helen finished her song, Linda returned to her seat, much to the reliefofher parents. June, 1955, following a day of fishing with Linda' her father and some friends, Ann was helping clean their catch in the garage that evening. Going to the houee she was frightened by the dog running through the sweet corn and she forced her arm through the storm door. A pie- shaped wedge of glass penetrated her arm severing the nerves, muscle and vein, requiring two major eurgeries at Children's Hospi- tal in Denver. We didn't have many boughten toys. We walked on barrels and stilts and rode horses. We had one saddle horse Pop raised from a wild horse. It seems the colt's mother had died, so Pop raised the colt along with Delphia. Anyway, Tony was our constant companion. We had him trained to lay down so we six kids could pile on. Pop would never let us use a saddle, so when one kid fell off, they all did. Tony would stop, lay down, and we would all remount. Tonyshould have been born a mare. He would find a newborn calf in the pasture and keep the mother away. In otherwords, he tried to adopt any small animal. One fall Pop took the lumber wagon and traveled to the railroad station (Laird) to pick up apples, potatoes and coal. Oh, how I hated to desprout those potatoes. Anyway, Pop heard this whimpering at the side of the road. In a gunny sack were two small puppies. He brought them home and we cdled them Trim and True. In those days everyone had what they called an ice cellar. The farmers dug holes in the ground about 15 feet long, 10 feet deep, and 10 feet wide. They lined the hole with straw and cut slabs of ice from ponds and lakes and packed them in the ice cellar with more straw. That was our ice supply for the next summer. One fall when the ice was gone, we kids put planks, 2 x L2's, down in the ice cellar and crawled into the cellar to play in the straw. Suddenly we got tired of that and all crawled up the planks, but Harry, the youngest sti[ in diapers. Harry would start up the plank and Trim and True would grab his diaper and pull him down. Mamie ran screaming to the house, "Mom, come get Harry, Trim and True are going to eat him." Pop always hauled ensilage to the cattle in the lumber wagon. Of course all we kids and the two dogs would go along. One day the dogs, feeling extra frisky, barked at the cattle and were chasing them away from the bunks. Pop picked up a hammer, not meaning to hurt the dogs. The handle hit True in the head and killed him instantly. We kids bawled for days. My parents lived close to the canyons and breaks. Sometimes the snow got 10 to 15 feet deep in the gulleys. We kids would work for hours pushing a four-wheel horse buggy up a steep hill, then all the kids and Trim would pile in the buggy and down we would go, Wayne and Madge Barber. I was born on Friday, June 13, 1913, to Fred and Mamie Peterson in Yuma County, Colo. My mother was an orphan and had a hard life, so she didn't plan on any girls as they had it too rough. I was the third girl born to Mom as I had two older sisters (Delphia and Eva). The midwife that cared for Mom and me had four boys and no girls. She begged Mom for me, but Pop said no. Mom had three more children; Max, Mamie and Harry. We grew up in hard times. Mom was never well and Pop had a hard time just to feed six hungry wolves; but we never went hungry and never felt deprived. pallmall. Of course, when the buggy got to the breaks, it buried its wheels in the snow and stopped immediately and kids and dog would fly in seven directions. Not too long a ride, but what a finish and what fun! Of course we would go to the house sopping wet to the skin and cold as frogs. It was the younger kids' job (me included) to gather two bushel baskets of pig pen cobs for the breakfast meal. We got into the habit of playing until dark to gather our cobs. One night we were fishing around for cobs among the shucks when we heard a bobcat screem. If you have ever heard a bobcat, you have no idea what a blood curdling noise it is. I think all four kids hit the swinging gate at the same time, I'm not so sure that Pop didn't have to make a new gate. But somehow the cob gathering was never so late again. ) In those days the wolves ran in packs. I remember Pop had walked 3 miles to help a man put up hay. Aft€r dark he started the 3 miles home. The neighbor had given Pop a ham. With the ham under one arm, he started �home. About a mile from home, he heard growling and snarling behind him. Pop walked faster, but so did the wolves. Through the pitch dark he could see the eyes of about a half-dozen wolves that had gotten a whiff of the meat. Needless to say, Pop dropped the ham and made tracks. Eva and I were always building a play house from apple crates and oil barrels. I guess we were like the renter that moved when the rent came due. Seems we moved the play house every 2 or 3 days. My two older sisters were in the Christmas program. Me being only four years old, I felt left out. The teacher said I might give a four- line poem. I was really proud. My mother made me a new blue dress for the big occasion. I pranced down that aisle and stopped to turn around and see all those people looking at me. Of course I got speechless and forgot all of the lines. I gathered up the tail of my dress and started sticking it in my mouth. It seems hours later thatDelphia jrrmped up and said, "Mnma, go get Pigeon," (my nickname). So my stardom never got off the ground. My first four years of school were spent in a one-room country school house. In this neighborhood were a few 17 and 18 year old boys that had nothing better to do but come to school and bug the teacher. She would expel them but they were back the next day. One day in early December she announced that we hadn't been good and there would be My parents died several years ago. Mnmie manied Fritz Brenner, more of a banti rooster than anything else; would rather fight than eat. He generally found someone to accommodate him. I guess Fritz had to live a little faster than the rest of us as he was quite young when he wae killed in an airplane accident with Gale Rogers. Mnmie remarried and now lives in Lakewood, Co. Wayne and I were married in 1932 and in 1935 I had a baby girl (Bonnie Dell). In 1937 I had a baby boy (Charles Dwayne). In 1942 we moved to a farm south of Burlington. We raised wheat, cattle and tried beets for one year, but found them too expensive to grow. In 1968, Wayne contacted emphysema. We rented the ground for a few years and finally sold the ranch in 1973. Wayne's health gradually worsened, and he passed away in 1978. We lived through some tough times, hails storms and bad health, but Wayne gave me a good life and I always knew I ceme first. I have 7 grandchildren and 3 great-grandsons. I have so many good memories of growing up and later with my family and Wayne. So don't be afraid of Friday the 13th - it was pretty good to me. Everyone should be as lucky. If you're not convinced, count the letters in my maiden name. A piece of cake! by Madge Peterson Barber no treats at Christmas, which was the custom. The big boys waited for a real snowy day and when the teacher went to the outhouse, they pushed desks against the door and said they would let her in when she consented to treat us. We got out tteats, but this teacher BARKER, GEORGE FAMILY resigned after the first of the year. A man teacher finished out the term and we really learned our ABC'g. When I was about 10 years old my family moved to the Tom Ashton ranch. I got my next four years of school at the Laird Public F33 I and one of the girls walked about a quarter mile to the mail box, on the way a convicted and served some 40 years in prison. car until the dance was over and bring us home. When I was about 16 years old, a flood destroyed this dance hall, and we girls, having acquired boyfriends, went to dances in a tworoom vacant house. The young people of the group nickn4med the place Hallwood. It was at this dance hall I met my future husband (Wayne Barber). My two older sistcrs maried brothers and live in homt* around Wray. Both my brothers served in World War II and live together at Wray. Gidley, could more easily attend high school. Grampa who was in his seventies, becems 15s manager of Shell's Motel (presently Little Cottage Motel on Rose Ave.) and he and Ruthie lived on the premises until he retired. Like Grampa, my mother was a lot of fun, teaching me how to roller skate by zipping down the sidewalk, shouting over her shoulder, "Do what I do!" She'd also taught me how to swim, by wading into the shallow end of the town pool, holding her hand under my belly until I learned to dog paddle, even though she didn't know how to swim and was afraid of the water. Thus when I was only 11, since Sim was in the hospital, Grampa was living in Oregon with a daughter, and Mother suddenly died, I was devastated. However, Grampa packed his belongings, came back to Burlington immediately, moved in to care for me and I mended. After Sim and Hazel Carmichael were married the next year in 1939, Grampa we never thought much about there being a generation gap between us, even though he was nearly 70 years older than us. Jim, the last of the Barker children, just recently died and, he, like his father before him, was sharp and witty right up to the end. Grandpa George Barker with Oregon grandsons in front of his farm home, SW of Burlington about by Georgeanna lludson Grusing 1920. Eventually the clan grew to young adulthood, and we girls wanted to learn to dence. Our mother didn't approve, said dancing l,ed to ruin, but Pop took us girls to the dances at Olive Lake Resort. He would sleep in the grandehildren who had been widowed, orphaned or were out of work. On Thanksgiving Day 1919, my grandmother was killed instantly when a hot water tank, attached to a wood cook stove, exploded. She had been firing up to prepare the holiday dinner. The same year, my mother and dad, Sim Hudson, were married, living in Burlington. By then all the other Barker children were scattered from Iowa to Oregon, but Grempa continued farming into the Dirty Thirties. Quitting then, he moved into town so that his most recent charge, granddaughter, Ruthie loyalty and fairplay, Hazel, Sim and I all dearly loved him. After Marvin and I were married, Grampa came to live with us, until his death in 1952 when he was 90. Sohehow the ranch south of Laird. the courts it was an accident. He was had room for the varioug children and continued to live with us, offand on for 8-10 years. Because of his great sense of humor, School. That was quite a change from a oneroom school house and the trauma of head lice, measles and scarlet fever. After eighth grade graduation, my family moved back to neighbor picked us up. We noticed he had blood on his hands and clothes. When we asked why, he said he had butchered and hadn't washed his hands. We found out later he had murdered his wife, drug the body to the pig pen and tried to tell town, as part of the phone service. A few years later when Bell Telephone came in, Grnmpa sold out, and bought a farm 13 miles SW of Burlington, not far from what is now our place (Marvin Grusing Farms). For many years Grnmpa lived in a building that was little more than a shack, but he always In 1906, my grnmpa, George Barker, along with hig family, arrived in Burliiigton and bought the phone office whibh wao just north of the present Masonic Lodge, on the south end of Main Street. (Grampa, originally ftom Indiana, had married Clara Bell Cor in Kansas and there they had seven children: Peerl, Tressa, Emttta, Georgia, Jim, my mother, Dolly, who wag born in Phillippsburg Dee, 10, lgQl, and Lolin who died as irr infant.) The girls sefv6d ae t6lephone operators, while Gr"-pa and Jim serviced the,lines, which weie strung on fence posts. Usually the two were offered hot noon meale at the hotieb of thcir cduntry customers, who appreciated Grainpa's girls' r'unning errands rill <iVcr BARNHART - TEEL FAMILY F34 Charley F. Barnhait and Sarah Jane "Jennie" Teel were married May 31, 1905, in Menlo, Kansas. Charley was bofh iri Hunbpldt, Nebraska, on Nov. 26, 1882, the oldest of ? boys urd { S.,tlC. Hi's parente, Jarnes Frairtlin, Sf. and Martha Fraircee (McKee) Barnhart, moved to Rcyinolds, Nebr. in 1E8i! and then in 1891 moved to a farm 1l mileg' *est of Hoxier Kansas, where they were neiihbors td Jehnie's family. Jennie Was boirr in McFall, Misbouri, on May 6, 1885, In 1889 her paiente, John Jispoi dnd saiah llariiidh; �(Rogers) Teel and nine children, made a 21day trip by covered wagon to a farm near Lenora, Ks., and 5 years later moved to Rexford, Ks. Jennie wae the seventh of 13 children, 9 boys and 4 girls. all who had participated. In these days of plenty, some considered the "rabbit drives" inhrrmdls, but at that time it was a matter After their marriage, Charley and Jennie stayed in the Menlo, Ks. area for several about 22 miles, and get their supplies by lumber wagon. A lot of their supplies were bought by the barrelfull and dried fruit in 100 pound boxes. Beside farming, -Charley also went with the threshing machine, helping and taking care of the machine. While Charley and Jennie lived at Bonny, one child, a daughter, Pearl Marie, was born Dec. 1, 1921, so 6 of their 7 children lived with them while they operated the post office. In years. Charley owned a steam engine threshing machine with which he did custom work. They had an old cook shack with iron wheels that they pulled to the fields with them. Jennie did the cooking for 15 to 16 men. The family ate and slept in the cook shack. While they were in Kansas 5 children were born: Everett Lee, Feb. 23, 1906; Florence "Esther", Mar.27,1908; Ira Glen, Feb. 11, 1910; Leonard Nelson, May 6, 1913; and Wilbur "Dean", Oct. 3, 1918. Charley, Jennie and these 5 children came to Colorado in 1918. Charley came in a covered wagon with a few head of horses to help in the farming. Jennie and the children came out on the old "Jersey" trqin and Charley came into Burlington in the covered wagon to pick them up. They moved onto a farm belonging to Charley's sister, Nora Frazier and her family, three miles south of the Republican River near the Yuma-Kit Carson County line. Charley's sieter and family moved to Idaho. In 1919 their son, Everett, got his foot caught in the stirrup of his saddle. His horse ran, dragging Everett and breaking his leg. Not having all the medical technology of today, it took geveral men to hold Everett while the doctor pulled to set his leg. Then he had to have bucket of gand hanging from his foot for quite some time. There were also a lot of cactus stickers to be pulled out. Late in 1919 they bought the Bonny store and post office from Ike Bonny, Sr., who was moving his family to Idaho. On Jan. 6, 1920, Charley was appointed Postmaster. The store and post office occupied one room in a 4-room house where the family lived. The mail cnt'e three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. One carrier took mail from Burlington to Hale. The carier from the Bonny post office would then meet this carrier at the old Broadsword echoolhouse 14 miles north of Burlington on old Highway 51 (now 385) and take the mail back to Bonny. The job of carrying the mail back to the Bonny post office was first done by Mr. John Baughman and later by Mrs. Dile Henderson. When the post office was closed, Mr. John Winfrey was the carrier. When the mail arrived, Charley's family would sort it and put it in a cupboard with several little cubbyholee. The neighbors, who crme for their mail by horse and buggy, wagon or horseback, sometimes brought eggs to sell to Jennie, and usually picked up a few groceries. Jennie also baked bread and cookies to sell. This was always a good chance for a visit since there weren't too many opportunities t,o do so. There were also ground to farm here so Charley farmed it ag well as that on his sister's farm, doing the work with just his hofses. He raised mostly corn and barley, a few hogs and chickens. Corn sold for only 8 ceuts a bushel in 1923. Since it wouldn't even pay to haul it into town to sell, they burned it for fubl instead. When the rabbits got so numetous and were eating up all the crops, they had to hold "rabbit diives". They would drive them from the east side and from the west side. The side getting the least number ofrabbits had to furnish an oyster supper for of survival. They had to haul the grain to Burlington, the summer some of the children slept in the covered wagon. They had such a problem with mice and rats Charley told them he would give them a penny for each one they could catch, so they had traps set everywhere trying to earn their penny "bounty". They also had to be on the watch for snakes. One day a snake got into the house and curled up around the legs of their heater. Esther BARNHART WINFREY FAMILY F35 On January 27, L933, Leonard Nelson Barnhart and Iva Mae Winfrey were married at St. Francis, Kansas. Leonard had moved to Kit Carson County with his parents, Charlie F. and Sarah Jane "Jennie" (Teel) Barnhart in 1918 from the area around Hoxie, Kansas, where Leonard was born on May 6, 1913. He lived with them during the time they operated the Bonny Post Office and after its closing helped on the farm. [va's parents, James Warren "Jimmie" and Jessie Mae (Biggs) Winfrey lived in the same general area ofthe country and she was born at their homestead on March 11, 1914. After their marriage they lived with Leo- nard's mother and step- father, A. Dile Henderson, whom Jennie had married after Charlie was killed in a threshing machine accident. Leonard was helping Dile farm. It jumped on the counter and started screaming. She was so scared she had a terrible time trying to tell them where the snake was. was a little crowded as there were Jennie & Charley had played on the county baseball team in Kansas, so he and his family attended and played in baseball games whenever there was one in progress. The Happy Hollow schoolhouse was about a mile and a half from brother, Dean, and two younger sisters, Pearl and Marveline all living in a small 4-room house but with a lot of love and patience they managed quite well. them, and they attended the community Sunday School which was held each Sunday. One Sunday there were 200 people there. They also attended school programs, literary box suppers and had picnics as part of their social activities. Since everyone usually had to come to these events by tenm and wagon, they would heat a big rock and put it in the wagon to keep the children from getting too cold. The Bonny post office was discontinued on Feb. 29, 1924. That spring Charley, Jennie and their family moved to a farm at Hale, Colorado. Here their 7th and youngest child, Marveline Frances, was born Nov. 5, 1924. In 1928 they moved back to the old Bonny farm. There was no store there at this time. They were living here when Charley met his death. He was helping with the harvest at the farm of Oscar Anderson and became entangled in a belt on the threshing machine. He died while being taken to the St. Francis Hospital, Oct. 26, 1930, and is buried in Fairview Cemetery in Burlington. Jennie and her children continued to farm. Later she married Mr. A. Dile Henderson, who had also been widowed. After his death in 1943, Jennie lived with her youngest daughter, Maweline and her family, until her death Jan. 15, L972. Jennie is also buried in Fairview Cemetery. Of Charley and Jennie's seven children, four are still living. Esther, with her husband, Harley Rhoades, and Ira with his wife, Louise (Smith), live in Burlington, Colorado; Dean and his wife, Jane (Levine), live in Wheat Ridge, Colorado; and Marveline and her husband, Wanen Fetters, live in Littleton, Colorado. Pearl passed away Mar. 14, 1935 at the age of 13 years; Everett, who married Vivian Agen, passed away June 26,1972 and, Leonard, who married Iva Winfrey, passed away Oct. 29, 1980. by Alice (Barnhart) Jacober Dile, Leonard & Iva, and Leonard's younger Leonard and Iva's first child, Alice Mae, was born September 5, 1935, at the house on the hill just south of Iva's parent's home. After she was born they moved to Dile's farm, which was later owned by George Brenner and where Jerry Brenner now lives. Their second child, Leona Marie, was born here on December 24, t937. They farmed here for a while and then moved to the old Reinholdt (or Cook) Ranch near the Republican River. In the spring of 1939 Leonard and his brother Wilbur "Dean" decided to try their hand at something beeide farming. They moved to Frederick, Oklahoma, to operate an O.K. tire recapping shop. Leonard & Iva, along with Alice and Leona, went in their Model A Ford. Dean and Jane slept in the recapping shop as they only had a l-room motel where they did their cooking, washing, etc. They would go to the movies to see the Lone Ranger. Since it was in serial form, Dean and Jane would go one night, and Leonard and Iva the next time so there was someone to stay with the two small girls. Business was not very good and they were far away from everyone they knew so later in 1939 they came back to Kit Carson County. Jennie and Dile were still living on the Ranch near the river so Leonard and lva moved back into the house where Alice was born and started farming again. They were actively involved in the box suppers, baseball games, and Sunday church services at the Happy Hollow Schoolhouse. In the summer of t942 they moved to Denver where Leonard, along with Chest€r Teel, worked on a construction crew at Camp Hale, near Tennessee Pass, in the Rocky Mountains. This camp was built to train soldiers for winter fighting. When the construction was finished. Leonard started working at the Denver Medical Center. On February 9, 1943, their third child, Dorothy Kay, was born in St. Joseph's Hospital in Denver. When Leonard was drafted into the Army they purchased a small hodse in Burlington at 246 18th Street. Thisallon'ed Iva and their �three children to be ne{uer their relatives while Leonard was in service. On March 28, 1944, he was inducted at Ft. Logan, Colo. and assigned to Cnmp Swift, Bastrop, Texas for his basic training. Following his training he served in the Phillipines with the 4169th Quartermaster Depot Co. Aftpr returning from the Army safely and receiving his Honorable Discharge on January 9, 1946, he worked for Hommond's Creo-ery driving into the country picking up eggs, cream & milk from the farmers on his route. Later he worked in the County Assessor's Office under Parke Guthrie and also in the County Treasurer's Office under Snm Travis. On December 4, L947, their fourth and youngest child, Patsy Lee, was born at the Kit Carson Memorial Hospital in Burlington. The family continued to live at 246 18th Street until 1953. Their oldest daughter, Alice, had graduated from Burlington High School in 1952 and was working in Denver by then, and Leonard's cousin, Emmett Teel, wanted him to go to work in a company he was forming. Leonard started working for him the summer of 1953, and in October of that same year they bought a house in Edgewater and moved. Leonard continued to work for the R.A. Haines Refrigeration Co. until his retirement in 1977. He was thoroughly enjoying his free time and was always busy helping someone until he suffered a heart attack on October 4, 1980. On October 29, 1980 he passed away following complications brought on by the heart attack. Iva still lives at 2215 Ingalls St., Edgewater, CO. Three of their 8 grandchildren and the only great-grandchild also live in Edgewater. The other 5 grandchildren still live with their parents. Alice and her husband, Ed Jacober, livc in the Wet Mountains near Westcliffe, CO.; Leona and husband, John Strasheim, in Arvada, CO.; Dorothy and husband, Bill Hoppers in Golden, CO.; and Patsy and husband, Scott Williarns in Boulder, CO. by Alice (Barnhart) Jacober BARTMAN FAMILY F36 My father, Ed Bartman was born in Big Rapids, Michigan, on July 5, 1882. He worked on railroad bridges for the railroad before coming to Colorado. In 1907 he proved up on a homestead 22 miles northeast of Bur- lington, Colo., and 17 miles north of Kanorado, Kansas. My mother, Elva Smith Bartman was born in Wyoming, Iowa in 1887. She attended a Teacherg College and Normal in Davenport, Iowa. My mother's father, Moses Smith, moved from Iowa to Colorado around 1908 and homesteaded. He then sent for the rest of his family. Myuncles, Ed O.K. Smithand Myron Smith, co-e and proved up on a homest€ad also. There was a need for teachers so my mother, and my aunt, Mae Smith Morgan came and taught school. Mothers homestead was about 10 miles west of our home. Dad first built a little god shanty to live in. This was later used as the hen house. He then built a 4 room adobe house, where all seven of us were born, with the help of a midwife. Ed Bartman and neighbor, Estes Straughn and son Burrell breaking a mule. They tied the mule to a horse that had been broke and understood commands. In the background are the farm buildings on the homestead of Ed Bartman. The long concrete barn in the center was destroyed later by a tornado. My dad built all the farm buildings, an old lumber grainery (still standing), a long cement barn, a hog house and milk house with a windmill. A tornado in 1935 picked up the barn and car shed, carried it, dropping it in a field. In 1927, I helped dad dig a basement with a plow and scrapper. He built forms and poured cement, partitioning this off making rooms for us to sleep. A cook stove and coal heater were used for heat. I was the oldest of seven. My brother Wilfred died around the age of 20. My other sisters are Grace Bartman Baker, now living in Tennessee, Edna Stahlecker of Seibert, Colo., Minnie Goebel (deceased), Edith HixenBaugh and my brother Lawrence Bartman all live in Denver. Dad had horses that he raised to work in robe made from horsehide and lined with wool. I can still hear that flapping as we moved along full speed. Happy Hollow had only 10 grades, so the last two years we had to live in Burlington to finish school. I worked very hard for my room and board. I did all of the housework, washing and ironing for a room in the basement and a little food. I remember always being hungry that first year. The last year I stayed with the Haun family and was treated very well. There was a salesman that came by and sold us a "Red Star Medicine Kit". It was a briefcase that contained every pill imaginable for everything. There was a book we often consulted "The Peoples Library". It described and gave treatmenLs for every disease imaginable, for both humans and the field. He later had a "stud" and a "Jack" and raised horses and mules, as they could work harder than horses. I drove the mules livestock. on a cultivator, harrowed, two rowed and canned in jars or stored in the cellar. A disked. We later got a Fordson tractor and a Farmal that I drove. I remember going to Kanorado, Kan., 17 miles away, with a horse and wagon full of grain. We left before daylight and it was dark when we returned. It was so cold we would get neighbor would come and help butcher a cow and a hog. The beef was canned in jars and the pork salted and cured, for hnm and bacon. Chicken was always available. We killed them as we ate them. The washing was all done on a washboard until the 1930's. Mom even made her own out of the wagon and walk to keep warm. This was where we got our winter supply of coal. We often burned "buffalo chips", corn cobs, sometimes even corn on the cob, as it was We were almost self sufficient. The garden provided all our vegetables, which were either soap. All water had to be carried to the house and heated on the cook stove. cheaper than coal. The Windcharger brought electricity to our home. This consisted of a single light hanging from the ceiling, and a small radio school in 1921. Dad would ride me horseback or I would walk. It was 2Yz miles. Later my brother and I rode horseback. Our horse "old Major" was so tricky, he would rub his bridle off and start running, or just stand, or knock us off. We were too little to get back on, so used only to listen to sermons and the news. Before this all we had was kerosene lamps. In 1931 my dad went to Colorado General The school we all attended was called "Happy Hollow" (District #38). I started we would just stand there until help would come. He never left us. My dad built boxes by 3 of the neighbor's gates so that we could get off and on the horse to open the gates. Later a road was built so we could all go by buggy. "Old Major" would sometimes refuse to climb the hill or sometimes would get part way up and back down, the shaft would come uncoupled and that would give him an excuse to run. We would have to hang on to keep from falling out of the buggy. We had a lap Hospital where they found he had a brain tumor. It was removed and he fully recovered. He repaid the cost of his hospitalization and surgery by working for the county dragging roads, while at the snme time running his farm. Every Sunday we all went to a community Sunday School held at the school house. Someone would lead the singing, then we would separate for our lessons. There was no preacher except for occasionally an Evangelist would come and hold revival services. I and others were baptized in a horse tank. We sometimes went to Kansas, 6 miles away to �a church called "The Gospel Hall". Church was a very important part of our livee. At home we had prayer, and Bible study day. I realize that we owe a debt of gratitude to theee homest€aders as we become aware of their hardships and struggles for survival. I remember well that they lived what they taught, a life of hard work and total honesty in all things. by Edna Stahlecker and Louise Bartman Wagner BASSETTE, WILLIAM H. AND HENRY M. F37 William E. Bassette came to eastern Colorado in the latp 1800's, from Connecticut. He homesteaded land southeast of Burlington and built a sod house, part of his family was already grown and remained in Connecticut. He lost his wife and later married Harriet Foote who was a school teacher. Aftpr his death, Harriet moved into town and was well known to many of the townspeople ae she sold California Co. pro- ducts. That company was later known to become "Avon" Products. Arnong the children accompanying him to Colorado was a younger son Henry Marion, Burlington in 1934, going to Santa Fe, New Mexico where she married, she worked in banking there and later in the Denver area where she and her husband moved to in 1951. She now lives in Loveland, Colorado. Dessie Lola was born in 1918, she left Burlington in 1936 and went to Las Vegas, Nevada as her older brothers and sisters were there and all working. She still lives in Las Vegas where she and her husband Elbert Bailey have had a big part in promoting schools and training for the Retarded Childrens Progrn-. Irma Margaret was born in 1920, she also left Burlington in 1938 and went to Nevada, after her marriage she moved to California where she and her husband had a grocery and meat market. She passed away in 1963. The old home of the Bassette family still stands today. It has seen many changes, but still holds many memories, some very happy and some sad. There are still Bassettes living in the New England and northeastern states, but the William H. and Henry M. Bassette fanilies are only history now. by Anna Bassette Cunningham BAUDER - GOEBEL FAMILY F38 who stayed for a couple of yeare then returned to Connecticut where he lived with an Aunt, Allie Curtiss, he had his schooling ed school at Columbine School Dist. #3 her first and second grade. In January 1936 we moved to Greeley, Colo. and rented an irrigated farm. We lived there until January 1942 when we came back to Burlington. We bought Carl's parents farm and other adjoining land. We farmed until 194? when we moved into Burlington and Carl was manager of Hart Bartlett Elevator until his death November 30th, 1965. I worked as clerk for the late Evelyn Whitmore Fabric Shop, for Reta Lounge, "Spotlight Fabrics", and Orths Dept. Store. Shirley married Dale Mangus, October 5, 1946. They rented our farm and in 1967, I sold them the farm. They have since added more land and have three irrigation wells. They raised three sons, Larry, Stanley and Tony. They now have eight grandchildren. Lany and family live near Parker, Colo., and he works for Mt. Bell. Stan farms and liveoon what was the Ethel and Ralph Jacober Farm. Tony lives on the Martin Bauer farm and works for his dad. Larry has three children, Stan and LuAnn have twoboys and Tonyand Tammy have two girls and one boy. I live at 814 - 14th. St. I keep busy doing china painting, sewing, quilting, yard work, participating in Senior Citizen activities, visiting and enjoying my family, especially the eight great-grandchildren. Carl and I are members of First St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 228 - LLth St. here in Burlington. by Ruth Bauder there and also worked. In the early 1900's Wm. H. bought land about 5 miles north of his homestead and built another home of sod and rock. Many stories were told of the early days, most were of the very hard times and often quitc trying BAUDER, ANDREW F39 Our great grandfather, Martin Bauder, was born in 1812, in the Black Forest area of times. Henry M. returned to Colorado in the early 1900's and married Sarah Elizabeth Pantzer. He built a home close to his father'g home and in the following years they raised a family of eight chil&en. They hired a live in school teacher to teach the first five children and another neighbor, Rogers, sent a couple ofhis children to the Bassette home for schooling until a regular school was established. Lat€r Smoky Hill School was built and a number of the small schools consolidated. The Bassett€ children all attended Smoky Hill during their education and Roy, the oldest son drove one of the echool buses for a couple of years. The eight children were: Roy Cecil born 1905 at his grandmother Pantzer's home in Goodland, Kansas. He died in Idaho in 1981. Earl Franklin was born in 1906, he re- mained in the Burlington area and worked for several of the large farms. He died in Denver Carl and Ruth Bauder at Stapleton Airfield leaving for Hawaii, September 1964. Carl John Bauder, son of Andrew Bauder Sr. and Christine Carolina Wall, was born May 30, 1902 Burlington, Colo. Ruth Irene Goebel, daughter of Henry E. Goebel and Mary Josephine Chandler was born December 6, 1908 at Burlington, Colorado. We started our married life in 1927 during in 1976. the depression and the terrible dust storm days of the early thirties. Carl farmed with his father; it was imposeible to raise a good Reno, Nevada. crop due to the drought and bad wind storms. We milked cowg and sold cream, also raised chickens for food and had eggs to sell. Money Mary Elizabeth was born in 1909, she left the Burlington area in 1933 and now lives in Mabel Ellen was born in 1911, she also left the Burlington area in 1933 and died in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1978. Glen William was born in 1913, he left the Burlington area in 1932 and worked in construction for Morrison-Knudson, in the building of "Boulder" Dnm and the Alamogordo Dam in New Mexico. He was killed in an automobile accident in 1937 in New Mexico. Anna Catherine was born in 1915, she left from selling produce had to buy all food, clothing and pay farming expenses. We had a meager living but had many good times with all our neighbors. They were Bill and Martha Schlichenemayer, Martin and Anna Bauer, Ethel and Ralph Jacober, Bill and Freida Weishaar, Carl's parents, my parents, sisters and brothers and others. Our daughter, Shirley Jean Bauder Mangus, wa{r born October 4th, L927 . She attend- Granpa and Grandma Bauder at farm north of Burlington. �Germany. He immigrated to the Ukraine of Russia in the early 1800's, near the city of Balta. Our grandfather, Andrew Bauder I, was born there in 1838. In 1862, he went to Germany. He married a girl from Switzerland, taking her to his home in Russia. They raised a family of 5 sons and 3 daughters. He was a blacksmith. The immigrant were not allowed to own land. All young men at age 18 were subject to 4 years of military duty. Our father, Andrew Bauder II, was born in 1863. Being the oldest of the family, he was exempt from military duty to help his father who had lost an arm. My parents, Andrew Bauder II and Christina Wall, were manied in 1885. The U.S. Homestead Act of 1862 made it possible to homest€ad 160 acres of land, for a small fee, living on the land improving it. The U.S. sent recruiting agents to the German settlements in the Ukraine, encouraging people to come and take advantage of this. Elbert County, Colorado, was opened for homesteading in 1886. In 1889 it was divided, establishing Kit Carson County. Burlington was founded in 1888 as the County Seat, then a community of 10 houses. T.G. Price was the first mayor. In May of 1889, my parents, with 2 small children, came to the U.S., landing at Baltimore, continuing by train to St. Francis, Kansas, and brought by wagon to the place of their homestead, about 18 miles northwest of Burlington. The first things to be done were to dig a well by hand, and build a sod house, with a hard-packed dirt floor. Grand- pa and Grandma Bauder and their family arrived in November of 1889. My father received his citizenship papers June 18, 1901, in Kit Carson County. J.T. Jones was County Judge and T.G. Price was County Clerk. The early years presented many hardships prairie fires, grasshopper pla- droughts, gues, blizzards and duststorms. With only small plots of ground under cultivation, the hot winds of summer kept the yields small. Many times it was necessary for our father to seek work away from home to provide for the family, sometimes working in hay fields or as a ranch hand. There were times he worked in the Denver areaa a8 a ranch hand, Section worker, and at Arco Smelter. He made the trip with tearn and wagon, which took about 6 days one way. Wild game was plentiful in those days, so father provided meat for the birthday. The oldest son, Andrew III, served in World War I, with the Hospital Corps in France for Ll/z years. He died January 18, L972 at the age of 84. In the early years our parents walked to a little church about 5 miles north of home. I believe it was in Yuma County. In later years they went to the Lutheran Church north of Bethune. Our mailing address at one time was "Hermes" but I think it had been changed a few times. I walked l yz miles to school, going through a pasture that was grazing land for Texas Longhorns, belonging to Spring Valley Ranch. I was so afraid of them that I would go out of my way so they wouldn't see me. I, Clara Loyd, being the youngest of the family, didn't see the hardships of the earlier years. In my youth, we had a nice orchard of apples, peaches, apricots, cherries, plums, grapes and currants. A large garden supplied us with fresh vegetables for the table and plenty for canning - hundreds of jars for wintpr use. We butchered our own meats, some of which was canned, some cured and smoked, and always a lot of sausage. In the Fall the bins in the cellar were filled with vegetables and fruits, a large stone jar of kraut, plus the canned foods. We milked cows so had plenty of milk, crenm and butter. Our parents lived on the farm home for 50 years. In 1939, I moved them to Burlington, where I made a home and cared for them the rest of their lives. Mother died in 1944 and father died in 1947. They are buried in Fairview Cemetery at Burlington. by Clara Loyd BAUDER, GOTTLIEB AND KATHERINE F40 The Andreas Bauder Sr. family who were German settlers in Russia, migrated from the Ukraine area of Russia to Burlington, Colo- rado in 1889. Their oldest son, Andrew, had settled here a few years earlier. While the family was going through the red tape of getting passports and passage on a ship the second son, Gottlieb, become military draft age so was not allowed to leave the country with his parents. So he and Jake Schlichenmayer, also of draft age, finally escaped from Russia on forged passports made by an old Jewish man in their village. Then the two men were detained again at the German border because they didn't have the money with them for their ship's passage and train fare to Burlington, where free homesteads were promised to all. Finally, a German official got in touch with the families at Bremen, Germany, where they were waiting to board the ship to America. The parents wired the money back to the boys and they were allowed to go on. But there was yet another disappointment. When they got to Bremen the ship with their families and many other migrating families had sailed. So all they could do was wait for the next ship to America to sail. They then made the lengthy trip across the Atlantic in crowded conditions, without a change of clothing. After the long train ride from New York to Burlington and a twelve mile walk, they were finally united with their parents who had despaired of ever seeing them again. Gottlieb as a young man worked for a farmer in Nebraska, in the sugar beet fields near Greeley and at the Bar-T and other big cattle ranches. On Christmas Day, 189?, he married Katherine Fanselau, who was born in Pennsylvania. The Fanselaus were early homesteaders in Kit Carson County too. Gottlieb and Katherine'g firgt home was a rock house near the Spring Valley Ranch. In 1898 they took out their own homestead thirteen miles northwest of Burlington on the Launchman (Landsman) Creek. They lived first in a sod house, then an adobe house with a shingled roof. Besides the first child who died in infancy, they had six children. They were Walter, Anna (Bauer), Freda (Stahlecker), Emma, table with ducks, geese, prairie chickens, rabbit and eometimes a mess of perch or bullheads. The Landsman Creek with a few fishing ponds were about a half mile away. Once during a severe winter in the earlyyears, my grandpa walked to St. Francis, where there was a flour mill. He carried a 100Jb. sack of flour on his shoulders to his home so the family could have bread to eat. ln about 1906, a new S-bedroom house wag built of sandstone. A cellar was dug and rocked out, with 3 coves on each side, which stored vegetables and canned food. In about 1914, a cistern wag made and cold water wag piped into the kitchen, a luxury that few rural homes had. The house hag been remodeled and enlarged and is still in use today, as is the cellar. This is now the home of our niece, Shirley, and husband Dale Mangus. Through the years our parents raised a farnily of 11 children. At this writing there are only 3 of us left. The oldest daughter died Sept. 23, 1986, just two days before her 100th The Gottlieb Bauder family and home in 1909. From L. to R.: Walter, Robert held by Gottlieb, Katherine, Freda, Emma, and Anna. Herman was born later. �who died when she was 15, Robert, and Walter continued to work at the Equity Coop for years and was manager there the last eight years. He then worked in construction, raising a little wheat working on weekends. Herman. The children all went to Blue View School. The family suffered the hardships and deprivations of all the early pioneers but managed to survive through droughts, dust storms, and floods. During the big flood of 1933 the Launchman (Landsman) rose to within a few feet to their house. They were just ready to climb the hill behind the house when the water gtarted to recede. After the children were all grown Gottlieb and Katherine moved to Burlington in 1947, where they lived on tenth street the rest of He was active in the United Methodist Church and Rotary Club, and served as a volunteer fireman. During World War II, with a great short4ge of teachers, anyone who had ever taught school was drafted into teaching on an emergency certificate. I taught one year in a tiny school % mile south of Peconic. The next year I cnme into the Burlington School where I was to teach a few years until the war wan over. However, through summer school and their lives. extension classes I soon earned a life certifi- by Sally Bauder cate, then issued for two years in a teachers college, and finally got my degree and kept in Burlington for twenty seven teaching years, until retirement in 1972. The last seven years of teaching I also taught in the summer BAUDER, WALTER AND SALLY migrant school where some years we had as many an two hundred pupils. The last three years I taught arts and crafts to the whole F41 school. Walter Bauder farmed with his father for a few years until the spring of 1927 and he built a modest house on his own land four miles west and six miles north of Burlington, CO. On June 8, L927 he married Gertrude (Sally) Church. Sally had been teaching in country schools for two years and continued to teach there one more ye{u. On June 25, 1929, our first son Donald Wayne was born and on October 23, 1930 Warren Walter was born. We started life together with great hopes. Walt had horses and a small Fordson tractor to farm our quarter and some rented land. But the great depression of the early thirties and the terrible dust storms hit us the eame years. No one who didn't live through those dust storm days can begin to imagine what it was like to have a dust cloud roll up from the northwegt, envelope the house and turn day into night within minutes. We hung wet sheets over the windows so we and the babies could breathe. When the storm gubeided we Walter and Sally (Church) Bauder married on June 8, 1927. would sweep and shovel up fine dust that had filtered in, sometimes a gallon of it. In 1935 Donald was approaching school age. We were five miles from the nearegt school with no school bus and an old car. We had also raised very little the past two years. The last year we did raise grain we sold wheat for 30 cents a bushel, barley 17 cents a bushel, and eggs for 5 cents a dozen. So when Walter got a chance to drive the Equity Co-op oil truck for $60 a month he was glad to get it, and we moved to Burlington. Here the first few years we rented a house for $15 per month and we four lived on the rest. I supplemented our During these years our boys were growing up, going to school and carrying the Denver Post. They were both on state championship football teams their senior years, and both became Eagle Scouts. Don graduated in 1947 and Warren in 1948. Walter retired in 1966 and in June t977 we celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary. We enjoyed traveling together and did so as long as Walt was able. Walter died in July of 1985. I keep busy by doing china painting and oil painting and belonging to a few clubs here in Burlington. I e- also able to share my time by teaching painting to adults in the Burlington area. by Sally Bauder BAUGHMAN AND income in any way I could such as by upholstering overstuffed furniture, $5 for a chair and $10 for a davenport. COOPER F42 Remembering my introduction to this county was when I was a kid and I used to drive up in this part of the country with my Dad to look at this land. Baughmsn in the late 20's and early 30's prior to the dust storms has started buying land. The J.W. Baughman Real Estate Company was expanding and buying land in this area, out of Liberal, Kansas. Dad, Earl Cooper, was manager of that company. That is where the whole thing started to develop so far as my memory goes back. My early memories, of course, of this country was staying all night in the old The Walter Bauder family in L947. L. to R. Warren, Donald, Sally and Walter. Collins House; that was an oasis on Highway 24. All the way thru, everybody carne to stop at the Collins House. It made it very interesting to have a place to stop like the Collins House, and some of the people who lived there were very historical characters. I wish I could remember some of their names. We drove up here on our way to Denver because one of the headquarters was in Denver. After the crash of 1929 and the dust storms of the early 30's, all the farmers were having a very difficult time; they were moving off their farms all over the country. Being a land real estate company, my father particularly �and Baughman in general, did not want to see this country go back to the government for just reclaiming or not reclaiming. They didn't want to see the farmers lose their land. So at that time when the taxes were not paid, when the land would come up for tax sales they boWht gome of it with the idea at that time of holding it until the farmer or owner could redeem it. They did buy quitc a lot, and in due time before the legal time had run out several of the farmers or owners did reclaim their land. But many of them were so discouraged with farming that they gave it up entirely and for that reason since both Mr. Baughman and my father had purchased these tax titles they were left with quite a bit of it to clear. And in due time they cleared the titles on all the land. They reclaimed the land from the damage done by the dirt storms in the 1930's, and some of it had to have bulldozers brought in to level off the mounds that had been blown up during the duet storms. They got the land back in production, and great deal of it was put up for sale again. Dad did not sell any of his land, becauge he had not bought too much, as he wanted some land holdings for himself with the idea that someday he would retire and just look after his own properties. Mr, Baughman's land, of course, was always for sale because he was in that kind of business. But he always sold the land after it was reclaimed, or the farmer had paid to reclaim the land, and then he could buy it. So it was done for the benefit of the country. True, people did not appreciate or adhere at the time that outsiders had come in and bought up land since neither one of them were natives ofthis part ofthe country. But, since that time, many of them have told me that they could not have stayed on the farm or could have gone back to the farm if it had not been for the Baughman Real Estate Co. Since my Dad had sueh a strong part in it, I felt very close to this country. As I said, Dad had never sold any of his land, so at his death it was the family's wish that we not sell any of the land. Therefore, only a small percentage of Cooper Farms has been sold. And, of course, always the tpnant had the first chance to buy the land, but only a few pieces have been sold and the rest is still intact as it was purchased and developed by my father. And it is all rented to people who live in this part of the country. Being a part of this country and watching it grow, seeing things happen to the young people here and how everything was developed, it really gives you a very strong tie. History hae been made here the same ag anyplace else. We have developed a lot of April 1913 in front of George's soddy at Vern Simpson's bi*hday party. George is second from left, back row. Flo at left in front of him. telephone operator, soda jerk, depot to hotel baggage transporter, hotel clerk (all in Oak- ley) and wholesale hardware salesman; The later full time, probably accounting for his age (22) at graduation. He told about his traveling saleeman job and riding the train. When itmade apassengerstop, he would take his sales materials and call on his customers. If he didn't return by the time the train departed, the conductor would set his valise on the station platform; and he would catch the next rain. George was raised in a very strict Methodist home with two sisters and three brothers. His parents were Elmore E. Baxter and Margaret Annette Long-Baxter. They were an unusual family in that only the girls were provided with a higher education and this by an elderly aunt. George was the only boy to complete high school. His desire was to become an attorney, but eye problems and lack of funds hindered this. While he was a bachelor homesteading near Buffalo Creek, he shared his sod house with Vern Simpson. One of George's tall tales concerned their baking prowess. They had to tie strings around their biscuits because when removed from the oven, they floated in the air and you needed to pull a string to retrieve a biscuit. He also told of the time Vern, in anger, threw the milk stool at their only milk cow, killing it instantly. This friendship continued for years after both men acquired families. George taught at the Rose school in 1913. The Strode, Searcy, Gwyn, and Smith children were students. e v" things but structurally it has been the farming comnunity around Stratton that has kept everything going. by Lucile Clark BAXTER, GEORGE F43 Tbvo consecutive bumper crops of black cane near his parents' home in Kansas enabled George Marvin Baxter to come to Colorado and homest€ad 12 miles northeast of Flagler. He arrived in 1908 which was the year he graduated from Oakley High School. He farmed along with such other jobs as night Flo and George Baxter with his ever present tenm around 1915. �his serving as President of the Colorado Association of County Commissioners in 1943. He attended two national conventions of county commissioners representing Colorado. He was a charter member of the Flagler Lions Club and also belonged to the IOOF. Hie community contributions included at least two terms on the town council as well as being a member of the Rose school board. He was a good public speaker and story teller, and had a great sense of humor. His love of land was obvious as he frequently borrowed on his life insurance or mortgaged the family home or other real estate to buy more land. In the 40's he wae finally able to acquire what is now known as Scott Goodwin's ranch. He had admired this for many years. While returning from a California Christmas spent with the whole family, he had a heart attack at Walsenburg. His wife, Flo, was with him when he passed away there on January 3, 1948. His funeral was held on January 8 at the Flagler Congregational Church where he was a member. He was born in Lancaster County, Nebraska. The family bible has been lost and his birthdate is in George Baxter in later years, 1942 or 43. On August 11, 1914, he married Flora Moss. The nuptials took place at her parents' home in west Flagler (presently the Loyd Murphy home at 501 Kendall). Since George had already proved up on his homestead, they lived in a soddy on Flo's homestead about a mile southeast of his soddy. A Stock Brand (N/R) was issued to George on December 30, 1914. This brand was used throughout his lifetime as a prominent Colorado stocLman. Many of his happiest hours were spent at the ranch. The first child, Judson E., was born to Flo question. We have found three different years of birth August 17, 1885, '86, or '87, but we believe- 1886 is correct. He said "I never had a job I didn't like." He was blessed with many friends and earned the respect of those who knew him and those who worked with him. by Jean K. Mudd BAXTER, JOIIN AND IDA F44 May 11, 1918. A.L. Niles and son Arthur was eating breakfast at my parents' folk's house and were discussing a place to run some cattle, so Dad and A.L. Niles went to Flagler, Colorado, from Tennis, Kansas, to look for a place in 1930. Dad found a place 8 miles northwest of Flagler to rent, he wouldn't say he would take it for sure until Mother saw it. [t was a two story house. When Dad returned he took Mother and me out to Flagler to show us the place. Mother said it would be fine. It was in Lincoln, County, less than half block, so I went to school at Arriba, Colo. rode the bus. I remember coming into Flagler from the south. In November, 1930, Dad and Perry Keph- art left from Tennis, Kansas, by covered wagon and taking another wagon loaded with machinery with four head of horses and a saddle horse named "Baldy". Baldy was given to their daughter, Gertrude, Damon Cobb of Garden City. They came into Flagler in a blizzard. Bill Kliewer told them to put their covered wagon and horses inside the lumber yard and they stayed in the hotel. Perry made two or three trips hauling cattle and furniture with my brother-in-law Lewis Roderick's truck. Dad cqme back the last day, the day before Kansas. Mother, Dad and I left for Flagler Dec. 28, 1930, in a 1913 or 1914 three door Model T Ford with a brass radiator and side curtains. Dad had a big corn crop in 1931. It sold of 9 cents a bushel. Harold Phillips farmed with Dad for a few years. Our bad times were the dust storms. I can remember the first one Mother, Dad and I stood by the cave door watching as it just rolled in. old high school). When Jud was about a year old, while visiting lllinois with Flo, he contracted flu which resulted in pneumonia; and he nearly died along with thoueands of others in the epidemic of 1918. For this reason, George was called to Illinois. Sometime after this, a frarne house was constructed on George's original homestead. In 1921 or 22, George began work at the Our entertainments were playing cards, checkers and dominoes at home, we went to some dances and had covered dish dinners. Farmers Union (now Co-op). A few years John Willig Barter and Ida May Barter. The picture was taken when my folks and I, Gertrude waa on a trip up by Greeley, Colorado. Our neighbors were Kottmeyer's, Ensipahr's Honstein's and Stephen's. We got our mail from Flagler on the route, but we lived a mile and half from the mail box. Ray Thompson was our mail carrier. I would go after the mail on the pony and my dog followed me. My family shopped mostly in Flagler. My parents moved into Flagler from the country in 1941, from south of town. We went to the Baptist Church in Flagler. There were six of us children, Myrtie, a second child, Jean Kay, was born on February L3, L924, also delivered by Dr. Floyd, John, Florence, Fontelle and myself. I was born in Abilene, Kansas, Nov. 30, Williams and assisted by Stella Reavis. The family moved three more times before purchasing their home in Flagler in 1930 at 618 Pawnee which is still the home of Jean Baxter-Mudd. A new career was started when George was elected to the office of Kit Carson County Commissioner in 1932, a position he held until his death in 1948. Although the '32 election was a Democratic landslide, George won on the Republican ticket. He took an active part in all phases ofthis office and wag appointed to many committees which took him all over the State. This ultimately led to Hillsboro, Ill. Sept. 30, 1875, lived in Abilene, Kansas & moved north of Garden City, Ks. Christmas, and we had Christmas dinner with my sister Florence and farnily, at Lakin, and George on March 3, 1917. He was delivered by Dr. Williams at Flo's parents' home in north Flagler (a block north of the later a new building was constructed near the gite of the present Co-op Service Station. He had been promoted to manager by this time. Just prior to this, the family moved to town (George's brother, Ralph, and family moved to the ranch) to what is presently the Adolph Cole home at 709 Navajo. While living here John Willis Baxter was born in Rockford, Ill. Sept. 1, 1876. Ida May McAdams Baxter was born in 1916. I worked at the M & S Cafe and Wiiliams Drug Store in Flagler. When I was working in the M & S Cafe, I met Norman P. Todd of Coldwater, Kansas. He was working at the Lavington Garage in Flagler from 1948 to 1.949. Then he began working for Colorado Interstate Gas Co. in November 1949 at Lakin, Kansas. John Willis Baxter, Ida May Baxter, Norman Todd, and Gertrude Baxter Todd, taken in my folks yard in Flagler. Norman and I were married April 14, 1950. He retired after 28 years with CIG. We have two children, John Philip Todd born August 4, !954, and Kathleen Marie Todd (Shook) �born Sept. 15, 1955, in Lamar, Colo. They went thru school at Beaver, Oklahoma. We have four (4) grandsons. My husband Norman is a Mason and has been since he lived in Flagler. We both belong to the Eastern Star. Norman and I and our children belong to the Presbyterian Church at Beaver, BEATTIE, TIMOTIIY AND JoELLEN (oRTtIr) painting business. JoEllen has a dress boutique and Arts and Crafts Shop. One Sunday each month, she plays the organ at a quaint little church, which is the oldest church in New Zealand, that is over 150 years old. Two years ago they built their new home overlooking the Bay of Islands. Oklahoma. by Frances Orth by Gertrude Marie Baxter Todd BEATTIE - PUGH FAMILY BECK - MESSENGER FAMILY F46 F47 Myparents, Frank LouisBeattie and Daisy Pugh Beattie, and their children, Blanche and Louis, came to Colorado in April of 1910 from Grinnell, Gove County, Kansas, by immigrant train. They settled on their homestead 9 miles north and 1 7z miles east of Stratton, but lived on the J.W. Borders'homestead, northwest of Stratton several miles until a small frnme building was built on the homestead. By fall they had a two room sod house where Gladys Beattie Clair, Mary Beattie Klotzbach, and James were born. By January 1915 they moved into the adobe house where Hettie Beattie Helton, Frances Beattie Lo- Tim and JoEllen Beattie Jan. 15. 1983 rain, and Frank were born. All of the children attended the Springwell School, District No. 43, 3/+ of a mile east of JoEllen Sue Orth was born November 2, 1951, daughter of Helmuth and Frances home and completed the eighth grade there. Blanche taught there later. She taught school for 39 years. Blanche and Gladys graduated from Stratton High School. Our mother passed away July 7, t924, and, our dad kept us all together and after we were all married and had homes of our own he married Elizabeth O'Neill of Smith Center, Kansas, June 23, 1949. Gladys and Walter Clair, Mary and John Klotzbach and Frances and Delphos Lorain moved to Oregon. Walter, Mary and Delphos passed away. Children of the above families are in Oregon. Hettie and Ed Helton live near St. Scott. Kansas. Four of their eight children live in the vicinity. Don and Dean live in Colorado. Mary lives in California and Margie lives in Oregon. Louis Beattie passed away in July, 1983. His widow, Esther Davis Beattie lives on the farm north of Stratton. Norman is in Montana, Delmar in Limon, Keith in Rocky Ford, Ivan in Lakewood, and Gene near Seattle, Washington. James Beattie passed away in 1963. His widow and children live in Denver. Frank Beattie and wife live in Denver. Son Leon passed away and Larry lives in Arizona. Homer Dove passed away in 1977. Son Marvin and family live near Kansas City, MO. His widow, Blanche, lives in Seibert, Colorado. by Blanche Beattie Dove (Lampe) Orth, at St. Francis, KS. She has one older brother, Dennis. She attended elementary school in St. Francis until third grade, then moved with her parents and brother to Burlington, CO, in 1959. JoEllen graduated from Burlington High School in 1969, and The University of Northern Colorado at Greeley, CO, in 1974, with a B.A. degree in Audiology. She later furthered her education at San Diego State University, San Diego, cA. In 1974 JoEllen and three college girl friends traveled through Europe four months. They rented a station wagon and traveled through ltaly, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, England, Austria, etc. In 1976, she and a girlfriend traveled through Mexico and on down to Yucatan. In San Diego JoElIen met and fell in love with Timothy David Beattie. Tim was born in Aukland, New Zealand. His mother Audrey, and two brothers still live in Aukland. Hie father is deceased. Tim is a nephew of the Governor General of New Zealand. Sir David Beattie, and his wife Lady Norma. Tim received his schooling in Aukland, graduating from The University of Aukland, majoring in Accounting. Since he has a great love for water and navigation, he has crossed the Pacific between New Zealand and United States, three times, and twice he used his 44 ft. sailboat (yacht). He and JoEllen have had some adventurous experiences starting from San Diego and sailed the Pacific to Aukland, New Zealand. They took twenty-two months to get there, as they visited many islands, including The Marquesas, Mangareva, Ta- hiti, Bora Bora, Cook Islands, Pago Pago, and many others. They spent quite some time at Tahiti, as they both worked, so they could purchase supplies and restock their pantry. They moved to Russell, New Zealand, about 150 miles north of Aukland. There is a lot of construction there, so Tim has a Four generations. "Ira", Isaac, Earl, Clifford with children Niel and Kent Messenger. "Ira", as he was fondly known by many people, was born to Isaac and Eva Strauser Messenger on September 2, 1866, in West Virginia. He cn-e to Colorado in 1886, and while working with a harvest crew traveling through Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, met, courted, and married Lulu Phoebe Beck, daughter of James Vivian Beck and Mary Ann Neighbors of Ritchie, Missouri. They were married in Tulsa, Okla., in 1894 and resided for awhile in Cattlee, Cherokee Nation, Okla., where their first son, Earl, was born. Ira moved his family to Loveland, Co. in 1896, and in four years five children were born there. In 1901, he moved his family to Kit Carson County, on the Republican River, about 18 miles northwest of (Claremont) Stratton, Co. After a couple ofyears near the river, Ira turned his homestead back to the Gov and refiled on what is still known as the "Messenger Homestead", some 2l miles northwest of Stratton. Here he built his "!lss1s" first a sod house, and then several additions-until the final house was a 12 room modern home, finished in 1920. By 1907, four more children were born totaling 10 - with eight living at this time: Earl, Stella, Archie, Clara, Hazel, Mary, Eva, and Ernst. (At this writing, June 1986, only four are still living.) Ira and his family were very industrious as were most "Pioneer" families, so the farm prospered. In about 1905, lra purchased a grinding mill for the purpose of grinding flour, cereals, animal foods, etc. It was powered with a huge 16 ft. darius windmill with power gears and shaft. A power takeoff was run into a blacksmith shop and ran a drill �equipment. "Ira" and Lulu quietly lived out their lives in Stratton as good parents and grand- parents. Lulu passed away January 20, L957, and Ira followed on September 30, 1962. by C.W. Messenger "Ira" Isaac D. Messenger and Lulu Phebe in 1953, Stratton, Co. press and saw. Here Ira practiced his blacksmithing profession, as he had done for many years, and was to continue throughout his life. The windmill also ran a pump jack for one of the two wells that Ira and his brother, Bill, had drilled on the farm. This well watered the large orchard that was planted this same year. A big barn was built in 1915, a large rambling hog house and chicken house in 1919. In 1918, Ira was elected to the public office of County Commissioner, and held thig office until 1930. He was one of the commissioners responsible for the carousel being purchased and installed at the County Fairgrounds. The controversy over the expenditure of these public funds during "hard times" lost him the election in the fall of 1929. The Messenger Homestead was adjacent to the "Tuttle" General Store and Post Office, that was operated until approximately 1920. Ira purchased the old store and 80 acres adjacent to it in L92L, to add to his farm. In those early years "Ira" had the only pair of dental forceps in the community and though he was not a "licensed" dentist, he pulled many a man's tooth as a Good Samaritan. On August 29, 1925,Ira's two oldest sons, Earl and Archie, were standing in the barn door; they had finished putting the work horses in their stalls and were watching a thunderstorm approach, when a bolt of lighting struck the barn killing Archie, but sparing Earl. When his oldest son, Earl, married Lucy Charlotte Wood, daughter of Henry H. and Rachel Wood (close neighbors), on Aug. 8, 1926, and they returned from their honeymoon, Ira, Lulu and youngest son, Ernest, had moved off the farm to Stratton, allowing Earl and his bride to reside on the farm. In 1931 after his stint as County Commissioner, Ira built a large blacksmith shop beside his home in Stratton, and there plied his trade for another 15 years. His shop was always equipped with the best equipment available at the time. He had the only lathe between Chicago and Denver, large enough to "turn" a railroad car wheel. People traveled many miles to have him repair their �made the trip to Marion, about 70 miles north of Yankton, and homesteaded on the open prairies. Our father lived west of Marion, South Dakota, till he journeyed to Avon, South Dakota, and got acquainted with our mother, Katharina Schultz. They were manied Mar. 9, 1899. Our Mother's parents also were from Rueeian Poland. From the little village of Heinrichsdorf, about 70 miles east of Kariswalde, they had come to America on the Freighter Colina a few months before our father. Our parents lived on a farm south ofAvon till Oct. of 1907, when they boarded a immigrant train for Vona, Colo. With them were our brothers, Eli and Jacob and our sisters Lydia, Mary and Helena. A few cows and two horses and a two bottom gang plow were algo brought on the train. Our father was known as a big farmer in South Dakota, but he had heard the winters were not so cold or severe in Colorado. Our parents had a well and barn built by others in the early months of 1907, so they first took care of the crops in S.D. and arrived at Vona on Oct. 7,L907. The north part ofthe barn was used for the cows and horses. The south part was converted into living quarters for our parents and five children. A trapdoor led to the haymow for sleeping for the older children. Here in thig barn our sigter Justina wae born in the spring of 1908. The old deterioratcd barn still stande today, but you know the old fond memories of that old barn cause one to stop having thoughts of tearing it down. In 1910, our parents built a 18 x 24 frnme house, and in this house Leander and Wilbert were born. In 1916, the attic and roof were torn off. A second story was added, and a two story wing 16 x 30 wag added to the west. In this house our youngeet sister Alvina and our youngest brother Abe were born. On this old homestead ten children of the Andrew B. Becker family grew up. We hope each one has grovm up to be of influencial good to our God, to our communityand to our country. Our oldest sister Lydia (Boese) passed away in 1972, Jacob in 1976 and Eli in 1981. All are buried in our Mennonite Cemetery south of Vona. The old Becker homest€ad still belongs in the Andrew B. Becker family, in possession of Wilbert and Alma Becker. About 1900. Isaac D. "Ira" Messenger and Lulu Phebe Messinger Children L. to R. Earl, Stella, Archie, Clara (baby. BECKER, ANDREW FAMILY F48 Our Father, only two years old, emigrated from Russian Poland with our Grandparents, Benjamin and Susanna Becker, from the little village of Karlswalde, about 200 miles west of Kief, Russia. On November 10, 1874, they boarded the train for a thirteen day ride to Antwerp, Belgium. There they set sail for America on the English Ship Abbotsford. The Abbotsford ran into very rough seas, and collided with the Ship Indus. The Abbotsford was da-aged severely, so that much of the ghip took on water; and all feared the ship would sink, but miraculously it limped back to port and was repaired. In the meantime. some of our Mennonite families contacted smallpox, and were quarantined, including our Grandfather's family. Our little Aunt Elizabeth, only a few weeks old, is on the passenger list ofthe Abbotsford, but we have no authentic information as to what happened to her. She may had died from smallpox in England or was buried at sea. The Abbotsford tried to sail for America while our folks were quarantined in England, but was wrecked again. It never made the Atlantic crossing at that time. Our folks sailed to America on the Steamer lllinois and arrived in Philadelphia on Jan. 28, 1875. In the spring of 1875, our father's folks traveled on Yankton, South Dakota Terri- tory. That was the end of the rails at that time. So by oxen and horses our father's folks by Wilbert A. Becker BECKMANN FAMILY F49 August Fred Beckmann was born Oct. 17, 1892 at Cook, Nebraska, the son of John Henry and Caroline (Riensche) Beclrmann. Anna Christina (Henning) Beclrmann was born Jan. 9, 1899 at Gaylord, Kansas, the daughter of August Henning, Sr. and Bertha (Kessler) Henning. August and Anna were m{uried Oct. 8, 1919 at Gaylord, Kansas after August returned from serving in France during World War I. They came to Flagler, Colorado in Januar5r, 1920, and farmed the Leseberg farm about 6 miles north of Flagler for several years. August, known as Gus to his friends, decided to take his family back to Nebraska. While �BEELER FAMILY deceased. He also spent some time with his F60 Abraham (Abe) Lincoln Beeler was born in the state of Kansas. He had three brothers, John, Lewis and George, and a sister Annie. He met and married Louiea Jane Kinney of Oregon and Mound City, MO. She had two sisters, Frances Springer and Emma Bucher, and a brother Willie. To this union four sons IG i were born, Charles (Charlie) General mother on the ranch near Flagler. Lloyd died at the age of two years. Marvin came with the family from the Indian Territory to Colorado at a young age. He married Marjorie Yewell of Flagler. They had a son, Robert Yewell, and a daughter, Elora Rose. Mawin and Elora Rose are deceased. Marjorie and Robert reside in the Denver area. He is a dentist, and she is in a rest home in Morrison, Colorado, now age 88. Marjorie and Hila both taught at the Robert. Beeler school, 2 miles northeast of the farms. The people that came to eastern Colorado in those early times were seeking new oppor- Kansas, then moved to the Indian Territory tunities and perhaps a certain amount of of Oklahoma. Marvin was born there, the adventure. Jackson, Hubert Kinney, Lloyd and Marvin They lived for a time in White Cloud, older boys in Kansas. In the early 1900's they bought a property adjoining their son Hubert's place that he had homesteaded previously. They built a sod house, added a frarne house later and *t. ."! by Lucille Beeler Morgan BEELER - HOUGII other improvements. These places were located on the Republican River, 12 miles southwest of Flagler, Colorado. The houses were about a block apart. The family were FAMILY F61 farmers and ranchers. Grandma made butter and sold it in August and Anna Beckman with Ruby, Wibna, Roy, Irma and Eldon in 1929. in Nebraska he was employed as a carpenter, but due to ill health and doctor's advice to move West, they returned to Flagler and bought a farm 9 miles northwest of Flagler and lived and farmed there up to and through the "Depreasion and Dust Bowl Days of the 1930's", selling the farm in the late 1930's and moving into Flagler. August worked at various jobs, even moving to Washington state for a short time; but, liking Colorado, he returned to Loveland, Colorado, where he lived the remaining years of his life. He died September 29, 1970. His wife Anna still lives in Loveland, Colorado. August and Anna were always active memberg of the Lutheran Church and 7 children were born to this union. Ruby LaVerne, who married Paul Huber, was born July 30, 1920 at Flagler. She was residing in Bellinghnm, Washington in 1986. Wilma Louise, married to George Corcoran, was born March 23, L922 at Flagler. She resided in Southfield, Michigan in 1986. Roy August, who was a Lutheran minister, was born May 6,1924 at Sterling, Nebraska, and died June 7,L977, at North Bend, Nebraska. Erma Jean was born May 23, L927 at Sterling, Nebraska. She died Oct. 18, L929, at Flagler, Colorado from the flu. Eldon Edward was born July 16, 1929 at Flagler, Colorado and was residing in Loveland, Colorado in 1986. Dale Henry was born August 12, 1931 at Flagler, and resided at Robins, Iowa in 1986. Norma Faye, married to Ben Zimmerman, was born Nov. 1, 1936 at Flagler, and was residing in Loveland, Colorado in 1986. by Ruby Huber Flagler. They took eggs and crenm to sell at the grocery and creanery. She had a vegetable garden, also. Her life on the prairie was a change from the more settled and not such harsh climate of Colorado. She always wore a sun-bonnet to protect her hair and skin and long gloves made from old hosiery, with holes cut out for the fingers, to cover her arms. One bonnet was a slat one made by sewing pockets in the material and inserting cardboard strips to hold it rigid. They had an outside cave to store food that had to be cool, the milk, eggs, butter, etc. When they butchered a hog, some of it was ground and made into patties, fried and placed in large stone jars, covered in lard and stored in the cave for future needs. The harns and bacon were sugar-cured and smoked. The blizzards were so severe some winters, the men would attach a wire or rope from the barns to the houses and follow it to get out to feed the animals. There was the fear of losing their way. To build a sod house. sod must be cut from virgin soil with grass roots intact for reinforcement to construct the house. A minimum of lumber was used. The roof was covered with sod also. In spring, wild flowers bloomed on it making a colorful and startling effect. A sod house is real comfortable, warm in winter, cool in summer because of the thick wall. The inside was plastered and wall papered, making it quite attractive. The window sills were deep, making room for house plants. I spent a lot of time at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She read to me and as I became a better reader, we took turns reading aloud. It was wonderful training for me, and she seemed to enjoy it. She also helped me with public speaking, listening to my recitations over and over, never losing patience. She passed away in 1928. Grandpa died in 1919 when I was nine years old. He did routine work around the place. He hardly ever went to town, just seemed contented at home. Charlie Beeler lived for a time in Aroya, Colorado, where he met and married Hila Gillespie. One daughter, Norma Jeanne, was born to them. She and her father are both * r't't' Hubert and Clara Beeler and baby Marian Louise, 8 weeks old. June, 1921, on the farm southwest of Flagler. Around the turn of the century, Hubert (Hub) Beeler homesteaded on a half section of land 12 miles southwest of Flagler, along the Republican River where there were good alfalfa fields and wild hay to be mowed to feed the animals. There was farming ground where corn, wheat, potatoes and other crops were raised, an all dry-land operation. Wild sweet-peas, rose and plum bushes grew on the banks of the river. He built a sod house and outbuildings on the property. In the year 1909, he married Clara Josephine Hough of Wild Horse, Colorado, and three daughters were born to them, Lucille Winnie Mae, Eunice Lillian and Marian Louise. The family lived at this location until t924. Patt of our income was derived from Hubert's training of horses to be ridden and driven and participating in rodeos. He enjoyed reading Western novels and smoking his pipe. Our lasting memorieg of him were �Lowe, of Denver, son of Marlin and Ramona Lowe. Eunice married Roger Grosh of Kearney, Nebraska. She graduated from Beauty school in Denver and later went into the restaurant businesg with her husband. After a number of years, she was married to Larry Nason of Boston, Maes. and continued to operate that business of Denver until their retirement. Marian married George W. (Bill) Mulhausen of Denver and two daughters were born to them, Phyllis Batty (her husband is Roger) deceased since 1980. Lucille and Eunice graduated from Flagler youngest ones could do. But on a hot summer day there was no place cooler. The reward was High School. Marian attended school there until moving to Denver where she attended worth it. East Denver High School. We received a good education in Flagler. The experience of farm and ranch life and small town living are never to be forgotten memories. with his horse and cowboy hat and boots, a real Western man. Our mother raised fryer BEESON - PERKINS FAMILY see them slinking along the river, hoping to snatch a chicken for their dinner. We made an excursion out of taking the teams of mules and lumber wagon to gather cow chips for fuel, always on the alert for rattlesnakes. We had many good times in those early days, attending pie and box socials, dances, school programs, rodeos, baseball gemes and visiting neighbors. Lucille and Eunice rode their black and white pinto ponies to the Beeler School 2 miles northeast of the farm. Most activities were held at the school, also church services. when a minister could be acquired. There must have been many hardships on the prairie, but being young, we hardly noticed. There was good food, shelter, a few clothes, love, work to do and plans for tomorrow. In August of L924, Hubert passed away at age 42. The family then moved to Flagler and remained there until 1937. Our house was across the street from the Congregational Church where we attended services. Our life in Flagler was pleasant with friends and work, movies (free on Sat. P.M.), dances, school parties and lessons. Our big kitchen table was a center ofactivity. School lessons, games and correspondence took place by the light of the Rayo Kerosene lsmp with our mother close by doing crocheting, mending and quiltmaking. She often played the accordian and harmonica for us. Clara Beeler passed away in 1935 at age 44. The younger daughters moved to Denver in 1937 where they now reside. Lucille married Cecil J. Morgan of Arriba, Colorado, in 1930 at Littleton, Colorado. They then left the Denver area until 1940, when they returned to Lakewood, Colorado, and remained there until 1981, when Lucille moved to Sedona, Arizona where her son Del and wife Leah are now living. They were the parents of a daughter Rnrnona C. Lowe (deceased) and have one grandson David A. Their family and the land was very important to Ed and Mable. They worked hard and sacrificed for both. Their children were: Elsie maried to Walter Herndon; Edith married and Dianne Stitt (her husband is Jim). Lucille and Marian were married to men in the building construction business. The husbands all served in the South Pacific by Lucille Beeler Morgan chickens to sell, as well as eggs and creem, and boarded teachers. In the evenings we could hear the coyot€s near our place. By day we could sometimes also lived nearby. to Charlie Murray; Leonard married toAgnes Iseman; Midge married to Raymond Davis; Clark married to (1) Opal Schaal; (2) Charlotte Cranford; and Duane married to Gladys Gro-m. On that barren land their trees stood for so much. It reminded them both of the land where they grew up. So when there was nothing else to do, which was rare, there was always the water to carry, weeds to hoe, and theater in World War II. The men are all LuciIIe Beeler, age 10 years, and Eunice Beeler, age 6 years. Year 1920 on farm southwest of Flagler. and traveling in a covered wagon. Mar5r Ellen's father, Jasper Dickey, and his fanily F62 Edward Elner Beeeon came to Kit Carson County, Colorado, to file on a homestead in 1906 from Rawlins County Kansas. He was born to William Harrison Beeson and Priscilla Ann (Pickett) Beason 6 Aug. 1880 at Enosdale, Washington Co., Ks. Billy Beeson was the last of eight generations of practicing Quakers or the Society of Friends as they were sometimes known. The first Beeson to come to America was also Edward. He ceme from England in 1682 or 1684 and settled in Chester Co., Pennsylvania. His descendants moved south to Virginia and North Carolina, then west to Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Colorado. more trees to plant, work that even the Ed was on the school board most of the time the kids attended First Central School. They all graduated from there and were involved in school activities. One day Ed waved a greeting to the bus driver who thought he meant no kids on the bus today. So the driver left without any Beesons. Hurray, a holiday!!!! But no such luck. Healthy kids can walk right. Off to school they went. But not too -far. The girls decided to play hooky. This time (probably the only time) Len was the innocent one and continued on to school. What fun they found to do. Trying to time their arrival at home with the bus was easy. But Mom and Dad happened to see just one angelic son get off the bus that day. With much foresight Elsie, Edith and Midge placed pillows strategically for their welcome home. Ed and Mable moved to Burlington in 1944 to retire. They found a place where they could have a cow to milk, a calf or two to feed, and chickens to care for. Just so they weren't too far away from the life they knew and loved so well. Ed also worked for the city at the park for a number of years. Ed died 1 Jan. 1960. Mable died 4 Nov. 1964. Elsie and Walter farmed south of Stratton and are now retired and living in Stratton. Leonard and Agnes live in Burlington and are still involved in farming and ranching at the homeplace of the original Willinm !l611ison Beeson moved his family homestead. Duane and Gladys, before to Rawlins Co.. Ks. in 1892 and homesteaded 5 miles south of McDonald, Ks. Ed worked for Roy and Beech Berry of McDonald as a ranchhand. He nanowly missed being involved in the infamous Dewey-Berry shootout. But that day he had work to do elsewhere Duane's death in June 1985, farmed the land acquired by Ed and Mable a few miles from on the ranch. And while he was away Chauncey Dewey arrived with his hired men and in the ensuing gunfight three Berry's were killed and two injured. When Ed moved to Kit Carson Co. the original homestead he worked was that of Roy Berry. His brothers Frank, Clifford and sister Belle filed homestead's on adjoining quarters. If they went to Burlington there was at that time a trail that they took. It angled northeast to Burlington. About one-half mile out of town was the only fenced land between their place and town. May 21, 1908 Ed married Mable Bell Perkins, daughter of Willis/lVlary Ellen (Dickey) Perkins. Mable was born 28 Sept. 1890 in Seward, Nebr. The Perkins family moved to the county in 1906 and homesteaded on land just south of Ed's homestead. Mable remembered moving with her parents the home place. Clark and Charlotte are in Eads, Colo. and run a auto-parts store. Edith and Charlie are retired from teaching and logging and live in Grants Pass, Ore. Midge and Raymond, a retired electrician, live in Denver, Colo. The roots that Ed and Mable planted are strong. Their work, blood, sweat, and tears have sustained many. The land and times have changed so much. Wouldn't those old timers shudder if they could look down on us right now. Those times were hard but good and so simple. But didn't they do a good job and accomplished so much. by Lenora Sexson �BEESON - PERKINS GRAMM FAMILIES BEETHE - VOIGHT FAMILY F53 F54 Edward Ebner Beeson was born August 6, 1889 in Washington County in Enosidale, Kansas. There he grew up and later married Mabel Bell Perkins on May 21, 1908. They 1952. Connie was born in 1954 and Greg in 1960. Don worked in several capacities in Colorado Springs and moved to Burlington the spring of 1973 €ul manager for Mountain Bell Telephone. He retired from Mt. Bell in 1984 with almost 35 years service. He then went to work for the City of Burlington and was appointed City Administrator in January 1985. The Beethes attend First St. Paul's Lutheran Church. Dot served two 5-year lived in McDonald, Kansas. terms on the Burlington Public Library. Don is a member of the Burlington Rotary Club family farm south of Bethune where they raised their six children. The children are: and enjoys playing golf. In the early 1900's they moved to the Connie lives in Laguna Beach, Ca. and Elsie Beeson Herndon, Edith Beeson Greg in Newport Beach, Ca. Murray, Leonard Beeson, Velma Beeson Don enjoyed working with Burlington, Davis, Clark Beeson and Duane Beeson. In 1945, the family moved to Burlington, Cheyenne Wells, Stratton and Limon people while with Mountain Bell. Burlington (where Colorado begins) is a great place to live. Colorado where they resided until their deaths. Edward passed away on January 1, 1960 and Mabel passed away on November 4, t964. They are buried at the Fairview Cemetery in Burlington, Colorado. by Don Beethe Duane Beeson was born on March 21, 1931 in the family home south-west of Bethune, Colorado. Duane attended his first eight years of school at First Central. He attended high Don and Dot Beethe. BELLER - HUPPERT FAMILY F66 school in Burlington, Colorado where he graduated with the class of 1949. While attending school, Duane worked for R.I. Gassner at his gas station in Burlington, Colorado. He also helped his brothers farm and raise cattle on the family farm south-west of Bethune. Duane entered the United States Marine Corps on March L4, Lg52 and was honorably discharged on March 3, 1954. Duane was baptized on May 8, 1956 by Reverend H.E. Wilake and became a member a;, of the Hope United Church of Christ north of Bethune. Gladys Gramm attended the country schools of Emerson, Hook, Broadsword, and Blueview. In 1951 and 1952 she attended Bethune High School and in 1953 and 1954 ehe went to Burlington High School where she graduated in 1954. In 1954, Gladys worked at the Standish Drug drugstore, in Burlington, as a clerk, and at the Mountain Bell Telephone Office as a telephone operator. Duane and Gladys were united in marriage on June 10, 1956 at the Hope United Church of Christ. They then moved to the farm south of Bethune. Here they farmed, raised cattle and hogs. Connie and Greg Beethe. Dorothy Voight was born in Norfolk, Virginia and grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. She moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for the U.S. Navy. In 1951 she moved to Colorado Springs working as a secretary for the U.S. Air Force and met Don on a blind Three children were born to Duane and Gladys: Douglas, Jeanette, and Cheryl. All date. Don Beethe was born in Elk Creek. Nebras- School. Douglas graduated in 1976, Jeanette sisters and 4 brothers to Yuma, Colorado in 1932 to a farm 5N and 2W of Yuma. He grew three children attended Stratton High in 1979, and Cheryl in 1986. In 1982 Duane attended school in Denver and he received his real estate license. Duane passed away on June 4, 1985 at St. Anthony Hospital in Denver. He is buried at the Fairview Cemetery in Burlington. ka. He moved with his father, mother, 2 up and attended Yuma schools and served with the U.S. Army 6th Division in Pusan, Korea in L946-47. Don worked for his sister and brother-in-law, Gordon Sipple, on a farm near Clarksville, locatcd 24 miles NE of Yuma. by Cheryl Beeson In 1950 he went to work with Mountain States Telephone Company in Denver, and traveled throughout Colorado as a lineman for 2 years before locating in Colorado Springs for the dial conversion in 1953. During the winter of 1951, he worked with a line crew on the Denver-Kanarado Toll Line and the crew stayed in the Montezuma Hotel, which seemed quite new at that time. Don and Dot were married in Grace Episcopal Church in Colorado Springs in The newlyweds, Tony and Gertrude Beller, on the left with their attendants, Clara Weibel and Joe Knochel, on July I5, 1924 beside first St. Charles Church. Stratton On Tuesday morning July 15, 1924 at 8:00 A.M. at St. Charles Church vows were said by Miss Gertrude Huppert and Mr. Tony Beller both of Stratton. Rev. Edw. Muenich officiated. Bridesmaid was Clara Weibel and Joseph Knochel acted as best man. Gertrude Huppert, daughter of George and Mollie Huppert, moved here from Blue Hill, Nebr. in 1923. She taught school in several schools, including Greenknoll District in 1923. Tony Beller, son of Anton and Theresa Beller moved here from Lindsay, Nebr. on May 6, 1921. He farmed the land that he broke himself until 1948, when they moved to Denver where they now reside. Five children were born; they are Marianne Stevens, Millie �Luebbers, Ray Beller, Jerome Beller, and Margaret Winters. by Mrs. Paul Luebbers BERGEN, FRANK, M.D. F66 ca 1920" Standing L to R: Albert Guthrie, Jack Ruberson, Robert Wilkinson, Fred Kukku, Henry G. Hoskin, James Upton, Albert Beal, Carl Hamilton, Vern Coakley. Seated, L to R: Ed Hoskin, Frank Rose, J.E. Pilling and Dr. F.L. Bergen. "Burlington Volunteer Fire Department "F.L. Bergen - Country Doctor," - post-humously by the Colorado Medical Comet Rebekah Lodge. Dad was sinularly Society for his many years of service to the honored by Rocky Mountain Consistory, people of the Burlington area. Ancient and Acceptcd Scottish Rite by being "Doc", as he was affectionately known by decorated "Knight Commander Court of the entire community, served many terms Honor." both as City Health Officer for Burlington "Doc" may be remembered by some of the and County Health Officer for Kit Carson "old-timers" for his public presentation of particularly the poetry of County. I remember during my childhood "readings" that he always carried in his car a supply of JamesWhitcombRiley.Doanyof ourreaders those hugh red quarantine signs bearing the recall his rendition of "Little Orphan Annames of those then horrifying - now nie"? From that day in 1908, when Mom (Anna obsolete diseases, "Diphtheria", Lou) walked with Dad down the wooden"Smallpox", and "Scarlet Fever". Medicine plank sidewalk from the Rock Island Depot came a long way during his lifetime; I remember his telling me that when he was a to the old Montezuma Hotel, she was his devoted companion until his death in 1959 of boy, "no one ever heard ofAppendicitis, but Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. an awful lot of people died of the Belly Ache." Being the wife of a small town doctor in "Doc" served as Medical Exnmine for those days required the patience of Job. I Selective Service during both World Wars, recall countless occasions when, just as the for which service he was awarded decorations. During most of this professional career, "Doc" served as "Physician and Surgeon" for the Rock Island Railroad, frequently boarding the train to attend a passenger who had become ill, then boarding the nert returning train, which was often several hours late. Somehow, "Doc" found time to do many things outside his professional activities: He was mayor of Burlington when the first electric power generating plant was estab- "Mrs. Bergen - Patience of Job." On one occasion I referred to Dad as a "horse and buggy doctor" to which, with his usual wit, he replied, "I never treated a buggy in my life." "Dad" wag Frank Leslie Bergen, M.D., who brought his bride, Anna Lou, to Burlington in 1908, and served that community and its rural surrounding area in the practice of General Medicine for some fifty years. Shortlv after his death in 1959 he was honored lished. He was a member of the Burlington Volunteer Fire Department most of his adult life, serving for a time as Chief, and for many years as Department Physician. He served First Methodist Episcopal church in almost every lay function from Board Chairman to Choir Director except President of the - and Mom filled that Ladies Aid Society, office on several occasions, as well as teaching classes in the Primary Department of the Sunday School. Mom and Dad were both always very active in fraternal circles, each serving one or more terms as presiding officer of the Orders with which they became affiliated, Dad with the Masonic, Odd Fellows, and Rebekah Lodges, and Mom with Aurora Chapter, O.E.S. and family was about to sit down and enjoy a meal together, the phone would ring, we would eat without Dad, and his food would go back on the stove until the distress of a patient was relieved. Many of our readers will recall the dust storms of the early thirties. No house was tight enough to keep out the dust. I recall seeing many a tear in Mom's eye as she saw everything in her freshly cleaned house covered with a thick coating of dust. My sister, Dorothy Louise Olsen (Nee Bergen) and I (Richard Van Bergen) were blessed with the most wonderful parents we could have had. Dad disciplined us and Mom spoiled us. Dorothy was eight years older than I, having been born in 1910 so, to me, it was almost like having two -mothers "Dot" alternating between discipline and spoiling. "Dot" and I both graduated from Burlington High School, she in 1928 and I in 1936. After teaching in rural elementary (one-room) schools in the Burlington and Bethune areas for a number ofyears, Dorothy became the wife of Edward W. Olsen. Although Dorothy passed away in 1946, she is survived, at this writing by Ed and three children, all of whom are married and have �children of their own. For some twenty yearg the writer was known in and around Burlington as "Little Doc", which though not appreciated at the time, appears in retrospect to have been quite complimentary. "Little Doc" (who now tips the scales at 203 lbs) left Burlington in 1940 to enroll at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. The educational endeavor was interrupted by World War II and March 1942 found Dick in the "blues" of the U.S. Navy. His 1945 marriage to Geneva Miller made a he remains Kentuckian out of Dick - which Dad's death, reto thig date. Mom, after turned to Kentucky, her native state, and remained with us until her death in 1961. Geneva passed away in 1980 and in 1984 Dick was remarried to Marjorie Kathryn ("Midge") Harrison of Cincinnati. Dick's daughter, Donna (Stephens) and Grandsons, Ryan and Gregory reside in Plano, Texas. Dick retired in 1982, having served the last twenty years of his working life ae Director of Administration and Facilities for Ohio Valley Goodwill lndustries Rehabilitation Center. Dick enjoys reading his weekly copy of the Burlington Record, but seems somehow always to turn first to the "20", "40" or "60 years ago" column. by Richard V. Bergen in the Flagler Cemetery. On March 22, L908, Berry loaded out an immigrant car at Goff with farm machinery, wagon, buggy, harness, household goods, one runty pig and a few chickens and shipped the freight car.to Flagler, Colorado. He had a big tea- of draft mares ready to bring to the homestead too, but was advised the horses would not do well in the high altitude, so he sold the team for $300 and bought other horses at a farm sale at Colby, Kansas, which could also be readily used to drive the buggy. When Berry arrived in Colorado, he stayed with a neighbor, Henry Guhr, while putting up the house and barn, having borrowed a sod cutter from another neighbor, Zack Eckert. The two room house was ofa 14 x 32 foot size, and later in 1916 a third room was added. The barn was of a 16 x 32 foot size. A well was dug by neighbor Sam Proaps to a depth of 144 feet to good water. In about 1914 Berry dug a cellar under the kitchen part of the soddy, and then in about 1917 a granary, an 8 x 12 foot chicken house and an outhouse were built. During the time Berry was making the homestead habitable, his wife and baby daughter, who was born in April 1907 at the home of Berry's parents near Goff, were visiting in Indianapolis with relatives, but arrived in Flagler on the morning passenger train May 1, 1908. Three other children, two girls and a boy, cnme to bless this family on the prairies, all born in the soddy on the Eventually Berry sold the homestead, which after about 1911, included an additional quarter of land. This piece of land, the NW % of Section 18, 6S, Range 51, had an old dugout on it, so Berry in filing, had to first contest a previous homesteader's claim. In March 1925 the family moved to a farm northeast of Limon in Lincoln County, ending their living in Kit Carson County and life on the homestead. John and Jennie, as she was always called by her husband, were the parents of the four children, Margaret Clistie (Mrs. Elmer Slise of Genoa); Pauline Florence also called Polly (Mrs. Kelvin S. Gurwellof Loveland); Norma Katherine (Mrs. Verlie L. Holmes of Sioux Falls, South Dakota); and Mark Wesley, who was maried to Marjorie Cox. Berrys were also the grandparents of nine grandchildren; none however to cany on the name. John died in March 1966 at the age of 94, and Jennie passed away in August of 1963 at the age of 85. Both are buried at Loveland where they had lived the last few years of their lives in the Sierra Vista Nursing Home in Loveland, after having lived in and around Genoa since 1928 for over 30 years. Their son, Wesley, passed away in January 1986 in Maine, where he had gone to be with his only child, and is buried in Winthrop, Maine. homestead. BERRY, JOHN FAMILY which began in about 1916 with Ray Thompson as the carrier, the Berrys got their mail at Thurman, which meant a trip once a week by horse and buggy. by Margaret Berry Slise In 1914 a school district was formed in the area and a nice sod school house, 16 x 24 feet, with four windows in each wall, was built 1 F67 The story of the John Berry family in Kit Carson County began in 1907 when John Harvey Berry filed for a homestead, August 7,LW7, on SW % Section 7, 63, Range 51, in the extreme northwestern corner of the county, just south of the Washington County line and just east of the Lincoln County line. Actually Berry had become familiar with Eastern Colorado at an earlier time when a sist€r and family moved to Limon in about 1895 for employment with the railroad, and Berry had visited in their home. Later when that family moved to the Cripple Creek Gillette area in about 1898, Berry joined the % miles to the west of the Berry home. This BEST, BOB AND was just inside Lincoln County on SW % of Section 12, 6S, Range 52. This school was nemed Twin Lakes, as two large lagoons nearby filled with water from snow melt in the spring. A Sunday School, known as the Twin Lakes Sunday School, also met at the school. All four of the Berry children attended school and Sunday School at Twin Lakes. Berry farmed with horses and broke prairie sod for farm crops, mostly raising corn, beans, potatoes, barley, rye, cane, millet and some wheat. The neighbors all exchanged work in harvest and with threshing. Too, Berry was considered the neighborhood blacksmith. Berry also received help with the farm work from his eldest daughter. They would haul grain from the crops raised to the elevators in Flagler, 20 miles to the southeast, with horse and wagon, and would bring coal and groceries back for the winter supply. PATTI LU F58 In 1953 John Clark and H.E. (Gene) Clark, Patti's brothers, hired Bob to work for them in the insurance dept. of The First National Bank, Stratton, Colo. Bob had been born and raised in the state of Washington graduating from Montesano High School in Montesano, Washington and the University of Washington at Seattle, Washington. After graduating from High Also, one winter Berry hauled flour from Flagler to Thurman, a thriving town, seven School in June 1941, Bob enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served until the end of WWII and was discharged in February 1946. Patti was raised in Kirk, Colo. graduating from Kirk High School and Colorado A&M College (now Colorado State University). In January 1945 she was united in marriage to James Mustard who died in WWII. To this miles distant to the northwest in Washington County. In 1919 Berry bought a Monroe car which ended the days of horse and buggy union was born a son, James. During her college years and after graduating, Patti was employed in the Cope, Joes and Stratton napolis, Indiana, in that city and they transportation for the family. The Berrys, as all homesteaders, suffered returned to the Goff area to a farm southwest of town until the moved to Colorado. The bride was musically talentcd having played a violin with the Indianapolis City Orchestra prior to her marriage. She was born August 1, 1878, in Wurttemberg, Germany, and immigrated with her parents, two brothers and two sisters to the United States in 1881 at the age of three. Her mother came t,o Flagler to live with the Berrys in October 1922, following the death of her husband earlier, and was living in Colorado at the time of her death in January 1923. She ig buried blizzards, hailstorms, droughts, rattlesnakes, prairie dogs, coyotes, badgers, skunks, grasshoppers, army worms and jack rabbits, but endured. The family generally had a garden, chickens, a few hogs, and a milk cow, and several horses for the field work and transportation by wagon or buggy. By careful management they got through the long, cold winters comfortably with some coal and several tons of cow chips to burn for fuel. Prior to a rural mail delivery from Flagler, public school systems. Bob and Patti met in Montesano. Washington where Patti was visiting her in-laws. They were married in June 1947 and to this union two daughters, Susan and Judith, were family and worked with hie brother-in-law in various mining and mining related jobs. Later he returned home to his native home area in northeastern Kansas, Goff in Nemaha County. His parents had come to Doniphan County in the late 1860's in a covered wagon with an oxen tenm, from Lovilia, Iowa, and it was at Hiawatha that Berry was born September 30, 1871. On March 2, 1906, Berry was united in marriage with Marie Rose Probst of India- hardships and battled the elements of born. The family continued living in Stratton where all three children were graduated from High School. Jim is married to Denise Kale and they are now living in Boulder, Colo. where Jim works as a geologist. They have a daughter Alicia. Susan is married to Jim Carnathan and they have two children, Kim and Chris. Jim works at Caldwells in Burlington and Sue works at The First National �Bank, Stratton. Judith is manied to Dean Wall and they have three children, Kerri, Stephanie and John. They live in Denver where Dean is a minister and Judy works in a book store. In 1961John Clark sold his interest in The First National Bank to Bob and Gene Clark and they continued as the managing officers until they sold their interests in the fall of 1981 and retired. Patti passed away in April 1982 after a long illness. In May 1983 Bob was married to Serena Simon, Con Simon's widow, and they are presently living in Stratton. by Bob Best BIGELO\il, EARL NLTPIJAZ F69 My grandfather William Seymour Bigelow was born in Goffrey county, Iowa, May 21, 1869 and died Feb. 11, 1948. He was the 4th child of Dr. Eliphaz Bigelow, born Oct. 20, 1823, died Oct. 25, 1877. Great-grandfather Eliphaz originally came from Marion, Ohio, before moving to Iowa. He traveled many miles with horse and buggy or riding a horse to attend to the ills of the sick. Grandfather William Bigelow married Mertie Steward on Sept. 11, 1889. Mertie was born Mar. 27, L873 and died Mar. 8, 1945. It is said that the Stewards were related to President Howard Taft. They had 8 children: F,arl, 7 /L0/L890 to 3/5/L964, married Eliz- abeth Fuhlendorf; Bliss, 9/L5/L852 to 3/8/1980, married Mary Noel; Minnie, 2/15/1895 to 2/28/L983. married Ben Steen; Hazel, 8/26/ L897 to 12/21/1968, married Alex Todd; Clyde, 5/241L90L, married Christine Cook; Glen, 10/26/1903 tn 4/14/1916. Glen is buried in the Seibert cemetery; Roy, L/L7/L906 to r/L9/L906; and Lyle, rr/7h910 to 9/L2/L97L, married Ione Sheppard. Clyde is the only uncle or aunt I have living on either side of my family. My father was born in Phillips county, Kansas. In 1907, grandfather with father and Uncle Bliss immigrated from eastern Kansag to Seibert, Colo. Grandfather was allowed to ride in the caboose ofthe train free, but Earl and Bliss were gtowaways in the immigrant car and hid in an empty piano box when the train had stops. At a stop near Belleville, Kansas another immigrant family joined this train. The Bigelows became acquainted with Ed Gagnon and his son Pope. The Gagnons homesteaded 3 mi. east and LVz mi. south of Seibert. Grandmother Mertie and the rest of the family came by train and joined grandfather, Earl and Bliss about 10 miles north and two west of Seibert, where gandfather had homesteaded. During the first years of homesteading, my father, Earl and Uncle Bliss roa-ed away from home to find work to earn moneyto help support the regt of the family. While home at one time, and ready to leave again, grandmother cried because she did not want the boys to leave. Comet Halley was to arrive in 1910, and she was afraid it might hit them. In the fall of 1910, Earl was picking corn for John Kistler, who lived northeast of Seibert, where the Charles Borens live today. At that time the Murphy school was a little north of the Kistler place. Earl started courting the pretty young school teacher of the Murphy School, Elizabeth Fuhlendorf, who later became my mother. I, Alma L. Bigelow Becker, was born in 1919. some cases furnished transportation to the missionary, which at that time was horse and buggy. He was one of the charter members of Immanuel Lutheran Church of Arriba and and ranching, but due to health reasons later a charter member of Zion in Flagler. He served both congregations in various official capacities and in general gave much of his time and efforts to the upbuilding of the church. Mr. and Mrs. Blancken celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversar5r in 1930 when many of their relatives and a host of friends helped them celebrate the occasion. His wife father had to change to other work to make passed away in April of 1939. Earl Bigelow was a staunch member of the community. For years he served on the board of the Vona schools. He helped support baseball teems, and was a member of the Christian Church of Vona. Earl was one of the first in the county to irrigate with deep wells. He loved farming a living. For many years he was in the insurance business. In 1946, my parents bought grandfather William Bigelow's home in Seibert. Here my father passed away on Mar. 5, 1964. My mother will be 97 years old in July. She lives in this house, does her own housework, goes to Senior citizen parties and other events. Her wit and humor are still so enjoyable. In 1946, she was called to teach the Pleasant He was engaged in farming during his lifetime and only the last few years did he fail to take an active part in the work on the farm. During the last 12 years of his life he was blind. Otherwise he enjoyed good health and his mind was especially clear. He passed away October 10, 1948, at the age of 94 years, 6 months and 1 day. by R.W. Blancken Valley country school. This is the same school my husband, Wilbert Becker, attended in grade school and also the first two years for Burleigh Becker our son, and Elizabeth's oldest grandson. The children of Earl and Elizabeth Bigelow are: Floyd, 9/25/LgL5, manied Ruth Lusby, one daughter; Howard, 5/23/Lgl7, married Elendor Southards, two sons and two daughters. Elendor died in a house fire in Benton City, Washington, 1966. Howard married again to Lona Mitchell; Alma, L/15/19L9, married Wilbert Becker, two sons and one daughter; Louise, 9/26/1920, married Girth Dykes, three sons; and Rosa Anna, LL/29/L927, married Gerald Tubbs, one son. Rosa Anna passed away Nov. 25, 1970, due to diabetes. by Alma L. Bigelow Becker BLANCKEN, DIEDRICH F. BLANCKEN, GEORGE WILLIAM F6l George William Blancken was born at Frohna, Perry County, Missouri on December 5, 1894, seventh child of Dietrick and Marie (Eisenberg) Blancken. The family moved to Colorado when George was eight years old, in May, 1903, where they took a homestead northwest of Flagler. He was baptized into the Lutheran faith in Frohna, Missouri, and he re-affirmed his baptismal vows by confirmation on February 16, 1909 with Rev. H. Schmidt (his brotherin-law) at his parents'home before a church was built in Arriba, Colorado. Later his family becsme active charter members of the Zion Lutheran Church in Flagler where F60 Diedrich F. Blancken was born April 9, 1854 in the Province of Hanover, Germany, and came to this country when 8 months old with his parents, being on the sea eleven weeks. They settled in Perry County Missouri on November 28, 1854 near the town of Frohna. On July 29, 1880, he was united in marriage to Mary Eisenberg of Amsbert, Missouri. To this union 10 children were born, seven girls and three boys, Matilda, Magdelene, Martha, Marie, Minnie, Frederich (died in infancy), George, Julia, Natalie, and Oliver. In 1903 Mr. Blancken and his family came to Flagler, Colorado, where he took a homestead. In the pioneer days ofhomesteaders in this country, he gave many newcomers assistance in filing on their land and many times took them into his home until they could build shelter on their own claims. He took an active part in the building of the Lutheran Church in Arriba and later was one of the first members of the church in Flagler. In the early homestead days when missionaries were sent from the Lutheran Church he gave them living quarters and in George took an active part in the church serving in various positions. On March 6, 1918, George was united in marriage to Minnie Elizabeth Settgast. To this union were born two sons, George W. Jr., Richard W. and seven daughters, Helen, Harriet, Madge, Julia Maria (who died in infancy), Velma, Eunice and Nona. George served his country in the armed forces during World War I and was a member of the American Legion Post #81 of Flagler. After being discharged from service, he and his wife, Minnie farmed his parents' farm northwest of Flagler for a few years. They then purchased their own farm southeast of Flagler, known as the John Thompson place. In 1938, they purchased the Jewells'farm northwest of Flagler which they later sold and moved to town. George and Minnie celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on March 6, 1968 with all eight of their children present. Minnie passed away on May 3, 1970, after a brief illness. George was united inmarriage to Elsie Mae Whitt of Greeley on April 21, 1974. She preceded George in death on February 25, 1984. George was engaged in farming during his lifetime. During his later years he enjoyed fishing and was an active member of the �Senior Citizens Center of Flagler and supported their many activities. George passed away on January 6, 1986 at the age of91 years one month and one day. George saw many changes in the community and town of Flagler during his 91 years as well as changes in the entire world. From farming with horses to man on the moon, George could recall many interesting stories from the past, but a good lesson to learn from this man was that he didn't live in the past. He was active in today's world, keeping up on current events and modern times, a challenge to all who knew and loved this dear man. by B.W. Blancken BLANCKEN, HENRY c. F62 At the urging ofthree other brothers living in Colorado, Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. Blancken moved to Flagler, Colorado, in 1894. Arriving by train they found only a few buildings and much open country. They selected a tract of 160 acres of land five miles west of Flagler and homest€aded it. As a young man Henry was a cooper working at a flour mill in Aldenburg, Missouri, where he met Mary Reinemer who lived on a farm with her parents. Henry courted Mary for three months, driving fifteen miles with horse and buggy. Finally a wedding day was get for July 10, 1883. The wedding was a large affair with people coming from all around to witness the formal occasion observing all the old German customs. They lived to celebrate their 50th anniversary together. They lived on a farm near Flagler until 1911 when Mary's health compelled a change and they left for Texas. Failing to find a satisfactory location there they went to Linn, Kansas, where they engaged in the restaurant business for three years. In January, 1915, they returned to Flagler, where they owned and operated the Flagler hotel and later engaged in the mercantile business. by R.W. Blancken BOECKER - SMITH FAMILY F63 Edmund Boecker the first of eight children of John and Martha (Jorges) Boecker, was born in Gosper County, Nebraska, on February 24, 1907. The family moved to a homestead 15 miles north-east of Stratton in 1910. John Boecker was a carpenter, a blacksmith for the neighborhood, and owned and operated a steam engine threshing machine. In January 1918, he passed away, leaving Martha with four sons: Edmund, Emil, Reuben and Elmer. Edmund was then sent to relatives in Nebraska where he worked and went to school. He was confirmed in the Salem Lutheran Church near Elwood, Neb- raska, in 1921. In L922, he came back to Colorado and farmed the homestead, also worked with Fred Pugh. In the spring of 1939 he went to work on E.R. Smith's ranch, south of Stratton, and in June 1941 was married to Ida, fourth of five children of E. Rowland and Myrtle (Schlegel) Smith, was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on July 20, 1909. The family soon moved to the Sand Hills of Cherry County, Nebraska, about 12 miles northeast of Whitman. Here the four children walked a mile to the Rosebud Soddy to attend school. In November 1919. the moved to Kit Carson County Colorado where High School was being taught. Theodore, Ida and Glenn Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City, he met Vicky Lynn Carey, and they were married in Ponca City, Oklahoma, on February 3, 1969. He was soon sent to Vietnem for several months then back to Merced, California. He spent several years at Altus AFB in Oklahoma, then 31/z years in England. In 1977 he was sent back to the U.S., first at Rome, N.Y., then Minot AFB, N.D., and now at Dyess AFB in ABilene, Texas. We still live in Stratton in the house my father bought from Les Collins, and which Collins built about 1918. Note: Ida died July 11,1986, after a sudden, intense illness. by Ida Boecker BOESE FAMILY F64 graduated from First Central High School during the 20's, and Harold passed away at age 16. After graduation, I continued school to take shorthand, Typing, and other needed subjects, and on Saturdays took Extension courses from Colorado Teachers College in Greeley. J. Carl Harrison, who taught near Vona, would come in his Model T and pick up Mrs. Felch, who was teaching at the Piper School in Cheyenne County, and myself, and take us all to Burlington, Stratton, or Flagler, wherever the classes were held. I started teaching one-room schools at $75 per month in 1928, and alternated teaching and attend- ing college until I had taught six years and received my B.A. degree from Colorado State College of Education in 1938. It cost me $1000 per year to go to college then. The next three years I taught at Willard, Colorado, until I was married in 1941. After we were married, we both continued to work on my father's ranch until September 10, 1942, when Ed was drafted into the Army. He was sent to Camp Robinson, Arkansas, then to Qamp Butner, N.C. In April 1943, he was sent overseas, and spent the next 21/z years in the Pacific in Hawaiian Islands, Makin, Saipan and Okinawa. After the war with Japan ended, he was discharged on Nov. 10, 1945, after 38 months without a furlough. While Ed was in the service, I taught two years at First Central School, then helped my folks move to Stratton. The next few years we lived in several places where Ed worked in construction and farm work. Then our son, Dale, was born in Goodland, Kansas, on January 27, 1948. In 1954, when Dale started to school in Stratton, Vona. We are all members of the United Methodist Church in Stratton. Dale and I sang in the June, 1969 at Stratton, Colorado. Dale enlisted in the U.S. Airforce in January 1968. while he was stationed at Ida Smith. I began teaching in Seibert. I stayed there 5 years then spent eleven years teaching in Ida, Dale, Vicky, and Edmund Boecker. Taken can Legion Post 138 in Stratton for 27 years and is still a member. choir, and Ed has been head usher and Sunday School Superintendent for many years. I taught the Adult Bible Class in the Sunday School for 26 years and still play the piano. Ed served on the board of the Ameri- Arthur and Lydia Boese, September 3, L922. My grandfather, Ben H. Boese, was born in Russian-Poland on June 14, 1871. When he was three years old, he gailed with his parents on the ship Colina and landed at Ellis Island, New York on September 2, 1874. Five days later on September 7 they arrived at Yankton, Dakota Territory which is now South Dakota. They settled near Avon on a homestead. On November 22, 1895 my grandfather married Mary Dirks. Three children were born to this union in South Dakota Edith, - more Arthur, and Roy. They lived twelve years in South Dakota and then in 1907 my grandfather moved the family to a homestead southwest of Vona. My dad, Arthur, was seven years old then, and he could tell us children of the many hardships they had as homesteaders. My grandfather helped build the Pleasant �watch for a lot of centipedes under them or you had them in the houee also. fuound 1940 my dad bought the homeplace from my grandfather. My grandfather died in 1957 at age 86. In my dad's younger years he threshed grain and butchered pork and beef for neighbors. In the 30's my dad worked for the AAA Office in Burlington (now ASCS) and during the 40's and 50's he was a traveling fieldman for the ASCS Officee in 15 countiee in eagt€rn Colorado. My mother, Lydia, died in 19?2 from severe arthritis. My dad, Arthur, died in 1982 at age 82. In 1974 my dad had given his farm to us children and when we divided it my sister, Elaine, acquired the building site. In 1985 Old Town purchased the house from Elaine and on August 5, 1985 my grandfather and my dad's house was moved to Burlington and placed in Old Town. by Pauline McCaffrey Ben H. and Mary Boese about 1900. Valley School Vz mile east of our place and the Mennonite Church l mile south of us, and remembered when all 100 chairs in church were filled. Most homesteaders constructed one or two room houses to live in till they could add on or build new houses. By 1915 they had built a larger house. BOGART FAMILY F65 B.O. (Oscar) Bogart homesteaded in Kit Carson County, twenty miles southeast of Burlington, Colorado, on the north branch of On September 3, L922 my dad, Arthur, married a neighbor girl, Lydia Becker. He was farming with his dad at this time. They needed a larger house so by 1924 they finighed building on to the present one, the Smokey Hill River in 1900. He ran cattle and sheep on the open range. He built a four room house and moved his wife, Martha and their two children, Elva and Reed, there in 1902. Florence, Susie and William were born enlarging it for two families. The house had a bathroom and also running water. in the sod house. In 1908, Oscar decided to build an adobe Arthur and Lydia had six children Elaine Harrison, Pauline McCaffrey, Charlotte Halseide, Elson, Beverly Miller and Wiilis who died at 10 weeks old in Dec. 1938 from whooping cough and pneumonia. I was only six years old but I can remember the dirt storms in the 30's, eo dark the teacher had to light lamps at school and we couldn't get home. Eggs sold for 5 cents a dozen and we picked up a lot ofcow chips to burn in the cookstoves and furnace. They made good fuel and burned a lot longer than cobs. Had to Martha and Oscar Bogart. house, so he rode horseback to the Settlement northwest of Burlington, to learn how to mix the adobe. j$k! :,,r9 The Bogart family in the surrey with their driving 1snm, Ginger and Ribbon. First he laid a cement foundation for the walls to sit on. He plowed about 1/2 acre of ground, which he fenced with woven wire. He put straw on the plowed ground then added the water. To mix it thoroughly, he drove cattle around and around in the mud mixture. When it was well mixed he put about 6 inches of adobe on top of the concrete foundation, making the walls eighteen inches wide all around the house. He let that set until it was thoroughly dry and really hardened. After that part was hardened, he would add another six inches of adobe on top, and so on until the wnlls were the right height. His neighbors then helped him with project. Fred Kukuk, who was a carpenter, helped to finish the building. Mr. Hayden did the finishing work on there inside, but Mr. Lemon did all the plastering and the tiling in the dining room. Theseven room adobe house is still in good condition today and is occupied by the Steve Rainbolts. Ogcar was always improving his place. He built a cow barn in 1912 and in 1918 he built a larger barn to protect his cattle during the hard winters. He planted 2 rows of trees around the house and a windbreak north of all the buildings. In October, 1908, the Smokey Hill River ran bank full after a heavy rain. There wag The Boese home, 1924, now part of Old Town. no bridge on which to croes. Ogcar was much concerned about that for if someone was ill and needed a doctor, there was no way one could cross the river to get one. He persuaded the County Commissioners to build a bridge across the Smokey for he would help care for �it. Oscar and Martha Bogart were very kind and thoughtful. They helped neighbors in need and if anyone was ill and needed help, they were there. We children all agree that we could not have had more loving parents nor a happier home. Martha passed away in 1936 at the home place. Oscar had a fatal heart attack in 1947 while he wag vieiting his son, Reed, and family in Mena, Ark. Elva passed away in 1978 and William in 1983. The homeplace was sold to August Reents in 1945. He sold it in 1947 to Edwin Rainbolt who still owns it. by Susie Bogart many trips to Colorado and eventually settled north of Vona. Their other sons, Wyatt and Jim, each lived with Frank and Ed before moving on to other ventures. Wyatt moved to Burlington and Jim was involved in mining in Leadville and South America. Andrew and Abigail came to Kit Carson County in about 1900 and lived with Frank and his family while building a home of their own 15 miles north and 1 east of Seibert. Andrew homesteaded the N.W. quarter of section 23 and their sons all went together and bought Abigail the S.W. quarter for her birthday. They later acquired another quarter to the north of Andrew's. This quarter was bought from their estate by Horace Boger. My uncle recently commented on how BOGER, ANDREW FAMILY Henry died while the family lived in Illinois. Their next move was to Chester, Nebraska where they lived for about 16 years. While living there, their sons, Frank and Ed, made much the ground has worn down over the years. He said that when his grandpa (An- F66 drew) used to come to visit, he came from the north with horse and buggy and that they couldn't see him until he topped the hill north of Hell Creek. Now a person can see for some distance on up the road. He also pointed out some of the neighboring places that weren't always visible from the Frank Boger place. One of the possessions that Abigail had brought with her was a rocking chair that she had gotten when she and Andrew were married. The rocker traveled with them from Illinois to Nebraska and on to Colorado. When Andrew and Abigail were no longer able to care for themselvee, they moved back in with Frank and his fanily. They moved all of theirfurnishings and dumpedthem behind Andrew and Abigail Boger in about 1901 Family records indicate that the Boger family history in America began in 1732 when Johann Paul and Anna Eva Boger and their family arrived in Philadelphia from a section of Germany then known as the Palatinate. The family settled in Berks and Lebanon counties and several of their descendants were among those who fought for independence during the Revolutionary War. A few generatione lat€r my great grand- father, Andrew Boger, was born at Bald Eagle, Pennsylvania on November 26, 1836. It is not known when he began to move westward from Pennsylvania, but the next record we have of him shows that on April 8, 1860, he married Abieail Brown at Cold Brook, Illinois. On August 11, 1862 Andrew enrolled with the 102 Illinois lnfantry Volunteers and served as a Union soldier in the area near Louisville, Kentucky. Andrew and Abigail lived in lllinois for thenext22yearc and their six children were born there. They were Ella, Henry, Frank, Ed, Wyatt, and Jim. Ella and Frank's blacksmith shop. A neighbor, Bunt Smith, borrowed one of the beds but the rest of the things remained there for many years. Andrew and Abigail lived at Frank's home until both passed away there in the latter part of 1920. They were buried at Burlington. Afrb,er Frank's family had moved to Seibert, Frank's Bon, Horace, and Opal Gulley were married and lived on the homestead. Opal rescued the chair only to find that the rockers were broken off of it. Frank told her that it had been his mother's chair and offered to take it home and fix it up for her. Opal's granddaughter, Holly Miller, now has the rocker in her bedroom though it definitely shows the hard times it has seen. by Joyce Miller BOGER, FRANK FAMILY Around 1890, they chose a location 13 miles north and 1 west of Vona and lived there by Squatters Rights with a dugout for their home. On Christmas Day, 1895, Frank married a former neighbor, Flora Slutts, at the home of her parents in Belleville, Kansas. Flora was born February L2,L873 atRed Oak, Iowaand had grown up in Belleville. In March, Frank and his bride start€d for their home at Vona, traveling by covered wagon, and printed here is part of a letter that she wrote to her family on March 27, L896. "Dear People, We are settled in our little shack in grand style. We drove down here the 25th and eat all alone. We have had lots of fun and this isn't such a bad country after all. Of course there isn't much but Buffalo grass and cactus to see now but we will try to make one ranch worth looking at. We got along fine on the road but we only had three nice days. We were only ten days and a half on the road. We stopped at Ezra Couchman's to water our horses. He was scouring his corn planter when we got there. The people in westem Kansas do not take much pains with their farming, if they did they would have better crops. I have our grub box up in the corner for a cupboard and we have a little hone made table and a little stove that we borrowed to use until we went to Eastonville. The stove is a no. 7. My bread pans are too large for the oven. Ed got all the lumber in this part of Co. He had the roof on and the floor down. As far as the lumber went. We only have to haul watpr two miles. We can get water for the horses about three quarters of a mile from here. My neighbor is a daisy. She worked in a cotton mill until she was 36 years old and then came west to grow up with the country. She is a funny old piece I tell you. She is going to let me have some houseplants. The claim Frank is going to get is a nice one. I an anxious to get our soddy built so I can start work in earnest. I am trying to bake bread but would be afraid to offer it to Boss for fear he would feel ineulted. Frank is cleaning house. We were pretty lucky on our trip. It cost us $9.28. Ed said the Buckskins looked better than they did when Frank left there. Love to all. Flora" In the years that followed, Frank and Flora had nine children. The first two; Elwin, born in 1897 and a baby girl born in 1899 lived for only a few weeks. Their next child, Horace, was born in Belleville, Kansas in 1900 and was 2 months old when his mother returned to Vona with him. They returned home by train and an old ledger contains the entry, "Jan. 19th, 1901: Expenses of Flora's trip F67 F.P. (Frank) Boger was born August 29, 1864 and his brother, Ed, was born October 5, 1866. The brothers were born and grew up in Viola, Illinoig and then moved to Chester, Neb. in 1883 with their parents (Andrew and Abigail Boger) and the rest of their family. Frank and Ed first cnme to Colorado in about 1885. They worked on ranches in the Peyton and Colorado Springs area, did some mining and ran a freight wagon between Cripple Creek and Colorado Springs. They spent the next several years dividing their time between Colorado and Nebraska. home. . Fare, $9.30. . . Sundries, $17.50." Their other children were born at home: Ellis in 1902; John, 1904; Mary, 1906; Louise, 1908; Vernis, 1912; and Fannie, 1913. Mary and Louise died from Scarlet Fever while they were still young girls. The Boger ranch was mainly a mule ranch, although they also raised cattle, farmed, and ran a blacksmith shop. Ed homesteaded just south of Frank's claim and the two brothers ranched together until 1908 when Ed died of injuries received when he fell from a horse. Flora was active in church and school and was a correspondent for the "Siebert Settler" newspaper. She also enjoyed politics and on � https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/455/Families-B2.pdf a9802230678e52a76f94fd70e8d51107 PDF Text Text for road work since the farming season is opened." June 20, 19224 "Road Overseer Boger assisted by Charles- Wyllys and Alvin Monroe graded the Vona-Joes highway. He reports the new grader as being very much easier on the tenms than the old one was." One of his memories of the 1920's was of a snow storm on December L4,L923. On that day he was hauling grain from the Sweazy place north of Vona where they were threshing. He took a load of grain into the Vona Elevator late in the afternoon and after he unloaded grain, he ate supper at the cafe. When he left the cafe it was snowing hard, so he headed for home. He had an old, open truck with no top or cab. It was a cold ride and the snow fell so fast that it piled up on the ground and on the seat around him, but he eventually got home. About two feet of Photo of Frank Boger's family taken at their home north of Vona in 1928. L. to R. Fannie, John, Vernis, Ellis, Horace, Flora and Frank. September L2, Lg24 a fellow correspondent from nearby Elphis reported, "Mrs. F.P. Boger and Mrs. C. Jewett were the clerks at the primary electiong held here Tuesday. This is the first time women were chosen for this work in this precinct and we feel a little "skeered" that the sterner sex will no more Horace Boger was a resident of the Vona area for 85 years. He was born to Frank and Flora Boger at Belleville, Kansas on November 19, 1900 and came to the family's home conducting elections". Ellis was the first to leave the ranch as he moved to California in 1922. Frank and Flora moved to Siebert in 1929 taking John, Vernis, and Fannie with them. Frank and his sons continued the blacksmith business in Siebert work. He attended school at the Boger school south of his home. When we were kids, and my cousins and I were wanting to go somewhere, our dads always told us that when they were kids they had to stay home and work and didn't get to run around. Several years ago we came across several issues of the "Seibert Settler" newspaper and through its news items found that they really did get to go places and quite often at that! We saw that they never did live that have a monopoly of such soft snaps as and Flora was the Justice of the Peace. Horace remained at Vona to operate the ranch and spent the rest of his life there. Frank's health failed in the late 1930's and they moved to Colorado Springs in 1939. Frank passed away there in 1940 and Flora in 1956. Other deaths in the family were: Ellis in 1970, John in 1982, and Horace in 1985. Vernis now lives in Pittsburg, Kangas and Fannie (Robinson) lives in Security, Colorado. The Boger farm is now occupied by Mrs. Horace Boger and her daughter and her north of Vona at the age of two months. He spent his childhood, EN most farm boys do, helping his father and learning the farming and ranching that would become his life's down! Through the 1920's Horace worked as Road Overseer for the county. The "Seibert Settler" also contained some items concerning this. April 18, L924 "Road Overseer, Horace Boger, is finding -it hard to find men snow fell and stayed on the ground all winter. The threshing job was not finished until the following March. His parents moved to Seibert in 1929 and he took over the farming and ranching. In 1939 he bought the homestead from his parents, On March 14, 1930 he married Opal Gulley at Burlington, Colorado. On March 15th they attended a sale at Seibert. Horace bought a table and six chairs, a 72 piece set of Blue Willow china, a library table and other odds and ends. Since he had been "batching" for a year, he had all the necessities for house- keeping. Opal was born to N.O. and Bertha Gulley on October 8, 1908 at Lawrence, Kansas and came to Colorado at the age of nine months. She grew up in the sandhills northeast of Vona and developed a deep affection for the sand, sage, and prairie wind. She attended Kechter School and Rainbow Valley Sunday School. Opal enjoyed working in her yard and planted many bushes and trees. Her fatherin-law, Frank Boger, brought her many of the things she enjoyed such as books, kittens, dogs, and the first calf born after she cnme to the farm. The calf, Rosemary, became quite a pet as well ffl a very productive milk cow. These things all helped to fill the many days that Opal spent alone while Horace fanily, John, Joyce and Holly Miller. by Joyce Miller BOGER, HORACE AND OPAL F68 p |,. l tl. OpaI Boger at her home in about 1936. Horace Boger at his home north of Vona in the mid 1930's. �worked at custom corn shelling and threshing. He did corn shelling and threshing through the 30's and 40's. Some of those who worked with him were: Bill Maag, Andrew Eggink, and Roy Crum. Corn shelling was a big event in those days. In November the corn was picked and when it was piled up the sheller would pull in. All the close neighbors would come to help scoop the corn into the sheller. Some of the women csme too and helped with dinner. At the end of the day there was a huge pile ofshucks or husks, a pile ofcobs, and the pile of golden corn. The cobs were used for fuel and the husks were fed to the cattle. Horace always loved the old machinery and in later years enjoyed attending the antique engine and thresher shows with his good friend, Mick Monroe, and was especially pleased when his granddaughter, Holly Miller, took an interest and like to attend these events with him. Horace and Opal had one daughter, Joyce, who was born December 20, L945 at Flagler, Colorado. There was a polio epidemic that year, so Opal and Joyce made only very limited trips away from home. Horace enjoyed reading and politics. He also enjoyed photography and accumulated a large collection of photos depicting life in the 20th century. Farming was his life and through blizzards, dust storms, floods, invasions of grasshoppers and web worms, good times and bad, he continued farming and was still actively engaged in farming at the time of his death on December 6, 1985. Opal remains on the farm and still enjoys books, her yard and nature. by Joyce Miller parents, Snmuel S. Frankfather and Anna Maria Gilson Frankfather, moved to Nebraska from Potterstown, Ohio, with three older children (Viva, Manley and Arthur) intending to homest€ad near Lincoln. All of that homestead land had been taken, so they went to Roca, about 10 miles southeast of Lincoln and homest€aded on 80 acres near there. Her father started a general merchandise store and her mother a hotel in Roca. Three younger children (Clay, Mabel and Grace) were born in Roca. In 1896, Samuel Frankfather, his wife and the three younger children went to Cripple Creek, Colorado, with two teems and wagons and two heavy tents. He staked a gold claim on Spring Creek, had it surveyed and patented, but did not strike gold. However, the neighbors did hit gold and on the strength of that find, Ss-uel sold his claim for 96000 and returned with his family to Roca in the fall of 1899. The next spring the family returned to Colorado and settled on a farm one and one-half miles northwest of Vona. When living near Vona, Mabel gave piano lessons in the Seibert-Vona area, traveling by bicycle. (Later her children learned to ride on For want of a nsme, decided on "Comet." The number assigned was one twentythree In spite of the hoo-doo, happy are we; Institution was had - the deed was done In fair Colorado, at Burlington. Mabel Frankfather Boger was born on November 25, 1880 and died on August 10, 1966. by Della and Irene Boger BOGER, WYATT F70 that old tall bicycle which had no coaster brakee.) She also finished teaching the school tcrm started by Dacy Lee who quit to marry her brother, Clay Frankfather. Mabel attended normal school in Burlington in July 1902, and roomed at the C.A. Yersin home. During his snmpaign for Kit Carson County Clerk and Recorder, Wyatt Roger met Mabel Frankfather and after his election asked her to be a clerk in his office. She worked for him and becsme his bride on June 3, 1903. Mabel and Wyatt lived in a small house in Old Burlington for a year or two before they built a four-room house on the blockjust east of the courthouge. When the family increased BOGER, MABEL FRANKFATIIER F69 Our mother, Mabel Frankfather Boger, was born at Roca, Nebraska. In 1868, her they remodeled it to an eight-room house in which they lived the rest of their lives. This house was eventually sold and moved to its present location, 536-9th St., Burlington. While raising a family of five children, Bertha, Lowell, Della, Irene and Erma (the second child, Willard, died in infancy), Mabel continued to work with Wyatt in his various offices. She was appointed Clerk of the District Court and held that office for 40 years (1918-1958) after which she retired. During part of this period she also served as Deputy Clerk of the County Court while Wyatt was County Judge. After his death she continued his work as Vital Statistician until ehe retired. Music was one of Mabel's prime interests and while in Cripple Creek, she played the organ and her brother Clay fiddled for oldtime dancing. For several years she played the reed organ and later the piano at the Methodist Church in Burlington. She also enjoyed collecting antique glassware, gardening, and sang alto in many choral groups. She was a charter member of the Aurora Chapter of the Eastern Star, and was a member for over 50 years. She also became a charter member of the Comet Rebekah Lodge, and remained a member throughout her life. She composed the following poem: On the eighteenth of May, Nineteen-Ten, A group of women, and also men, Desiring to form a Rebekah Lodge For the good of mankind, and the star to dodge Mabel Frankfather Boger on June 3, 1902 When Halley's own stal was at it's summit Wyatt Boger, June 3, 1903. Our father, Wyatt Boger (Andrew Wyatt Boger) was born near Viola, Illinois. His parents Andrew and Abigail Boger, with four sons (Frank, Edward, Wyatt and J"-es) moved to a farm in Kansas near Chester, Nebraska, when Wyatt wag nine years old. Wyatt walked from the farm to Chester for his schooling and graduated from Chester High School in 1891, after which he attended a teaching preparatory school in Hebron, Nebraska, and later Campbell University at Holton, Kansas. He taught school in the Kansas-Nebraska area. In 1893, he and his brother Edward left Chester, Nebraska, traveling by covered wagon, headed for Colorado to seek land for Edward. On the fifteenth day they arrived in Burlington. They visited the Land Office there to ascertain what lands could be bought or homesteaded. Land was selling for about $600 to $2000 per quarter, deeded. Some homesteaders were selling their claims for $25 to $50 (160 aces). They traveled on north to Vona, where a former neighbor lived. They spent a week with him while they scouted the area for land. Wild game, such as jackrabbits, antelope, wolves, badgers and prairie dogs, were plentiful. They decided on a piece of land and left the next day for the U.S. Land Office in Hugo to file the claim. On June 8, 1893, Edward paid $16 forthe SW% 34-6-48. They immediately left to return to the farm in Kansas where Wyatt was to resume his �ffi l a'.1 ,*^t1 f,*! r' Kensington, Kansas. George Ormsbee, well known in Burlington as a real estate broker, knew Mr. Boggs had always desired to be back farming as his children were growing up. Learning about land for sale in Kit Carson County he sold his business in Kaneas. Mr. Omsbee then completed the sale of the old Chicago Ranch, sixteen miles south and west of Burlington. The ranch consisted of 1440 acree of deeded land and 2 Yz sections of grass land for cattle raising. The home place was about % mile north, having a nice two story home, windmill and adjacent pond, plus small buildings for milk cows, hogs and -ut chickens. Mr. Boggs desired to have his children receive as good an education as possible that his ability would provide, so a move to Burlington was in order for high school. Later Wyatt and Mabel Frankfather Boger on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1953. teaching. In 1896 Wyatt returned to Colorado to engage in farming and raising of cattle with his brother Frank, who had acquired a farm 14 miles north of Vona. Wyatt first had a brand BJ - range Hell Creek, Seibert. Later, at Burlington he had a brand YY. In 1901 while traveling over the county by horse and buggy, ssmpaigning for the office of Kit Carson County Clerk and Recorder, he met Mabel Frankfather of Vona. Many times he rode the west-bound freight train from Burlington, jumped off at Vona, and walked to the Frankfather farm to visit her. When he won the election and assumed office in 1902, he asked Mabel to be a clerk in his office. Mabel Frankfather and Wyatt were married on June 3, 1903, in Seibert, by the Reverend N.H. Hawkins. The minister was late getting to the ceremony, which finally had to take place at the railroad station just minutes before the train left for Burlington. The ministcr had time only to say, "I now pronounce you man and wife". Wyatt asked him if without the usual ritual his statement would be binding. He replied: "It better be!" They established their residence in Burlington and remained there for the rest of their lives. Here their six children were born (Bertha, Willard, Lowell, Della, Irene and Erma) and five grew to adulthood and graduated from Burlington High School. The second child, Willard, died in infancy. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1953. During his lifetime Wyatt was engaged in some private businesses and held offices, such as: County Clerk and Recorder; Clerk of the District Court; County Judge; Mayor of Burlington; member of the Board of Trustees, Town of Burlington; served on the Board of Education; established the first abstract of title business in Kit Carson County; owner of the first Burlington tele- phone system; Vice-President, Burlington State Bank; Treasurer, Colorado State Fair Board; Liberty Loan Committee (WWI Bonds); Kit Carson County War Food Administrator (WWI); Kit Carson County Se- lective Service Committee (WW[); salesman for Businessmen's Life Assurance Company, Kansas City, Missouri; substitute rural mail carrier for Burlington Post Office; and Vital Statistician for the eastern half of Kit Carson County. He owned a section of land north of Burlington and had a tenant farmer, but enjoyed looking after it and hunting for ducks, pheasants and rabbits, and fishing at Bonny Dam. He liked gardening and planted the first trees at the courthouse, and trees around his home and farm. Wyatt was a great lover of horses, often winning first prize at the County Fair for best ofbreed. His trotting horses were raced at the County Fair. He kept his horses in the big barn and pasture back of the house on land where the Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital is now located. Wyatt was initiated into the Masonic Lodge in Burlington in 1903 and was a past master, a 32nd degree Mason and a member of the Scottish Rite. He was a charter member of the Chester, Nebraska, Independent Order of Odd Fellows (1893) and continued his membership with that chapter. He became a member of the Comet Rebekah Lodge of Burlington in 1910. Wyatt Boger, born on February 23, 1872 died on September 15, 1953. by Della and Irene Boger BOGGS, JOHN FAMILY F71 John S. Boggs and family moved to Burlington, Colorado late in June 1917. His wife Daisy and children, Ralph 14, Ray 12, Irma 10, Harold 6, and Thelma 3. John Boggs had been engaged in operating a General Store at Reamsville and Kensington, Kansas. In addition he lived on a farm some three miles south of Reamsville, operating it in conjunction to his business. Later in 1912 he purchased a General Merchandise store in the family moved to Denver where Ralph and Ray were able to go to D.U. for two years in the early 1920's. So back to Burlington and also to the Ranch. Mr. Boggs was always interested in politics both from a precinct up to the county and -state level. As time carried he was prominent in the Grange, an agricultural agency, that was quite a factor in agriculture. Late in the 1920's he ran and was elected on the Republican ticket for county treasurer. For this he served three years. Then he felt he would like to run for a state office, when he learned he had a good opportunity to win; he entered the race and won, serving two twoyear terms. He filed to run a third term but was defeated principally by the Ku Klux Klan. This ended his career in politics, other than being active for others seeking office. Finally disposing of property south of Burlington, he purchased some one hundred acres northeast of Burlington, living there .until his death on February 16, 1946. John Boggs was a man you could rely upon. His word was his bond. He believed in fairness to all and his convictiong were not changed. Mrs. Daisy Boggs, John's wife, was a real lady. Her place was in the home. In times good or bad, she never complained. The five children she raised were always close to her. The children's problems became hers and they seemed to work out to everyone's satisfaction. She passed away Oct. 3, 1976; just six weeks short of her 98th birthday. Ralph Boggs, the first son, lived in Burlington until 1933. During high school drove a school bus and later worked for Mr. Cecil Reed, the local Ford Dealer. He married Martha Abbott, who formerly taught school in Burlington. They made their home in California. Ray, the second son, was a year and four months younger than Ralph. They both were close and went through high school and two years ofcollege. After returning to Burlington he worked for Penny Hardware. Latpr Mrs. Della Hendricks, County Superintendent of Schools, invited him to teach school, where at Bethune, a new four teacher school was constructed. He left there in 1928 to play ball in the oil fields in Wyoming where the opportunity cnme for a try out with the Boston Braves of the National League. His left shoulder bothered him, which eventually ended a short baseball career. He went into business with International Harvester and settled in Grand Junction, Co. He married and has three children. �Irma, first daughter of John and Daisy Boggs, was born Dec. 2, 1907. Her early schooling was in Kansas. She finished her grade school and went on to high echool in Burlington. She married in 1920 to Jn'neg C. Keese of Burlington. They worked at his brother's ice plant and later for Mr. Henry Klinker, local tire dealer. They moved to Fort Collins, Co. William Harold Boggs, fourthchild of John and Daisy Boggs, was born March 4th, 1911 in Rea-sville, Kansas. He finished his grade and high school at Burlington. He later went to University of Colo. In 1939 he and his wife moved to Steamboat Springs where he eetablished a hardware store. Thelma Boggs, the fifth and last child of John and Daisy, was born in Kensington, Kansas, November 2, L914. She completed her grade and high school in Burlington. Early in 1938 she moved to California near her brother Ralph and met and married her husband. After her husband served in the U.S. Army they operated a grocery store. land. We spent seven years in Arvada elementa- ry school. At that time there were only two schools in the town of 1800 people. Homer Peck, who once lived in Stratton, was the school superintendent. Rationing of many items was imposed by the government because of war time shortages. At this time we decided to return to the Kirk area to teach and farm. Ag late as 1949 new farm tractors were rationed. A friend informed me that there wae a row type Oliver tractor available in Kiowa, Kansas. I was able to make the purchase by phone and rode there with a farmer who was traveling in that direction. I drove the tractor back to Kirk, a distance of 400 miles. About this time our 3 daughters were attending school so Elizabeth found commu- nity employment to aid in financing my college education through summer school and night classes that were available at many of the schools in the area. I finally earned a Masters degree in education from U.N.C. in 1963. by Ray Boggs BOONE, ELMER AND ELIZABETH (sHrvELY) Our daughter Betty Smith, has been a primary teacher in Stratton since 1963. Another daughter Peggy Wright taught in Colorado and Arizona. At present she is served as elementary principal. Our time is filled with gardening, church, golf, travel, and community activities. chances. employed by the Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix. Carol, the youngest is living in ment. We have both retired and elected to reside in Stratton where I had taught 12 years and by Elmer Boone BOONE, FRED AND IIARRIETT BROWN F73 Elmer and Lib Boone with daughters left to right: Betty, Carol and Peggy. My teaching career began at the Fremont rural school in 1927. There were 36 pupilg in grades 1 through 8. The term was 8 months. The school board decided for a 9 month term the following year. After two years I began teaching in the upper grades at Kirk. Fe-ilies cnme for a 3 day outing. One-room schools dotted the plains. Railroad towns were first to have high schools. The Boone children attpnded the Fox School (1913-18). By 1920 non-railroad towns established high schools. Considerable interest result€d when the "Raleigh Man" brought his wares. Some were: salves, shoe polish, extracls, perfumes, combs, brushes, etc. He relied on the hospitality of the family for lodging, a meal, and feed for his horse which pulled his buggy. Communication was inadequate. The wallphone with the hand crank and barbed-wire fences were used. Soon the system expanded to include most of the area. A caller used a system of short or long rings to signal a neighbor. Everyone on the line could hear the ring. It was common for many to "listen in". This was a means for "keeping up" on community happenings. Mail was first transported by horse and carriage. Mail was brought from Stratton to While tcaching at Kirk, I beco-e ac- quainted with Elizabeth Shively. Her parents cane to Colorado in 1906 and 1908 to obtain homesteads in north Kit Carson County. They were married in November 1910. Their Tuttle 20 miles north. A canier took it from there to the Kirk area. Early postage rates were: postcard, 1 cent; a letter 2 cents. three children attended the Hell Creek School seven miles southeast of Kirk. They graduated from the Kirk High School. Elizabeth and I were manied in 1932. We The country store stocked food stuff, cloth and clothing, and hardware. The farmers brought eggs, cream, and poultry to market taught in Arriba the next three years. During this time we experienced the extremely severe dust storms that ruined crops and caused much distress in this and other statee. Betty, our first child, beca-e ill due to the dust that penetrated all buildings. Wespenttwo terms in Hugo where I taught the seventh grade. During this period a large area of Lincoln County was overrun by grasshoppers. They were so thick that all vegetation was consumed in their path. They resembled a giant carpet moving across the My parents, Fred Boone and Haniett Brown Boone lived on Fred's homestead west of Kirk. Fred came to Colorado with his father Otis Boone in 1898. Harriett had arrived at the Cope area with her parents and grandparents in 1888. Grandpa Cope established the Cope grove. It served as a recreation center for an annual old settlers'picnic. Entertainment consisted of: various types of horse races, baseball, tent shows, merry-goround, dances, fortune tellers, and games of Houston, Texas. She has experienced success as a sales representative in electronic equip- F72 Harriett Brown Boone to get funds for family expenses. Draft horses powered the feed grinder and corn sheller. The straw burning stesm engine powered the threshing machine. Fred Boone Fred and Hauiett formed a partnership with Cal Kness, called an Auto Livery in 1911 in Stratton. This was sold to A.S. Baker & Son. The Boonee returned to the farm. They rented the Watt's Ranch to raise cattle, hogs, chickens and grain. This venture lasted until 1918. They arranged for a public auction in �the fall with Claud Irvin. A week before sale day Fred suffered a severe attack ofappendicitis causing hig death. Years later Claud told Fred's son, Elmer, that he sold his first $100 cow at that sale. Harriett was left with five young children ranging in age from 6 months to 1l years. She found employment in Cope as a clerk in the general store. She also bought cream for the BORDERS, FLOYD business until he retired in 1965. Floyd maried Ethel Freeman from Genoa, Colorado, on Januar5r 17, 1987. They still reside at Stratton. by Floyd Borders BORDERS, JOHN W. co-op creamery. This building was moved years later to Old Town in Burlington. F76 Harriett's two older children graduated from the Cope High School. Both prepared for the teaching profession and devoted a lifetime to the field of education. by Elmer Boone BOONE, OTIS E. AND ELIZABETH r.74 One man stood alone and slightly aside from a tattered band of homesteaders who were lined horseshoe fashion around a grave sunken in the sunbaked prairie soil. A small crudely fashioned casket lay at his feet. He was speaking extemporaneously with the Bible held in one hand. After the close of his comments, the coffin was lowered and the loose earth shoveled over it to form a small mound. The mourners filed away to their claims in family groups and the lay minister Floyd and Rena Bordere watched them, wondering if he had fulfilled his task which had been thrust upon him. His answer came only two days later when he was again asked to say final words over the grave of an old man. Left to right Floyd, Hazel and Hal Borders "For those who would live long lives, I I recommend eating lightly and never more than common sense eind necessity demand," was his comment to those he contacted. He also stated "Many people dig their graves J with their table fork." O.E. Boone was born in 1860 in southern Illinois and was already a man of mature years and the father ofsix when he loaded his family and some possessions in a covered wagon (chicken crates on top and cattle trailing behind) to head west to Colorado and the bleak promise of a dryland homestead Floyd with his eister Hazel Harrison and brother Marion in 1986. near the present community of Kirk. In 1898 Floyd B. Borders was born January 27, Stratton (Claremont). Mogt of the choice land was gone by this time. He did not know the methods of use for 1903, to John W. and Mandy I. Borders at Claremont, Colorado, later known as Stratton. His education consisted of 12 years at the Stratton School. In his earlier years he worked for Holloway Garage and helping his the area received mail addressed to the Tuttle post office about 20 miles north of dryland farming. He was further handi- capped by modest circumstances and a large family. One of the first needs was water. A shaft 120 feet deep was sunk by a pulley and rope arrangement, raised and lowered with a draft horse. Patience, hard work, and the ability to adjust to the new environment was rewarded. By 1915 Grandfather Boone had purchased additional land and had a 320 acre farm, a modern nine room home, large barn with haymow, a silo and underground water lines to supply livestock. This was the Boone home for 21 years. He became restless and sold to a Mr. Young for $60 per acre. It was a good price, but in his later years he felt the decision to sell was a mistake. by Elmer Boone father on the farm. He was married to Rena Mae Hartwig, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Hartwig, on December L2, L927. To this union were born two children, Richard Lee and Donald Dee. Richard mauied Patty Lowe and they had three boys, Rich, Bill and Mark. They have a ranch north of Bovina, Colorado. Donald married Sandra Simpson and they had three children, Tom, Betsy and Mary. Donald who was an M.D. passed away in Fresno, California in 1985. Floyd's wife, Rena, passed away August 13, r"976. Floyd went into partnership with his father John W. and Oscar Hillencnmp in 1925, later building elevators at Vona, Flagler, Arriba, Genoa and Hugo. These were known as Snell Grain Company. He stayed in the elevator John W. Borders came to Colorado in 1897 with his father, landing at Vona, Colorado. He worked on the section for 130 an hour, 10 hours daily. He paid 94.50 for a week's board and saved money. He worked on ranches and herded sheep. At the residence of the bride's parents, Wednesday, April 9, 1902, Miss Mandy Iva Fuller became the bride of Mr. John W. Borders. Both were graduates of Stratton School. They homesteaded three miles northwest of Stratton, living there for five years. Then they moved into town and went into business with Mr. Fuller. They had just been located a few days when the Fuller Store and their home was destroyed by fire. They had four children, Floyd who maried Rena Hartwig; Halbert; Hazel who married Herschel Harrison: and Marion who married Eleanor DeWalt. "Bill", as he was called, was widely known as a grain dealer throughout Kit Carson County. He was the manager and main stock holder of the Snell Grain Company of Stratton. The business had six branches: Stratton, Vona, Flagler, Arriba, Genoa and Hugo. He bought out Snell Milling and Grain Company of Clay Center, Kansas. The elevator in Stratton has been added to many times since its beginning. Snell Company reorganized and incorporated and its name was changed to Snell Grain Company. Mr. Borders was a member of the Stratton Rotary Club and a Modern Woodman. He was one ofthe organizers and directors ofthe Colorado Grain and Feed Dealers Associa- tion. He was a pioneer in the truest sense of the �Church of God for the rest of her life. She taught Sunday School for 25 years and was song leader most of those years, too. In 1967 she was voted "Homemaker of the Year" of Kit Carson County. Rena was a trustee of the Stratton Public Library Board for many years. She also served on the Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital Board for 11 years. '':,,,' Rena's son Richard Lee Borders of Genoa, & Colorado married Patricia Ellen Lowe, daughter of Archie M. and Laura (Green- r wood) Lowe of Cheyenne Wells, Colorado. They have three sons; Richard Lowe, James William "Bill", and Mark Owen. her son Doctor Ronald Dee Borders of Fresno, California married Sandra Simson, daughter of Arthur and Genevieve (Nelson) Simson of Hemet, California. They have three children; Thomas Arthur, Mary Ann, and Elizabeth Irene. Dr. Donald D. Borders passed away on April 3rd, 1985. Rena passed away August 13th, 1976. Rena spent many hours doing beautiful fancy work and left a legacy of her work and Christian faith for all her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. ,,:trl, by Dick Borders Borders relatives at the S.L. Howell homestead, two miles north of Vona, Section 22-8-48 in August of 1907. Seated: Eliza H. Clark Howell, Myrtle Musselman, Clark Howell, Floyd Borders, and Uncle Newt Howell. Second Row: Roy Musselman, Emma Musselman holding Helen, HaI Borders, Manda Borders holding Hazel Borders, Will Musselman, Daniel (Granpa) Musselman, Nancy Musselman, Nan Musselman. Back Row: Sylvester Lowry Howell, Clara Howell, WiII Borders, Harry Howell, Glen Howell, Myrt Howell, Fieldan Musselman, Ruby Howell, May Howell, Burt Hughs, Laura Howell holding Rex and Charles Howell. word and endured many hardships in order to establish and maintain a solidarity of business for the Stratton area. by Floyd Borders BORDERS, RENA MAE HARTWIG maternity ward. Lusture Hartwig, Rena's brother, lives in Wichita, Kansas and Iola Hartwig Howe, Rena's sister lives in Hutchinson, Kansas. Rena accepted Christ as her Savior in 1932 and was a faithful. active member of the :ra,: .e;. '3.,' ?e, traveled to Stratton by railroad. Henrietta Hartwig, Rena's grandmother, metthe family {l at the railroad station and took them to lunch at Basleys Hotel. Then they were off for the homest€ad of Henrietta Hartwig northeast of Vona in her spring buggy. l wr ,$ ,.t .&'6 ,9 r$ t{ .* $ t( s 4 r( ,CC ,r$' Rena lived on the homestead with her * family and went to school in a sod school born to Rena and Floyd and on August 24th, 1932 another son, Donald Dee was born. Rena operated a maternity ward in her Dick married Patricia Ellen Lowe Augtut ',1 moved to Lexington, Missouri when a small child and started her schooling there. The family consisting of a brother Lusture and a sister Iola moved to Colorado in 1915. They lived there until moving to Stratton where she lived the remainder of her life. On May 18th, 1931 a son, Richard Lee was School in 1949. He served in the army for two years (eighteen months in Korea). He received an Honorable Discharge in July 1954. )r, { i}r Lti , 1i {) }r 3tu &.t ') r.t I t,.,r ..ti I t *)r &1,t 7:t ,*t '.'t?, :j i *, )' *., Y]t ,4,g ! rt. t t.t r "1 ! : t *i';!, tl l,,q ?itr {'{,,,t at *;'1, lJ t'c !r * 'g i tt it*,,,t *; l, $ l{ t*. ! ? !,, ' 9 ;., i'a't*.' r ilc,) n t{ ,..jst 0 t{ ir '** ,,0, 1.1 "& ' ,ft in Wellington, Missouri, the eldest child of Adolph and Nona (Finch) Hartwig. She son of John Willi"m and Manda I. (Fuller) Borders, December L2th ,1927 in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado. Rena and Floyd lived north ofStratton on a farm then moved to Vona and Dick Borders, son of Floyd and Rena Hartwig Borders was born in Stratton, Colorado May 18, 1931. Dick's great grandparents, N.H. Fullers came to Stratton in 1888 and his grandfather J.W. Borders in 1897. Dick graduated from Stratton High to the time Rena started operating her Rena Mae Hartwig was born June 23, 1907 Vona Road. She attended and graduated from high school in Vona. Rena married Floyd Benjnmin Borders, F78 home for approximately 12 years. Floyd's mother, Manda I. Borders had operated a maternity ward in her home in Stratton prior F77 house north of Vona about eight miles on the BORDERS, RICHARD LEE , t , I ,gp # {p. ,( i*, .}, ",:),|ffft, .,.@| Floyd and Rena Mae Borders, Thanksgiving 1974 ,' I , I I, .t, .L:. '11,.'' �29, 1954 in the Methodist Church in other children married and moved from the county. Cheyenne Wells, Colorado. Patricia, the daughter ofArchie and Laura Lowe, was born April 24, 1933 in Cheyenne County. Patricia's grandparents, Edward Lowe and Theodore Only one son, Willinm survives and he lives in Lafayette, Colorado. by Florence McConnell Greenwood, came to the Stratton area in 1907 and 1908, respectively. Patricia graduated from Cheyenne County High School in 1952 and attended the University of Colorado for two years. BRACIITENBACH GLASENER FAMILY Dick and Patty lived for one year in Stratton and Dick worked for Snell Grain Co. The Snell Grain Co. at that time was owned by the Borders Family. In August of 1955 Dick and Patty moved to Arriba where Dick began learning the management of the Snell Grain Co. elevator. October 6, 1955 Richard Lowe was born in Cheyenne Wells at the County Hospital. April lst 1957 Dick and Patty again moved. This time they moved to Genoa where Dick became the manager of the Snell Grain Co. elevator. Dick managed the elevator for over 15 years. During this time Dick and Patty had acquired farm and ranch property thus their interests were changing. November 6, 1957 James William "Bill" was born in Cheyenne Wells at the St. Joseph Hospital. December 19, 1959 Mark Owen was born in Cheyenne Wells at the St. Joseph Hospital. This completed the Dick Borders pnmily of F80 Adolph Brachtenbach was born Oct.2L, 1848 in Oberfeulen, Diekirch, Luxembourg. William and Mabel Bowker in Evanston. She was the daughter ofJohann Peter Glasener and Margaritha Welter. Barbara was born Aug. 29, 1855 in Oberfeulon, Kiekirch, Lur. Her parents came to America in 1869 by way of Canada. Adolph and Barbara lived in the Chicago Sons. Dick and Patty's sons grew up in the Genoa community going to church first at E.U.B. and thenthe United MethodistChurch. They took part in 4-H, as well as other community activities, and graduated from the Genoa area from their mariage until 1904, with Adolph operating truck farms in the areas of Skokie, Niles Center, Drexall and Cicero. Public High School. April 1st, 1972, Dick and Patty moved to their present home. This home ig the former Glenn Garten farm, which they had purchased from Glenn and Vera Garten. Dick is a member of the Genoa Lions Club and the United Methodist Church. He served on the board of directors for the Snell Grain Co. for many years. Dick was a member of the Genoa town board for a number of years. He has held several church board positions. Patricia is a member of Mayflower Chapter No. 118 Order of the Eastern Star, Past Matrons Club of Eastern Star Cheyenne Wells, United Methodist Church, and United Methodist Women. She served as secretary and treasurer of the Lincoln County Republi- can Central Committee, worked as a 4-H leader for over 10 years and has worked at many other community projects. Dick, Patty, and their sons and families farm and ranch in Lincoln, Cheyenne, and Kit Carson Counties. by Dick Borders They were the parents ofeleven children, ten of whom grew to maturity. Their first child L to R: Sitting, Mabel and William with children BilI, Lois, Charles and Klein. FAMILY Edith (Powers) Hasart. They then moved to Burlington, Colorado. He then left his family and wife Mable to work and support her younger children. She went to work at the new Kit Carson Memorial Hospital where she worked many years as a nurse's aide. AIso one older son worked at the hospital along with the youngest daughter. She worked to put herself through school. In the early fifties she met a man and remarried and moved to Michigan. He passed away and ill health forced her back to William H. Bowker brought his wife Mabel and family to Kit Carson County in 1934. They had a family of eight children, the youngest born here. The children were Lois Isabelle (Wilson), Charles, Klein, William, Gerald, H""ry, Neva, and Ray. away in 1957. He remarried and came back to Burlington to retire and he passed away in 1959. They are both buried in Fairview Cemetery. F79 William liked to roam so went several different places. They first lived on a farm died in infancy. The other children were: Peter, born 1881 who married Mary Ann Hammrich; Nicholas, born 1884 who married Katherine Lenzen; Michael, born 1887 who manied Amanda Buck; Henry, born 1889 seven miles south of Stratton. Some of the children attended District #59 School which is still standing. One of the boys'teachers was Colorado to be near her family and she passed BOWKER - JUDSON His parents were Jean Brachtenbach born Sep. 23, 1814 in Stagen, Diekirch, Lux., and Elizabetha Schandel born May 9, 1812 in Oberfeulen, Diekirch, Lux. His ancestral lines go back to the late 1600's in Luxembourg through Catholic Church records. There is a town named Brachtenbach in that country. Adolph left Luxembourg about age 24 to come to America. He spent some time in Paris, France, probably to earn passage monies. The 1900 census stat€s that he was in America 25 years (1875) so he probably spent about three years in Paris. He met and married Barbara Glasener of Evanston, Cook Co. Ill. They were married Nov. 17, 1879 in St. Mary's Catholic Church Their oldest daughter married "Boots Wilson" and remained in the county the rest of her life. The third son married a Stratton girl and raised twelve children. He worked for the Rock Island Railroad until his death. Son Harry married and lived in Burlington many years and worked for the State Highway. Son William married after serving in the Army and he worked at Kit Carson County Memo- rial Hospital and later moved away. The who married Elizabeth Morfeld; John, born 1890 who did not marry; Mary Catharine, born 1892 who married Martin Reker; Barbara Margaret, born 1894 who married Albert Hadley; Susan Lillian, born 1895 who married Carl (Jake) Morfeld; Edward, born 1897 who manied Ruth Rogers; and Joseph, born 1900, who married Ethelyn Stork. In 1904 the family moved to Ipswich, South Dakota to farm. They left South Dakota because ofthe cold weather. In the spring of 1909 they moved to a farm twelve miles southeast of Sidney where they built their home and resided until Adolph died March 24, L935. Barbara preceded him in death March 3, 1915 from cancer. Adolph and Barbara are buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Sidney. Descendants of this couple are still living in the area. Adolph and sons built the necessar5r farm buildings and a good house for his family. His place was neat and well kept. His smoke house hung with ham, bacon and sausages. Peter and family left the Sidney area in 1916 for Stratton, Colorado where they built up a farm. Peter died 28 Dec. 1935. Mary died 11 Mar. 1949. Four children survived. Nick farmed the homestead of Katie's gouth and west of Lorenzo for forty five and haU years until they retired and moved to Sidney. He died 11 June 1958. Katie and seven children �survived. Mike farmed some, returned to a breakfast being served after the ceremony Chicago, then back to Sidney. He died 2 Oct. 1964. Survivore are Amanda and two daughters. Henry and family lived over the hill from his parents. In 1938, they moved to Oregon byAthalia's mother, Tesga Sholes. Their first home was shared with Ade's mother so he could help with the farm work. and Henry died 15 May 1970. Elizabeth and two sons are living. One son deceased. John died 16 Aug. 1943. He was a First World War Veteran. Mary died 14 June 1959. Martin died 5 July 1954. They had five children. Elizabeth died in 1973. Albert died in 1960. They had one son. Susie and Jake Morfeld went to Oregon in the late thirties. Susie died 10 Oct. 1975. Jake and son died in February 1980. One daughter survives. Ed died in 1983, the last of his family. Ruth lives in Sterling, Colorado with her two daughters. One son and daughter died in infancy. Joe died 3 Feb. 1963. Ethelyn lives in Greeley, CO. with a son and two daughters nearby. Two sons died, Daniel in 1979 and Joseph in 1985. Adolph would live for awhile with one of his children and then stay with another. He loved to run foot races with his grandchildren. He never went back to Luxembourg. His brother Peter died in Chicago in 1900. His sister Mary resided in Chicago. She married a Schrieber. Blessed Pioneers! What choice Model A Ford. They soon moved to Sidney, Nebragka where Ade worked for the railroad and lived in a very small trailer house. The roof leaked, so when it rained Athalia had to move their newborn baby, Audrey, from one ancestors! They were Special. Ade was very proud of his first car - a 1929 spot to another to keep her dry. She was born on May 31, 1941. The three of them made another move to Dillon, Colorado where Ade worked long and hard hours on a dairy farm. He soon decided that he didn't want to be a 'dairy-man', so another move was made back to'good-ole' Stratton, Colorado. They moved to the homeplace where a daughter, Margie, was born on November 10, 1943 and Dolores on July 29, L945.In June of 1947 the family experienced a great loss when Dolores drown- Security Administration. Roger is a senior at Rangeview High School in Aurora. The Brachtenbach's youngest daughter, Penny, was married to Lew Carpenter on January 20,L973. They live at Johnson Lake, Nebraska and have one very special family member, their dog, Wiggles. Lew is presently doing sandblasting and Penny works at the Johnson Lake Marina. Adolph passed away October 20, 1987. **We thank our God who was with our family through the good times and bad times; and cherish the memories of our ancestors. by Margie Colpitts BRACHTENBACH, LARRY AND BETTY JEAN ed in the stock tank. During the year 1948 Ade and Athalia purchased their own land, five miles north of Stratton where they started building a herd of Hereford cattle, planted wheat and grew cane to feed the F82 cattle. On June 2, 1949 their last daughter, Penny was born. During the dusty years of the 50's the dfut storms were so bad the cattle would have by Cecilia G. Wilcox BRACHTENBACH, ADOLPH FAMILY F81 weeds sprouting from their backs and the cattle market dropped considerably, so that's when Ade started to raise Shetland ponies and in the 60'g changed to Appaloosa horses and Scotland Highlander cattle. In the late 60's Ade added another new animal the - and Buffalo, which turned out to be his pride jov. Ade and Athalia decided to sell their Buffalo, cattle and land to move into town and a much easier life etyle. This was done and a farm sale was held on August 18, 1979. Athdia developed Aplastic Anemia and on May 15, 1986 the Lord called her home. Their daughter, Audrey married Harold Eisenbad on June 6, 1959. Harold has been employed by the Stratton Equity Coop since 1958 and Audrey works for St. Charles Church and the Stratton Sale Barn. Their oldest daughter Tina (4-10-60) was manied to Dan Gruntorad on September 15, 1979 at St. Charles Church in Stratton. They live in Overton, Nebraeka where Dan works as a welder in Kearney. Tina is a homemaker and nother of three girls, Joni (11-1-81); Tami (10-24-83) and Keri (4-13-87). Brenda (6-2963) was married to Richard (Dick) Ramoe on June 14, 1986 at St. Charles Church. They are living in Colorado Springs, Colorado where Dick is employed as an Electronic Technician for Energy Service Bureau. Brenda is a bank tpller at Century Bank. Russell (10-26-66) attpnded Northwestern Kansas Area VoTech in Goodland, Kansas where he studied to be an electrician. He now lives in Colorado Ade and Athdia Brachtenbach on August 30, 1938. Adolph Nicholas Brachtenbach was born on the 24th of April 1914 in Dix, Nebraska. His parents, Peter and Mary Brachtenbach, homesteaded in the Dix area until moving to Stratton, Colorado during the year of 1918. They purchased land northeast of Stratton and built their family home. Adolph (Ade) married his hometown girlfriend, Athalia Sholes, on August 30, 1938. They were married at St. Charles Catholic Church with Springs, Colorado where he is employed by Riviera Electric Company. Kelly (11-28-69) is currently a student at Stratton High School where she is active in organizations such as FHA and was elected to a state office. Their daughter, Margie married Jim Colpitts on September 28, 1963 and lives in Aurora, Colorado. Jim is a Drywall Hanger and Margie is a secretary for St. Michael's Catholic Church. They have three sons, Rob, Rick and Roger. Rob (10-6-64) is in the U.S. Navy, stationed in Japan and repairs tel- etypee. Rick is in the U.S. Army, stationed at Ft. Meade, Maryland and works for National ,: i: i .'}., *. -r* '{il. '$:' Dee Hope and Laura Jean Brachtenbach eating Dee's birthday cake. Larry, Betty and Matt Brachtenbach. Larry was born on December 31, 1943 in Goodland, Kansas to Steve and Ruth Fla- geolle Brachtenbach. He attended St. Charles grade school and then high school in Stratton. He graduated from high school in 1962. Larry worked on construction crews for awhile after high school and then helped out on his mother's dairy farm after the death of his father in 1963. He spent 6 months in active duty after joining the National Guard. While he was working in construction, he helped build the First National Bank in Stratton and the gym in Bethune. I was born in Goodland, Kansas onJanua4l 22, 1944 to Val and Leona Kordes. I also �attended St. Charles grade school through 8th grade and then to public high school. After graduation in 1962, I moved to Denver and worked as a secretary. On November 12, 1966, we were married at St. Charles Church in Stratton. We started out our life buying the dairy cows from Larry's mother and renting her farm for 4 years. We had a lot to learn and did so real fast. The biggest disaster we had was one morning we came out to milk and found 7 cows and one bull dead. They had somehow gotten into a bulk bin of grain and had foundered. We were a while getting over that. Our first daughter, Laura Jean, was born January 25, 1968. We wanted to own a farm of our own and so we sold our dairy cows and bought a farm 15 miles north ofStratton from Ben and Amy Tesmer in March of 1970. It was an irrigated farm with sideroll sprinklers on it. In 1973 we broke out more pasture land and put in 2 Reinke center pivot sprinklers. We for the most part raise alfalfa, wheat and corn. We also rent two irrigated quarters from Leona Lennemann. In 1981 we purchased wheat land from Vida Mae Young. We raise Simmental cattle and sell a few bulls. We have about 200 cows to calve and during blizzards it is quite a job. Larry had purchased grassland from Lester Collins when he first graduated from high school. We rent the rest of our grass from other land owners. In 1963 we bought grass and wheat land from Vernon Gerke. Our second little girl, Dee Hope, was born on July 27, L97L. On July 17, L971, Larry was seriously hurt in a tractor accident. He spent 4 months in the hospital in Denver. We almost lost him and felt very lucky for a second chance. This community came to help with the crops, cattle and financial aid. It's a blessing to live in a wonderful small community like this. Our son Matthew was born on July 13, 1979, in Burlington, Colo. Laurie and Dee were both born with a genetic disorder known as Hurler's Syndrome. They were never able to talk and care for themselves, but they brought much happiness to our family. They were sick very often but at an early age they were full of life and seemed to enjoy the farm and animals them stories ofthe early days and show them pictures. Elizabeth would play the piano and sing their old country songs in German. They gave Jack and Jim a 1927 Chewolet car for helping them dig out after a bad blizzard we had. They also would hunt arrowheads on a hill near where Bill and Lil Novak lived. She told the kids that if she had her red apron hanging on the clothesline that was a sign to come over, that she was home and had Koolaide and cookies for them. Larry and his brothers and sisters were always very active in 4-H when they were growing up. by Betty Jean Brachtenbach BRACHTENBACH, PETER FAMILY Adolph, was born on 4-24-1914. Peter ceme to Colorado in 1916 and started breaking up land for farming. He brought his family to Stratton, Colorado and received the title to his land on March 1, 1918. The land he purchased was N.E.% and S.E.%; Section 7 - Township 8 - Range 46. When they arrived only a few small buildings were on the land so for six months they lived in a small grainery. Peter, his brother, John, and a friend, Frank Firestein, began building the family house. The weather was starting to turn very cold so it was necessary to work late into the night. In order to work so late Steve had to hold the lantern while his dad, John and Frank measured, sawed, fit and nailed the boards and that house still stands today. The Colorado winters would start in October and for days F83 Peter John Brachtenbach was born on October 25,1879 to Adolph Brachtenbach and Barbara Glasener. Peter's father. Adolph, was born October 21, 1848 in Oberfeulen, Diekrich, Luxemburg. Adolph came to America at age 24 and spent some time working in Paris, France to earn more passage money. After arriving in America he met Barbara Glasener of Evanston, Illinois. They were married on October 17, 1878 in St. Marys Catholic Church,, Chicago, Illinois. They lived in the Chicago area and operated a vegetable farm until f906. While operating the vegetable farm several of the children became ill with typhoid fever, caused from washing the vegetables in cold water. They moved from Chicago to Ipswich, South Dakota and took up dry land farming. Peter helped his parents until 1904 when he began to farm for himself and took Mary Hammrich as his bride on November 27. 1905. During their years in South Dakota two children were born: Margaret in 1907 (dec. 1975) and Steve on 12-13-1910 (dec. 1-9-63). They moved to Nebraska during the spring of 1911 where they farmed around the towns of Sidney, Dalton, and Dix. A second son, and weeks on end the temperature would stay at zero or below with an almost never ending wind. The winter blizzard was an awesome sight and sometimes cause tragedies such as the one in southern Colorado, where a school bus became stranded in a high snow drift and the bus driver and fourteen children ftozeto death. A third son, Joseph, was born in 1921 on the homestead northeast of Stratton. Peter and Mary lived on the farm until his death in 1925. Mary continued to farm with her sons for a number of years; she then moved into town where she lived until her sudden death in 1949. Mary was in good health and had traveled to South Dakota to visit one of her brothers when she suddenly became ill and passed away that same day. Peter and Mary always enjoyed playing cards and spent many Sundays visiting with friends and playing card games. Peter had eleven brothers and sisters of which ten grew to adulthood. Nicholas (1884-1958) married Katie Lenzen, had seven children and spent his entire life farming around Peetz, Colorado. Michael (1887-1964) married Amanda and had two daughters. Henry (1889-1970) married Elizabeth Morfeld, had three sons. They lived in Washington for several years and then moved very much. They were always happy then. Their favorite thing to do was to go with their dad to check the cows and ride with him on the balewagon. He would put a pillow in front of the steering wheel and they would ride for hours watching the bales being loaded. On February 20, 1980, Dee Hope died at the age of 8 and November 9, 1983, Laura died. She would have been 16 in January. In Larry's family there were 8 children; Jim, Jack, Myrna (Carlson), Larry, Denny and Carol (Farrell) and one brother and one sister that died as infants. When Larry was growing up, they lived on horses when they weren't doing chores or helping in the fields. He and his brothers broke horses for other people. Hunting arrowheads was also a big part of growing up on a farm. In my family there are 5 children; Denny, myself, Beverly (Beattie), Patsy (Eisenbart), and Valerie (Thyne). I remember most the Sunday dinners with family friends and all the gemes we could think of to play. Everyone went to town on Saturday for a good movie, which were mostly western or comedy. Larry said they would spend a lot of time with Moddy Moore and Elizabeth Burrie. They lived 1 mile north of their place. They would tell Margaret, Adolf, Peter, Steve and Mary Brachtenbach in 1914 �to Yakima, South Dakota. coal shed roofthe stove pipe from the old potbelly stove came outside there. They stuffed snow down the pipe until the steam and water John (1890-1943) never married. He served in the Infantry in World War I and stood guard at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Mary (1892-1959) was manied to Martin Reker. He worked at the Union Pacific Round House in Sidney, Nebraska and they had one boy and three girls. Edward (1897-1983) had been married 58 years when he passed away. Most of his life was spent in Sterling, Colorado where he and his wife, Ruth Rogers, raised two daughters. Joseph (1900-1963) married Evelyn Stork and had five children, three boys and two girls. Elizabeth (1902-19?3) married Albert Hadley and had one son. While they were living in Medford, Oregon Albert fell off a railroad car while at work and had both legs cut off. Susie (1903-19?5) married Jake Morfeld and had one boy and one girl. After living in Nebraska for a number of years they moved to Grants Pass, Oregon. **How grateful we are to God for guiding Adolph from Germany to this land of opportunity. May he also guide and bless future generations. by Audrey Eisenbart BRACHTENBACH, STEVE AND RUTH F84 Steve and Ruth's family taken one Christmas at Larry's, Back row: Jack, Denny. Front row: Carol, Larry, Myrna, Ruth and Jim. land in Colorado. He looked up a friend Pete Pitts that had moved to Stratton, Colo. He worked for the railroad and lived just north of the railroad tracks (old Joe McClean place). Prices were going up in a hurry after World War I and the steam engine tractor was being introduced. He found the land they were looking for north of Stratton. It had buildings on it and was close to town. Stratton also had a nice Catholic Church and school. There they built a new house, barn and a concrete hog shed. When Peter built the new house, they hand dug the cistern and pipeline for the water to the house from the well. They had hand pumps in the house so they did not have to carry water from the well to the house This was one of the first homes in that area to have water piped to it. There was also a deep bathtub with Lion's feet on it for legs. Steve helped his dad with the farming. He went to the eighth grade. Some of his schooling he got in a country school located in the eoutheast corner of Sec 16 T 8 S R 46 W. Then later they attended school at St. Charles school. The nuns that taught then were the Presentation Order and were from Iowa. They were mostly lrish descent and Father Munich was of German descent. They did not get along so for a few years there weren't any nuns at Stratton. Later the Most Precious Blood order cnme. After his school years, Steve helped his father farm and he began farming on his own. Then on April 12, 1932 he married Ruth Flageolle. They moved on a farm one mile north of his parents. This farm was owned by Lizzy Burri. They lived there for a year and then moved to a place south of Stratton owned by Aler Scheierman, where their first son Jim was born. They moved and farmed Ruth Steve Brachtenbach Steven Brachtenbach was born on Decem- ber 13, 1910 to Peter J. Brachtenbach and Mary Hammerich Brachtenbach in lpswich, South Dakota. He moved to Sidney, Nebraska with his parents around 1912. His father, Peter, farmed in the Sidney and Dalton, Nebraska area and then bought a half section of land north of Dix on November 2, 1916. He then sold it February 23, 1918 and with the profit from that land sale he hoped to buy several places in the next few years. They then bought a place 12 miles north and 4-% west of Stratton from Ray Bowers and lived there 4 years. They then moved to Steves' mother's farm and rented it until her death in March 1949 at which time they bought it from the estate. Jack now owns the home place. While they lived on the north place, Jim and Jack went to school at the Busy Valley country school. Jim and Jack would ride horses to school; later on they drove a three wheel car the two and one half miles to school. There were several boys in school and one would try to outdo the other with pranks. One time the teacher sent the kids outside after they ate their lunch. She had a visitor and locked the door so they would not come back in for awhile. Jack decided to get up on the roof of the coal shed, which was a lean-to attached to the backside ofthe school house. Above the built up and blew the pipe apart. Soot and water went all over the desk and books. The teacher's desk was a real mess. The teacher came outside to try to catch him as he jumped from the roof, but he outran her and got to his pinto pony and she got her horse but his little pony was faster than her horse and he got away. The teacher was not supposed to have anyone there during school hours, so she didn't report him to the school board. In April of 1962 they sold the north place to Fred Moffit. My mother, Ruth Flageolle, was the second child of the Flageolle family which lived at the "Brownwood Community" sixteen miles northwest of Stratton. Her parents were William Flageolle and Pauline Wynn Flageolle. She was born on February 5, 1914 on the homestead. She attended the country school for a few years and then St. Charles Catholic School in Stratton. She went through the 10th grade. As a young woman my mother helped in neighboringfarm homds during busy seasons doing housework to make money. My mother's main interest was her families health and happiness. She could challenge anyone of us to milking, riding a horse or even driving a tractor. She liked to shock feed and shuck corn. She always canned and preserved food and usually had the shelves full. At night when the work was done Mother liked to do her fancywork. My dad loved to fish and whenever possible we would go to Lake McConaughy in Nebraska or to Eads. He liked to eat them as well as catch them. He always taught us kids to take good care of animals and enjoyed helping us boys break horses. He always made sure he had a watermelon patch and potatoes. In the summer of 1962 he discovered he had termi- nal cancer. It was a very hard time for the family. He was in very much pain but he drove the tractor yet that summer. Jim and I had jobs and so Denny did most of the farming that summer. He was only 16 at the time. On January 6, 1963 he passed away in the Flagler hospital. Mother remained on the farm after Dad's death until Betty and I were married in 1966. She then moved to Chappell, Nebraska and worked for Leprino Cheese Co. for 10 years. She married Norman Robinson from Chappell, Nebraska. They own a home and live in Chappell where Norm is employed at Leprino. She still raises a garden and fresh chickens every year along with helping her husband raise hogs on an acreage outside of Chappell. There were six children in the family. Jim (9-14-1933) married Paulette Powell and they had 2 girls and 3 boys. Their two oldest boys were twins, Kieth and Kenny. The girls were Tonya and Yevette and the youngest boy, James. He lives in Ft. Lupton, Co. where he is a welder. Delbert (2-2-L935 to 4-6-1935). Jack (7-16-1937) married Marsha Richardson and they have 3 boys and 1 girl; Steve, Terry, Jackie and John. Terry was killed in a car wreck. They also have 3 grandchildren. They farm in the Stratton area. Betty (12-23-1939 to L2-27-1939). Myrna (9-19-1941) married Louis Tagtmeyer and has 2 sons, Eugene and Rick. She later married Mick Carlson, and they have a daughter, Shelly, and live in Chappell, Neb. �They also have 2 grandchildren. Myrna works at L,eprina also. Larry (12-31-1943) married Betty Jean Kordes. They had 3 children; 2 girls, Laura and Dee, who both died as young children, and a boy Matthew. They farm in the Stratton area. Denny (2-5-L945) married Christine Calvin. They have 2 girls, Connie and Pam, and 1 boy Bob and farm in the Stratton area. Carol (7-6-L947) manied Bill McNeil and had a boy, Jerry, and a girl, Julie. Later she married Larry Farrell and they have 1 boy, Jeff, and live in New York. Larry works in a cheese factory there. by Larry Brachtenbach went back east after two years. Then J.T. Roberts, who had homesteaded near Beloit, purchased the hotel and the etore in the early nineties. He operated it, with the help of his family, and a man bythe name of Scot Ready. It was a general store. They handled everything including drugs. If he didn't have what you wanted he would order it for you. He also had the post office and took care of the banking business for the ranchers and town people. He did all this even though he was paralyzed in both legs and had to get around in a wheel chair. To make it easier to get to his store he built a sidewalk of boards just wide enough for his chair. He took care of the store if the weather was nice, otherwise it was tended by Mrs. Roberts or one of the girls. He BRADSHAW FAMILY F85 enjoyed a very prosperous business for several years, then sold to his nephew, S. O. Roberts, and moved to Rogers, Arkansas. Billy Linford moved into town from his homestead about twenty-five miles northwest, and opened a blacksmith shop. He did a lot of this type of work, besides working on the section. The U.S. Post Office Department changed the name Claremont to Machias, as I remember the neme, about 1907, claiming that the mail was always getting mixed with that of a town in California nn-ed Claremont. They kept the nnme a few Days, but the people were not satisfied and the Department gave them the choice of Machias or Stratton, and they choee Stratton. That was in late 1890 or 1900. Albert Bradshaw with his niece Amy McConnell. I was about two years of age when my parents, two sisters and two brothers left Lincoln, Nebraska, in July of 1888, having moved there from Springfield, Illinois, in 1887. The household goods were transported by an emigrant car and the family by covered wagon to a small town called Columbia, Colorado. Homesteaders had pretty well settled the community around Columbia and another small place called Beloit. The railroad went through the summer after we moved to Colorado. This made the town thrive as long as they were building the road, depot, tool house, etc. But they did not build the depot in Columbia. It was built a few miles from there, and they called the station Claremont. The business men of Columbia moved all their buildings to Claremont. My dad helped move them. It took four good tea-s and wagons to accomplish this. There was a grocery store, a saloon which was built when the crew started work on the road bed, and all the necessarSr work connected with putting a railroad through. This only lasted as long as they were in the country. The homesteaders were not doing so well. They did not have enough moisture to bring up the seed they planted in the spring. Most of them left and let their land sell for taxes. However, my father stayed and saw the seed he planted the year before come up and do well. Some man, I do not remember his name, built a hotel close to the depot. The first owner of the store was Mr. Hitchcock, who A two-story building was erected which was used as a school on week days and a Congregational Church on Sunday. I think the first pastor was a Rev. Smith. Stratton always had a good school with good teachers. There was very little expense involved in running it, as the teachers and pupils did most of the work in taking care of the buildling and making sure there was a fire. Miss Rith McCoulogby (pronounced McCalby) taught the school in 1896. The nAmes of the pupils that year were Hazel, Inez and Susie Roberts, Mandy Fuller, Clara and Billie Linford, and Albert Bradshaw. I was working for Blakeman that year and attending school. The other children were closer to home. There also was a country school called the Blakeman school. Mrs. Charles Vysllman taught the school in 1897. After school Albert homesteaded on what is now the place where Ron Fooses live. Albert moved to Springdale Arkansas. He owned a little acreage where he kept a few cattle, milk cow and a garden. He still milked his cow until the ripe old age ofninety forced him to quit. Albert was the Uncle of Amy (Petefish) McConnell and the Great Uncle of James McConnell. by Dessie Cassity BRADSIIAW McFARLAND FAMILY F86 The years 1902 and 1906 are important to my family, for they are the years when my grandparents brought their families to eastern Colorado. In 1902, Joel C. and Mary Elida Bradshaw came with their children: Noble, Beulah, and Joel Jr. from White Hall, Ilinois, to homestead three miles southwest of Stratton. For several years they engaged in farming and livestock, but finding dry land farming very difficult, Mr. Bradshaw opened the Stratton Mercantile Company which he pursued until a fire forced his retirement in 1934. For years he was active in Republican circles and was County Assessor of Kit Carson County from 1908 to 1912. In 1906, John C. and Lucy McFarland brought their eight children and all their possessions in three cars of an immigrant train from Sioux City, Iowa, to Stratton. There they lived in a tent while Mr. McFarland and his older sons built an adobe house on his homestead. The house still stands today five miles east of Stratton on the "old highway". It only took five years for a dream to turn to dust, and the McFarlands to move to Arlington, Washington, where many descendants live today. My father and mother, Noble and Winnie McFarland Bradshaw, met while both worked, the former as a rural letter carrier, the latter as a clerk, at the Stratton Post Office. They were married September 7, 1911, in Burlington and lived in Stratton until 1938 when Noble was transferred to the Burlington Post Office to carry mail on R.R. #1. He retired from the postal service in 1951. Noble carried mail by horse and buggy from 1911 to 1917 when he purchased his first car, a model T Ford. From then on, a route that took him nine hours to service in good weather became at most a five-hour task. Therefore, for several years he worked during the afternoon hours at the First National Bank of Stratton. Winnie Bradshaw was a liberated woman before the phrase was coined. She was her hueband's substitute on his mail route and became adept at changing tires and doing minor repairs to the car. Winnie also was substitute postmistress at the Stratton Post Office. Then during the Great Depression the government decreed that only one member of a family could hold a government job, and Winnie was "retired." I am the only child of Winnie and Noble Bradshaw, having been born in Stratton in 1918. I have lived with my husband, Lee Bruner, and my family in Colorado Springs area since 1946. With the death of my cousin, Shirley Hamilton Long, in 1984, there are no longer any living Bradshaw descendants of this branch of the family in Kit Carson County. by Jeanne Bradshaw Bruner �BRADSHAW, CURTIS AND ATHELDA Spurgeon Hugh Braly, born 1879 in Brown Co. Kansas, was the 3rd of 10 children to Benjamin Franklin and Laura Anne (Sweangen) Braly. Curtis and Athelda Bradshaw were manied in Wray, Colorado, in 1927. They Spurgeon attended University of Attawa, Kansas and the State Normal School of Emporia, Kansas. Taught school for 3 years in Washington County Kansas before farm- were both from pioneer families. Curt was the ing. F87 son of Joel C. Bradshaw and Mary Elida Coates Bradshaw. He was one of five children. He was born on the homestead near Stratton, Colo. He worked in his fathers mercantile store while in high school. He graduated from Stratton High School. He received his associated degree in business. He worked in the business field for several years then decided his first love was music. He played in many dance bands in the area but will be most remembered for his many years of teaching band and choir in the Burlington and Stratton High schools. Many people will remember, as adults, getting out their old horn and joining Curt behind the bank or in the center of main street for the Burlington Saturday night band concert. Stratton will remember Curt and Athelda as the proprietors of the Red and White Grocery Store from 1946 t0 about 1954. Athelda Permelia Farster Bradshaw was the daughter of Ord Percy Farster and Belva Lockwood Farst€r. She was the oldest of five children. The family lived on their homest€ad near Burlington. She graduated from Burlington High school where she had been active in drnma. She taught in a one room near Bethune. She was an active community member of both Burlington and Stratton. Curt and Athelda were the parents of Curtis Coates Bradshaw II and Anne Bradshaw Struthers, neither of whom stayed in Kit Carson County. by Ann Bradshaw Struthers BRALY, SPURGEON AND IDA (SIIARP) F88 Ida May Sharp, born 1888 in Brown Co. Kansas, was the oldest of five children to Nathan and Flora Emam (Rork) Sharp. Ida taught school in Washington County Kansas 7 years prior to her marriage to Spurgeon Hugh Braly, in 1910. To this union one daughter Reva Grace was born in 1913. Reva later married John Dewey Jackson. Mr. Braly came to Colorado without his family in early L922. He cnme on the Rock Island Railroad to Vona, with 2 mules, hogs, furniture and other worldly goods. He bought SE% 13-7-48. On March L4thL922Ida Braly and young daughter Reva came to Vona on the Rock Island. Newt Howell of Vona took model A cars they did not have enough power to go thru the fine dry sand. So, sometimes the passengers had to get out and push or walk rest of the way. In some of the real bad sandy places, adobe was hauled into mix with the sand. Later years when the north country schools consolidated with Vona School, the Dist. #67 building was moved into Vona and used as the school shop building. In 1959, the Bralys moved into Stratton where Mr. Braly lived till his death in 1964. As Mrs. Bralys eye sight failed, she moved to Grace Manor Nursing home in Burlington, where she lived till her death in 1973. by Mary McCaffrey BREITLING STROBEL FAMILY F89 them out to be with Mr. Braly. The Braly family then lived in a 1 room shack next to a dugout south of the land bought. Lived there while their 4 room adobe house was being built by Spurgeon and Ida's dad Nathan Sharp. They raised hogs, chickens, cattle, farmed and lived off the land. Reva attended grade school and 1 Year of high school (taught by Mrs. Bready) at West Point Dist. #67. Stayed in Stratton during school term to finish remaining 3 years of high school. Mr. Braly was the main promoter for organizing a Sunday School in the area. West Point Dist. #67 was also used as the meeting place for the Upper Room Sunday School na-ed by Mr. Braly. Those closest neighbors attending were Merlin McNess's, Mrs. Vincent and Ruth, Joe Queen's, Adoth Hartwig's, Ray George's and Fritz Hartwig a batchler who learned to read from the Bible with the Bralys help. Those attending in later years were Garr Mason's, lra Young's, Pearl Kerl's, Lester Yonts', Roy Wilkinson's, Daniel Shermerhorn's and Dewey Jackson's. The land in this area is very fine sugar sand. Many times with the early model T or Phillip and Carolina Breitling with children, August, Pauline and Jacob. Phillip Breitling (from the German word for wide) wan one of Kit Carson County's early settlers who spent most of his life moving. Born in Beresoma, Bergan, S. Russia 16 March 1847 he was orphaned by the age of two. His parents, Matthias Breitling (b. 1801 Boblinger, Wuettemberg) and Doro- lJ t, theas Friedrich (b. 2 March 1805, Grienbach) were both deceased by 1850. He was raised by his oldest sister in Bessarabia. Settling in the community of Berson/Barsina, he was married to Carolina Strobel (b. 3 May 1849 Beresia, Bessarabia) on the 31 October 1868. Her parents were Martin Strobel, (b. 4 August 1812) while migrating in the woods of present day Poland and Barbara Hahn born 5 October 1814 in Fadersbach. In 1885 Braly adobe home, 1940, adults; Ida Braly, Dewey Jackson, Fritz Hartwig, Spurgeon Braly. Children; Betty, Mary, Paul, Virgene, and Anna Belle Jackson. conditions became so difficult in Bessarabia that the Breitling family contacted relatives living near Scotland, South Dakota. Arran- gements were made and the oldest son, Johannes, was sent to America to earn money for the rest of the family to come to America. �Phillip and Carolina immigrated on 18 BROWN - CULLER June 1889, through the port of New York on the ship, Munchen. Accompanied by 6 children and some of Carolinas younger brothers, FAMILY they traveled in steerage, compartment #3 with 3 pieces of luggage. "In the hold livestock was quartered at one end and people were at the other and sickness and death was common on this long trip, with buried at sea on most mornings." Upon arriving in New York they were out of funds. Some food was given them by fellow travelers. This was the only food they had during the long journey by train to South Dakota. After several months oftravel, they arrived in Scotland, South Dakota joining a brother of Caroline's who was already there. Upon arrival, Phillip returned to his trades ofstone cutter and cobbler. A few years passed with South Dakota not satisfying their expectations, so the family once again packed and moved to Colorado by covered wagon where relatives talked of abandoned homesteads available for farming. Denver also promised employment for the elder son. Johannes did find work in Denver but sadly he died there of diphtheria after drinking water from Cherry Creek. Arriving in the settlement area in 1893, Phillip hewed and laid the stones for the first Lutheran church in the German Lutheran settlement north ofthe present day Bethune. He also laid up a stone house for his family home that is still standing near the site of the former post office of Yale. His stonework can also be seen in several other stone buildings in the area. A drought in Kit Carson County and land for homesteading led them to move again in 1897 or 98 to Hazen, N.D. followed by another move to Nebraska in 1910 and a final move back to North Dakota in 1918. He died in March of 1920. His wife, Carolina maried twice more, outliving all three husbands, passing away on February 26, 1931. Phillip and Carolina had 13 children: Johannes 1869. Katherina Isaak 1871, Gotthilf 1874, Phillip 1876, Fredrich 1878-79, Christina Schlichenmayer 1881, Emanual 1884, Elizabeth 1887, Othilia 1889, Ardt 1890, Pauline Knell 1891, August 1893, Jacob 1895. by Robert and Linda Coles BROADSWORD FAMILY F90 George Washington (Pete) and Angeline Broadsword came from Smith County Kansas to Colorado in 1887. With them they brought two sons, John and Bill and a daughter Mary. They first lived about three or four miles east of Hale, Colo.; they lived there for several years and a third son, George, was born there. They got their mail and groceries at Jacqua, a little town just across the state line. Around 1907 they moved to Kit Carson County. Pete bought some land 14 1/z miles north of Burlington, but at this time they considered their address to be Goff, Colo. Pete's three older children John, Bill, and Mary homesteaded on land right around that area. George was too young at that time to homestead but several years later he home- F91 I -'Fr:!...i.-1 !i.*-i! tu William Kreoger standing outside his home. steaded some land further west, part of what now belongs to the Spring Valley Ranch. Pete had two brothers that also lived in Kit Carson County. Israel, a veteran of the Civil War that lived to be 105, lived northeast of Pete and his family, and Jake, who bought some land about six miles north of Burlington. Israel's family later moved to Idaho and Jake's family wound up in Oregon. Pete's wife Angeline died about 1913, but Pete lived until 1944 when he was 91. In about 1907 John was married. His wife's name was Lucy and they had four children, Mildred, Margaret, Dorothy, and Lloyd (Bud). The children were born on the land John homesteaded and later they all moved to a nearby farm where they resided until they moved to town in 1923. John and his family moved to Oregon during the 1930's. Bill was never married. He worked out on his own for a while, but came back to his father Pete's farm to help with the farming after George left home. Bill lived there for the remainder of his life. George fought in WWI, and after getting out of the army he came back and farmed with Pete for a while. Around 1935 he went to Denver to live and work as a carpenter. He came back to Kit Carson County in L942, when he was married to Julia Falk. They moved south of town, where he farmed until he retired and moved to town. He lived here in Burlington until his death in 1967. Mary homesteaded her own land before she married. She put up a shack on her land and slept there in order to prove up on her homestead claim. Her father Pete farmed and paid the taxes on the land until about 1923 when his son-in-law, Louis Kreoger, took over farming it. Louis broke out the remaining grass to make more farm ground to add to what he was already farming. Mary Ann Broadsword was married to Louis Kreoger on April 29, 1909. They farmed and raised a family north of Burlington. by Marilyn Kreoger Schlichenmayer UGene Brown and Marjorie (Marge) Culler Brown on their Wedding day. UGene Brown, a native of Colorado, was born fifteen miles north of Arriba, Colorado, in Lincoln County, His parents, Irvin Brown and Laura (Brue) Brown ventured out from Waterloo, Iowa to a homestead in Colorado. When Gene was seven years old, the family moved toAniba, Colorado where he attended twelve years of school. He furthered his education by studying Public Accounting through the LaSale Extension College. Jobs weren't too plentiful in Arriba in the thirties, but he took jobs of construction work and attendant at a gas station. In the spring of 1908, Charles and Edith (Swallom) Culler and family moved from Washta, Iowa to Warner, Alberta, Canada. They went with a group of lowa farmers who bought land in that area to be nmong the pioneers of "Sunny Southern Albert", After two years, they, along with some other families sold their land and moved to homestead country several miles east ofwhere they first located. They made their home in that area until they moved to Colorado in 1917. Marjorie (Marge) Culler was born in Alberta, Canada, coming with her parents to Arriba at the age of three. She lived on a farm eleven miles north of Arriba and attended Grand Meadows School in the country. The School was two miles from home and most of the bussing was by foot. On really cold or snowy days the transportation was by horse with cart or sled. There weren't any hot lunch programs in those days, but on stormy days the teacher, along with the help of our Mothers, would prepare hot soup. It sure was a treat from a cold sandwieh. On cold, snowy days our favorite game was Fox and Goose, only to come in and hang our coats and leggings by the big heater to dry before going home. At the age of eleven, Marge's family moved �into Arriba where she finished her schooling. After graduation she clerked at Earl's Cash Grocery Store. The hours were long and everything was packaged from prunes to bulk peanut butter. Saturday evening was a big night in town. Everyone came to do their shopping. It was not unusual for the store to remain open until ten-thrity or eleven o'clock BROWN, NED R. AND LOUISE PEIRCE F92 stove. When Ned was 16 he worked for Richard and Conover Hardware Co. of Kansas City and at 19 became a traveling salesman, his territory being Colorado and Kansas. Ned met Mary Louise Peirce in tainment in the thirties wasn't too expensive. Movies, rabbit drives, family and friends gathering for dinners and baseball gsmss were the highlights of entertainment. Kansas City, they were married December 30, 1910 and moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado. Two children were born there: Freder- Gene and Marge were married Feb. 2, 1936 in Arriba. Their new home was in Hugo, ,.rw Ned R. and Louise P. Brown when they moved to Burlington, 1916. where Gene was employed in the First National Bank, Iater joining in the business of Snell Grain Company where he was an accountant for Snell's elevators from Hugo to Stratton, when Snell sold out he worked for Clark Insurance Co. at the bank where he also was a director. He worked there until his retirement. Marge worked nineteen years in the Stratton Elementary School. She started as head cook when the hot-lunch program was introduced in the schools. It first began with the students going to the American Legion kitchen for lunch. Lunches were served to both the Elementary and High-School. Later :.4:)at)atu::,)':. ,',::;':::l:3:l::::,:, aa::..t,r,.;;.:4,::,, ' :'.:aa:,:::::::. a. ., a lunch room was provided at the grade school where all the students had meals. Marge later worked as Teacher's aide in the Elementary School. During the years in Stratton Gene & Marge have been active in school, community and chureh affairs. Gene was on the Dist. R-4 School Board for fifteen years, served one term on the town board, a charter member of the Stratton Rotary Club, and a member of the Burlington Masonic Lodge #77. They are both members of the Stratton United Methodist Church and have served as officers in different organizations in the church. Marge is a charter member of the Stratton Garden Club. in the Civil War and had his practice in Billings, Mo. until his death. Ned went to Kansas City, Mo. and began working in a hardware store, bedding down in the back room and cooking his meals on a pot bellied waiting for the customer to pick up their groceries. This was their night out to shop, visit and go to the ten-cent movies. Enter- Colorado where Gene was Deputy County Treasurer. The rent on their first home was fifteen dollars per month. Campaigning for a county office was quite different. To hustle votes, the campaigners didn't miss any of the pie socials or boxsuppers that were set up all over the county especially at the small rural school houses. They moved to Denver during the war yearc, '42 - '45, where Gene worked for Remington Arms as a Labor & Material checker. Later he worked as Senior Accountant for the State Highway Department. In July, 1945, the moved to Stratton, Colorado My father, Ned Ralph Brown, left his home in Billings, Mo. when he was twelve years old. His father, Eli Bedford Brown, was a doctor Ned R. Brown Hardware Store. 1916. The Brown's have two daughters; Margene, married to Richard Smith, and LuAnn, married to Jerry Lucas. They have seven grand-children and one great grand-child. Following retirement, the Browns' have enjoyed traveling and spending time with their daughters and their families. On Feb. 2, 1986, Marge & Gene celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary with family and friends. by Marge & UGene Brown The Frank Mann Store bought by Ned Brown, 1g16 ick Henry (December 7, I9l2) and Ruth Marion (September 13, 1915). Ned as a salesman used the train as his mode of travel. Ned having hardware in his blood, bought the Frank Mann Hardware store in Burlington and moved his family in 1916. The �age of 70 years young, she then made her home near her son, Fred. She died suddenly, like Ned, of a heart attack December 30, 1961. Ned and Louise had pleasant memories of their life in Burlington, and those memories are left with their daughter Betty, Fred having died February 16, 1984, and Ruth in August 1956. by Betty Louise Brown Chalfant Sutton BROWNWOOD, NICK AND EDITH F93 Main Street, Burlington, Colorado, 1916. store then became known as the N.B. Brown Hardware, Furniture, Implements and Undertaking. As the family got off the train and starCed down main street, my mother, born in Chicago-reared in Kaneas City, thought she had never seen guch a small or degolate place. She quickly learned to love the friendly people and the excitement of helping the town to $ow. In the year of 1918, my parents built a home (315 12th). This is the home where Betty Louise (June 3, 1921) was born. Duringthe followingyears, Ned was always active in the town's affairs. He dropped the implement dealership and when Frank Mann, his dear friend, died, Ned decided that undertaking was not for him so he sold this business to Orin Penny. Ned and Louise loved football and because they did they had an annual footbal Thanksgiving Banquet for the boys out for football. Louise always did all the cooking while the rest of the family readied the house for the banquet. Ned was instrumental in getting Highway 24 through Burlington and that was a big moment for Burlington. Ned also served as President of the Colorado Hardware Association. He served as Worshipful Mast€r of the Burlington Lodge of A.F. & A.M., was a Knights Templar and a member of the Shrine. TVice Ned was elected to the School Board of Coneolidat€d Dietrict No. 1 and was President of this group. Louise was busy during these years with her church, Methodist, and a federated club. Louise had a group of Camp Fire Girls who gave her much joy. Ned and Louise left Burlington in the spring of 1942. They made their home in Spokane, Washington. Ned was employed by the Spokane Army Air Force Depot and was in charge of the Nordon Bombsight. Ned passed away suddenly of a heart attack February 5, 1945 and was buried in Spokane, Washington. Louise worked for the Air Depot for several years and then became a housemother to 2000 boys at Stimeon Hall at Washington State Univereity in Pullman, Washington. While there Louise enrolled in classes to further her education. Louiee retired at the Nick Brownwood in 1934. Nick Brownwood was an early real egtate man. He married Edith Dulmer. Edith and Nick start€d the Brownwood store. The post office was called EUis and was fourteen miles north and one mile west of Vona, Colorado. The Brownwood School was near their store. In the dry years they all moved to California. Neil cnme back and married Amy Brindle and lived in the area for awhile. Edith Brownwood was Emma Dulmer Klasgen'e sister. Edith was born on Januar5r 28, 1881 and died on August 23, L976. Nick Brown- wood was born on January 2?, 1881 and died September 25, 1948. by Edith M. Eugley Rcmodeled store of Ned R. Brown. �boys were known as good students and often worked at mowing lawns, delivering papers and playing football. They all are University graduates. Two, Phil and Carl, graduated from Colorado University, James and Lee at Colorado State University. About then they were sometimee referred to as the "Bruner Bachelors". Mom did not like that term. James married Adele Malcourme of Ft. Collins, Colorado, December f7, 1937. Carl married Ruth Brown of Burlington on September 25, 1938. (See Brown-Pierce story). Phil married Marion Clark of Windsor, Colorado on October 9, 1938. Le married Jeanne Bradshaw of Burlington on July 11, 1943. (See the Bradshaw-McFarland story). Marion Bruner, Phil's wife, died May 12, 1984. Phil and Marion lived in Mission, Kansas as Phil wae office manager for the Foeter Lumber company yards. They moved to Colorado and retired to Westcreek where Phil resides. There are two children, Snm Bruner of Overland Park, Kansas, and The children of Nick and Edith Brovrnwood. L. to R.: Baby Edith, Neil, John, Myron, Walter, Tresa and Bernard. Barbara Van Waas of Westcreek, Colorado. Carl and Ruth lived in Montana for ten years and returned to Colorado in 1950 and made their home in Pueblo. There are three children, Philip of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, where he is a teacher; Fredrick ofCasper, Wyoming and Mary Reiter of Springfield, Virginia. Ruth died August 17, 1956. Carl remanied Jennie Mary Penney Sept. 26, 1959. She has a son Kenneth Bryce Penney of Plano. Texas. Carl worked for the Social Security Administration in Montana and Colorado. James worked for the Soil Conser- Some Burlington ladies L to R: Mrs. C.D. Reed, (Marie); Bessie Bruner, Mrs, Louis Voght, Seletha Brown, Mrs. Hoskine, Mrs. Begsie Wilson, Mrs. George Danforth, Mrs. Louise Brown, Mrs. A.W. Winegar. end the Bruner Boys Philip Levi (Lee) Bruner and Bessie Lily FAMILY teachers. Coaches and their wives often spent the holidays playing chess with Dad or bridge skating, football practice, picking apricots, delivering papers and the smell of home- Sappy Creek not far from the church in Lyle. Dad Bruner worked for the Foster Lumber Company in Norton and the family moved to Selden, Kansas in 1914. Jnmes and Loren Lee were born in Selden. The family of Mom and Dad and the four Bruner boys spent their first night in Colorado in a tent near the water tower in Seibert, Colorado. They were on a trip to the moun- tains in the "Grant Six." A year later the The Bruner residence in Burlington, Colorado, a constant meeting place for students and number of years where Philip and Carl were when he died. Bessie "Mom" and her two sisters were reared in a "sod" house near the F94 The Bruner house in Burlington was just across the street form the school house. It was with Mom and Dad. Activities flood our memories. Digging caves, flying kites, ice store in Norton. The Bruner boys never knew him as Dad Bruner was just two years old BRUNER - WITIIAM Supply Company as Sales Manager and lived in Colorado Springs. They moved to Westcreek upon hie retirement. There are two sons, Richard of South Pasadena, California and James of Westcreek. Witham were married Nov. 20, 1904 in Lyle, Kangas. They lived in Norton, Kansas for a born. Grandfather Bruner owned the first Edith Dulmer Brownwood at her home, vation Service in Cortez, Kiowa, Longmont and Canon City. After service in the Air Force, Lee worked for many years for the Colorado Springs family moved to Stratton, Colorado and lived in a small house just next to the water tower there. Our neighbors were the O.K. Arringtons and their daughter, Thelma. We also played with the Spurling boys, often catching ground squirrels and lizzards near the Landsman Creek area west of town. We moved to Burlington in about 1919. Dad Bruner built the house which still stands just south of the old high school. The Bruner made bread. Before Lee retired he helped Dad and Mom to establish a retirement home at Westcreek where they entertained their many friends from Burlington. Dad Bruner died February 18, 1968, in Colorado Springs. Mom died June 29, 1971 in Colorado Springs. They are buried in the Crystal Valley Cemetery in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Dad Bruner loved to hunt and fish. I can remember hunting rabbit in the old Grant Six. Phil on the right fender and I on the left with our legs hooked over the headlight. Phil with a twelve gauge and I with the little 410, we hunted duck and prairie chicken every winter. Dad Bruner also liked to fight - that is he hated to turn down a fight. He finally gave it up because Mom always found out. Mom baked bread on the old Majestic Range, six loaves, two pans of rolls, a big pan of cinnamon rolls - the kind that were all gooey and caramelized on the bottom. You could smell them clear to Main Street. It was a �considerable treat when you could find a slice or two the next morning for toast. by Carl W. Bruner BRYAN, ROBERT S. F95 Robert S. Bryan, born Feb. 18, 1892, at Singer's Glen, Virginia and Zola R. Reade, born Jan. 25, 1895, at Lexington, Missouri were married Feb. 16, 1912 at Lakeview, Missouri. Robert, better known as Bob, and Zola moved to Kidder, Missouri where he was employed as a clerk in the general mercantile store. It was while living there that their Flagler was growing, new homes were built and others were remodeled. Bob and his grandsons went into business painting and wallpapering, a trade Bob had learned from his father in Missouri. Pauline re-married in 1946. She and her husband Daniel J. Radebaugh moved to a farm south of Flagler in the Second Central District. They presented her parents with three children: Barbara, Daniel Duane and June. Zola's health declined, she died in May 1958. Bob, now retired continues to be active in managing the farming interests of Mr. A.W. Augspurger of Carlock, Ill. Bob suffered a heart attack, had a pacemaker implant, and after several attacks a few years later, his health continued to $sm, so Bob moved his family to Limon, Colorado where he went to work for the Rock Island Railroad as a brakeman. Later, being promoted to a conductor, he was able to move his family again to Flagler where he rented the Gibson property. Zola's parents moved from the homestead to Flagler to make their home with Bob and Zola. Bob continued working on the railroad, his wife and parents rented rooms and boarded teachers. After the war, Bob quit the railroad and went to work for J.C. Straub Hardware and Lumber Co. The theater was in the upper story of the store and Bob ran it at night. Bob and Zola were very active in the organization of the First Baptist Church of Flagler, both being charter membere. Bob held positions as Trustee, Treasurer and Choir Director. Accepting a job as store manager for the Christopher (Chris) Buchanan took up a homestead in 1892 and settled on it, the legal description being Section 34, Township 5 %, Range 42. In January 1893 Chris was united in marriage to Nellie Myrtle Sleight in Sherman County, Kansas at the home of the bride. To nan) Brooks, Mary Estella (Buchanan) daughters and one son. Nellie Ann (Bucha- BUCHANAN, CIIRISTOPHER JARED F96 Christopher Jared Buchanan was born in Carlisle, Iowa, on May 20th 1870 and lived there with his parents, Jefferson and Mary Buchanan, until March, 1889, when they migrated west in a covered wagon and located in the northeast corner of Kit Carson County on April 10, 1889. Upon arriving in Kit Carson County they stayed with W.H. Hargis for two weeks, then Mr. Jefferson Buchanan filed on a homestead located in the northeast corner of the County, Section 2, Township 6, Range 42. They built a sod house and plastered it with native lime. Later they helped build a number of these sod houses in the community, using native lime for plastering. He had no trouble getting water, one of the Snodgress Food Co. in Pueblo, Bob moved hie family again. It was here he had a chance to own and operate his own store, so once again he moved back to Flagler. Bob and Zola opened Bryan's Red and White Store, Dec. L,L927. During the years Bob operated the store, he was very active in the civic affairs of Flagler. He gerved several years as Mayor, councilman and fireman. He wae also a member of the Masonic Lodge 127 AF & AM in Flagler. Their daughter, Pauline, manied Donald Winn in 1933. She and her husband presented the Bryan's with two grandsons: James (Jim) and Robert (Bobbie). Pauline and her husband helped her parents in the store for several years. Due to ill health, Bob sold the store to V, and Ola Thompson in the fall of 1941. During World War II, Bob worked at the Kaiser Ammunitions in Denver. When the war ended he returned to Flagler. He drove for C.M. Smith and was later hired by the Coop as bookkeeper. They bought a small herd of cattle and horses. They did not go in for cattle raising but did more farming. The year they arrived was about the last year of the range cattle. by Pauline Radebaugh the homestead for 2 years, helping out. There wasn't much of a crop because of a drought, and Bob moved his family to Flagler, where and the railroad needed men, as well as Uncle did. They saw no buffalo, but there were herds of antelope roo-ing the prairies, and sometime forty or fifty in one herd would pass by. this union was born five children, four family moved to Colorado. Arriving at the homestead in Colorado, it was Boon found out that the sod house would not accommodate two families. So a frame house was built. Bob and his family lived on World War I was in progress at the time did not have to haul water as so many others deteoriate. Bob passed away Feb. L5, L974. daughter Pauline was born. They received a letter from Zola's parents, who had homesteaded in Colorado, that they needed help to farm the place. So in 1914, the he went to work for W.H. Lavington in the grocery store. brothers of Chris worked with a well drilling outfit, so had a well drilled on the claim and Chris Buchanan in his grocery stnre,1922. (Cranmer) (Weiser) Snyder, Ralph Buchanan, Ella (Buchanan) Cranmer, and Ruth (Buchanan) McCormick. Mr. Buchanan was a leader in the Republican political circle in both the county and state for many years. In February, 1928, the family moved to Burlington at the corner ofwhat is now 1692 Martin Ave, where he resided until his death. He was engaged in business until the last few years before he passed away. It was because of his success on the farm and in the community and business that the citizens selected him by vote in 1920 to serve as County Commissioner for two terms, and then re-elected again in 1924, eight years in all. It was during this time as a county commissioner that in 1928 the county purchased the Kit Carson County Carousel from Elitch's in Denver. The county commissioners who approved the purchase at that time were Chris Buchanan, G.W. Huntley and I.D. Messinger, which met withwidespread disapproval over the purchase price of $1,250, a sum considered an extravagant expenditure in hard times. Buchanan and Huntley chose not to run for re-election in 1928 because of this sentiment. �It was at this time, about 1925 and 1926, often times they would stop and inquire the way to Burlington. On January 4, 1893 she was united in that he was engaged in the grocery store business for several years located at what is marriage to Christopher Jared Buchanan. They moved onto their homestead in Kit Carson County about 20 miles northeast of Burlington. This union was blessed with five now.1461 Senter, then sold out and then engaged in operating the "Fairmont" Crea-- ery Station. He operated this until, due to health reasons, he had to grve it up and sell out. children, four daughters and one son: daughters, Nellie Ann, Estella, Ella and Ruth and creamery that he beco-e an avid cribbage player as did a lot of other fellows. Whenever he had slack time, you would find a group of cribbage players enjoying themeelves. Often times when Myrtle would be at the creamery, she would be testing the crenm and the cribbage players would continue on for hours on end. Once again in the fall of 1929 his capability as an administrator caused the voting majority to invest their confidence in him as their representative to the State Legislature for two terms. He also served as an officer in different capacities in Burlington. son Ralph Buchanan. One daughter Ella preceded her in death in 1935. Her husband Chris passed away in July 1949. It was during the time that he ran the The more than 60 years of residence in this part of the country qualified her to speak as few can from more and varied experiences of the pioneer life. While Myrtle was notin any way interested in the political endeavors that her husband Chris was involved in as County Commissioner and State Representative, she did carry on in the businesses ofthe Grocery Store and the Cresmery when he was away on business. Myrtle was a member of the local First Christian Church and a member of the When a young boy Chris confessed his faith in Christ and affiliated with the Northern Baptist Church. For more than 27 years he was a member of the Order of the Odd Fellowship Local Order No. 152, having held offices in the local, district and the state. Christopher Jared (Chris) Buchanan passed away on July 24,1949 on Sunday at the age of 79 years at the Memorial Hospital in Burlington. Funeral Services for Chris were held at the Methodist Church with Rev. Lloyd M. Green pastor of the First Christian Church. Special music was furnished by Mrs. Mae Billington and Betty Rutter with Vada Neidig as accompanist. Burial being at the Beaver Valley Cemetery northeast of Burlington. Preceding Mr. Buchanan in death was one daughter Ella, as well as all of his brothers and sisters. He left to mourn his passing his wife, three daughters and one son and 22 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. Chris really enjoyed his grandchildren, always having candy for them. A portion of this story was written by Chris in 1934. women's council, being an ardent worker in this auxiliary. She was an artist in piecing and quilting quilts. Perhaps she had made and Myrtle and Chris Buchanan good, especially after the cattle or wild horses had tramped around in it. The first well was hand dug and hauled water up with a windlass. Myrtle wentto school in Cheyenne County, Kansas, in a sod house built about four miles from where the home was. Since there was no school house at that time, and there was no church or Sunday School; folks lived too far away to permit such meetings. Later a sod school house was built and they then had Literary Society meetings. Dancing was the chief amusement, and the only means of conveyance was with tearn and wagon or horseback. They had to drive forty miles round trip to attend a dance, dance all night, get home at daylight, and work all the next day. There was no railroad through this country by Nola Faye (Brooks) Mangus BUCHANAN, MYRTLE NELLIE (SLEIGIIT) F97 Myrtle Nellie (Sleight) (the daughter of Henry and Lydia) Buchanan was born December 25, L874 near Wanatah, Indiana. At the age of eight years old she and the family moved to Richardson County, Nebraska. After four years in this community, she with her parents beco-e residents of Sherman County, Kansas. Her father served in the army for four years, and when they came west he took a pre-emption and a homestead adjoiningjust across the Colorado State Line. From the home they could look into four counties and two states, the counties being Cheyenne and Sherman County, Kansas, and Yuma and Kit Carson Counties in Colorado. They hauled water from the Republican River, seven miles away; as they had but two barrels, it was necessary to go to the river every other day. They used water out of the lagoons for washing, but it was never very at that time, and they did their trading at Jacqua, Kansas, about eight miles away. In Myrtle's words "I remember my father drove to Oberlin, Kansas, to prove up on his homesteads. How well do I remember too, the first night we went to our new home in Kansas: There was no house or dugoutto stay in, so we piled our boxes of bedding and household goods round us in a circle and then all slept in the one big bed on the prairie. Father hauled the lumber to build the house from Haigler, Neb." Mr. Sleight helped to kill a buffalo in Cheyenne County, Kansas, and itwas divided up among the neighbors and all enjoyed buffalo meat for awhile. They never saw any buffalo where they lived, but there was plenty of antelope, and one large heard passed their farm less than a quarter of a mile to the south ofthe home, There were coyotes, snakes, and the little pert prairie dogs. They had plenty of fleas too and what a time they had with them, for they seemed to be so thick in the grass and on the prairie. They were so hard to get rid of, but later when the country became more settled they just seemed to disappear. The old Burlington trail crossed the homestead in Western Kansas, and every few days they saw people driving along the trail, and finished more than 250 quilts, as well as doing quilting for others. You could go to he house most any time and she would be in the basement quilting. There was hardly ever a time that she did not have a quilt in the frames that she could go quilt on any time she had spare time. She also loved to knit; one of her specialties was knitting booties for all of the great grandchildren. The earthly pilgrimage of Myrtle came to a close on November 8, 1950 at the age of 75 years 11 months and 14 days. She was the last survivor of the Sleight family. Services were held at the Hendricks Mortuary in Bur- lington with the Rev. Lloyd M. Green, pastor of the First Christian Church, officiating. Music was furnished by Mrs. Reuben Rhoades. Mrs. Wade Davis and Jemes Winfrey, with Dorothy Colglazier the accompanist. Burial was in the Beaver Valley Ceme- tery, Northeast of Burlington. Most of this story was written by Myrtle in 1934. by Nola Faye (Brooks) Mangus BUCHANAN, NELLIE F98 The following account was written by Mrs. Nellie Buchanan about homesteading on the prairies of Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado and her experiences in living in the little town of Seibert, Kit Carson, Colorado, during the late 1800's, when Seibert was first founded. The Messinger family was well acquainted with Mrs. Nellie Buchanan; her daughter, Mrs. Zella Buchanan Hutchens, as well as Mrs. Hutchens'husband, Maj. Corra Hutchens: Nellie Buchanan, Seibert, Colorado I was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1857, and grew to womanhood there. I was married while quite young, and in our early twenties my husband and I got the western fever, so we sold our little home, crated our furniture and took the train for the west.We did not plan where we were going to stop, nor just how far we would go. When we reached Kansas City the weather was getting colder �and it was snowing very hard, and we soon had the experience of a real blizzard. A few hours out of Kansas City our train got stuck in a snow drift; it took them twenty-four hours to get the train moving again. We traveled very slow and the car windows were covered with snow and ice so we could not see out. We were rather tired of such a tedious trip. It took us all day, all night and until eleven o'clock the next night to get to Atchison, Kansas. We decided to rest a bit so my husband and two babies and myself got a room in a hotel there, got a good hot bath and went to bed and slept until eleven o'clock the next day. Then we got a good breakfast and at noon took the train for farther west. The train traveled so slow and as the windows were covered with ice we could not see the country, so we at last reached a little town by the neme of Gaylord, Kansas, and we decided to stop and rest until the weather got better. The next morning when I went out on the hotel porch I was just thrilled, for the great prairie was one big blanket of pure white snow with here and there a little home like a dot on the whiteness; nothing in sight but the beautiful snow and the sky. Right there I knew I would never be contented until I had a home of our own in the wonderful WEST, so I urged my husband to take a homestead and build a sod houge and settle down. I had never seen a sod house, but had learned that theywere warm in winter and cool in summer, so I felt that was all that was necessary. My husband looked at me, and smiling said, "Nellie, you don't know what you are talking about." But a woman's job is to talk, so I finally induced him to buy a team of horses, a covered wagon, six cows and two dozen chickens, and we started west. The sun was shining bright, and the snow melting fast; we traveled two days and two nights, and the evening ofthe second day we saw a sod house on the prairie. We drove up to it and a man and woman came out. They asked us where we were from and where we were going. My husband told them we came from Indianapolis, and were going west to take a homestead. The man said "Man alive, go back to where you came from; go back now while you can, for in a year from now you won't have anything to go back with. Go back before you have to starve." My husband replied that any man in America thatwould work did not need to starve, so we bid them goodbye and drove on to the next water-hole where we made camp, about two and one-half miles from the sod house and the discouraged man. The next day we filled our bags with water and drove for miles and miles with not a thing in sight butland and sky, and camping atnight on the open prairie. On the evening of the third day we saw an object on the prairie; we thought it was another home, but when we drove up to it we found it was a echool house. We made our snmp there and just got through eating our supper when the wind began to blow the hardeet I had ever known; then the rain came down in torrents, so we made our beds in the school house. About three o'clock in the morning a bunch of coyotes came howling about the school house, and my husband got up and shot at them two or three times out of the windows. They went away and we went back to sleep, and did not wake until sunrise. Then we got up, ate our breakfast, and staded on another day's travel into the enchanted west. We drove for two days and about noon of the third day we saw another object on the far prairie, and when we got close to it we discovered it was a big covered wagon with big letters RBSTAURANT written on the side. There we ate our lunch, and learned that this was the first restaurant on the ground where Colby, Kansas, is now located. After driving for some days we came to two little towns built close together; one was called Voltaire. the other Sherman Center. Each town was striving for the County seat. Goodland was then platted as a townsite, and when the Rock Island Railroad was laid through this part of Kansas, Goodland was chosen as the railroad center, and the next election won it the place for the county seat. All the excitement made it so interesting to us that we decided to file a homestead south of Goodland, so we got a claim, built a sod house and I settled down to be a "homesteader" in every sense of the word. My husband worked atthe Rock Island shops in Goodland, and mytwo babies and I stayed on the ranch fifteen miles south of Goodland. We put barrels in our wagon, and I hauled water from the Smoky River ten miles south of us. I took care of the cattle - our six cows - and I learned to hitch and unhitch a team in record time. There was not a soul neat us, and not a house in sight. Nothing but the great broad prairies, the wide expanse of the blue sky, and the howling of the coyotes for music. I lived on this ranch for two years. I remember the first Fourth of July celebration in Goodland; the big excitement of the day was a chance to ride over the new rails that had just been laid. A car had been brought in from further down the line, and everyone that wanted to could get a free ride over the new railroad. My, that was so exciting. My husband was a lineman, and helped line the new Railroad from Chicago to Colorado Springs, and there were times when I would not see him for three to six months at a time. The railroad went on west, so they moved my husband to Burlington, the County Seat of Kit Carson County, Colorado. Most of our western towns gtew overnight, and the excitement is the biggest part of them for a number of years. Burlington had a hard struggle for some years, but it is quite a nice little city now, and one of which we are all proud. Later my husband was moved to Siebert, Colorado. Seibert wag not on the map until after the railroad was built. So my husband wrote to me, and told me to sell the ranch and come to Siebert to live. Although I was as much a homegteader as ever, I decided it best for myself and my two children to get nearer civilization, so we sold our ranch and moved to Siebert. But I certainly did not think much of the town, it was such a dry shabby little place. There was no water there; all water was hauled from the river four miles north of us, or from the well in the old town of Hoyt. Later the railroad built a section house, and dug a well, and then locked the pump on the well and gave instructions that no one but the Railroad employees was to get water from that well. However, the instructions were given to my husband, and not to me. So when a poor settler or one of his family came asking for drinking water or enough to make a cup of coffee, believe me, I did not turn them down. If the railroad was helping to build the country, what about the settlers who were brave enough to withstand the hardships of thirst, of starvation, of lonesomeness; I felt they had as much right to that good water as any of the railroad employees did. So I used to give away a pailful now and then, and then one day I learned that I had been reported. Not through malice, but by some one grateful for the kindness I had shown them, and they were merely relating this kindness. But the outcome was that the Supervisor came to my husband and told him that the key would be taken away after the pump was locked and we would have to use the hauled water. My husband regretted the affair, but told to him notify me too, as I used the key. When this man crme to my home and told me what he was intending to do, I remember I told him that ifhe were leaving orders the key, to take it with him, for as long as there was water there and people needed it I would give it to them. That I would be glad to haul water and share it with those around me just as they would do if I needed water. When I got through talking the Supervisor did not say anything, but he bid be goodbye and left the key with me. I really believe he saw what it meant to the people of that community to have a good drink of clear water once in a while; a drink of water that had not stood in a barrel in the hot sun. We had no more trouble after that. Of course, I was careful with the water, but the well never ran dry in spite of all the drinks I gave away. Everyone was poor, some poorer than others. My husband had a good job with the railroad, so we were more fortunate than a great many others who had to depend on their cattle and farms for a livelihood. I remember one poor family who had had a great deal of sickness, and on the day that the eldest little child died, another baby was born, and the poor mother had no clothes for the new baby and nothing decent to bury the other little child in. So a few of the neighbors got together and we sewed for the new baby and the mother and I made a pretty little dress for a burial dress for the little child. A neighbor man made a little casket, and we lined it nicely with solid white goods and trimmed it with a bit of lace and some white ribbon. I remember after we had the wee one all laid out it looked like a sweet doll, so we took it into the bedroom so the poor mother could see it, and I shall never forget how very grateful she was that her darling was to be given a decent burial. It was just such instances as this that made the neighborhood one big family, all ready to share each others joys or sorrows. We lived in cars on the siding until the section house was built, then we lived in Seibert for a number of years. My husband was transferred back to Goodland to the shops and again transferred to Burlington, where he worked as a Section foreman. We lived in the Montezuma Hotel until we found a house, and stayed there for a number of years, getting acquainted with a number ofthe pioneer settlers ofthat town, an acquaintance that has ripened into a life long friendship. We again were transferred to Seibert, and we decided to get a ranch and go into the cattle business. The children and I took care of the ranch while my husband did his work on the railroad. We lived here for some years, my husband died, and my children got married, so I moved to town and em now making my home with my daughter, Mrs. Zella Hutchens, the present Post Mis- �tress. Iam happy and contented, and enjoy recounting my experiences of the early days in this new country; I am glad that I was one of the pioneers that helped to develop the country; that I was privileged to do my bit towards making a bit brighter the lives of those around me. by clack Messinger BUOL FAMILY F99 John and Anna Buol came to the Burlington area from northeast Nebraska. They c4me, not in a covered wagon, but in a ModelT Ford, and were accompanied by a son, Kermit, who was nearly 3 years old at the time. John received much ridicule from his peers in Nebraska for leaving those lush, green, productive fields for a home in "the Great American Desert", but John had a vision and saw an opportunity which he made work successfully. Anna shed more than a few tears when she arrived on the scene, but the mystic enchantment of the plains with its beautiful sunsets, blue skies, and dry, healthful climate soon won her over, and she was happy to live here for the rest of her life. Her family, the Arduesers, soon followed her to Colorado, and settled on farms south of Bethune, helping to make her early life on the plains more endurable. John bought a farm a mile and a half north of Burlington from Mr. Ed Danforth. This farm is still in the Buol family and is operated by John's grandson, John A. Buol. Down through the years, the Buol cattle-feeding operation expanded from feeding a small pen of cattle a year to a 6,(XX) head feedlot today. To accommodate this expansion progtarn, in 1941, John built a country elevator. This elevator became quite a landmark, and was a check-point on many aviation maps. This elevator burned down in the early 80's. Two more sons were born to John and Anna. Martin in 1921 and Russell in 1926. In 1929, John and Anna built a new, modern home on the farmstead. When they tore down the old house, they found that the space between sheeting and laths was filled with dirt for insulation. The old highway, North 40, came a mile and a half north of Burlington, and turned east by our place. The turn wag sharp, and many speeding cars missed the turn, and tore out our fences. In Nov. of 1930, we had a bad blizzard about a week before Thanksgiving. The drifts on the highway were deep, and they didn't get the road opened until Thanksgiving Day. We walked to school during that time. During the famous blizzard in 1931 (the one of the Towner tragedy), two salesmen were travelling east on the highway. They got about a mile east of our corner and beco-e stalled. They started to walk back to town. One got as far back as our place, but the other collapsed about a quarter of a mile away. Our two hired men took scoop shovels for protection, and went out to find him. He was as stiff as a log when they brought him in and dragged him down the basement steps. Some men crme out from town to help them back to town, but the storm got so bad that nobody could go out, so we had a houseful for the duration. After the storm was over, they took the salesman to town, but we never heard whether the frozen one lived or not. All three boys went through the Burlington schools and continued their education at Colorado State University. They all served in the Armed Forces. Kermit was a navigator on a B-17 bomber that was flying in the European theater in World War II. He was shot down, and was a German Prisoner of War for 18 months. Martin was in the Army, and participated in the drive through Germany, and met the Russians on the Elbe. Russell was a communications officer in the Air Force, and followed that career for a number of years. Kermit married a Burlington native, Dorene Smith. They had three children; a son John and two daughters, Denise and Diana. Martin married Rogene Merwin, whogrewup in Burlington. They had a son, Terry, and a daughter, Shelley. Russell manied Elsie Jane Gross of Trinidad, and had three sons, Thomas, Donald, and David. John Buol Sr. died in 1970 and Anna in 1974. Russell died in May 1978 and his son, David, in 1987. The Buol families persevered on the plains. They saw many ups and downs. The minuses were dustbowl days, droughts, and blizzards, but the pluses of bumper crops, desirable living conditions, and a great environment in which to raise families far outn 'mber all of the uncomfortable aspects of living on these unpredictable plains. by Kermit J. Buol BURKART FAMILY Floo George Burkart Mr. and Mrs. George Burkart, Sr., of Walter, Russia, cnme to the U.S.A. on June 10, 1892. George and his wife were married August 19th and September 21, 1868, in Walter, Russia. They were among ten couples married the same day, as their church, not having a resident pastor, had a special pastor come at various times. It required great courage for George to dare thinking of coming to America. It required greater courage to undertake such a trip with a wife and two babies, George and Jake. They scraped up what they could sell and got what money they could, which was a pitiful amount for such a trip. Mrs. Burkart had to leave her dowry behind, a chest filled with the choicest linens, which were a gift from her father. It was difficult to leave parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, and friends. It would truly be "goodbye", to know she could never see those whom she loved again. The uppermost reason for them wanting to come to the New World was the age old instinct to own a home and land of their own, ingtead of being a laborer in another man's vineyard. Some had braved the dangers ofthe "New World" and now one could own a home of their own by just living on a place for a short while and "Improving up on a Homestead". It took stout hearts and willing hands to go to the New World and face the hardships. The Burkart family finally anived in New York City. A baby had becoming desperately ill of a fever while enroute, but recovered safely by the time they landed. Upon arival, for eome reaaon they were shut in a cell-like room. George was afraid they would be returned to the old country for some reason. He could not talk English, so he couldn't find out why they were being detained. On the ship, some fellows were there to try to get the emigrants to work for a certain railroad, but Mr. Burkart refused to sign anything so these men threatened they would see to it that they would be returned to the old country. However Mr. Burkart refused to sign up with them. After a couple of days a gentleman came along past their cell-like room evidently John Buol Farm. John on horee, Kermit right front. In the early 1920's. looking for someone. At least he returned with a guard who unlocked their door. The �gentleman angrily exclaimed, "Why have you shut up my people like this." They guessed that he was an nmbassador from Russia and had not been able to account for one family that had not arrived. Anyway he saw that the tickets were purchased and placed them on a train headed for their destination, Culbertson, Nebraska, where a cousin, Conrad Burkart lived. After the train left New York City, the Burkarts were afraid to go to sleep because they had no idea of the location of Culbertson, Nebraska. They were afraid that the train would pass the station. So George saw a Negro a few seats ahead and since he couldn't speak English he made sign language with the Negro to find out how long he should be aboard the train. The Negro shut his eyes and laid back on his seat, help up one finger, then he sat up and help up one finger repeating until he had three nights and two days. Then George went back to his seat to sleep through the night peacefully. by Mrs. George Burkart BURKART FAMILY Flot Upon reaching the homestead claim near Kirk, Colorado, a shelter had been laid up for them by Mr. Burkart's father who had taken a claim nearby. Walls of adobe were built by him. George had sent money to him to buy windows and a roof. The floor was adobe. Later the walls in the adobe were plastered with native lime taken from a pit near the river. Whenever house cleaning came along, Mrs. Burkart would take a solution of the native lime and water and use a rag to rub it all over the walls to make them a beautiful white. The floor was cleaned and made presentable by rubbing a real wet gunny sack over it and sprinkling fine sand over it. Next morning aftcr their arrival, young Mrs. Burkart went outside to view the prairie about her new home. All she saw was a big, tall brown grass waving and sighing like pine trees in the wind. How useful the cooked down butter would be to the family now. No doubt she dreamed how useful her dowry of fine bed linens could be to her now. Later a severe drought sent George hurrying on horseback south to the Arkansas valley for work. He wrote for his father to bring his stock and family to him. A second daughter Lena arrived while there. by Mrs. George Burkart George Burkart How happy they were to have reached the promised land of their dresms. Harvest was on, so George and his wife, Katie, assisted with the harvest, Katie softly singing her favorite hymn: Bless us and keep us Lord, we look up to Thee Give us your blessing at all times. However, underneath it all, from the time Katie had left her loved ones behind. she being only a young bride, suffered terrible homesickness which made her very ill at times. The Burkarts soon moved to Trenton, Nebraska, where George got work on the Burlington Railroad. The small amount of money was getting smaller. One day a freight train was derailed and a carload of butter in wooden tubs was in a bad state with the butter getting mushy and running out of the tubs. The railroad foreman told George he could take home all he could use as it would be wasted. So George and his wife took a great deal of it. Being very conservative and far sighted, Mrs. Burkart cooks the butter down until clear colored and like lard and stored it in containers as lard. It proved to a real gift from heaven as we find in their later story of homestead life. While in Trenton, Mrs. Burkart did washing and ironing to earn money. Then George and his brother, Jake Burkart, went to Akron, Colorado. a railroad center and land office to file on homestead claims five miles southeast of Kirk, Colorado. Then George borrowed his father's covered wagon and took his wife, who was expecting another child soon, and his two sons and headed west. Enroute a daughter Lydia was born in a farm home. When the baby was an hour old, the young mother and baby were placed in the covered wagon, and it moved on toward the homestead claim. Considered by grown children today, it seems inconceivable such a thing could have been endured with the new mother living to ever tell about it. BURKART F102 George Burkart The next spring, 1897, they had earned some money to start farming so they returned to their homestead near Kirk, where another daughter, Amelia was born. She was the adored baby of the family and no baby could have been loved more. George walked five miles from his homestead to the John Pugh ranch on the Republi- can River when he could get work there and be spared from home. He walked to work Sunday evening and returned the same way Saturday evening. His wages were 50 cents per day, George says today, "And we were well fixed. I could buy a sack of "Cowboy" floor for 75 cents and two pounds ofArbuckle coffee for 50 cents which filled our needs. Often times homesteaders didn't have any flour in the house and never knew where the next meal was coming from." "When I worked for Pugh I would note where a bunch of cattle had bedded down for the night and would pile a few chips together here and there and come back later for them when I had time. So that way we supplied our fuel." George remarks of Mrs. Pugh, "She was a good woman and cooked many good meals for me for which I am grateful." Prairie fires were calrmities to the homesteaders. They were started by the train going to Limon. Everyone went out to help. Pastures, crops and homes were burned, often people lost their lives. A large prairie fire started near Flagler in 1901 and burned to the Republican River. The fire burned to the edge of the Burkart house when the wind suddenly changed and the fire turned south to the River where it died out. The prairies were covered with good thick grass and large grasses three foot tall in the hills along the river. George tells how he was fighting fire one day when two men came by dragging a dead animal between two horses to put out the fire. Everything was done to fight these fires. Back firing was also used, whenever the need arose. Mr. Burkart, like other pioneers, helped build early schools. He helped build three in all, including the Clark School. One was rock up to the windows, with adobe or sod used for the others. The family suffered many hard times, but were never sorry to have come to the new world, despite their hardships and homesickness. Mr. and Mrs. Burkart finally built up a lovely home and helped build a church nearby. They often times helped their neigh- bors build homes also. Mr. Burkart joined some friends in organizing the Kirk State Bank of Kirk on January 7, L917. He beceme a director on the bank board and always felt proud of his achievement for the community. So it was a gala day of Mr. and Mrs. George Burkart when the day of their 50th Wedding Anniversary arrived on February 3, 1938, and found them happily and comfortably settled as citizens of their new world. They had gained what their hearts had desired, looking forward from their wedding day in the old world. Their's is happiness a hundredfold and their land and home are their own: they are not hired servants. Looking back on their lives they remarked on their 50th wedding day: though they had travelled together, they agreed that God had been good to them, to bring them to America when He did, that nowhere else could a man and a family start out without a penny and by sheer hard work and good management pay for a home. Mr, Burkart says: "Here in America we have security. We can feel assured, when we go to bed at night, that we won't be dragged out by the Secret Police. Of course this security costs money. That's why we pay county taxes, and I hope none of my children will ever complain about having to pay taxes. If they could just appreciate the differences between America and the old country as I do, I'm sure they would not." Mr. and Mrs. George Burkart celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary, on February 3, 1957. Mr. Burkart passed away in 1962; Mrs. Burkart in 1963. by Mrs. Sherman Corliss - lS57 BUTLER, WILLIAM AND AMANDA FloS In the fall of 1913, my parents, William and Amanda Butler, moved to a homestead north of Vona. My parents were born in north central Kansas. My father bought what was called a relinquishment. My parents had just bought a new 1913 Model T Ford. My father drove the car out to the farm, put it in a small shed, and went back to Kansas on the train. My parents and another couple who helped them move constructed one covered wagon, one wagon, and a hayrack. They had machinery and feed for the horses on the wagons. My younger sister and brother thought this was lot of fun, as sometimes they would ride with �the men in the wagons. This part was told to me as I stayed with an aunt to go to school. At night they slept in the covered wagon and they would co-p at a farm house so as to have water. They cooked on a two burner oil stove, and as a rule the weather was nice and the cooked outside, but one evening it rained, so they stayed in a hotel and put the horses in the livery barn. I came to Colorado BUTTERFIELD FAMILY F104 Melvin and Barbara Butterfield on the train all by myself on my seventh birthday. I thought I was plenty big to buy fruit and sandwiches and give the right change. The train got to Vona in the night. My father Witlard Milton Butterfield, was born in 1898 at Amherst, Colorado, the son of Ellen (Smith) and Edward Ulyssess (Edd) My parents, sister and brother, had driven to Vona, and had a room at the hotel. As the rado from Ohio in 1886. He was a farmer and rancher. My mother Lettie Mildred Bone, was born in 1898, at Corydon, Iowa, daughter of Alice (Rockwell) and Charles Bone, who came to Holyoke from Iowa in 1903-04. Lettie traces her lineage back 9 generations through her father on the maternal side of Stansbury's, to a Detmar Sternberg, who came to Baltimore, Maryland in 1658. Detmar was descended from William of Orange, and also back 7 generations to a Cromwell, who was related to Olvier Cromwell. Lettie and Willard married in 1920 in Holyoke, Colorado. Willard worked for his hotel had only one bed to a room, we all slept in the one bed until it was daylight and then we started for the homestead. My sister and brother were very excited as they said we were building a mud house. All of the neighbors came to work on that house. I still own the Homestead. and the house is occupied. In those days there were not many cars. My father took couples to Burlington to get married, and to prove up on their homesteads. If you were in your car and met people in a buggy or wagon, the man with the horse would get out ofhis wagon and hold on to the horseg'heads or the horses would run away. We lived in a one room frame house while the new house was being built. Then the little house was made into a garage. At that time a barn was built and also other buildings. We attended the Boger School. In those days as many €Nr fifty and sixty pupils would Butterfield. Edd Butterfield came to Colo- Dad Edd. It was born in L922, and Marvin Delet, was born in 1924, on the Butterfield farm south of Holyoke. ln 1924 they moved to a farm (owned by his Dad) located 16 miles south on Highway 51 and 3 miles east of Burlington, Colorado. They had 160 acres of farm and pasture ground. Dad bought a tenm of mules from his Dad for $300 and Mom's parents gave them a milk cow. There was a four room house of the farm. When Willard's mother, Ellen, died in1924, Willard's youngest brother Edward (Buzzie) Butterfield was 10 years old. He made his home with us until he married in 1934. Close neighbors wee the Henry Dragers, to the west, Vince Daniels, one mile north & one mile west: Fred Nortons, one mile north & one mile east; and the Lawrence Carlsons, one-half mile north. The children rode the bus nine miles to the Smoky Hill School. Willard drove the school bus for several years. The school was the center for activities and church services were held there. When Highway 24 was being built, Willard drove his team of mules and wagon to Burlington to work on the highway, hauling sand and dirt. Verna Ellen was born in 1927. She was such a tiny thing, four pounds. Kenneth Ervin was born in 1929 and Willard Junior, in 1932. They were born on the farm; Dad would go to town and get Dr. Remington who would deliver for $25. We always had lots of livestock on the farm. A good saddle horse was always saddled up and tied to a post ready to be used. In the summer time Dad and Marvin milked the cows and I would ride and bring in the horses. It was open range and they could roam as much as 15 to 20 miles from home. When Marvin was around 9 years old he would ride south to a sheep snmp and be going to school. Sunday School was held in many of the school houses. Our school was the main entertainment. Dances were held in homes, and baseball was a great entertainment in those days. In L923, my father became Postmast€r at Vona. We lived near Vona during the summer and then moved into town. My sister and I had worked for our room and board to go to high school. The years brought more schooling, teaching several terms of achool, and my marriage to Harold Summers. We went through the depression years, dirt storm years, with low prices for farm produce, and back to good crops and prices. Many people remember the rabbit drives and the grasshoppers that ate the little trees we eet out, and then the time came when there were no rabbits, and it seemed as if the deer, antelope, and coyotes had taken over. My husband was a lover of cattle and horses; of coutse, for many years he farmed with horses. We had Black Angus cattle. Our parents moved to California during the Second World War years, and they have all been gone many years. Also my sister passed away many years ago. My brother hag lived in California since 1937. Now a widow, I have been on geveral long tours east, west, north and south, and still think eastern Colorado is the best place to live. My two daughters do not live in my home town. Shirley Basinger and husband Virgil live in Gunnison, Colorado, where Shirley is in Banking. Jerry Weisshaar and husband Junior live in ldalia, Colorado, where Jerry is Postmaster. I have six grandchildren and six great grandchildren. One grandson, Dale Weisshaar, and his family live here in Stratton. by Fern (Butler) Summers The Willard Butterfield family, L. to R.; WiIIard, Lettie, Marvin, Verna, Melvin, George, and Junie (Willard Jr.) �bring home orphan lambs' Marvin and I shot rabbits and skunks to sell their hides and use the money to buy more shells. In the 30'e there were so many rabbits. The farmers ? & would hold rabbit drives and pay 10 or 12 l cents each. A place in town skinned them and the carcases were trucked to Denver for the mink farms. When we all went to town on Saturday. I would go right to the library and check out Zane Gray Bookg. Dad played the cornet in the city band when they had summer concerts in the city park. It was a treat to eat a loaf of bakery bread on the way home. Most of the time we kids stayed home and entertained ourselves by hitching up a wild horse and a tame horse to a wagon and let them go; or ride the wild horses. Kenneth and Junie would get up in the grainery and find eggs, throw them down, thinking they could pick them up later. Verna said they made mud pies with eggs, but Mom didn't know about that for years. One time Kenneth fell out of the hay loft and landed on a cow who bucked him off. The dust storms of the 30's were terrible. We would put up wet sheets over the windows but could never keep the dirt out. There were lots of bull snakes around, they'd get in the chicken house and eat the eggs. One time Mom gathered eggs and put her hand in the nest on a snake; she never did gather eggs after dark again. In the wintcr time during a blizzard, we would make ice cream in a covered gallon bucket and hang it on the clothes line; the wind would keep it stirred up until it was frozen. Four of us kids had February birthday's; we would take a freezet ofice cree- to school on the bus. The kids at school called Kenneth "George" because he was born on George Washington's birthday. by Barbara Butterfield BUTTERFIELD FAMILY F106 Melvin and Barbara Butterfield After completing the 10th grade at Smoky Hill School, I went to High School in Burlington for 2 years. Earl Sivey and I batched together at Shooks gn-p ground. After school I went out for football and track. I played right guard of the football teem that won state shnmpionship in 1940, coached by Curly Schlupp. I graduated from Burlington High School in1942 and served in the Navy L942-46. I manied Barbara Ann Magee, daughter of C.L. and Vera Magee of Burlington, in 1948. I wae elected County Clerk and Recorder 1950-59. We moved to Denver in 1959. I retired from ReaI Estate Sales in 1982. We have 3 children: (1) Kerry Lee, born 1949, married, 2 children, Jenny born 1972 and Paul, born 1975. They lived in Denver and Montrose, Colorado. In July of 1987 they moved to Woodinville, Washington. (2) Dea Ann, born 1952, married, has 3 boys, Thomas (1980), Scott (1982) and Eric (198 a). They live in Woodinville, Washington. (3) Lonny Jack, born 1955, married, 3 boys, Andrew (1982), Nathan (198a) and Jeremy (1986)' Jack is a fireman with Bancroft Fire Dept' His wife, Kathy, is a chemist at Coors. County Clerks Office in 1951 with Iva Gross seated on right, Melvin Buttcrfield and Mary Marnell. Mel was County Clerk of Kit Carson County. My brother, Marvin Delet Butterfield, graduated from B.H.S. in 1943; served in the Navy 1944-46. He married Dolores Ann Dunn, daughter of Al and Mattie Dunn of Burlington, in 1949. They moved to Denver in 1951; moved to LaSalle, Colorado in 1967. He died in 1971 at age 47. They had 3 children; (1) Bruce, born 1951, married, one son, Brett (1977). They live in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Dolores makes her home with them. (2) David, born 1955, married, has 2 girls, Jennifer (1981) and Dawn (1983), born in Oklahoma. (3) Tami Sue, born 1959, married, 2 children, Nickalos (1980) and Anneka Marie (1983). They live in Texas. Ellen Verna Butterfield was born 1927. She graduated from B.H.S. in 1949; married Glenn Franke, son of August Franke in 1952. They moved to Glenwood Springs, Colorado in 1956. Glenn will retire from Holy Cross Elec. in Feb. 1988. They have 3 children, (1) Jeffrey, born 1954, married, 2 children, Crystal (19?7) and Jason (1979). (2) Lesyle, born 1957, married, divorced, has twin girls, Linsey and Krysta (1983). Lesyle teaches school in Glenwood Springs. (3) Norman, born 1961, married, one son, Jarrid (1985). They also live in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Kenneth Ervin Butterfield, born 1929, graduated from B.H.S. in 1947. Served in the Navy 1948-1952. Married Ruby Buchholz, daughter of Fred and Gertrude Buchholz of Bethune, Colorado, in 1952. They moved to Denver in 1953. "George" joined the Denver Fire Dept in 1955 and retired in 1980. They have a daughter, LaDonna Connie, born 1955, married, has 2 boys, Michael (1981) and Christopher (1984). They live in Denver. Willard Butterfield, Jr. born 1932. Graduated B.H.S. 1950. married Connie Lee Wilcox, daughter of Irene (Chalfant) and Kenneth Wilcox, in 1951. They moved to Denver in 1955, "Junie" works at the Federal Center, in Research Electronics. They have 2 children, (1) Kenetha Ann, born 1956, married, 2 children; Justin (1983) and Stefanie (1986). (2) James Michael, born 1958, married, one daughter, Sarah (1986). "Mike" works for the Castlewood Fire Dept. and lives in Denver. On August 30, 1979, all ofthe Butterfield children and their families were gathered at Willard and Lettie's home to celebrate their 59th Wedding Anniversary, when Willard had a fatal heart attack. Letie lived in her home until her failing health caused her to make her home with son Kenneth and wife Ruby. In December of 1987, she entered the Villa Manor Nursing Home at 7950 W. Mississippi Ave., Lakewood, Colorado, 80226. by Barbara Butterfield CALVERLEY FAMILY Fl06 In 1924 Raymond H. Calverley moved to Stratton with his wife, Ellora, and two daughters, Lois Jane and Lola May. For the next thirty-one years that he and Ellora lived in Stratton, he not only ran the First National Bank but was active in every aspect of the community. His many years on the Stratton Town Council enabled him to be a part of the development of the town itself, while at the same time being a member of the school board showed his concern for the education of children. As a charter member of the Stratton Rotary Club, he became a part of the many fine programs assigned for the social benefits of the town. Mr. and Mrs. Calverly were faithful supporters of the Congregational Church which eventually became the United Methodist Church of today. Ellora particularly worked energetically for the many activities of the church. In the early 1960's the Calverleys left Stratton, moving to Loveland, Colorado, for their retirement years. by Ellora Calverley � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families of Kit Carson County Description An account of the resource Brief biographies of the founding families of Kit Carson County Colorado. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Book Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families- B Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1988 Description An account of the resource A brief history of some of the founding families of Kit Carson County whose names begin with the letter "B." As told in the book The History of Kit Carson County. Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Salmons, Janice Hasart, Marlyn Smith, Dorothy Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. History of Kit Carson County Volume 1 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Curtis Media Subject The topic of the resource History Kit Carson County Biography Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/456/Families-C.pdf b74828cf5ca8eca3032a0db6cc5857d9 PDF Text Text bring home orphan lambs' Marvin and I shot rabbits and skunks to sell their hides and use the money to buy more shells. In the 30'e there were so many rabbits. The farmers ? & would hold rabbit drives and pay 10 or 12 l cents each. A place in town skinned them and the carcases were trucked to Denver for the mink farms. When we all went to town on Saturday. I would go right to the library and check out Zane Gray Bookg. Dad played the cornet in the city band when they had summer concerts in the city park. It was a treat to eat a loaf of bakery bread on the way home. Most of the time we kids stayed home and entertained ourselves by hitching up a wild horse and a tame horse to a wagon and let them go; or ride the wild horses. Kenneth and Junie would get up in the grainery and find eggs, throw them down, thinking they could pick them up later. Verna said they made mud pies with eggs, but Mom didn't know about that for years. One time Kenneth fell out of the hay loft and landed on a cow who bucked him off. The dust storms of the 30's were terrible. We would put up wet sheets over the windows but could never keep the dirt out. There were lots of bull snakes around, they'd get in the chicken house and eat the eggs. One time Mom gathered eggs and put her hand in the nest on a snake; she never did gather eggs after dark again. In the wintcr time during a blizzard, we would make ice cream in a covered gallon bucket and hang it on the clothes line; the wind would keep it stirred up until it was frozen. Four of us kids had February birthday's; we would take a freezet ofice cree- to school on the bus. The kids at school called Kenneth "George" because he was born on George Washington's birthday. by Barbara Butterfield BUTTERFIELD FAMILY F106 Melvin and Barbara Butterfield After completing the 10th grade at Smoky Hill School, I went to High School in Burlington for 2 years. Earl Sivey and I batched together at Shooks gn-p ground. After school I went out for football and track. I played right guard of the football teem that won state shnmpionship in 1940, coached by Curly Schlupp. I graduated from Burlington High School in1942 and served in the Navy L942-46. I manied Barbara Ann Magee, daughter of C.L. and Vera Magee of Burlington, in 1948. I wae elected County Clerk and Recorder 1950-59. We moved to Denver in 1959. I retired from ReaI Estate Sales in 1982. We have 3 children: (1) Kerry Lee, born 1949, married, 2 children, Jenny born 1972 and Paul, born 1975. They lived in Denver and Montrose, Colorado. In July of 1987 they moved to Woodinville, Washington. (2) Dea Ann, born 1952, married, has 3 boys, Thomas (1980), Scott (1982) and Eric (198 a). They live in Woodinville, Washington. (3) Lonny Jack, born 1955, married, 3 boys, Andrew (1982), Nathan (198a) and Jeremy (1986)' Jack is a fireman with Bancroft Fire Dept' His wife, Kathy, is a chemist at Coors. County Clerks Office in 1951 with Iva Gross seated on right, Melvin Buttcrfield and Mary Marnell. Mel was County Clerk of Kit Carson County. My brother, Marvin Delet Butterfield, graduated from B.H.S. in 1943; served in the Navy 1944-46. He married Dolores Ann Dunn, daughter of Al and Mattie Dunn of Burlington, in 1949. They moved to Denver in 1951; moved to LaSalle, Colorado in 1967. He died in 1971 at age 47. They had 3 children; (1) Bruce, born 1951, married, one son, Brett (1977). They live in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Dolores makes her home with them. (2) David, born 1955, married, has 2 girls, Jennifer (1981) and Dawn (1983), born in Oklahoma. (3) Tami Sue, born 1959, married, 2 children, Nickalos (1980) and Anneka Marie (1983). They live in Texas. Ellen Verna Butterfield was born 1927. She graduated from B.H.S. in 1949; married Glenn Franke, son of August Franke in 1952. They moved to Glenwood Springs, Colorado in 1956. Glenn will retire from Holy Cross Elec. in Feb. 1988. They have 3 children, (1) Jeffrey, born 1954, married, 2 children, Crystal (19?7) and Jason (1979). (2) Lesyle, born 1957, married, divorced, has twin girls, Linsey and Krysta (1983). Lesyle teaches school in Glenwood Springs. (3) Norman, born 1961, married, one son, Jarrid (1985). They also live in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Kenneth Ervin Butterfield, born 1929, graduated from B.H.S. in 1947. Served in the Navy 1948-1952. Married Ruby Buchholz, daughter of Fred and Gertrude Buchholz of Bethune, Colorado, in 1952. They moved to Denver in 1953. "George" joined the Denver Fire Dept in 1955 and retired in 1980. They have a daughter, LaDonna Connie, born 1955, married, has 2 boys, Michael (1981) and Christopher (1984). They live in Denver. Willard Butterfield, Jr. born 1932. Graduated B.H.S. 1950. married Connie Lee Wilcox, daughter of Irene (Chalfant) and Kenneth Wilcox, in 1951. They moved to Denver in 1955, "Junie" works at the Federal Center, in Research Electronics. They have 2 children, (1) Kenetha Ann, born 1956, married, 2 children; Justin (1983) and Stefanie (1986). (2) James Michael, born 1958, married, one daughter, Sarah (1986). "Mike" works for the Castlewood Fire Dept. and lives in Denver. On August 30, 1979, all ofthe Butterfield children and their families were gathered at Willard and Lettie's home to celebrate their 59th Wedding Anniversary, when Willard had a fatal heart attack. Letie lived in her home until her failing health caused her to make her home with son Kenneth and wife Ruby. In December of 1987, she entered the Villa Manor Nursing Home at 7950 W. Mississippi Ave., Lakewood, Colorado, 80226. by Barbara Butterfield CALVERLEY FAMILY Fl06 In 1924 Raymond H. Calverley moved to Stratton with his wife, Ellora, and two daughters, Lois Jane and Lola May. For the next thirty-one years that he and Ellora lived in Stratton, he not only ran the First National Bank but was active in every aspect of the community. His many years on the Stratton Town Council enabled him to be a part of the development of the town itself, while at the same time being a member of the school board showed his concern for the education of children. As a charter member of the Stratton Rotary Club, he became a part of the many fine programs assigned for the social benefits of the town. Mr. and Mrs. Calverly were faithful supporters of the Congregational Church which eventually became the United Methodist Church of today. Ellora particularly worked energetically for the many activities of the church. In the early 1960's the Calverleys left Stratton, moving to Loveland, Colorado, for their retirement years. by Ellora Calverley �CALVIN, MELVIN FAMILY FtoT Melvin Gerald Calvin was born Sept. 27, 1915, at Smith Center, Kansas to Leonard and Katherine (Baetz) Calvin. At the age of six months he moved with his parents and two sisters, May (Calvin) Kellogg, and Irene (Calvin) Hermbloon to Stratton. The family moved to a farm southeast of Stratton. During the first year the family lived in a dugout basement while Leonard built the house and the other buildings. The farm is presently owned by Mrs. Chris Schwieger. In 1919 the family left Stratton to live in Greeley, Co. while their Dad Leonard attended teacher training at Colorado State Teach- ers College. The following year the family returned to the family farm south of Stratton. Melvin and his sisters all graduated from Stratton High School. Both of his sisters taught in the country schools. Melvin graduated with the class of 1933. His class was the only class to have graduation pictures during the depression. He then went on to attend college for a short time in Wichita, Ks. where he studied business. Bernice (Fass) Calvin met our father Melvin on her many visits from Syracuse, Nebr. She came to visit her aunt and uncle, the Peter Kruse family. On May 20, 1936 Melvin and Bernice were married in Goodland, Kansas. They eloped so they would have some time to tell Dad's parents about their marriage. But as it always goes the announcement of the maniage was published in the Goodland Daily News. So his parents found out before they got back to Stratton. The first ten years of their married life they resided in Denver. where two of their four children were born: Betty and Linda. Melvin worked for the Remington Arms Co. until he was drafted into the Army on March 4,L944. During his time in the service he was the recipient ofthe Silver Star, Bronze Star, Good Conduct Star and the Purple Heart. He received his discharge papers on Oct. 20, 1945 with the ranking of Staff Sergeant. After his return from the war he decided he wanted to farm. So he moved his family to Stratton to live on his dad's farm which he finally purchased. His parents then moved to Denver. In 1946 and 1947 their last two daughters; Christine and Vickie, were born in Stratton at Mrs. Border's Maternity Home. Basically times were pretty good on the farm, except during the dirty fifties, where our greatest fears were having to move and leave the farm, but as with many things, we were able to withstand the drought and bad timee and stay. During this time Dad put the farm in the soil bank progro- and stafied working at the ASCS offrce. Mom started working at the Stratton Equity Co-op where ghe was employed by them for eighteen years. Melvin and Bernice were involved with many community activities. Dad was a member of the Stratton School Board for eighteen years. He was actively involved in the planning of the new high school. He also took many a load of pep club girls to football and basketball games. He also served on the fire district board for many years. Melvin and Bernice both were actively involved with the American Legion and Auxiliary. Dad marched in the honor guard at all Stratton Days and Homecoming events up and until his death Oct. L6, t974. Dad was up for reelection to the county assessor office unopposed on the Democratic ticket at the time of his death. After Dad's death Mom was asked by many people of the community to run for the assessorjob to which she was elected, serving a four year term. During this time she decided to sell the farm to Chris Schwieger and then she bought a home in Burlington, Co. where she resided until her death in Nov. 21, 1982. Their four daughters all graduated from Stratton High School and are now all married. Betty Belt lives with her husband Leroy in Alamosa. She has three boys and two girls and four step children. Linda Torline who died Feb. 5, 1984, lived with her husband Larry in Lakewood, Co. They have three sons. Christine Brachten- bach lives with her husband Dennis on a farm north ofStratton. They have one boy and two daughters. Vickie Hahn lives with her husband Lyden in Fresno, Calif. She has two girls and one stepchild. by Christine Brachtenbach served as County Chairman. They were members of the Congregational Church. Tope was a member of the Masonic Lodge, a charter member of the Lions Club and active in the American Legion. Blanche belonged to the Eastern Star and the Legion Auxiliary. Tope had a great interest in sports and managed many baseball teams through the years as well as playing in his younger years. As long as he lived he took an active interest in the sports activities in the commu- nity. After Tope's retirement and Blanche's retirement a little later, they spent five winters in Bullhead City, Arizona to enjoy a more mild climate. After a period of failing health, Tope died on Jan. 29, L976. Burial was in the Flagler Cemetery. Blanche has continued to make her home in Flagler, enjoying leisure time activities, after working for so many years. Their daughter, Jackie married Ray Spiars on Dec. 26,L954 in Riverton, Wyoming where she was teaching and where he worked for Frontier Airlines. Since then they had lived in Hastings and Grand Island, Nebr., and in New Castle and Worland, Wyo., Seattle, Wash. and in Denver. The Spiars have four children: Terri, Michael, Steve and David and six grandchildren: Mandy, Aaron and Benjie Armstead and Trevor, Brandon and Jordan Spiars. CARPER, H. C. AND BLANCHE FloS From the 1930's until 1968, H.C. (Tope) Carper and his wife, Blanche (Lipford) Carper, operated the Carper Barber and Beauty Shop on Flagler's Main Street. Tope had first come to Flagler in Lg22 to work in Harry Gray's Barber Shop, later returning to Jennings, Kansas, Blanche, the daughter of Lena and J.W. (Jack) Lipford, had lived in the Flagler area since coming to a homestead with her parents in 1908. She was a graduate of Flagler High School and had taught the Mt. Pleasant School, located north of Flagler on the Kit Carson - Washington County line for two by Blanche Lipford Carper CARTER, FLOYD AND ESTALEENE (ESTIE) Fr09 Floyd Carter born Sept. 3rd 1915 in Cass County Iowa came with his parents Adam & Katie Carter when a small boy of 4 years old from Cumberland, Ia., to rural Yuma County Colo. He and his sister Ruby attended the Prairie View grade school 12 miles north and years. The couple were married on May 24,L923, at Oberlin, Kansas, by a woman probatc judge, Emma L. Lathrop. Witnesses were Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Nellans of Jennings, Kansas. The newlyweds made their home in Jennings, where Tope was a barber. While living in Jennings, their two daughters were born. Patricia Jean was born on June 8, 1927, but lived only 3 months. Their second daughter, Jacqueline Fae was born on Jan. 19,1929. In 1931, the Carpers returned to Flagler where Tope worked first at the Campbell Barber Shop located in the IOOF Hall which he soon bought. Then they bought the building on the east side of Main Street and moved the shop there. In 1936, Blanche attended the Charles Beauty School in Denver and upon completing it, began the operation of a beauty shop along with the barber shop. During their years in Flagler, the Carpers were active in the life of the community. Tope served on the Town Council and as mayor. He was also active in the Democratic party and Floyd and Estaleene Carter. �a mile west of Yuma, Co. In 1925 Adam & Katie moved with their children Muriel, Ruby, & Floyd into Yuma. Floyd attcnded grade school and High School there, graduating with the class of 1932 or 1933. As a little boy he delivered the Denver Post, raked leaves, mowed lawns, to help out at home. The Crash of 1929 and the dirty thirties were hard on this family as well as a lot of other families so any help was a blessing. Adam worked on the W.P.A. and Katie picked turkeys to make ends meet. The Dirty Thirties were hard to recover from but survive they did. Possibly making then appreciate the good life when it cane. In the teens Floyd started working for Ray Beanblossom in his creamery, carrying in cream and eggs and washing dirty cream cans. Little did he know then he would follow this route for the next 42 years. Later he changed jobs going to work for the Gisi Produce Co. By this time he was old enough to drive trucks so he drove for Mike Gisi as well as helping Nellie Gisi in the creemery. He picked up eggs, s1snm, & poultry and delivered them to markets in Denver for Mike. He later hauled corn & feed for Mike, hauling grain to Ia. Other markets for eggs were Omaha Nebr. and chickens to Norton Kan. In 1940 on May 6th Floyd married a displaced Missouri girl, Estaleene Haley. I was born Dec. 16, 1920 and had come to Wray, Colo. to visit my Aunt Iva Lair. Liking Wray so much I convinced my parents (with a lot of persuasion) Brack & Ona Haley to let me stay in Wray with my Aunt Iva & finish the last 2 years of High School there. They finally gave in and I graduated with the class of 1940. After our marriage Floyd bought his own cre4mery, Carter's Produce, as it was known and we started buying produce from the farmers of the surrounding areas. Eventually we had a new business added to our produce business and that was delivering Meadow Gold Milk and products to homes and through the years, Meadow Gold Milk, Sealtest Milk, & Sinton milk was to be the last. Estie, as all Burlington called me, was always active helping Floyd in the creamery & milk business. I also worked 15 years for the J.M McDonald Co. a family Dept. store. Had my own Hobby - Craft - Army Surplus Store for 4 years located on the west side of our creamery building. I worked part time for West€rn Auto for 2 years until it closed. Then 4 years at Burlington Flower Shop from where I retired in 1981. Our three children attended Burlington grade and high school in Burlington. Sheryl graduated in 1959. She is married to Glen Davis, an employee of Peoples Natural Gas. Sheryl being employed by Tyrrell's Insurance. They are the parents of a son Jeff who A new beginning . . . meeting new friends . . . neighbors . . . & most of all our new customers. We bought creo- for Beatrice Creamery Co, Eggs for Boswell's Produce & hatching eggs for Jamison Hatchery all of these located in Denver. Through this business we prospered & thanks go out to our valued cugtomers throughout the years of being able to deal with them, until our retirement Sept. 1981. Floyd spent his entire adult life in the creom and milk business, even though during the 1940's farmers beca-e more wealthy and didn't have to depend upon their cream and egg check for groceries as much as before. The crepmeries started closing over the country and ours was no exception & it eventually closed also. The milk business continued profitable for us and we continued to be in the milk business until retirement in 1981. So what Floyd Carter start€d out doing as a young man he continued for nearly 45 years. Milk business was hard and a lot of early morning hours . . sometimes a thankless job but it had been good to us. We delivered, and her husband. Theresa and Martin Blinde, gave him a place to "come home to". He continued to work cutting timber, picking and shelling corn and helping in Martin Blinde's General Mercantile Store. In the winters of 1917 and 1918, Art made five cents a bushel picking corn, picking an average of fifty bushels a day. He made 250 an hour when he cut timber. $35.00 a month was full time wages. Elementary. Art's formal education ended with the death of his father but he continued to read whatever he could and stayed in contact with family, especially some cousins from Oklahoma. When a teenager, he found out by accident that this especially nice girl cousin was actually his little sister, Anna. Anne Shinn was always very dear to Art and Fern. Anne, her husband Carl, and two children, Betty and Ed spent most of 1930 with Art and become a school teacher and he graduated Fern in Bethune and returned often for a visit. Art said that the first person that really is 21 and lives in Denver where he is employed in the Porcelian Dept. at Coor's Brewery. Jim graduated in 1961. Married Bonnie Clark. He worked for U.P.S. nearly 11 years & Schlosser Redi-Mix for 10 years and at present is working for Hitchcock Inc. They are the parents ofBrent 12 and Brooklyn age 8. Brent in middle school and Brooklyn in Dan graduated in 1966. He decided to from Western State in Gunnison in 1970. Received his Masters from C.S.U. in Fort Collins. He married Patricia Whaman Brews- ter from Bird City Kans. & they have a son Christopher age 9. Dan and Pat are both teachers in Natrona County, Casper Wyo. Since our retirement in 1981 we have enjoyed taking several major trips. In May 1987 Estie came out of retirement and accepted a job at Burlington's Old Town Museum and it is a job I dearly love. Hope I can continue to be a part of this great endeavor of Old Town for a long time to come. by Estaleene (Estie) Carter business places. Floyd and Estaleene were parents of 3 children Sheryl, Jim & Dan. On March ?th 1955 Floyd and Estie chose to move to Burlington to make their home. We bought Leo King's Produce from Charolette & Leo King & again we had Carter's Produce in Burlington after selling the one in Yuma. caused complete disaster for Art and his brother Al. They were on their own. Art took a small trunk, the family Bible and a couple ofhard bound books and ronmed the country picking up what jobs he could find, if nothing more than for his board and room. Art often told of cutting timber all day and having cherry soup for their meal. Finally a cousin CASSEN, A.E. AND FERN FllO Arthur Emil Cassen and Katie Fern Blount were manied June 15, 1918 in Nebraska City, Nebraska. The following April the newly weds came to Bethune, Colorado by immi- grant train. They arrived with a team of horses, a jersey cow, six hens, a rooster and Fern's piano. They journeyed three miles south of Bethune to an unimproved 80 acres owned by Fern's father. Since there were no buildings a neighbor, Mr. Lamb, let them stay in a stall in his barn. He and his wife had only a one room house. They took the piano out of the box so the jersey cow had shelter. Their first night in Colorado was spent on a bed of straw. They awoke to a Colorado spring blizzard. Art Cassen was born to Charles and Anna Fredrick Cassens on August 31, 1880 on the family farm near Johnson, Nebraska in Nemaha County. In January, 1900 Art's mother passed away. Charles Cassens married Anna Behrman. Times were tough for the Cassens family. Art attended first and second grade in Roosevelt County school and then went to school in Johnson for three more years. Art's father passed away in 1911. This cared about him was Fern Blount and he was not going to let her get away. Fern Blount was the only daughter of William K. and Eliza Virginia Kite Blount. She had three brothers, Kay, Ora, and Roy. Fern was born April 26, 1897 near Auburn, Nebraska. She attended Fairview Country School, Auburn High School and studied music at Peru Normal Teachers College in Peru, Nebraska. Fern loved to play the piano and played for Sunday School, church, weddings, high school graduations and funerals. She also taught many young people the art of playing the piano. Being of such tough stock they were full of determination and hope. The snow melted, sod was plowed and crops were planted. A barn was built for the horses and then a one room frame house was built. Faith was what had kept Art and Fern going. While living with the Blinde's in Johnson, Nebraska, Art was confirmed in the German Lutheran Church. Fern was a member of the Bethel Methodist Church in Auburn, Nebraska. In 1920 Art and Fern helped organize a Sunday School that met in the old Bethune School. This was the beginning of many years of community involvement. By 1923 they had helped organize school district No.45, Prairie Star. Art served as president for 14 years. They worked until the Bethune Community Evangelical Church was formed in 1929. They were charter members and both served many years as Sunday School Superintendent and or Sunday School teachers. Fern helped organize the first Ladies Aide. Fern served many years on the Red Cross board helping in distribution of food and clothing to the needy. She made bandages and knittsd garments for the Red Cross for use during WWI and WWII and during the depression. In the late 30's Art served on the Bethune Town Council for four years. The depression hit Art and Fern hard as it did everyone. Art was working part time for August Heilscher in the grocery store in Bethune and trying to hang on to the farm. In 1936 Art and Fern had to leave the farm and moved to Bethune. Later in 1936 thev �purchased Heilscher's grocery store. Art and Fern spent the next twenty-six years side by side in a grocery store. No one wEur ever sent out of his store because they could not pay. ln 1942 Art and Fern bought the Freel Grocery in Arriba and moved to Lincoln County. They remained in the grocery business until retiring in the summer of 1962. They were as community oriented and caring in Arriba as they had been in Bethune. Though Art and Fern had no natural children they touched the lives of many young people including lris Rouse Taylor, Frances Bitter- Jack and Minnie had both grown up in eastern, Nebraska. Jack was born on Oct. 30, 1886, to John and Lena (Gantt) Chalfant of Rock Bluffs Township, Cass County, Nebras- ka. His parents had both emigrated to Nebraska from Pennsylvania with their parents in 1857. John and Lena were married in 1868 in Omaha, and lived on their farm for fifty years. Minnie was born September 17, 1889, to Matthew and Alice (Olds) Shoemaker of Liberty Township, Otoe County, Nebraska. Her parents, too, had both come from man Todd and Roland Schmidt. It did not take much to have Art or Fern produce pictures of their "grandsons", Delbert, David and Don, sons of Roland and Peggy Schmidt. Fern passed away November 21, 1983. The Pennsylvania. Matt and Alice were married at Wyoming, Nebraska, in 1874. They lived on their farm until they retired in 1910 and moved into Union. following March 22, t984 Art died of a 1910, and lived on a rented farm near Union. massive heart attack. Though they had not lived in Bethune for 41 years they stayed in All the farms in the area were small and the land was expensive. Jack had dreams of a bigger place and thought that the open contact with many of their old friends and Bethune was home. by Margaret Schmidt CHALFANT, JACK AND MINNIE Flll John Mac (or Jack, as he was always called) and Minnie Chalfant moved to Burlington in 1920. Jack arrived in early spring to plant wheat on his land south of town. Minnie and her four daughters - Alice, Mary, Irene and Margaret - c4me on the train in June. They moved into a small white house on the south end of Main Street, now 153 14th St. Minnie was shocked by the barrenness of the town. There were only a few trees, very little grass, some wooden sidewalks, and lots of brown, dry dirt moving around with every breeze. There was nothing green around the house. It was years before Minnie felt at home. Jack and Minnie were manied June 8, prairies of eastern Colorado might give him the opportunity to get some of the land and machinery that was changing the agricultural world. It was just after the first World War, and young men wanted to go west. Jack went to Colorado in 1919, and decided that it was what he wanted. He bought three quarters of land 12 miles south and 4 miles west of Burlington. Instead of building a house on the land, he bought a house in town. He knew it would be easier for him to get to the farm than to get his growing family to school in town. He then went back to Union for the holidays, and in early 1920 he returned to Colorado. When school was out at the end of May his family followed. Jack built a shop behind his house for repairing machinery and selling Case tractors. In the mid-1920's he operated the Victory Garage on Main St. at the site which is now 469 14th St. While there he was the Chrysler dealer. In the mid 1930's he became the John Deere dealer and had a large shop and sales room in the building which is now 478-48415th St. In 1945 he sold it to Harold t:: McArthur. Harvest time in the 1920's and 30's brought crews of men to operate the threshing machines and trucks. They worked from sunup to dark. Minnie cooked meals for them, sometimes uul many as thirty. Breakfast and supper were served in relays at the house. Dinner was taken to the fields. The summer of L92L, when John was born, Jack hired a cook to live on the farm and cook the food in a small trailer, called a "cook shack". Four children were born in the little house on Main Street. They were John, Betty Jane, Lucille and Danny Mac. It was a good place for children to grow up. They could go any place in town, and they were known to everyone. There were vacant lots to play in, machinery to climb, a city library where Mrs. Hoskins made children welcome, drug stores and grocery stores where children could take time spending their pennies, and school was within easy walking distance. All the children went to the Burlington public school and participated in many school activities. In the early 40's, Jack bought a farm two miles east of Burlington. He was one of the first farmers in the area to have an irrigation well, and he was a pioneer in the use of well water for irrigation. He was the mayor of Burlington from 1942 to 1946. He was a member of the Volunteer Fire Department from 1921 to 1961, and was chief for several of those years. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge and the Rotary Club. In 1943, Jack and Minnie moved to Bl? 12th St., where they lived the remainder of their lives. Minnie spent her time raising her eight children and helping those around her who needed help. Her favorite project was the repairing and dressing of dolls for the Santa Claus Shop in Denver. During her last twenty five years she contributed thousands of dolls to the children of poor families. In 1963, she received the V.F.W. Citizenship Award. In 1982, she received the National Enquirer's Good Samaritan Award. Jack died August L2,1973 at the age of86. Minnie died September 25, 1984, at the age of 95. Both died in Kit Carson Countv Memorial Hospital and both are buried in Fairview Cemetery. Their children are: Alice, who married Harold Shangle and now lives in Oak Grove, Oregon; Mary, who married A.R. Ormsbee, had two children, and now lives in Boulder' Irene, who married Kenneth Wilcox, had two children, and now lives in Burlington; Marga- ret, who married Doyle Ketchnm, had one son, and now lives in Kansas City, Kansas; John, who manied Betty Brown, had two children, and died November 6, 1968; Betty Jane, who married Lester Farwell, had five children, and now lives in Boulder; Lucille, whomarried Stanley Davis, had two children, and now lives in Colby, Kansas; and Danny Mac, who maried Anne Schaal, had four children, and now lives in Phoeniz, Arizona. by Mary Ormsbee The Chalfant Family, 1943. Standing: Margaret, Irene, Alice, Betty Jane, Mary, Lucille. Seated: Danny, Jack, Minnie and John. �was plastered inside, and the deep windows- CHANDLER, CHARLES FAMILY Fll2 ills had potted carnations in bloom, giving the place a cozy, homelike appearance. The barn was also of sod, except that it was half dug out, or half below the ground level, which provided a warm place for the livestock. One of the first tasks the spring of 1909 was to dig a well. Since the house was close to Spring Creek, a dry creek except after heavy rains or snow, a good water supply was found at 57 feet. Since the Homestead Act of 1862 had been a-ended to provide that an "additional" quarter section could be acquired, Charles and Meta Chandler each filed on an addition- al quarter section adjoining the original homestead, so now the family had 480 acres. Since there was still plenty of free range On March 1, 1909, Charles and Meta Chandler arrived at Stratton, Colo. on Rock Island Train No. 39, after a day and night from Kansas City, including a change of trains in Belleville, Kansas to No. 39 from Omaha. Charles and Meta were both 3? years of age. They had been living the previous 7 years in Dallas County, in the Missouri Ozarks. Mr. Gill, who was visiting in Mis- souri, told glowing tales of his homestead in Kit Carson County, Colorado. He actually wanted to get back to the Ozarks, so offered to relinquish his homestead to the Chandlers in trade for the Chandler place in Missouri. The homestead in Colorado included a quarter section of land, a 3-room sod house, a sod barn, and some livestock. So the trade was made and the family was headed for their new home on this first day of March, 1909. Besides Charles and Meta Chandler, the family consist€d of Marie, who had reached her 7th birthday the previous November, Elsie, who would be 5 on April 26, Joseph, who would be 3 on June 30, and John, who was 3 months and a week old on that date. The Gill homestead relinquishment to which the family was headed was four miles west and three miles north of Stratton. Mr. Gill met the family, prepared to take them out to their new home, in an open spring wagon (uncovered wagon) the seven miles, heading into a driving blizzard all the way. By the time they arived at the homestead, the family was chilled to the bone; so it was a great relief to get inside the cozy sod house. The house was a typical sod house of the day in that area, having three spacious rooms, warm walls of buffalo grass eod, at least a foot thick, with plank roof covered with rubberoid, and layer of sod over that. It was well l^^^+^l . .-rl norlnr hoofar Tf minutes, rather than hours it took by horse and buggy. Religion was an important element in the lives of the Chandler family. In fact, Charles had attended the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for two years but never attained ordination. In Colorado, he and Meta organized a Sunday School that met in interested neighbor's homes each Sunday. Charles offered prayer, and delivered a short sermon besides conducting the Bible lessons. Meta played the pump organ as the old h5nnns were sung; hymns like "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder", "Bringing in the Sheaves", "No Not One", "Jesus Lover of My Soul", and "Neater My God to Thee". About the year 1912, a Baptist church was organized in Vona and beyond, providing endless pasture for the cattle, the 480 acres of deeded land was sufficient to provide a living in those days' Crops consisted mainly of corn and cane, a form of maize used for livestock feed, and now generally referred to as Milo. The years 1909 thru 1912 were dry years, so harvest of the family attended that church regularly for several years, until they moved near Stratton in the fall of 1916, when they joined the Congregational (now Methodist) Church in living. The hens provided eggs, and there was attend college, Marie finished her last year of High School in Lakefield, Minnesota, where she stayed with her Grandmother. Elsie had her last year of High School in Boulder Colorada. Of the Chandler children, only Joseph graduated from the Stratton High School in 1924. In the fall of L924, a home was purchased in Boulder, Colo. so that the children could attend the University there. At that time Marie had already attended crops was rather meager. But there was always the buffalo grass, so the "cream check" from the weekly shipment of cream provided the necessary cash for the family The Chandler children in June, 1913, Top row, L. to R.: Elsie 9; Marie 1; Joseph 7. Bottom row: John 4. and Ruth 1. Stratton or Vona could be made in a few always plenty of milk, and cornmeal was ground with an hand mill. Two sows with pig were acquired, and within a year's time, the pigpen and barn were alive with.about fifty head of swine. The port barel was always well filled with tasty pork roasts and "Sow Belly". The skim milk was ready for market in Stratton. The cattle herd was soon built up to over fifty head, some of which could be sold off each year. Also one was butchered each year in the fall when cold weather had set in so the meat could be frozen in the well-house. So the only foot items necessary to buy were the staples, flout, sugar, yeast for homemade bread, and occasionally, for a treat, some oranges and bananas. Potatoes were homegrown, as were watermelons, cantaloupes, and wide variety of garden vegetables, such as peas, green beans, lettuce, radishes, sweet corn, catrotg, beets, cucumbets, squash, and pumpkins. The shelves in the cellar were lined each year with glass jars filled with fruit and vegetables, as well as a big five-gallon crock of cucumber pickles. When a carload of apples was put on the siding in Stratton, several bushels were purchased to fill the apple bin in the cellar. Besides eggs the chickens provided plenty of fried spring chickens for Sunday dinners. In February, 1912, a fifth child' Ruth Eva was.born, and that stme year a two-story white freme house was acquired from a homesteader who was selling out to leave the country. The house was moved to the end of the sod house with a door cut for access. The new house had spacious rooms on the main floor with a nice stairway and two bedrooms upstairs. Since Meta had been a school teacher for several years in Iowa and South Dakota, she was hired in 1913 to teach the neighborhood school, the Hansen School, 1 % miles north of the homestead. However, Marie was ready for High School in 1914, and had to ride horeeback the 7 miles to the Stratton High School. In the spring of 1916, a shiny new Ford Model "T" touting car was purchased from Jim Holloway, who had the Ford agency in Strqf.fnn wifh the Model "T" the trin to Stratton. The move to a place two niles north of Stratton was made in the fall of 1916, so that Marie and Elsie and later Joseph, could be closer to High School. But since Stratton High School was not accredited at that time, and since the Chandler children planned to three years there and Elsie one year. In Boulder the Chandlers operated a retail dairy until retirement. Charles was deceased in 1951 and Meta in 1964. Only Marie, who was married to Harry Greenwood in 1923, remained in the Stratton area, where she still resides. Marie taught in several area schools for several years, then as Marie Greenwood, became the Startton Postmaster in 1943, from which position she retired in 1971. Marie and Harry raised three children, Laura (Greenwood) Thomason, of Mclean, Virginia, Thelma (Greenwood) Hutton, of north of Burlington, and Allen Greenwood, of Stratton. Elsie maried Joe Frizzell in Boulder in 1932. They settled in Downey, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles, in 1943. They also raised three children, Guin Charles, deceased in a climbing accident in Yosemite Park in 1966, James Lowell, of Santa Rosa, Calif., and LaVonne (Frizzell) Rainey, of Placentia, Calif. Elsie was also a school teacher in Downey for many years until her retirement in 1969. she was deceased in 1981. Joseph was a school teacher in Longmont, Colo. until he joined the Indian Service in 1936. He was married to Edna (Walker) Chandler in 1930. Theyhad five children, Ted of Oxnard, Calif., Ruby (Chandler) Racine, of Columbia, Maryland, Donald and Robert, both of Mission Viejo, Calif., and Kristen (Chandler) Kania- tobe, of Albuquerque, N.M. In the Indian Service, Joe was principal of Indian schoolg in Rosebud, S.D., Eklutna, Alaska, and of Sherman Institute in Riverside, Calif. Then for five years before retirement in 1968 he spent five years in Liberia, Africa, with the Agency for International Development, helpine that countrv oreanized a school svst€m in �the hinterland. Joseph was deceased in 1971. John taught school for three years, then operated the family dairy in Boulder for five years. He was married to Thelma Maurine Young of Longmont, Colo. in 1932. He was appointed Immigration Officer in El Paso, Texas, in 1941. In this capacity, he worked in El Paso, Tex., Denver, Colo., San Juan, Puerto Rico, L.A., San Francisco, and Terminal Island, Calif., retiring in 1972. He and Thelna have two children, the Reverand John Richard Chandler, of Darouzett, Texas, and Jeanette (Chandler) Davis, of Prescott, Ariz. John and Thelma now reside in into Burlington in 1964. John Chapin graduated from C.U. in 1968, and from the University of Texas Law School. He married Carolyn O'Neal in 1970, and has recently become the law editor for advance students at the University of California. by Bernice Eberhart Spahr, a minister in Colorado Springs, and Doyl Spahr, with his own ice business in Loveland. The reason for mentioning the names is not to brag, but to give credit to the town and school we come from. Our school was small and had it's share of problems, like qualified teachers at times, financial problems, and others but we never lacked for enthusiasm. Bethune has had a lot of successful graduates, as have all the CHAPMAN - HOWELL FAMILY Prescott. Ruth was narried to Philip Reno in Fl14 schools in Kit Carson County. Getting in trouble at school, meant more trouble at home, when your Dad was on the school board. He absolutely would not tolerate disrespect for school. We played in town both day and night without the slightest Boulder, Colorado in 1933. She was deceased in Denver, Colorado in 1943. The Chandler Family's sixteen years in Kit Carson County, Colorado from 1909 to 1925 worry of being molested by anyone. As a young boy I remember helping people move in or out of town. We didn't expect to get paid, it was just a way to get acquainted with people. We built our own ice skating rink, made sled runs, built caves, made hide-outs, had picnics at the rocks west of Bethune, had had great influence on the lives of these "Children of the Prairie", by a lifetime of love and memories of the magnificence of the prairie sunset that can be gained only with an endless horizon; by the rolling hills of green buffalo grass; aft€r a month of May rains; by the sweet smell of wild flowers Sunday School parties, went to taffy pulls, went duck and rabbit hunting, played.all kinds of ball, rode our bikes as far ag blooming in the grass; by the trill of the meadowlark and the mocking songs of the Burlington or Stratton in the evening, went swimming when the lagoons were full or we could get someone to take us to Burlington to swim. We played with legal fire works on the fourth of July, and we would gather coal coyote that eent chills down your back while walking home after dark; by the distant wail along the railroad tracks for a candy bar. We sometimes hauled freight from the depot for a 5 cent Pepsi Cola. We had snow ball fights, went to the annual School Carnival, we went lark hunting; by floating a raft on Spring Creek when it was running; by the plaintive call of the prairie chicken, or the howl of a of a Rock Island train whistle; and the thrill of a hide-and-seek game in the hundred area out north to the river to fish and hunt pheasants, and we went to Sunday School and Church. Many of these activities were cornfield on a late August moonlit night. Then too, we left Marie there as a family legacy to Kit Carson County. by John T. Chandler CIIAPIN, ORVILLE AND FLO FlrS When the severe drought began to taper off, families began slowly coming back to the district. Some of the families came to farm on land that had been bought for a little bit of nothing, some for 500 to $f. per acre. Orville and Flo Chapin were living in Benkelman, Nebr. where Orville was a car salesman for Albert Kirschmer. Albert was one of those people who had purchased cheap ground here, and so he sent the Chapins here to farm. They ca-e in March 1944. Shirley was 9 years old and then John was born in 1946. A favorite teacher of Shirley's was Johnnie Robertson. John's favorite teacher was Hazel Fromong. The Kirschmer-Chapin farmers were one ofthe first to develop irrigation in this area. Irrigation has made a whole new world of the Smoky Hill Community. The Chapins were very active in the Community Sunday School, in 4H, card parties, gun club meetings, pot luck dinners, softball games, Extension Homemakers, etc. Shirley graduated from Fort Collins Aggies in 1953 and married Larry Woods. They have three children, and 1 grandchild. They are now living in Chandler, Okla. Orville still farms over south of Stratton. and they both are avid bowlers and outstandinggolfers. Theybuilt a newhome and moved Donald and Betty Chapman. Reflections of Bethune Growing up in a small town: Kit Carson County and Bethune have a special place in my heart. I was born in Bethune in May 1929, the fifth child of Earl and Blanche Chapman. My folks were of modest means and raising six children in the 1930's was no small task. What with drouth, depression and bank failure, only the heartiest survived. My parents taught all of us to love our home, our neighbors and to be proud of our community. Also to have respect for others and to appreciate the people of Kit Carson County. As a little boy, I never knew what it was like to not be loved by my farnily or by neighbors and everyone looked out for all the kids of the community. As a young boy I knew most ofthe business people in Burlington and Stratton and they knew who I was and they treated kids, from other towns, with respect. We kids always knew who the county elected officials were, and we always went with our folks to political rallies. We knew the Sheriff, the Police Chief and State Patrolman and they were looked up to and respected by all kids. We knew they were there if we needed them. My closest friends, as a boy; were Russ Knodel, a school administrator in Anchorage, AL, Ray Kno- del, a school administrator and textbook salesman, in Loveland, Ivan Amman, a minister in NB, Gene Amman, a PHD biologist in Ogden, UT, Alvin Buchholz, a senior member of the State of Colorado Tax Commission, in Grand Junction, Keith without parents help or knowledge. Most all boys were taught to defend themselves by their fathers. Fist fights were not uncommon, even with best friends, but they didn't last long and no grudges were canied. So you see why we didn't have time to get into trouble. Then World War II came and all of my older brothers were in the army. Dean was in the South Pacific, Vern was in Europe, Dale was in Texas, and each day brought fear of bad news at the post office. Many boys were drafted while in High School. Alvin Buchholz, Bud Stolz, George Bear, and Jinks Critchfield, who was killed in the South Pacific. I was 16 when the war ended. I started to help in the garage and on the gasoline delivery truck when I was 14. Many kids were driving at that age, helping parents in business or on the farm. You were not bothered by State Patrol, or Police when you were helping your folks. I'm sure, had we been driving for pleasure or at night, we would not have been over looked by the law. Having graduated from Bethune High School, most of us went our separate ways. I started in business with my father, Earl Chapman, brothers Dean and Vern, and later brother-in-law Neil Springer. Our business was good for all of us. Kit Carson County and its people gave us a great start in life. In 1950, I married Betty Howell from Vona. Her family cane to Vona in the 1880's, and she taught school in Vona for three years. We have been married for 38 years. We have two children and four grand children, our son Donald H. and his wife Judy, with their two children, Donald J. and Cheryl, and our �daughter Elizabeth and her husband Ross, and their two children John and Greg. by Don Chapman CHAPMAN MORELAND FAMILY Fl16 Earl Chapman was born October 25, L897, 1st son of Willian T. and Anna Mitchell Chapman in Clear Springs Mo. They moved to Ramah Colorado in 1910' He was married to Blanche Moreland in Colorado Springs June 30, 1917. Blanche was the third daughter of John and Emma Morris Moreland' She was born February 28, 1898 in Clear Springs Mo. They moved to Burlington in 1919 where Earl worked for Evans Brothers, which later beco-e Sim Hudson Motor Co. They moved to Bethune in 1921 where Earl started his first Garage. He built the cement block building on Highway 24 in 1931 under the Eastern Colorado and Western Kansae. Earl was a great supporter of Kit Carson County, a strong Mason, as were all his sons and sonin-laws. He was a life time Republican and loved hunting and fishing. The love of the mountains finally got to the entire family as they moved to Paonia, Colorado in Delta County in 1956. Earl died at 69 years of age in 1967. Blanche and all of her children are still alive and well. by Donald L. Chapman CIIURCH, GEORGE AND LOUISA Fl16 George and Louisa Church with their one year old daughter Ruth (Schaal) came to Burlington from eastern Nebragka in 1906. Their first few nights were spent in a not yet finished room in the Montezuma Hotel, while horses, wagon and meager supplies were being purchased. Then while a one room sod house was being built on the homestead nine miles northwest of town they stayed with the Mundt family whom they had known in Nebraska. This family lived on the farm now occupied and farmed by Bob Brown. There I, the second daughter was born. Three years later the only son, Garvin, was born. Our little sister Francis Faye wasn't born until we had moved from the homestead. She was cute and pretty with a head covered with blond curls. Being so much younger than the rest of us, she was the family's darling pride and joy. She died of diphtheria when eleven years old. As the family grew, from time to time another room was added to the sod house until it had four rooms all in a row. This house, with thick walls and sod on the roof was comfortably warm in winter and cool in summer. However the long narrow shape of the house made it bad for drifting snow. One winter when my dad wae working away from name of Chapman's garage, then Earl Chapman & Son's until the family moved in June of 1956 to Paonia, Colorado. Six children were born; Dale O. March 5, 1918 at Ramah, Colorado, who married Louise Bateman of Loveland, Colorado. Dolores E. October 11, 1919 at Bethune, Colorado, who maried Robert H. Grant of Colorado Springs. Dean A. April 16' L921, at Burlington, married Leona M. Guy of Bethune. Vernon R. May LL, L924 at Bethune, married Margaret R. Guy of Bethune. Donald L. May 9, 1929 at Bethune, married Betty J' Howell of Vona. Margaret L. August 21' 1930 at Bethune, married Neil M. Springer of Burlington. All of their children went to Bethune School for 12 Years. Earl was mayor of Bethune from the early 30s until leaving in 1956 and served on the school board as treasurer for many years. He also served on the Kit Carson County Hospitd board. He was a Conoco distributor in Bethune for over 35 years' The garage and machine shop was known for it excellence in motor rebuilding and machine work all over !i1*: 4tr;!. " 1."." - "' Daughtere Gertrude (Sally) and Ruth standing by their sod house on the homestead in 1910. The cattle bad iubbed the corner of the house making the indentation. The rug was brought out for the picture taking event. Remaing of the spring blizzad in 1915. The snow had covered the house. Mother shoveled the enow from the door and window so that we would not be emothered. home, as he often had to do so we could live, we had a big blizzard. No young person living The Earl Chapman family, L. to R.; Dale Chapman, Vernon Chap9an, Earl Chapman, Blanche Chapman, OonAa Cmpman, and Dian Chapman. Froni, Delores Chapman Grant and Margaret Chapman Springer, 1948. now can imagine the enormity and ferocity of the blizzards in those early days when the snow could sweep across the prairie for many miles without anything to stop it. In this particular blizzard the snow drifted against the north side ofthe house until it was roof level then came over the house and started piling against the south side, covering �with Kenneth and Lucile Lepper on their farm I mile north and 1 mile east of Stratton. doors and windows. To keep from being buried alive and emothered my mother went out every hour with a scoop shovel and shoveled the snow away from one door and one window. Before any of us were school age my dad helped neighbors build a one room schoolhouse 7z mile west and t/z mile south of our home. We walked to school about 3/ mile along a winding road across the prairie. I can't remember a time when there were over eight or nine pupils in this school including we three Churches. During Don's last year of high school, Kenneth went through several surgeries so Don stayed with the John Clark and the Zeke Kerl fanilies, graduating in May 1961. Kenneth died of cancer in July, 1961, and that fall, after the wheat was drilled, Don startpd working for the First National Bank of Stratton and continued there for almost four years. He now works as an Engineering Technician I for the Colorado Department of Highways in Grand Junction, Co. Don married Jackie Lynn Winkler 9 April 1966, and they have a daughter (Cynthia Lynn) attending the University of Denver, and a son (Kenneth William) finishing his Senior year at Central High School in Grand Junction. Eugene married Mary Forrester and they have six children; Barbara, Michael, Robert, Jay, Andy and Randy (twins). Their permanent residence is north of Jerusalem, Arkansas close to where Clarence is now residing on property owned by Harold. Our parents were determined that we should get a better education than they had a chance for. We were nine miles from Burlington with no school bus and no car. My dad did get his first car, an old Maxwell, about 1916 but it would barely get us to town occasionally to get groceries. So the parents sold the homestead and moved near First Central School where they had a country grocery store for several years. This school was twelve miles south of and half way between Bethune and Stratton and had a full four year accredited high school. There my brother and sister and I went through high school. This district was later absorbed by Stratton school and nothing remains of the buildings that were there. Ruth and I after one summer at Colorado State Teachers College in Greeley, now the University of Northern Colorado, and taking a teachers examination, started teaching in country schools. Garvin went to Barnes Business College in Denver, served in the Navy in World War II and now lives with his wife Lillian, in Camarillo, California. Ruth died in 1955. Our parents later moved to Burlington in 1929 where they lived on ?th St. the rest of the years of their lives. My mother loved flowerg and raised so many she becnme known as the "flower lady." by Sally Bauder CIIURCIIES - JONES FAMILY Fl17 Clarence Everett Churches was born to Cornelius and Maggie (Bozworth) Churches, 16 November 1906, near the town of Lawrence, Nebraska. Leona Pearl Jones was born to Roy Eugene and Matilda (Heisz) Jones, 8 October 1909' northeast of Stratton, Colorado at the Jones' Homestead place, which is located 9 miles north on SH 57 and 4 and 1/8 miles east of Stratton on the north side of the road. After graduation in 1928 from Stratton High School, Leona attended Barnes Business College in Denver. While working for Bernard Cummings (who ran for attorney general) she met Clarence who was working for MontgomeryWard. Theywere married 28 August 1933. Shortly after their marriage they moved to Humboldt, Kansas to live with his parents. In August, 1934, they moved to Stratton and raised chickens on what is known as the Park's Place now owned by Tom Price, approximately 1% miles north of the Jones homestead. While living on the Park's Place their first gon (Eugene Clarence) was born 27 by Donald D. Churches Clarence and Leona Churches and family. Left to right: Harold in front of mother (Leona), Eugene, CLAIR FAMILY and father (Clarence) holding Donald. DatB 1944 or 45. Fl18 The Clair family came to Kit Carson November 1935. When Eugene was one year old they moved to California. Clarence worked for Runnymede Chicken Ranch, which at that time was the largest chicken operation in the world. While in Reseda, California, their second son (Harold Wayne) was born 28 January 1938. Leona became homesick for Colorado so by December, 1938, they were back in Colorado living on the Olsen Place, 80 rods west of the Jones' Homestead. In December, 1939, they re- turned to California where Clarence was able to get a job at Lockheed Aircraft. While residing in Reseda, Leona became pregnant with their third child (Donald Dee). Due to the unrest in California (war time), Leona wished to be near her family for delivery, so she, Eugene, and Harold returned to Colorado by train in January, 1943. Don was born at the Stratton maternity Home on 5 March 1943, while Grandpa Jones and other family members looked after Eugene and Harold. As soon as Leona was able to travel, she returned with her three sons to their home in Reseda, California and resided there till her death from cancer on 28 June 1945. She is buried in the Claremont Cemetery at Stratton, Colorado. After her death, Clarence and sons moved to Stratton, Co. and lived on the Jones'farm. Eugene attpnded the 3rd grade and Harold 2nd grade at the District #28 school for the school year 1945-46. The school was located 1 mile south and 3 miles east of the Jones' farm. During August, 1946, Clarence and sons returned to Reseda, California. Harold and Don came back to Colorado on 7 July 1955, living with their aunt (Mettie Jones Sisson) and uncle (Elmer Jones, brother to Mettie) who reside on the Jones' farm. Harold graduated from Stratton High School in May 1956. He now lives in Eagle, Colorado and works as an Engineering Technician II for the Colorado Department of Highways. Don left his aunt's home in 1958 and lived County in the spring of 1908. They traveled here by covered wagon from Alton, Kansas. John Clair and his son, Warrenton, followed the carnivals to make a living; they also farmed. Warrenton married and began to raise his family of nine. His sons and daughters are Mrs. Hattie Clayton, of California, born June 23, 1902; Mr. William John Clair, of Burlington, Colorado, born August 30, 1904; Mr. Walter Clair, of Oregon, born July 27, 1906, deceased September 13, 1978; Mrs. Sarah Waitman, of Burlington, Colorado, born July 30, 1908; Mrs. Sylvia Klein, of California, born June 21, 1910, deceased December 17, 1983; Mrs. Goldie Higgins, of California, born April 16, 1913; Mr. Jesse Clair, of Burlington, Colorado, born June 14, 1915; Mrs. Gertrude Monroe, of Vona, Colorado, born March 16, 1917; and Mr. Johnnie Clair, of Bennett, Colorado, born May 13, 1918. Warrenton raised his family on the Clair homestead sixteen miles north and five miles east of Stratton. Colorado. On the homestead, he built a half dugout, half soddie house. They raised all of their meat and only bought itcms like sugar, coffee, at the store. There was usually a dance or card game to help pass the long evenings. On December 2, t926, William married Miss Lucye Belle Tryon of Stratton, Colorado at the Kit Carson County Courthouse in Burlington, Colorado. They had six children, one of whom did not survive. The two older boys were raised during the Depression when Bill and Walter were forced to make beer and bootleg it to provide for their families. The two boys also beca-e marksmen to help provide for their families and often, for entertainment or practice, took a Velvet tobacco can and would shoot the pipe out at twenty-five yards. They would then put a card in the can and shoot through that same hole at twenty-five yards. Bill and Lucye's children were James, born at Kirk, Colorado �on July L7, L927; Donald, born at Vona, Colorado on February 6, 1930; Ethel, born at Vona, Colorado July 28, 1935; Jeanne, born at Boulder, Colorado on August 6, 1937; and Richard, born at Alo-oga on January 27, 1945. In 1937, Bill and his family moved to a resettlement house and farm five miles south and five miles west of Alamosa. Colorado. In 1962, they sold that farm and moved to 6755 Trinchera Lane in Alnmosa, Colorado. They remained there until May of 1986 when they left because of health reasons and returned at that time to Burlington, Colorado. In September, 1984 they bought a trailer house at 355 Senter Avenue, Space 54, where they are at present. Their children are now in the following places: Je-es is in Englewood, Colorado; apartments. Paul Clapper's father, Charles Clapper, was Pennsylvania Dutch and his mother, Tina Alice (Tiny) Lierle, was Cherokee and German. Paul was born the youngest of nine children and was raised on a farm south of Dodge and in Dodge. Paul Clapper and Billie Wolf met at a dance during W.W. II, when he wag home on leave. He was a gunner on "the Spirit of FDR", one of the escorts when they dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan. Being a secret mission, he and his crew didn't know what was about to happen. Paul and Billie were married in 1944. They lived in Dodge, where their first three children were born; Terry in 1947, Chyrl in 1949, and Paul in 1951. In 1951, they bought the Fred Fuhlendorf homestead, 5 miles Donald is in Buena Vista, Colorado; Ethel is in La Jara, Colorado; Jeanne is in Alamosa, north, 3 east and 1 north of Vona. They lived in a very small, two-roomed house with very low ceilings; about 6'9". Jody was born here Colorado. They have nineteen grandchildren in 1953. Colorado; and Richard is in Burlington, living, one grandchild deceased, and twenty seven great grandchildren with two more on the way. There are also countless nieces and nephews belonging to the brothers and sist€rs of Bill. by Richard R. Clair CLAPPER FAMILY Fl19 One beautiful sunshiny March day in 1952, the Clappers had company from Kansas. Along about bed-time Paul jokingly told them they'd better put their car in the quonset as it might snow. They laughed and went to bed, only to awaken to a two day blizzard. It was five days before they could get out to go home. Caught by surprise this way, they had to butcher chickens and roll their own cigarettes. Needless to say, everyone was glad when the road opened. In 1954, Oscar Wolf, suffering from ill health, turned his farm, 2 miles east of Vona on Highway 24, over to Paul and Billie. Soon after they moved there, Chuck was born. Penny was born in 1956, Jerry in 1958, Tim in 1960, and Chris in 1961. The girls have all married and moved away, but the boys remained in the county. Living along a main highway brought many strangers to the house looking for handouts or gas. Others sought refuge during the bad dust storms of 1955-56. One couple, from Illinois, stopped in just to see how people survived in such dusty country. In 1975, Paul and Billie, bought a trailer house and moved it over the old Barsock basement home in Vona. Gib Anderson, who ran the Foster Lumber Co. in Vona, built this basement house in 1928. Paul quit farming and around 1980 went to work for the Kit Careon County Road and Bridge. At this time, 1987, all of the sons are involved in farming; Terry married Glenna White of Seibert, they have three sons: Jay Allen, Todd Michael, and Jeffery Paul; Chyrl married Dick McAuley and had two sons: Chyrl and Terry Clapper at our home north of Vona. Oscar V. Wolf was born in Tipton, Missouri Lance, and Eric. She remarried Ron Statler from Greeley; Paula married Keith Eaton, they have 3 children: Tonya, Brent, and Alicia and they live in Torrington, Wyo. Jody married Jim LeVecchi; they live in Pueblo; Chuck is living on and leasing the Tom McCormick farm south of Stratton; Penny married Roger McCaffery, they have 3 children: Cory, Sarah andTyler, and theylive in 1880 and moved to a god house south of Wright, Kansas in 1905, where he married Gertrude Vogel in 1908. They had ten at Grand Junction where Roger works for the Warner Bros. ranch; Jerry and Tim rent some to buy land east of Vona, although he farm. children, with Lucy (Billie), being the ninth. In 1945, Oscar came to Kit Carson County continued to live in Kaneas. Billie was raised on a farm south of Wright. The houee was so large, that after the family sold it, it was moved into Dodge City and made into three McCormick farm ground by Bethune; and Chrie married Cathy Busby, they live in Burlington, where Chris works on the Busby CLARK - ALBRIGIIT FAMILY FI.20 Ralph Clark, son of Emma and Edward Clark, was born on Oct. 30, 1879 on a small farm near Bloomfield, Iowa. His parents sist€rs and two brothers lived on several small farms in Davis County. Land was high and crops were sometimes destroyed along the creeks and rivers by high waters, so in 1908, Ralph decided to go west to try to locate cheaper and more desirable land to farm. The fields he had been farming were small, and large tree stumps and roots kept hindering the plowing. So he vowed that he was going to go where he couldn't see a tree. Ralph first made a trip to the sandhills of Nebraska near Thedford, but didn't find the soil to his liking. The wagon wheels cut into the sand and traveling was difficult as there were no improved roads at this time. He then returned to Iowa and later in the year ceme to western Kansas and eastern Colorado where he and hig father located some land approximately twelve miles north of Kanorado, Kansas. Plans were made to come to their new home the fall of 1908. An immigrant railroad car was loaded with cattle, a team ofhorges, chickens, some farm machinery, furniture and other necessary things for their new home. Ralph cnme with the immigrant car taking care of the stock enroute. He arrived in Kanorado, Dec. 2, 1908, and found the snow very deep and no way to get his stock and possessions out to the farm they had purchased. He rented a small barn and house in town to keep the stock and store the furniture until his parents and younger brother Dewey anived in the paseenger train. He then inquired of some of the merchants if anyone was in town from around where his farm was located. Someone told him at the Winn store that one of his neighbors, Emil Stalgreen, was in and he got in contact with him and followed his wagon and team to his home, which was about one and a half miles south of the Clark land. This was the beginning of a lifeJong friendship with the Stalgreen family. They were neighbors and helped one another many times. He found a vacant farmstead about one-half mile north of where they planned to build their farmstead buildings, so they rented it and moved their possessions there until they could get their farm buildings built. They built the house of lumber. Some of Mrs. Clark's neighbors were envious of her new frnme house as most of the people lived in sod houses at this time. Their home was located on one of the main traveled roads, now known as the Beecher Island road. Most of the farmers north of t}ris point traveled this road coming from Idalia, Hale, Bonny and St. Francis. The Clark farm wag about half way between these places and Kanorado. Many stopped, fed and watered their horses, and the Clark's graciously offered them their meals and a nights' lodging. The next morning they would continue their journey towards Kanorado where they sold their grain, purchased their supplies and came back to the Clark farm, spent the night again and then returned to by Glenna Clapper their homes the following day. A man near Idalia owned a steam engine. He would fagten several wagons loaded with �grain for several of his neighbors and begin the long trip to Kanorado. When he was two miles north of the Clark's he would blow his whistle several times and they would hear it and know he would be a guest for a meal before too long, so Mrs. Clark would prepare the meal and it would be ready for him when he arived. Most of the guests were glad to pay for their accommodations. Mr. and Mrs. Clark raised a big garden, kept a flock of chickens, butchered their own pork and beef, canned vegetables and meats, so meal preparation could be quite speedy. They farmed small grains and raised feed for their cattle. In 1909, Ralph bought a corn binder. He cut and shocked feed for several of his neighbors, some of whom were Se- Morrow, Frank Morrow, Jim Barnett, Roy Pratt, Bill Cody Sr., and the Stillwagons. His sister and family, Mr. and Mrs. William Kneedler, had come to Colorado by this time and lived in the same neighborhood for eeveral years. Two of the Kneedler sons remained and owned and operated farms near the Clarks. They were Falace and Ralph Kitten and Bliss. After living on this land five years and doing the required amount of improvements on it, the land becnme their property. Then Allie, Bliss, and Kitten signed their property over to the husband and father James Clark so that he owned one section of land. Lewis Beck (7 /24/76-5/27161) son of Mary Helen (1844-1881) and Lewis Beck (18431879) (both died of tuberculosis) lived with uncles and an older brother Joe from the age of 5 until at the age of 16 he moved to Colorado with an uncle who also had tuberculosis. He died in a few years and Lewis worked as a farm hand and cowboy from Kit Carson They received their mail from the Wallet post office. Later from the Ashland post office which was located on Mrs. Louise Kneedler. Edward and Emma Clark continued to live in Kanorado, where they had built a new home, until Edward's death in 1922. Emma stayed in her home until she became ill as a result of a fall, when she moved to Ralph's home in August, 1931. She was an invalid and passed away in August, 1932. In 1943, Ralph and Bina purchased a home in west Burlington, Colorado, having a farm sale and retired there in October, 1944. For eight years, Ralph was custodian of the city parks. He enjoyed the many visitors of the parks. Bina enjoyed her home and hobbies of fancy work, quilting, sewing, flowers and textile painting. She also did baby sitting for Stratton on the north side of Smokey Creek. The adobe was made by running well water daughter of Ralph and Bina Clark.) Later a rural route was established and mail was delivered with a teqm of horses pulling a church as long as health permitted. Ralph suffered a broken hip and spent two and a half years in Grace Manor Care Center, passing away December 6, L972, at the age of ninety-two years. Bina continued living in Anderson's farm. This is where Keith, Phobe, Fortmeyer, son John and wife Fayrene and son Jordan now live. (Fayrene is a great grand buggv. Sunday school was held at the Wallet schoolhouse. Sunday ball ga-es, with two tenms of local residents being the contestants, were held as a form of recreation and were held in different locations in the vicinity. As in many of the early day western stories, Ralph left his sweetheart in Iowa when he ceme to Colorado. They kept in touch by letter and in December 1912, he returned for his bride, Bina Albright, also of Bloomfield, Iowa. Her mother had passed away in 1904. She had remained at home helping her father care for two younger eisters and a small brother. They were married on December 29, different people. Both enjoyed attending the home with the loving care of her daughter, Maxine, until July, 1977, when she passed away at the age of ninety-two years. They enjoyed seeing the country develop, observed the changes, such as travel by horses and buggy to space travel and man landing on the moon. Della Statler CLARK - BECK FAMILY F12t 1912. They spent the next month visiting then boarded the relatives near their home As the train train for far away Colorado. neighbors here also. In November, 1914, their first child, Della, was born. In 1917, Ralph and Bina purchased the Fletcher farm, also known as the Charlie Hansen homest€ad. which was located one mile west of the original Clark place. His parents had gold the place and moved to Kanorado to retire in 1916. In August, 1921, a second daughter, Maxine, came to bless their home. Ralph and Bina continued to raise stock and farm. In 1930 they began to improve their farmstead. Much of the labor was done by Ralph and the help of a hired man. It is now the home of Esther, Paul and Dean Kneedler. side. This was about 18 miles south of on the clay soil in a corral during the day and then turning the cattle into the corral at night so that they would walk in the mud all night and mix it up. The next day the cattle were turned out on the prairie grass and adobe blocks were made from the mud and some straw, and then the whole process started over again that night. This continued until enough blocks were made to build the house which had walls 18 inches thick with wooden frames and roof. The lean-to was made of sod with a sod roof and used as a store room, milk separator room, and as a kitchen in the summer. A cement walled barn was built in 1915 and is still standing. They did some farming, had horses, cattle, hogs, and chickens and raised a large garden. A smoke house for curing meat and a cellar for food storage were added. Later two rooms (built from wood) were added on the south side of the original structure. Marian Louise (8/31/09-) Bliss Belle erts (2/2L/L7-4/L3/85), and James Lewis (1/10/19-) were born during the years on the farm. A stillborn baby was born in 1911. Lewis built a small wooden casket and lined it with a baby blanket and buried the baby one. enjoyed lasting friendships and friendly owned the Beck and Wagner Ranch south of Stratton for a few years. Anna Bliss Clark and Lewis Beck were maried in Burlington, Colorado on November 21, 1908. They moved into his two room adobe house with a sod lean-to on the north (4/L3/L3-'), Allie Jean (5/3LlL5-), Doris Rob- reached western Kansas, she noticed how far she could eee. When she caught her first glimpse of a sod house, she said she would never live in one of them. This unfortunately was not true as she lived for several years in They spent the next year with Ralph's parents, then moved to a farm northeast of Burlington, which is now where Paul Janssen lives. They engaged in raising small grains and feed for their small herd of cattle, milking cows and raising poultry for a livelihood. There was open range in the neighborhood and many large herd roamed the prairies near them. Some of the owners being the Reinholds, Pooles and others. Ralph and Bina to Hugo, Colorado. He and Jim Wagner on the farm. After a land resuwey showed the land on which the farm buildings were built was not on the Lewis Beck property and he was not financially able to buy the additional land, he sold the farm and they moved to Stratton in Lewis and Bliss (Clark) Beck at home east of Stratton, summer of L942. Anna Bliss Clark (7/2L/85-r2/22/45) with her parents, James Clark (L/L5/61-4/22/15) and Allie Mae (Newton) Clark (L2/8/6Ll0/8/4L), and her sisters, Kitten (9/19-8610/58), Allie Mae (L0/27/89-7/22/51), and Ruth Belle (51L7/94-LL/29/60) moved to Stratton from Spearfish, South Dakota in 1908 with all of their possessions in railroad box cars. They claimed four quarter sections of land. that was made available by the Homestead Act of Congress. These quarters formed one section of land, on which they put up their buildings so that the four adjoining corners were each a part of the actual improved portion. These were claimed in the names of James, and Allie Clark and their two daughters who were over 21 years of age, April, 1919. They lived in town while their home on the corner of State Highways 24 and 57 were being built. They moved into the new house in July, 1919. William Clatk (a/La/2L), Leon Victor (2/15/25-) and, Ruth Joyce (Ln /27 -) were born in this house. It had three bedrooms, a bathroom (no fixtures), living room, dining room, kitchen, and pantry. There was no water in the house and it was heated by a wood and coal furnace in the basement with one heat register directly above the furnace in the living room. A large coal range in the kitchen provided heat for cooking and warmth in the wintcr. A kerosene three burner stove did the cooking in the summer. Water was collected in a barrel at the windmill and carried into the house. A three hole (one low hole for the children) toilet (privy) was built out in the yard. Baths were taken in a wash tub in the kitchen. �ln 1927 carbide gas lights were installed in the home.The gas was formed in a tank in the yard from water and powdered carbide, then Dean lives in Hugo and their daughter Roxanne lives in Seattle; neither is married. Joyce is married to Gene Clark and they live in Stratton. Their son Paul is in Germany with his wife Heather, and Scott, Tonya, and Tnmara; son Kenny married Nancy and their children Sean and Lauri, live in Grand Junction, Colo.; Candi Spicer and daughters Casey and Britan live in Denver; and Bonnie married Jim Mattix, they have two children, Jason and Annie, and the four of them live in Grove, Oklahoma. piped to the light fixtures, and lighted by a spark or a match. A two burner carbide stove by Belle B. Danforth One by one the children left home to go to work, to school, or to be married. Bligs and CLARK, ELLIS L. AND AMY BELLE SMITH Kerosene lamps were used to light the house. When they moved to Stratton they bought their first car, a Model T Ford. Lew worked at odd jobs around town, butchering for the butcher shop, plowing gardens, building, etc. until he was hired by the Stratton Equity Coop in 1921. The children graduated from the Stratton High School. and a carbide iron also made life a little easier. These were used until 1929 and proved to be too expensive so kerosene lsmps were again put into use. Lew sold their home with approximately eight acres for $1,800 in lg43 and moved to 222 New York avenue in Stratton. In 1931 the family who were still living at home became members of the Stratton Et22 Family of Ellis L. and Amy Belle Clark. Front Row Left to Right Bess Clark Wells Hayball and Robert EIIis Clark. Second Row Ethel Clark Church of God. Lew retired from the Stratton Equity Coop in 1946 but still worked at the - Foster Lumber Yard, did cement work with Hank Pelle, sharpened saws, and did other odd jobs until in his 80's. L. Clark and Ada Clark Andes, Lola Clark Chenot. Taken at Arvada, CO about 1939. Bliss died in the hospital in Burlington from a stroke in 1945 at the age of 60 years. Her burial was in the Clarmont Cemetcry in Stratton. Lew died in the Pueblo hospital 2 months before his 85th birthday. His burial was also in the Clarmont Cemetery, Stratton. Marian Louise Weddell had two children, Our Grandparents came to Kit Carson in 1906 from Nebraska. Harrison L. Clark (1862-1928) and wife Nellie M. Clark (18641944) moved to a homestead 16 miles north of Burlington because of the good water. Ellis (our father) (1886-1946), the oldest of Joan Rosier and Lewis Klein. Lewie has never married, Joan and Steve Rosier have one son, 4 children, Ethel, Walter, and Opal. He Stevie. They live in Port Clinton, Ohio. Marian lives in Flagler, Colorado with Lewis. Her husband T.J. Weddell died in 1966. Belle manied George Danforth, Jr. of homesteaded. and met and married our mother, Amy Belle Smith (1888-1973), who had homesteaded as well as her parents, Moses T. Smith (1862-1923). There were 6 members of this family, most of whom homesteaded 16 miles north of Burlington in Burlington and they have two children, George, III (Gerry) and Dolores. Gerry had one daughter by his first wife, Marilyn, and the snme geographical area as the Clarks, her name is Kristi. She is now married to Ronald Nelson and they have a gon n"med Trent. They live in Yuma, Colorado. Gerry and his wife Betty have a son Craig, who is a sophomore at Colorado State University in Fort Colling. They life in Greeley, Colorado. Dolores lives in Carson City, Nevada. Her Ellis Leroy Clark (188ti-1946). Picture taken in 1911 at Burlington, Colorado. daughter Kathy and Kathy's husband, Glenn. live with her. Her son Kent and his wife, Sonya, and children, Jessica 4 and Steven 3, live in Santa Barbara, California. Allie Jean is married to Clarence Iseman and they have no children. They live near Ellicott, Colorado. Doris was married to Ernest Englebrecht and they had three sons, Rick of Tucson, Arizona, Robbie of Chicago, and Russell who farms in Strasburg with his father, Ernest. Doris died April 13, 1985. Amy was one of the six which included Maye, Elva, Dora, Myron and Edmond Smith. Our father, Ellis Clark, filed a claim for his homestead located about 18 miles north of Burlington around 1909. He had a dugout to live in at first. later a 2 room house. He and our mother, who had taught school in Iowa, had a store and Post Office made of cement on that property. It was called Morris P.O. Our Father had a ice house which was sort of a dugout with an A frame roof. Dad would haul ice from Launchman Creek in the winter. The farmers were glad to be able to have that ice in summer time. Dad also made a ball diamond for the men of the community to play ball. It was at this location that our brother Verle (1911-1983) was born. Also sister Ada was born (1913), followed by Lucille (1915-1979). In 1914, our father purchased his parents' homestead, as they wanted to move to Sterling so their daughter Opal could go to high school there. It was in this house which our grandfather had built, before bringing his family to Burlington to live, that I, Lola Clark Chenot (1917), and my two sisters. Bessie Clark Hayball (1919) and Ethel Clark Fay- Lewis married Margo and they had two children, Debbie and Mike. Debbie is married and has a daughter and two sons. Lewis, Margo, and Debbie and her family live in Greeley, Colorado. Mike was killed in the war in Vietnam. Clark married Shirley and they live in Strasburg, Colorado. They have two sons, David of Denver, and Steve who teaches school in Walden, Colo. Neither of them is married. Leon maried Nadine, they have two sons, Keith and Kevin, and the three families live in Fleming, Colorado. Their daughter, Lynn - Faydock, Lucille Clark Mitchell, and Mother MayBelle Clark. Third Row - Ellis L. Clark, Verle dock (1920-19&t) were born. Amy BeIIe Clark (1888-1973) and baby Verle (1911-1983) Burlington, Colorado. Our Aunt Opal (1900-1982), to whom we give great credit for recording much of our family history gave us this account of their arrival at Burlington on a cold and blustery day. The wind was blowing so strongtheyhad �to hold onto posts as they walked from the depot to the hotel. The next day they rode to the homestead in a horse drawn buggy with their heads covered with a buffalo robe to keep from freezing. The one and a half story house on the homestead was a landmark. They lived there until Opal was 14 yrs. old at which time they moved to Sterling. The Ellis Clark farnily lived on this farm until 1923, when Ellis bought a grain elevator in Glade, Kansas. They lived there until 1925, then cnme back to Burlington. That fall 1925, Robert Ellis was born. Later we moved to the old homestead where we were in the Happy Hollow School Dist. At one time there were 5 Clark children in that school at one time. One of the early day teachers of that school was Lola Reneau, who taught 3 yrs (which was remarkable), as most young teachers beca-e home sick and quit mid term. This young dedicated teacher was instrumental in getting a larger school with a belfry and bell, also an organ. The organ and bell were purchased with money raised from box socials and programs put on by the pupils. Lola Reneau James is living in Wheatridge at this writing. Also at this writing four of Ellis and Amy Clark's children are living: Ada Belle Andes, Lola Marie Chenot, Bessie Maye Hayball and Robert Clark. Written Jan. 1986. by Lola Clark Chenot CLEMENT - SKOW FAMILY Fl23 Our father, Marvin J. Clement, came to Colorado from New York in 1904. He shipped his livestock, equipment and household goods by train to Nebraska, which was the closest rail terminal to his destination of the Thurman, Colorado area. The last leg of the journey was by team and wagon and driving the livestock. Marvin homesteaded north east of the Thurman store, first digging a well and building a sod house. Our mother, Carrie Skow, was raised in north central lowa. Due to hardships, she had gone to Minnesota to work. There she and 2 other young ladies felt the challenge of the process of low bidder wins. He was then appointed Flagler Town Marshal and remained in this position until his health failed in 1934. He passed away in 1936. During his tenure as Marshal, he planted the original trees in the Flagler park and cared for them as long as he served the town. He was at every fire, guarding the water hose to keep traffic from crossing. He cleaned the gravel from the gutters and shoveled snow from the cross walks of Main Street. At one time, there were signs welcoming people as they cqme into town. On the signs were other information giving the population and the speed limit of 10 miles per hour. Once a man inquired if he would be arrested if his horse trotted faster than 10 miles. There was no TV nor radio in those days. One of our fondest memories is an evening secretary-treasurer which included the hand- ling of bookkeeping, money, and food supplies for the needy at that period. She went with the chairman to take cotton to Flagler for a mattress making project, drove people who had no means of transportation to pick up flour and foodstuffs, going with the local Doctors to make calls in the country when needed. The plan ofserving hot lunches to school children was started by Pearl and was later sponsored by the Inter Sese Club. She was active in community affairs and served in various offices, always giving more than her share of time and talent. Pearl was a charter member of the Garden Club, organized in 1928, the County Historical Society, and served on the local Library Board from 1921 to 1959. then listening to the Edison phonograph with cylindrical records and a big horn, while eating pop corn. Mother continued to live in Flagler until 1941, when she moved to Limon, and on to moving to a home on 12th Street, where she passed away on June 15th, 1972 from a massive heart attack. Denver in 1946. After her retirement, she enjoyed the pleasure of traveling to many of our western states. She passed away in 1973. Of the four children, two have died Frank in 1926 and Harry in 1983. Charles lives in Denver with his wife, Charity (Wolfe). Lena lives in Southern California, her husband having preceded Harry in death by 24 days. Charles, Harryand Lena, each attended Flagler schools from beginning through graduation from high school. She was manied to Hank Schell in 1924, and they sold the Montezuma in 1944, The Montczuma Hotel, started in 1905, operated continuously under the same name and management for 39 years, but Mr. J.A. Haughey made many changes in the building during that period, which included removing the third story and lowering the roof to cover the second story, and later raising that same roof, and rebuilding the third story when business improved after the dust bowl days. by Bill llaughey by Charles M. and Lena C. Wheeler COAKLEY - SCHELL FAMILY Fr24 Pearl Coakley Schell was born in Sherwood, Iowa in 1885 and received her early education in the Omaha Public Schools where she later taught. Her first visit to Burlington was in 1905, returning in 1907 to file on a homestead eleven miles south of town. At that time it was permissible to work in town during the day and stay at the homestead at night. The only transportation was horseback or horse and buggy. One night when she arrived at her cabin after dark, steaded three miles southwest of Flagler and also worked in the Lavington store in Flagler. In May, 1910, she and Marvin Clement were married. She sold her homestead and moved when she was opening the door, she heard a strange noise. She quickly closed the door, went to a neighbor's home, returning with one her cattle to Thurman. After a few years of farming, Carrie was appointed postmistress of the Thurman post rattlesnake under the table on which the larnp was sitting. It was generally believed that when you found a snake there were two, but Pearl was brave and stayed alone that night and slept well. Pearl also worked in the Montezuma Hotel, which her mother had established in 1905, and in which Hank Schell later became a partner, and subsequently married Pearl. Pearl also operated the Racket Store in the north side of the Hotel building. This store office and Marvin was mail carrier from until the dirty thirties. She also served as listening to our father play the mouth harp, new frontier and came west. She home- Thurman to Arickaree, having the first motor driven route. He also carried the mail from Flagler to Thurman, first by team and wagon and again having the first motor driven route. The family moved in 1919 to Flagler, into the new houee built by John Collier and Fred Probasco, according to their design. Later, they becnme charter members of the Baptist Church. Three sons were born to this union, while living in the sod house Frank J., Charles M. and Harry C. After -moving to Flagler, a daughter, Lena C. was born. In L924, Marvin lost the mail route in the Baker of the Red Cross from World War I of the men, lit the oil lamp and saw a was similar to a variety store today where she carried many fine articles including china and linens, in which establishment Peggy Wilson was a partner. Pearl also taught school until she moved to Denver. The store was in operation until 1919. Pearl was co-chairman with Mrs. E.C. CODDY, GEORGE AND BERTHA Fl26 Sometime around the year 1906, three sisters and their brother and their families answered the call "Go west, young man, go west." They chose land 20 miles north of Flagler, Colorado. My mother and father were George and Bertha (Phipps) Coddry. The Robeys and the Hollenbecks and the Bert Phipps families moved to the area. My parents had lived in Shelby County, Missouri all of their lives. Mom's parents were William H. and Martha (Heckart) Phipps. The Heckarts had moved into Missouri as early as 1838 and William H. Phipps moved there in 1869, moving from New York state. The families rented a freight boxcar and brought their teams and what items they needed most of their new home. My Dad and one of the uncles rode in the boxcar from Shelby County, Missouri to Flagler to care for the animals. They proceeded to build their sod shanties, meager barn and then fenced their property. The first winter they were in Colorado, the weather was so cold they had to bring their tenm of horses into the sod house for protection. The Robys and Hollenbecks became discouraged and moved back to Missouri, and then later they moved to California. Uncle Bert Phipps moved his family into Flagler and he worked as a bridge contractor. My parents, the George Coddry's stayed out on the homestead on the prairie. They braved the hardships and trails ofthose early days and were too poor to think about moving anywhere. My sister came into the scene in March of �and in trying to figure out what was wrong, my Dad lit a match and looked in the gas tan. !!Boom!! What an explosion! For years my Dad was teaeed about that. The old Tin Lizzie was more stubborn than a Missouri mule. Once Dad broke hie arm trying to crank it. Sometimes we'd get the tenm of horses out : 'and tow it to get it gtartcd. I can still see my Dad coming over the hiU in his bobsled with a 4 ft. x 4 ft. box loaded with dried fruit, clothes and other supplies from our family in California, making our Christmas a delight. Each year at harvest time, the neighbors would get together to help each other harvest their wheat and barley. My job was to drive the tenm of horses to the header barge. The women would furnish a bountiful dinner of fried chicken and freeh produce from our gardesn. Even though we were poor those early memories of life on the prairie were t i 9r happy one. In the fall of 1933, we had a big gale, selling the homestead, livestock, farm machinery Modern school transportation as of 1925. Trusty "OId Colonel" is pulling a one-horse buggy. On t!" l.ft doing the driving is Kenneth Coddry, Middle - Lorene (Coddry) Goode, Teacher - Miss Ella (Robb) Hunizinger. The neighbor boy standing by is Roy Pratt. This was the first year the school was held in the new frade building, Mt. Pleasant school, district 14. Note: This is the same type buggy to which we attached a sail that was pushed by the wind as we scampered over the prairie. We finally quit and that was all for that school year. The next year, they had the ninth grade at Mount Pleasant and then I took the tenth grade at White Plains. Glenn Thompson, son of Aaron and Mnrnie Thompson, and joys of those early days on the prairie, I herders trailer. My sister and I rode to school by Kenneth Coddy I batched that year, living in an old sheep The Coddry Homestead, a two room sod house where I lived the first 18 years of my life and the trusty old windmill that supplied aII our water. We are cutting potatoes on the entrace to our ground vegetable cellar. L. to R. George Coddry, Lorene (Coddry) Goode, Olen Hollenbeck, Mildred Robey Nelson, and Kenneth Coddry age five yeare. Note: The Robey and Hollenbeck families had stayed over for a visit enroute from Missoud to California. The year was 1920. 1914 and I followed 18 months later. We lived in the 2 room sd house until I was 18 years of age. In the meantime my Mom'g father, William H. Phipps came and bought a farm, later belonging to Rube Sparks. My grand- father moved into Flagler and lived to be past ninety. My sister, Lorene and I, attended the Mount Pleasant School District 14 all eight grades, and in the ninth grade we attended the Shiloh School until a big blizzard struck and we could not get to school for six weeks. and household itemg. We were heading west. These were the years of the big dust bowl. In the spring we loaded our Model A Ford and headed to California and settled once again near the Robeys and Hollenbecks. I have been in California now for over 50 years but I left a part of me in eastern Colorado. My father and mother are both gone. My sister and husband live a couple of miles from us. We are all retired, getting the most from life as possible, traveling a little and getting back to Flagler about once every ten years. Although I remember the hardships and each day in a one horse buggy with trusty "Old Colonel" in the lead. Usually a whole flock of kids would hang on to the side of the buggy."Old Colonel" was quite an attraction at recess time and he was so patient when the kids climbed all over him. My early childhood memories are roo-ing the prairies, herding the cattle on the open range, and picking up wagon load after wagon load of cow chips. I have seen the time when we would run out of fuel and have to burn corn to keep warm. Our dogs would catch rabbits and we would skin and dress them, and then hang them on the fences until we went home from the fields at noon or evening. We'd have fried rabbit the next meal. In the spring, I remember how beautiful the green rolling hills were, spotted with blooming cactus and other wild flowers in shades of yellow, purple and white. My parents allowed me to roam the prairies. The only danger out there was the rattlesnakes. We would kill them with dirt clods, a hoe or anything handy. Life on the prairie was not all hard wouldn't trade the experiences for any amount of money. COLES - SCHLICHENMAYER FAMILY Fr26 Life began for me in Coldwater, Kansas on October tO, L947 with the assistance of my father, Doyle C. Coles. I war' named after my two grandfathers, Robert Tempel Coles and Charles L. England. I progressed through most of the aches and pains of childhood without major dnmage. Starting school in Vona, I was transferred to Wichita, Kansas in 1954 and returned to Stratton in 1959 and graduated there in 1965. Beginning college in 1965, I returned home the next summer and purchased a new to me 63 Chewolet Impala and soon found just the girl to go with it, a Bethune cheerleader and, my future bride, work. Taking advantage of the strong winds in East€rn Colorado, my sister and I would borrow old quilts from Mom which we used Linda Sue Schlichenmayer. which we paraded around the prairie. One of the highlights each day was seeing the mailman, Ray Thompson, coming over the hill from the east bringing the Flagler News and the Cappers Weekly. We went to town lington, Colorado on 21 June, 1950. Over the next few years Linda was to see the hospital in Burlington several times as a ruptured appendix and resulting complications kept Dr. R.C. Beethe busy with two surgeries and resulting care from age 10 through 12 years. A stormy off and on long distance coutship, while I continued at CSU and Linda attended Pikes Peak Institute of Medical Technology, finally resulted in our marriage to rig sails on an old one-seated buggy in once a week taking our small amount of cream and eggs with which we used to buy a few staples. Sometime around 1917 my dad bought his first car, a "Model T". (Our first Tin Lizzie). One time my dad ran out of gas Linda a native Coloradoan as were her parents, R.O. Schlichenmeyer and Anna (Weiss) Schlichenmayer was born in Bur- �went to work for Mountain Bell as a loop technician, where I am gtill working today. . by Robert Coles COLES, DOYLE AND FRANCEIS w * I t .,rl Robert and Linda Coles with Megan and Meriah, July 1985. on 14 June 1969. Linda immediately went to work financing my last year and a half of schooling to my graduation with a B.S. in Education from Colorado State University in 1970. New jobs, with me teaching school, and Linda working as a medical secretan5/, resulted in our moving to Cheyenne Wells, CO. for the next two years. After two years of teaching, itchy feet led me to join the Army in 19?2. The pay was better and there sure were lots of travel opportunities. My first stop was Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, followed by Ft. Bliss, Texas for radar school, where Linda joined me for 1 year. My next step wae a big one to Wacherheim, Germany where Linda again joined me after a separation. This was a memorable trip for Linda traveling alone, on Ft27 Doyle Coles and I, Franceis Bngland grew up in Comanche County in Kansas. We both attended rural schools then attended Coldwater High School where we met. I went on to college, at Kansas State in Manhattan while Doyle went into the Army service. For three years, he moved from Ft. Riley, Kansas to Fort Leonard Wood. Missouri and later to San Luis Obispo, California. Finally in San Luis Obispo, Doyle was told that we would set out the nrar as a drill sergeant so we decided to get married. We were married in the Methodist Church in San Luis Obispo on September 5, 1943. Three weeks later Doyle was in Hawaii and from there on to the New Guinea area. I went back home and worked at Boeing Aircraft in Wichita in the Personnel Department. Later I moved back home to be with my dad and help him on the farm. Doyle came through the war years with only a broken finger. He received the Bronze Star as a Scout in the first wave of troops to return to Luzon in the Phillipines. He arrived back in the United States on September 21, 1945 and was discharged in Denver. We next made our home in Coldwater where Doyle was a Standard Oil Bulk agent and I worked one year as high school secretary. Doyle also worked for his brother as bulk agent inButtermilk, Kansas. Rob, our oldest son was born October 10, 1947 in Ashland, Kansas. My dad, Charles England bought the former Tony Kordes farm west of Stratton in the fall of 1950 and wanted Doyle and I to her first plane flight, while pregnant to a strange country to live in civilian quarters giving a lot of new eye openers. Along with traveling extensively in Germany and surrounding countries, Germany was memorable for the birth of our first daughter, Meriah Danielle Coles at Wiesbaden Air Force Hospital on 9 July, 1974. l.J.tr'r 2-Yz years a desire for change led us to a reinlistment and a change ofjob to L.P.N. The trip home was memorable for 3 reagons: first, a 15 month old daughter who didn't sleep in 18 hours, a Coors beer and McDonalds hamburger, the first in two years, and a blizzard that isolat€d us for 4 days the same night we got home. Our next stop was Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texae followed by another year at Ft. Bliss. Another big change came when we were reassigned to Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey and our eecond daughter, Megan Kathleen, was born at West Long Branch, New Jersey. In 1979 we felt it was time for the kids to grow up in a gmall town go it was out of the Army and back to Stratton for a new job at Co-op. Building a house and new jobs for Linda, first aB secretary and later as Director of CECAA followed by ad salesman and typist at the Stratton Spotlight occupied the next few years. I also changed jobs again and Doyle and Franceis Coles and Sons, JD and Robert. come with him. Jeffrey Doyle (J.D.) was born October 5, 1951 in the Burlington hospital, making our family complete. Bad weather and poor crops forced us to leave the farm and move back to Wichita in 1954. Doyle and I both worked for Boeing aircraft on different shifts. After four years Doyle quit and went to Barber School graduating in April 1959. He worked in the Indian Hills Barber Shop in Wichita. We were homesick for the farm and Dad wanted us to come back so we returned to Stratton in June of 1959. Doyle started working as the American Legion manager in 1960. I started teaching 3rd and 4th grade at Vona, Colorado in 1961, where I continued for the next four years. I went back to Ft. Hays in 1965 receiving my B.S. Degree in Education in 1966. Rob started to college at Ft. Collins in the fall of 1965. We were both in college at the seme time. J.D. stayed home with Doyle. I staded teaching at Stratton in the fall of 1966. Doyle, who had been working for the county road crew, took over as foreman in July, 1966. I retired in the spring of 1986 after 20 years of teaching at Stratton, then went back for 1/z year in 1987. Doyle retired from the county road crew in June of 1987. by Franceis Coles COLLIER, JOHN AND AGNES Fl28 My parents, John and Agnes Collier, cnme from Iowa in 1908 and took a homestead 18 miles from Flagler, Colo. Dad cane in January and Mother and I came in March. Dad built a fre-e building in which we lived until the 3-room sod house was built later that year. My father and uncle, Elmer King, came in a railroad car with a team of horses, a cow, chickens and pigs, as well as �furniture for each family. All the farm buildings were made of sod. After arriving here, Mother and I spent the night in the hotel, then owned by W.W. CONARTY, WALT Walt Conarty was born in Norton, Kansas, Aug. 10, 1878 to Patrick Conarty and Marga- Reynolds. Dad came for us the next day in the wagon. It was a nice warm day. I remember thinking how nice it was, ae it had been storming when we left Iowa. After the crops were in, my father cnme to Flagler to do carpenter work. After a very bad hail, he shingled the schoolhouse (now an apartment house) and the Madole house (now owned by John Herzog). He also built ret Waltprs Conarty, the sixth of eight children. At age 24 he was married to Ina Kinzer and started farming south of Norton. After six years of drought and disappointment, Walt and hie brother-in-law, Milton Kinzer, cnme to Colorado to claim a farm. It was March, 1908, when they brought two covered wagong, two 4 horse tenms, and 2 milk cows about 200 miles and started working on their claims. Walt had a heavy tent 15 feet long. They pitched the tent and anchored it so no creeping animals could get in. They put bales of hay down through the center forming 2 rooms. Milton put his bed, dresser, and chairs and an oil stove on the west side. Walt had a bed, table and chairs, the house on Main Street now owned by Russell Goodin. In 1909, my sister, Garland Lucille was born and in 1911, my brother, Paul J. In the early years, maybe 1909 or 1910, the neighbors went together and built the first sod school house in that neighborhood. It was called Ash Grove. It was located about L/2 mile north of the Shiloh School. It was used as a church and general meeting place. My first teacher was Claire Williams. a brother of Ivy Stevens and Viola Willia-s. The second was Dora Wolverton and then Daisy Hewett, who always came to school riding a horse, using a side saddle. There were many other teachers later. In 1911, my folks moved back to Iowa and in 1916, we c'me back and lived in Flagler. My father built the house which Glenn Saffer now owns as well as the one owned by Don Moss. The new brick school had just been built and we were so proud of it! yard southwest ofSeibert in 1921 leaving for farm sale where he would be the auctioneer. L922 on the homegtead. which is now owned by Ted Wickham. In 1926, my parents moved from the farm and builtthe place in town now her brother, Milton Kinzer, loaded up their furniture in two covered wagons and drove 200 miles to Seibert, Colorado, then 13 miles They lived there until their deaths. In southwest of Seibert, where they had staked their claims. The men came to Colorado in March 1908. They sent for their wives and My father built up the farm buildings in owned by Clair and Agnes Loutzenhiser. February of 1948, my folks celebrated their 5fth wedding anniversary. In October of 1948, my father passed away. He was buried in Sterling where he had worked for some time. Mother passed away in 1969 and was also buried at Sterling. My father and Ho-er Shaw did a lot of building in Flagler through the years. Dad always said something always called him back to Colorado. He loved this country. CONARTY, IDA an oil stove with a separate oven, and a large woven rag carpet for the floor. They each had dishes, skillet, etc. They had bought groceries Mr. and Mrs. Walt Conarty in their farmhouse in Colorado. With a wife and three children he thought he might do better on his own land. Ina was a good helpmate and never complained when times were hard. She took her three children and moved into Norton withWalt's sister, Ada Smith, while Walt and children in May. The two women, Ina Conarty, with three children and Bess Kinzer with two children came on the train and they brought the cattle and chickens in other cars. They were happy to have their families together and didn't mind living in a tent until the frost was out of the ground so sod could be plowed to build sod houses. Milton and Bess went back to Kansas but Walt and Ina worked hard to make their by Velma Taggart Ft29 Ina Kinzer was born to John Henry Kinzer and Laura Taylor Kinzer, March 4, 1884, in Scandia, Kansas. Her father was a Civil War veteran. He helped build the Rock Island railroad from Phillipsburg, Kansas to River- bend, Colorado. Ina was married to Walt Conarty when she was eighteen years old. His first gift to her was a New Home treadle sewing machine. She sewed all of her clothes and clotheg for her children, too. They were married March 23. L902 and their frrst child was born, a girl, Irma, March l4th, 1903. They rented a farm south of Norton, Kansas, and when Irma was 18 months old a boy was born but he died soon after. Times were hard and women had midwives instead of a doctor. Their next child, born in 1906, was a girl, Opal. Then in January 5th, 1908, they had a boy, Tom. Since crops were poor, Walt filed a claim F130 home like they wanted it. There was no school and Ina kept talking about it until Walt and other neighbor men built a sod school house two miles west and they hired a teacher in 1911. Later three school districts consolidated and built Second Central in 1915. Ina was a loving mother and a good neighbor. She raised 8 children along with her husband, Walt. It seemed she got very crippled with arthritis and she could not do things like she used to but she never complained. Then, in 1940, Walt died suddenly with a heart attack. She was lonely and missed him very much but she lived with her children. Her hands beca-e so twisted that she could not turn a door knob or tie a shoe. She could always see that someone was in worse shape than she was and went about cheering others. She lived 25 years after Walt died and was missed by her children, grand- children and friends. She died October 31, 1965. by Opal Joy in Seibert, Colorado, enough to last for several weeks as they were located ten miles south and three west of town. They were camped on a draw on the south part of Walt's claim and hand dug a shallow well so they could water their animals. Milton made a trip to town to get fence posts and barbed wire so they could fence in their animals and keep stray animals out. By May they sent for their wives, Ina Conarty and Irma 5, Opal 2, and Tom 3 months; Bess Kinzer and Laura 4, and Everett 5 months. The women and children came on the train and also there was a car with cattle and one with chickens. They left the women and children in town with a kind lady, Mrs. Jones. She ran a restaurant in her large frame house and she was glad to accommodate them and they helped her. The men drove the cattle out to the claim but left the chickens at the livery stable until they could fix a crude hen house. The next trip to town was made to get the women and children. The ground had thawed now so they could break sod. They put up a 3 room sod house on Milton's place first. Walt insist€d that he wanted the well drillers to come first and get him a good well. Then he'd know where to put his house. Also they could now plant corn and feed. It was a hard struggle the first year. Then Milton Kinzers moved back to Kansas. Walt helped build the first school house three miles west of his farm. He served on the school board several years. He was instrumental in getting 3 school districts to consolidate in 1915 and build a large frame 3 teacher school, Second Central. He was a good farmer and had good crops when neighbors didn't. He and Ina raised eight children. His farm income never seemed to be enough, so he worked as overseer, building county roads and went to auction school and became a successful auctioneer. His two eldest daughters, Irma and Opal, went to Flagler High School by working for their board or batching in town. He said that he had only an 8th grade education so he wanted all eight of his children to finish high school; so he rented the farm to a family and moved a mile east of Flagler so the children could live at home and go to school. Then several politicians coaxed him to run for county sheriff. Ina was opposed to this because it was during prohibition time and �they wanted him to catch the bootleggers. The election was a landslide and the fanily had to move to Burlington during the middle of the school term with four children still in school. Walt worked hard catching the bootleggers, but when they came to trial the jury would let them go. Also there was a murder while he was in office. Walt caught and convicted the guilty one, but the people complained about the expense of the trial and defeated him on the second term. His farm was still rented, so he rented a farm north of Burlington until the lease was up. The crash came at this time and the Burlington bank closed its doors and Walt, like many others, lost all they had. So he moved back to his farm with the youngest daughter still in high school. She was able to stay with her eldest sister, Irma Rowden, and finish school. Walt's health was broken and his second son, Edward, did most of the farming but he insisted on working hard, too. His second daughter, Opal Murphy, was divorced and needed to go to college to finish her college degree. Her two daughters stayed with their grandparenk, and their mother went to college summers and taught winters to supplement their income. In the summer of 1940, Opal was to graduate on August 8, 1940. She begged her parents to come to her graduation in Greeley. Harvest was late in July and Walt insist€d on helping out at the field. Then just as harvest was over on July 20, L940, Walt Conarty dropped dead with a heart attack. by Opal Joy CONGER, JOHN THOMAS FAMILY FrSr 1889; Lee Roy Dec. 27, L892; Harley March 30, 1897; Elvin Feb. L2, L902; Everett Merle March 19, 1904. John T. was a carpenter and mason, having completed his apprentice training as a young man in Iowa. Viola's father, John Burtlow was an army scout in the 1860's at Fort Wallace, Ks. and Fort Laramie, Wyo. He was known for his hair raising and wonderful stories ofthe west upon his return to Iowa. This may have been what influenced John T. to come to Colorado. In 1898, John T. cnme to Landsman, near the Republican River to work for the summer, returning to Iowa for the winter. He did this for several years. In 1906 he filed for a homestead and brought his family, including his mother Mahala, to Colorado. They traveled by wagon driving a few head of stock, samping at night in a tent. Their trip took about six weeks and it was autumn when they arrived. Feeling it was too late in the year to build a soddy house, they dug a dugout using the tent for a covering to make a roof for the winter. Grandmother Mahala died in 1907. John T. made her casket and Viola and good neighbors lined it with padding and cloth. John T. harnessed the horses and drove to the Kirk Cemeterywhere Mahalawas laid to rest. In the years to follow John T. and his sons farmed and built houses and barns for the homesteaders and ranchers, mostly on the Republican River. The following w{ls taken from John's journal telling about some of the places he built: A house for Garfield Scherer Stone barn for Jacob Scherrer Dipping tank on Harry Cox Ranch Stone house for John Evans Stone chicken house for Fred Bitman Stone house for Mace's Built house for Rosser Davis for $50.00 and six hogs. The Conger boys were coming of age, marrying and establishing homes of their own. Alfred Conger married Jessie Harmon, Horace manied Maude Andrews, and John married Reva Andrews. John T. moved to another farm. south of the Pugh ranch, where they lived out their remaining years. The John Conger Fn-ily portrait just before corning to Colorado in 1907. Back row: Horace, John Jr., and AUred. Front row: LeRoy, Viola, Evertt, John T. and Harley. John Thomas Conger was born in Keokuk Co., Iowa on October 5, 1861. He was descended from John Conger who was born in Brooke, England in 1640; he was also descended from Robert and Ann Fuller ofthe Mayflower pilgrims. Robert Fuller was a signer of the Mayflower Compact and was the brother of the ship's doctor, Samuel Fuller. John T. Conger was married March 8, 1885 in Butler, Iowa to Laura Viola Burtlow. To this union were born eleven children: Laura Isabel Nov. 2, 1885; Alfred Allen Jan. 21, 1888; John Thomas, Jr. Oct. 4, 1891; Amos Feb. 6, 1895; Alvin Feb. 12, 1902; Martha Ellen Dec. 14, 1886; Horace Gilbert Nov. 11, Harley Conger was in the army from 1917 to 1919 and eerved with the Expeditionary Forces in France. In 1920 Viola was badly burned in a tragic accident and passed away on August 25th; she was buried in Fairview Cemetery, Burlington. In 1921 John T. died of cancer and was also buried in Fairview. Harley and Merle left the farm after the death of their parents working around the county at carpentry and farming. In L922 Harley built a barn and did other carpentry jobs near Hoxie and Quinter, Kan. It was here that Harley met Pansy Belle Bailey and after dating for a year, they were married Aug. 5, 1923 at Hoxie, Kan. To this union were born two sons, Milton (Pete) Oct. L, L924 and Harley Jr. Dec. 4, 1935. Harley and family moved back to Burlington in 193L and he worked as foreman for the Orin Penny ranch until 1935. He spent most of his life as a contractor and builder. In 1940 he supervised the building of the gymnasium at what is now the grade school. Harley was an active member of the American Legion and the Masonic Lodge. Everett was married to Cherald Bailey, sister of Pansy, at Pueblo, Colo. on Aug. 26, 1927; they were parents ofa son, Richard, and a daughter Laura Belle. Merle was a professional army man starting his career with Co. T in Burlington. He passed away April 16, 1980 and is survived by his wife Mae. After the death of Pansy in 1939, Harley married Helene (Reteuke) Taylor, March 9, 1940; also joining the family were Helene's two daughters, Shirley Ann, and Carole Helene. Helene worked many years as a practical nurse at the Kit Carson Co. hospital. Later she worked for the Department of Social Services, retiring in 1984. Harley died of heart failure on Jan. l, L974 at his home in Burlington. by Milton (Pete) Conger COOK, GEORGE Fl32 The George Cook and Clifford (Cliff)E. Reavis family moved from Smith County, Kansas to Flagler, Colorado, the 16th of April, 1916. The Cook family numbered twelve, George and Nora Cook with their ten children. The children were Vernon, Lois, Vinnetta, Ruby, Christine, Howard, Marvin, Forest, and Arroll. The oldest daughter, Estella, was married to Clifford Reavis. It was a long journey for the two families. The Reavis family consisted of Clifford and "Stella", with three small children, Verland, Bernadine, and 6-month old Maxine. One mode of travel was a Model T Ford touring car. The Reavis family, plus Arroll Cook, who was a mighty little tyke, rode in the car. The rest of the Cook family drove through in a covered wagon, except for Vernon, the oldest boy, who rode in a train with the livestock. The Cooks moved onto a farm northwest of Flagler known as the "Officer Place". Clifford and Stella Reavis went into the restaurant business located on the main street of Flagler. Vinnetta Cook worked for them in the restaurant. Vern joined the Army and served in World War I. He came home early in 1919. Soon after returning home, he married Bernice Garett, who was a sister of Fred Garrett, Flagler, and Bertha Stewart of Seibert. They lived on a farm northwest of Flagler and had one son, Donald. Vern was one of the first to have an Atwater Kent Radio. For the marital status of the rest of the Cook family; Lois married Dana Strohmeyer. They had one girl and 4 boys. Vinnetta married Orlo Searcy, and they had 3 girls. Ruby married Leslie Miner, and had no children, and Christine married Clyde Bigelow, and they had 5 girls and one boy who died. Dana Strohmeyer, Orlo Searcy, and Clyde Bigelow were all residents of the Flagler area. Howard married Margaret Marsh of Missouri, and they had 2 boys and one girl. Marvin married Goldie Peyton of Idaho, having 3 boys and one girl. Marvin married Mary from Goodland, Kansas, after Goldie died. They had one boy. Forest married Geneva Hamilton of the Second Central area, and had 2 girls. Arroll married Doris Woodring of Goodland, Kansas and they had one girl. Those deceased as of January, 1986, are �Est€lla Reavis, Ruby and Leslie Miner, terminal building; rebuilt, resurfaced and Goldie Cook, Forest Cook, Orlo Searcy, Dana Strohmeyer, Clifford Reavis, and Donald refenced the ramp. "Built a new police building, sixty thousand dollars; bought a street sweeper, fourteen thousand dollars; and an eleven thousand dollar garbage packer truck. Meantime payrng off bonds reducing taxes. - and accounting system, au"How? A modern thorized purchase orders, separate accounts Cook. The living Cook children and their spouses keep in close touch with each other, even though they live miles apart. Vern and Bernice live in Agra, Kansas; Lois Strohmeyer lives in Stayton, Oregon; Vinnetta Searcy lived in Englewood, Colorado, until recently, when she moved to Valley Center, Kansas; Christine and Clyde Beigelow live in Falcon, Colorado; Howard and Margaret Cook live in Kansas City, Kansas; Marvin and Mary Cook live in Kirkland, Washington; and Arroll and Doris Cook live in Denver, Colorado. In 1920, the Cook family moved to a farm northwest of Arriba, Colorado, and then in 1925 moved to a farm one-half mile south of Second Central School, which was located southeast of Flagler. Here they resided until 1936. George Cook died in 1936. for separate departments, investing idle money. In other wordg 'Good Housekeepingt.tt This is a salute to an excellent woman and in hopes of inspiring capable women to fill public office, Willa Wales Corbitt is showing the way. by Dessie Cassity CORLISS - GRAMM FAMILY by Arroll L. Cook CORBITT, WILLA WALES F133 In 1909 and 1910 Mr. Bert Corliss and Mr. John Pugh, two of the directors of the Tuttle School (we are unable to get the n'me of the other member) hired a Miss Willa Wales to teach their school. Mrs. Mable Guy, who has kept in touch with her and who was in the eleventh grade at that time, had the following sent to her from a clipping of a Wyoming paper, written by Paul Hawey: "Willa Wales Corbitt is a widow with two sons." I don't know what they were thinking of back in 1955 when they asked her to run for mayor of Riverton, Wyoming. She had accumulated a measure of distinc- tion in educational circles, had her Master's degree from Wyoming University, and had been active in community, county, and state affairs. She took it seriously, their proposal for her to run for mayor. "Riverton had stagnated, civic pride was at a standstill. Downtown streets were still dirt; muddy when it rained, and dusty when it didn't. "First thing Mayor Corbitt did was to pave the streets. Next, with a town council, which at first watched in awe, and at last cooperated with enthusiasm, Riverton institut€d five paving districts. Copper water-service lines were laid underground. As soon as the frost was out of the ground, new sewer lines were laid. High-powered gas and phone lines moved. "Willa Wales Corbitt has now been elected to four congecutive terms. Most every street in Riverton has curb, gutter, storm drainage, and asphalt surfacing. "This was a big undertaking for a town of seven thousand people, but it was all done without five cents of 'Government money'. The projects were financed by a sale ofbonds, and already, within five years, 74.9 percent of those bonds have been repaid. "They purchased two hundred and forty acres for ten thousand dollars for a new city park; built a fiireproof maintenance shop and yard; remodeled and enlarged the airport Fl34 Esther Gro-m Corliss was born on September 26, L932 on the home place north of Bethune, Colorado to Gottlieb and Lydia (Stutz) Gramm. She was the youngest of five children and has three brothers and one sister. Esther attended the Prairie View and Bethune Schools. After she quit school she helped on the family farm and helped other families with household work when the need arose. Just before her maniage she worked as a clerk at the Duckwall Store in Burlington, Colorado. Mervin Corliss was born on April 7, L929 to Sherman and Grace (Messing) Corliss at Hebron, Nebraska. He has four brothers and five sisters numbering ten children in the family. When Mervin was five years old the family moved to Colorado to the Corliss Ranch northwest of Burlington, Colorado along the Republican River. He attended the Tuttle and Kirk schools. Mervin served his during the Korean war from February 29, 1951 to December 28, L952. He was stationed in Korea during the war. After his discharge he returned to the family farm and helped his father with the farming and cattle operation. Mervin and Esther were both members of the Settlement 4-H Club and have served as leaders when their children were in 4-H. Mervin along with his brothers enjoyed rodeoing at home and at the county fairs. Mervin also participated in the 4-H Rodeo at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo. Mervin and Esther were married at the Hope Congregational Church north of Bethune on March 7 , 1954. Mervin had attended the Four Square Church at Kirk, Colorado and joined the Hope Congregational Church where Esther was a member after their marriage. They are both active members in their church. Esther and Mervin have made their home on the Corliss Ranch and are residing there presently. Mervin and Esther were blessed with two children, Verlin and Nadine. Verlin was born in Burlington, Colorado on August 3, 1955. He attended the Bethune school and graduated with the class of 1973. On December 14. 1984 he was manied to Rhonda Davis of Thornton, Colorado. At that time she was teaching at Liberty School, Joes, Colorado. They have two children, Krista and Stephan- ie. They are also living on the Corliss Ranch and Verlin is working with his father in their farming and livestock operation. Esther drove the school bus for nine years from 1969 thru 1978 while her children attended school. This was a very interesting experience and she drove through good and bad roads and weather. Nadine was born on Februar5r 15, 1958 in Burlington, Colorado and attended Bethune school and graduated with the class of 1976. She graduated from the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley, Colorado in 1980, majoring in Home Economics. She spent her first three years teaching in Benkelman, Nebraska then moved to Joes, Colorado to teach at Liberty school. In July, 1987, she graduated with her Masters Degree in counseling and guidance from Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado. Both Verlin and Nadine were active in 4-H work receiving many honors for their projects over the years. They were also active in the youth fellowship of the Hope United Church of Christ where they are members. Growing up on the farm meant you had to make your own entertainment and also you helped with the work even if you were too small for the job. We thought we were really something if we could help with special jobs and, of course, there were a lot of things we could do in spite of age and size. I remember farming with horses, especially picking corn. Dad was picking corn and I was helping being the age of 12 years. The horses took off, I climbed on the wagon and got one leg in the box and the other one still out. I thought I could grab the reins and stop the horses. I finally gave up and jumped off and the horses, Barney and Hank, ran next to a bank and upset the wagon full of corn. That stopped the horses! I will never forget that event. Sunday afternoons usually brought company and, of course, we kids always found something to do. The great excitement that one Sunday was that dad got a new tractor. Of course we kids had to have a look. It was a new "Farmall" tractor and he had it parked in the garage. We, Esther and Gladys Grarnm, were sitting on the rubber tires. (Our dads were playing horseshoes.) Raymond wag pretending to drive and Richard Grn-m wae going to try and see if he could st€rt it. He oanked it and it start€d! Off it went, pushing the wall out of the garage and did stop, somehow, before anyone got hurt. My how thankful we all were that no one was hurt. not even the new tractor! by Esther Gramm Corliss CORLISS - IIASART FAMILY Fl36 Lowell Wayne Corliss was the firrst son of Sherman and Grace Corliss born in Hebron, Nebraska, on May 22,1926. As a child Lowell and his family moved to Colorado and lived along the Republican River on the A.N. Corliss homestead. He started his school years at Hebron attending the first grade there and after moving to Colorado he attended north Tuttle school and after the flood finished the 8th grade at T\rttle school �south of the river. Lowell drove a horse and buggy to and from school bringing his sister, Betty, and brothers Lyal and Mervin with him. "How quick can we get there?' Lowell would ask. Betty would just squeeze Mervin a little tighter and say, "Now Lowell, slow down!!!". The 1935 flood was full of lasting memories for a small boy. The water just missed coming into the basement of their home but Lowell's mother fixed the upper story so that they could stay up there until the waters were going down. They were surrounded with water for 3 or 4 days and Lowell remembers that they really felt isolated as they could not go outdoors due to that water. Lowell attended Kirk High School for Llh years driving a model A Ford. He began working for Mark Jay, Harvey Wood, Jerry Guy and A.W. Adolf after he left school. Lowell and Virginia Corligs at Corliss Centenial, September 7,198? Lowell joined the Colorado National Guard. Lowell Corliss and Virginia Hasart, daughter of Jake and Nettie Hasart were married on November 6, 1949, in Immanuel Lutheran Church north of Bethune. Virginia was born in her grandmother Adolfs home north of Bethune on January 24, L932. She attended Union School riding with her brother, Jim, on his horse Tippy and later riding "Nellie". Every day she would ride her horse the three miles to and from school making for some memorable times. The horse has some bad habits and when Jake would see Virginia turn the corner he would head for the water tank, the horse Colorado and Kit Carson County Hereford Tour at Corliss Hereford Ranch, 1981. would stop with a jerk and there would be Virginia in the water tank if Jake wasn't there to catch the horse. After attending Union school for eight years she went to Stratton High School for three years. In 1948 Virginia was Kit Carson County Queen Attendant. Lowell and Virginia started their manied life together on the HommRanch where Lowell was employed in 1949. tn 1950 they moved to their ranch northeast of Stratton. With their first child due in the spring of 1951, consider the problems of going to the hospital in Goodland, Kansas. It's now May 21, 1951. "Lowell it's time, the babys on it's way!", Virginia stated and off they go in Jake's Buick, mudding it into Stratton and then on the highway to Goodland most likely erceeding the speed limit. Every thing was going fine until they pulled up at the hospital and who would be behind them but a policeman. "Why were you going so fast?" Lowell, a little anxious, "my wife's having a baby"? The policeman replied "well okay, but don't let it happen again". The two additions of the family were Vickie Marie born on May 21, 1951 and Russell Lowell born on October 10, 1958. Family activities were very important, so 4-H and the Stratton Roping Club found the Corliss'really involved. Lowell helped from the Little Britches Rodeo Association in Kit Carson County, ofwhich he was a director for 23 years. Virginia and Lowell were both 4-H leaders with Virginia sewing 15 years and Lowell serving 27 yean. Lowell was also Superintendent of the Beef Barn at the Kit Carson County Fair. In the early 1950's Lowell was the lineman for the Northeast Stratton Telephone Company and also helped wire houses when the REA came to the area. Registered Hereford cattle have been a part of their lives since 1963 when Lowell purchased his first registered Hereford cattle starting small and growing with the cattle industry. Corliss Herefords have shown cattle at the Kit Carson County Fair, other local fairs, the Colorado State Fair, and the National Western Stock Show in Denver. Lowell is a life member of the American National Hereford Association and the Kit Carson County Hereford Association. The Corliss ranch hosted the Colorado Hereford Tour in 1971 and 1981. Four registered Hereford bulls were selected by the Hungarian Government from the Corliss Hereford Ranch in 1973. These were chosen by the Hungarian delegation who selected 35 buls from ranches in Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. These animals were taken to Denver loaded in trucks for shipping to Chicago where they were placed aboard airplanes and flown to Hungary. TRUC :Ol mry/4 There is still a major interegt in the National CCA, Colorado CCA, Kit Carson County Cattleman's Association and the Kit Carson County Cowbells. Lowell has been an active member of KCCCA for 38 years serving as a director for a nu-ber ofyears and as Becretary for five years. Virginia has been serving as president for the past 8 years and is still serving in that capacity. Lowell was elected to the Stratton Fire District Board and served as Treasurer. Virginia has been employed at Dishner's Grocery in Stratton since 1977. One of the most exciting events was helping with the Colorado Cattleman'e Convention when it was held in Burlington in 1986. Lowell wae in charge of the Ranch Roundup and they hosted the Pre-convention Steak Fry at their ranch. Lowell has collected many bits and spurs Colorado Hereford breeders (from left) Morris Richardson of Simla, Don Norgren of Platteville, BiIl Diehl of Can, Lowell Corliss of Stratton, Harold Sidwel of Carr and Ruesell Corliss watch as a Hungarianpurehased shipment of Colorado Herefords were loaded preparing to leave for Chicago. and has an extensive barbed wire collection. Lately he has been learning the art of flint knapping (arrow head making). Virginia enjoys crewel work and sewing and in the summer you will find her driving the tractor and working in her yard. �Now that their children are grown and started families of their own, Lowell and Virginia enjoy special times with their grandchildren, Peggy Sue and Mathew Allan Schlepp. Vickie graduated from Stratton High School and completed the Data Processing course at Northwest Kansas area Vocational-Technological School in Goodland, Kansas in May of 1970. On June 13, 1970 Vickie married Clinton Schlepp and are living on their ranch northeast of Idalia, CO. Russell graduated from Stratton High School in 1977 and married Susan Korbelik on July 18, 1980. Russell is now ranching and living on the home place. The family tradition is "the coffee pot is always on and a neighbor's always welcome." by Virginia Corlies CORLISS - KORBELIK FAMILY Fr36 said, "Hang on to your jeans Russ!" That's all it took, he went three days in the hospital with his jeans on! The Corligs fanily enjoyed family events which Russell and Vickie both participated ice cream. Russell's other two main interests were wrestling and 4-H. 4-H was a year long job, getting ready for the next year's fair. The family raised Registered Herefords, so the beef projects were Russell's favorites. In 1974, Russell had the Grand Qftnvnpion Market Steer at the Kit Carson County Fair. National Western Stock Show was a big time to show cattle and his senior year he participated in the Catch-It-Calf, where he received Top Showman honors. 4-H had other important effects on Russell and Susan. They met at a judging contest in Sterling, Russell on the livestock tenm and Susan on the home-ec teem. Kit Carson County Fair Superintendent of Catch-It-Calf, which he also works with the Kit Carson County Cattlemen's Association who sponsor the Catch-It-Calf program. Susan is the fair superintendent of the Fashion Revue, one of her favorites! She is also the Recording Secretary of the Kit Carson County Cattlemen's Association. When Russell and Susan were married in 1980, they got a taste of the worst. Ten days born in Burlington. They were united in marriage on July 18, 1980, in the St. Cath- erine of Siena Catholic Church in Burlington. Russell Lowell Corliss is the son of Lowell and Virginia Corliss. He grew up northeast of Stratton. One of his earliest memories was his "large mosquito bit€". Russell had been playing down by the old silo (this was not allowed) when he was bit by a rattlesnake. At the age of four, he didn't want to get in trouble for being at the silo - so he didn't say anything! At noon, his sister, Vickie, was showing her dad her mosquito bites. Russell said, "That's nothing, look at the big one on my foot." Lowell and Virginia knew it was a snake bite, so in to the hospital they went. Luckily Russell didn't receive a full bite (or dose of venom). Then it became a game; Russell didn't want to take off his jeans - the nurses tried every trick. One evening Dr. Ross :i:ll:l,r: night long and then devour a half gallon of Russell is a director of Little Britches and the Russell and Susan Corliss are lifetime Fr37 rope! Even at the card parties, they'd rope all Little Britches and 4-H gave so much to Russell and Susan, they are giving now. residents of Kit Carson County, both being AND LTLLTAN in. Little Britches, the Stratton Family Roping Club, and the community card parties. Russell and Tony Paintin - born to Susan Marie is the daughter of Hawey and Connie Korbelik. She grew up southeast of Burlington. The Korbelik fanily also took great int€rest in family type activities. Susan was very active in school and 4-H. Being in Pom-Pon was really exciting to Susan; school spirit was always really important to her. The thrill of being selected FFA Sweetheart will always be with her, too. 4-H offered so many opportunities, like the trip to Washington, D.C. with the Citizenship Shortcourse . . . the pride that came to heart just to be in the nation's capitol but also from Colorado! Russell and Susan Corliss'Fifth Anniversary, 1985. CORLISS, ALBERT after their wedding, Susan was admitted to the Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital Mr. and Mrs. A.N. Corliss The family records show that George Corliss, the founder of our family in America, was born in Devonshire, England and came to this country in 1639 and settled that year at Newbury, Massachusetts. In 1864 Albert Nathan Corliss was born at St. Albens, Vermont, to Martin Joseph and Paulina Skinner Corliss. In 1887 at the age of 23 Albert N. Corliss c'me on a train to Wray, Colorado. He worked on the Bar T Ranch near the Republican river in Kit Carson County, where Burt Ragen was the foreman. Soon after, he took a homestead north of the Yale Post Office, around 12 miles northwest of Burlington. Here he met Lillian May Yale, who he later manied on June 26, L892. Sherman Henry and Sarah D. Bevier Yale came to Kit Carson County in the early 1880's with 104 degree temperature. The next two weeks were touch and go for awhile, even a trip on Flight for Life to St. Anthony's in Denver. It was finally diagnosed as Toxic Shock Syndrome. It's not a time Russell or from Illinois in a covered wagon and settled on a homestead about 12 miles northwest of Susan would want to relive again, but with a strong faith and love for each other they both Post Offices north of Yale. He used a 2 wheel cart and an old white horse. Sarah Yale was the postmistress, also a midwife. She delivered many babies in the area which is known survived. The remaining six years are full of many happy memories. They are both active in the church activities and Susan has taught the First Communion class for seven years, with each class being "her kids"! They are both looking forward to what their future will bring especially in Kit Carson County, each as a 4th generation member of their respective families. by Susan Corliss Burlington. Here the Yale Post Office was established. Sherman Yale was the mail carrier from Burlington to Yale and other as the German Settlement. Lillian May Yale was born May 17, 1876 in Knox County, Illinois. Albert and Lillian Corliss lived on the homestead north of the Yale Post Office for a few years. Their home was a dugout and later a room was built on top. Here Luella Yale Corliss was born December 29, L894. After a few years, Albert relinquished this homest€ad to John Schlichenmayer and took another homestead on the Republican river in 1895 around 27 miles northwest of Burlington, the address being Tuttle, Colorado. Albert Corliss, also known as A.N. Corliss, was Kit Carson County assessor in 1898. He �driven through the rubber. It was known as the Stratton Telephone Company. Lillian Corliss was the switchboard operator, with the switchboard in the southeast corner ofthe living room in the cement house. The Corliss ring was four short rings. Albert N. Corliss had forty shares at $5.00 a share. Sherman still had this contract from the telephone company. In 1908 A.N. Corliss received a sugar beet growers contract to plant 50 acres of sugar beets in order to get a railroad formed along the Republican river. There wasn't enough interest so it never took place. Ifthe railroad had been built they would have been paid $5.00 a ton for sugar beets. Sherman has this beet growers contract in his files. One of the happenings that Sherman recalls is about his older brother Joe. It was the first fall snow storm around 1910 when there was free range for cattle. Joe and his dad (Albert) went to look for cattle in the later afternoon. Dad told Joe to go home as it was getting cold and late. They were about four miles from home at this time. Joe started out going over the hills and somehow got going in the wrong direction. When Dad got home and Joe was not there, Dad went back to look for him and notified the neighbors Early day picnic, year 1900, at the Cor Ranch, now the McArthur Ranch. Mr. and Mrs. A.N. Corliss far left Holding Sherman. Some of the others are Will Richards, Mr. and Mrs. E.G. Davis, Martin Joe Corliss (old man with beard), Bill Richards holding son, Luella and Joe Corliss setting on the ground. moved his family to Burlington at this time and served two terms. Joseph Martin Corliss was born in Burlington on March 8, 1898. Between 1898 and 1900 they moved to the homestead on the Republican river near Tuttle. They lived in a sod house and Sherman Henry Corliss was the first child born here on April 5, 1900. On the L3th of December, 1902, A.N. Corliss proved up on his homestead on the Republican river. Three more sons were born to Albert and Lillian in the sod house. They were Edward, Harold, and Ralph. In 1908 A.N. Corliss built a two story cement house with a basement under it, next to the sod house. Here in the cement house Mary, Frank, and Myrna were born, making a family of 9 children. In 1895 Martin Joseph Corliss, father of Albert N. Corliss, c4me from Vermont after the death of his wife and took a homestead the 3fth of April, 1896, under a Soldiers Declaration. (He was a Civil War veteran.) This homestead joined his son Albert's. After Martin Joseph proved up on his homestead he sold it to Albert for $200.00 in 1901 and returned to Vermont. A homestead consisted of 160 acres and you lived on your homestead a few years before you proved up. These homesteads have never been out of the Corliss family. Albert N. Corliss was interested in education. He was on the school board for Tuttle School District #39. Tuttle District had a sod gchool house. In 1901 or 1902 they moved a frame school house from south of Seibert to northeast of the Tuttle Ranch to the site where the sod school house stood. They were in need of a larger clasgroom. Those who moved the school house were John J. Pugh, G.G. Bur, A.N. Corliss and others. Horses and wagons were uged to move the school house. Ethel Boyles Burr was the school teacher and several of the older Corliss children attended school here. A few years later, around 1907 or 1908, the Tuttle school was moved north about one and one-half miles close to the G.G. Burr ranch, now Wood ranch. Then again around 1913 or 1914 Tuttle school was moved further north about two miles, close to the Tuttle store. This is where the school got its name of North Tuttle. At this time, around 1913 or 1914, people could homestead one-half section of ground. There were 50 children in the one room school. Mabel Pugh was the teacher, teaching all 8 grades. It was decided to build another school, which was known as South Tuttle. It was built on the southeast corner of the Hightower place. Several of the younger Corliss children attended classes at South Tuttle. Suzie Underwood was the first teacher of South Tuttle and stayed at the Corliss home with Uncle Bill and Aunt Nellie Yale while the Corliss family was in Ft. Collins. The school year of 1913 and 1914 Albert N. Corliss moved his family to Ft. Collins. Luella, Joseph (known as Joe) and Sherman attended the agriculture school. Joe and Sherman also received military training. The younger children attended grade school in Ft. Collins. In 1917 Albert and Lillian bought land near Hebron, Nebraska, and leased the ranch in Colorado. They moved their family to Hebron because ofbetter schooling. Paulina was born here making a fanily of ten children, six boys and four girls. Joe moved back to the ranch in Colorado in 1919. Luellaalso joined him.In 1921Luella and Gordon Hitchcock were married and were in partnership withJoe for several years. Rose Mae, Marie, Merton and Albert Hitchcock were all born on the ranch. In 1906 there was a telephone line built up and down the river to the ranches. It was a one wire line on the fence posts, with two by fours holding it up. Some places it was just on the barbed wire fence with rubber (from old boots, etc.) for insulators with a staple that Joe was lost. Dad got Jake Strobel to go and help him look for Joe. Joe had drifted into the Tom Jones place up south in the hills. Tom Jones boy took Joe to the Pugh ranch. It had been decided that if he was found they would ring their dinner bells, so Pugh's rang their dinner bell and so on down the river to let Mom (Lillian) know that Joe had been found. Joe stayed the night with Pugh's and went home the next morning. Joe was about 12 years old and he was riding their pony Mexico. Sherman also tells of his and Edward's (known as Ed) first train ride. Around 1910, Dad (Albert) had two carloads of cattle shipped to Denver from Stratton. Dad went on the train to Denver with the cattle. Sherman and Ed went on the train with Mr. and Mrs. Pugh, Lloyd and Luther. Dad met them in Denver and they went to the stock show. Here they saw Buffalo Bill ride his horse into the arena with his buckskin suit on. Dad had to hold us boys up so we could see him as there was such a crowd. They also went to the top of the Daniel and Fisher tower and they could see all over Denver. Sunday School and Literary was held in the schoolhouses and different ones ofthe neigh- bors would help with the teachings. Lillian Corliss was known as a hard working Christian woman. Some of the old timers would recall seeing her going to help a neighbor, riding her gray horse with side saddle, with two small children. Albert and Lillian enjoyed 63 years of married life and are both buried in Hebron, Nebraska. Albert lived to be 91 vears and Lillian 84 years. by Lois Henry �brothers in the sod house until his father built a new two story cement howe next to the sod CORLISS, SHERMAN AND GRACE house in 1908. Sherman's education started at the Tuttle Fr38 School District #39 northeaet of the Tuttle ranch. In 1913, after completing the 8th grade, Sherman and his brother Joe went to Ft. Collins for two years of agricultural school. This was a school teaching vet€rinary, shop and livestock judging. Rabbit Drive on 1935. The largest drive was north of the Loyd Pugh Ranch (formerly Tuttle Ranch). It regulted in the kill of 10.000 rabbite near Hell Creek. The Corliss family moved to Hebron, Nebraska in 1917 where Sherman helped his father. In 1924 Sherman married Grace Messing, a school teacher, daughter of William and Lilly erwin Messing of Gilead, Nebraska. Sherman was involved in farming for ten years in Nebraska. The children born to Sherman and Grace in Nebraska were Betty, Lowell, Lyal, Mervin, Albert and Doris. In the spring of 1934 they had a farm sale and Sherman and Grace Corliss, year L972. moved their family of six children and household goods to Colorado with a Model T ton truck and Chevy car, pulling a trailer. They rented the ranch from Sherman's Dad (Albert). It was a dry year and Shermau irrigated from the Republican river that ran just south of the big cement house. On the north side of the bottom land was artesian wells on a spring creek. These artesian wells supplied wat€r for the north ponds and irrigation was algo done from these ponds. Sherman remembers a good crop was raised that year in spite of the drouth. The school year 1934 and 1935 the children Betty, Lowell, Lyal and Mervin went to the North Tuttle School. They drove the horse Goldie hitched to a two wheeled buggy. There were a lot of dust storms that year. Sherman and Ruby Corlise. The children remember going to the teachers house, who was Glen Smith, near the school and waiting for the dust storms to be over before starting home. There was a plague of rabbits, the neighbors formed a company and bought chickenwire and corn cribbing to build pens to drive the rabbits into and then the rabbite were Corligs home built on 1908. East eide showing picture windows. ? of the 10 children were born here and the 4 Hitchcock children were also born here. Gordon Hitchcock and eon Bert after the 1935 flood ofthe Republican River on the Corlies Ranch. On April 5, 1900, Sherman Henry Corliss was the third child born to his parents Albert Nathan and Lillian May Yale Corliss, in a sod house on the Republican river near Tuttle, Colorado. Sherman was named for his grandfather Sherman Henry Yale, the founder and postmaster of Yale, Colorado. Sherman lived with his parents, sist€rs and Children of Sherman and Grace Corliss. Boys L. to R. Mervin, Albert, David, Lyle, and Lowell. Girls L. to R. Mary, Doris, Betty, Ruth, and Lois. �clubbed to death. The schools were dismissed so that the children could help drive the rabbits. The largest drive amounted to 10,000 rabbits. The drive was north of the Tuttle ranch (then known as the Pugh ranch) near Hell Creek. In the fall of 1935, South Tuttle wag moved to the Corliss land on the southwest corner of the east one-half of Section 18. This is where the Corliss kids continued their educa- tion. On May 30th, Decoration Day 1935, the wind blew hard all day from the south. That night it started raining a little after dark. It rained all over the country. Hell Creek, Spring Creek, and South Fork Republican all came together about 3 miles above the Corliss home dumping into the Republican river. Water was one mile wide through the bottom with our house about in the center. About midnight the water was splashing up on the weet side of the cement house, so we began moving things upstairs (flour, water, gugar, potatoes, etc.). The water never did get in the house. The Rosser Davis family, about one mile up the river, had to get in their upstairs. Water was in their house getting up as high as the keyboard on the piano. They tell that they thought the Corliss family would be worse off than them. Roeeer got on the house roof waving a lantern thinking the Corliss neighbors would see him trying to let them know of the danger. The waves were so high no one could see him. Shortly after daylight the water began to recede from around the house. We couldn't get out until the next day. The flood washed out a lot of big cottonwood trees and changed the course of the river to where it is one-half mile north of the cement house. Before the river was south and east of the house. We lost 33 head of cattle, 4 head of horses, and lots of hogs and chickens. Davis'lost more livestock and chickens that we did. There was a fanily by Seibert, a young man, his wife and hig wife's father, drowned in the flood. The young man wag found one-fourth mile southwest of our house. The other two people were found later in the summer further down the river. As soon an we could get out in tenm and wagon, we took the bedding, food and cooking utensils and moved up to the Babeon rock houee, two miles southeast on a hill. We lived there through the summer, getting back to the cement house in time for the children to walk to school through the sandbar south of the house. The boys stayed with Uncle Joe's off and on through the gummer on the John Weisshaar place. Betty stayed some with the Jerry Guy fanily. Mom (Grace) and Doris stayed with Aunt Luella in Burlington where Lois was born on August 9, 1935. Sherman recalls meeting Homer and Dolly Hightower on their way home from town and they told him that he had another little baby girl. It took a long time getting the ranch back in shape after the flood. There was not a fence left across the bottom. We got some fences in on the west and east so we could keep the cattle home. There was Corliss and Davis lakes up and down the river and the flood filled all of these with sand and there were no more. Lots of good timee, picnics, swimming, and fiahing went on at these places by many people of the country. Indian camp grounds were uncovered by the flood and buffalo heads, pottery, beads and arowheads were found. Trees were also found that had been buried years before in a flood and the banks of the river where it is now shows that the river had run here many years before. When Dad (Albert N. Corliss) came to this country, it is said an old Indian chief told him to not build in the river bottom as he had seen water from one hill to the other. It is believed he knew what he was talking about. After the flood, Mom (Grace) was always terrified whenever she saw a cloud in the sky, even if it wag a little one. She carried this fear the rest of her life. After the flood Sherman continued to irrigate his crops. It took a lot of hard work and patience to irrigate from the river. The water level was lower so a da- had to be put across the river to form a pond and then a ditch had to be dug for the water to run out of. Every time a little flood came up it would take out the dam, which would have to be replaced and then the ditch would also have to be dug deeper. Each time there was a flood the water table lowered, sometimes as much as a foot making the ditch digging quite a job. After a few years Sherman bought a centrifugal pump, (it had to be primed with water to start it) and punped the water from the river. This pump wag used for about three or four years, Sherman then had his first irrigation well dug in 1956. Sherman said this is one of the best things he ever did. Eventually we had two more wells drilled and went to the circular sprinkler systems. For a few years after the flood Sherman had a large truck garden, raising produce and delivering it to customers in Burlington and other towns. Many people came from miles around the country to buy tomatoes, potatoes, onions and melons. Sherman would do his own butchering and curing and Grace took care of the lard rendering, frying the sausage to be stored in crock jars in lard, and also making lye soap from the cracklings. After the butchering, the carcass (usually a hog) would hang overnight from the big cottonwood tree lime in front of the house to cool. Of course the Corliss kids always had a job to help with the chores or whatever was going on. The first tractor Sherman had was a used G.P. John Deere and the first washing machine Grace had was a one cylinder Maytag. Sherman traded T.W. Backlund some hay for it in 1934. In 1944 Sherman bought the ranch from his Dad (Albert). He continued to improve the ranch. One of the first improvements was to get grass and hay started in the sandbars left by the flood of 1935. The house was also modernized, getting electricity and telephone in 1945 and 1946 on a teaching permit. Doris was in sixth grade and Lois in third grade. Lowell worked for Jerry Guy and A.W. Adolf as a farm hand for several years until he married Virginia Hasart in 1949 and then he worked for Homm ranches. Lyal, Mervin and Albert were in the Army in Korea during the Korean conflict. David was a paratrooper in the Vietnnm War. In 1954 Mervin and Esther Gramm were married. A second place was built up for them north of the river, making sure it was above the flood level of the 1935 flood. In 1968 when David and Betty Gramm were married a new house was built for Sherman and Grace on the south side where Martin Joseph Corliss (Sherman's grandfather) had originally homesteaded. It was also above the flood level of the 1935 flood. David and Betty made their home in the old cement house. The Corliss family attended church regularly, belonged to the Settlement 4-H Club and were also members of the Farm Bureau, Grange, and Cattlemans Association. Grace enjoyed crocheting, writing and painting in her later years. Grace passed away in April of L974 at the age of 70 years and is buried in Burlington. Sherman and Grace would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in December. Sherman's grandson, Verlin (Mervin's son) and wife Rhonda, live in the new house. This makes the fifth generation to live on Martin Joseph's homestead. The Sherman Corliss children all married and several are still living in the area. They are Betty and Richard Guy, Bethune, Colo- rado, Lowell and Virginia Hasart Corliss, Stratton, Colorado, Lyal and Delores Miller Corliss, Crescent City, California, Mervin and Esther Gramm Corliss, Stratton, Colo- rado, Albert and Arnella Adolf Corliss, Yuma, Colorado, Doris and Roy Henry, Joes, Colorado, Lois and Ralph Henry (deceased), Vona, Colorado, Mary and Clinton Hasenauer, Wallace, Nebraska, David and Betty Gramm Corliss, Stratton, Colorado, and Ruth and pisl flnmpton, Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1975 Sherman manied Rubbie Deloris Schmitt Corliss (his brother Joe's widow). Rubbie, the fourth child of A.A. and Frieda Dandliker Schmitt, was born at Davenport, Nebraska on April 12, 1909. Sherman and Rubbie now reside in Bur- lington, Colorado. by Loie Henry when the lines went through the country. In February 1941 Mary was born and David in April 1942. Ruth was born in February 1944. This made a family of ten children, five boys and five girls. All the Corliss children except Ruth attended the South Tuttle School. David was in the first grade the last year classes were held. Tuttle school was closed in 1950 and the Corliss kids, Lois, Mary, David and Ruth, drove to Harvey Woods and went on to Kirk to school with the Woods children. In 1960 Tuttle disbanded or consolidated, the Corliss children going to Bethune. David and Ruth graduated from Bethune High School. Mary graduated from Liberty High School in 1959. Joeg and Kirk schools consolidated in 1955 and was named Liberty. Betty went to Blair Business School in Colorado Springs and taught Tuttle School COX FAMILY F139 Cox Ranch The Cox Ranch was originally part of the large Tuttle Ranch, which fell upon hard times in the late 1880's. The terrible blizzards of that time severely stressed the cattle industry in eastern Colorado and although the Tuttles managed to hang on for awhile after that, the depression of the early 1890's finally did them in. Herman Tuttle died in 1894 and the ranch was taken over by a bank in London, England, among others. Shortly thereafter John and Jane Pugh �bought the headquarters portion ofthe ranch (now the Price Ranch) and Harry Cox those who follow will get as much from it as we did. Ranch, so called because it was located six miles from the Tuttle Ranch headquarters. Mr. Cox began constructing his ranch headquarters in 1896 and had completed several stone buildings including a barn and by Kenneth McArthur purchased what was called the Six Mile some stone corrals by 1897. The house, CRONISE, FLORENCE Fl40 bunkhouses and a cook house were completed in 1898. Construction ofother stone buildings and corrals continued most of the time while Mr. Cox owned the ranch. The rock was a limestone which came from the surrounding hills. Except for the house, most of the construction wffr accomplished by ranch hands and some part-time help during slack periods. A contractor and small crew were hired to build the house. All the stone was shaped by hand using hnmmers and chisels. Harry Cox was an interesting and highly respectcd man. He was small, about 5'6", rather frail, a bachelor, and very English. He had some trouble walking but was an outstanding horseman with a reputation for being able to ride hard for days at a time. He wore English riding breeches, English riding boots and rode English saddles. He was a progressive cattleman running some 800 cows and was among the first to import quality British bulls for herd improvement. He was active in the Cattleman's Associations of that time and was one of the first to install a dipping vat for the control of parasites. This vat was made available to everyone in the area and was used by most. Incidentally, Mr. Cox did not call his ranch "Cox Ranch". He called it the "Rock Haven Ranch". In 1910 due to poor health, Harry Cox was forced to sell the ranch and it was bought by John and Art Pugh. John Pugh died in 1913 leaving Art and Ruby Pugh, along with his widow, Jane, to operate the ranch which they did until 1924 when hard times caught up with them. During this period, the property was referred to ae the "Art Pugh Ranch". The Art Pughs remained on the ranch until the late 1920's when they moved to Burlington. A bank in Colorado Springs owned the ranch from L924 to 1944. During that time it was occupied at various times by the Guys, Radcliffs and the Coopers. In 1944 the ranch was purchased by Mark and Fay Jay and, in 1946, they sold it to Ernest and Mary McArthur who still own it. In 1970 Kenneth and Beverly McArthur came into the operation with Ernest and Mary. In 1981, Ernest and Mary retired to Burlington while Kenneth and Beverly continued on. The history of the ranch is much the same as that of the other ranches in this area. A story of good times and bad. The problem all ranches had was that they were totally dependent upon the cattle market, usually a feast or famine situation. Most of the larger cattle operations went out of business in the 1920's or before and it was not until after World War II that diversification into farming was undertaken on any scale. The combination of cattle and crops has enabled most of the operations to survive and even thrive at times. This short history has covered over 100 years and while times and techniques have changed, at least one constant remains; whether we were a Tuttle, Cox, Pugh, Guy, Radcliff, Cooper, Jay or McArthur, the land remains and we are here because we love it and when we leave it we can only hope that Youngsters or relative newcomers to Flagler hear the carillion from the Congregational Church of a Sunday morning of - some them may even know that it is the Cronise Carillion. For those who knew this remarkable lady, however, the ringing bells from the church have a very special meaning indeed. She was a pioneer in more ways than one and yet the antithesis of what we generally think of as a "pioneer woman". Born on June 15, 1861 in Newark, New Jersey, her father was a prominent and prosperous business- man and very active in church affairs. Her mother evidently died when Florence was still young. She went to a woman's seminary and then to Europe on three occasions where she studied languages in both France and Germany. Back in the United States she studied for and received a BA in Philosophy. Then she joined other Congregational Missionaries for a tour of duty in Sierra-Leone, West Africa, returning to Iowa where she taught at Leander College in Toledo. But, here we come to the part that we don't know about and never will. Here was a woman who in youth and as a young adult was in the upper-class of the country, extraordinarily educated and of a refined, prosperous and genteel background, and yet she came to Flagler in 1907 to homestead 8 miles northeast of town on a parcel that in future years becnme part of the Baxter ranch. We know that she fulfilled the requirements of homes- she died. The house is now the Lester Loutzenhiser residence. Her home had many works of art and craftsmanship she had secured in the Orient and another feature unique in Flagler homes. A small, sunny room with southeast exposure was an aviary in which she had dozens of birds, many of them one-of-a-kind, most of them ofa singing variety. She and her friends used to enjoy watching and listening to them and many a youngster in the community would come by to see them and, incidentally, get a plate of cookies and a glass of milk on a near-priceless piece of hand-painted china from Japan. Nothing but the most serious illness would keep Miss Cronise from Sunday morning Church services. She, along with others who had homesteaded in about that period, was a charter member of the Congregation Church and one of it's staunchest supporters. In her ankle-length dresses of pale blue or grey, Miss Cronise was a part and permanent fixture in the community. She died in Flagler in her 87th years, on March 1, 1949. She loved the land, the high plains, the people and her life there. Given the advantages ofher youth, it is a little difficult to fathom why. Her grave in the Flagler Cemetery is near many of the other early pioneers and her close friends, and it just may be that relationship to old and dear friends made her feel that Flagler, and only Flagler, was home. by Donald Page CUCKOW, LEROY Fl4t When Leroy Cuckow (pronounced Cuckoo) died on April 4, 1942, the Flagler News teaders to "improve up" her property and received title to same. We know that she had to live in almost primitive circumstances to do so. But why? Once in a conversation with Fred Page she hintcd that she had once planned marriage but that the gentleman involved changed his mind. At any rate, she never married and the real reason for leaving the collegiate, refined and prosperous region ofher birth for a 160 acre dry-land homestead was and will always remain known to her carried the standard-type obituary and concluded that, although he was an eccentric, he had many friends, was honest, etc., etc. One is tempted to point out that saying Cuckow was "eccentric" took fully as much journalistic courage as saying the Pope is Catholic. For Cuckow was eccentric and in retrospect one is suspicious that he enjoyed if not revelled in that eccentricity. Born in Wisconsin and educated in South Dakota, he saw alone. Manila Bay, was mustered out in 1899 and almost immediately came to Flagler (1900, to be exact) to homestead. His quarter Section was across the road from the Kliewer place and shared one-fourth of the Section homesteaded by Fred Page. Cuckow (few ever referred to him by his first name and all pronounced it, as did he, as Cuckoo) built his homestead shack much the way many did half was dug-out from a small hillside and part then the upper completed with sod. The roof, in all probability, was of planks with sod laid over those planks. Any remnant of that shack has long since disappeared but one story of when he lived there remains firm in my memory. One day Fred Page went by the shack and noticed dozens upon dozens of empty baking powder tins laying in the dirt outside the shack. "How", he asked, "could Cuckow use so much baking powder?" "Hell", said the ever-profound if not profane one, "Ijust learned that I was supposed to be putting flour in with the baking powder and water from now on I won't be using near After gaining her homestead, Miss Cronise, as she was always to be known to each and all, including friends of her own age, stayed in Flagler; but in short order joined her Congregational Missionary organization again, this time to go to Japan. Close friends would hear Miss Cronise give graphic and wonderful descriptions of Japan and - land a people that she dearly loved. Loved enough to learn their language so that she could communicate adequately with them. She did not appear to have the same affection for the land and the people of Africa. She taught English in Yokohsma and Nagoya but, as mentioned, could also communicate with her students in their own language. On her trips back to the United States in about two decades of missionary service in Japan, she would inevitably come back to Flagler and, in the late 20's or very early 30's, came back home to stay to Flagler. She taught English for a few -years in the high school and built the home across the old Baptist Church that would be her home until battles in the Spanish-American War at - as much." �Scratching at the earth wasn't really Cuckow's dish of tea, however. In the early 1900's he started a Garage business in Flagler which later turned into a parts shop. In the 1920's and 30's he sold Case tractor parts, an honorable enough business proposition but somewhat fiampered by the fact that there were precious few Case tractors or other implements in or around Flagler. His shop, on Main Street, now occupied by Steven's Garage, undoubtedly saw days when less than a dollar changed hands. Cuckow lives at the back of the shop which had somewhat primitive toilet facilities but, you can be certain, no bathtub. Or at least you would have been certain if you had had occasion to visit Cuckow in those days. Then there was Cuckow's dog whose na-e, unfortunatply, is lost to history. It would be unfair to say that this dog was of indeterminate breed as there were probably 50 or 60 separate breeds in that mutt. The dog was about knee-high and the only adequate description of him would be that he was a scroung'y, flea-bitten mutt but all of that is quite beside the point -because Cuckow loved him and would tell any and all who would listen that the dog had extraordinary intclligence. For instance, the dog (according to Cuckow) heartily disliked Republicans and could distinguish them by smell. A familiar sight on a Saturday evening was Cuckow and his dog slowly walking up the street to the theater where Cuckow would lay down the 15 or 20 cents that it then cost to go to the movies and he and his dog would then go in and watch it. The following Monday Cuckow could tell all visitors not only what he thought of the movie but what his dog thought of it. At any rate, sometime in the 30's the Republicans arranged to rent the theater, mid-week, for a big election year rally (probably Alf Landon versus FDR in 1936). Cuckow claimed that his dog wouldn't set foot in the theater until they fumigated it and, as far as recollection serves, he did not. Cuckow had many dislikes or pet-peeves. He was outspoken about two in particular, however and they were W.H. Lavington, the town banker and without question the richest man in the community and the other wag women in general and "high school girls" in particular. The term high-school girl, understand, included anyone under 30. It is not "character" to satisfy the whole town and western end of Kit Carson Countv. in the fall. by Donald Page CURE - POOLE FAMILY works at home. She also officiates volleyball Er42 Bill was born in Burlington, Colorado. He was the sixth of eight children born to Bunny and Ernie Cure of Stratton. St. Charles Academy was the site of Bill's first six years of education. Continuing his schooling at Stratton Public School, Bill became a member ofthe football, wrestling and track teams. As a senior, Bill was na-ed to the All-State Football f,sam, became State Heavyweight Wrestling Qlampion in helping the team bring home the State Championship and placed second throwing the shot-put at the State Track Meet. He graduated in 1974. During the years following Bill became engaged in farming and ranching with mem- bers of his family. The second of four children. Janet was born in Oklahoma in 1961 to Jim and Nora Poole. They moved to Bethune in August, 1964, where he (dad) accepted the position of superintendent of schools. Janet received all Dex and Sadie Poole, daughter of Janet's older brother Dave, share the sarne "lucky" birthdate, Friday the 13th, February 1987. Bill is still farming and ranching with his brothers Ed, Mike and John. His sisters include Jane Hubbard of Hugo, Kay Unrein of Eaton, Colorado, Mary Bohnen of Stratton and Theresa Cure of Aurora, Colorado. Presently, Janet's brother Dave and his family Janet, Sara and Sadie are in Homestead, Florida. Dave is in the Air Force training to be a fighter pilot in the F-4 Phantoms. Her sisters are Sharon Green of Simla, Colorado and Kristy Liming of Kirk, Colorado. by Janet Cure DANIEL - KYLE FAMILY It was Aug. 7, L954, that Raymond and I were married at St. Charles Catholic Church in Stratton. Colo. Raymond Urban Daniel was the youngest twelve years of education under the watchful eye of her dad! Participating in many activi- son of Frank and Gertrude Daniel, his two older brothers being John and Robert. He was born April 18, 1925 at Burlington, Colo. and spent his childhood on the farm with his ties, including volleyball, basketball, track family five miles south of Burlington. This and cheerleading she graduated valedictorian in 1979. Two years later, Janet transferred farm was where his Grandfather John Daniel came to in 1906 from Crete, Nebraska, and being a carpenter, he built the house and barns that are still on the place. Raymond and his brothers spent many hours playing in the hay mows of the barns and it is told that one of them made some wings and tried to fly out the hay mow door and consequently suffered a broken arm. It was on very rare occasions that the family ever missed Sunday from Colorado State University, Ft. Collins to the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. Graduating with a teaching degree in 1983, she accepted a position teaching kindergarten in Burlington. In December of 1983, Bill and Janet were mamied. Blessed with their first son, Luke, in March 1985, Janet continued teaching, but only half-time. Dex was born almost two years later. Janet has since resigned and Mass. Raymond attended school in Burlington and graduated in 1943. He did spen ' difficult to conclude why the poor dislike the rich (and Republican to boot), but the source of hie hatred for women lies buried with the man. If he had ever loved but lost, he didn't divulge the fact to anyone. On any given spring or summer day, however, you could find Cuckow at the front of his shop uttering low-down remarks about "high school girls." One short ditty that was current in those days was attribut€d to Cuckow but was unquestionably written by someone else - Cuckow never ghowed any such literary "f,slslf,s" at any rate, it went like this: The gum chewing girl and the cud-chewing cow, yet, different gomehow Somewhat alike - it now Ah! yes, I remember It's the intelligent look on the face ofthe cow. Well, every family should have in it's background some ancestor who qualifies as a real "character". A small town is very much like an extpnded family and one Leroy Cuckow, born Nov. 9, L872, qualifies as a predecessor or ancegtor with enough Fl43 Christmas 1987, BiU and Janet Cure with their children, Luke and Dex. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families of Kit Carson County Description An account of the resource Brief biographies of the founding families of Kit Carson County Colorado. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Book Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families- C Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1988 Description An account of the resource Brief histories of the founding families of Kit Carson County whose names begin with the letter "C." As told in the book, The History of Kit Carson County. Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Salmons, Janice Hasart, Marlyn Smith, Dorothy Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Histoy of Kit Carson County Volume 1 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Curtis Media Subject The topic of the resource History Kit Carson County Biography Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/460/Families-D.pdf f431ccbf3424cef5e314f08b53c34427 PDF Text Text Scratching at the earth wasn't really Cuckow's dish of tea, however. In the early 1900's he started a Garage business in Flagler which later turned into a parts shop. In the 1920's and 30's he sold Case tractor parts, an honorable enough business proposition but somewhat fiampered by the fact that there were precious few Case tractors or other implements in or around Flagler. His shop, on Main Street, now occupied by Steven's Garage, undoubtedly saw days when less than a dollar changed hands. Cuckow lives at the back of the shop which had somewhat primitive toilet facilities but, you can be certain, no bathtub. Or at least you would have been certain if you had had occasion to visit Cuckow in those days. Then there was Cuckow's dog whose na-e, unfortunatply, is lost to history. It would be unfair to say that this dog was of indeterminate breed as there were probably 50 or 60 separate breeds in that mutt. The dog was about knee-high and the only adequate description of him would be that he was a scroung'y, flea-bitten mutt but all of that is quite beside the point -because Cuckow loved him and would tell any and all who would listen that the dog had extraordinary intclligence. For instance, the dog (according to Cuckow) heartily disliked Republicans and could distinguish them by smell. A familiar sight on a Saturday evening was Cuckow and his dog slowly walking up the street to the theater where Cuckow would lay down the 15 or 20 cents that it then cost to go to the movies and he and his dog would then go in and watch it. The following Monday Cuckow could tell all visitors not only what he thought of the movie but what his dog thought of it. At any rate, sometime in the 30's the Republicans arranged to rent the theater, mid-week, for a big election year rally (probably Alf Landon versus FDR in 1936). Cuckow claimed that his dog wouldn't set foot in the theater until they fumigated it and, as far as recollection serves, he did not. Cuckow had many dislikes or pet-peeves. He was outspoken about two in particular, however and they were W.H. Lavington, the town banker and without question the richest man in the community and the other wag women in general and "high school girls" in particular. The term high-school girl, understand, included anyone under 30. It is not "character" to satisfy the whole town and western end of Kit Carson Countv. in the fall. by Donald Page CURE - POOLE FAMILY works at home. She also officiates volleyball Er42 Bill was born in Burlington, Colorado. He was the sixth of eight children born to Bunny and Ernie Cure of Stratton. St. Charles Academy was the site of Bill's first six years of education. Continuing his schooling at Stratton Public School, Bill became a member ofthe football, wrestling and track teams. As a senior, Bill was na-ed to the All-State Football f,sam, became State Heavyweight Wrestling Qlampion in helping the team bring home the State Championship and placed second throwing the shot-put at the State Track Meet. He graduated in 1974. During the years following Bill became engaged in farming and ranching with mem- bers of his family. The second of four children. Janet was born in Oklahoma in 1961 to Jim and Nora Poole. They moved to Bethune in August, 1964, where he (dad) accepted the position of superintendent of schools. Janet received all Dex and Sadie Poole, daughter of Janet's older brother Dave, share the sarne "lucky" birthdate, Friday the 13th, February 1987. Bill is still farming and ranching with his brothers Ed, Mike and John. His sisters include Jane Hubbard of Hugo, Kay Unrein of Eaton, Colorado, Mary Bohnen of Stratton and Theresa Cure of Aurora, Colorado. Presently, Janet's brother Dave and his family Janet, Sara and Sadie are in Homestead, Florida. Dave is in the Air Force training to be a fighter pilot in the F-4 Phantoms. Her sisters are Sharon Green of Simla, Colorado and Kristy Liming of Kirk, Colorado. by Janet Cure DANIEL - KYLE FAMILY It was Aug. 7, L954, that Raymond and I were married at St. Charles Catholic Church in Stratton. Colo. Raymond Urban Daniel was the youngest twelve years of education under the watchful eye of her dad! Participating in many activi- son of Frank and Gertrude Daniel, his two older brothers being John and Robert. He was born April 18, 1925 at Burlington, Colo. and spent his childhood on the farm with his ties, including volleyball, basketball, track family five miles south of Burlington. This and cheerleading she graduated valedictorian in 1979. Two years later, Janet transferred farm was where his Grandfather John Daniel came to in 1906 from Crete, Nebraska, and being a carpenter, he built the house and barns that are still on the place. Raymond and his brothers spent many hours playing in the hay mows of the barns and it is told that one of them made some wings and tried to fly out the hay mow door and consequently suffered a broken arm. It was on very rare occasions that the family ever missed Sunday from Colorado State University, Ft. Collins to the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. Graduating with a teaching degree in 1983, she accepted a position teaching kindergarten in Burlington. In December of 1983, Bill and Janet were mamied. Blessed with their first son, Luke, in March 1985, Janet continued teaching, but only half-time. Dex was born almost two years later. Janet has since resigned and Mass. Raymond attended school in Burlington and graduated in 1943. He did spen ' difficult to conclude why the poor dislike the rich (and Republican to boot), but the source of hie hatred for women lies buried with the man. If he had ever loved but lost, he didn't divulge the fact to anyone. On any given spring or summer day, however, you could find Cuckow at the front of his shop uttering low-down remarks about "high school girls." One short ditty that was current in those days was attribut€d to Cuckow but was unquestionably written by someone else - Cuckow never ghowed any such literary "f,slslf,s" at any rate, it went like this: The gum chewing girl and the cud-chewing cow, yet, different gomehow Somewhat alike - it now Ah! yes, I remember It's the intelligent look on the face ofthe cow. Well, every family should have in it's background some ancestor who qualifies as a real "character". A small town is very much like an extpnded family and one Leroy Cuckow, born Nov. 9, L872, qualifies as a predecessor or ancegtor with enough Fl43 Christmas 1987, BiU and Janet Cure with their children, Luke and Dex. �a little over a year in the army during World War II. I, Kathryne Louise Kyle Daniel was the seventh child of Loyal and Emma Kyle and my sisters and brothers were Mamie, Mildred, Evelyn, Lois, Robert, Thomas, and Imogene. I was born April 4, 1929 at the family farm thirteen miles northeast of Flagler. I remember how we all had to help with the chores such as milking cows, turning the seperator to seperate the cream from the milk, picking up cow chips to burn, helping our mother prepare dried corn, can the meat after butchering, rendering the lard and making soap. It was always eo much fun when we would get to go to a neighbor's house for dinner and really a treat when we got to spend the night with our cousins and for a number of years our family, the Sidney Huntzinger family and the Charles Kyle family always spent Christmas together because everyone was close by. We decorated our Christmas tree with cranberries and pop-corn we had strung on a string and had little metal candle holders that clipped on the tree to hold since we had no electricity. I attcnded grade echool at Liberty, a country school a half mile north from my home, and carried my lunch and water in little tin buckets. When I was ready for high school I had to stay in Flagler since there were no school buses and I graduated in 1947 and then went on to nursing school and graduated from St. Lukes Hospital in Denver, Colo. in 1950 and came to Burlington to work at Kit Carson Co. Memorial Hospital which was a pretty new hoepital at that time. I was the firgt Public Health Nurse in Kit Carson County and that was in 1953. Raymond and I both worked at the hospital aftpr we were married and in 1958 moved to Colo. Springs where Raymond worked at the Air Force Academy and then back to Burlington and in 1964 we opened Grace Manor Nursing Home. We and two other couples had built the home and we sold it in 1974. We moved to the Daniel farm south of town where Ra5mond had grown up and in the fall of L974 we both began working for the Burlington Public School. We had three children, Stephen who married June Radebaugh and they have children Staci and Brandon; Donald who married Glenda Borden, and a daughter Sue. Raymond died suddenly of a heart attack Jan. 5, 1984. by Kathryne Daniel DANIEL, VINCENT AND ALICE SULLIVAN Ft44 adobe house. That fall she began teaching at a small school 7z mile north of her homestead. Lonelinees contributed to Alice convincing her sister, Gertrude to come to Colo. and live with her. They were two lonely sisters, miles from a town, with no means of communica- tion. They did their grocery buying at a nearby trading post, known as Cole, Colo. The two girls met two Daniel brothers at a barn dance. In 1920, Alice married Vincent and Gertrude married Frank. Vincentmoved to the homeetead with Alice. Within the next few years their children arrived, 3 boys and 2 girls. In the early 40's they were forced to buy some more ground to add to the one-fourth quarter of homestead. They paid an average of $6.50 an acre for a section of ground. This allowed them to farm halfofit and have the other halffor cow pasture for a large herd of cattle. The family milked around 30 head of cows by hand. This allowed the money to buy their groceries, etc. We kids remember many hardships when we were VouB, like the dust storms in the 30's. The dust seemed to sieve straight through the windows. Our mother hung wet sheets over the windows to help catch the dust. Prairie fires would burn right up to the farm before they were whipped out by farmerg with gunny sacks. Then in 1942, the farm was hit by a tornado. The windmill was destroyed. Joe Williams, a neighbor, rode a horse over to the farm every day until he got the windmill rebuilt and set up. The children all went to school at Smoky Hill School from grades 1 thru 10. We rode a bus and thought it was a long route, maybe 50 miles long. May Blodgett, now retired, was one of our favorite teachers. Sunday was always the "Lords Day," on which we nearly always went to church. After church, we rushed home as our parents had nearly always invited some company for dinner. Our mother loved to cook big dinners with all the trimmings for her family and friends. In 1968, Alice's health forced them to retire at 75 years of age. They had a lovely home built in Burlington. She passed away in 1969, after surgery. Vincent has lived in nursing homee for several years, and now lives in a nursing home in Oregon. He is 91 years old and in good health. Two children passed away, Gerald and Margaret. Elizabeth and husband, John Cheslock, live in North Bend, Oregon; Gene and wife, Vera (Shade), live in Arriba, Colo. and Joe and wife, Mary Lue (Williams), live in Burlington. by Mr. and Mrg. Gene Daniel DAVIS FAMILY F145 In 1917, Frank Kelley gave up hig homestead 16 milee south and 2 east of Burlington. Thie homestead consist€d of a small 2 room adobe house and a hand dug well that you pulled your water up in a bucket with a rope. At that time Alice Sullivan, a couein of Frank Kelley, arrived here from Halmon, Illinois. She had heard that her asthma would be better in Colo. Alice took over the homestead and hired John Murphy and Henry Fansleu to build her a new 2 story E.G. Davis, Sr. Family It was summer in 1886. From the northeast, following the Republican river upstream from Alma, Nebraska, 3 covered wagons and some trailing livestock, approached the wide meadow in the valley. Elias Griffith Davis, Sr. had selected the location a year earlier. His doctor in Missouri had advised him to seek a higher, drier climate to benefit the health of his second son, E.G. Davis, Jr. who was "sickly". While looking for a location Davis was making one of his long trips from Missouri to Denver by rail. The route via. Cheyenne, Wyoming was the only rail Iink from Denver to the east. A fellow passenger was his friend and neighbor, Henry C. Brown. Most of their conversations relat€d to opportunities and problems afforded by the developing west. Brown's homestead was locat€d near what is now the corner of Colfax and Broadway in Denver. years later he was to build on this homestead his Brown Palace Hotel, which remains today one of the world's great hotels. Davis had the opportunity to settle on an adjoining claim. However he decided that he preferred ranching to mining. He also believed that a ranching environment would be a better place to raise a family than in the rowdy, frontier mining snmp of Denver only about a mile away. So saying good-bye to his friend Brown, he began the search for a location in eastern Colorado He finally selected the green valley ofthe little Republican River in an area soon to be open to homesteaders. The land was unsettled except for an occasional headquarters for a few large cattle outfits. These were located along the river to provide water for the thousands of cattle which grazed the uninhabited prairie. Davis' only neighbors were two such headquarters, the Tuttle ranch about 4 miles upstreem and the Cox ranch about the s"me direction down strenm. The long trek from Missouri began in 1885. E.G. Davies, Sr. was born in Abervale, South Wales, on Oct. 15, 1841, the son of John Davies, grocer. Davies attended college, studied music and taught singing in Wales before he made the decision to move to the new world. He became a pattern maker in Joliet, Illinois. Several years later he moved to Macon county, Missouri where he became a pattern maker in a railroad foundry. It is not known when or why Davies changed his name to Davis. He used the nn-e Davies on his marriage certificate and on his naturalization certificate. both in 1872. His petition to become a mason was signed Davies when he was 30 (18?1), but a dimitt issued by the sqme lodge dated Dec. 20, 1889 is signed Davis. There is not record of the use of the name Davies aftpr 1885. E.G. Davies married Leah Glass, daughter of John Glass in Glaston, Missouri on July 1, 1872. (John Glass, 73 lived in Glaston, Missouri. He was born in South Wales on Feb. 1, 1812. Leah Glass was born in Merthrtydvil, South Wales, on Aug. 27 , L847 .) To this union four sons were born by the time the decision was made to "Go West". Three farm wagons were purchased. Canvas tops were made and the wagons loaded with a small cook stove, several pots and pans, a table and chairs, tools, bedding, bookcase and books and other necessities. A plow was strapped to the side of one wagon, and a barrel of water secured to another. Supplies included staple groceries, grain for the horses il1d nrls grease for the wagons. Horace Greeley was preaching "Go West, Young Man." These pioneers were not all young, John Glass, 74, drove one wagon. Another was driven by E.G. Davis, Sr., 45, with his pregnant wife, Leah as passenger. The third wagon was driven by John Jay �Davis, 29, fost€r son of John Glass. None had ever farmed! Four Davis sons, John Glass, 11; Elias Griffith Jr., 9; Louis Glass, 7; and David Edmunds, 3, brought the population of the caravan to 8, Several weeks after leaving Miesoud the family stopped to spend the winter and to await the anival of Leah's fifth child at Abna, Nebr. The fifth son, Rosser Beynon Davis was born April 16, 1886 in Alma. The family raised hogs, traded cattle, harvested hay and planted a grove of walnut trees. Meanwhile E.G. Davis, Sr. drove on to their destination in Colorado. Two of the younger people accompanied him to the location which had been selected earlier. They scoo- ped out a dug-out where they lived while building a small sod house. They planted and fenced in a small field of feed for their livestock, then returned to join the family in Nebraska. by Wm. A. Davis DAVIS FAMILY was before telephones. Since there were no schools, the children were taught in the home, from books brought from Missouri. Soon a gchool district was organized and a school house built about six miles from the ranch. Then a school was built only three miles away. The younger children all "graduated" from the eighth grade. Welsh. By the early 1900's the German Settlement developed. They claimed most of the remaining land between the ranch and Sunday school, also was first held in the Davis home. then as other settlers arrived, it was rotated nmonB the various homes. Aftcr The names Adolph, Schlichenmayer, Weber, Schaal, Stolz, Stahlecker, Bauder, Dobler and others and were all very good friends of the Davis family. Elias Griffith Davis Sr. died at his ranch near Tuttle on Jan. 25, 1913. He is buried in Burlington. His was indeed a very active life. Morton was the first child in the family to attend High School which was located in Stratton. Annie was the first in the family to attend college. That was the Colorado State Teachers College (Now the University of Northern Colorado) in Greeley. the first school house was built, Sunday school was held there. E.G. Davis, Sr. was the first Sunday School Superintendent. He was later succeeded by Mrs. J.J. Pugh. Occasion- ally an itinerant preacher would stop by to preach. Later either the Reverend Mrs. Mary Bevier from Burlington, or the Reverend Mr. Peter Raemussen from Seibert would make the long trip by horse and buggy fairly regularly. E.G. Davis, Sr. and Leah were F146 ing towns and the whole countryside were noteworthy events. Early neighboring families included the Richards, Evans, Pugh, Corliss, Newberry, Burr, Woods and others. Many of these were Burlington. They were thrifty, hard working people who rapidly improved their farms. He led the way in the development of schools, churches, community life and government in the struggling new country. Leah (Glass) Davis died in Burlington on Jan. 5, 1935 at the age of88. Deeply religious, she was a loving mother, a resourceful leader and a stern disciplinarian who successfully raised a large fanily under unbelievably difficult circumstances. Leah is buried in Burlington beside her husband and father. members of the Congregational Church. For many years he served as Secretary for the E.G. Davis, Sr. Family Preparations were made for the final move to Colorado. John now 12, rode a pony to keep al Churches. When the Kit Carson county was formed, in 1889, the Gov. of Colorado appointed Davis to the original Board of County the ten head of cattle following the wagons. Griff 10 and Glass 8, walked the entire distance from Alna, to Tuttle driving a sow Commissioners. He was reelected twice and served as Chairman. By that time the Court House had been built, and all original county and her piglets. Times were unbelievably tough. Their only cash income for the first year cnme from the records were set up. Before the Courthouse was built the County offices met on the gecond floor of the F.D. Mann building. badger or wolf pelt. The bones were hauled to Haigler, Nebr. and sold for $8.00 per ton. Griff said they drove many, many miles over prairie searching for bones, and that it took an awful lot of bones to weigh a ton. For food the only staples were purchased: e.g., flour, salt and sugar and sugar or molasses. Flour cost $.75 for a 48# bag. Leah said she was not border of Cottonwood trees enclosed a 10 acre sale of buffalo bones and an occasional particular about the flour, but carefully select€d the brand which was packed in the best, and most durable bags, from which she made the childrens clothing. Crops failed every year until an irrigation syetem was perfected in 1892. Thereafter a fine stand of alfalfa yielded 3 or 4 cuttings per year, ercept when it hailed. John and Griff supplemented the family income by corking in the coal mines some 170 miles to the west. Glass worked as a cowboy for the Roy Best ranch near La Junta. Ed rode for the Cox ranch. Mail was received at the Tuttle Post office, it came by stage from Cheyenne Wells. Aft€r a few years the Pogt office was moved to the Davis ranch with E.G. Davis, Sr. as the post master. There was a counter with a snall grilled window. A drawer was provided for the stamps and cash. Several pigeon holes on the back wall held the patron's mail. The entire post office occupied a space about 5' X 5'in a corner of the Davis living room. The Post office in the home afforded the opportu- nity to visit with their neighbors most of whom called for their mail about once a week. When a letter came from "back eagt" it was proudly shared with the Davis'es and other neighbors. Much later the Weekly Kansas City Star or Capper's Weekly brought news from the outside world because ofcourse this by Wm. A. Davis Eastern Colorado assembly of Congregation- The ranch wae gradually improved. A farmst€ad. With their roots reaching the shallow, water bearing sand, they quickly grew to form a 75'high windbreak around the buildings, garden and orchard. The little sod house was replaced by a large two-story sod house in the north end of the grove. A huge milk room with an adjoining root cellar, was served by a pitcher pump which supplied fregh well water directly to the house. A nearby smoke house waa used for curing meat. A large concrete and wooden barn was built to replace the small rock barn which located north of the West pond. The new barn was home for many work horses and a purebred Shire stallion. Riding and driving horees, among them Liddy, Prince and Traveller were also stalled there. Haying was highly mechanized. Two mow- ing machines, two dump rakes, two buckrakes and a stacker operating simultaneously attracted many onlookers. The machines, of course, were all powered by horses. The horses were shod, mowing machine cycles sharpened and machines repaired in the ranch blacksmith shop. The Weet pond mentioned above was one of three small lakes formed by a dam at the east end of East Pond. Connecting the East and West ponds and extending southward was the South pond. With many fish, water fowl, muskrats, raccoons, quail and other wildlife, the headquarters assumed a part like appearance. this becnme a favorite picnic spot. Many family reunions were held here. The general public, too, ceme here for Sunday or holiday relaxation. Independence Day celebrations with people from neighbor- DAVIS FAMILY Fl47 E.G. Davis, Sr. Family The first son of E.G. Davis, Sr. and Leah, John Glass Davis was born in Macon county Missouri on April 3, 1873. Amelia Homrigaus was born April 19, 1878, in Tingly, Iowa. John and Amelia were married and lived on John's homestead near Kirk. They later moved to a ranch in Kit Carson county, then to Burlington when John was elected Sheriff. John died in Burlington July 25, 1930. Amelia died in Arvada, Colo. Aug. 5, 1930. Both were buried in the Kirk cemetery. Louis Glass Davis, son of John and Amelia was born near Kirk, June L7, L907. Louis married Margarette Johnstone ofVancouver, B.C. They have no children. "McGee and Lou" now live in San Diego (Rancho Bernardo). Eleanor daughter of John and Amelia, was born near Kirk, Dec. L3,19L2. Eleanor married J. Ross Mclaughlin (who died in Byers, Co. July 6, 1982). Eleanor now lives in Denver. Eleanor and "Mac" have one son, John Ross Mcl,aughlin born June 4, 1939. John married Margaret Elizabeth O'Rouke. Their children: James Ross, Dec. 24, 1965; and Margaret Amanda, July 18, 1970, live with the family in Florida. Elias Griffith Davis Jr., (Griffl was born Jan. 27,1876 in Macon county, Missouri. Zebna May Ackelson was born at Winterset, Iowa, Sept, 30, 1881. Zelma and Griff were married Dec. 23, 1901. They lived on Griffs homestead near Kirk where Willia- Ackel- son Davis, Aug. 5, 1903, and Violet May Davis, Jan 3, 1905 were born. 8.G., Zelma and the two children moved to Burlington in 1905, where Griff managed a Livery Stable. He was elected Sheriff in 1908, and served until 1914. Susan (she later changed to Suanne) on Feb. 26, l9[7; and Leah, Jan. 25, 1911, were both born in Burlington. Griff established the first Ford car "Agency" in �Burlington. He built a new building on Main Street and called the firm Griffs Garage (rhymed with carriage). Griff died, April 5, DAVIS FAMILY Fr48 1939; and Zelma died May 17, 1954, both were buried in the Burlington Cemetery, William A. Davis married Jessie Shaw (Feb. 26, 1902) on Oct. 25, L925. Jessie died in Denver on Nov. 4, 1977 and is buried in the Goodland Cemetery. Jessie and Bill have three sons. Jack Presley Davis born in Denver, Mar. 14, 1928. Jack married Wilma Daise in Goodland and theyhave one daughter, Cheryl Ann, Jan. 3, L952. Cheryl married Gene Schremmer, and they live in Hoisington, Ks. and have three daughters: Kristi,l-12-77 ; Danah 7 -980;and Jackie Sue, 1l-8-82. Jack and Wilma live in Goodland. The second son William Shaw Davis was born in Denver in April 6, 1931. Bill manied Evelyn Domingo in Mexico City. They have one daughter Jessica Dono- van Davis born May 2L, L969. They all live in Goodland. Eugene GriffithDavis, the third son of Jessie and Bill, was born in Denver, Jan 15, 1934. Gene married Evelyn Lohr and they have three children. Judith Ann married Mel Wagoner and they have two daughters; Heather, 11-10-76, and Nicole, 10-10-84. The Wagoners live in Colorado Springs. Donald Griffith Davis, 12-12-55, married Debroh Downen and they have three children; Jason 4-7-77, Summer, 8-27-78, and Tyler, 5-L-82, they all live on a farm near Burlington. Marlyn Jane Davis, (5-30-59), married David Eves and they have two sons: Joshua, S-25-84, and Jesse Davis 5-13-86. The Eves live in the Denver area (Littleton). Violet May Davis, "Vi", daughter of Griff and Zelma, married Earl G. Ormsbee and they have two daughters, Donna Coleen, 9-26-29; and Bonnita Rae. Earl "Hap" died July 13, 1963 and Vi died June 23, t975, both were buried in Burlington. Donna married Weldon Eugene Vance and they have two children; Robbie Lynn, 6-23-52 (manied Dave Fearon. They have a daughter: Kacy,6-5-71) and Michael Griff Vance, 11-6-56, (married Sharon Koop. Their children are Annie Renee and Griffith James). The Fearons live in Burlington and the Vance family live on a farm northeast of Burlington. Vi and Earl's daughter Bonnie married Lloyd Laudenschlager. They live in Edgecliff, Tex. They have two children; Shelley who lives in Denver and Wade Eugene who lives near Denver. Susan, Griffs third child, manied John Carmine and they have one son, Colton. John and Sue were divorced. Sue an invalid died in 1963 and is buried in Burlington. Colton married Evelyn Blakenship and they have three children. Colton Jr., 2-3-53, married Susan Fogal and they have two children: Michelle and Colton III; Christopher 10-25-55, unmarried; and Stacey Marie, 3-15-59, married to Randy Beintema and they have one son, Nicholas, 6-24-82. Colton and Evelyn were divorced and'each remaried. Evelyn (Mrs. Robert) Patterson and her children all live in Alemeda and San Joaquin counties, Calif. Leah, fourth child of Zelna and Griff married Robert Portennier, they have no children and live in Pueblo, Colo. by Wm. A. Davis E.G. Davis, Sr. Family Louis Glass Davis was born Aug. L2, L878 in Glaston, Missouri. Glass married Minnie Homm of ldalia. They lived on their homestead near Kirk. They have two children: Edgar and Roberta. Glass, Minnie, and Edgar are deceased and buried in Kirk. Edgar's widow, Ilda, lives in Kirk. Roberta (Davis) Ellison lives in Canon City, Co. Rosser Beynon Davis married Katherine Nowak and they have twin sons born Feb. 4, 1929. Katie died in 1967 and Rosser in 1978. Stanley Max Davis married Lucille Chalfant. They have two children: Brian Lee, 10-28-60, and Stacy Winn, 1-15-63, they all live in Colby, Ks. Russell Elias Davis married Alene Marcum, they have three children: Michael Scott (who lives in Longmont), Kenton Lewis (married Teni Butts and they have two daughters Tessica Danielle and Leah Ann,and live on a farm east of Burlington), and Jennie Kay Davis who is married to Tom Swanson and has two sons: Jacob Keith and Dylan Elias, and live in Montrose, Colo. David Edmunds Davis was born July 24, 1883, in Glaston, Missouri. "Ed" manied Jennie Jones, 2-1-1883 of Hugo, Colorado. They have one daughter and four sons. Edith Viola born at Kirk, Feb. 5, 1909, married Leonard Fehrenbach and they have three children: Ruth Lavone Robertson, 3-16-28, Kenneth William (Bill), 6-2-31, and Robert Davis, 10-4-33. Leonard passed away and Edith lives in Stratton. The Sons were: Harry Edmunds born at Kirk, 8-24-10, died 4-3-11; Robert Griffith, 10-14-12, died at Stratton, 829-73; David Earl, 1-30-17, (married Jeanne Gowdy and they have four children: David Earl Jr., 11-20-46, lives in San Francisco, Cynthia Ann 8-9-49, lives in Arvada, and the twins Douglas and Debroah, 3-14-53); and Earl Jones born in Stratton, 5-15-22. Earl lived many years as an invalid and died in Stratton on March 26, L957. Morton Harrison Davis was born at Tuttle, 9-24-1888. He was the first white child born in what is now called Kit Carson county. Elizabeth Powell was born at Rhayder, North Wales on Feb. 1, 1889, and came to America in Jan. 1913. Morton and Betty were married June 27, 1917. Their daughter Beverly (5-20- 19) married Fred Geis of Julesburg, Co. Beverly and Fred have six children: John in Hanover; and Karen Betsy born 5-20-58, in Hollywood, Calif), Del and Betsy live in Northridge, Calif; and Lowell, the youngest son of Anna and William born 4-4-22, in Correctionville. He was a member of the United States Air Force when he was killed in action on March 24, 1944. The seven Davis children except Annie who lived in lowa, live and died in Kit Carson county. The seven children died in the order of their birth. Eight members of the 7th generation of the family live in Kit Carson county at this time. They are Kacy Fearon, Annie and Griff Vance, Jason, Summer, and Tyler Davis and Tyler and Michael Taylor. by Wm. A. Davis DAVIS FAMILY F149 John Glass John Glass (1812-1892) was 74 years old when he arrived at Tuttle.He was active in founding and operating the ranch with Elias Griffith Davis Sr. Born in Wales in a family of merchants with strong religious and moral values, he pioneered in several midwestern states before joining in the Colorado adventure. John Glass died at the ranch, Nov. 11, 1892. He is buried in the Burlington Ceme- tery. John Jay Davis, foster son of John Glass, accompanied the Davis familyto Colorado in 1886. He later returned to Missouri for a visit. This roundtrip of about a thousand miles must have taken at least 40 days by covered wagon. John Jay contributed greatly to the building and operation of the ranch. He later homesteaded in Yuma county. He never married. John Jay died on August 10, 1943 at Burlington. Born November 26, 1857, he spent exactly half of his life in each the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Jav is buried in Burlington. by Wm. A. Davis DAVIS - ACKELSON FAMILY Fr50 Owen,L-7-42; Juliann, 4-8-43; Leah Jean,68-44; Fred Lloyd, 1-46; Don Paul,5-2-47; and The following article appeared in "The Burlington Republican" in Jan. of 1902: Catherine Jane, 10-20-48. Elizabeth Powell Davis died April 23, 1949 at Goodland and "Another wedding in this burg and although the young party kept their intcntions somewhat secret, the near neighbors, to the number of thirty-five, young and old, got wind ofit and very kindly gave their presence and assistance to make the occasion an enjoyable one. This time itwas E.G. DavisJr., and Miss Zelma Ackelson. The ceremony wag performed in the house of the parents of the groom by Rev. M.A. Bavier. On Monday Dec. 23, 1901 about ten a.m. friends began to gather where social chats and songs were Morton died at Burlington on 10-5-79. Anna (Davis) Stelck was born May 25, 1889 at Tuttle, Colo. William Stelck was born Jan. L6, L877 at Moline, Illinois. Annie and William were married in 1911 and moved to Correctionville, Iowa where they raised four children: Helen (Dillon) born at Cushing, Iowa,l-2-L2, (She now lives at San Fernando, Calif.); Gerald W. born at Correctionville, Iowa 4-10-18. (Gerald and Mary Ellen have two children: Jane Ellen, 8-16-46, and Michael Lowell, 3-11-56, both born in Des Moines); William Ardell born at Correctionville, 8-30-20, (Del and Betsy have three children: Lisa Ann (Boeger) 8-17-46, born in Hanover, N.H.; Kristen Lynn,5-28-56, born indulged in. Mrs. A.B. Book very kindly presided at the organ. The climax was reached when at high noon she struck up a wedding march in such a masterly manner that the strains reached the ears ofthe bridal party in an adjoining room, who responded �t*'. : ji Griff Davis. The first Ford Agency in Burlington. by marching to the music and taking their places; little Annie Pugh leading them. Rev. Bevier then performed the services and tied the marriage knot in an impressive manner, ending with a fervent earnest prayer for Heaven's richest blessing on the union. Congratulations to the young couple were followed by a dinner. Songs were again rendered until late afternoon and Rev. Bavier dismissed then in another impressive prayer." began their life together . - Sowas Griff Davis born in Macon Co. Mo. on Jan. 27. 1876 and came to Colo. with his parents, Elias Griffith and Leah (Glass), five brothers and his Grandfather, John Glass. They settled on a pre-emption and tree claim on the Republican River near Tuttle in 1886. His sister Annie was born here. The buffalo were mostly gone by then, but Griff and his brothers drove a team and wagon many miles over the prairies gathering the bones to sell. There were plenty of antelope and lots of wild horses. Many times he chased a herd of these wild horses, and once in a while would capture a good one; but as a rule they were too light for farm work. Quite often they would trap the gray wolves that stalked the cattle and killed the young calves. Sometimes they sold the pelts and again they would tan them and make them into rugs. In 1898 he filed for his own homestead near that of his parents. Zelma May, daughter of Wm. and Susan Ackelson was born near Winterset, Ia., on Sept. 30, 1881. In 1893 she moved with her Irish father, Welsh mother, brothers and sisters, by covered wagon to Colo. where her father had filed on a relinquishment situated on the "divide" between the Republican and Arickaree rivers. After she and Griff were married they lived on his homestead for about five years, moving to Burlington in 1906 where Griff operated a livery barn on the north end of Main Street. They bought a small house and some land three blocks west of the livery, and soon enlarged and remodeled their home. This house is located at l7L4 Martin Ave. In November of 1908 Mr. Davis was elected sheriff of Kit Carson Co.. and served for three terms. He started Griffs Garage, later known as Davis Auto Co., a dealer and garage for the first Ford cars. He built his first building in 1913, later expanding it to its present size. This building now houses the Ben Franklin store at 469 14th St. He poured the foundation for his second building on April L7,LgI9, and this building is also still being used today as the business offices for The City of Burlington. It was known for many ye€us as "The Old Armory". They raised their four children William A., Violet (Mrs. E.G. "Hap" Ormsbee), Suzanne, (Mrs. John Carmine), and Leah (Mrs. Robert Portenier) in Burlington. Bill and his wife, Jessie (Shaw) made their home in Goodland, Ka. He and his sons Jack, Wm. S. and Eugene have been involved in the implement business as well as ranching and farmings. For many years Bill was very active in politics, and was honored by the citizens of Goodland in Sept. of 1982 with a "Bill Davis Day". Violet and her husband Hap lived most of their life in Burlington. Hap in business and law enforcement where he served as County Sheriff; and Vi in her beloved teaching. They raised their two daughters, Donna and Bonnie here. Suzanne, an invalid to arthritis, lived most of her life in Burlington, also spending some time with her son Colton in Calif. Leah and her husband Bob chose the Arkansas Valley as home, now living in Pueblo where Bob is retired from his Real Estate business. Griff and Zelma watched with much interest the growth of Burlington, the businesses, E. G. Griff Davis and hie bride, Zelma May (Ackeleon) Davis. the churches, and the schools. How pleased they would have been at seeing our three modern schools. Two of their daughters, Vi �and Leah were teachers in the county, and one of their great-granddaughters, Robbie Vance Fearon ie now teaching in Burlington. They both believed strongly in education and knew its vdue. Griff and Zelma ca-e to the new state of Coloradoas children in covered wagons. They attended school in a vacated "soddy", Griff using books his farnily brought with them from Missouri. They saw the wild horse herds running free acroes the endless prairie, and they watched the same prairies being fenced and plowed. How beautiful grandson Gene Davis fields of wheat and corn would seem to them ifthey could see them today. They saw the railroad cane to Kit Carson Co., and they brought the firet Ford car to Burlington. There were good times and bad, as there were for all the pioneers, but good or bad, there were always songs to sing, and a book to read, older girls were leaving home to work in Denver, generally in the houses of Capitol Hill, or to establish homes of their own. Other memories of these early days was of trips across the grasslands to the store at Friend with eggs which brought three cents a dozen but still an important income to purchase tea, coffee, sugar and sometimes a length of material for home sewing. The girls also helped with the gathering of buffalo chips for fuel and dried bones to sell. But all was not work. My mother and her sisters Elizabeth and Anna once accompanied their father on a trip by wagon to Denver and then on to Colorado Springs by way of Cherry Creek and down the valley of Monument Creek. The big thing was climbing Pike's Peak in their long white dresses and wide brimmed hats, high topped shoes, and carrying coats and enough food to see them and an Irish jig to dance across the kitchen floor. In later years, sometimes in the evening, Griff would sit at the kitchen table, peeling an apple so the skin stayed all in one long piece. He'd hand this to his grandchildren to eat as he told stories of the early days. Zelma doing supper dishes at the sink would add her through the day. . . and a long day it was! The clothing for this day's adventure had been packed in a trunk for safe keeping. Along the way they camped out, cooking memories to his. Stories about the large herds of cattle that grazed the country; there were no fences to hold them, just miles and miles 1900. of prairie grass. The country dances with Dave Manley playrng the fiddle; the young cowboys, Griff and some of his brothers nmoDg them, coming all dressed up, but taking off their guns before going in. The Camp Meetings, with the baptisms in the Republican River. The terrible blizzards, the terrible dust stotme, and the prairie fires; but he always ended every story with "I don't know of any place I'd rather live." by Donna C. Vance with their father nearby, and wearing calico dresses and sunbonnets. But it was adventure that not many girls had in about the year Early in 1900 my mother married John G. Davig and they first lived in a two story sod house which my father had built near Kirk; it still stands in 1986. There they set up F161 The grey wolves still howled on the prairies of eagtern Colorado when my mother, Amelia Homrighaus, came to Colorado from Tingley, Iowa with her parents, Louis and Elizabeth Homrighaus, to eettle near Kirk and not far from the old settlement of Friend. She was the second of four girls who ca-e with their parents by train and box car to Benkleman, Nebraska, and then on to their new home by wagon and horses. Later two brothers and a sist€r came to this pioneer family. Early recollectione of my mother were of the protection of the stock necessary at night to keep the wolves away. Even after a good rock barn and yards had been built, the horses and cattle had to be watched. As soon as the girls were old enough they homesteaded land near their parents and there were memories of long dark nights in their homegtead shacks sometimes frightened by storms or the howling of the wolves and coyotes. But they all stayed with it and later their land was farmed along with the exemption and tree claim of their parents. They had come to Colorado in the early 1880's and by the turn of the century, the these first picturesque structureg were replaced with frame buildings but there were many memories of the fun that went on at the first school. . . a meeting place for dances, box suppers, and the first polling place for the community-minded citizens. And there many a romance began and later children and grandchildren attended the school but in a few years only a pile of rocks, a bit of wall remained to remind them of their pioneer families. It is hard to separate the stories of some of these families according to county lines and it is interesting to know that my brother Louis has a Kit Carson County birth certificate and mine is Yuma County, but we were born in the same house. Corrections were made in lines over the years. A bit of the Republican River came to Kirk when the sod house was built from virgin sod turned near the river bottoms. And so it went as the country developed; fanilies of the area intermarried and started new families; gifts were exchanged in the families or among neighbors and so the lives ofthe people in the whole area beceme intertwined. In writing as a descendant ofthese people, I find it difficult to separate various facets of their lives. Memories don't stop at a line shown on a map! by Eleanor Davie Mclaughlin housekeeping and farmed the drylands. My brother, Louis, was born here in 1907 and I followed in 1912. But the lands of the Republican River called my parents and we went to the river to live around 1913 or '14. Their story there is told in another section of this heritage volume. Among the early memories of the Homrighaus girls, when not homesteading or working away from home was that of learning the household arts from their German born mother. She brought with her in steerage some fine linens and taught the girls sewing and handwork as soon as they were old DAVIS HOMRIGHAUS FAMILY beside the trail and sleeping under the wagon church. It was near Friend and the Homrighaus "kids" could walk to school. Lat€r enough. She had loved nice dishes, too, and n-ong the few things she kept with her on the long trip was a glass berry set, a bowl and 12 dainty serving dishes. Two remain in my possession to remind me of her, a lady I only dimly remember. Before coming to Colorado she had gathered other nice things to the family and they ca'ne the long way to the west where they were used and cherished at family DAVIS - POWELL FAMILY Fl52 Morton Harrison Davis, first child of Elias G. and Leah G. Davis to be born in Colorado, was born Sept. 24, 1888, on the Republican River in what was then Elbert County. As soon as he was old enough, he worked forthe Homm Ranch, first as awrangler, then as a rider on their Smokey Hill River range. He often spoke of his riding companion, Lew Beck. When he was of age, he homesteaded l,and adjoining the home ranch. He and brother Rosser took over the home ranch, having the first registered cattle and horses in the area. On June 27,L9L7, he and Elizabeth Powell gatherings and shared with neighbors and friends. Grandfather Homrighaus, only a memory for me of an elderly gentleman with a long flowing white beard, had carpentry training and he built a fine two story frame house on the exemption claim where the family grew and from where they spread their wings. The were married in Burlington by Judge Wyatt Boger. Elizabeth Lewis Powell was born Feb. 1, father along with farming the land. There was a pump organ in the family and the youngest brother, Charlie, played it well but was best known for playing accompaniments for dance mugic or singing. He and his brother went to dances far and wide in the countryside where they were well known for helping with farm work, especially at hawest time, and for their cowboying when they could be spared from Birminghnm, England. Here, as well as boys learned many handy arts from their the home pLace. This family all attended a school built in the community from rocks which made sturdy buildings and fences. The whole neighborhood helped with the school and a 1889, in Rhayader, Radnorshire, Norih Wales, the oldest daughter of David and Catherine Jane Lewis Powell. She spent her early life on a farm but after the death of her mother, she went into apprenticeship in a store and tailor shop in learning business methods, she learned tailoring and dressmaking. In 1911, her father'e cousin, John J. Pugh and his daughter, Leona, ofTuttle, Colorado, were in Wales on a visit. In January 1912, Elizabeth accompanied them back to Colorado. Many of the families had a number of daughters wishing to be stylishly dressed, so she stayed with each family while replenishing their wardrobes. There were quite a few wedding trousgeaus made over the years. Sometime in 1914, she was stricken with �acut€ appendicitis. There being no hospital, she went by train to Mercy Hospital in Denver where Dr. Scherrer of the Bar T Scherrer's performed the operation. Range land was being taken up by homesteaders, so Mr. Pugh had several people take up land he was grezrng with the agreement hewould buythem outwhen the parcels were "proved up - on". Her Homestead did not become a part of the "Tuttle Ranch", however, until the 1960's when Tom Price purchased it and the ranch of Morton and Elizabeth. After their marriage, they began life together on their joint homesteads, later purchasing a few adjoining parcels of land. Here they lived thru hail, drouth, dirt storms and a big flood of May, 1935, which wrecked havoc with the river ranches. Their only child, Beverly, was born May 20, 1919. After a brief teaching career, not in Kit Carson County, she married Fred Geis of Ovid, Colorado, in 1941. Elizabeth died in April, 1949. After selling the farm in 1964, Morton moved to the Hotel CoUing in Stratton where he lived for several years before moving to Burlington, where he died in Oct. 1979 at the age of 91. None of their descendants live in Kit The Ford Garage Ed Davie operated in Stratton Carson County. 3 granddaughters: Julie Jacobs, Jean Chadwick, Katie Van Deren; 3 grandsons: John, Fred and Don Geis; 7 great granddaughters: Linda Younger, Shelly Thomas, Colette Jacobs, Mandy Jacobs, Joni Geis, Tami Van Deren, Melody Hayes; 7 great grandsons: Frank and Bill Jacobe, Jo-es and Robert Chadwick, Donn and David Van Deren, Tristan Geis; 3 great greatgrandsons: Cole and Nickolae Younger, Eric Davis; 1 great greatgranddaughter: Nicole Thomas. by Beverly Geis DAVIS, ED AND JENNIE Ed and Jennie Davis This story told by David Edmunds Davis was recorded January 3, 1934. I was born on July 24, 1883 in Ethel, Missouri and moved to Alma, Nebraska with my parents. In 1886 we emigrated by covered wagon train to Tuttle, Colorado, where father located on a homestead. Our ranch was on the Republican River and we located a good spring from which we got water for some years. A good substantial sod house was built and additions made as our family grew. What education we received was by attending the little eod school house in the community. I helped my father and older brothers on the ranch until I was thirteen years old, then I went to work for Harry Cor, owner of the then fanous "Cor Fl63 Ed Davis with Fred Weibel in the Ford Garage office Ranch" and I worked for him for thirteen years. There were large herds ofcattle all over this county then, and no corrals or fences, During our yearly round-ups we had to stand guard over the cattle to keep them from stampeding or getting away. Each cowboy took his turn in standing guard for two hours each night. The regular crew employed at that time was ten or twelve men, but during the round-up and branding season we would have as high as eighteen or twenty. Each cowboy or rider had his own bed, blanket and clothing. I still have the mattress that I used during the time I worked for Mr. Cox. It is as good as ever, altho'a bit faded from repeated washings. That is about all I �have left of my range riding days. We always had plenty to eat and had good eats, too. I guess our riding made us hungry and food tasted good to us then. ofcourse, the standby was bacon or salt pork, but we usually had plenty of good beef too, and always plenty of beans and corn bread. There were no fences, no roads, nothing but cattle trails over these stretches of prairie. The country around the river is rather hilly and there was plenty of grass and water and good places to hide. We found some Indian skulls. lots of beads and an old rifle that we plowed up when we were making a dam on the river. It was in a clump of trees and was about four feet under the ground. This rifle was given to a J.W. Gardner who is now living at Hugo, Colorado. We found any number of arrow heads. I never saw any Indians or buffalo, but there were herds of antelope and a number ofgray wolves that got so bold they broke into a corral and killed some of the horses and colts. Lanterns were hung around the corrals to keep them out, but despite the lanterns, they broke in one night and killed a colt before the men could get out to the barns. This happened on the Tuttle Ranch. Wolves were never known to attack men, but they were bad on the livestock. The winters were very severe, and we had such terrible lightning and hail storms in the summer time. But we had to be out in all kinds of weather, so we got used to it. Good grub, plenty of exercise in the open air, and the care-free life we led kept us healthy and happy. Dancing was our chief amusement, and when a bunch of cowboys went to a dance, they went in full regalia: spurs, pistols and chaps. But we usually removed our spurs and turned over the pistols to the hostess before we began dancing. I did not dance much, but enjoyed the fun the others got out of it. We were always on the watch for prairie fires, for usually a fire was hard to control and it took everything in its path. One big fire started at Lusto Springs, north of Limon, and burned down to the Republican River. It kept us busy plowing fire guards to protect the ranch and feed stacks. The following story told by Jennie Etta Jones Davis was also recorded on January 3, 1934. I was born in Shelton, Nebraska on February 1, 1883, and cq-e to Colorado with my parents in April, 1892. We arrived at Limon by train and at that time Limon was composed of a hotel, the section house, a small store and post office and one or two houses. Father took a homestead sixteen miles north of Limon near Walks Camp and we built our sod house and settled down to live on the prairies. Hugo, Forty miles away, wan our nearest town and doctor, so we did not dare to get sick. We could buy no furniture, so Father made what we needed from packing boxes. Whenever we got newspapers we would put them on the walls, thus saving all reading matter, and keeping our house warm. We got our water from a well and from springs close by. We always enjoyed living water, and never had to drink from water holes like many another pioneer in this county. I remember of Mother selling eggs for three cents per dozen, and butter for three cents per pound. We could not get any more for it, and perhaps if it had been higher people could not have bought it, for there was very little money in the country then. When we first came to Limon the "trail herds" used to pass our place about a mile east of us, great herds of from five to eight thousand head of long-horn Texas cattle on their way north to Montana to grass and pasture for the summer. There was plenty of water near us, and the crew always camped there over night. There were usually about eighteen cowboys, a chuck wagon and the supply wagon. My brother-in-law worked with this outfit for three summers and we always felt interested in the trail herds. We have seen a steady line of cattle moving north from daylight to dark. I often think of the great herds that used to pass over the prairies where now there are fields or fenced pastures. As you know, there were no trails or roads or fences in those days, and it was so easy to become confused as to directions, and lose your way on the prairie. I was a little girl about twelve years old, as my brother was working in the field, I was sent to bring home the cows. I was riding horseback, and started out in plenty of time to get the cows home before supper-time. They had wandered rather far that day and it was hard to get them turned homeward until sunset and it got too dark for them to eat. By this time I did not know where I was, and drove the cattle in the opposite direction from home. It got cold and soon began to rain, so I got off my horse and put the saddle blanket around me. I had bare feet. as it was warm when I had left home and we always had to go barefoot as soon as weather permitted and save our shoes. I got so cold and frightened and did not know what to do. About ten o'clock that night my folks and some of the neighbors began hunting for me. They built a big bonfire on top ofone ofthe hills, and then took lanterns and followed the gulleys or draws, calling me all the while. When I saw the bonfire, I rounded up the cattle and started towards it, but soon came up to where my brother was, and Oh, how glad I was to see him. I know the night was no darker than many another night, but to me it seemed so dark and the prairies so big and lonesome. I was very fortunate in that a severe storm had not come instead of a gentle, drizzling rain. Through much planning, saving and hard study, I managed to get an education and became a teacher. I taught school at the Lanchman School, also known as the Regan School from the fall of 1905 until spring of 1908. I was teaching there when I met my husband, Ed. Ed and Jennie were married April 26, 1908. They homesteaded five miles southwest of Kirk, Colorado. While on the homestead four children were born there: Harry, who died in infancy, Edith, (Davis) Fehrenbach, Robert G., and David E. Their fifth child, EarlJ., was born in Stratton, Colorado. Jennie insisted that the children must have an education. The school in Kirk, five miles away wan not very good, so they moved to Burlington in 1917. Ed went in business with his brother Griff, in the Ford Garage. In 1920 they moved to Stratton where he operated the Ford Garage and was associated with The First National Bank. They resided in Stratton until their deaths.. Ed passed away May 13, 1967 and Jennie passed away November 18' 1967. by David E. Davis DAVIS, ELIAS GRIFFITH, II Fl64 I was born in Macon County, Missouri on Jan. 27, 1876 and went with my parents to Alma, Nebr. in 1865 for one year. My father Elias G. Davis and a cousin came out to Colo. in the late fall of 1886 and liking the looks of the country filed a pre-emption and tree claim on land along the Republican River bottom. Here they built a soddy and made ready a home for the family. My cousin returned to Nebr. for my mother, Leah Davis, my grandfather (my mother'g father) and we five boys in late March 1887. We traveled in covered wagons and drove ten head of cattle and 5 pigs. We went to Haigler, Nebr., then across to old Jacqua, Kan., then followed the Republican into Colo. We brought a few household furnishings, our bedding, some food supplies, and a small cook stove. After father proved up on the pre-emption, he took a homestead right across the road east of the old location. There was no railroad thru here then, and so our nearest trading point was Haigler, Nebr. or Wray, Colo. I never saw any buffalo; I guess they had been pretty well hunted out before we arrived. But there were buffalo bones on the prairies and we used to eather them and take them to Haigler to se'il for $8.00 per ton. There were plenty of antelope on the prairie and lots of wild horses that used to coax our domestic horses away. I have chased many a wild herd and once in awhile would capture a pretty good one, but as a rule they were too light for most farm work. We used to trap gray wolves and sometimes sell the pelts or tan them and use them for rugs. Our mail was brought from St. Francis once a week by a carrier with a horse and btggy, and was taken to the postoffice established on the Tuttle ranch. About a year later the postoffice was changed to our home and my father made postmaster. He held this position for several years. The mail was the brought from Wray, Colo. When the county was first organized, my father was appointed one of the members of the first county commissioners. There was no court house at that time, so the county offices were located in the west rooms of the N.R. Brown building (the first two-story building in Burlington). I remember once father asked me to go with him to Burlington and bring the team back home. I had no shoes presentable for town wear, as it would not be proper for the son of a commissioner to go to town barefooted. So mother solved the problem by letting me wear a pair of her shoes for the grand occasion. I remember how proud I was when I got to Burlington and displayed my button shoes to the admiring natives. Can you imagine a boy of today wearing his mother's shoes? I went to school in a vacated house about 6 miles from our home. We had homemade desks and benches and used books brought from Missouri and Nebr. Our first teacher was Miss Celia Miller, and the next J.F. Gilmore. We had a three month term of school at that time. Later a sod school was built and the regular desks installed. Sunday school was held in the homes of different neighbors in the community until after the school was built, then we held our �meeting there. We had church once or twice a year. We were always glad when a traveling minister came along. Later the Rev. Peter Rasmussen and Rev. Mary Bevier both preached in our community, driving long distances to do so. I remember a young girl died and the funeral sermon was not preached until several months later, as there was no minister near tur. We moved to Burlington later and I married Zelma Akelson. We have 4 children. I served two terms as County Sheriff and was engaged in the garage business several years until I sold to the Reed Bros. by Janice Salmans DAVIS, JOHN AND AMELIA Fl66 The two story frgme home built on the John Davis Republican River Ranch, northwest of Burlington, in 1913. This picture shows Amelia Davis showing her new home to visitors, possibile some of her sisters. A screened in porch does not show in this photo. It was used as protection against rattle snakes for young daughter going on two years. was the oldest of the family and he had ridden The ranch buildings and tree plantings were placed below the rock rim of the drylands to the north of the river and on a stead sit€ ahead of the rest of the family, leaving them behind near Alma. A sister of immediate farmyards. Rattlesnakes were plentiful in the beginning and I spent my first Leah's lived nearby and helped the ggghring: family. The men built a soddy home and some outbuildings and prepared for the arrival of the rest of the family in the summer of 1887. On this river land the brothers and their sister grew to adulthood, working on the ranch or about the community as work could be found. By the turn of the century the young men of the family were seeking land of their own away from the river ranch of their parents, most of them establishing homes and families. One brother stayed with the old ranch until its ruination by the flood of 1935. My father, John, first farmed on the drylands near Kirk where he built a two story sod house, still standing. He married Anna Homrighaus, of a pioneer Kirk family but she Taken in the meadow at the John Davis Republican River Ranch in the summer of 1916. Eleanor Davis (left) and Louie Davis (right) ages 4Vz and. 10 years. Ranch My paternal grandparents, Elias G. Davis and Leah Glass Davis cnme from Macon Co., to the Republican River Valley in 1887, settling near the old post office of Tuttle, nestled on a rocky hillside above the river. Grandpa Davis had visited the site of the preemption claim before bringing the family west by covered wagon and he had chosen to settle near the river where a tree claim was planted. He had also observed the lush grasslands along the river and in time 'haying'was a part ofthe ranching operation. There were six of the Davis brothers, the fifth being born near Alma, Nebraska in a dugout home on the move west. Later the last brother and a sister to join them in the soddy home on the Republican. My father, John, year around. My mother was a famous cook! horeeback or walked the miles from Missoud, herding the livestock along the way. He and one or two of the brothers and their Grandfather Glass went with Elias to the home- died of diphtheria after only five months as a bride. A few years later, Amelia Homrighaus, a sister of Anna's married John and they also lived in the two story sod house. There my brother, Louis, was born in 1907 and I followed in 1912. My parents farmed the in the Kirk area for several years but the river lands called them and they moved to the Republican River northwest of Burlington, near the post office of Hale. I was a year old when they built a lovely frn-e farm house, substantial farm buildings, planted windbreaks, an orchard and gardens and established an irrigation system from the river. Two gardens were part ofthe homestead. one near the house and the other near the orchard area. One of the delights of this garden system was an extensive strawberry bed, the fruit of which we loved, the work we hated: picking the fruit in quantities was not a favorite chore but we loved the shortcakes, the bowls of berries with thick crearn, fresh strawberry ice cream for the ranch had an icehouse, and the preserves that appeared on the table almost bench above the meadowlands south of the year or so at the ranch in a big screened porch built across one side of the house . . . there wasn't time to watch my activities all hours of the day. As time passed the unwelcome rattlers were thinned out near the buildings but always made their homes in the rimrocks to the north. Watchful eyes were always out in the gardens, potatoe patches, the farmyard and especially at haying time in the meadows. 'Haying' was a big part of the ranching operation, furnishing feed for livestock but farming was also diversified and corn crops were also raised for ensilage to fill the big cement silo and alfalfa supplemented the native hay of the meadows. My parents were early pioneer cooperators of the Extension Service. Land was looked after, animals raised by suggestions of the specialists and hundreds of cans of food were put up, following safe methods of the service. I have many memories of the haying time when neighbors arrived to help, later to be helped in their operations. There was bustle in the kitchen where plentiful and wonderful food was prepared for the crews, and the farmyard was a busy scene with the coming and going of men, horses and machinery. I longed to go into the meadows for a closer view of all that went on. But that was forbidden and I could only watch from the yard while my brother hustled about keeping the men supplied with cool jugs of water from the well house. Memories of haying time are kept fresh by the accompanying picture of my brother and me taken by a friend of the family's out from Burlington for a Sunday visit. She chose to pose us in the delightful setting of the meadow grasses and take a snap of the Davis 'kids'. The days of living on the ranch were over by the early twenties when we moved to Burlington where my brother and I went to school and our father became the second of �the Davis brothers to serve as sheriff of Kit Carson County. by Eleanor Davis Mclaughlin DAVIS, MABEL DAVIS, ROSSER AND KATIE Fl67 Fl56 fanily was school. He received his education at the Tuttle school which was held in an abandoned homestead house. In 1907, when Rosser was twenty-one, he filed for his own I em Mabel, the middle one of nine children, born of Mr. and Mrs. Jas. (Jimmie) Winfrey. I was born June 1, 1918, on their homestead which was located about 3 milee south of the Republican River where the Bonny Dam is now. It was Yz mile eouth of the Kit Carson and Yuma County line. I remember how long the 2L miles into Burlington seemed in our Model-T Ford. In those days cousins grew up knowing their coueins as most of them lived within walking distance of each other, not so today. Even though my parents had six boys, I *e1s eyslalls a lot and worked in the fields with two. four or sometimes six horse teems. My pride and joy was my saddle horge nnmed Spot. I rode him a lot and onejob was to bring the cows in from the pasture. My dad used to call me his cowboy. We milked lots of cows by hand, morning and night, and all of us had a part in that sooner or later. I attended lst through 8th grades at the Cook School, 3 miles north. We rode horseback, took the horse and buggy or sometimes walked. I went to Idalia, Co. for the 9th grade. The lfth grade I went to Happy Hollow, a country school 4 miles south, which taught first through 10th grade. My 1lth grade year, I stayed in Burlington, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Royden Hook and worked for my room and board. They were a nice family with 5 children so it seemed like home. My senior year, I went back to Idalia. My younger sister, Lola, was ready for the llth grade so we lived in a house at the Helling farm about 1 mile from the school, (which was in the country south and east of the town then). We walked back and forth and were the school janitors to help pay our tuition. That was in the "dirty thirties", so lots ofyou know our job wasn't an easy one. But this gal was determined to get her high school diploma and she did. I graduated in 1935 from Idalia, Co. On April 17, 1938, I married Wade Davis, a good guy, who was born and raised in Kanarado, Ks. He worked for the Co-op and was the manager of the gas and oil station for 23 years. We raised five sons: Gerold, Gail, Richard, Jimm and Neil. The first four homestpad located in the breaks north of the Republican River. Except for working for a few ranches in the Stratton and Tuttle area in his youth, Rosser's entire life was expen- ded ranching and farming for himself. Katie Nowak was born near Seneca, Kansas, on December 24, L896. In 1910, Katie journeyed by train to Burlington with her mother, brothers, and sisters. They arrived on Thanksgiving Day and joined the children's father, Max Nowak, who had home- steaded shortly before on 320 acres ofland 15 miles northwest of Bethune. During the first years on the homestead the family members spent any spare time they had gathering cow chips for fuel. They also had to learn to be constantly on alert for rattlesnakes - something the Nowaks had not been accustomed to in eastern Kansas. Katie received most of her education in Katie and Rosser DAvis with twin sons Stanley on left and Russell on the right. Picture was taken in Iate 1929 or early 1930. Remembering his younger days, Rosser laughed when he said, "The parents of my good wife, Katie, homesteaded in our pasture. They made us take down our fences." It was several years after Katie's parents had staked out their homestead that Katie Nowak came to work for Rosser and his mother on the old home ranch. An aged ledger book shows that in January of 1920, Katie was receiving only eighteen dollars a month, but by fall her wages had been raised to thirty dollars a month. No records are available for 1921, so one can only speculate that Rosser thought it would be cheaper to marry Katie. At any rate, on September 30, 1921, Rosser and Katie secretly went to Denver where they were manied, much to the surprise of family and friends. Thus began Mr. and Mrs. Rosser Davis' loyal marriage that lasted forty-six graduated from Kanarado. In May 1965, we sold our home in Kanarado and moved to Burlington. At that time I was employed at Mac Lloyd's Clothing Store, which is now the Men's Shop. Wade was and still is the sales representative for the Memorial Art Co. of Salina, Kansas. Neil needed to finish his schooling but it was rumored the Kanarado School would be closed. It was a few years later. Our sons are now all married so now we have four daughters-in-law, 14 grandchildren years. Rosser was born near Alma, Nebraska, on April 16, 1886. His parents, Elias Griffith and Leah Glass, along with his five older brothers, with Grandfather Glass, and with an orphaned cousin, John Jay Davis, had started west whole gang", very much. This is 1987 and my sister, Lola Rhoades, and I are the only ones of the nine member family still residing in the Burlington area. raska, in the late fall. The winter months were spent with relatives who lived there. Soon after Rosser was born the party pushed on. by Mabel (Winfrey) Davis settled on a pre-emption and on a tree claim and 5 step-grandchildren. We enjoy "the on the south fork of the Republican River not far from Tuttle. Rosser grew to manhood on this ranch. When he and his brother, Morton, were boys, they caught two young antelope, a buck and a doe, and raised them on cows' milk. These antelope were fanily pets for several years until they ran away with a large herd of antelope that happened by. Another facet of Rogger's life as a youngster in his from Macon County, Missouri, in 1885. The traveling party included three wagons, a few cows, and even some chickens and hogs. The group forded the Missouri River then went west overland till they reached the Republican River, in south central Nebraska. They followed this river and reached Alma. Neb- When the baby was six weeks old the travelers reached their destination. They Kansas; however, she did graduate from the eighth grade at the Tuttle school near the Harvey Wood ranch. Sometime after finishing the eighth grade and before being married Katie took a course at Barnes Business School in Denver. Although she might have worked a short time for a lawyer in Burlington, Katie primarily labored as a hired girl on the nearby ranches. Miss Nowak grew to young womanhood in the Tuttle community where she took an active part in community affairs and social events. Rosser and Katie lived on the Davis ranch close to the Republican River until 1935 when a Memorial Day flood took the lives of many of their cattle, horses, and hogs. The flood also destroyed most of the haying equipment and ruined the hay meadows. After this disaster the Davises moved to a rented ranch south of the river. Then in 1942, they purchased a new farm and home east of Burlington where they resided until retiring and moving to town in 1960. Rosser and Katie raised twins, born in 1920. Stanley is involved in veterinary supply sales and now lives in Colby, Kansas, with his wife. the former Lucile Chalfant. Russell married Alene Marcum of Las Animas in 1951. They have farmed and ranched in the Burlington area since their marriage. In 1915, Rosser and his brother, Morton, started a registered Hereford cattle herd. The two also raised registered Clydesdale horses, and at one time owned an aged stallion that had been a champion at the Chicago International Livestock Show when he was a young horse. The brothers'partnership was terminated sometime in the 1920's. Rosser dispersed his registered horses in 1934; however, he was involved with Hereford cattle until his retirement. Katie passed away after a lingering illness in 1967. Rosser lived an active life until shortly before his death in 1978. They were �both laid to rest in Fairview Cemetery in Burlington. by Russ Davie DAVIS, RUSS AND ALENE Fl68 brother Stan, started school at the Tuttle School which was then located about 1% diversified because sometimes it's rather miles north of the Harvey Wood ranch. In the fall of 1934, when they were five years old, much too young to start the first grade, they started school. Even in those days, state or county aid was available to only those who an agricultural base. qualified by having so many students. In the spring of 1935, they were flooded out by the Memorial Day flood and then moved to a ranch south of the river and 13 miles northwest of Bethune. The next seven years, they attended school at District 22 which still stands 12 miles straight north of Bethune. In L942, they moved to a farm 4 miles east of Burlington. They graduated from Burlington High School in 1946. Russ then joined the U.S. NaW serving most of the next two years at the Naval Air Station at Corpus Christi, Texas. Soon after being discharged from the Navy in 1948, he enrolled at Colorado A & M which he attended until spring of 1951 when he and Alene were maried. Their mariage was at the Presbyterian Church in Las Animas on June 3, 1951, the hard to ride the "booms and busts" with onlv by Russ Davis DEVITT . GEMMELL FAMILY Fr59 ss-e day that Jim Gernhart held his first funeral here in Burlington. Those that at- tended the wedding missed the event that attracted national news coverage. Gene Penny stated that he missed out on being a pallbearer because of going to the wedding. Through the years, Alene and Russ have kept busy raising a family, farming, and etaying active in community affairs. They are both active in the Methodist Chuch where they are both on the board. They are also members of the Caroueel Toaetmast€rs Club and both enjoy traveling whenever they can. Besideg raising a family, Alene is interested Alene and Rusg Davig still smiling after nearly 36 years of marriage. Taken in March 1987. in reading, playrng bridge and oil painting. In the post war years ofthe late 1940's, the ratio of men to women students at Colorado A & M College in Ft. Collins was around 9 to Burlington Woman's Club, Pink Ladies and the United Methodist Women. For the past 36 years, Russ has been farming and ranching. He raised Registered Polled Herefords from 1952 until dispersing in 1967. He also started irrigating in 1957 and began raising 1. Withthis statistic in mind, Russ Davis wag quite relieved when a fraternity brother had arranged a blind date for him with Alene Marcum, a quiet blue-eyed Kappa Delta, for the Alpha Go-ma Rho spring formal dance. This was how Alene and Russ became acquainted in the spring of 1949. Alene was born in Lamar, Colorado to Floyd and Jennie Marcum who now live in Las Animas, Colorado. She was reared in Prowers and Bent County where her father farmed & her mother taught school. Alene graduated in 1947 from Bent County High School. That summer, she attended La Junta Jr. College and earned an emergency certificate. She then taught school for one term at a rural school in Bent County. In the fall of 1948, she enrolled at Colorado A & M which she att€nded for a year and then transferred to Colorado State Teacher's College much to the relief of Russ as the ratio at Greeley was even. After a year there, she taught the fourth grade at the Helen Hunt Elementary School in Colorado Springs for one year. She then moved to Burlington because she and Russ were married in 1951. After living in Burlington for a year, she was again employed a kindergarten teacher for Burlington schools. Rws was born in Stratton, Colorado, one of twins, to Rosser and Katie Davis. The first six years of his life were spent living on the old Davis Ranch along the Republican River northeast of Stratton. He, along with his twin She has been active in Modern Homemakers, Mae and Alex Gemmell. 1947. sugar beets in 1958 which was the second year they were raised in Kit Carson County. He had beets every year until the sugar factory at Goodland was closed in 1985. In the early years of their maniage, Russ helped in 4-H, was a volunteer fireman, member of the Lion's Club and Soil Conservation Board. In the late 1970's and early 1980's he was on the Kit Carson County Planning Commission. From 1974, until sugar beets were no longer grown in the Burlington area, he was a director of the Mountain States Sugar Beet Growers Board and was on the Great Western Growers Joint Research Committee from 1975 to 1980. He is presently serving as president of the board of the Burlington Equity Co-op and is on the board of the United Farmer'g Marketing Association. Alene and Rws have three children. Mike and Ken farm with Russ on the Davis farm east of Burlington. Mike attended college and worked around the Boulder area for several years. Ken married Terri Butts of Edson, Kansas. They have two daughters, Tess and Leah. Jenny married Tom Swanson of La Junta. They live in Montrose, Colorado and have two sons, Jacob and Dylan. Russ and Alene feel that Kit Carson County has been good to them. They hope that in some small way they have given something back in return. It's their hope that the economy in the county can become more Dad's home in Stratton. Alexander D. Gemmell was born June 25, 1879 in Moosic, Pennsylvania. He had six sisters. At age 21 he went to Stratton, Colorado to try ranching or some other work. He settled in Stratton because he had an aunt and uncle living on a homest€ad two or three miles south of town. They were Archie and Bessie Dargavall. One of the first jobs Alex had in Stratton was working as a helper drilling wells with a Mr. Messinger. Mary (Mae) Alice Devitt, born November 13, 1889 on the south side of Chicago, had three brothers and two sisters. Her father passed away when they were young. She and her family moved to Stratton for her sister �Hazel's health. They thought she had quick consumption, which we now know as tubercu- losis. Her three maiden aunts came with them. They settled on a homestead about three miles west of town and south of Rock Island Railroad. I don't know their reasons for settling in Stratton. One of her three aunts, Mary Murry, married the postmaster Joseph Smith in 1903. Another aunt, Elizabeth, was a dressmaker and the third aunt, Helen, taught at the public school. Mary and Joe Smith owned and operated a hotelboarding house in town one block west of Main Street and two blocks from the depot. Mr. Messinger was hired to drill a well on my grandmother's homestead. Alex Gemmell, his helper, went along on the job. While working there he met Mae. He courted her for a time and they were married November 26, 1906. Alex then applied for a homestead close to Mae's family. Their homestead did not have modern facilities but they were happy. They lived there for a year or two after the wedding, then Mae's family and one maiden aunt moved back to Chicago. At the snme time Mae and Alex moved to the Dargavall place, which now belonged to Alex as his aunt and uncle had passed away. Their nearest neighbor was Jeppie who owned the dairy works a mile and one-half away. Mae and Alex had two children by now. I, Agnes, was born in 1910. Alex was now working at the coal chutes for the Rock leland Railroad and their third child was born while Mae was visiting her farnily in Chicago. Soon aftpr her return, they moved into town to a small house one block east of Main Street and one block south. Around 1914 or 1915, Alex started working for the Continental Oil Company (this is now Conoco Oil Co.). He was a wholesale distributor and his territory was around a 50 mile area. Sometime after this, they started to build a home that we resided in until we moved from Stratton. Mae and Alex designed and drew the blueprints for this home. It is located on the corner of Main Street across from the public school and the Catholic Church. It was a two story four bedroom home with all modern conveniences. We had a large windmill in the back yard for our water supply and we piped some to the cistern. From there, we children were supposed to pump the pressure into the tank that had been filled from the cistern, so we could have the pressurized water in the house. Sometime around 1916 Alex was elected Mayor, which was a non-paid job. This with his oil business, kept him busy, but he always had time for his family. Both he and Mae were very active in town. Mae was busy in the Catholic Church and school affairs and sang in the choir as well as singing solo. She also sang for the Knights of Pythians, and many other social affairs. As Mayor, Alex was instrumental in getting the water tower in town and the electricity, which came from Burlington, 18 miles East of Stratton. This was a very active small town, Main Street ran from South to North about two blocks. There was Sundberg's Garage, a dentist, a General Store, a butcher shop, Drug Store, The Bank, Bakers Mens Store, Newspaper, Post Office, Holloway's garage, Black Smith Shop, and a Crenmery. At the end of this block, running East and West was the Rock Island Depot, a grainery and lumber yard, the Continental Oil Co. and across the tracks, the Coal Chutes. Going from our house South, the Catholic Church, the Prieet's house and the Catholic School. Across from the school was Dr. Beachley. Dr. Beachley delivered five of the six children Mae and Alex had while living in Stratton. One child was born in Chicago and the other three were born after they finally moved to Chicago. One of the highlights of our life in Stratton was Stratton Days, a Fair, usually lasting two days, Friday and Saturday. A time that stands out in my mind was when Alex went outside of town and set off dlmnmite to start the Fair. He also rode a white horse and led the parade. The public school was given Friday off for this but the Catholic School did not, as Father Munich would not sanction it. My father permitted us to go to school in the morning but not in the afternoon, and as the Father had warned us, we received 50 in deportment. Another highlight of the Fair was a Beef Barbecue which took days to prepare in the ground. My friend and I would head straight for the Barbecue Stand, and I can taste it to this day. This being Friday, the Catholics had a rule of no meat on Fridays. The worst had to happen to me, while walking along eating the forbidden fruit, I came face to face with Father Munich. Stratton was a very active community and it should have grown and become a nice small town. About 1923 or l924,tbe Klu Klux Klan got a toehold in town and influenced some of the people in joining. They decided to have a parade down Main Street and burn a cross on the steps of the Catholic Church but some of the church members blocked their way at the corner with their cars. They then started a rumor that the church had a regular arsenal in the root cellar, so the Klan turned the corner by our house and went West. Mae seeing this, went to the side of the house where she had a hose and turned it on the men in their "magnificent" white robes and hats. There being only dirt roads, the mud was splashed all over them and they not only got dirty, but cold as well. She knew some of them from their walk or shape, and she called them by name. Our dog, Sparrow, got loose. He didn't like these strange outfits so he began nipping at their heels. All in all, you can be sure they were glad to get away from history as a former Stratton resident and pioneer. by Mrs. Paul Goes DILLON, THOMAS H. AND JESSICA L. (KELLOGG) F160 Thomas H. Dillon, Jr. came to Burlington, Colorado in 1906, from Springville, New York. He ceme with an uncle and Morgan horses. One of the horses, a stallion, they walked and led from ranch to ranch breeding mares. He spent a few days at the Norton Ranch eight miles south of Bethune. He filed for a homestead 15 miles north and 1 east of Bethune, then returned to Springville and married Jessica Kellogg in 1909. The follow- ing year they moved by railroad in an immigrant car to Burlington. The cost of the meal and room was $1.50. The second day at daylight they headed 22 miles northwest to their new home, a sod house that Tom and the Gramm boys had built. When they were settled and had some land plowed, Tom went to work for the BarT Ranch. He had probably worked there only a year or two when it was learned that the "big boys" at the Bar-T School always ran the teachers off so they wouldn't have to go to school. It was decided that Tom take the job as teacher. He was 23 years old, stood 6'2", handy with his fists, and a graduate of Griffith Institute, Springville, New York. From then on there were no more teachers run off. He taught in the Ragan or Bar-T School and later at Yale. Tom's sister, Vera Dillon, moved to a homestead close by; she also taught school. Vera lived on the homestead that Tom had registered for their sister, Lulu Dillon. Thomas H. Dillon, Sr. arrived in Bethune in 1916 and died in 1925. In 1914, Tom took the exn-ination and was chosen for rural mail carrier. He carried mail with a mule team and a canvas-covered that corner. wagon to the German Settlement north of Bethune for several years, until cars and Alex, the Mayor, and some of his Councilmen were outside of town, trying to shut off the transformer for the electric lights in town. They wanted to put the town in darkness for was born. the Klan Parade. The Klan burned their cross West of town, which was not nearly as impressive as their original plan. This organization managed to split the townspeople, and many, including our family, sold their homes and moved away. Our parents have been back a number of times, and some of us also have been back for visits. The last time was for somebody's 50th anniversary. Alex died on May 25, Lg67 and Mae on December L2, L978.If they were still with us, they would be very proud, as they had nine children, 37 grandchildren, 49 great grandchildren and 14 great, great, grandchildren. After all the research I have done, and as much as I can remember, this is as near the facts as possible. It is as near authentic as I know. It has been a pleasure to write this so the Gemmell nnme will be in the annals of roads were practical. Later he acted as substitute carrier for Albert Anmon for many years. In 1914, a son, Carlos K. Dillon Dillons moved to Bethune when Tom becnme Manager of the Farmer's Union Elevator. They lived in the upstairs of the railroad section foreman's house. The foreman was John Day. William Yersin, Sr. had the grocery store and cresm stationjust south of the railroad tracks. Tom purchased the Jim Pfaffly ranch 1 mile south and 1 % miles west of Bethune. Erma Cordinnier, postmaster at Bethune, was Jim's daughter. Some cattle and horses were acquired in the purchase. They farmed about 80 acres which could not produce enough feed for 100 cattle, 50 horses and mules, although range grass was free in the summer and fall. The free range ran from the Rock Island Railroad south to the Santa Fe Railroad. There were only a few ranches between: Nortons, Dunlaps, McArthurs, Johnstones, and Bremeirs. Bethune was quite a town with Cora's Cafe, Bill's Poolhall, Yersin's Grocery Store, post office and Farmer's Elevator; later there was �a bank, hotel, and lumber yard. During the depression, Tom worked for PWA. He worked on the Stratton Gymnasium, also the Moon Theater and did much road construction. Carlos served in the CCC's gtationed in Durango, Colorado. Many of the cattle were shot by the Government during the dust storms. They were paid $10.00 a head. To save the herd, Tom moved the family and livestock to Millikin, Colorado, for a short time because of irrigation. During the bad years, none of the jobless traveling the railroad or highway ever left the Dillon house hungry. In 1935 the Landsman washed out the railroad bridge. Jess served lunch to the construction crews. Tom and Jess had two daughters: Mary Louise (Schanefelt) born in 1921, and Janet (Toland) born in L924. Janet and her husband, Max K. Toland, lived in Stratton for many years as did Carlos and his wife, Pauline. Mary Louise left the area after she finished school. Tom served on the Bethune School Board many years; worked in the PMA office from 1938 to 1950s; was the first rancher to bring Ayrshire Cattle to Colorado and at one time had the largest herd in the area, selling gallons of milk and cream. In L927, Tom and Jess built a new house and barn one mile west of Bethune on US Highway 24, where they lived until their deaths, Jess in 1957 and Tom in 1968. by Janet Toland DISCHNER, ANTONE JOHN F16I. Antone John Dischner was born January 30, 1889 in Columbus, Nebraska to Anna Sweeney and John Dischner. As a young man he cnme to Colorado to seek his fortune. He sold real estate and promoted the area. In 1917 he met Clara Elizabeth Jostes who came to the area to keep house for her brothers and the Bettinger cousing. Tony and Clara were manied January 8, 1918 in Lindsay, Nebraska. His military duty followed and he was stationed in Fort Louis, Washington. Of their four children, Alyce Margaret was born on October 21, 1918 in Lindsay, Nebraska. On November 11, 1918 the armistice was signed and Tony brought his family back to Stratton. In 1921 he purchased the General Merchandise Store from J.W. Borders. The previous owner had been C.H. Fuller. The store was located on the east side of the main street and at the north end ofthe block, third building from the railroad tracks. My earliest memory of the store was at Easter in 1921 when one of my aunts was baby sitting, set me up on a counter and I tasted my first marshmallow candy egg. Leonard Antone Dischner was born in Stratton October 24, 1921. I remember the several houses we lived in through the years, all of which are still occupied today. Arthur John Dischner was born April 30, 1923 just 18 months after Leonard. They were dressed alike and even after they were grown many people confused their names though they looked nothing alike and were inseparable. Several people recalled who worked in the store were the following: Grace Richardson, William Thyne, a farmer from north of town, Mrs. J.R. Brown, Ruth Thyne, Mary Weibel, Dan Thyne and Harold Thomason although I am sure there were others. Of course the three sons worked continuously after they began school. The general store which A.J. operated was very old fashioned even in those times. The prunes, raisins and other dried fruit came in the bulk and had to be scooped, weighed and sacked to be sold. Cookies cnme in large square boxes and were placed in a special rack so the customer could see through the cellophane tops to make their choices. Tobacco came in large pieces and was cut with a special cutter to suit the customer's preference. A.J. was slow to make any changes in the appearance or the operation of the business and it was only in 1945 when Leonard and Arthur calne home from the service that the first modernization was accomplished. In later years I asked my brothers what had happened to all the old high-topped ladies shoes, overshoes, clothing, yard goods and sewing notions that had been the standard available products. They claimed that a buyer from Denver cnme out and was eager to make a complete purchase. Today those antiques would be valuable. In cleaning up they burned bunches of old charge tickets that were old and never paid. In the nineteen thirties the dust storms were go bad that we could be outdoors and see the huge brown dust clouds rolling toward the town. Businees was bad because the farmers were having a difficult time due to the drought and the economy was still reeling from the 1929 etock market crash. Mr. Roy Herberger, published the Strotton Press, and A.J. sat on the street curb one A.J. and Clara Dischner day in the thirties and tried to figure out what could be done to stay in business because all Tony's credit with the mercantile warehouses had been cut off. Ray Calvery was the banker at the time and his bank was two doors south. The business men worked out something and later Tony started a wholesale business and sold to other grocers up and down Highway 24. .He worked his way back and managed to stay in the same location for 43 years. The W.P.A. worked on various projects in town during the Roosevelt administration and the grade school on Main Street in Stratton was one school they built, in which I taught school from 1961 to 1964. Edward Aloyious Dischner was born on August 19, 1928. He attcnded school and worked in the store with his dad. Ed stayed out of school one year to help and then went back to graduate. After being in the service he returned to work for his dad who sold him the business in 1962. Ed is still operating the IGA Grocery store in Stratton with his wife, Marlyn Schmidt Dischner. The children all took music lessons from the sisters at St. Charles Academy who bartered groceries for lessons. It is my understanding that A.J. went into the cattle business with some farmers. He tried everything to make a go of the business. On November 23, 1963 the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Tony suddenly took ill, was taken to the Memorial Hospital in Burlington, Colorado. He was never well but did make a couple of short stays at home until in December 1963 he was taken to Denver where he died in St. Joseph's Hospital January 7, L964. After the farmers returned from their wartime jobs and went back to farming there were some good years what with the irrigation systems and good weather. Many good conscientious farrners paid some of their old charge accounts some of which had already been marked off. by Alyce M. Lewis DOBLER FAMILY Fr62 Our great grandfather, Christof Adam Dobler, left Beutelsbach in Remstal, near Stuttgart Germany, in 1797, and made his way to Cherwinka, Botchka Yugoslavia (presently known as Austria). In 1803 a son, Peter Michael, was born to them. Michael, as Dad referred to him, was among the immigrants who came down the Danube Valley to the Black Sea in 1817. The trip was made during the winter and many of those who began the journey were unable to survive the conditions. Michael was one of the founders of the village of Teplitz in the province of Bessarabia, Russia. He was the second generation of the immigrant band and was the grandfather to our father, John Dobler. Michael manied a girl by the name of Heu, and a son called Leopold was born to them. After the death of Heu, Michael married an 18 year old orphan girl, Wilhelmina Christena Wirth. She had been born in Germany and had migrated with 2 sisters and 1 brother, along with their guardian, Gottlieb Mader, to Teplitz. To Michael and Wilhelmina were born 3 sons, Christian, Jacob and Joseph. Michael died in 1842 and Wilhelmina married twice more. The second husband's name was Kurz and the third was Joseph Haubach, a widower. No children were born to either of these unions. Mr. Haubach had a son from a previous marriage, Jacob F, Haubach. who was born Oct. 11. 1812 and �There is somewhat of a discrepancy in the records as to the time it took to cross the ocean, 12 days or 18 days, but this was explained by the differences in the calendars. We do know they landed in New York during the first part of February, travelling on to Scotland, Dakota Territory, by train with a l-day stopover in Chicago. Upon arrival in Scotland, they rented a farm near the town during 1885-86. Grandfather then took employment at "The Farmers Elevator" in Scotland, working up to the position of businese manager, from 1887 to 1889. Following the death of his wife, Dorothea in 1889, he movedhis familytoward Colorado. They arrived in St. Francis, Kansas on March 2. 1890 and then moved on to the German Settlement located north of Bethune, where theyhomesteaded on Section 37-45 West, which to this present day remains in the Dobler family. Our dad, John,lived on the homestead with Grandpa Christian from 1890 until 1892. During 1893 and 1894 he was employed at London Dairy in Denver, Colorado. In 1895 he returned to the homestead until the crops were hailed out. Then he and Peter Knodel went back to Denver and following a series of odd jobs, they both found employment at the smelters. Great grandfather Dobler and Walter Dobler in t922. died in August of 1900. Leopold Dobler, the oldest son of Michael, was the direct ancestor of the South Dakota Doblers, and also of Dr. Leopold Dobler of Teplitz, and later on of Germany. He was the father of 2 known sons. Jacob, the eldest, came to America earlier and was influential in bringing his uncle, our grandfather Christian, to America. Another of Leopold's sons, Andreas, remained in Teplitz. His son, Leopold, born in 1888, became the doctor who was widely known in the region and was forced to join the refugees and finally made their way back to Beutelsbach where Dr. Dad's brother Chris married Sophia Grosshans. Lee (Leopold) returned to the Dakotas, later making his home in Idaho. The Dobler daughters entered in the following mariages: Dorothea to Chris Strobel; Katherine to Chris' brother Jacob Strobel in a double wedding with her sister Christina, who married Peter Knodel: Maria to John Stahlecker. This will help to explain some of the family trees throughout the Settlement. John, our Dad, was united in marriage to Magdalena Stutz on Easter Sunday, April 2, 1899, and took over the farming of the family homestead after having farmed with his brothers for a short period of time. Grandpa Christian remained on the homestead along with the newlyweds. by Art Dobler Dobler had visited the Dobler families in the early 1920's. Our grandfather, Christian Dobler, was born Nov. 11, 1938, at Teplitz, Bessarabia Russia, the eldest son of Michael and Wilhelmina Dobler. He learned the trade of wagon building, and later became the builder of the Teplitzer Wagons, the Cadillac of wagons in the country during this period of time. On October 8, 1859, he married Dorothea Handel (born Aug. 30, 1842). To this union 16 children were born, 8 of whom died in infancy. The 8 surviving were our dad, John, born Nov. 6, 1875, and Dorothea, Christina, Katherine, Chris, Theresa, Maria, and Leo- pold all born in Teplilz. In 1863 the family moved to New Teplitz where grandfather was mayor for a period of time. After a 10 year stay, the family moved on the village of Nesselrode, Birsula in the province of Chereson. They remained here until 1884. After a summer in Alexandrinka, which was near Bergdorf, they decided to come to America. The day before Christmas of 1884, they began by rail through Austria and Germany. They sailed from Bremen, Germany on board the freighter, "Hopsburg", with a one-day stopover in Liverpool, England, to unload dried hides. DOBLER, ART AND EMMA ZIEGLER Fr63 I was born Aug. 31, 1910, at the family home located 12 mi. north and 1 east of Bethune, the fourth son of John and Magdalena Stutz Dobler. In 1916 I started school in the 1 room Prairie View School, District22, that my Grandfather Dobler and others built in about 1907. It was only a scant half mile from home, but was moved 1% miles west in 1919. I graduated from the eighth grade in L924. Emma Elma Ziegler, was the older of twin daughters born to John and Christina Ziegler at the family home 6 miles north and 2Vz west of Bethune on March 4.19L7. Emma attended Union School, which was located 2 miles north and Tz west of their home. She graduated in 1931. We were married on April 11, 1937, on a Sunday afternoon, and left that same day for Proctor, Colorado, which is about 20 miles northeast of Sterling. We had rented a 160 acre irrigated farm. We drove a 1926 Dodge Art and Emma Dobler. 4 door sedan that was not being used by my parents an5rmore. This farm joined the one that my brother, Ted, had leased and was farming. We moved some machinerv and a few milch cows, also a General Purpose Tractorllfrii both of us could use. To me irrigating was all new, but Ted had been there a couple ofyears so he knew how to go about it. We raised corn and barley, oats, and some wheat, as well as feed crops for the livestock. That fall we moved a Corn Sheller from home. The 1938 barley planting was interrupted when I had to take Emma to the hospital in Sterling. Kenneth Lee was born that evening on March 29. 1938. Every year we shelled our corn crop with the sheller. We tried to raise a few acres of sugar beets the second year we farmed there, but the grasshoppers ate most of them. We worked up most of the ground and planted a feed crop into it. We raised a nice Coes crop, well seeded, that we cut with the grain binder and shocked it. We did not have it hauled in or in a stack yet when the first snow fell, and flocks of wild ducks from along the Platte River discovered this nice field of shocked Coes with well seeded heads. After a few nights most of the seed was eaten by them, so that taught us a lesson - to get it hauled in and stacked up other years, before the ducks got it. We raised pretty good crops, mostly corn, barley and oats. The barley and oats were cut with the grain binder and we always had a big straw pile in the yard for the cows and the 4 head of horses we had. We lived next to a pasture a rancher owned and used to run cattle in. I asked him if we could pick cow chips for winter fuel, and he thought I was joking, but I told him it was for real and he said "go ahead and pick all you need", so Emma and I got the teem and wagon and 2 tubs, and it didn't take us very long and we had a big load of chips picked, so with corn cobs and chips, we made it through the winter. We had purchased a new 3 burner Kerosene Stove for cooking and baking, so we had to use an old heater to keep warm. After 3 years in Proctor, in the spring of 1940 we moved back onto the home place, Section 3-7-45, north of Bethune, and took �over the farming operation. We put rubber tires on the old steel wheel John Deere that spring and it surely made a difference. In the early 40's we remodeled the old home, putting in new built in cupboards, new propane range, remodeled a large front room into 2 bedrooms and a bathroom with hot and cold running water. In later years we added a propane floor furnace. An older 2 row lister was replaced with a new one, as most of our farming was row crop, electric unloader and mounted a feedbox on an old truck. Since then the feeding has been much less of a chore, and how the cattle still love ensilage. All of our farming was done on dryland ground. We never had the urge to put down a well. We hope we are leaving our ground in as good or better condition than when we started way back in 1940. Our son, Kenneth's farm adjoins ours. Our other son, Charles, died in a car-truck accident on June 23. 1963. including feed crops for the now expanding cow herd. We bought 5 head of registered by Art Dobler Hereford cattle at the "Howard Hunt" Hereford Dispersion Sale. In the late forties we had the reserve shampion bull at the Kit Carson County Hereford Breeders Sale one year. On Dec. L, L942, Charles Leslie was born. Kenneth started school in Lg44 at Prairie View School, now at a different location than when I attended and graduated from there. He had to go only a mile. In the late forties there were not enough pupils in the district to receive state aid for both schools, so the district bussed the children to one school I year and the other school the next year. We had 2 schoolhouses in the district. Kenneth graduated from the eighth grade at Prairie DOBLER, JOHN AND MAGDELENA STUTZ Fr64 View in 1951. During the summer of 1951 we bought the "Adkinson Farm", located 3 mil. west and 1 north of Burlington, to be in a district where the boys could take part in FFA. In August we moved onto the newly purchased farm. began building a new house along with Grandpa Christian, which took the better part of 2 years to build. They also did the farming on the acreage. On Jan. 20, 1900, their first son, William was born. On Sunday, Jan. 27, 1901, a little girl, Magdelena Dorothea, was born, She died of scarlet fever on Sunday, July 5, 1903. In Mother's Bible she made the notation, "She was born on Sunday and died on Sunday." Dad and Grandpa Christian planted many trees on the homestead during these years, both fruit trees and several evergreens. Mother always had a Iarge garden as well as many lovely flower beds. As the farnily grew so did Mother's garden. John Jr. was born September 10, 1904. Son no. 3 was born July 17, 1907, being named Theodore, better known as Ted. This same year the well at the top of the hill west of the house was drilled. A concrete reservoir was built so that Mother could irrigate thd garden, flowers and trees around the house. Water was piped from the reservoir to an open top 6 ft. steel tank south of the house. This was the second well on the place, the first one being drilled shortly after 1890. The first well had an "O.K." brand wildmill on it. I faintly remember the huge liooden slot wheel with a large and small tail; the small one being used to slow the speed of the wheel in a strong wind. Every revolution of the wheel completed a stroke of the pump rod, quite different from the windmills of today. It was replaced in about 1917 with a new "Samson" all steel windmill with special oil reservoirs on the bearings. This same year, 1907, Grandpa Christian, along with others, built a one-room school house about % mile from our homestead. The We kept the homestead, Section 3-7-45, and farmed both places until 1975. In the mid 40's we bought our first new tractor, an International Farmall H, Electric start. Ken enjoyed working with a tractor he could start. Not so with the old one. As time went on we accumulated more new equipment and in 1949 we traded the H tractor in on a new Farmall M. We added a used International threshing machine, and later a new drill and manure spreader. A used selfpropelled combine was quite an improvement over the Case pulltype we had been school district was formed and the 1908 census listed 24 females and 34 males. using. The old "Adkinson" two story house was Following their marriage on April 2, 1899, which was Easter Sunday, Mother and Dad began their life on the homestead. They John and Magdelena Stutz Dobler. Sherman K. Yale was the secretary of District 22. On August 31, 1910, another son, Arthur, better known as Art, was born. getting quite feeble, so we tore it down during the summer of 1959, and used the salvageable lumber to put up a new house with full basement in the fall and early winter of 1960. In 1963 we added a st€el round topped ; building,40x75, and in later years 2 steel bins. When we moved to this place, in the spring of 1952, we planted quite a number of Pine and Cedar seedling trees, and now the buildings are protected on three sides by evergreens and bushes. It does make a difference on a windy day when you get in the protection of these trees. They are a lot of work, but are worth it as much the wind blows in Eastern Colorado. We have a rough 160 acres that we have put terraces on, and saved the soil from washing away have reseeded some to grass, and will - as time goes on. do more Several years ago we had to have a new well drilled because of the lowering water table, and installed a submersible pump. We took down the windmill and put it into use on a well in the pasture. REA was on the farm when we purchased it, as well as a Kohler 1500 watt light plant to be used for standby power and light. In the mid fifties we put up a cement stave silo. After a year or so, we installed our The six sons and their wives of John and Magdelena Dobler. L. to R.; William and Ann; John and Edna; Elmer and Delores; Ted and Lydia; Art and Emma; Walter and Pauline. �In 1910 or 1911 Dad donated 5 acres of ground in the southeast corner of our section for the building ofa new church, known as the Hope Congregational Church. The small white frame building served the needs of the congregation for several years. The dedication was held Feb. 18, 1912, with a double male quartet furnishing the music. In 1928 it was replaced with a stately red brick building dedicated Sept. 2, 1928, along with a frame parsonage. In 1913 quite a building project took place on the homestead, a 30 x 60 ft. cement barn with all the sand used being hauled out ofthe creek that runs through the entire section. The cement came in returnable cloth bags. The barn was designed with a hip roof and a hayloft with a track and unloading fork for hay. In later years I remember leading the horses back and forth to pull the hay up into the loft. In the construction of the barn. the forms were set up to pour a depth of about 3 ft. of cement at a time, then the forms were raised and another 3 ft. were poured until the job was finished. It was a long tedious process, but a very sturdy barn was the end result. This same year Dad bought our first Model T Touring car, the first one in the Settlement. What a treat it was to ride in a car instead of a buggy! About 1915, a community telephone company was organized. It was quite a simple installation, with a single wire line having about 4 circuits, with the switchboard being at Aunt Christina Knodel's home. Our ring was 2 long rings. Emergencies brought one long ring to alert all of the neighbors. 1916 brought about more building and improvements on the homestead. A combination granary and corn crib under a roof was built. Dad also purchased 320 acres of land 8 miles northwest of Burlington. Walter was born January 8, 1918, boy no. 5. A new Deering Header was also purchased about this time and water was piped into the house. From now on, no more trips to the milk house to fill the water bucket. In 1919, Bill, the oldest, graduated from Burlington High School. He had rented a room and batched in Burlington during the week coming home on weekends, in order to further his education. The following fall he taught at the "Blue View School" which was District 24. In 1920 he enrolled at Colorado A & M College in Fort Collins, now known as Colorado State University, where he later received his degree in Vocational Agriculture. In 1919, the west schoolhouse of District 22 was moved 1 miles west of where it was built. Harry Degering moved it with his "Rumley Oil Pull Tractor." About this same time. a new Dodge touring car was purchased by Dad to relieve the Model T. He also added a used Hart-Parr tractor to the machinery line along with a 10 ft. tandem disc. This helped to relieve the horses of some of the hard work. An incident I will never forget, was the time Dad was raking and a thundentorm came up. Dad unhitched the team, piled some hay on top of the rake teeth and sat under the makeshift shelter holding the horses still by the reins. Lightning struck, killing both horses, but left Dad untouched. Another time we lost a team of horses by lightning as they grazed in the pasture. 1923 brought about several changes at our house. Dad bought a used Chewolet truck, which enabled us to haul about 60 bushels of grain at a time, and traded the Dodge touring car in on a 4-door Dodge sedan. Things were becoming quite modern for a farming opera- tion. In October of that same year, Grandpa Christian was taken from us. One of the many chores he always took care of around the place, was gathering eggs from both chicken houses. As was his habit, he threw his jacket around his shoulders as he went across the corral. The wind was blowing and the jacket was moving about, which caught the attention of the bull who had come in along with several ofthe cows for water. Grandpa did not see the bull attack from the rear. Mother called John Knodels for help when she saw what was happening, and then went to try to rescue Grandpa, but the bull kept a very close observation and was not about to give up his prey. By the time help came, Grandpa was dead. I remember Penny Mortuary coming out from Burlington in the little gray hearse, and then they brought Grandpa back to the homestead where they placed the casket in his little house until the funeral. Another sad time for our family, as he had shared lots of time and stories with us boys. Boy no.6, Elmer, was born September 13, L924, to complete the family. That same year Dad bought a used cement block machine. We tamped the blocks ourselves, getting about 12 or 13 blocks from 1 sack of cement. We had about 90 plates so were able to make about 90 blocks per day. The next morning the blocks were tipped off the plates and you could resume tamping more blocks. We built a 2-car garage, a workshop, and a new henhouse, as well as a new house and barn for John, all with homemade blocks. 1924 brought the first light plant, a Kohler 110 volt DC 1500 watt, and we put it in the basement of the 2-car garage. Along with this csme the lights, Mother's new electric wash- ing machine and an electric iron. On June 9. Bill married Ann Nelson. Dad also traded the Dodge disc wheel sedan in on a new Dodge 4-door sedan with natural wooden wheels. In 1928, Dad really splurged, trading the old Hart-Pan tractor for a new 18-36 Hart-Parr. That same fall he also traded the old Chevrolet truck for a new one having 30 x 5 rubber tires on all 4 wheels. We bought the chassis and the cab and built the box ourselves. Now we could haul 65 bushels of grain. The early 1930's saw many families leaving the country, trying to find better conditions than the dust storm plagued plains of Colorado. The drouth caused many hardships, including dispersion sales, which had to be postponed because of more dust storms. The community experienced the closing of the Stock Growers State Bank as well as the Bethune State Bank. Only meager amounts were paid back to the depositors after the final settlements were made. On May 3, 1931, John married Edna Conrad, a native of North Dakota. Again, Dad purchased a used 1931 Chewolet 4-door sedan at a Sheriffs Sale, so now we were riding with 6 cylinders. In 1943 John and Edna moved to their new farm northwest of Burlington, so we farmed his ground northeast of the homeplace until he sold it. As the rains came and things once again began to return to normal, the grass grew back. The first grass was mostly "pepper grass", which made the milk and cream taste bad, but as the Buffalo grass and the Blue Grama returned, things improved consider- ably. Many of the families who had left. returned to the Settlement once again. On February 22, 1934, Ted married Lydia Lebsack in Sterling, Colorado, and they moved to Ted's batching quarters on the farm northwest of Burlington. This same year, Walter started high school in Burlington. April 11, 1937, Art married Emma Ziegler. Having rented a partially inigated farm near Proctor, Colorado, they moved their few belongings there and started out on their own. Dad and Elmer continued farming part of the ground on the homeplace until the spring of 1940 when Art and Emma returned and took over the farming of the homestead, Section 3-7-45. Walter graduated from Burlington High School in 1937 and enrolled at Yankton College in Yankton, South Dakota, the following fall and graduating in 1942. On June 12 of the sqme year he was married to Pauline Schillereff of Fort Morgan. After several years in the ministry he did graduate work at Andover Newton Theological School and Harvard Divinity School. In 1967 he received his Doctor of Divinity Degree. Pauline passed away in November of 1980 and Walter in July of 1982. Their union was blessed with 3 children, David, Margaret, and Robert. After John and Edna built their new home on their farm in about 1947, Dad and Mother left the little house on the homestead and moved into John and Edna's first home. This was a modern home and was located closer to Burlington. In 1948 Dad had surgery in Goodland, Kansas at Boothroy Memorial Hospital, and died several days later on July 21, 1948. Mother remained here a few years, and later on moved to a little house in Burlington. On March 9, 1952, Elmer was married to Dolores Schaal. Mother passed away November 18, 1954. Both our parents passed away at 72 years of age. They are buried at the Hope Church Cemetery north of Bethune, Colorado, back on the same homestead where their life together began. 12 grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren, and 2 great great grandchildren, will remain ever grateful for the courage and the desire to search for something better for this family in a land of freedom. for their descendants. We thank God and our parents for the privileges we have enjoyed because of their decision to come to the United States. May we always honor these privileges. by Art Dobler DOBLER, TED AND LYDIA LEBSACK F166 In the fall of 1931 the folks, the Jacob Lebsacks of Proctor, Colorado, needed another beet hauler. Ted Dobler. the third son of John and Magdalena Dobler of Bethune was in need of a job and this seemed to fill the bill. After he had been there two weeks. we began picking up the mail at Proctor, and this was the beginning of a 3 year courtship. On February 22, L934, we were married at the family home at Proctor, and moved into our �the farm. We built a new home in town in the Permer addition to Burlington. Ted drove to the farm to help as much as he could as long as he was able. On July 30, 1981 Ted passed away following a lengthy illness. During our life together we were able to travel to many different parts of the country. We visited our children and grandchildren, and sometimes just went for the pure enjoyment of it. From Canada to California, to the Mardi Gras in Louisiana or the Bahamas, home was always a welcome place to come back to. I worked at many different vocations during our lifetime and each job was rewatding in its own way. I worked in the office of Burlington Livestock Sales for 21 years, at the Burlington Rest Home during the dry fifties, and since Ted's illness began, I have babysat with many children, most of them newborns, of working mothers, and have loved each and every one of them. These little ones, my family, and my friends are a very valuable part of our community, of which I am proud to be a part of. : Hopefully, our heritage will be passed down through my 10 grandchildren and 2 :' great grandchildren. Lydia and Ted Dobler adobe "Honeymoon Cottage" on Ted's farm living in the little 2-room house. 9 miles northwest of Burlington. Times were hard and after planting anoth- The family kept busy year around with the livestock, but especially so in the summer time. We always raised chickens and sold friers to many of the people in Burlington, as er corn and feed crop that dried up (no irrigation in those days) we locked up our little house and moved back to Proctor and Ted again went to work for the folks. These were the Dust Bowl days. It was so hard for us to leave Ted's family, his folks and 5 brothers. The following year we rented a farm and raised sugar beets and alfalfa on our own. In March of 1937 our first child, Carol Jean, was born and lived only a very short time. This was a very trying time, but then in November of 1938, Bonnie Joy was born, and she was a "Joy". We still had our farm at Burlington, but it was still dry and dusty there so we stayed on the farm at Proctor for a few more years. In 1941 Stanley Edwin was born, a big happy baby. Also, by then it had rained back in Burlington, and the wheatfields and pastures were greening up once again. We moved our little family back to our adobe 2room house. Now dreams of a larger more modern home began, but a severe hail storm right before harvest time soon took care of that idea. We kept busy raising wheat, corn and feed for the cattle and horses. There were always cows to milk, with cream to sell, and chickens which also gave us eggs to sell. This was the chief source of grocery money for the family. In 1944, my sister, Leona's, husband passed away and she and her two little boys carne to stay with us for a month. We had just completed the construction of a large adobe barn with a big hayloft, so some of us slept there. A definite feeling of "closeness" prevailed, with 3 adults and 4 children in a 2room house. In 1944 we started on our new house, doing most of the work ourselves, with the help of Grandpa and Grandma Dobler. In 1946 we moved into the basement of the big house. Thomas Earl was born in September of that year. Our new home with electric lights and running water, and even an indoor bathroom was quite an improvement after everyone liked farm fresh produce. A big by Lydia Dobler DOUGHTY FAMILY Fl66 garden also furnished food for the family through the winter. In the fifties another drouth hit the area, and some of the men went away to work, this time with the women and the families remaining here to keep the children in school. This meant selling the cattle, as there was no feed in the area for them. In 1961, we put down an irrigation well and were once again able to bring the dry land back to life. We raised sugar beets, corn and alfalfa. By this time Bonnie had graduated from Burlington High School and had gone to work as a secretary at the Kit Carson County Courthouse. In 1957 she had married Dean Witzel. Stanley had also graduated from BHS and was now a student at Colorado School of Mines in Golden. Tom farmed with his father until he joined the Marine Corps shortly after his graduation from BHS. Music was a real enjoyment to this family, especially to Ted. As a young man he had played the trumpet for a community band, and later he sang tenor for the Harmonaires quartet for more than 20 years. He also sang with the Christian Business Men's Chorus. that met regularly each Thursday night at Hendricks Mortuary for practice. In 1966 Ted became seriously ill and Tom returned to take over the farm. Stanley married Joanne Orehek from Minnesota, who was a student at Loretta Heights College in Denver. He graduated from Mines in 1964 with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. Their first job was in Bakersfield, California, where their 2 sons, Brent and Brian were born. By now Dean and Bonnie were on a farm and ranch south of Burlington and had 3 children, Douglas, Dena and Donn. In 1968 Tom was married to Rose Bartlett from Champaign, Illinois, and they took over Lester Doughty and Ethel Frasier Doughty, 1936. Lester Loran Doughty was born in Casey, Illinois, February 6, 1879 to John and Mary Doughty. Lester never knew his father as he died before Lester was born. His grandmoth- er, Catherine Bartlett Moore, taught him many of her Indian customs. Lester and Nora Dell Huey were united in marriage January 1, 1901, in Terra Haute, Indiana. They made their home near Casey, Illinois where daughters Sylvia and Helen �were born. They lived there until the winter of 1907 and '08 when they left by train for San Antonio, Texas. This trip was made because Nora was suffering from congumption and needed a better climate. In San Antonio the farnily lived in a tent; it was really two in one. One was the front room; the other was the kitchen where the cooking was done on a wood-burning stove. The floors were made of wood and it was built up to where the canvas connected. Two boys, Benjaman and Joseph, joined the family there. The last part of October, 1911, the family left for Berlin, Oklahoma. They traveled in a covered wagon pulled by one team ofhorses. This trip took them six weeks. They camped beside the road at night. They moved to a farm near Berlin and lived there about four years. Laura and Huey were born here. Laura died April 1, 1913, at about one year old. In 1917 Lester bought a farm near Grimes, Oklahoma. Besides raising crops of wheat and corn, they had a mill for grinding the grain and also made their own sorghum. They raised broom corn which was sold to be made into brooms. Catherine and William and Vivian were born on this farm. The farnily sold the farm in 1922 and moved to Sayer, Oklahoma. A house was built here by Lester, and a son, Luther was born here. In 1925 Nora's health was not so good and she was homesick for Arkansas, so they traded the house for a farm near Rogers, Arkansas and moved there. Wanda and George were born here. George was only six months old when Nora died August 29,L928. He was adopted by a family named Ingersoll. In 1931 Lester moved his family to a farm north of Vona, Colorado. The older children got married or went into the service. Lester met Ethel Fraiser Carpenter, and they were united in marriage May 20, 1936, in the Methodist Church in Burlington, Colorado. Lester, Wanda, and Luther moved to Ethel's farm that she had received at the death of Mr. Carpenter. He had homesteaded this land and built a sod house on it. This house still stands in 1987. Glovine was born here. In March of 1940 this marriage was dissolved in divorce. Contact with Lester was lost for several years; then in 1950 he came to see Glovine in Burlington. Lester died July 19, 1952 while visiting son Benjaman in Houston, Texas. There are four children surviving. They are William of California, Vivian of Oklahoma, Wanda and Glovine of Kansas, and many grandchildren and many, many great-grandchildren. The family of son Joseph still lives in and around Kit Carson County. Joseph (Joe) was 19 when the farnily moved to Vona, Colorado. On April 6, 1931, Joe was united in maniage to Edna Monroe. To this union was born Nora Mae, Roy Bradford and Shirley Lee. Joe worked as a service station attendant until he entered the Navy Seabees in October, 1943. He served until Novemb et 21, 1945 when he was discharged. They lived at Stafford, Kansas until they moved back to Vona in 1947. Joe was Undersheriff from April, 1961toJanuary,1963 with Sheriff Hap Ormsbee for Kit Carson County. He also worked for Kit Carson County road and bridge crew in Stratton from 1970 until 1978 when he retired. He continued to mow weeds for the county until his death in a car wreck September 10, 1979. His wife Edna and son, Roy, still live in Vona. Daughter Shirley Jackson and family live in Joes, Colorado. Several of his grand- of Kit Carson County. He and Edna moved to Burlington to be close to the job. Fr67 In 1963, they moved to Boulder, Colorado, where Joe worked as maintenance engineer for the post office. They moved back to Vona in 1968. Joe went to work for the Kit Carson County Road and Bridge crew, in Stratton, in the spring of 1970. He continued to work there until he retired in March of 1978. He continued to mow for the county each fall and was doing so at the time of his death September 10, 1979. He was killed in a vehicle accident on Highway 24. At the time of his death, Joe had 15 grandchildren and 8 greatgrandchildren. Joe was buried at the Vona Cemetery with Joseph Roy Doughty was born September military services. Edna still lives in their home in Vona. Roy children live in and around Kit Carson County. Nora May Mullen and family live in Arkansas. I, Glovine Doughty Golemboski, lived in Kit Carson County for many years, but will tell my life story with my mother, Ethel Fraiser. b;y Glovine Golemboski DOUGHTY FAMILY 14, 1910, to Nora Dell and Lester Loran Doughty, in San Antonio, Texas. He was born in a tent. The sides were built up about three feet and the canvas was attached to this; the floor in the tent was made of wood. He was lives with her and helps to care for her. Roy's children all live in the state of Florida. the fourth child in the family. During the last part of October 1911, Joe and his family left San Antonio in a covered Shirley and her husband, Paul Jackson live on a farm north of Joes, Colorado, with their wagon. They arrived in Berlin, Oklahoma shortly before Christmas. Joe's father rented a farm close to Berlin. The family lived there for about four years. Then his father bought a farm located near Grimes, Oklahoma, in 1917. They lived there until 1922, when he sold the farm and moved the family to Sayre, Oklahoma. Joe's father built a house there and they stayed until 1925, when he traded it for a farm near Rogers, Arkansas. They moved to Arkansas, where in 1928, Joe's mother died. The family lived here until 1929, when his father moved the family to eastern Colorado. In Colorado, Joe met Edna Alice Monroe. The two were joined in marriage on April 6, 1931. They lived in a sod house, north of Vona, Colorado. There, their first child, a daughter, was born, June 18, 1932. They named her Nora Mae. On October 17, 1933, a son, Roy Bradford was born. In December 1933, Joe moved his family to Stafford, Kansas. He worked at various jobs and the family lived briefly in Hudson, Kansas and Pratt, Kansas. Then he went to work for Edsel's Service Station in Stafford. While living in Stafford, Joe and Edna's second daughter was born on July 4, 1935. They named her Shirley Lee. Joe worked for Edsel's Service Station Nora Mae and her husband, Willard Mullen live on a ranch near Gravette, Arkansas. Their four children all live in the area. two younger children. Their three older children live in Colorado. by Nora Mae Mullen DOUGTITY, ETHEL FRASIER AND GLOVINE Fr68 Sod house south of Bethune, Colorado, where Glovine was born. until October 1943. At this time, Joe joined the navy, in the Seebees branch. This was during the time of World War II. He served in the South Pacific. Joe returned from the war in November 1945, and returned to work at Edsel's Service. Shortly thereafter, Joe purchased the station. Joe was baptized, in the spring of 1946, in the First Baptist Church of Stafford. He was very active in the local church activities. He had a deep respect for our Creator and a very strong sense of moral responsibilities. Due to the ill health of his wife, Edna, Joe sold his business and their home and moved to Wichita, Kansas in the spring of 1947. The family remained there for a year, after which they moved back to Colorado. Joe worked on a ranch south of Seibert for a year, then they moved to Vona, Colorado. In 1951, Joe went to work for the Snell Grain Company, as manager of the elevator in Vona. Edna also worked there as a bookkeeper. In 1971, he left the elevator to accept the job as undersheriff Ethel and Lester Doughty with Glovine about 6 months old. Taken at the farm south of Bethune in 1937. Ethel May Frasier was born May 30, 1898 at Burlington Junction, Missouri to Franklin K. Frasier and Myrtle May Gray. As a child Ethel had red measles which left her partly deaf. Myrtle was crippled with arthritis so when Everett was born, although Ethel was �only nine, she had to take care of him. March, 1910, the Frasier family moved from northern Missouri to La Junta, Colorado. Franklin's health was bad and they hoped the change in climate would help him. He died January, 1911, and is buried at La Junta. Shortly, Myrtle and children moved back to Missouri to live with her father, John Gray. He died in April of 1913. Myrtle then moved her family back to La Junta, CO. A sister, Ether, died in March of 1914; that left Ethel, Edward and Everett. Ethel often told of the horse and buggy days and how scared she was when a horse ran away with her at the reins. Ethel May and Charles Goforth were united in marriage April 11, 1915, at La Junta. Charles worked in the oil fields and traveled around the area a lot. Helen Lucille was born March 6. 1917. Charles Goforth died of double pneumonia November 15, 1918. Albert Frasier was born February 18, 1919. Ethel worked for eleven years caring for her two children. In 1930 she met Oke Carpenter; they were united in marriage September 4, 1930 in La Junta. After the wedding they left for the farm south of Bethune, Colorado. Oke had homesteaded this land and built a sod house. Times were hard. There were many trials and hardships. Oke became ill with dropsey and died Decembet 27, 1935. Helen married Lloyd Kirk August 5, 1935 and moved to Nebraska. Ethel and Albert stayed on the farm. Ethel and Lester Doughty were united in marriage May 20, 1936 in the Methodist Church in Burlington. Ethel became a stepmother to Wanda and Luther, treating them like they were her own. Glovine Alice was born Februaty 24,1937 in the sod house with the help of Lest€r. They made a living by raising turkeys and sheep; they also raised a big garden. Things went from bad to worse and Lester and Ethel were divorced in March of 1940. Ethel lost the farm to taxes, so she and Glovine moved into Burlington. In February of L942 Ethel married Art Pinckard and moved to a farm 18 miles south of Seibert, Colorado. I attended Rock Cliff, a country school, for four years. We raised cattle, sheep and horses. Art traveled all over the country, leaving Ethel to take care of the farm. She chopped wood for the heating stove and cook stove. We only went to town once a month, sometimes it would be three months. Ethel's health got bad, so we moved to Burlington in 1948. In June, 1950, Art Pinckard was killed in a car wreck. In June, 1950, Ethel and Clifford Lynn were united in marriage. Ethel and Clifford moved to Willow Springs, Missouri in 1954. They lived on a farm there for several years. In 1956 Ethel moved to Maryville, Missouri and lived alone there until she moved back to Burlington in 1963 to live with Glovine and family. Ethel then was very crippled with arthritis. I took care of her until April, 1963 when she went into a nursing home. In May of 1966 Helen Kirk cnme and took her back to Missouri to live with her. Ethel died September 26, 1966, and is buried at Burlington Junction, Missouri. She spent fifty years of her life in Colorado and thought Burlington, Colorado was really her home. June 28, 1953 Glovine and Lewis Kirby were united in marriage. We moved to a little white house on Webster Street. In June we moved to a farm north of Burlington; Lewis farmed and worked in town as a carpenter. Alice Marie was born August 31, 1954. Billy J. was born May 6, 1957. The fifties were very dry. The wind and dust was so bad you could see only a few feet in front of you. We moved back to town in May of 1957. Lewis worked in construction, for farmers and for the city of Burlington. Katherine was born July 15, 1962. In August of 1969 we moved to Goodland, Kansas. Alice graduated from Goodland High School in 1973 and entered the Navy. In 1975 Billy J. joined the Navy. Katherine returned to Burlington and lived in the group home and worked in the work shop and graduated from Burlington High School, May, 1982. In October of 1973 our marriage was dissolved in divorce. October 30, 1974, I manied Frank Golemboski. Jeanie Glovine was born January 15, 1976 in Goodland, Kansas, and Jeanie now lives in Colby, Kansas. We are active in our church and 4-H and A.R.C. I still think of Burlington, Colorado as my home and like to visit there. by Glovine Golemboski DOWNEY, RAY FAMILY Fr69 Rose and Ray Downey on their wedding day, 1945 Raymond Thomas Downey and Rose Ack- In the spring of 1947, Rose and Ray Downey and their young son Ron (born December 11, 1945 at Dodge City) left Kansas to begin farming south of Stratton. Several other young families from the Windhorst and Dodge City area also moved to the Stratton area in the mid to late forties. so eastern Colorado felt a little like home in erman Downey were married February 12, 1945 at Windhorst, Kansas. Ray, the son of Daniel Bennet Downey and Catherine Elizabeth Biernacki was born May 21, 1920 in Wichita, Kansas. He was the fourth of ten children and spent his early childhood on the family farm. The daughter of Francis (Frank) Ackerman and Clara Fredelake, Rose was born on her parents farm near Spearville, Kansas on September 30, 1920. One of seven children, Rose went to school at the academy at Windhorst and later worked in Dodge. spite of all of Ray and Rose's immediate families still being in Kansas. The early years farming in south central Kit Carson county were filled with hard work and few conveniences (electricity wasn't The Downeys, 1985 Top Row: Jo Downey, Tom May, Kim May, Karen and Gene Kerschner. Middle row: Amber Downey, Amy Downey, Lisa Kerschner. Bottom row: Bob Downey, Ray Downey, Rose Downey, Ron Downey. On Laps: Mark Kerschner and Brad Downey �was born November 16, 1947 in Stratton (the building at 2lO Kansas Avenue served as a maternity hospital for the Stratton area until around 1950). Karen Sue and Kimberly Ann Downey were born in Burlington on February 23, 1959 and August 29, 1962 respectively. Ron and Bob attended grade school in Vona and junior high at St. Charles Academy. Karen attcnded grade school and junior high at St. Charles Academy and Kim attended Kindergarten in Stratton, grades 1-6 in Vona, and grades 7-8 at Hi-Plains in Seibert. All four Downey children graduated from high school in Stratton. Ron Downey attended Sterling Junior College and later served with the U.S.Army in Viet Nnm. After leaving the military, he returned to farm with his father and continues today as one of the partners in Downey Farms, Inc. Bob attended the University of Southern Colorado and then taught business and coaches in a small community near Salida. He and his wife, Jo, returned to Stratton inL972 to join the family farming operation. Their Bob and Ron Downey, 1950 available to that part of the county until the early fifties and phone service wasn't a reality until 1965), but neighbors were plentiful and entertainment consisted of families getting together for potlucks, singing and cards at the old one-room school that was located north of the house. The old school had not held classes for years and was moved off around 1952. With it went the piano and a lot of the socializing, but the memories of the good times in a less hectic and more relaxed era still remain. Living half way between Vona and Strat- to the time when Kim was two and came within seconds ofpicking up a six-foot rattler that had slithered its way into the yard. Fortunately, the toddler was snatched away by her older sister just as she was bending down to more closely examine the huge snake, but the incident is still well remembered by the whole farnily. Ifgood fortune continues, there will hope- fully continue to be Downeys in Kit Carson County. Though being in agriculture occa- sionally presents more barriers than oppor- tunities, farming and living in a small community where neighbors, friends, family, school and church are still important is a most satisfying and rewarding way of life. residents bearing the Downey last name. Bob also still farms and Jo continues to serve as by Jo Downey Executive Director of the East Central Council of Local Governments. Shortly before graduation from the University of Northern Colorado, Karen Downey married UNC graduate student Eugene Kerschner from Merino, Colorado. They are parents of two children, Lisa Jeanne (1975) and Marc Alan (1979). After residing several years in Gering, Nebraska, they currently live in Alliance, Nebraska. Karen works in nursing and Gene continues as a Corporate Farm Manager. Kim Downey also graduated from UNC with a B.A. degree in Business and Accoun- Highway 24 complicated school choices as the ting and worked in Greeley until her marriage to Tom May in 1985. Kim and Tom now reside in Stratton where Tom is engaged in farming and Kim is employed in the offices Rose after they came to Colorado. Robert Lee pected and unwelcome, wildlife still occasionally wander onto the farm; nothing comp€ues children, Amy, Amber, and Brad (born in 1973, 1976, and 1979 respectively) bring to eight the number of Kit Carson County ton and being over ten miles south of Downey children approached first grade. Three other children were born to Ray and of the Stratton Co-op. In the early sixties, the original farm house that was the Downeys' first Colorado home was added on to and was again remodeled in 1982. An elevator system and additional outbuildings were added over the years so the 1987 farmstead bears little resemblance to the original farm established in 1947. Trees, grass and flowers have replaced the open prairies near the house and though unex- DRAGER - KLOOZ FAMILY F170 Henry Drager, son of William and Sophia Drager came to Colorado with his parents and sister, Anna (Langendorfer) in 1924 from Unadilla, Nebraska. They established their home in Burlington and proceeded to farm two sections of land 18 miles south of Burlington. Henry broke the sod with a Wallace lug tractor and a teem of horses. Flora Ellen Klooz, daughter of Fred and Flora Klooz. moved to a farm 2 miles north of Burlington form Franam, Nebraska, in 1919 along with her parents, four sisters and three brothers. She graduated from Burlington High School in 1925 after which she taught school in a one room country school north of Bethune. Downey Farms, 1985 In 1928 Henry and Flora were married and began their married life on a new farm L8 miles south of Burlington. They lived in the basement of their new home while the house was being finished by Henry's father, Bill Drager, and a nephew from Germany. They lived on this farm until 1977 when they built a new home in Burlington, although Henry continued to farm the land. Four children were born to Henry and Flora, Evelyn, June, Kenneth, and Louis. Evelyn is a teacher in Burlington and married to Ed Mountain and live two doors down the street from them. June married Bob Mangus, youngest son of Ray and Persis Mangus who lived on a farm south of Peconic, and now reside in Denver. Kenneth married high school sweetheart, Doris Chapman, whose parents, the Dale Chapmans, were former residents and manager of the Burlington Coop. Russell, Kansas is their home. Louis graduated from UNC as an engineer and married Karen Mechnm from Utah. They live in Littleton. the children all attended Smoky Hill School which was also the center for �many community get-to-gethers. Henry was president of the school board for 9 years. All four children graduated from Burlington High School. The children were members of the Smoky Hill 4-H Club of which Flora was a leader. Depression, dust storms, and the tornado of L944 was significant set backs, but good times, good neighbors and friends, and healthy children have outweighed the bad by far during their 50 years on this farm. The Dragers have 12 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. They celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in June 1978 at Trinity Lutheran, the family church, with a multitude of family and friends. by Flora Klooz Drager DROSTE, JOE FAMILY Fr7I Joe Droste was born in Ford County, Kansas, May 18, 1909. Agnes H. Fetsch was born near Munday, Texas, January 27, LgLl. They were married August 19, 1936, at St. Mary's Catholic Church, in Marienthal, Kansas. Joe had been farming with a brother-inlaw, Jacob Bogner for several years in Wichita County, north of Marienthal, Kansas. Crops were poor due to the dry weather and dust storms. Ag'nes' parents, Frank and Mary Fetsch had moved to Marienthal in 1920 with their children, Louis, Agnes, Charles, Margaret and John. One son, Edward was born in Marienthal. Agnes attended grade school there and graduated from High School in Leoti, Kansas. In 1931, she began teaching in a one room rural school north of Leoti, Kansas. She also taught in a rural school south of Marienthal, Kansas, and really enjoyed teaching. After we were married we moved to a rented farm north of Marienthal and lived there for over four years, then we moved to another farm where we lived for about two yerus. One day in the fall of L942 Mt. Henry Kliesen and a real estate agent from Dodge City, came to our place and told us about cheap land in Colorado. They brought us to Kit Carson County to look at farms which were for sale. We looked at a lot of them, some were selling for $5.00 an acre. We didn't buy anything on our first trip but came back later and purchased the farm known as the "Stoffel Place," about five miles northeast of Stratton. Later we bought some more land. We moved to Colorado on March 2nd, 1943. It was a very cold day. The temperature was well below zero and stayed that way for about three weeks. On moving day, Joe drove our truck loaded with household items and his brother Roman drove the car for me and our three small children. Joe arrived before we did and had agood fire goingin an old heating stove, when we arrived. There were no conveniences in rural homes out here at that time, no water, no plumbing no electricity, everything was done the hard way. Everybody butchered their own meat then and cured it or canned it. Later we could rent a locker in town and store our fresh meat in it. That seemed to us a great convenience. What a wonderful day it was for farmers when rural electricity came to the farms. Things really changed drastically, almost everyone got water in the house, bathrooms were built and life changed completely. This was progress, looking back its hard to believe how things have changed. Three more children came to us in Colo- rado. They all grew up on the farm and attended St. Charles Parochial School, and the Stratton Public High School. Many pets came and went at our farm. The children loved two little rat terriers given to them by the Menke family. They called them Mutt and Jeff. In the fifties, dry weather came again and for several years no crops were planted or harvested. We had a nice herd of cattle and had to sell them because there was no feed. When things got better, many farmers decided to put down irrigation well in 1960, and for several years we planted and raised corn on the irrigated acres. In 1966, we planted pinto beans, we had a fair crop, they were only $6 per cwt. Joe died in 1966, the result of a farm accident and our sons Ra5rmond and Frank too over the farm work. We continued irrigating and also farming dry land wheat. Frank left the farm in 1979, when he got married and Ray continued to farm. In the 80's we have tried sunflowers with some good results. The children of Joe and Agnes Droste are, Rose Marie, born August 2, 1937, in Scott City, Kans., Raymond J. born March 24, 1939, in Scott City, Kans., Genevieve, born January 3, L942, in Scott City, Kans., Carol Ann, born March L4, t945, in Stratton, Co., Dorothy Mae, born February 6, 1949, in Burlington, Co., and Frank Edward, born October 2L, L952, in Burlington, Co. Rose Marie went to St. Anthonys Nursing school in Denver. She graduated as a practi- cal nurse and worked at St. Anthonys Hospital for about three years. She married Leon Laird and lived in Burlington, Co. Leon died as a result of a car accident in July, 1965. Rose then worked at Grace Manor and in a nursing home in Denver. In 1968, she married Ernie Stoos and now lives in Oklahoma on Lake Eufaula where they have a land development business. Rose keeps busy with all kinds of crafts and community activities. Raymond spent three years in the Marines after he graduated form high school, then he spent some time working with custom cutters in harvest and also worked on oil rigs for a while. Now he lives on the farm with his Mother. He works at the Post Office in Stratton and also farms. Genevieve went to Central Business College in Denver after she graduated from high school in 1960. She had various office jobs and married Richard J. Rubio in 1966. They live in Anchorage, Alaska, and have two sons, Domon and Chris. Carol Ann attended the Mercy Hospital Nursing school after she graduated from high school in 1964. In 1967 she graduated as a R.N. She has kept up her nursing. She joined the Air Force Reserves in 1967, right after she graduated from nursing school. During her weeks of active duty she flew to many places. Japan was one, they would bring back a lot of boys from Vietnam. She was flight nurse on those trips. She married Rodney Whitten inl972. They have four children. Rodney was also in the Reserves. He is now a captain in the Reserves and Carol is a Major. They live in Gretna. Nebraska. Dorothy Mae went to college in Wichita, Kansas, for two years then to Greeley, Co. for two years where she graduated in 1971. She married Don White and moved to San Jose. California. She taught in kindergarten there for six years, then went into real estate in which she has done very well. She is now living in Longmont, Co. She is married to Hayward Monroe and they have two boys. Frank went to college in LaJunta, Co. for one year after he graduated from the Stratton High School, in L972. His main interest was welding. He married Debbie Pelle Nov. 24, 1979. They had two boys. Debbie died in a tragic car accident in Nov. 1982, leaving Frank with two babies. He moved to Boulder. Co. where he is employed at Micro-Motion. He is a welder. Even though they are all scattered now, the farm is still "home". They all love the land and the community! by Agnes H. I)roste DULMER FAMILY Ft72 Cornelius and Tresa Dulmer came to Seibert, Colorado by train. They arrived on December 9, 1909 on a very cold day, the temperature being 28 degrees below zero F. Daughters Emma and May came with them. The rest of the trip was by buggy and wagon. This homestead was 14 miles north of Vona, Colorado. Tresa Nauta Dulmer was born in 1856 and died in 1918. Uf8il his death Cornelius made his home with his daughters. Later he moved to California to live and died in 1928. He was born in 1857. Their children were: Myron Dulmer, 18821963; Edith Dulmer Brownwood, 1881-19?6; Anna Dulmer Eyberse 1880-1936; Catherine Dulmer Vander Ploeg 1882-1951; Florence Dulmer Seabert, 1884-1964; Emma Dulmer Klassen, 1892-1986; May Dulmer Klassen 1895-1979; Sadie Dulmer Ault Iller. 1890-?. by Edith M. Ilugley �:, .: ',-*; $ '"w "*1" .[i tua" & # ^1 t Family of Cornelius and Tresa Dulmer taken before 1909. L. to R.: back row: Myron, Edith, Anna' Catherine, and Florence. Middle row: Tresa and Cornelius. Front row: Emma, May and Sadie. DUNCAN, CHARLEY F173 My parents, Charley Duncan and Edith Simpkins Duncan, were married near Tilden, Nebraska, in February 1906. They lived on a farm and three children were born there; Ethel Marie, February 1, 1907 (died February Zt,1907); Evelyn, born December 18, 1907; and Orville, born March 19, 1909. In 1912 my father and his brother-in-law, Euse Dredge, came to Kit Carson County looking for land to homestead. They both signed for a claim. They returned to Nebraska to make preparations to move to Colorado. We arrived in Vona, by train, in February 1913 with 2 horses, 2 cows, 2 pigs, 2 dozen chickens, 2 kids and $200.00. There was plenty of snow and cold weather. Mrs. Howell, the storekeeper's wife, took us in a spring wagon to the home of Al Tilbury where we spent the night. The next day we went to our little one room shack which sat on rocks without a foundation, but it was our home, 18% miles southwest of Vona. Papa had to plow the ground before any planting could be done. Every inch was Buffalo grass. That summer we went by covered wagon to Sterling. Papa worked as a drayman. We returned to our homestead the next year so Orville and I would start to school at Rosedale. We attended this school for 8 years and our favorite teacher was Johnny Mathews. Papa went to different parts of Colorado and Kansas to work in the harvest fields and while he was gone Mama, Orville and I would go pick up cow chips to burn. We sort of made a picnic out of it. We would stop by Little Springs so we could wash our hands and eat The Charley Duncan Family - 1917. Father, Charley, Mother Edith, Evelyn, Orville and baby Alta. lunch. We had a great time but were scared to death of rattlesnakes and it took all day to get a load. In 1916 we made a trip back to Nebraska when my Grandma Simpkins'died. My folks were tempted to stay but decided against it as our home, belongings and good friends and neighbors were in Colorado, Iike the Goffs, Calhouns, Lettmans, Roses, Gallions, McAuleys, Murpheys, Myers, Deers and others. We were thankful for our wagon and horses so we could go visit them and go to church in a little school house five miles from our place. We also had Literary there, which was a program type ofgood entertainment using local talent. Dad Allen played the banjo and Red, his son, would jigg and Don McAuley gave the best recitations and others would sing or be in plays. r.;i&:,::t f, ?7:' Charley Duncan - Early 1940's with team of horses Prince and Snip, dog Fritz on the homestead. In 1917, August 6th, a darling baby girl was born into our family and we called her Alta, and then February 11, 1919, Everett was born. That was the year of lots of snow and flu. Our mother died March 1. Everett was 18 days old and Alta 18 months. Papa's sister and her husband, Aunt Ethie and Uncle Jim Sesler raised Alta and Everett. Our friends were so good to us and helped all they could. Needless to say we had very Iittle money but plenty of debts. Mr. Hungerford, a wellknown cattleman took up a collection and raised $500.00 to help with funeral expenses. That was a lot of money in those days. Then in 1922 Orville and I graduated from the eighth grade. Papa decided to move close to Seibert so we could ride the bus to high school. In the process Orville stepped on a barnyard nail and got lockjaw and died. In the meantime, Uncle Jim, Aunt Ethie, Alta and Everett moved north of Seibert. Papa and I lived about nine miles southeast of Seibert in a sod house during the school year. I rode the bus twenty-five miles every day to school. During my high school years I played baseball and was on the girls basketball and track teams. Then in the fall of 1926 I went to Lincoln, �Nebraska to college for two years. In 1927 Papa manied Stella Doss. No children were born of this marriage. He and Stella lived on the homestead until his death June 3, 1947, at the age of 64. He was a very successful DUNHAM, WALTER AND ANICE Fr74 DUNLAP - LESHER FAMILY F176 farmer and cattleman. Stella moved to Denver where she died April 25, 1977. April 13, L929,I was united in marriage to Wm. "Red" Allen. We lived on a farm south of Vona and that is where our first son, Bill, was born. ln 1933, during the depression, we moved to Denver and Red got a job hauling coal from the mines north of Denver. I did laundry for the rich people and to this day I love to wash and iron. Denver was good to us. We bought a home at 4319 Navajo. Our second son, Don, was born here in November 1945, sixteen years after Bill. Bill and Mary were married in May 1948 and had two daughters, Debbie and Pati. Bill works at NW Transport as Manager of Transportation and Mary works at the bank in Brighton where they live. Don and Connie were married in April 1964. They have three children, Scott, Wendy and Rod, and Don is a Denver Fireman. Red and four other men started their own service business in February 1961, having the office in our home. They called it "Area Gas Appliance Service". They got a good start and moved to an office in the summer of 1964 and Red died October 13, 1964. I'm 78 now and work half days five days a week for the company. This is 1986 and we have been in business 25 years. I can't bring this story to a close till I tell you what happened to my little sister and brother. Uncle Jim and Aunt Ethie did a fine job raising them. They grew up to be beautiful people inside and out. They both went to school in Seibert. In May 1936 Alta married Ralph Rowley. They farmed at Seibert several years and then moved to Denver. Four children were born to this union, Mary Lee Lopo of Eastlake, Chuck Rowley of Denver, Beverly Rowley of Denver, and Richard who died in infancy. They have 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Alta is very crippled with arthritis and Ralph has a problem breathing, but they do a good job taking care of each other. They are a real inspiration to anyone. Everett married Vyonda Overmiller in January 1939. He was a very successful cattleman and farmer. They are retired now and live in Stratton. Four girls were born to this union, Barbara Mason of Iowa City, Iowa, Virginia Burns of Denver, Marilyn Duncan of Denver and Betty Ralston of Colorado Springs. They have five grandchild- ren and two great-grandchildren. I'll always remember the good old times in Seibert and Vona. "It is still home". P.S. Lord willing, Alta and Ralph will celebrate their fiftieth anniversary this year, May 25, 1986. by Evelyn Duncan Allen Maynard and Bessie Dunhnm Walter and Anice Dunham and son Maynard came to Colorado in 1906, from Battle- creek, Michigan (to benefit the health of Maynard), to a farm southeast of Burlington. They lived in a soddy for some years and then moved into a larger frame house. Anice passed away in 1914. In 1909, Maynard and Bessie Thoman were manied. They lived with his parents for some time, then they took a homestead adjoining. Here they built a half basement, sod, two room house. In 1.910, Ines was born. They had three other children, Irene, Lee and Warren (who passed away after a ruptured appendix in 1921). These early settlers had to make a living from what they could raise, on wild gams sn4 milking cows. There was a small school close by and the three older children attended, along with Henry Basset, and Harold Rogers. Then, they moved along with Walter Dunham to the First Central school district where there was a four year school and two churches for them to attend. In 1933, they moved to a farm in Cheyenne County, Lee moved with them. By this time Ines had married Harold McArthur and Irene married George Kennedy. The family milked cows, Bess worked at making quilts, and mattresses to give to the less fortunate. In 1934, they sold most ofthe cattle and they and Lee spent most of the winter in Michigan. In 1942, Maynard's poor health forced them to leave the farm and move into Burlington; she worked in different restau- rants and both worked in the old Montezuma. They built a house and kept a beautiful yard of flowers and vegetables. They celebrated their 50th Wedding anniversary in 1959. Maynard passed away in 1964, Bessie continued to care for the yard until the age of 93, when she passed away in 1984. by Irene Kennedy and Ines McArthur Mom and Dad and Casey. Oliver c. (Buzz) Dunlap, and Elizabeth Dunlap. Oliver C. (Buzz) Dunlap was born in Rawlins County, Kansas in 1888 and moved to Sherman County, South of Goodland while a small child. Elizabeth Eicher was born in Seward County, Nebraska and moved to Sherman County, Kansas as a very small girl. Both O.C. and Elizabeth grew up in this area. They were married in Sgptember 1907. Oiiver and Elizabeth Hunlap were among the first homesteaders in the community Southwest of Burlington, They, along with Emery & Elsie Eicher, who were Elizabeth's brother and O.C.'s sister, came to Colorado in 1910 to claim their homesteads. This move was made to have access to the open range. The Dunlap's homestead was the EVz of Section 14, Township 11, Range 45, which is located 15 miles South and 7 miles West of Burlington; the Eicher homestead was the West % of Section 22, Township 11, Range 45 and Icyphene Welch, a widow, who was O.C.'s and Elsie's mother, and son Howard home-steaded the East r/z of Section 22,Township ll,Range 45. In the fall of 1910, they all returned to their old homes South of Goodland for the winter, where Lowell Dunlap was born in October. In April of 1911, they with small son Lowell and Emery and Elsie Eicher and their small daughter, Oletha, started the long slow move across the open prairie, approximately straight west from their homes to their homesteads. This journey LookBVz days to go 55 miles with 4 loaded wagons and their livestock. The wagons were each pulled by a 4 horse teem. They were driven by O.C., Elizabeth, Emery and Elsie. The livestock �llltt .tlr,,il,':: ,l.: ':::::':ili '.,:;...r-::. ,i..,iL,. tri ,l, :;."::: , furnished horses for the rodeos at the Kit Carson Fair for several years. Some of the local riders at that time were: Rueben and Archie Anderson; Joe Ross; Dewey (Dude) and Had Compher; Carl Harrison and Guy and Carl Wigton. In 1945 O.C. retired and moved to Burlington. In 1946 he was elected Sheriff of Kit Carson County and served in that office until his death in 1954. by Isaphene Dunlap Lesher EAGLETON - REID FAMILY F176 Oliver and Elizabeth Dunlap homestead. was driven by Howard Welch, O.C.'s and Elsie's half brother. O.C. Dunlap built a 4 room square sod house on their homestead where their daughter, Isaphene, was born in 1912 and son, Verlin. in 1914. In 1915 a concrete house was built by O.C. Dunlap and Emery Eicher, where another daughter, Nina, was born in 1920. This house is still standing. A small sod house was built for Mrs. Icephene Welch on her homestead. The Eicher house was a frame building, part of which was moved from Sherman County, Kansas. There it had been a small country store and post office located near the Smokey River. After Eicher's moved to Burlington in 1914, located near the Smokey River. After Eicher's moved to Burlington in 1914, O.C. bought the buildings and tore most of them down except the part of the house that had originally come from Kansas. He moved that part to the Dunlap home. There it was used as a milk house and bunk house for hired men. In 1931 the Dunlaps improved the NE% section of Icyphene Welch's homestead. This seme little two room house was moved again and built onto for their home, where they lived for 14 years before moving to Burlington in 1945. That little building really traveled and is still being lived in. When the Dunlap's and Eicher's came to Colorado, their mailing address was Beaver- ton, Colorado. This was a little country general merchandise store and Post Office. it was located 10 miles Northwest of their homestead, which was quite a trip by horse and buggy. John Higgon ran the store and Post Office, later it was ran by George Church. O.C. Dunlap was a rancher, raising cattle and horses. The cattle that were moved to the homestead were mixed breeds, mostly Gal- loways. In about 1918 he bought some purebred polled herefords and continued to raise hereford cattle until he retired in 1945. O.C. purchased his livestock brand (quarter circle C) in 1915 which is still being used by his son Verlin. The horses and mules that Norman and Vickey Eagleton, 1985. were raised bV O.C. were mostly sold to Eastern buyers. He also furnished horses for rodeos that were held in this area, as this was a favorite entertainment in the early days. He W W W w ?gryWryryyry,t*.t:i:,&',.:,rt.,' ;'. t,:,. . #n ,;\,.'t -.- **- w t:..ir '.1.: :op -Yt bt:'. ?;:e i. .?! ,*,',, &,ri :,'r The Eagleton Children: Carma Lynette, age 11; Dawn Michele, age 13; and Norman Jason, age 8, Christmas 1946. 1985. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families of Kit Carson County Description An account of the resource Brief biographies of the founding families of Kit Carson County Colorado. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Book Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families- D Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1988 Description An account of the resource Brief history of the founding families of Kit Carson County whose names begin with "D." As told in the book, History of Kit Carson County Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Salmons, Janice Hasart, Marlyn Smith, Dorothy Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. History of Kit Carson County Volume 1 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Curtis Media Subject The topic of the resource History Kit Carson County Biography Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/463/Families-E.pdf dbd4d983923073a04b35aec04f70182d PDF Text Text llltt .tlr,,il,':: ,l.: ':::::':ili '.,:;...r-::. ,i..,iL,. tri ,l, :;."::: , furnished horses for the rodeos at the Kit Carson Fair for several years. Some of the local riders at that time were: Rueben and Archie Anderson; Joe Ross; Dewey (Dude) and Had Compher; Carl Harrison and Guy and Carl Wigton. In 1945 O.C. retired and moved to Burlington. In 1946 he was elected Sheriff of Kit Carson County and served in that office until his death in 1954. by Isaphene Dunlap Lesher EAGLETON - REID FAMILY F176 Oliver and Elizabeth Dunlap homestead. was driven by Howard Welch, O.C.'s and Elsie's half brother. O.C. Dunlap built a 4 room square sod house on their homestead where their daughter, Isaphene, was born in 1912 and son, Verlin. in 1914. In 1915 a concrete house was built by O.C. Dunlap and Emery Eicher, where another daughter, Nina, was born in 1920. This house is still standing. A small sod house was built for Mrs. Icephene Welch on her homestead. The Eicher house was a frame building, part of which was moved from Sherman County, Kansas. There it had been a small country store and post office located near the Smokey River. After Eicher's moved to Burlington in 1914, located near the Smokey River. After Eicher's moved to Burlington in 1914, O.C. bought the buildings and tore most of them down except the part of the house that had originally come from Kansas. He moved that part to the Dunlap home. There it was used as a milk house and bunk house for hired men. In 1931 the Dunlaps improved the NE% section of Icyphene Welch's homestead. This seme little two room house was moved again and built onto for their home, where they lived for 14 years before moving to Burlington in 1945. That little building really traveled and is still being lived in. When the Dunlap's and Eicher's came to Colorado, their mailing address was Beaver- ton, Colorado. This was a little country general merchandise store and Post Office. it was located 10 miles Northwest of their homestead, which was quite a trip by horse and buggy. John Higgon ran the store and Post Office, later it was ran by George Church. O.C. Dunlap was a rancher, raising cattle and horses. The cattle that were moved to the homestead were mixed breeds, mostly Gal- loways. In about 1918 he bought some purebred polled herefords and continued to raise hereford cattle until he retired in 1945. O.C. purchased his livestock brand (quarter circle C) in 1915 which is still being used by his son Verlin. The horses and mules that Norman and Vickey Eagleton, 1985. were raised bV O.C. were mostly sold to Eastern buyers. He also furnished horses for rodeos that were held in this area, as this was a favorite entertainment in the early days. He W W W w ?gryWryryyry,t*.t:i:,&',.:,rt.,' ;'. t,:,. . #n ,;\,.'t -.- **- w t:..ir '.1.: :op -Yt bt:'. ?;:e i. .?! ,*,',, &,ri :,'r The Eagleton Children: Carma Lynette, age 11; Dawn Michele, age 13; and Norman Jason, age 8, Christmas 1946. 1985. �Norman Eugene Eagleton was born to Clinton Elijah and Clora Mae (Dungan) Eagleton on March 2, 1950 in Pueblo, CO. Nnmed for his grandfather and an uncle, Harold Norman Eagleton, Norman was the 2nd of 5 children - Sandra Louise (Turley), Norman Eugene, Charlotte Mae (Kelly), Gary Von, and April Lynn (Trujillo). Norman named his sister April (although she was born in May). He was a Captain in R.O.T.C.; he worked 4 years at Safeway and graduated in 1968 from Centennial High School. Vickey Lynn Reid was born at KCC Memorial Hospital to David Vinton and Betty Lou (Hughes) Reid on June 26, 1951. She has a younger brother, Ray Deon. Vickey was active in the high school band, chorus, newspaper and annual. She worked at Stuckey's Pecan Shoppe, Seibert and as hostes- s/cashier at the Little England Restaurant, Flagler. She graduated Valedictorian of Seibert High School in 1969. (Personal note of coincidence: Centennial and Seibert H.S. had the same colors and mascots - Red and White Bulldogs.) Vickey attended 3 semesters at Graceland College, Lamoni, Iowa. Vickey was attendant to 1968 Kit Carson County Queen, Kay Cure. She won a 4-H Citizenship Short course trip to Washington, D.C. in 1969. The various monuments, Capitol and White House were very impressive and awe-inspiring. She rememberg the seeming injustice in the vast difference between the abject poverty in one area and the gold banister and gold elevator doors of the Supreme Court Building just a few blocks away. Norman and Vickey met in 1968 on a church sponsored youth caravan to Mesa Verde. They were married by Vickey's uncle, Roger Reid on January 30, 1971. Their's was the lastweddingto be held in the "old" RLDS Church (a converted schoolhouse) in Seibert. The Eagleton's lived in Sedalia, MO where Norman was a machinist/painter for Turley Bros. Mfg. They moved to Seibert late in the summer of 1971, living in the white stucco house at the NE corner of Main Street across from the Seibert Coop where Norman was employed. Vickey worked as a teacher's aide at the school in Vona. Norman and Vickey moved to the Reid home place 7 miles north and 2 west of Seibert inLg72. They work with her parents on the Reid Femily Ranch raising wheat and Registered Polled Hereford cattle. A babygirl was born May 24,1972. She was named Dawn Michelle because she was born at dawn and she looked like a little french doll. Carma Lynette was born October 2, 1974. Her name was created by combining the names of her mother and grandmothers Clora Mae - Carma, Vickey Lynn and Betty - Llmette. Norman Jason was born July 25, 1977. He was nnmed Norman means, hopeful in the Eagleton tradition, and Jason means healer. The Eagleton's are active members of the Reorganized Church ofJesus Christ oflatter Day Saints. Norman serves in the Priesthood and Vickey occasionally seryes as church organist. Norman and Vickey have served as Church School Directors, teachers, choir members, Local and District Youth Directors. The girls have played the flute in church and in the school band. All three children take piano lessons from Carla Herman of Seibert. The family is active in the Go-Getters 4-H Club. Norman and Vickev serve as Emer- gency Medical Technicians on the Volunteer Family highlights have been trips to visit Uncle Ray and family and seeing the tourist sights of Southern California and trips to Independence, MO. to attend World Church Kanorado where they owned the telephone office. They had known the Eberharts when they grew up near St. Francis, Kansas and agreed to sign the tickets for any fuel Ted needed that first year to help him get started. Working those piles of blow dirt was really difficult, and that first year didn't turn out very well. After that things began to improve and they were able to survive. Ted also rented some ground from the Shamburgs, and one day Mr. Shnm[q1g drove out to see how things were doing and he couldn't find anybody at the house. He saw us down in the field. so came on down to talk to us. Bernice was out helping shock feed, so when he went back to town he told some of his friends that he wasn't worried about us, we would make it. In June of 1941, a tornado went through the community. It tore the third story off the Smoky Hill School house, the buses and the Conferences. garage and two ofthe teachers dwellings were Community Ambulance Service. Vickey teaches Community CPR classes and was elected Secretary of the Hi-Plains Board of Education for School District R-23 in 1987. Employed in 1987, Vickey serves as Medical Assistant to Dr. David Younger each Wednesday afternoon at the Flagler Community Medical Center. In 1986 the Eagleton's moved to the Reid's River Ranch home on the old Hoyt site between South Fork Republican River and Buffalo Creek. We enjoy the extra space when entertaining family and friends. We are also finding an interesting challenge in expanding our farm/ranch operation to include raising hogs. The kids enjoy hunting with Grandpa and fishing for trout in his privately stocked pond. They think fishing is seeing if you can toss in a hook and line and get it back out before you catch a fish. They also like Grandpa's homemade jerky, Gram's homemade grape marmalade (they didn't like seeding the grapes), and sledding in the snow on a car hood . . . "just like in the good ol' days!" by Norman & Vickey Eagleton EBERHART, TED AND BERNICE Fr77 After the terrible drought of the thirties, farnilies began slowly coming baek to the Smoky Hill community. In 1939, Ted and Bernice Eberhart and son Lonnie moved onto what was known as the Lawrence Olson farm, which had been taken over by the Foster Farms. It was 10 miles south and 8 east of Burlington and had been vacant for some time. They had been living on a farm in the Armel neighborhood, paying cash rent, which was increased every year, and it became more and more difficult to pay. Ted took a tour of the country and saw dirt piled fence-post high with blow dirt, not a bit of vegetation, and empty places everywhere. Hugh Gleason from the Bank of Burlington offered to rent the farm to Ted, and we all came down to look at it. We brought both of our parents along and it was a discouraging sight. Bernice thought there wasn't enough there to keep a jack rabbit alive, but if that was what Ted wanted to do, she was willing to go with him. In the fall of 1939, they moved. They were married in 1936, and had accumulated some household stuff, but on the way down the trailer hitch broke and upset the load of household goods in the middle of the road. Needless to say, we had a bunch of broken junk. Times were really hard, and Ted caught rabbits and sold the hides to help feed us. He had some hounds and a saddle horse and also caught some coyotes. Our first tractor was bought from Ted Backlund, a C Case and he traded two horses as a down payment. Jake Raile lived in destroyed. That was the day that Connie Eberhart was born. Ted had taken Bernice to the hospital that morning. Marlin Eberhart, who was Ted's nephew was with them and spent lots of summers with them. Marlin and Lonnie were planning to stay with George and Lois Blomendahl, but Lonnie didn't want to stay. Lois said they would come to town and take care ofthem, since her parents lived in town. During the afternoon the tornado came and the Blomendahl ranch was totally destroyed. A cement foundation for the water supply tank was the only thing left standing. The Lord must have been watching over all of us that day! The Blomendahls lived with the Eberharts for three months while they were trying to clean out their basement and make it livable. Connie didn't hardly know whether Bernice or Lois was her mother, until lunch time, for sure. Lonnie and Connie went their first eight grades at Smoky Hill. We hardly knew a soul until Lonnie was old enough to start to school. Almost all of the neighbors were bachelors, and there were so many deserted places. School activities brought us all together, and the Sunday School was probably the most meaningful of all the activities. We all seemed to blend into a united effort to improve homes and families. We had Vacation Bible School in the summer, and the children were picked up by parents for a special time of activities and learning. That community has some kind of a bond that keeps us friends and we have set up an annual picnic to be held the third Sunday in August at the Parmer Park in Burlington. You are invited and urged to attend. Lonnie graduated from C.U. in 1959 and went to work for John Deere Heavy Industrial Works in Moline, Illinois right away. Later he was moved to Dubuque, Iowa where designing equipment was available. All of the engineers were moved to Dubuque. One of the projects Lonnie helped desigrr is the big road maintainer, JD-570 which you will see being used by the City of Burlington. Ira Barnhart drove one of them for many years clearing out the snow and other maintenance jobs. One winter when we had a really bad blizzard,, Ted got in his Blazer and drove down town to look at the huge drifts. The grader was having problems attacking those drifts and they cleared only a single path in many places. Ted was telling Lonnie about �drought. We survived. In the 1930's we had terrible dust storms. When it started to rain the ground was like flour. Water didn't soak in, but ran off in the low places and through the creek. On May 30, 1935, our place was flooded. We salvaged what we could and had a sale. In August of 1935 we moved to Denver, CO where Zack Eckert worked for Dr. Herman Maul in west Denver and on his ranch at Red Feather Lakes. that and Lonnie said the operator needed to learn to wiggle its tail in order to keep maneuvering that machine. Lonnie is still working for John Deere and recently was involved in a huge Machinery Show in Las Vegas. It was Lonnie's job to be on the floor and answer questions from the viewers. Connie graduated from Adams State College and served as Dean of Students for thirteen years. She is about to complete twenty years where she teaches Psychology. She is also at the head of the Affirmative Action Program in the college. She recently spent some time in Kit Carson County recruiting students for Adams State. John Robertson was one of the popular teachers at Smoky Hill, and he joined in all the other community activities. His wife Carolyn and three children, Francis, Rick and Judy became an important part of the community. Bernice Eberhart wrote news for Smoky Hill for the Burlington Record for many Zack's children were educated in Kit Carson County at White Plains School. It was a one room sod school house which Zack Eckert and the neighbors helped build. We didn't get to town very often as our travels were made by a teem of horses and a lumber wagon. Sometimes in winter we used a bobsled to travel. Elizabeth Eckert (Zack's wife) passed away in December, 1932. We survived World War I and the big depression. I don't know much about Elizabeth Nickel's family. They lived in Lehigh, Kansas. She was from a large family. There were seven years. girls and one boy including, Minnie, Eva, Anna, Julia, Agnes, Amelia, Elizabeth and Valentine. Anna Nickel married Henry by Bernice Eberhart Zacharias Richard Eckert and Lizzie Eckert in ECKERT FAMILY 1927 Fr78 became theirs. They raised cattle, horses and Zacharias Richard Eckert was born February 7, 1880. At the age of four years he came to the United States with his family. They set sail in 1884 from Keix, Russia. There were several families on the ship. They were quarantined off shore for some time as they had an epidemic of Black Small Pox. Several perished and were buried at sea. Zack's father, Peter Eckert, settled his family for a short time in Illinois. They moved on to Nebraska and later in 1888 went further west to Colorado by covered wagon. Zack Eckert was 18 at the time and had remained behind to bring the livestock they owned by rail. The Peter Eckert family homesteaded in Lincoln County. They lived on the land and made improvements long enough that the land farmed for a living. The family saw many hard times, living on dry land farming and raising cattle on the range. Z.R. Eckert met Elizabeth Nickel, who had come to Colorado from Lehigh, Kansas. They were united in marriage in Hugo, Colorado, on January 1, 1902. They had eight children: Willson, Lelah, Harley, Iva, Archie, Eula, Zachie, and Elizabeth. The last two babies died at birth. In 1905 or 1906 Zach Eckert homesteaded north of Flagler on land close to the Arickaree Creek in Kit Carson County (just west of the Arickaree Creek). He built his two room sod house and a few other buildings. He dug a well and put up a windmill for water. There were many hard- Kliewer and moved to Colorado. They homesteaded about five miles north and east of Flagler. Elizabeth came out to help her sister, metZack Eckert and married. Elizabeth was also known as "Lizzie" . Lizzie's father was a Mennonite minister and her brother. Valentine, was a Methodist minister. As for churches, we didn't get to go very often as travel was slow, with horses and buggy. Emma Nickel, Elizabeth's sister, came out from Kansas and held revival meetings in different school houses. In Twin Lake School about 1914 they had Sunday School and church with Reverend Magill as minister. by Iva Levi (Eckert) EDMUNDS FAMILY Fl79 ships, such as snow blizzards, rain, hail and My grandparents James. H. and Sarah Ann (Weeks) Edmunds came to the United States from England. They settled in Burlingame, Kansas. My father James E. Edmunds and Lulu Rowley were united in marriage in Topeka, Kansas, and had 4 children. Lulu passed away and my father married Effie Kristen Marin and they moved to Stratton, Eula Davis, Archie, Iva Levi, Harley, Lelah Shrader and William Eckert in 1973 Colo. in 1917, by covered wagon and a team of mules. I, Maynard Edmunds, went to live with my grandparents until my granddad passed away. I was L5 years old and a friend and I decided to go off to Missouri to look for work. This was on February 14, 1920. My sister caught us and as ghe didn't know what else to do she put me on the train and sent me to Cheyenne Wells, my Dad met me and I went to live with him. On March 24, 1927, I married Violet Lillian Fuhlendorf in Burlington, Colo. and we lived on the farm north of Stratton, then lived on a farm northeast of Vona, until we moved into Vona in 1950. Violet worked as a cook at the Vona School and I worked at odd jobs until I retired. I drove a gas truck for Frank Wilson, and I worked for Ray Roberts at one time. I recall when I worked for Ray, when we got to the farms the gas had to be bucketed out of the truck, hauled up a ladder, and poured into the farmers supply tanks. �their front lines to their headquarters in Bouganville. Ray received a Bronze Star for action in this battle. When the war was over in 1945, he caught the first possible ship home with the dream in his mind to own and operate a quarter of Western Kansas land and raise wheat. During the next two years and a variety ofjobs, , b"*';'.' his dream started to come true. In April 1947 he loaded up his earthly belongings and headed for Stratton, Colorado. He had rented six quarters of land. So, with his old 22-36 International tractor and a new one-way plow, he set out to break sod and plant his first wheat crop. Plows in those days were not hydraulic and if you plugged one with dirt or weeds you would dig it out with a crow bar. When the wheat was all drilled in the fall, he headed back to Piqua, Kansas and on October 22, L947 he married Agnes Lampe. @,@7 w i''lr* She was the youngest daughter of Frank and Francis (Sicka) L'mpe. Her sisters and brothers were Cornelius, who married Co- Vernon Baxter and Maynard Edmunds. Maynard is the Indian, during the Seibert Indian Massacre Reenactment. Some of my early memories are the days I used to spend coyote hunting with Frank Jones of Seibert. Colo. I recall after the flood of '35', hunting up and down the Republican River for old bones. I was with Jess Miller and Fitzpatrick when we found one bone sticking service. On November LL, L947 Ray and Agnes again loaded up the old truck and headed for their "new" home 15 miles southwest of out of the river bank on ground north of Vona. I have this picture of Vernon Baxter and myself, when we were in the Seibert Indian massacre Re-enactment, I was in it twice; it was quite a sight to see. Violet and I had been in town to a dance the night the big fire started in Vona. We were taking Nate Sharp home; that is he jumped on the running board of our car. We drove north and only stopped long enough to let him off and went on out to the farm. We didn't even look back, we didn't know about Stratton. Times were hard, but life was great. The neighbors came over to visit and we played cards on our first dinette set . . a $4.00 table, one broken back chair and three apple boxes. Apple boxes were made of wood then. The money we had saved to buy a table and chairs went to put a new axle in the truck. The Eisenbarts: Norma, Agnes, Mike, Ray and Nona. Smith, hurried in with a tractor and chisel and put the fire out. A good many more reflection of the fire and smoke. Violets parents home was just behind all the stores neighbors came over to help also. That year we bought a new L.A. Case tractor for $2,900.00 and a new Case combine for $2,700.00. The tractor was a good invest- that burned, but was lucky not to catch fire. We still live in Vona and raised our family here. We have three sons, Glen, Bill, and Bob, ment but the combine was nothing but a headache. It never did work right. In 1949 we bought our first new car for 91,600.00. It 7 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren. by Maynard Edmunds replacedthe 1940 G.M.C. truckthathad been our only means of transportation. We got the new car in time to make the trip to Burlington for the arrival of our son, Raymond Michael, EISENBART, AGNES AND RAY The Ray Eisenbart's harvesting in 19?6 The bombing of Pearl Harbor made his draft number come up real quickly. He took his basic training in Camp Forest, Tennessee and was assigned to the 129 Infantry, 37th nine and spent the next three years living with relatives. At that time his brother Division. He stayed in this division for his entire service career. He went overseas to the South Pacific and spent 37 months on a tour ofduty through the Fiji Islands, Guadalcanal, Bouganville, and the Phillipine Islands. His married and he and his sister lived with them. He helped with the milking and farming until he went to the service. ting a Japanese company that had penetrated Ray lost both of his parents before he was Colorado. Our first wheat crop in the summer of 1948 was a good one. A wheatfield fire started by acres in one field before a neighbor, Norman before he went in he looked south and saw a Raymond Bernard Eisenbart was born September 28, 1919 to John and Nona (Skeeters) Eisenbart at Yates Center, Kansas. His one brother, John, married Alice Hoag and they live at Iola, Kansas. His one sister, Genevieve, married Hugh Keturaket and they live at Klamath Falls, Oregon. The axle twisted off during our trip to a truck muffler burned about twenty-five the fire until the next day. Nate said just Fr80 letta Kipp. Margaret married Frank Heffern, Mildred married Valentine Link, Raymond married Ruth Koester, Ella married Myrori Haugen, and Albert married Marlene Westerman. Agnes, at that time, was teaching school in a one-room country school with all eight grades. She and Ray had been dating since shortly after he came home from the company received a presidential citation from Franklin Delano Roosevelt for annihila- born March 20, 1950. That year we built a chicken house and had 300 layers. The chickens were our salvation as the eggs we sold were our only source of money for groceries and fuel. We heated our house with kerosene which we brought home from town in five gallon buckets. We didn't raise any wheat from 1953 through 1957. We would have probably left Stratton if we would have had anywhere to go. We bought our first new diesel tractor in 1954. (We traded the worthless combine in on it.) We wore out a set of tires on the tractor before we raised another crop. In the spring of 1955 the dirt storms were many and awful. Our first daughter, Nona Kay arrived June 5, 1955 between dirt storms. There were many days that spring �when you couldn't see 50 ft. because of the blowing dirt. We welcomed our second daughter, Norma, on April 22, 1958. We had a pretty good wheat crop that year so our summer was busy with a new baby and a good harvest. We built another larger chicken house in 1958 and expanded our egg production. We spent many hours gathering, cleaning, candling, and packaging eggs. Then we would load them in the pickup and deliver them to the grocery stores in many of the neighboring towns. The egg money paid the down payment on the two sections of ground that we bought in 1960 two miles north of Vona. We tore the old homestead buildings down on our new place and built a new quonset and several grain bins for wheat storage. We also tore out miles of fence that was buried under blow dirt piles. In 1964 when Norma went to kindergarten, Agnes returned to teaching at the Saint Charles Academy until it closed in 1969 for financial rearlons and the lack of Nuns to teach. After Saint Charles closed, Agnes went to the public school as an assistant and later took the job of Secretary where she still works, The 60's were rather slim picking as far as crops were concerned. Several years we fed cattle and sold them for no more than the Sears in Burlington for six months and then took a position with the Council of Government Office in Stratton. She was the Energy and Housing Coordinator. In 1981, her department formed a separate organization and beco-e the Colorado East Community Action agency. In January of 1982, with the resignation of the director of Colorado East, she took the position ofdirector and held that position until she married Larry Fox in June of 1983. Larry is a teacher in Scott City, Kansas. After moving to Scott City, Norma worked at a school with the gifted and talented children until she took her present position as secretary to the first vice president of the First National Bank there. They have one son, Lucas Lee, born March 13, 1987. by Agnes Eisenbart EISENBART, RAYMOND MIKE AND PATSY Fl8t feed cost. In the 70's crops began to be better and of course with better crops came better times. We bought more land and better equipment. We began to see the end of the tunnel. Good crops in the 80's made things look prosperous. 1982 was an exception when we had 660 acres of wheat flattened in a l0 minute hail storm. In April of 1987, we broke ground to build our new brick home at 519 New York. That was always another one of Ray's drenms. In the basement of our new home we built a large room to accomodate Ray's collection of toy farm implements and farm tractors. We moved into our new home October 1, 1987 and on October 22nd we celebrated our 4oth wedding anniversary. Our children grew up in Stratton. They attended Saint Charles Academy until it closed in 1969. They all graduated from Stratton High School. Mike went to Durango to college for one year and then enlisted in the Navy for a four year tour of Duty. He married Patsy Kordes while he was in the Navy and after coming home from the Navy, they moved to their farm seven miles northwest of Stratton where they still live. They have four children, Brandy born February 2, L974, Clint, born October L4, L975, Ryan, born October 3, 1980 and Jill, born August 18, 1982. Nona married Stanley Willer after high school. Stan had been working for us part time before they were married and they are still working with us on the farm. They have rented land of their own as well as helping with ourg. Nona has been a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician with the Stratton Ambulance Service for eleven years. She worked at Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital for two years after they were married and has been working at the Stratton Coop for the last five years. They have four children, Michelle, born January 30, 1973, Kristine, born Januar5r 25, 1974, Brian, born November 30, 1977, and Victoria, born November 17, t979. Norma graduated in 1976. She worked at his favorite sport was football, his favorite past time was Patsy, who would later become his wife. He also enjoyed farming with his Dad when it didn't interfere with Patsy. Mike attended one year of college in Durango where he learned the art of drinking, which would later cause much trouble in his life. In Oct. 1969 Mike joined the Navy and was a good sailor proud to serve his country. Boot cnmp was in Great Lakes, illinois, where for your past time you manned a broom and kept the snow off the sidewalks at nights. He went to school in Lakehurst, New Jersey and studied Metcrology. He finished 3rd in his class so he received stateside duty in Virginia Beach, Virginia rather than sea duty. Mike returned home and married his highschool sweetheart June 5, 1971 in St. Charles Catholic Church. Patsy Ann Kordes is the fourth child of Val and Leona Kordes born on August 13, 1951. She has one brother Dennis and three sisters Betty Jean, Beverly and Valerie. She grew up with many treasured memories on a farm 5 miles northeast of Stratton. The family visiting neighbors, making Christmas cook- ies, pulling taffy and learning to sew are some of the more memorable times. Patsy attended the St. Charles Parochial School in Stratton for 8 years. In her teen years she spent her summers running an 830 John Deere tractor helping her Dad farm. She graduated from Stratton High School in May 1969. After graduation she moved to Denver working for an insurance company as a receptionist and secretary for 2 years until she beco-e Mike's bride. Patsy and Mike moved to Virginia Beach; they recall pleasant memories of the carefree newlywed days of the east coast beaches. w Raymond, Mike and Patsy Eisenbart and family, 1987 March 1, 1950 the dirt has been blowing days and days, at times so bad you can hardly see your hand in front of your face. There were 3 foot blow dirt drifts on one side of the house one day and 3 foot blow dirt drifts on the other side the next. Wet sheets were hanging on the windows to keep the dust down. The wind has died down for a few days now. It's March 20, 1950. Raymond Michael Eisenbart is the first of three children born to Raymond and Agnes Eisenbart. He has two sisters Nona Kay and Norma Jean. Mike, as he is called, had younger years full of wide open spaces. He spent hours playing with his dog Bullet, pigeons, and in the dry creek beds and climbing trees. Mike worked on the farm as a kid. It was his job along with his mom and sisters, to care for 2 to 3 thousand chickens. His dad said those bird eggs kept the farm alive in the 50's. Mike remembers some pretty good egg fights where several dozen eggs never made it to market. He enjoyed those frequent trips to eastern Kansas where he fished with his Grandpa Lfmpe and played in the fishing holes with frogs, turtles, crawdads and even water snakes which were good for scaring off girls which he didn't care for at the time. That would come later. Mike graduated from Stratton High School in 1968, his favorite subject was study hall, Patsy worked for another insurance company until Mike received word in July, 1972, he would be transferred to Adak, Alaska. Limited housing on his Naval Base Island forced Mike to live in the barracks until housing was available. Patsy returned home and lived with her parents for 6 months until March, 1973, a house became available and she was able to join him. During this time Mike's drinking became more of a problem in his life. By far the most exciting event for us on Adak was the birth of our first child Brandy Joy born on February 2, 1974. Mike was honorably discharged from the Navy in March 1974. After having seen other places, there was still no place like our home town. We decided to move back to Stratton and farm. In August, L974, we bought a used mobile home and moved to a farm 8 miles northwest of Stratton that his Dad had purchased from Guy Paintin. Mike rented 3 quarters of land northwest of Seibert and farmed with his Dad. His first tractor was a 1969 XT 190 Allis Chalrners. Later that year we purchased r/z section of land that tied to the land we lived on. We ran a few calves. October 14, 1975 our second child was born, Clint Michael. That same year we started raising a few hogs. We still had calves and were farming dryland wheat. We rented more ground closer to home and started doing custom farming also. Our third child, Ryan Raymond arrived on October 3, 1980. Mike's drinking became more of a problem and he decided to get some help. He entered Valley Hope Alcholic Treatment Center in March 1982. A sober husband and father brought he family much enjoyment and �closer together. Our fourth child, Jill Ann was born on August 18, 1982. In the fall of 1982 we built a farrowing house and increased the hog operation to 45 sows, farrow to finish. Mike remained sober from March 1982 until Sept. 1983 when he took that first drink. This was a great setback in life for all concerned. As the children were getting older, our mobile home was getting smaller. In December, 1984, we were able to move into our new home. What a super Christmas present. Mike, not at all happy with his life of alcoholism, realizing it was definitely a disease returned to Valley Hope for another shot at a sober and happy life, both for self and family in March 1986. His second trip to the treatment center gave him greater knowledge of the disease and how to live without the crutch of alcohol. As 1986 progressed we decided to increase the hog operation to around 100 sows. We started selling weaners as well as finishing some. We were actively involved in 4-H. Brandy and Clint wanted to take sheep as well as hogs to the county fair. We bought them 2 lamfs ...6 and they kept their ewes to start their own herds. We all enjoyed working with the sheep so much in the fall of 1986 we bought 50 bred ewes and are slowly building our own herd. Throughout the 1980's it has been tough times for young farmers. It hae become more of a necessity to supplement the farm income from outside sources to maintain the farm. For this reason we took on a Purina Feed dealership in May of 1987. Clint and Mike tremendously enjoy birds; for recreation Mike takes the boys pigeon hunting under bridges. We have raised quite a few pheasants and turned them out. Today our farm has all sorts of animals aside from the livestock. The children enjoy their rabbits, ducks, pigeons and a horse. We have a few chickens and guineas. We are proud to be farmers and hopefully this is our future. by Raymond Mike Eisenbart ELLIOTT, BUNNIE Fl82 I was born in 1926 at the home of my parents, Ben and Bessie Short, on their homestead sixteen and a half miles southwest of Seibert. I'm next to the youngest of eight children. When my younger brother, Larry, was born I had whooping cough; so our good neighbors, Mac and Ethel McConnell, kept me at their home for 6 weeks eo the new baby would not get whooping cough. The older children took turns staying with me so I wouldn't get homesick. From then on the McConnell's were like second parents to me, and I visited them often; J.C.'s and my children "adopted" them as grandparents. It was fun growing up on the farm close to our cousins; Bud and Eleanor Shori, Bill and Rose Livingston, and Larry and I could walk to each other's homes to play or stay overnight. Once in awhile we stayed too long and got a good whipping when we got home! At our home there was a huge apricot tree in the garden, and we had a bed under its boughs. That was a great place to sleep in the summertime. We had a big orchard which was a good place for a group of kids to play games such as Hide'n Seek; Ally, Ally Outs in Free; and years. Our other two daughters, Lori and Jerri, were born while we lived there. These Hope I Don't See the Old Ghost Tonight. Of course, at the right season we also had to pick mulberries and cherries for pies. Among our other jobs were picking up cow chips on the prairie (for fuel), picking up corncobs from the pig pen, and pulling weeds in the garden in 4-H and many Sunday School and school forapennyarow! I remember well the Dust Bowl days in the 30's when the kerosene lamps would have to be lit at school; and our bus, driven by Elmer Joy, crept along taking us home. The table would be covered with dust and have to be cleaned before supper; and we'd sweep a path to the bed. Seems there was always plenty of cleaning for us girls to do we'd sprinkle - on bran dampened with kerosene the cement steps and tiled kitchen floor to keep the dust down when we swept. We were fortunate to have a pump in the house so we didn't have to carry water; but we didn't have an indoor bathroom. I attended grades one through nine at Second Central School, District 19. I liked my first grade teacher, Mrs. Winona Graham, very much, and always liked school. I loved spelling at school and was fortunate, though I was really scared at the time, to go to the county spelling contest twice when I was in ?th and 8th grades, and placed second or third each time. County music contests and track meets were also exciting and much anticipated. My older brothers and sisters graduated from Seibert High School; but my brother, Art, just older than me, felt Flagler's curriculum had more to offer. So after he went there. I and Larry followed suit. We would rent a room or two in someone'g home and "batch" during the week, and most always went home on the week-end to help with work. Of course very few high school students had cars then, and we certainly didn't. Larry helped the janitor one term, and rode a bicycle across town to work awhile; then back home for breakfast, and back to school. Class plays were fun; also roller skating on Wednesday nights, and a dance once in awhile. After graduation I helped my mother with her work on the farm since two or three of my brothers were at home, and once in awhile a hired hand. My first job was at the drug store in Flagler, where I worked for a year, as a "soda jerk." We made our own simple syrup, combining sugar and water, for the fountain drinks. Part of that year I roomed and boarded with the Aubrey Walker's. In 1947 my parents got REA on their farm. We had had electric lights from a windcharger; but having a refrigerator was great! In April 1948 J.C. Elliott and I were married in Hugo. We borrowed my brother's car and J.C. borrowed 950 from a friend to go on our hone5rmoon - two or three days in the Colorado Springs area. We lived in Hugo until 1956 with the exception of two years when J.C. was in the Marine Corps, and we lived in California. Our first daughter, Monte, was born in San Diego. In 1956 J.C. was transferred to Burlington with his job for the State Highway Department. We moved there when our son, Lynn, wag six weeks old. In the fall of 1958 J.C. quit his job with the S.H.D., and we moved to the Buol's homestead. Ly2 miles North of Burlington. J.C. worked for Buol's for ten years, then leased the feedlot from them for eight were busy, happy years with the kids involved activities. J.C. was a 4-H livestock leader for nine years and a livestock superintendent at the county fair several years.. I was a Girl Scout leader and taught Sunday School several years. Jerri caused me to almost have a heart attack of the kids were taking turns - some riding Pat Andrews' shetland pony around in our corral. They could barely get him to move 'til someone left the handgate open and he headed for the pasture (by Kermit Buol's) on a dead run. Jerri, who was only three, was hanging onto the saddle for dear life as the pony ran across the highway ! Halfway down the hill she fell off and the pony stopped immediately. Her only injury was a bruised chest from hitting the saddle horn tely! - fortuna- Each fall we enjoyed having J.C.'s brother, Grove, and family come for a week-end of pheasant hunting. I learned later of neat injuries when the kids were jumping into the silo onto the fresh ensilage. What fun washing those green clothes! J.C. also liked to go deer and elk hunting with his friends from Hugo when he could arrange it. Many times we gave gas to someone who had run out (since we had a pump on the place), and J.C. took the tractor and pulled someone's vehicle out of a snowdrift or the mud. A few times someone was stranded at our home for a few hours or a few davs because of a snowstorm. In the fall of 1976 we moved to a home we built on the north side of Prairie Pines golf course. (J.C. enjoyed playing golf very much.) Ours was the first home completed in that subdivision; but that same winter and spring the Martin Buol's, Mel Gross', Leland Reinecker's and John Harker's moved into their homes. In February 1977 we had a terrible dirt storm; then two weeks later we had a bad snowstorm with lots of drifting (especially across our driveway!). Our electricity was off for over four days. We stuck it out huddled in blankets around the fireplace for two days: then took the Jeep and went across the golf course and to tovrrn to Russ and Alene Davis' home. J.C., I, Lori, and Jerri spent three nights and three days with them. I started working at the Pro Shop in 1928 and still work there during the golf season. We sold our home on the golf course in 1982 and eventually bought the home in town where I still live. J.C. died on October 10, 1985. All of our children attended college for various lengths of time. Monte married Paul Clarke on May 25, 1985. Lori married Ernie Love on February 14,1987. by Bunnie Elliott ELLISTON CORDELL FAMILY Fr83 On my dad's side, the early Elliston history is traced to England. The people who were believed to become the "Elliston Clan',, staded in the year 825 under the leadership of Eriwulf (The Fighting Bishop). They and the people of Somerset proceeded to a stone �Over the centuries the name had been modified/modernized into many variations to include Elliston, Ellystone, Elston, Alliston, and even McAlliston which means son of Alliston. Great-grandad Robert Elliston born April 15, 1838 in Kentucky, married Milly Holt. March 25, 1863 marks their wedding date in Jefferson County, Illinois. Milly died June 13, 1864 leaving Great-grandad with a son, Uncle Al. Uncle Al was said to have 17 children. On March 23, 1868 Great-grandad married for a second time to Sarah Nichels. They had 4 ELLISTON - WRIGHT FAMILY more boys and 2 girls; Grandad, George was born March 91, 1869, Willinm, Ella, Charles, Lilly, and Benjnrnin Frank. In 1865 Greatgrandad fought in the Civil War. Moving to Nebraska in the early 1880's he and his family survived the covered wagon journey, accompanied by a wagon train. Leaving home at about 16 years of age, he rode on horseback to northern Oklahoma, Granny and Grandad Elliston (George M. and Nancy J.) where he is believed to have worked on the famous "101 Ranch". Earning his living by helping on the railroad construction, and trading with Indians proved to be sufficient for his new bride Nancy Jane Cordell. Granny was born November 3, 1876. Grandad was believed to have participated in the "Cherokee Strip". This was a race in which the Government provided free land to those who chose to run and stake their homestead. One of Dad's favorite stories to tell was that ofhis father's plight to get to the spot he had chosen for his homestead. A woman also in the race had a lame horse. The horse had fallen into a rut and had broken its leg. (In those days the only right thing to do was to shoot them to put them out of their misery.) Grandad got off his horse to do the lady a service, and she grabbed her horse and staked the homestead he had chosen. Grandad and Granny lived on the Osage Indian Reservation in Osage County, Oklaho- ma. It was there that my father James Franklin Elliston was born and raised along with two sisters, Nellie and Gladys. 1909 found the family moving to Washington County, Kansas, living on a rented farm. In 1923 they migrated to Lincoln County, Colorado, working on the ranch which was developed to include property in Washington and Kit Carson Counties as well. ln L947 Dad, Aunt Gladys, Granny, Grandad and Aunt Nellie (taken prior to 1950, in front of "Old Soddy" at Grandad's house) Mom and Dad (Marge and Frank Elliston) taken in the 1940's "D?-CAT" used in the Blizzard of '46. taken on Elliston Ranch prior to 1950 Grandad and Granny retired and moved to Skiatook, Oklahoma. Grandad passed away in Skiatook in 1968. At 22 years of age Dad married Luella Meyer to have 8 children, one of which died as an infant, Fred, Neva, Grace, George, Jim, Robert and Nancy. Fred and Charles had one daughter Lisa. Neva and Les Tyler had two sons Tim and Dave. Grace and Frank Aggus had Kenny, Connie and Gary. George and Geneva had one son Bruce. Jim and Nancy had Gary, Jerry, Dave, Dan, Pat, Tim and Jamie. Robert married the former Kay Horrigans. Nancy and Robert Myer had Christina and Stephen. by Dolly Mae Elliston John Kirkenschlager, Dad, Bert Edleman (taken in front of house in Kansas prior to 1950) which was a meeting place. Along with King Egbert they fought the "Battle of The Forest". A great victory was won. It was this victory that destined the clan to be called Aleystone. Aleystone comes from The Olde English Language meaning ancient stone. "Old Soddy" at Grandad's House Married in the 1940's my parents, well known as Marge and Frank Elliston, remembered the dust bowl days of the 30's well. "Dirty 30's" my Mom called them; "The Depression" was Dad's common term. Tum- bleweeds, drought and hunger ravaged through the plains with anger and rage. They survived those days of hardship with starnina and courage. As we unravel the tales of yarn, �Lumberyard, Apartment Houses, and owned and operated the Case Dealership under "J.F. Elliston and Sons." In 1947 they bought and moved to a place in Eureka, Kansas. Jim was 12 that year and drove one ofthe trucks loaded with furniture. This venture found the family rotating between Kansas, Flagler, and the ranch north of Flagler, depending on where the work demanded the most presence. My first and only full sister was born in Kansas on Apr. 11, 1948. It was in that big old house in Kansas that Mom, while pregnant with Ruby Luceil, sat and watched the big tree spiders make large webs of intricate designs. Mom and Jim used to walk after the cows in the evening. The handsized spiders would swing from tree to tree, as Jim would Children of Frank Elliston: Fred, Grace, George, Jim, Robert, Davie, Nancy, Scotty, Cordell, Ruby, Roy, Dolly Mae, and Doug taken in 1970. through the stories told by our parents and their parents, we see how the cloth of our family was woven. Sometimes there were only threads ofhope, love, and faith entwined with barbed wire, death and God's helping hand. They started out their life together on their property known to our family as the "Old Thompson Place". The 3 youngest children of Dad's former marriage lived with them, Jim, Nancy and Robert. Situated just west of the Arickaree Creek. 22 miles north of Flagler, they resided until the house burned down. Scotty Nathan, my eldest brother was born on Oct. 6, 1941. When the tragic fire was engulfing the house with flames, Mom remembers how she, Dad, and the hired hand carried out the piano by themselves. The basement contained fuel for the winter, cowchips and corncobs so it went down pretty fast. It was cold out so Mom thought she would leave Scotty in the house to keep warm while they carried out the piano, but Jim got worried and wrapped the baby up and carried him to the safety of the car. Having more than one house enabled them to move to a house we called the "Joe Eckert Place." Grandad and Granny Elliston lived just north of there on the "Home Place". Almost a year later my second brother Davie McClellan, was born on Oct. 13, 1942. Davie was born with the opening to his stomach closed, causing the need for much attention and special care. He was the 5th child under about 7 years old in the household. With much consideration for the baby's health, they decided that he could be given that special care staying with Grandad and Granny. When they retired and moved back to Oklahoma, he went with them. It was during the Depression that people could no longer stand up to the harsh environment. People fled the country in droves leaving behind acres and acres of windswept barren land. The government took over much of this land and later on sold it off. I remember Dad saying many times, of how he bought land for $1.00 an acre during those days. My third eldest brother was born at home on Aug. 19, 1945. God brought them their first blond haired, blue eyed baby boy, Charles Cordell. Between raising kids, cattle, horses and chickens, and farming about 4000 acres they kept pretty busy. Roy Pearl, my fourth eldest brother was born on Sept. 19, 1946. It was that winter that Colorado seemed to have been swallowed whole by a ferocious blizzard. They had over 1200 head of cattle that there was no feed for. as it was covered by almost 4 feet of snow. Desperately trying to find a solution, Dad realized he had to get the cattle off the ranch and into Flagler to the railroad station. Mom remembers it took Dad, the hired hand and some of the boys 4 days to get to town. (Only about 25 miles). They drove a D-7 Caterpillar to make tracks in the snow for the cattle to follow and some of the boys followed behind the cattle on horseback. Alot of folks were shut in for weeks so the "Cat" made them a nice track. Neighbors were known to have watched the cattle go by their houses for 5 hours. One neighbor was said to have had to stand out in her yard waving a dish towel to keep the cattle from getting in her yard. Finally reaching Flagler, there were no trains. Dad had to call the Governor and convince him that he had to have 31 railroad cars, quick, to load the cattle on. The cattle were so hungry they ate at the sides of the sale barn. The Governor took 2 days to get the cattle cars there. (A display is said to be at one of the museums in Denver, Colorado, of this event). Cattle loaded on the trains, Dad sent the hired hand and some of the boys back to the ranch on the "Cat". Mom said she was ever so glad to see that old "Cat" coming down the road with groceries, as food supplies were getting pretty low. The cattle were put on corn fields in Iowa and some perhaps Illinois. During the years to follow Dad bought property in Flagler, known as the "Sloans Addition". He and Mom moved into town and lived in the "Yellow House". While moving back and forth from the ranch and town he bought the Flagler Sale Barn, the tease Mom that the spiders wouldn't hurt anyone. "The little things would land on you and jump right off' he would say. That is until the day one of them jumped on his back. White as a sheet he turned. Mom recalls with a hint of amusement on her face. My fifth and last brother, red haired and freckled, Douglas Franklin enhanced the family on June 22, 1949. Doug and Ruby always used to argue whose "Reka" it was. Your reka or my reka. It was in'55 or'56 that found them selling the place in Kansas to return to Flagler. By that time most of the businesses they had in Flagler were no longer in operation, although most of the property was retained until after Dad's death. I being the youngest of the ? living children was born in the Flagler Hospital Apr. 4, 1957. As I allow my mind to walk slowly through the pages of my past, I remember sitting by -y Mom's side in the winter time. I would watch her darn socks and patch overalls andjeans, and listen quietly as she spoke of her childhood. The winters were cold and harsh abreasting the seemingly God- forsaken plains. With old fashioned irons heated in the coal stove to keep the beds warm at night, Mom said that there were times when the only source of food was the squirrels and jack rabbits her Dad had trapped and hunted, along with small rations of ground corn from the summers' minimal harvest. Before they had electricity the meats were hung out in the smoke house to cure or Granny would can it. "We were in God's care though, and Mom would always read the Bible to us", Mom would say. The most precious memories I hold are those times spent on Sunday afternoons after church at Thurman, Colorado. Our families would gather either at our house or at Grandad Wright's to have lunch and sing the Gospel or other old fashioned songs. Those afternoons were always a festivity with cousins, aunts and uncles gathered around the piano singing and playing the fiddles. The kids would play games like "Red Light-Green Light", "Red Rover-Red Rover" and "Simon Says". Dad and Grandad always played the fiddles and the aunts would sing and play the piano. One of my favorites was the "Red River Valley", which Grandad played on the harmonica. A blessing from God indeed, is that of the closeness felt at the family gatherings of those long-ago Sunday afternoons. During the week at home there were always chores to be tended. Living on such a big ranch seemed to invent things to do. At various times we employed hired hands that lived in one of the 5 houses on the ranch. At one time Jim and his family moved back on the ranch to help with all of the work. �Between Cordell's 8th and 9th grade, Dad kept him at home from school for a year to help with the work. Before some of us kids were old enough to brand cattle and drive the guidance just as he does his own natural children. The Elliston families try to get together tractor, we found time to build forts out of stacked fence posts and sometimes even tumbleweeds. With Jim's kids there we even had enough kids for regular Indian battles. We also used to get our summer fun out of swimming in the various ponds and playing "King on the Mountain" in the hay lofts in the barns. In the evenings was a special time aftcr the older kids came in from the fields, we would all play "Hide and Seek". Work sometimes hard to get everyone rounded up but it strengthens that family cloth ever more. couldn't elude anyone though as in the spring it was time to bring in cattle from the pastures and sort them for the cattle sales. Also the heifers needed to be put in corrals for calving. Pent safely in the wooden corrals that we all helped to build you could hear the cattle rebel at night of their sudden enclosure. Along with the bellows deep in the night, one could hear the coyotes howling at the moon. Those coyotes seemed to be right outside the bedroom window. There were always fence rows to mend; wires broken from the winter's heavy snow and new fences to put in, old ones moved or taken out. Moving a 2 mile fence is something everyone should have the opportunity to do at least once in their lifetime! Summer soon to follow found Mom and us kids in the garden. Mom would direct us where to spade spots for many vegetables for canning. We didn't mind the blisters too much, knowing that Dad would There is nothing better than fresh strawberries on also put in several rows of strawberries. top of fresh buttered bread, dipped in Granny's fresh cream! (We didn't have it too bad!) The most historical building on the ranch was what we called the "Old Soddy". A Soddy is a building the early settlers built when they first cnme to the west. Sod was dug from the pastures and homes were built by layering a row of sod and sod mixed with mud and water to form a paste to seal the next layer. The Soddy at one time even contained a grinding mill that connected to a nearby wind mill. each year for a family reunion. This is by Dolly Mae Elliston ELLSWORTH - REED FAMILY F185 Gene Ellsworth, expert sharp-shooter. Sherman and Clara Ellsworth and son Lee. Lee was born at their new homestead five months after arriving at their homestead in Colorado. On April 13, 1906, Sherman and Clara (Reed) Ellsworth anived at Burlington, from their former home in Norton, Kansas, via the Rock Island train. The Ellsworths' along with the Feese and Mills stayed three nights in a large tent near the stockyards, while they waited for the boxcars containing their livestock, wagons, buggy and household goods to be unloaded. They left their 10 year old son Clarence, with his sister Roysten, in Norton, so he could finish his school term. In a letter Clara wrote to Clarence after they arrived in Burlington, she writes that one could see for miles from Burlington. She states that there were 1000 head of sheep in the stockyards. This was at one time used to grind grain. My Dad passed away on Apr. 3, 1970. At On Easter morning, they started their journey to their homestead on the NE % of that time he had 8000 ranch acres and several properties in Flagler. My brother Doug was killed in a harvest truck accident on Aug. 5, Sec. 18-11-44 southwest ofBurlington. Their 1971, leaving his wife Darlene and one daughter Waiva Louceil. Scotty and Beverly had 5 children, Wade, John, Craig, Debra and Jessie. Davie and Kay had 2 children, Erin and Reece. Cordell and Kathy had 2 children, Jayce and Kami. Ruby and Al Dieckman had 2 children, Julie and Jenni. I have 3 children, Laurie Wilcox, Lonnie and Jennifer Vincent. All we have left of those precious days on the ranch are memories embedded in our minds forever. Some faded pictures and a few reel to reel tapes have recorded a deep personal gratification of life. Our families are scattered around the world now. and distances seem so vast. From the Middle East, to Alaska, Texas to Iowa and Arizona the threads of our parents' love is stretched. Mom has shown true spirit to the area though, as she still resides in Flagler. She calmly states as she wans a friendly smile, "This is my home". Remarried in 1973 to Floyd Rowe, they share their golden lives together in their new home west of Flagler. In the absence of our natural father, Floyd has given each of us strength, support and tff daughter and son-in-law, Walter and Cora Feese homesteaded what they thought was the SW % of Sec. 18-11-44. but when the land was resurveyed, they found that their home was on the wrong section. Sherman and Clara had four children: Roysten Matthies, Cora Feese, Clarence and Lee. Lee was born five months after they arrived at their Colorado home. by Shirley Matthies ELLSWORTH, THOMAS EUGENE F186 "Listen my children and you shall hear, Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere; On the eighteenth of April, '75, Hardly a man is now alive who Remembers that famous day and year, And the midnight ride of Paul Revere." And hardly a man is now alive who remembers a day much later April 18, - Yankee 1850. On that day a Pennsylvania and his English-born wife were delighted by the arrival of a son. The boy was christened Thomas Eugene Ellsworth. His father was A.C. Ellsworth, and his mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Jellus. This all took place at Paris, Linn County, Iowa. There, the young man remained until the year 1896. In boy- hood young Gene learned the trade of tinsmith, a trade at which he worked for many years, and to which, in 1890, he added that of gunsmithing. A natural thing for him, since at an early age he became a proficient marksman with shotgun and rifle. So expert had he become, that the Winchester Arms Co. employed him as traveling demonstrator. He thus beco-e known all over the United States. In the many matches in which he entered he became acquainted with and was often pitted against such world famous gunners as; Carver, Bogardus, Topperwein, Hardy, Mrs. Toppenwein, Cal Wagner (winner of the National match and a $14,000.00 purse), and others. In 1874, Mr. Ellsworth was married to Annie Brooks of Sumner, Iowa. Their first two children died, a boy at the age of 2, and a daughter at 7 weeks. Other children were; Frank and Ralph, both on the police force of Long Beach, Calif., Jessie, who was a sergeant in the World War, and later a farmer on a large scale near Aberdeen, South Dakota, and a daughter Hazel, now Mrs. Webster. The first Mrs. Ellsworth died at their home in Fairbury, Nebr. Two years later, Mr. Ellsworth again married, this time at Center, Nebr., his wife being Mrs. Mattie H. Lickey, whose maiden name was Wanderluss. In 1911, he came to Colorado, land seeking. He returned to Nebr. and bought a relinquishment, of John Hanis. Mrs. Bllsworth continued her occupation of nurse in Fairbury, Nebr., for five years. They came to Seibert, Colo., in 1917, to their home 8 miles south and 3 W. of Seibert. On their farm they went in for dairy cattle, horses, hogs and chickens, at which they prospered until the bad years. Mrs. Ellsworth died April 14, 1937, and soon after he moved into Seibert. He lived in �the house built by Roy Johnson, in the west part of town. by Janice Salmans ELRICK, CLYDE AND LULU F187 Clyde Elrick was the youngest son of Scott and Margaret Elrick of Iowa. Clyde's parents' history was entered in the Marshall County Historybook in Iowaas beingin awagon train to California in the Gold Rush of 1849. In Utah, their wagon and occupants, along with three other wagons chose to withdraw from the wagon train and take another route. The original wagon train continued on the planned route where the entire train was massa- cred by Indians. Lulu (LaRue) Elrick, whose parents, Edward and Jennie LaRue, came to Colorado first from Minnesota, settling north of Flagler, near where Clyde and Lulu settled in 1915. Clyde and Lulu came from Minnesota with five children: Carol, Hazel, Jennie, Lonnie and Wilma. Three of us were born in Florence, Violet and Rozella. Colorado We were- raised in a four room house with no modern conveniences. The house was heated by a cook (coal) stove and a parlor furnace, also heated by coal. We attended school in a one room schoolhouse called "Dazzling Valley" in School District No. 14. We attended the first eight grades there, later attending high school in Flagler. Since 1927, several Elricks have graduated from the Flagler High School. Farming in the early years was done by horse drawn machinery, later tractors were added. There were years when drouth and hail took the crops. We also survived the "dust bowl" days. ning was done. Pork and beefwere butchered and preserved for later use. Eggs, milk, cream and butter were supplied from the farm. On Kirk; Rozella and John Beatty: Beverly Farley. our farm was a cellar or cave which was concrete lined with shelves for canned goods and bins for potatoes, apples and vegetables. It also doubled as a storm shelter in case of tornadoes or severe storms which threatened some times. Staples and supplies were bought at Flagler. They were transported by a horse drawn wagon and later by automobiles. Our entertainment in our young years were school plays, box suppers, gatherings where the neighbor women took the food and had by Florence Gries ENGLAND, CIIARLES AND HATTIE UHL Ft88 quilting parties, the men visited, pitched horseshoes, played cards or played and watched baseball games. At one time the Elricks had their own baseball team which consisted of family members, also in-laws and grandchildren. There are many yet who are avid sport fans with the younger ones still participating in one sport or the other. Raymond Elrick, the oldest grandson and his wife, Imogene, still reside on a ranch and farm near the original Elrick farm. Clyde and Lulu retired in 1944 in Flagler on the place now owned by their daughter, Jennie Potter. Rozella Beatty also resides in Flagler and yours truly, Florence (Peggy) Gries resides in the Golden area. We, in 1985, are the remaining three of the eight children. Following are the sons and daughters of Clyde and Lulu Elrick: Carrol and Elsie (Lake) Elrick: Raymond, Scotty (deceased), Williem, James (deceased), Caroline Farmer, and Donald; Hazel and Gale Kelley: Robert, Shirley Herbert and Jerald; Jennie and Glenn Potter: Betty Dalgetty ', Charles L. England and his grandsons, Robert C. and Jeffery Doyle Coles. (deceased) and Harold; Lonnie and Opal (Charles) Elrick Allen, Gary, Linda Green and Sherry; Wilma and Pearl Johnson; Florence and Albert Horst: Keith Horst: Florence married Edward Gries; Violet and Murle Haworth: Calvin and Gardens were raised every year and can- t$tiiiig,rffi r" 1 . ' Charles England was born near Piedmont, Missouri to John and Lusetta England in 1887. His first trip to Colorado was in 1910 when he and his brother Bill worked on a cattle ranch near Lamar, Colorado. He rejoined his family in Kansas in 1914 and married Hattie Uhl in August of 1914. They returned to Lamar for a short period and then returned to Kansas where he stayed until 1950. In December of 1928, Hattie died of diabetes leaving Charlie to raise two daughters and a son. In 1950 Charles, his daughter Franceis and his son-in-law Doyle Coles moved to land purchased near Stratton Colorado. Before leaving Kansas they bought a 55 Massy Harris tractor, Jeffery chisel, John Deere 1620 drill, Massy Harris one way, and a 1000 propane tank and hauled it all to the old Kordes place west of Stratton on a 1947 Chevy truck. A good crop in 1951 and a fair crop in 1952 were followed by bad years forcing Doyle and Franceis to return to Kansas. Charles continued on the farm, hanging on by selling land and making minimal crops until 1959 when good years began to return and Doyle and Franceis were able to come back to Stratton. Charles left the farm in 1961 moving to Stratton where he purchased a small home and remodeled it, living there until his death on November 5, 1962. Charles and Hattie had three children: Charles of Port Angeles, Washington, MaxThe Clyde Elrick Family in 1940. Front Row: Florence, Clyde, Lulu, Rozella. Back Row: Hazel, Lonnie, Jennie, Violet, Carrol, and Wilma. �ine Herd of Protection, Kansas and Franceis Coles of Stratton, Colorado. by Robet and Linda Coles EPPERSON - MILLER FAMILY F189 time, so we sold the farm and moved to town. Since my father was out working most of the time and didn't want me to be alone, he asked Mr. and Mrs. C.E. Gibson, who printed The Flagler Progress, a weekly newspaper, if I could help in their office - no pay expected, of course. The old round-up days were almost over when I first remember anything. There were no fences. In the spring cattle were branded and turned loose to pasture and they strayed as far south as the Union Pacific Railroad. About the last round-up days, I remember, the men stayed and slept in the loft of our barn and started on their trip real early. Soon after, people began buying herds of sheep and fences were built. That caused some hard feelings between them and cattlemen. I have very fond memories of my parents. My father served on the school board, helped in our church activities and served as Kit Carson County Commissioner. My mother was a very kind mother. After my first week with the Gibsons at The Flagler Progress, they began paying me $10.00 a week. a small fortune then. The printing office was one of the most interesting jobs I ever had. Then after that I went to work for W.H. Lavington in his General Store, that was also very interesting. Farmers drove in from miles in the country, a day's trip with team and wagon. They would leave a long grocery list with us to fill. We would have it ready to go Edley Thomas Epperson and his bride, Nina Mae Miller Epperson, married December 25, 1892, in the first wedding in the Flagler Congregational Church. My father, Edley Thomas Epperson came west from Galesburg,Ill., where he was born on March 11, 1864. He was working for the Rock Island Railroad being built at that time. In Flagler, he met my mother, Nina Mae Miller, who was born in Kansas. They were married Dec. 25, 1892, the first wedding performed in the First Congregational Church building. They decided to make their home there and started on a cattle ranch four miles south of Flagler, near the Republican River. My brother, Roy and sister, Retta and I were born there in a sod house. I was born on April 4, 1900. My sister and I were baptized in the Republican River about 1906. My brother was later baptized in a Baptist Church in Denver. We attended school in Flagler. Our grand- father drove a covered wagon which was transportation for us and a few neighbors. One of Colorado's blizzards stranded the wagon away from home. The folks spent a sleepless, worrying night, since there were no telephones. The next day, the wagon was safely home after spending the night at a neighbor's. So before I started to school, my folks bought a small place close to Flagler, located about where the M&S Garage was located for so many years. We lived there in the winter and went back to the ranch in the summer. My mother passed away at an early age in 1911, and my sister in 1913. My brother was older and at that time was gone most of the by about 6 a.m. the next day. Then they had a long trip going home. Later Mr. Lavington turned the store over to his son, Leon, and he went full time to the Flagler State Bank of which he was president. He asked me to go to work there. Although I didn't want to leave the store, my father thought I should go. So I spent many years at the bank. During the years ahead, times were hard. Then in 1933, President Roosevelt ordered all banks closed, I believe, for three days. After that time was up, only about three banks reopened in the county, the First National Bank being one of them. Subsequently Jennie married Dan Schlagle, who had come to work for the Rock Island Railroad, sometime during the 1920's and probably quit work to raise a family. Their son, Dick, is a 1948 graduate of Flagler High School. Dick started to school in the same building where Jennie had started school many years before. (The brick school building had replaced the frame building when built, but later the frame building was put into use again for the lower grades as enrollment increased). After the beginning of WWII, some time in the 1940's, Jennie went back to the First National Bank to work and continued until her retirement. Then she went to live with her son. Dick and wife, in the Kansas City area (Raytown, Missouri) where she cared for two little granddaughters, while their parents worked. The "little girls" are now grown and there are two great granddaughters for Jennie to enjoy, now that she is nearly 88 years of age. by Jennie Epperson Schlagle ERNEST, HARRY Fr90 Harry Ernest was born February 15, 1895 near Goshen, Indiana, the youngest son of Alfred (1852-1936) and Dorinda (Fones) (1854-1934) Ernest. Alfred's ancestry was German. Harry's great, great grandfather, Conrad Ernest (1763-1815) came from Ger- many; his great grandfather, Conrad Ernest (1797 -1847) was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania; his grandfather, George Washington Ernest (1820-1897) was born in Tyrone Twp., Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, now Perry County; his father, Alfred, was born near Goshen, Indiana. Harry's mother, Dorinda, was born near Tonawanda, New York. Her ancestry was French. Her grandfather, William Fones (1764-1839) fought in the Revolutionary War from North Kingston, Rhode Island; and her father, John Fones (1795-1885), was born near Schenectady, New York. After living in South Carolina and Oklahoma, Harry moved with his parents to the sandhills of Nebraska and there met his wife, Ida Rhodes. They were married on Christmas Day 1916 in her parent's home north of Lewellen. Later the next year they moved into a sod house five miles northeast of Oshkosh, Nebraska where four of the children were born. In 1917 Hauy bought a new Model T Ford with side curtains for about $600. Harry raised hogs and farmed there until 1925. His father, Alfred, owned a quarter of land on the plains of eastern Colorado eleven miles southwest of Burlington. He deeded the land to Harry in exchange for their taking care of his parents in their latter years. So the Harry Ernest family moved with five horses, a cow, and some furniture. We lived with a neighbor, Cash Locke, until my father and a friend, Hugh Bennett of Burlington, built a tworoom cement house on the quarter of land. We then went on a six-week trip to the east coast. I remember many things about that trip as my twin brother, Elvin, and I were seven years old. My father started breaking sod, getting ready to farm. He bought two registered Hereford cows and through the years built the herd to around 100 registered Hereford cattle. His specialty was selling registered Hereford bulls to the Denver Stock Show and also to private individuals. He spent many hours weighting their horns and getting them ready for the Show. It paid off as he came home with lots of blue ribbons and sales. Harry's parents came to live with us in 1928. He had to build two more rooms on to our home. Then came the great Depression and the dirt storms! The grass was too dry to grow so for a while Harry salted down Russian thistles to feed the cattle. but he finally had to truck them to pasture on his father-in-law's place up by North Platte, Nebraska. One day the wind would blow white dust from the north and the next day it would change directions and blow red dust up from Oklahoma and Texas. Our faith was strong in God and we depended on Him to take care of us during those years. We didn't realize how really bad it was. We were a happy family. We attended the Calvary Church of the Nazarene, eleven miles southwest of our place. So many people moved away after losing their farms and some �died of dust pneumonia. My father had to mortgage our place and at times we thought we would lose it but managed to hang on to it. Finally he brought the cattle back and sometime later he put in an irrigation well. Through the years he managed to buy eight more quarters of land and rented some besides. We had some exciting things happen once in a while on the farm even though we had no electricity, phone, or radio. Charles Lindberg was flying his plane, which he had been getting ready to fly across the Atlantic, and as he came over our pasture south ofthe barn, his plane developed some kind of trouble. We read "The Spirit of St. Louis" on the side of his plane. He was flying so low it scared the cattle and he had to gain altitude to miss hitting the barbed wire fence. We read about it in the newspaper afterwards. Harry prospered through the years and in 1959 my parents moved to the Ardueser place a mile south of Bethune. They lived there for 1? years and then had a new home built at 1798 Lowell Avenue in Burlington. They moved there in 1975. Harry worked very hard through the years and it came time for him to retire from the farm. He sold his beautiful cattle to a rancher in Wyoming and had a sale of many of the farm things. A renter has farmed the land now for several years and another irrigation well has been added. My folks raise mostly wheat, pinto beans, and corn now, but have had sugar beets in the past when the sugar beet factory was thriving. (Harry Ernest passed away quietly in his sleep form a heart attack on September 1, 1986 at the age of91 years. He and his wife would celebrate their ?0th wedding Anniversary on Christmas Day 1986. by Eleanor (Ernest) Varce have had four great grandchildren. She is still raising a garden, canning and sharing. She does most of her work at the age of 93 in 1986. She has been a very devoted wife and mother, attending church faithfully, has after. always put others first in her thoughts. Ernest were married as well as sometime Then Harry and Ida moved northeast of Oshkosh, Nebraska into another sod house. On March 11, 1918 Elvin and I (Eleanor) were born one month premature. The doctor - parents not to expect me to live, we told my were both very tiny. There were six pairs of twins born in that community that year and all of them died who were both twin boys or both twin girls. Another baby boy, Stanford, came to bless our home on November 13, 1920; and on February 23, 1924 Paul was born. He weighed more than the twins both together. The twins started to school in the first grade, but went only six weeks when they both got measles, and mother taught us at home until we started in the fourth grade at Prairie Star in 1926 south of Bethune, Colorado. One of the hardest things during the Depression to contend with was to have enough clothes to wear. But Mother always found a way. She made a lot ofour clothes out of feed sacks, even a lot of our sheets for our beds came from sacks. We always had enough to eat since we lived on the farm, but we had a real problem getting much of a variety to put on the table. We couldn't always have much garden because of shortage of water since the stock needed it, until we got a large storage tank and then we could irrigate it. When we did have a big garden Mother canned and canned. Since we didn't have electricity, she had to can most of the meat; of course. we cured the hams and bacon. Another real problem was to get enough fuel to keep us warm or to cook with. There weren't any trees to cut down. So many times Mother and we children went out into the ERNEST, IDA (RI{ODES) there were very few trees with which to build homes. Ida went to Norton, Kansas to take several weeks of normal training in order to teach in the country schools. She taught in the school east of them before she and Harry F191 pasture with gunny sacks to gather cow chips. It took many sacks to bake bread twice a week and get all the meals. Later on we were able to buy a little coal and a few old railroad ties to burn. Ida Rhodes was born August 18, 1893 near Westboro, Missouri, the second daughter of George (1868-1955) and Lydia (Johnson) (1869-1943) Rhodes. Ida's great, great grandfather, Caleb Rhodes (1739-f830) was born in Schylkill County, Pennsylvania; her great grandfather, Lewis Rhodes (U98-1886) wag born in Mercer County, Pennsylvania; her grandfather John Rhodes (1827-1875) was also born in Mercer County, Pennsylvania and was in the Civil War; and her father, George Rhodes, was born in Stark County, Illinois. On December 7, 1934 our baby sister, Irene, was born, but she didn't live but two weeks. I wanted a That was a sad time for all us baby sister so very much. - Then on July 20, 1936, Leland came to bless our home. How happy we all were! Since I was 18 I had to be his first nurse as all Mother's children were born at home. most of The children have scattered them graduated from college and-did graduate work. Elvin and Stanford went into the ministry. We were all saddened when Elvin passed away with cancer on October 7, 1973 Ida's mother, Lydia Johnson, was born near Gentry, Missouri. Her grandfather, Joseph Wesley Johnson (1832-1910) was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania; her great grandfather, Wesley Johnson (18091837) was born in Fayeteville, Pennsylvania and died while young in a logging accident. After living in Iowa for several years, Ida with her parents and brother and sister moved to Orleans, Nebraska where she while pastoring at Royal City, Washington. He had pastored for 30 years or more. Paul has irrigated farms in the State of Wash- home north of Lewellen, Nebraska. All the families around there lived in sod houses as teaching. finished high school. When she was around 20, they moved on west in Nebraska to the sandhills. Her father rented a farm with a sod ington. Leland, the youngest, got his Doctor's degree in Botany at the University of Iowa and taught in the Science department in our College in Massachusetts. I did my graduate work at the University of Colorado and taught in our College in Nampa, Idaho as head of the Secretarial Department. I married a minister, got another under-graduate major in Home Economics and taught 16 more years, making a total of 20 years of Harry and Ida have 9 grandchildren and is still worked very hard through the years, and by Eleanor (Ernest) Varce EVANS - GRIFFITHS FAMILY F192 John P. Evans, a young bachelor, first cnrne to eastern Colorado in the fall of 1886 from Columbus Junction, Iowa. He was told to "go West to the dry prairie country" by a doctor in Iowa who treated him for bronchitis and a lingering cough. He filed on a homestead and pre-emption southwest of Idalia in what was then Arapahoe County. This county extended from the Kansas line to Denver and was about thirty miles wide. Later several counties were formed from a division of Arapahoe County, among them Washington and Yuma. John P. built a dugout home. There were no wells the first winter and water had to be hauled from the Republican River, about eight miles. He had met a young lady, Elizabeth Griffiths through a mutual friend, and they had corresponded several years. Elizabeth lived with her father and brothers in Macon County, Missouri. In 1893, he returned to Missouri to marry Elizabeth. It is interesting that her father would not give his consent to the marriage unless John P. agreed to try farming in Missouri for a year. The prize was worth the demand to John. and on Christmas day, 1893, John P. Evans and Elizabeth Griffiths were married and settled down to the very different environment of "Muddy Missouri". John kept his promise to his father-in-law and farmed in Missouri for a year. Their first child, Anne, was born in October, 1894, and about six weeks after her birth John and Elizabeth prepared to return to his prairie home. They came by rail with some household furnishings, a barrel or two of apples, dried fruits and a hogshead (a large wooden tub) packed with homechurned butter. The years that followed were years of hard work, battling the elements of drouth, winds and hail. A second daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was born on the homestead in the summer of 1897. They were accumulating some cattle and settlers were coming in to take homesteads. Rangeland, on which the cattleman depended to graze his herds, was disappearing and they felt the need to get where prairie was more grass. In addition to the homestead near Idalia, John had taken a timber claim about thirty miles south in what is now Kit Carson County. It was to this land that they moved to accommodate their growing herd of cattle. They added more land as they were able. Three more daughters were born to them, Margaret Alice in 1900, Elsie S. in 1904 who died in 1905 and Grace Eleanor in 1907. They built up their cattle herds, developed their land and reared their children, but they were always ready to lend a hand for the good their community. From being kind and �helpful neighbors to serving on the school board and helping organized Sunday schools, their influence was felt in many ways in the betterment of their community. They believed firmly in the value of education beyond conventional schooling and encouraged their children to read and develop their minds. Daily newspapers and magazines were always in their home. Life was not always unrelenting hard labor. As the land was more settled there were neighbors to visit with and make friendships. They had an interesting group of neighbors. Young men and women seeking new free land, a hillbilly farmer from Tennessee who never did understand the prairie, and a cultured widow from eastern Nebraska. There is a humorous story about this widow. She lived in a "shack" like everyone else, but she maintained a life style more suited to the east. The story goes that a minister from Stratton cnme to call on her one morning. the widow Loveland was doing some baking and was pretty "floury" and in her everyday house dress. The minister knocked at her screen door, introducing himself, for she was in plain sight in the kitchen. After a few minutes he heard a cultured voice say, "Mrs. Loveland is not receiving this morning". [t was told that the minister turned, scratched his head and slowly went back to his buggy and drove the long miles to town. For entertainment they had "Literary Societies" which met in the schoolhouse on a Friday night, usually. Everyone who had a talent would use it for the entertainment, debates were popular and the social value of meeting and visiting were probably the greatest value. John and Elizabeth bought more land for his growing cattle herd and also had more farm land. He was proud in 1923 of raising someone in the neighborhood would fill his wagon from the then plentiful supply of buffalo bones on the prairies, collect the letters neighbors had ready for mailing to friends and relatives "back East", and make railroad town, Haigler, Nebraska, where he would dispose ofthe bones, purchase supplies After several years of batching on the plains of eastern Colorado, he returned to Missouri to marry his sweetheart, Elizabeth M. Griffith. With his bride he began farming in Missouri, but the call of the prairies was too strong and about a year later they returned to the homestead in eastern Colo- a doctor's care, nursing those children through severe illnesses, usually without benefit ofthe doctor, for the horse and buggy transportation was slow and calls on the doctor were many. The pioneer wife and mother was on the alert for snake bites and accidents of all kinds, and if they occurred she had to keep her head and know how to meet any emergency. Once when a new building was being erected, her five year old daughter suffered a scalp wound from a falling rafter; my mother snlmly sterilized a needle and with white silk thread sutured the wound skillfully without benefit of any anesthetic. Too much praise cannot be given these pioneer wivee and mothers who worked beside their husbands building a home and community. Perhaps the greatest reward of these pioneers was in seeing the development of Kansas line. Latcr several counties were this land from bare prairie with "dugout" formed from a division of this county, among homes to fine productive ranches and farms. John P. Evans, having seen this transformation of the prairie, passed on in 1924, still on the ranch and "in the harness" as he wished to go. His widow, spending her last years County. When family larders needed replenishing, ' couraged during the panic of'93 and the dry years following. Later he bought this land back for $125.00, and it was here they moved when they felt the need of more grassland for their growing herd ofcattle, gradually adding more land as they were able. It was during these years they becnme the parents of five daughters, one of whom died in infancy. Ownership of the old home ranch now rests with the four daughters. The years they spent on the ranch, rearing a family, building their cattle herd and developing the land, were busy years. But he and his wife were never too busy to lend a hand in the upbuilding of their community, to being kind and helpful neighbors to those about them, to serving ou the school board, and develop their minds. No story of a pioneer cattleman would be complete without the part played by his wife, who suffered the privations of a harsh life gladly, bearing her children many miles from them Washington and Yuma. Kit Carson County was at one time a part of Elbert ili:r':t : ' In addition to the homestead and preemption near Idalia he had a timber claim about thirty miles south of Idalia, which he had traded off for a cow when he became dis- She died in 1938 at age 72. Ownership of the In the fall of 1886, when he was a young bachelor of twenty-four, my father, John P. Evans, heard the call of the boundless West, the call for pioneers who would dare follow the star of empire that guided into the land which has, verily, become the Promised Land of our great county. Arriving in Colorado from Iowa where he had spent his young manhood, he filed on a homestead and preemption near Idalia, in what was then Arapahoe County, with Denver as the county seat. Arapahoe County wag then approximately thirty miles across and one hundred fifty miles long, extending to the ',l F194 rado. Their influence was felt in many areas in the betterment of their community. They had a firm belief in the value of education beyond the conventional schooling and encouraged their children and those about them to read Fl93 FAMILY hauled eight miles from the Republican River. and helping to organize Sunday Schools. EVANS, JOHN P. FANSELAU BAMESBERGER and collect the mail for the neighborhood. There were no wells that first winter, and as with supplies and mail, water had to be 10,000 bushels of corn on the place. In 1924, by Grace Evans Weybright by Mary Evans the thirty-five mile trip to the nearest still on the ranch and still working vigorously, he died of a heart ailment, "in the harness" as he wished to go. His widow leased the ranch the following year and spent her last years in Stratton with her daughter, Mary. ranch rests with her daughter, Grace Evans Weybright, of Liberal, KS. more comfortably in Stratton, Colorado joined him in 1938. Henry and Lillie Fanselau, taken in 1932. Henry Fanselau was born February 28, 1890, south of Idalia, Colorado near the Kit Carson County line. He was the seventh child born to German immigrant parents, August and Wilhemina (Wolff) Fanselau. Three of his sistere died in infancy and one sister died at the age of nine of diphtheria in 1893. She was buried in what was known at that time as the Hedinger Cemetery, which is gituated on the Yuma County line and two miles west of Highway 385. At that time there was a small Lutheran Church near the cemetery. About this time the family moved 8 miles North and 2 east of Bethune. Henry's sisters Katie and Minnie Fanselau, married brothers; Gottlieb and Fred Bauder. Henry and his only brother Edward, three years younger than he, attended Blue View, a one room public elementar5r school. For a time they attended church school at Immanuels Lutheran, which was two or three miles from their home. Lillie Bamesberger, adopted daughter of Ferdinand and Dora BenegSttttt, was born on February 18, 1893, in Denver, Colorado. Her adoptive parents were also German immigrants and moved from Denver to the Bethune area a few miles from the Fanselaus. The Bamesbergers also raised a foster son, � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families of Kit Carson County Description An account of the resource Brief biographies of the founding families of Kit Carson County Colorado. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Book Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families- E Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1988 Description An account of the resource A brief history of the founding families of Kit Carson County whose names begin with "E." As told in the book, History of Kit Carson County. Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Salmons, Janice Hasart, Marlyn Smith, Dorothy Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. History of Kit Carson County Volume 1 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Curtis Media Subject The topic of the resource History Kit Carson County Biography Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/466/Families-F.pdf cc228efacb349af665586233b6ce422e PDF Text Text helpful neighbors to serving on the school board and helping organized Sunday schools, their influence was felt in many ways in the betterment of their community. They believed firmly in the value of education beyond conventional schooling and encouraged their children to read and develop their minds. Daily newspapers and magazines were always in their home. Life was not always unrelenting hard labor. As the land was more settled there were neighbors to visit with and make friendships. They had an interesting group of neighbors. Young men and women seeking new free land, a hillbilly farmer from Tennessee who never did understand the prairie, and a cultured widow from eastern Nebraska. There is a humorous story about this widow. She lived in a "shack" like everyone else, but she maintained a life style more suited to the east. The story goes that a minister from Stratton cnme to call on her one morning. the widow Loveland was doing some baking and was pretty "floury" and in her everyday house dress. The minister knocked at her screen door, introducing himself, for she was in plain sight in the kitchen. After a few minutes he heard a cultured voice say, "Mrs. Loveland is not receiving this morning". [t was told that the minister turned, scratched his head and slowly went back to his buggy and drove the long miles to town. For entertainment they had "Literary Societies" which met in the schoolhouse on a Friday night, usually. Everyone who had a talent would use it for the entertainment, debates were popular and the social value of meeting and visiting were probably the greatest value. John and Elizabeth bought more land for his growing cattle herd and also had more farm land. He was proud in 1923 of raising someone in the neighborhood would fill his wagon from the then plentiful supply of buffalo bones on the prairies, collect the letters neighbors had ready for mailing to friends and relatives "back East", and make railroad town, Haigler, Nebraska, where he would dispose ofthe bones, purchase supplies After several years of batching on the plains of eastern Colorado, he returned to Missouri to marry his sweetheart, Elizabeth M. Griffith. With his bride he began farming in Missouri, but the call of the prairies was too strong and about a year later they returned to the homestead in eastern Colo- a doctor's care, nursing those children through severe illnesses, usually without benefit ofthe doctor, for the horse and buggy transportation was slow and calls on the doctor were many. The pioneer wife and mother was on the alert for snake bites and accidents of all kinds, and if they occurred she had to keep her head and know how to meet any emergency. Once when a new building was being erected, her five year old daughter suffered a scalp wound from a falling rafter; my mother snlmly sterilized a needle and with white silk thread sutured the wound skillfully without benefit of any anesthetic. Too much praise cannot be given these pioneer wivee and mothers who worked beside their husbands building a home and community. Perhaps the greatest reward of these pioneers was in seeing the development of Kansas line. Latcr several counties were this land from bare prairie with "dugout" formed from a division of this county, among homes to fine productive ranches and farms. John P. Evans, having seen this transformation of the prairie, passed on in 1924, still on the ranch and "in the harness" as he wished to go. His widow, spending her last years County. When family larders needed replenishing, ' couraged during the panic of'93 and the dry years following. Later he bought this land back for $125.00, and it was here they moved when they felt the need of more grassland for their growing herd ofcattle, gradually adding more land as they were able. It was during these years they becnme the parents of five daughters, one of whom died in infancy. Ownership of the old home ranch now rests with the four daughters. The years they spent on the ranch, rearing a family, building their cattle herd and developing the land, were busy years. But he and his wife were never too busy to lend a hand in the upbuilding of their community, to being kind and helpful neighbors to those about them, to serving ou the school board, and develop their minds. No story of a pioneer cattleman would be complete without the part played by his wife, who suffered the privations of a harsh life gladly, bearing her children many miles from them Washington and Yuma. Kit Carson County was at one time a part of Elbert ili:r':t : ' In addition to the homestead and preemption near Idalia he had a timber claim about thirty miles south of Idalia, which he had traded off for a cow when he became dis- She died in 1938 at age 72. Ownership of the In the fall of 1886, when he was a young bachelor of twenty-four, my father, John P. Evans, heard the call of the boundless West, the call for pioneers who would dare follow the star of empire that guided into the land which has, verily, become the Promised Land of our great county. Arriving in Colorado from Iowa where he had spent his young manhood, he filed on a homestead and preemption near Idalia, in what was then Arapahoe County, with Denver as the county seat. Arapahoe County wag then approximately thirty miles across and one hundred fifty miles long, extending to the ',l F194 rado. Their influence was felt in many areas in the betterment of their community. They had a firm belief in the value of education beyond the conventional schooling and encouraged their children and those about them to read Fl93 FAMILY hauled eight miles from the Republican River. and helping to organize Sunday Schools. EVANS, JOHN P. FANSELAU BAMESBERGER and collect the mail for the neighborhood. There were no wells that first winter, and as with supplies and mail, water had to be 10,000 bushels of corn on the place. In 1924, by Grace Evans Weybright by Mary Evans the thirty-five mile trip to the nearest still on the ranch and still working vigorously, he died of a heart ailment, "in the harness" as he wished to go. His widow leased the ranch the following year and spent her last years in Stratton with her daughter, Mary. ranch rests with her daughter, Grace Evans Weybright, of Liberal, KS. more comfortably in Stratton, Colorado joined him in 1938. Henry and Lillie Fanselau, taken in 1932. Henry Fanselau was born February 28, 1890, south of Idalia, Colorado near the Kit Carson County line. He was the seventh child born to German immigrant parents, August and Wilhemina (Wolff) Fanselau. Three of his sistere died in infancy and one sister died at the age of nine of diphtheria in 1893. She was buried in what was known at that time as the Hedinger Cemetery, which is gituated on the Yuma County line and two miles west of Highway 385. At that time there was a small Lutheran Church near the cemetery. About this time the family moved 8 miles North and 2 east of Bethune. Henry's sisters Katie and Minnie Fanselau, married brothers; Gottlieb and Fred Bauder. Henry and his only brother Edward, three years younger than he, attended Blue View, a one room public elementar5r school. For a time they attended church school at Immanuels Lutheran, which was two or three miles from their home. Lillie Bamesberger, adopted daughter of Ferdinand and Dora BenegSttttt, was born on February 18, 1893, in Denver, Colorado. Her adoptive parents were also German immigrants and moved from Denver to the Bethune area a few miles from the Fanselaus. The Bamesbergers also raised a foster son, �Amos Holland, who was three years younger living in their home at 333 5th Street for 22 than Lillie. They too attended Blue View years. In 1973, poor health did not allow them to remain in their home. Lillie spent her last five school and Lutheran Church School, which also taught the basic three R's. Schools were in session 5 to 6 months out of the year and few pupils at that time finished the eighth grade. Henry and Lillie grew up in the same community. In the year 1911, most ofthe land had been taken for homesteads in the area. At the age of 21, Henry ventured further. He purchased a relinquishment on a homestead of 320 acres, located 16 miles south and 4 east of Burlington. Prior to this time only 160 acres could be proved up. On April L4, LgLz, Henry and Lillie were married at Immanuels' Lutheran Church, located 10 miles north and 1 east of Bethune. This was the some date as the sinking of the luxury liner, Titanic. Following their mauiage they moved to their home which was later known as the Smoky Hill Community. There was a Post Office about 4 miles from their home which was called Cole. It wae in a private home and mail was delivered from Burlington two or three times a week. Some staple groceries were also sold there. Rural mail delivery was realized about 1923 or L924. In March, 1916, complying with legal regulations, Henry proved up on the half section, described as S%, T 11, R. 43. This was during the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. The Fanselaus struggled and sacrificed the same as most of the pioneers at that time in history. They butchered, cured and canned beef and pork, canned vegetables and fruit, made laundry soap and raised chickens for meat and for laying hens. Eggs were exchanged for groceries at the store. In the 23 years that they lived on the farm, the water was canied in buckets from the well for household use. The only lights were two kerosene years of life in the Burlington Rest Home. Her death was May 1978. Henry was in Grace Manor Nursing Home for seven years, and his death was April, 1980. Outside of the time lived in Oregon, Henry spent the rest of his 90 years in Kit Carson County. by Leona Wiedman FANSELAU, AUGUST F195 My father, August Fanselau, was born in Germany in 1852 and come to the United States when he was 18 years old. He lived in and around Philadelphia and was married to Miss Minnie Wolf in 1876. Then he moved to Texas for a short time, then back to Philadelphia and lived there until 1882 when he moved to Denver, Colorado. They had two daughters by this time. In the spring of 1889 they moved to the homestead that he had taken up the year before, in Kit Carson County about 20 miles north of Burlington. How they enjoyed living out on the open plains after having spent their lives up till then in towns, but they missed a lot of things too, such as schools and church. There were no schools but in town, 20 miles away. The nearest church was 8 miles. Father had some 20 acres of sod broke that first year so we put it into corn and he went back to Denver to his old job, that of cleaning coaches on the U. P. Railroad. Mother and we girls stayed on the homestead. Father had bought a milk cow before he left so we had milk and we had some chickens so we had our eggs. We had no well lemps. so had a neighbor haul water for us. The Three daughtere were born to Henry and Lillie; Mildred, Leona and Geneva. Married, a farmer and a father, Henry was deferred from the draft during World War I. In 1919, the family owned their first automobile, a used 1917 Model T Ford touring car. neighbor was a mile away. They had the only windmill that we knew about except the one in Burlington. They didn't charge for the water but we paid 10 cents a haul for the hauling. The cow we led to water a half mile The girls attended Smoky Hill School where ten grades were taught. In 1934, Mildred married Robert Stahlecker and Leonamarried GeorgeWiedman. Both couples moved to Oregon in the spring of 1935. In 1934 a severe drouth plagued most ofthe high plains states and very little cattle feed was raised. Due to the drouth and the great depression of the 30's, the Fanselaus sold their livestock and belongings and following the pattern of many families in the midwest, they migrated to the west coast, settling in Newberg, Oregon, in September, 1935. Crops were being raised there and jobs were available. Average wage for a man was 25 cents per hour for cutting cord wood, labor in the saw mills or generd farm work. Henry and Lillie both worked at seasonal jobs, picking fruit, berries and hops. They also worked in a cannery during fruit and vegetable seasons. In 1940, Geneva married in Newberg, Oregon and still lives in that area. Living in Oregon seven years, Henry and Lillie returned to Eastern Colorado and settled in Bethune where they resided for nine years. In 1951 they moved to Burlington, away. Later the fathers in the neighborhood went together and built a sod schoolhouse, so we had school for the first time in the fall of 1890. Just four months. Father would come and go to Denver to earn a little money so we could keep going. One time he came home driving a nice pair of bay mares. We worked hard at home with what we had so father could come home to stay. In 1893 we lost our dear little sister, from the after effects of diphtheria. We had had a visitor in our home who came from a home where they had recovered from this illness. They said they had fumigated but it must not have been good enough to have killed the germs for shortly after that we had it. We did not have much chance to get well. I will never forget that gargle and that was about all the doctor did for us. I don't think the gargle was a thing but alum water. We thought Tillie was getting well but her throat was so dry, like mine, and she had just lost too much strength. In 1894 we had our first drouth and it was very dry. No feed was raised. No one would buy cattle here then, so we would trade cattle to the Bar T Ranch and the Spring Valley Ranch for the wild hay. Then with what we had left over from the year before we were able to take the rest of the stock through the winter. Things were never very easy for papa. I think we came after the buffalo were all gone as I do not remember seeing any. I do remember hearing about one being killed around Burlington before we came. I remember the time the big barn burned on the Chase Ranch. That is where John Richards lives now, 1958. It burned in 1896 and I was a small girl at home. It seemed to me that it was as nice a barn that I have ever seen. It was big and they had been particular about building it. They hauled all the sod for the walls clear from the Spring Valley Ranch on the river and the roof was made of the long tough hay that never let the water through. They had been working the horses that day and there was other stock in it and they were about ready to eat supper and Mrs. Chase wondered why it was so light in the house. It was dark outside. Then she noticed what the reason was. The nice big barn was on fire. Theyjust got one horse out and it was burned so around the head that they had to shoot it. The loss was awful. We thought that it was the house that was on fire and papa sent me over to tell them to come to our house and stay and eat. We felt bad about it. The first little church that I can remember stood just two miles west of where George Homm is living now. At that time there was a road that went west from the Homm place and on west from there beyond the church. It was just a little church but as far as I knew it was at that time the only church in the country. My brother Henry Fanselau was baptized there in 1890. It was built of sod. There were a few burials in the plot close by. My sister Tillie was buried there in 1893. Then there was a nine year old boy buried there in 1893 also. He was from the Lange family that lived east of the George Homm place. The boy did in a snowstorm. The father had gone to get supplies and died not get home until late in the evening. It had started to snow so the mother told the boy to see about getting the cows in. They were not usually very far away, but with no fences and the storm struck quickly with such fury, that the boy did not get back. They looked for him all night but he was not found until after the storm was over. He had drifted nine or ten miles with the wind and so was far from home. Shortly after this the father passed away and he was buried in this little plot. Then in 1901 the other boy was riding home from the Spring Valley Ranch, when a thunder shower came up and he was killed by lightning. He was buried there also. The mother and the girls moved away shortly after that. It did not seem to me as a girl that this country was fenced very fast. We did not even have a fence to keep away cattle from our meager stacks of feed, and I have known of Papa getting up at all hours of the night to drive stock away. We tried to protect it with the wagon on one side and the sod barn on the other, but they would still get it. The grass was not too good then as I heard so many say it might have been. I have seen lots better grass since the land has been fenced. Those herds of cattle that used to roem the prairie were larger and after they passed over it, it was not too good and these large ranches knew where it was ifthere was any good grass. There were horses too and some wild ones. We never tried to catch any of the wild ones for it was hard to do and vou did not have �much after you caught one for they were small, just about too small for work. But quite often one was caught and broken and was used for riding, but sometimes not even good for that. by Minnie Bauder FARR FAMILY Fr96 I, Charles Farr, was born November 3, 1860, at Rochelle, Illinois, and came to it was hard to face it. I noticed the cattle suddenly bunched close together, and kept swinging, as it were, from side to side. Then I saw that the lightning seemed to flash and strike on each side of the great herd, first to one side, then on the other. The stampede was in perfect formation, horn to horn, twelve steers wide, and about three miles long. When the storm had calmed down enough that we could overtake them on our cow ponies, we got them turned toward the corrals. by Charles Farr ofcattle. Strange to say, none ofthe stampeding cattle were hurt or killed, but some of the cows which were near the corral were killed by lightning. Of course, we had no wire fences then and the cattle were right out on the open range, or it might have been a different story. In the spring of 1881, I helped drive a bunch of three thousand head of cattle from poor, and at times we got tired of the bacon and salt "sowbelly" they fed us. They bought Wallace, Kansas to Wano, Kansas, south of where St. Francis, Kansas is now located. That was a slow hard drive and we had no water after leaving Smoky Hill Creek, about twenty five miles south of where Goodland now stands. There was no railroad, no towns, no camps along the way. It was while making this drive that we saw the skeletons of the horses that were killed in the Indian uprising in 1876, which were in a small thicket along the creek. It seems that a band of North Cheyenne Indians wandered to the Paxton Company in Omaha to be slaughtered, packed and shipped to the Indian reservation in Nebraska.. Every outfit had its own "chuck wagon" and cook, and each cowboy had his own clothing and blanket. Many a time I have slept on the prairie with my blanket around me and my saddle for a pillow. When I first went to work as a cowboy in this new country, I found the food rather bacon in slabs and I remember once of cleaning out a cellar where the cattlemen had moved out ofthe house and finding slab after slab of bacon stored away. Of course everything was bought wholesale and freighted in by barrels, so we always had enough food and salt meat. We would slaughter a beef once in a while but it was hard to keep fresh meats in the summertime. I cooked for one season and know what it means to try to fill a hungry man with "flapjacks." I got so I could make them pretty good, too. Every year, a number ofthe cowboys would take grub, blankets, and any other supplies needed and go out on a ten-day hunt for strays. We knew all the brands, so if we found a cow belonging to an outfit close to ours, we took it along with our strays and returned it to its rightful owner. We were out in all kinds of weather, and I remember one day in late summer we were driving a herd of four thousand cattle - two thousand steers and the rest cows and calves. We saw a storm coming and tried to beat it to the corral to get the calves in, but it came right down on us. I have always been a little afraid of thunder and lightning storms, as I had had one horse killed under me by lightning, and another one was stunned and fell, but he soon got over it. On this particular day the lightning was the worst I had seen for some time and suddenly the cattle stampeded and got away from us. I rode hard to head them off. The rain was coming down so fast The Republican River is just a few feet from my door, so we always had plenty of water. I worked one winter rounding up strays that had wandered from their range down to creeks around Wallace and Sharon Springs, Kansas. A number of cattle from different outfits were disappearing, and I was sent south to investigate, and found that these cattle were being rounded up, butchered and sold to the people of Wallace and Sharon Springs. This was the fall that Goodland, Kansas was incorporated, 1889. Usually the folks who had these cattle would not say much, they knew they were in the wrong. But Colorado in a covered wagon in the spring of 1877 from Independence, Missouri, with a friend of the family. We followed the Arkansas River from Nebraska to Rocky Ford, crossing the Republican River, along which I later worked for some years. I went to work for a cattleman by the name of Ab Enyart, who lived near Rocky Ford, and whose cattle ranged along the Arkansas River, working as a cowboy for him for two years. Then I began work for the "Mill Iron" outfit, who ranged about five thousand head of cattle. Later I came north with the "Hash Knife" outfit. who owned about ten thousand head of cattle and had eight cowboys working regular, but who employed more for the round up season. This cattle company, at one time, gathered five thousand head of steers which were sold FARR FAMILY just west of this claim and I still own both places, but built my home on the tree claim. Fr97 I Drove the Texas Longhorn Steers But I shall not forget that scene and how the lightning seemed to "play" with that herd away from their reservation, taking their squaws with them. They were on their way south and when they arrived at Dodge City, Kansas, they were noticed acting rather suspicious. So the Colonel sent a scout out with them and about the first thing the scout noticed was that when these Indians shot wild game, they did not use their bullets, but used their arrows instead. The Indians then tried to steal some horses and in the fight that ensued between the owner and the Indians, two white men were killed. The Indians fortified themselves behind stone walls they had built up in the bluffs and there met the troops which had been sent out from the fort. About the first thing the troops did was to go to the thickets where the Indian squaws and horses were hid, remove the squaws and shoot all the horses. After the skirmish with the Indians, they found a few of the Indians dead, and the rest too weak to fight, so they were taken back to the reservation with the squaws. I believe this was about the last Indian trouble we had in this part of the country. There was a man murdered on his ranch near here, and some folk tried to blo-e it on the Indians, but as none had ever been seen around here, we felt sure that some white man had committed the crime instead. We never found the murderer. (Hatch murder, first case on record in district court records of this county.) In 1888 I filed on a tree claim on the Republican River and later took a homestead one day I found a cow and calf in a man's yard and the cow had our brand on it, so I told him I wanted it. He tried to convince me first that the cow belonged to him and when that failed, he tried to get me to give him the calf for the keep of the cow. That proposition didn't work, so I started to drive the cow out of the yard. Then the man's wife cnme out and was very profane in her abuse. However, I did not answer and when I was a few rods from the house a bullet whizzed by me. I do not know who fired the shot, but I kept going with the cow and calf and finally got them back to their owner. That was the only time I was shot at, although in this kind of work I always had to be on the alert and watch both ways so no one would get the drop on me. I was well acquainted with Kit Carson's niece, Mrs. Nelson, who lived with her family at the Nine Mile House, south of LaJunta. She had four children at the time I visited her, and her husband traveled with Kit Carson. She was a very fine woman and we always enjoyed visiting at her home. Mr. Farr lived in the Flagler area. Copied from an old copy of the Burlington Call, September 23, 1934. by Charles Farr FASSE - HUDLER FAMILY F198 Eugene Fasse remembers riding a horse or walking to school in the District 5 schoolhouse at the site where the town of Carlyle used to be before the railroad ceme through, and the people moved to Kanorado, Kan. The Fasses have farmed this land for over 50 years, and Gene has boyhood memories of finding broken dishes and remnants where some of the dugouts and foundations used to be. Gene's family moved here from Nebraska just in time to fight the dirt storms of the 1930's. Selling milk and eggs produced on the farm helped the family survive the sifting winds and harvest the bumper crops of the 1940's that put the farm back on its feet. Drilling one of the first irrigation wells in 1954 to help raise enough feed for the milk cows helped stave off the economic hardships of the red dirt storms of the 1950's. Sugar beets were planted for the first time in 1959 with beets and cattle becoming the mainstays of the operation for the next 25 years. In 1961 a Burllington girl, Adrienne Hudler, became a partner in the operation. Soon a son Ernie and daughter Francine were �up in the sky. We figured we would get home before it got here, but it hit while we were still in town, so we took the south road home. It wan so dusty and dark that I had to drive looking out the door at the grader ditch. I had the lights on and was just creeping along, when all at once we were in the middle of a bunch of cattle,lucky we never hit any. Some days when it was real bad the teacher in our school would keep the kids in the school until the parents would come and get them. Fowing up, and Adrienne started teaching junior high English in the Burlington school system in 1971. Ernie graduated from college in 1985 and is pursuing an advanced degree in mechanical engineering while Francine graduated in 1986 with an accounting major. In 1985 Francine married Greg Floerke, a petroleum engineer. by Adrienne Fasee In 1933, Elmer went back to eastern Nebraska and worked in the harvest a couple of weeks. Blfrieda stayed home and tended to chickens, milked 5 cows, and tried to raise FASSE, ELMER AND ELFRIEDA some garden stuff. My father was staying with us at that time, so Elfrieda was not alone. Our daughter, Doris, was born in 1929 F199 so Elfrieda had to look after her too. The year the grasshoppers were so bad I had a field of Elmer and Elfrieda Fasse with son, Eugene. taken in 1934. Brockmeyer, were moving out here at the Irrne time. We arrived here March 1, 1931. Our emigrant car was set on the sidetrack in Kanorado, Kansas. That way we did not have to pay to enter another state. It was a nice day to unload. We pulled a 4wheel trailer behind our Desoto touring car. In it we had several dozen laying hens and other things. We put the hens in what had been a chicken or hen house. A friend ofours, Rudolf Aeschliman, suggested we stay at his home until we could fix and clean up the house we were going to live in, so we stayed Elmer and Elfrieda Fasse and daughter Doris in front of their home. They moved here in 1931. there about a week. The old house had about all the window panes broken and rags were stuck in them. One even had a pillow in it. Plaster was off in places. The place had been rented, and no one ever fixed a thing. The first night we slept there we kept the kerosene Inmp lit, and once in a while a rat would peek out of the holes in the walls. We had no more than moved in when one of the worst blizzards we had ever experienced cAme. It was 30 degrees below zero, and strong north wind caused the snow to drift real badly. The was the storm when a school bus at Towner, Colorado, stalled in snow drifts and several kids froze to death. The storm lasted a couple of days and Elmer Fasse and his mules. In 1930, my father, Louis Fasse, purchased two 320 acre parcels of land, the North West 1/q sec29-8-42. On this quarter section there was a house and some sheds. The house was very run down. He also purchased the South East l/t sec20-8-42 and the West Yz sec 9-842.We loaded our belongings in an emigrant box car on the Rock Island Rail Road. Elfrieda and I farmed in Gage County, Nebraska, five years. So a John Deere D tractor, a John Deere 3-row lister, a John Deere 3-row weeder, a grass mower and hay rake were loaded in the emigrant car along with two families'household furniture, etc., as my sister Meta, and husband, Henry nights. The snow drifted through the cracks between the boards on the hen house so when the storm was over the snow was almost under the roosts where the hens were sitting. We thought they would surely quit laying eggs after hauling them so far and now this storm too, but they never slowed down at all. Elfrieda had brought along about 30 dozen eggs to play it safe, so she sold the eggs and bought groceries. In 1932, the dust storms started and got real bad for a few years. The dust csme in everywhere. Elfrieda would have to shake the dust out of the bed covers before we went to bed. The wind would subside some over night. Some days it would get dark as night. We had to light the kerosene lamps. One day we started to Burlington and way up north we could see on of those dust clouds rolling spring barley. Since it was ready to cut I set up the grain binder on the end of the field before dinner. Some say without me noticing it, my coin purse slipped out of my pocket and fell on the ground. When I cnme back after dinner, all that was left of the purse was the metal part, and the silver coins. The grasshoppers had eaten the leather and the paper bills. I doubt if there were too many bills in the purse as money was pretty scarce then. The following article was taken from the Burlington Record printed in 1933. A series of rabbit drives is doing much towards ridding the county of this destructive pest. Nearly every day a drive is held in some locality, but the one held north of Bethune Tuesday is the biggest yet. It is estimated that between 9,000 and 10,000 rabbits were killed that day. Fencing with extended wings were put up and the rabbits were driven into this enclosure. People would form lines on four sides all having to walk about the same distance towards the enclosure. No guns were allowed, everyone had a club of some sort, so the rabbits were clubbed to death. At one rabbit drive near Peconic, there were over 400 rabbits killed. The dead rabbits were sold to some pet good processing plant, 8 to 10 cents per rabbit was paid. Most of these drives were supervised by some clubs or organization. If it wasn't one pest it was another. One time the grey army worms moved through. They did not turn out for anything, crawled right up the sides of buildings, ate the foliage off weeds. Driving into Burlington one afternoon about 4:30, Highway 24 was just covered with worms, they were crawing north. In 1934, we took some stock cows to Albert Weinholts who lived on the Smokey River. The cows lived on thistles that grew on the dirt piles. When we took the cows there that spring some cows had little thistles coming up in their hair on their back; the hair was full of blow dust. In 1934, the grading was being done in highway 24. This was done byfarmers using 4 horse teams, who worked in the gravel pit in 8 hour shifts, 24 hours a day. Several kept their horses in our barn. Elfrieda cook for them, and charged 25 cents a meal. Some times there were ten men at the table. 6 or 7 men slept up stairs at night and ate 3 meals too. Due to poor or no crops and low prices times were really tough. The first year we farmed (1931), we planted over 400 acres corn, 320 acres on rented ground E,ast Vz 89-42. That year had fairly good moisture, so that fall the corn averaged 20 bushels per acre. We hired part of the corn picked, so after shelling and picking and other expenses �and selling the corn for 14 cents per bushel, we probably worked all summer for nothing. Wheat averaged 20 bushels per acre, price 20 cents per bushel. We hired a neighbor to combine it, who had a 20 foot pull type Holt combine. Then the dust storms got started with no rain or snow, so for several years no one raised very much. We never had much income or raised enough to sell, and my father could not make the payments to the Federal Land Bank, so he let the land go back to the Bank in 1939. So we moved to the Hugo Arnsmeier Farm in 1940. I had put the wheat out on this farm in the fall of 1939. Mrs. Arnsmeier, having lost her husband, had moved to Lincoln Nebraska. That year the wheat made 50 bushels per acre and was a good price, so we were able to purchase this % section. We lived on this farm till 1944, at which time we purchased the old place from the Federal Land Bank for $12.50 per acre. My father had paid $30 per acre in 1931. At that time the Federal Land Bank would only loan $7.50 per acre. We sold the Arnsmeier Farm in 1946, and moved back to where we lived in 1931. In 1934, Elmer wanted to purchase a few stock cows, so he went to see about a loan from the Bank ofBurlington, but was refused a loan. That year the Production Credit had some meetings and Elmer attended. He applied for a loan of $350. The loan was approved, so for geveral years we borrowed money from the PCA, for operating expenseg and also for purchasing land. In 1948 we had all our land paid for, also the PCA loans. Our daughter Doris had attended college, and in 1947 she was married to Bert Rice. They now live in Centrailia Washington. In 1948, Eugene was going to Burlington High School, so we rented the farm out for 3 years and moved to Burlington so Eugene could use all his energy studying and be close to home. We rented and have farmed the South East l/e 29-8-42 ever since 1945. This is the quarter section where the Town of Carlyse was located. There was no railroad then. When we first farmed there still was a dug out where there might have been a cave. Even now when we work the ground we turn up pieces of pottery or dishes. Eugene liked farm life, so he made this his life career. In 1954, we had our first irrigation well dug. This was also the Eugene joined the army, so Ma and Pa had some new experience irrigating. When Eugene was discharged from the service, we farmed together for several years. Eugene married Adrenne Hudler in 1961. We moved to Burlington in 1966. Eugene moved where we lived. We sold the farm to Eugene and Adrenne in 1979. We look back and marvel at how things have changed. It worries us to see all the pasture land being plowed up. There could very well be dust storms again as bad or even worse, if we have several dry years in succession. We are enjoying life and will be celebrating our 60th anniversar5r February 10, 1986. We are both in fairly good health and looking forward to more anniversaries. by Elmer & Elrieda Fasse FERGUSON - CHRISTIE FAMILY F200 Mitchell Clayton Christie was born September 23,1879 in Rosendale, Missouri. His mother Mary Eleanor Munkreus died when he was seven years old. His father Cyrus Christie and family then moved to Rexford, Ks, where they lived for three years before moving back to Missouri. He married Mamie O'Bright after Mary died. While living seven miles west of Rexford, the burned coal which they had to haul thirty miles from Oakley, Ks. Dad knew Mom's grandfather, Solomon Ferguson. He drove a span of milk cows and lived five miles west of Rexford, Ks. only two houses between them and Seibert. One bitter cold day Uncle Lonnie who lived with them, went to town to get coal. He was lucky to get some in rSeibert as Vona and Flagler had none. It was snowing and the snow drifted so deep making it very difficult for the horses to pull the load. Lonnie unloaded some of the coal and made it home just as Mitchell was pulling up fence posts to burn to keep warm. When it was about time for the first babv to be born, Dad went over to get Mattie Murphy while Lonnie went to town to get the doctor. The weather was terrible. the snow was drifted over the fences and it was 32 degrees below zero. Lonnie froze his ears. The surrey. doctor started out from town at noon and arrived at 5 in the afternoon. By this time Mattie had assisted with the birth and had taken care ofeverything. The doctor checked mother and baby and charged 917.00. He warmed up and went back to town arriving there at 2 a.m. They baby was born on December 29, 1911and nnmed Virginia Pearl. Four other children were to be born later. Fonest Coleman; Ernest Norris, married Hazel Johnson; Virgil Elmer, married Joy Moody; Mary Eleanor, married Charles Earl Allen of Seibert. Virginia married Lloyd Mullen. Mom, Ada Margaret Ferguson, came from Montrose, West Virginia with her mother, Louisa Bell Murphy Ferguson, and sisters, Elsie, Hazel, Allie, Nellie, Charity, Donna and Gladys. Grandmother Ferguson came dances (in later years Mary and Virgil played with him), he was quite good at it. He played once for a dance for Joe Anderson for 93.00. There were three single girls and Wes and Joe When Grandmother Mary Munkres first married Grandad Cyrus Christie, she ran away and went back to her own Dad's house. Her Dad, John Munkres, made her go back to her husband. Dad went to Colorado in 1908 and home- steaded L8 miles south of Seibert. His brother, Alonzo (Lonnie) Christie lived with him. Lonnie had a span of mules and an old west because of her health-she had asthma real bad. Later her husband Coleman came out and farmed a half section of land. Grandad Ferguson made several trips back and fourth to West Virginia. He did not like eastern Colorado very much but Grandmother had to stay because of allergies and asthma. Finally they got so bad that she moved with Gladys to Tolleson, Arizona and Grandad moved back to his beloved West Virginia. Dad met Mom at Ellis Murphy's house when she came out to the windmill to get water. Ellis (Mom's uncle) and Lou's house was a half dugout. Mom and Dad would go courting by going on buggy rides. Dad would buy a box of brown sugar and they would share the sweets. One day they were riding along and there was this big pile of black stuff. Not having seen anything like it in West Virginia, she asked what it was and Dad replied "That is Colorado coal." It was sheep manure piled up to be used for fuel. On December 25, 1910 Dad and Mom were married in Vona, Colorado by G.W. Snyder. Mom's sister Elsie and Dad's brother Lonnie were the witnesses. Theywent back to Mom's folks' house where they spent their wedding night. People from all around came to the house for a wedding dance. They drove horses and they had to put them in out of the cold so some had to be put in the chicken house. A few chickens escaped when they opened the door and they froze, so the next morning the were dressed and cooked for breakfast. Ada and Mitchell's first home was the sod Mitchell Christie played the fiddle for Anderson there, The farmers had a Farmers Protective Association to protect the range cattle. A man butchered a steer, so to have a little fun Dad said to Coleman Murphy, "Do you know why Al Hunkeford thinks Mr. ? did it? He traced him through the frost!" The man was stand- ing there and excitedly said, "That's a lie-there wasn't any frost!" He then realized that he had let the cat out of the bag. Except for three of four years around 1915 when the Christies lived in eastern Kansas, they lived south of Seibert until 1944. by Mrs. Virgil Christie FINLEY, ELMER AND KAROLINE KUGLER F201 My father, Ebner Burcher Finley, was born to Willinm and Mary Adeline Burcher Finley, August 4, 1880 in Belmont County, Ohio. His parents cnme from Green County, Pennsyl- house that Mitchell homesteaded in. It consisted of two 12 by 14 foot rooms with shaped boards bent at the ends for a roof. Then a layer oftar paper was laid on and then a layer of sod. They had a sod barn, one cos' and calfand 18 chickens. They also had a few pigs which they kept in a sod building and fed milo maize which they raised. There were Arthur, Francis, Jake, Floyd, Bob and Mary Finley riding on the Finley farm, in 1916. �musical talent. Most of us played by ear. Mother also taught music at home and one student I remember was Don Smith from Kirk. Brothers Arthur and Francis and I played for dances. Francis was a great violinist; Arthur played Banjo and guitar; I played piano. Literary at the Keckter School was always fun. We memorized poems, Bang songs, had plays, and box suppers. Sister Nellie and I always sang specials at church .,lr! r# l*r -r:. ELner and Carrie Finley's fanily in 1926: back row, left to right: Arthur, Francis, Carrie, Jake, Elmer, Floyd, Bob. Center row, left to right: Nellie, Mary, Eula. Front: Marjorie. lived in the barn until they finished building the adobe house. Noah Morris, a friend, brought the horses and mules from Nebr. on the train to Colorado for my Dad. Morris later lived at Idalia, Colorado. Mary started school in Nebraska before the move to Colorado. There were nine of us children. The five youngest, Francis, Arthur, myself, Nellie and Marjorie, were born on the homestead. Granny Gleaves, as I remember her called, was the lady who helped my Carrie Finley with the sheep on the home place in 1932 when she was 55. vania, where William was born. Elmer had one sister Blanch and one brother Forrest who died at two years old from a fire accident. My mother was born to George and Karoline Schneider Kugler on October 13, 1877 in Sheffield, Illinois. Her parents had come from Hsmburg, GermanY. TheY met and married in New York, and moved to lllinois. Carrie had five brothers - George, Louis, William, John and Alex. In the late 1800's my Kugler grandparents moved to Superior, Nebraska where my parents, Carrie and Elmer, were married June 12, 1900. They lived near Superior, Nebraska at Oxford, where their first four children were born - Mary, Bob, Floyd and Jake. In approximately 1905 my Finley grandparents came to Colorado. Their homestead was 3 miles west and 1/z mile south of Kirk, Yz mile south of the Young brothers farm in Yrrma County. My father' Elmer, came to Colorado and took a homestead in 1907 in Kit Carson County, 17-% miles north and 1 and Vz miles east of Vona. Our place was bordered on the north by Yuma County - location section 1 - Township 6 - Range 48. My father first built a barn. Oldest sister Mary tells me when they came to Colorado on the train, she remembers Dad coming onto the train to meet them, my mother, and 4 children, Jake the baby at that time. They mother deliver the last five of us. My mother was a midwife and delivered many babies in the area during the 1920's and 1930's. The neighbors adjoining us were, to the north, Eligah Coleman, Clyde Coleman's parents. I cannot remember Clyde's Mother's name, but the Coleman's ran the central (telephone) office. To the northwest were Alva (Buck) and Ethel Crist, with their children, Faye, Cecil, Heron, Elizabeth and Philip. Calkins lived on the east and Atwoods on the southeast. In later years my Dad owned the Atwood Farm after they moved away. Ira and Rosy Crist, two daughters Sarah and Susie, along with Lawrence Crist lived to the south of us. To the southwest were William and Emma Seaman. Emma's mother, Permelia McHenry, had her own house in their yard. The Seaman children were Pearl, Chester, Orville, Dave, Florence, Avirene and Bertha. My older brothers and sister attended school S- % miles west at the Floegelle School. August Carlstedt was a teacher there. We all later attended Seaman School. I have been told it was earlier called Pioneer School. The school was 1-% miles south and % mile west of our house. Helen Klassen was a dear teacher and friend and I believe a great influence on all of us kids. Helen Herrell and John Weaver also taught there. We always went to Sunday school. My mother taught Sunday school for many years. It was held at the Seaman School and the Boone School west of Kirk. Music and literary was our entertainment. My family was fortunate to all be born with and Christmas programs . . . Nellie being a natural alto. For Christmas Mother knitted our mittens, made sweaters for the boys and rag dolls for the girls. She sewed shirts and overalls for the boys, and dresses for the girls. Our Christmas stockings she made from old lace curtains with red linings. My best memories are of everyone coming home for holiday dinners. Mother always baked a tiered cake for Christmas. The bottom was a large fruit cake, the next - chocolate, the next - marble, with a wonderful white cake at the top. All of this with white coconut frosting. We had a big garden. Usually on good Friday my Dad had us all out planting potatoes. We did raise lots of potatoes and watermelon. Mother canned vegetables and made jams and jellies. In the Fall we butchered several hogs, and my parents cured the hams. My Dad would take a load of corn to Vona and come back with supplies such as several sacks of flour, coffee, 100 pounds of sugar, and staples intended to last the Winter. In the Spring of 1931 my Father became ill. Dr. Virgil Hewitt came out from Vona and treated him. On Friday April 17, 1931 Dr. Hewitt and Mr. Monroe, a depot agent in Vona, came and took my Dad to Denver. Brother Bob went along. On Saturday he had surgery. His gall bladder had already ruptured. He died on Sunday morning, April 19, 1931. The funeral was held in our home. Mother Carrie stayed on the farm; we lived through the hard years and drought of the 30's with a few cattle, a little corn and feed. In the early 40's Mother rented the homestead to Pat McCart, later to Gus Schreiner, and in 1959 sold to Lloyd and Opal Klassen, whom she loved so much. Lloyd and Opal Klassen still own our homestead along with the Atwood place. Mother moved to Seibert, Colorado. She bought a house across from the Reorganized Latter Day Saint Church, which she owned when she died. She spent some time with me, then with Mary at Eckley, Colorado. She was in Renotta Nursing Home in Wray, Colo., then to Burlington where Chris and Helen Klassen cared for her. She died in Burlington, June 25, 1964 ofCoronary thrombosis and kidney failure. Our oldest sister, Mary Caroline, was born October 20, 1901, in Superior, Nebraska and lives in Eckley, Colorado. Robert George was born September 2L,1903, in Oxford, Nebraska and died February 25, 1967. Floyd William was born March 9, 1905, at Oxford, Nebraska and died September 13, 1956. Jake Schneider was born March 2,1907, at Oxford, Nebraska and died February 25,t967. Francis Jay was born May 20, 1909 near Kirk, Colorado and died October 18. 1966. Arthur Elmer was born November 25, L9L2 at Vona, Colorado and died October 23. L973. Euladine Lucille was born February 16, 1915 north of Vona and is living today in South Dakota. Nellie Lorraine was born February 24, 1917 north of Vona and died December 30, 1968. Marjor- �ie Juanita was born November 7, 1920, at Vona and died October 16, 1979. by Eula Finley Browning FISHER - STRODE FAMILY F202 In 1887 Stephen Strode and wife Hannah came from Missoui bringing their family of five girls and one boy to this country in a covered wagon, making their homest€ad east of Flagler, Colorado. Their youngest daugh- the National Directory Co. which has become a national company. In the depression I was going broke in the newspaper business. With Bonny Gaunt (Gould) as a partner and fiUing station man Joe Kaufman as field man we stanted in Lincoln County, Colorado. We eventually covered parts of seven states with more than 25,000 sponsor-advertisors. We had, 42 workers in the field and 14 in the 10,000 spectators. In the years of 1938-40-41 I launched newspapers at Flemming and Craig, Colorado. During World War II I spent 38 months all over the Pacific. I had learned to fly in Haxtun, Colorado in 1919. I aleo sailed the sea. While in the Pacific I managed the creation of the book Hawaiian Mernories. I managed the Arno School of Music and homestead. Albert grew to manhood working for large took a sabbatical. I had three helper teachers. I then proceeded to form the Plains Conservatoire, with many schools and more than 400 students. Students from 8 to 58 years studied piano, any instrument, vocal and drsmslis. Hundreds still acclaim it as great. Januar5r, 1897. He was the second person buried in the Seibert Cemetery. On May 6, 1903 Stella Strode and A.C. Fisher were married at Flagler where they both proved up on homesteads. They were one of the first to breed up an Aberdeen Angus herd in this area. To this union three children were born Marguerite, October 30, 1904, deceased October 2, L979.Ida, April 10, 1908, and Weston, "Buck", August 14, 1910. Stella passed away May 18, 1953, and Albert on January 10, 1959. "Buck" still lives on the original homestead. In 1906, the Gwyn family ceme to Flagler from Decatur, Nebraska. In 1918, they returned to Nebraska. In 1921, James Gwyn returned to Flagler and worked for the late C.J. Farr. On October 16, 1924, he was married to Ida Fisher. b" Id" R. Gwyn FITZPATRIC, V. S. F203 I, V.S. Fitzpatric, arrived in Seibert, Kit Carson County, on September 20, 1920. I last dwelt there in the summer of 1952. My age was 34 when I cnme and 66 when I left. During those years I had tried to "fill each hour with sixty minutes of living." The following are a resume of my life's activities. I helped to start the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Seibert, Colorado. We formed and trained a town band in the 1920's. The town had a big auction to raise money to equip the band. It was a great success attending Denver's annual music week. Seibert and Ft. Collins tied for first. I rescued the local newspaper as it was22 weeks behind on publication. A country club was organized which included rural people. Was elected mayor four times. The Plainsman' Association w{ur founded which promoted summer fallowing and other practices. Membership covered parts of seven states with over 7,000 memberg. I founded by V.S. Fitzpatric FLAGEOLLE, HENRY, JR. printing plant. We "farmed out" work to other printers. The exciting event was starting "Days of the Old Wegt." A replica of a real Indian massacre was staged with 432 actors, 16 covered wagons, 140 mounted Indians, and ter, Stella, started teaching school as soon as she was old enough. Part of the time she rode horseback to school using a side saddle, which her daughter still has. Lafayette Fisher and his son Albert, or A.C. Fisher, came here from Wisconsin in 1887. When the oldtimers first came here it was necessar5/ to ride into Denver to file on their cattle outfits of the area. Lafayette passed away at his home Northeast of Seibert in hand, cowboy, civil engineer and newspaper editor before coming to Seibert. Dramatic Art in Denver while the owners I traveled to South Africa and went far inland as a member of the ship's orchestra. In 1952 I toured Europe and the Mediterranean countries, I was sent to Paris as a delegate to the world convention of American Veterans'Committee to try to make it world wide. In 1955 I joined the "uranium rush" twice going to South America as a consultant or representative of some company member of the National Minerals and Research. I then beca-e a congultant for a mining group with world wide membership. I wrote, researched and had published three books on The Last Frontier. It is now out of print and the last copies of Volume One sold for $200 each. I have been hospitalized seven times and have been within seconds and inches of death. People love to say "My you have had wonderful health." At the present time I continue to publish at intervals ofabout two or three months, 100 page books about unusual persons and unusual events along his "road of life." The title of these books is The Back Trail. I am in my 101st year and eat three square meals of plain food, sleep like a baby and awake full of pep for the day's work - and I do work every day, often 12-15 hours. My father was born in Belfast, Ireland, and was a mineralogist and miner. He came eastward to England, South Africa, India, Australia, Hawaii, Canada, California, Nevada, Wyoming, South Dakota and Georgetown, Colorado where he metand married my mother. She was a companion to a wealthy mine owner'e daughter and had come from London to New York and then to Georgetown, Colorado. At the age of 8 months I went with the family to the homestead our father had taken on Lay Creek, about 20 miles west of where Craig, Colorado later came. This was the last frontier of the United States. I was a ranch F20,4 And IIis Descendants The following information is offered for Charles Louis Flageolle and Gerald Joseph Flageolle. Their story begins with the same Henry Flageolle I spoke of in my story about John S. Flageolle. John S. and Henry Jr. were brothers. The following are the people on this branch of the family tree: Henry Flageolle, Jr. born May 22, t860, in Bay City, Michigan, and Marie Fountaine, born October 6, 1866, whom he manied September 8, 1885. Henry died February 9, 1952 and Marie on February 9, 1945. Ulalia, their eldest daughter, born January 15, 1887 at Jefferson, South Dakota married Mike Balanga (Magloire Balanger) on January 17, 1905. Mike, born on September 3, 1876, at Jefferson, South Dakota algo, and Ulalie are buried at Stratton. Ulalie died January 28, 1958, and Mike July 10, 1961. Charles Louis Flageolle was born in Jefferson, South Dakota, March 26, 1899, and his wife Amerila Marie Wieber, whom he married April 18, L922, was born on May 27, 1902. Henry and Marie moved their family by train to Wray, Colorado from Jefferson, South Dakota in 1907. They cn'ne with seven children, furniture, farm eqipment, a covered wagon, cows, hogs, horses, and chickens. Their oldest daughter, Ulalie was married and had a daughter of her own. She and her husband Mike cnme also. Henry's family lived in their covered wagon and a tent until they had built a sod house. The soddie was finished in 1908. Water was a problem for 4 years. It had to be hauled 6 miles from a ranch. Wells had to be dug over a hundred feet before there was water. Once water was reached there was a good 14 feet of that precious liquid. After the soddie was completed a cowshed was built of lumber and soap weeds. A horse barn and pig pen were built next. The children worked hard as well as the adults but they didn't have to go to school the first year so the work didn't seem so bad. There was a school opened 3 miles from the homestead the second year they were there. The school was one large room which was for all eight grades. One of the homesteader's wife was the teacher. The soddie was enlarged after the well was dug. Tbo bedrooms and a kitchen were added to the eoddie. Henry Jr. bought a Model T Ford while they lived on the homestead. It only had room for two people on the seat and was open on both sides with a cloth top and no windshield. In 1919 Henry Jr. moved the family to Heartstrong, Colorado where he operated a blacksmith shop. Again in 1921 Henry Jr. moved the family to Stratton, Colorado. He eventually bought six corner lots on the main highway on which he located a large howe, afillingstation, and five cabins. Marie did the book work for the two businesses and kept �the cabins in order as well as plant a garden and tpnd to the housekeeping. In 1936 Henry in the community to go for the things that they needed. They would buy machinery together like threshers and steam engine because one farmer could not buy one by and Marie retired and moved to Denver, Colorado. Their children were Ulalie, Mandy, Lizzy, wilhelm, Louise, Charles, David, and himself. They did all their harvesting together. They would buy a good stud and would share it with each other. When they discontinued the church in this community the bodies were moved to Calvary cemetery at Stratton. This is where John and Lavina are buried. Descendents of John and Lavina still living in Kit Carson County are Richard Flageolle, Angela Isenbart, Diane Miller, Vickie Cure, Jack Brachtenbach, Larry Brachtenbach, Denny Brachtenbach and their children. Pat. Ulalie and Mike Balanga farmed in various places north of Stratton aftcr they left their homestead. They lived in Stratton after they retired from farming. They raised 14 children: Florence, Lawrence, Cecelia, Mildred, Mary, Ruben, David, Louise, Ed, Therese, Anna Marie, Bertha, Dorothy, and Mike. Ulalie and Mike engaged in lively games of checkers in their spare time. They were their grandson Gerald's godparents and a deep mutual love existed between them and Gerald. There was always a bed waiting for Gerald anytime he cared to occupy it and in turn any thing he could do for them he did. Gerald remembers when he was young trying to get all the burrs out of his grandpa's favorite horse's trail. He was so thorough that when he was finsished what had been a beautiful flowing taill was a pitiful mess. Mike would have skinned alive anyone else for having done such a thing but since it was Gerald who had done the terrible deed, he laughed and let it pass. Charlie and Amelia Flageolle lived on his parent's homestead whom they were first mauied. They moved from there to various places, finally moving to Stratton around 1930. Charlie was the custodian at St. Charles Church and school until sometimes in 1937. While he was thus employed, he also started repairing shoes and later even sold cars in Burlington.During this time his children were busy also. Vera recalls when her cousin Anna Marie coached her for plays the children gave in their backyard. For one performance Vera was dressed in old clothes and had dirt all over her face while ehe recited, "Here I stand all ragged and dirty, and if a boy kissed me I would run like a turkey". Charlie moved his family to Denver in 1937. They returned to Stratton for awhile. Eventually in 1956 Charlie and Amelia bought a farm near Kiowa. They now live in Denver, Colorado. by Laura M. Flageolle FLAGEOLLE, JOHN AND LAVINA F206 John S. Flageolle was born on February 22, 1857 in Lansing, Michigan. He was a freighter for several years from Council Bluffs and Sioux City, Iowa through the Black Hills of South Dakota to parts of Montana and Minnesota. John hauled freight with a six mule hitch. They were small mules but were strong and faet. The Indians called him "The rat freighter" becauee of his emall tenm. He would haul supplies for the homesteaderg and sometimes even the Indians. He always had to have some whiskey and tobacco to trade with the fudinnn. One of his favorite past times was sitting and telling his grandchildren of his long hauls with a tenm and wagon and variow encountere with the Indiane. One tine they were traveling early in the morning when they saw a young squaw on the river bank washing her clothes. One of the men by Ruth Brachtenbach Robinson FLAGEOLLE, JOHN S. F206 Descendants John S. and Lavina Flageolle. As other frontiers were conquered, people turned to Eastern Colorado, an area passed riding horseback rode down and attacked the land brought them to this last frontier. squaw. He left her and rode back to the wagon Owning land gives people a strong sense of independence even though at times it would seem the land owns them. Working the land is always demanding. The conditions which by until the latc 1800's. Then the offer of free train. The wagon train kept traveling and in the early morning they were surrounded by Indians. The Indians asked "Big John" as he was called for the man who attacked the squaw. They said they would not harm anyone else or bother them, they only wanted the quality man. The Indians took the man and scalped him and left him. He died a short time later and they buried him and went on for the freight. He said the Indians would not harm them if they did not try to cheat them and respected their rights and customs. John also helped survey for the railroads and help plot several towns in the Dakotas and Nebraska. John and his first wife had two children, William and Pearl. Her name was Anna Homer and she died before he moved to Colorado. He came to Colorado to homestead with a tenm and wagon. He came with his second wife, Lavina, she was born in Oct or Jun 20, 1858. John and Lavina had 5 children, Ester, Ralph, Grace, John and Alvie. William moved out ahead of his father to homestead also and Pearl stayed in Jefferson, South Dakota. John and his family moved 17 miles north and l-r/z west of Vona, known as the Brownwood community. He received his patent on the SE% S4-T6S-R48 on September 21, 1912 and another patent on the SW% of S3-T6S-R48 on June 13, 1913. He built a sod house to start and later on built a frame house. They went into Haigler, Nebraska to haul lumber to build the home and other buildings. He raised wheat and corn and cattle and the usual garden to support themselves. John had a good life and made a home for his family here until February 28, 1930 when he moved to Stratton. He passed away in July 9, 1944. His wife Lavina died March 27, L94L. There was a mass held in a church once a month at the Brownwood community and the priest came out from Stratton by horse and buggy. On October 12, 1917 John deeded 3 acres ofland in SE% of S3-T6S R48 for the Catholic church and cemetery. John S. Flageolle was the person exist in Eastern Colorado make these demands extremely difficult. Yet many of the homesteaders made the area their home as have many of their descendants. Of concern to me are the following people: John Sylvest- er Flageolle, born February 22, L857 at Lansing, Michigan and his wife Louvina Jane Homer, born June or October 20, 1858 at Menominee, Wisconsin. Louvina died March 31, 1941 and John S. July 13, 1944. Both are buried at Stratton, Colorado. John Rudolph Flageolle, born April 18, 1900 at Jefferson, South Dakota, married Mary Agatha Balanga, born January 6, 1914, north of Vona, Colorado, on January 10, 1931. John R. died January t, L97L and is buried at Stratton. Gerald Joseph Flageolle, born Januar5r 22, 1933, atVona, Colorado married Laura Marie Sawyer, born June 19, 1934, at Oelwein, Iowa, on May 25, L957. Victoria Lynn Flageolle, born June 20, 1959 in Denver, Colorado, married Denis Dean Cure, born November 27, 1954 at Flagler, Colorado, on June 9, 1979. Eastern Colorado could be likened to an island in its geographic isolation an island caught in a time and culture lag. The boundaries of this island were the Platte River to the north, the Arkansas River to the south, the Rocky Mountains to the west, and Kansas to the east; an area around which people had gone as they followed the Oregon Trail and the Sante Fe Trail; a last frontier left to the Indians until the white men had to have this land, too. This area of Colorado had been known as the Great American Desert since 1820. There were some two hundred square miles of arid, treeless, limited short grass upland with a few strenms and these few streams often had no water in them. It was observed that buffalo had done well on the prairie grass; why then wouldn't cattle? The desert concept began to change to the newer concept that land was good for growing grass. Sheep, horses, and �cattle could be raised successfully on the grass but the land was too dry for crops. However, the 160 acres a rancher owned and located his ranch buildings on weren't sufficent to feed large numbers of stock. It was the open grazing range which made ranching feasible. Just as the ranchers had replaced the Indians, the homesteaders began to replace the ranchers. The Homestead Act of 1862 provided 160 acres (a quarter section) to anyone 21 years or older, who was a citizen of the United States or who intended to become a citizen, who would live on the said claim for five years and improve it. The quarter section could be bought for $1.25 an acre, which did away with the five year residence requirement. If the terms were met the land patent was issued at the end of five years, giving the homesteader title to the land. The homesteaders had help in displacing 87 the ranchers. The bitter winter of 1886 hit the ranchers hard, killing large numbers of stock. A new invention which made the manufacture of barbed wire at low cost possible, allowed homesteaders to fence their land effectively. These barbed wire fences cut up what had been open grazing land. Homes- teaders were often forced to abandon their claims, due to periodic droughts, grasshoppers, hail, blizzards, or their inability to cope with the isolation. But in place of those who left, others cnme and many more stayed fragmenting the ranchers more and more. Thus my story begins! Henry Flageolle left Montreal, Canada and entered the United States by way of Michigan with his wife Eulalia in 1846. Their son John Sylvester was born in Lansing, Michigan in February of 1847. Another son, HenryJr., was born in Bay City, Michigan in May of 1860. They moved on to Jefferson, South Dakota where several French families settled. Eulalia died in 1862 and is buried in Jefferson. Henry and Eulalia had three daughters and two sons. Henry spent the rest of his life in Jefferson, where he was a blacksmith and vet. He died in 1926. He had remarried and raised a second family before his death. John S. was a successful freighter and contractor owning a hundred wagons and tenms. He built roads thru the Black Hills and built trestles, grades and bridges for the railroad. He also ran a freight line. Henry Jr. was a blacksmith and vet as his father had been. John S. sold out his business around 1900. In the year 1900 he made his first trip to Colorado. He found land in Kit Carson County which he liked. He returned to Jefferson, South Dakota to inform his family of his success in finding land he thought was worth homesteading. In 1904. John S. returned to Kit Carson County with his son William, who was old enough to file a homestead claim and a younger son Ralph. John S. and William filed their claims in Hugo, Colorado for quarter sections in Township 6 R 48 between Cope and Vona. John S. had also brought with him two pine treee which he planted on his claim. Nick Brownwood had a section of land in the same township on which he had built and operated a general store. Nick allowed the men who homesteaded in Township 6 R48 to build a large community building on his section. The building was used for community functions and meetings. It also served as a church until one was built. Until the building was completed the men slept in tents andwagons. Upon completionof the building the men slept and ate inside it. Each day thereafter the men went out to a claim site to build a house for whoever was going to live there. This was done until each man had a house on his claim. Thus, when they returned with their families, there was a house waiting for them. Since there was no timber available the housee that were built at this time were made with sod. The sod was obtained by ploughing furrows. The sod turns in thick, root-matted strips that are cut into chunks a foot and a half long. After the first layer is laid the next layer is laid grass side down, seeing that the joints don't match up, so each sod piece overlapped the two pieces below, much the same as you would do with bricks. Wide eaves were left when the roof was put on so the rain would not wash the sod down. The roof was a layer of sod. Poles placed in the middle of the soddie helped support the roof and with blankets hung from them served as room dividers. The soddie itself was one big room about 14 feet by 24 f.eet. The homesteaders who csme out at this time left some open acres when they filed their claims to afford grazing land and to keep the land from blowing away after it had been ploughed. A township consisted of 36 sections. Ofthose 36 sections, section 16 and 36 were left aside for the support of public schools. They were commonly called "school gections." This land could be rented or leased; the money generated was put into the state's school fund. As later homesteaders came the open land was claimed. A section was one mile square. Thus a township was 36 square miles. In 1906, John S. made the big move to Colorado with his family and all their possessions. His first wife Anna had died some time before. They had two children, Pearl and William. He had remarried, marrying his wife Anna's sister Louvinna who had been married before also. John S. and Louvinna had five children of their own, Ralph, Ester, Grace, John R. and Alvie. John S. and Louvinna loaded their children, all their husband, Charles Homer, Louvinna's father, was gone from home for long periods of time. Louvinna had lived between two haystacks with her mother, her sister Anna and the rest of the children, a cow, and the rest of the things they had been able to carry from their house before a prairie fire had destroyed the house and everything around them. The haystacks had been left when the harvesting crews had gone through. The crews that worked the harvest had lived between the stacks with canvas stretched between them to form a tent. The area round the stacks had been backploughed to form a fire break. Louvinna had a remarkable memory. She kept a journal after she moved to Colorado. In it she wrote the dates the mares would foal, the cows would calf, etc. She also would enter a few personal notes once in awhile. One such entry went something like this: "Today is Valentines Day. It doesn't look like anyone is going to remember, so I will write myself a verse." Then she proceeded to write a poem. She, too, made do in so many ways. Life for the homesteader wasn't easy. They had to hunt their own meat, grind their owrr corn, doctor their own sick and bury their own dead. They learned quickly the sound of a rattle snake and what to do when thatbuzz was heard. Money was something most homesteaders didn't have. When something had to be bought, he would work for the money if he could or find some commodity to sell. Butter, cream and eggs were cash commodities. So were bones. By 1886 buffalo had been virtually made extinct by the hide and tongue hunters. Their bones, however, could be found scattered across the prairie a decade after they had ceased to roam those same prairies. These bones were ground and used for fertilizer. Homesteaders would gather a wagon full of bones and take them to a railroad town to collect cash for them. The bones were shipped back east to fertilizer plants. As a result of John S.'s move to Colorado, family and friends moved to the area also. His brother Henry moved his family by train to Wray, Colorado in 1907. Henry and his wife possessions plus his wagons, livestock, fancy buggy, and matched team of fancy horses Marie brought their children and all their belongings with them to a homestead in Township 6 R48. Their oldest daughter onto the train for the ride to Vona, Colorado. At Vona they disembarked for their home- their infant daughter to a homestead in stead. Once on the homestead all available hands were put to work. A well had to be dug, a barn built to protect their livestock from wild animals, a chicken house had to be built, fences put up to keep stock out of places they shouldn't get into, and ploughing had to be done and crops planted. They may have been crowded inside the soddie but when the work had to be done there weren't too many hands. John R. and Alvie were only six and four but since there was no wood to burn they were old enough to gather cow and sheep chips to burn. They were also old enough to chase the chickens away from places where they didn't belong and to bring in the cattle when older people were busy doing other things. Digging the well was a problem because they had to go so deep for water, over 100 feet. It was a couple of years or more before the well was completed. There was a good 14 feet of water once it was reached. Louvinna was well suited to this kind of life for she had been raised by a mother, Martha Curtis, who knew how to make do while her Ulalie and her husband Mike moved alsowith Township 6 R48. A married sister and family came, as did uncles and cousins. It wasn't long until Township 6 R48 was a third populated with relation of John S. Flageolle. For John S. Flageolle what had looked like a good investment turned out to be a bad one. He had come to Kit Carson County to retire. He watched most of his investment blow away during the dry years. He wasn't alone; there were many like him. He stayed anyway as have some of his descendants. John R. stayed with the land all his life except for a few years spent in retirement in Stratton. He married Mary Balanga and they raised 13 children: Alfred, Gerald, Rose, Robert, Angie, David, Lorena, Donald, Doris, Diane, Jane, Mark, and Gregory. Of these 13 children, only Angie and Diane still live in Kit Carson County. John R. farmed in several areas north of Stratton. As his children reached school age, he began to think of moving closer to town so that school would be accessible. In 1947, John and Mary bought 400 acres of land 3 miles north of Stratton. He farmed the land. �raised hogs and chickens, and kept from 25 to 30 milk cows. He sold cream to the FLAGEOLLE, WILLIAM AND crenmery. For a period of about three years, Town- ship 6 R48 had a Catholic Church and a PAULINE cemetery. Someone would got to Vona and bring Fr. Keifer to the church for Sunday mass, or to officiate at weddings, Batisims, or funerals. The church was abandoned when I.207 St. Charles Catholic Church was built in Stratton around 1910. John R. Flageolle transfened the bodies in the cemetery to the cemetery in Stratton in 1935, at the request of Fr. Munich, the parish priest. Gerald J. Flageolle has many fond memories ofhis father John R. and his grandfather John S. The boredom of milking cows wag relieved by his father's stories and old songs. His grandfather lived with them for a time after Louvinna's death. He would walk into town after the noon meal to play cards or checkers with the group of retired men who met each day down town. Then he would walk home again when school was over. Gerald would walk with him and list€n to the stories he would tell about the places he had been, the things he had done and the people he had met. Gerald lived in Kit Carson County until he went into the Air Force in 1953. William and Pauline on their wedding day. Gerald J. Flageolle's daughter, Vickie, maried Denis Cure and lives a mile north of Pauline (Wynn) Flageolle was born in 1894 in South Dakota. Her father, stepmother, two sisters, one brother and one half-sister moved to Colorado from Jefferson, South Dakota in 1908. William and Pauline were manied in raise hogs and sheep. Joehua is aheady active helping with chores on the farm and is active 1910. They had 5 children. Stratton, just off the Kirk highway. They have five boys: Joshua, Kevin, Douglas, Bradley and Eric. They farm the land, and in 4-H. Kevin is beginning to help with the farm chores. Douglas, Bradley, and Eric enjoy following their father around as he works and accompanying him in the truck. They think the farm life is the only life. The descendants of John S. are still a part of Kit Carson County. They live an work to fullill the sn'ne kind of goals their ancestors had eighty years ago. The land was free, the investmentwas hard work, and the homesteader was his own boss. He lived on hope . . . hope for sufficent moisture, hope that they could survive the winter storms. Someone once said, "East€rn Colorado wag one ofthe wonders ofthe world. Wonder anyone's here. I cnme here with nothing and still have it. We live on air, water . . . when we can get it, and good times." Eastern Colorado was a last frontier. There are some people who need a challenge, who meet that challenge and don't back down no matter what the coet to themselves. There are people who don't know how to live any other way. Surely these are the people of Eastern William and Pauline and family. Catherine is not in this picture. Back row L to R: Pearl, Richard, Ruth. Front row: Willio-, Archie and Pauline. William Flageolle, son of John and Anna Flageolle was born on July 29, 1886 at Council Bluffs, Iowa. He came to Colorado in 1906 to homestead in the Brownwood community 1672 miles north of Vona, Colorado. William's dad, John Flageolle, homesteaded a farm north and one east of the William's farm. We would have terrible tornadoes every summer. Dad would send us all to the cellar and he would stand on the top step and raise the door a little to tell us what was blowing away. One time the tornado picked up a colt and dropped it in the horse tank. Another time Dad was farming with six horses and some dark clouds came up and he no more than got home when the storm hit one and killed it. They used a horse and buggy to go to Mass at Stratton, and to get supplies in town. Dad was caught in a blizzard and never got home until real late at night one time and when he Colorado. Unless we know where we came from, something about the road we traveled as people, how can we know who we are and where we are going? Because I feel this way, I have gathered togetherthe information that precedes. Eastern Colorado is where my children's grandparents chose to make their home. Their story is my story too, because it is everyone'e story who had grandparents who were in the United States in the 1?00's and 1800's. A frontier is a frontier, whenever or wherever it is happening. by Laura M. Flageolle William Flageolle standing by his sod house on the homestead. �did he was alnost frozen to death. My folks rented a house in town across from the Catholic church and sent the children to the Catholic echool. My father interest in the affairs of the community. He was never too busy to lend aid to a worthy cause or to someone in need. During World War II, he served as the Red Cross officer for stayed on the farm during this time. They the Kit Carson County area. He was a member of the school board for 15 years, 1930 and then they moved to a farm north of served on the city council of Burlington and was active in the Burlington Rotary Club. lived in the Brownwood co-munity until Stratton. They moved to Minnesota for 4 years but decided it wae too cold and moved back to a farm one mile north and one mile west of Stratton. They lived there until Willinm's death on August 3, 1951. Archie stayed with Mother for one month after Dad's death to help get ready for a sale. Mother moved to Denver and lived with Catherine and worked in a Rainbow Bakery for 10 years. After she retired she bought some acreage in Parker, Colo. and built a house and retired. She still residee in her own home at the age of 93. When they lived on the homestead, my dad only lived just a V, mile north of the Brownwood store so he would to to Vona, Seibert or Burlington to haul supplies back to the store for Mr. Brownwood. Later he sold out to people that cnme from Holland. Their name was Fred Loppstra. They had a child that was sick when they came over and he had to stay in Holland. I do not know if he lived or not. They went to Chrietian Endeavour Church which was also in that community. The school house was about 1/z mile west of the store. Fred Loppstra sold the store in the 30's after most of the eettlers left their land because of drouth or lost it to delinquent taxes. He ca-e back years later and looked up my father at Stratton and asked him if he knew where any of the people had gone or if some still lived around here. He said that my father did not owe him any money but if he could find some of the people they might pay gome to clear the debt. The ledger was quite large. I don't know if he ever go any money from anyone. Most people just gave up and left for the city and got jobs in factories or somewhere and had juet enough to live. So the 30's were hard on everyone. Archie lives and works in Denver Colo. Richard is retired and lives in Stratton, Colo. Pearl lives in Denver, Colo. Catherine lives in Parker, Colo. Ruth liveg in Chappell, Nebraska. William and Pauline received a patent on their homestead on March 3, 1913 signed by William Taft. The legal description of the land is SWYr and SE% of S15 T6S R48. Richard and Dorothy Flageolle, Jack Brachtenbach, Larry Brachtpnbach and Denny Brachtenbach and their children are the only family of William that are etill in Kit Carson County. Dr. Flatt maried Bernice Hartstine in 1928. Tbo children were born to them, William Stanley and Cynthia Jane. They also raised a nephew, Jack Dillon who cnme to live with them at the age of four years. Dr. Glenn S. Flatt was born on Januar5r 3, 1899 and died on November 1, 1952. After Glenn died Bernice taught in the Burlington School system and received her degree by attending summer school. After retiring she helped teach refugee families English and was active in several community organizations. Bernice was born on March 10, 1903 and died in January of L977. by Bill Flatt After our marriage we lived with his parents south of Vona until we established our own farm which was located 12 miles south of Vona. It was difficult to make a living farming. Our income wae made by growing crops, cattle, and selling creo- and eggs. After our first three boys were born, Ray had to leave one winter and work in the oil fields in Texag to supplement our income. I stayed home with the boys and took care of the cattle, horseg, and chickens. We lived on the farm until 1936 when we moved to Vona. At this time Ray becane Poetmaster of the Vona Post Office. In 1949 he became a mail carrier until his retirement in 1970. During these years we had 11 children: Leon, (deceased); Merl, (manied Hazel Thompson); Pat, (married Nina Lou Walker); Jack, (deceased, married Peggy); Ramon, (deceased); Jo Ann, (married Kenneth Pickard); Mary Lou, (married Roch Luebbers); Colleen, (deceased); Kay, (married Bill Crum); Carol, (mauied Art Taylor); and Linda (married George Card). Atthis writing there are 29 grandchildren and 25 gteat- FORD - MOHR FAMILY grandchildren. by Ifarriet Ford F209 In 1912 my parents, Fred and DeEtta Mohr, my brother, Bill and I moved to Kit Carson County. We boarded an immigrant car at Corsica, South Dakota. We brought with us all of our personal belongings, 8 horses and 6 cows. Our homestead was located 2 miles NE of Vona. We lived in a 2 room sod house and my father farmed. During this time I remember many visits from gypsy caravans. They would travel from farm to farm and town to town and beg. FRANKFATHER, CLAY AND DACY F210 In the coming years my parents had 6 more children, Henry, Gladys, Mildred, Lester, Myrna, and Betty. All of the above are deceased except for Myrna and Betty, who now reside in California. We attcnded school in Vona, walking 2 miles each way every day. I also belonged to 4-H and Bertha Wear was the 4-H leader. Our main transportation during those years were horges. They were much more than working animals though, they were also beloved pets. Eventually my father decided to quit farming and opened a Harness and Shoe Repair Shop in Vona on Main Street. A Crenmery was added later, At this time Vona congigted of 2 hotels, 2 cafea,2 grocery stores, a livery stable, hardware store, a bank, drug store and post office. by Ruth Brachtenbach Robingon In 1908 Pat and Julia Ford moved their family to Kit Carson County from South FLATT FAMILY F208 to a homegtead south of Vona. During this time, Pat Ford worked for the Rock Island Railroad and ran a butcher shop before Dr. Glenn S. Flatt was a native of the moving to the farm. Pat and Julia had 4 children, Clair, Giles, Dakota. They lived in Stratton before moving Hawkeye State, Iowa. While etiil very young the family moved to Stanley, North Dakota, where Glenn grew up. Glenn attended the Stanley Schoolg and graduated from high school in 1918 and immediately entered the Denver University School of Dentistry. As a licensed dentist, he came to Burlington in 1924 to practice his profession. "Doc," as he was known to his friends. had a sincere Ray, and Celia; all of whom are deceased except for Celia, who ie married to Bob Straughn and lives in Longmont, Colorado. In 1921 Ray Ford and I were married at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Denver. Prior to this, Ray had attended a country school and went to high school in Vona. He went on to attend Barnes Business College in Denver. Wedding picture of Clay and Dacy Franlf,ather, June 3, 1902. Clay Demaree Frankfather was the firgt male child born in Roca, Nebragka. His parents were Snrnuel S. Frankfather and Anna Maria Gilson Frankfather, who came from Potterstown, Ohio in 1868 and homesteaded near Roca. Dacy Lee Frankfather was born at Lucas, Iowa. She loet her father at an early age and her mother, Arbella Lee and two children, Dacy and Allie, moved two miles north of Seibert, Colorado. �Burlington, also at a school four miles east and four north of Seibert, and in the town of Vona. Clay and Dacy moved to Denver in 1947 and had a rooming house. Aft€r five years Dacy started teaching again at a school 30 miles north of Denver. She retired from teaching in 1958. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June, 1952. Clay Demaree Frankfather born August 28, 18?6 and died March 22, L966. Dacy Lee Frankfather born June 13, 1879, died August 5, 1961. by Irene Boger FROMONG, Iil.AZE'L F2l1 The Dwight Frankfather family, back row; Kevin Thomas Fitz Simmons and his wife Clara, Dwight Jr. and Karen. Seated; Arwen, Shannon, with their three daughters, Florence, Dorothy and Hazel, moved from Nebraska to and Kirk. Standing; Joanne, Dwight, Helen, Vidrik, Lori and Todd. building roade into Cripple Creek for 93.00 Clay and Dacy Frankfather's SOth wedding anniversaq/, June, 1952. per day. They also staked a gold mine claim, had it surveyed and patented, and built two houses and a barn on the property. On the strength of a gold find near their claim and since their claim had not yet produced, they sold it for $6000 and returned to Roca in the fall of 1899. In the spring of 1900, the family returned to Colorado and settled on a ranch one and a half miles northwest of Vona. It was here that Clay met Dacy Lee, a schoolteacher. They were married on June 3, 1902 by H.H. Priest, Justice of the Peace, two miles north of Seibert. Clay and Dacy went to Cripple Creek but due to a big miner's strike at that time, they returned to Seibert. In 1903, Samuel Frankfather traded his land for a store in Colorado Springs and Clay and Dacywentthere to help in the store for I year, after which Clay bought a team and wagon and moved to Flaglerwhere their son, DwightLee, was born on September 11, 1904. r 986 Dwight and Helen Frankfather on their 5fth wedding annivereary. After homeeteading, Clay's parents opened a general merchandise store and hotel in Roca. Clay worked in the area at odd jobs and for a time drove a tenm and wagon, working at a stone quarry ten hourg a day, eix days a \peek for $20 a month including room and board. In 1896, he and his father combined their money and bought another tenm and wagon and two heavy used railroad tents and took the family to Cripple Creek, Colorado. The family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Frankfather and three children, Clay, Mabel and Grace, who had all been born in Roca. It took them 40 days to reach Cripple Creek. They found an area on Spring Creek near a freshwater spring and set up their tents. Clay and hie father goon found work with a crew The next several years were spent in Seibert where Clay worked in stores, served as a deputy county assessor and auctioneered, crying numerous public auctions. He later opened his own grocery store and closed it in 1927 because during the dry years farmers were not able to pay their bills. Fuel became scarce about this time and residents of the area walked along the railroad track, picking up coal which had fallen from the trains, and algo resorting to old railroad ties and cow chips to burn in their stoves. Dacy taught echool for a total of 23 years, 20 of which were in Colorado. She first taught a six-month school 12 miles north of Seibert. Her second school was in 1898 on the Osage Indian reservation near Gray Horse, Oklaho- Burlington in 1921, living south of Burlington . for a few years. In 1924 Dorothy passed away at age sixteen. In 1927 they moved to the Smoky Hill Community. They were active in all ofthe school activities and the church and Sunday School there. Hazel attended school at Smoky Hill, graduating from Burlington in 1929. Her mother passed away in 1933. Florence taught school in the Pond Creek district and in other country schools. She later married Ted Woods from Stratton. When the dirt storms came they moved to Oregon where she remained with her family until her death in 1982. Hazel manied Everett Fromong from Kanorado. They are the parents of three children, Tommy, Terrence and Phyllis. Everett served in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II. When he returned he established the Fromong Body Shop, which he operated until his death in 1965. During World War II, Hazel continued her education at Greeley, and started teaching, and continued for 30 years. Four of those years were at Smoky Hill, and in other country schools, until the re-organization of the school districts, and she taught in the Burlington School for 22 years. After retiring, Hazel went back to school and got her real estate license. She worked in that capacityfor several years. The Fromong children attended Burlington Schools, and chose different careers. Tommy was engaged in farming until his death in 1985. Terrence is a psychologist in Tacoma, Washington. Phyllis has served as County Clerk in Burlington for seventeen years. Her husband, Doug Collins is engaged in farming and cattle and also serves the community as an auctioneer. Hazel is now employed in the new project called, Old Town, here in Burlington. ma. She returned to Seibert and taught in her home district three miles north of Seibert, and when heavy rain washed down the native limestone schoolhouse she was forced to finish school in a tent. The next year she taught in the district where the Frankfathers lived and boarded with them. In 1929, Mrs. Della Hendricks, Superintendent of Schools for Kit Careon County, asked Dacy to complete a term of school 20 miles northeast of Burlington. She later taught at Smoky Hill which was 12 miles south and five east of by Mrs. Ted Eberhart �FUHLENDORF, ELIZABETH HENRIETTA Fogg place, a mile north and a mile east of Vona. I, Alma Bigelow Becker, was born on this place on Jan. 15, 191.9. A big snowstorm had blocked roads so Dr. McBride from Seibert had to come to Vona, on a handcar, F2I-2 My mother, Elizabeth Henrietta Fuhlendorf, was born July 27, LBW on a farm near Odebolt, in Sac County, Iowa. Grandfather Fuhlendorf operated a crermery in Iowa. It was at this crenmery that mother's oldest brother, Gus, was scalded fatally when he fell into a vat of hot water. The Gus Fahlendorfs moved to Armour, South Dakota in 1896. Here is where my mother lived until she graduated from high school in 1908. Grandfather Gus and Uncle Fred had homesteaded northeast of Vona, in early 1907. When mother finished high echool in the spring of 1908, Uncle Fred came to Armour and escorted mother to the homestead in Colorado, 5 miles north,3 miles east and. t/z mile north of Vona. Grandfather's homestead house has been moved into Strat- ton, and is today the dwelling at 211 New York Ave. Mother, having a high school education, was a certified school teacher for the state of South Dakota, but in Colorado, she was not eligible to teach before she finished a course in Colorado civics. Mother says she put her nose in some book learning and in the fall of 1909, started a career in teaching. Her firet gchool was the Ashview school, a half mile south of grandfather's homestead. In 1910 and 1911, mother taught at the Murphy school, northeast of Seibert. Father and Mother were married on March 30, 1911. Dr. Beechley lived in Stratton, and was the Justice of Peace. My parents were married by him in his home. Father often remarked, that he never became his own boss, because he got married a few days before he becn-e of age. My parents roamed around for bwo years. They had a team of horses and a b,esm of mules and a Jersey cow. They hitched the horses and the mules to a covered wagon, tied the Jersey cow to the rear and headed to the beet, potato and hay fields, around Fort Morgan and Hudson, Colo. In 1912, they rented a farm about 2 niles southeast of Fort Morgan. On March 14, 1913, my parents ca-e back bo Kit Careon county. They homesteaded rbout 10 miles northwest of Stratton, Colo. Ihis is the place where LeRoy Brachtenbachs Live today. Mother returned to teaching again. This bime at a country school called Solid Center. Ihis school was about 2 miles east and north rf my parents homestead. Mother does not know if there are any remains left of this Solid lenter School. Mother knows of at least one rf the pupils still living today, Cora Tuttle, rrho lives at Wray, Colo. One day, as mother was driving to this rchool, she turned back to see smoke billow,ng from their homestead house. Earl was rorking in the field. Both arrived and uatched as flames burned their home to rshes. They could not even find mother's redding ring, which she had taken off that norning because it was a bit loose and ghe vas afraid of losing it. The fire start€d from r defective chimney. My two older brothers l'loyd and Howard were born here. In 1918, Earl and Elizabeth bought the on the Rock leland railroad, and then rode a horse to our place. The doctor was too late, before he got to our house, I was born. I was such a small baby, my parents feared for my life. The flu epidemicof 1918 was still around. In 1920, my parents moved from the Fogg place (where the Kenneth Pickards live today) to a farm 1 mile south and % mile esst of Vona. This is where my sisters Louise and Rose Anna were born and also where my future hugband, Wilbert, came to court me. About 20 years ago (after the folks sold the place) this house also burned to the ground, and the people that lived there lost all their belongings. The descendants of Earl and Elizabeth Bigelow fanily are 5 children, 12 grandchildten,24 great grandchildren, and 3 great great grandchildren. by Alma L. Bigelow Becker FUHLENDORF, VIOLET LILLIAN F213 Gustav Fuhlendorf came to America by boat from Germany, and then by boat up the Mississippi River to Davenport, Iowa. Eventually the family moved into Colorado. Fredrick Carl Fuhlendorf, the 3rd child, 2nd son of Gustav and Fredricka Fuhlendorf and Chloe Altha Lloyd, the 5th child, Srd daugh- ter, of So-uel Merida Lloyd and Alvira Vianna (Cage) were married in Vurlington, Kit Carson County, Colorado, on Oct. 13, 1909. When they got married, the folks drove into Burlington and as it was a long trip they had to stay overnight. Today it is only an hours drive there and back to Vona. Dad's homestead was located 6 mi. north and 2 mi. east of Vona, Colo. To sign up and prove on the homestead, Dad had to go to Farming hadn't been good because of the drought years, so they moved into Vona. Dad wae the Assistant Postmast€r for 6 years. Then they moved to Wheatridge, where he was the school janitor for the Wheatridge School. In 1944, they returned to Vona and he becnme the janitor of the Vona School until he retired. There were three song in the service; Wayne was in the Navy, and Carl and Dale were in the Army dwing World War II. Dad passed away in Denver on Sept. 9, 1950, and Momlived in Vona, untilherhealth got worse. Then she moved into Grace Manor in Burlington, until her passing. by Violet Ednunds FULLER FAMILY E2t4 With the development of Stratton and that section of Kit Carson County, Nason Hoyt Fuller was closely identified through his farming operations and through general merchandising. He lived a busy, useful, active, clean and honorable life and left to his family the priceless heritage of an untarnished name. He was born in Canada February 6, 1846 and pursued his education to the age of 16 when he moved to Piatt Co., Illinois, later moving to McDonough County, Tllinois. He worked in a wood shop assisting in the building of wagons and other wood work. It was here he met his wife, Miss Angeline Ingram. They were married and moved to Iowa where he worked at blacksmithing and farming. They had two children, Ira D., and Manda Iva who later became the wife of J.W. Borders. In 1888 they moved to Colorado and homesteaded near Stratton. Theyfarmed but his health was impaired so they moved into Stratton. Mr. Fuller once more embarked in General Merchandising, but a year later his store was destroyed by fire. He was entering the store with a lighted lemp when he suffered a heart attack and ths lamp fell, breaking and starting a fire. His friends came Hugo, Colo. to do it. Our land was the SW% in 31, and the NW% in Sec. 6-8-47. Our Address was Stratton, which was 5 mi. E. and 6 mi. South of the homestead. There were 11 to the rescue, taking him from the burning building. All the buildings on the store's side of the street were burned including the relatively new home of Mr. and Mrs. J.W. ber the time when I was about 4-5 years old, Borders. Mr. Fuller then sold his farm in order to get ready money to resume his business. He remained in active business until his death in December, 1917. children and all were born in the general vicinity of the homestead. I, Violet, remem- we were in the horge drawn buggy and headed downhill from our home to town. The horses ran off and Mom wan so scared she tried to jump out. Dad had all he could do to hold her in and gain control ofthe horses. They finally turned at the top of hill and stopped. We kids were under the buckboard and were so scared; I still remember it to this day. Dad's first Model T car had to be started by jacking up the hind wheels and cranking on it. One day Dad was starting the car this way but it ran thru the clothes line, clothes and all. Mom was scared and didn't get mad till it was all over with. To get to go to the County Fair in Burlington, we would get up and leave home before daylight in an old Model T car and spend the whole day. It would be way up in the night when we got home. Dad farmed until 1936. Times were so hard and I don't know how they fed all of us. by Floyd Borders � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families of Kit Carson County Description An account of the resource Brief biographies of the founding families of Kit Carson County Colorado. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Book Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families- F Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1988 Description An account of the resource Brief family history from founders of Kit Carson County whose names begin with "F." As told in the book, History of Kit Carson County. Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Salmons, Janice Hasart, Marlyn Smith, Dorothy Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. History of Kit Carson County Volume 1 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Curtis Media Subject The topic of the resource History Kit Carson County Biography Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/467/Families-G.pdf 178bc7b3934fe78242859297f8b4170e PDF Text Text Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Gaines on their 45th wedding anniversary May 15, 195?, at their home on Main Avenue in Flagler. with Jean McMaster, born April 17, 1887, a daughter of Willian Ogden and Nancy Fuller/Borders four generationg: Back row: Floyd Borders, J.W. Borders, Hal Borders. Seated: Grandma Fuller holding Dick Borders, Hal's son Bob Borders, Grandma Sarah Borders and Diana Borders. GAHM, MRS. ELLA F215 On August 22,1962, we spent the evening in the home of Mrs. Sadie Raines in order that we might record some of the facts about and experiences of her mother, Mrs. Ella Gahm, who celebrated her 91st, birthday in January, 1962. Mrs. Gahm, her husband Ed, and their three children, took up residence in Kit Carson County in Feb. 1906. Mr. Gahm had come out in December of 1905 and filed on a homestead, having bought a relinquishment. This quarter section was located 5 miles south of Peconic. He and a friend. George Cowing, came out in an emigrant car containing their household goods, farming equipment, a team of horses, etc. When Mrs. Gahm and the children ceme they spent the first night in the Montezuma Hotel, and had to all four occupy one room. The Gahm'g lived with neighbors until their own home was built of adobe. The roof was covered with boards, tar paper, then sod on top. This was cozy and comfortable until one day a "twister" went through the area and tore the roof off. To help out the first year, Mr. Gahm worked for Grant Mann, a well driller, employed by many of the homesteadere. The family raised a large garden, and made kraut in half barrel lots. There were of course no phones, no electricity, no hospitals and no doctor service very near. When Mrs. Gahm's fourth child, Vannie, was born in 1908, she had the servicee of a midwife, Mrs. Burlington, and she herself acted as a midwife and delivered four babies for neighbor families. She was dso called many times in the case of sicknesg or death. Mrs. Gehm also acted as a barber and cut her son's and husband's hair. She says she always cut it as close as she possibly could. She made all clothes by hand, other chores including gathering cow chips for fuel, and coal oil lamps meant a daily task of cleaning lamp chimneys. There were many hardships for the set- Liddle McMaster. They were the parents of two children, Arthur Edwin, Jr. born November 14, 1914 and Doris May born on July 14, 1920. She died of spinal meningitis on May 24,1923. tlers, blizzards in the winters and high winds and fires in the summer. One frightening experience was the big fire of 1910. "I don't remember how wide the burned area was but as the fire neared our home, it divided and went on each side, leaving us unharmed, but the possibility of being surrounded and burned left a memory never to be forgotten. The fire posed a real hardship on the cattlemen, who depended upon the rich and nutritious grass for food for their cattle. After visiting Colorado in about 1919, Art bought a half section of land eight miles south of Flagler, and two years later he held a farm sale near Omaha and brought a calf, some chickens, an Avery tractor, and some furniture in a "box car" to a rented one-story frame house across the road from his land. Meanwhile the family and Jean's mother, Nancy, rode the Rock Island passenger train, arriving in Flagler February 22, L92L. Art kept busy raising wheat, barley, oats, The writer asked Mrs. Gahm what she and corn with corn being the main crop. remembered most about homestead life and she answered, "hard work" but Mrs. Raines spoke up and said, "But we had lots of good timeo", she went on to say that seldom did Livestock raised included cattle, horses and they ever spend Sunday alone. Either their family would go to a neighbors for dinner or some family would stop in at our place for dinner. Many modern wives would throw their hands in the air if a family of four or five would drop in unannounced. During her later years, Mrs. Gahm pieced and quilted some fifty or more beautiful quilts. One, a postage stamp pattern, (made up oftiny blocks sewn together by hand) now belongs to Mrs. Raines. by Mrs. Bessie Peggy T9ilson GAINES, ARTHUR E. FAMILY F2l6 Arthur Edwin Gaines, the eldest son of Charles Thomas and Emma Liming Gaines was born Februar5/ 2, 1888, in a log cabin near Jacksonville, Illinois. His childhood was spent on the family farm, where with four sisters and a brother he attended the Liter- berry school through eight grades. At age twelve he beco-e a member of the Shiloh Methodist Church. As a young man, he went to Omaha, Nebraska where he worked for five years and spent ten years farming by himself. On May 15, 1912, he was united in marriage hogs. Jean spent many hours whenever needed acting as a practical nurse and/or midwife in the area. For entertainment, they played cards and danced in each other's homes. Neighborhood clubs with a big hearty meal served at midday were popular with farm families. As many as fifty might gather at one time. The Gaines family purchased land two miles northwest of Flagler, built a two story modern fra-e houge, a large Gordon Van Tyne pre-cut barn (shipped from lowa), and other buildings, moving there in Lg2l. Jean was a charter member of the Flagler Woman's Club and served actively in the Flagler Congregational Ladies Aid. Art and Jean belonged to the Flagler Country Club for many years. They helped the club celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. The club was so large it owned dishes, silverware, coffee pot, and even chairs, which passed monthly to each family as food and friendship were enjoyed by all. Jean was also one of the first Home Demonstration Club presidents in the Flagler area. As the years went by, Art became involved in Farm Bureau, serving as the local president, then for seventeen years as State Farm Bureau treasurer. Through his Farm Bureau work, he was asked to investigate ways and means to get electricity to this area. As a result of much hard work and several selffinanced trips to Washington, D.C., electric power was brought to eastern Colorado. Art served as president of K.C. Electric for its first twenty-one years, 1945 till 1966. He was �also active in signing people for the rural telephone syst€m. He wae a member of I.O.O.F. lodge for more than thirty-five years. The Gaines'built a brick home on Main Avenue in Flagler in 1948 and moved to town. Jean and Art enjoyed nlmegt, 50 years of married life before his death on March 23, 1962. On March 19, 1966, Art married Anna Stouffer of Bellevue, Nebraska. Anna died in 1969. Martha Kessler was joined in marriage with Art on July 30, 1970. She died December 27, L986. When Art ceaged active farming, he continued taking care of his yard and large garden. He derived much enjoyment from many town children and his great-grandchildren. An open howe was held in 1983 in honor of Art's 95th birthday. Arthur Gaines passed away at the age of 95 on May 15, 1983. by Arthur Gaines, Jr. GAINES, ARTHUR 8., JR' F2r7 ArthurEdwin Gaines, Jr. was born November 14, 1914 at the Irvington, Nebraska farm home of Arthur E. and Jean McMaster Gaines where he lived until the family moved to a farm eight miles south of Flagler, Colorado February 2L, LgzL. His younger sister Dorie May was born July 14, 1920 and died May 24,1923. Art, Jr. attended the Texarado school for the remainder of that year. He was the only boy enrolled there. He was transported daily by the teacher, Aljy Stinton. The following year he transferred to the Flagler School and ':l:l .,'.4:' 'l:t ,i; *::lt.. was graduated from Flagler High School in 1934. He attended college at Colorado University in Boulder and Colorado Agricultural College in Fort Collins. During the following three years Art was a distributor for Conti- nental Oil Company in the Seibert and Flagler areas. On January 31, 1938, Arthur married Pearl Fay McCart, daughter of Joseph Andrew and Diana Bratley McCart. Pearl was born December 10, 1917 near Neosho, Missouri. At the age of three, her parents, a sister, and three brothere moved to a farm south of Seibert, Colorado. Pearl attended Sunday School and grade school at Pleasant Meadow, Spring Creek and Rock Cliff, later going to grade school and high school in Seibert, where she was outstanding in scholastics and athletics. She graduated as salutatorian of her class in 1934. Three children were born to the Gaines': Willinm Arthur, November 11, 1940; Terry Jay, May 8, 1944; and Phyllis Ann, September 19, 1945. In the spring of 1940, Art and Pearl moved one mile west of Flagler and began farming. Two years later the three Gaines'moved to the old "'Schwlm place" two and a half miles west of Flagler and continued working on the farm for four years. The farm sold to the Roy Dragoo family, so the five Gaines'moved to 526 Main Avenue while Art worked on the railroad for a yeer and originated the Flagler-Denver Truckline. In 1948 the Art Gaines, Jr. family moved to the family farm two miles northwest of Flagler where Art farmed until 1970. Pearl passed away aftcr a short battle with leukemia on October 16, 1950 at the age of 32. Virginia Barr Gainee, daughter of Aubrey and Florence Swaneon Barr was married to Art on May 3, 1952. She was born November 3, 1915 at York, Nebraska. She attended country grade school and graduated from York High School. Ginny graduated from Kearney State College in 1937 with a degree in English, then taught English, home economics and art for three years at the Madison, Nebraska high school. Virginia attended the Lincoln General Hospital school of nursing for three years and becsme a registered nurse. She went to Denver in 1944 where she volunteered and served her coun- try during World War II in the Army Nurse Corps, journeying to the Phillipine Islands and Japan. She returned to Denver, taught and supervised obstetric's in Denver Presbyterian Hospital during the post war "baby boom". Upon coming to Flagler in 1952, Ginny soon became busily involved in family life a Den Mother, Girl Scout council - beingpresident secretary, of PTA and band parents, along with nursing part time at the Flagler Hospital. Later she served as director of nursing in a Limon nursing home. Virginia and Art joined the Flagler Congregational Church and have been active in church activities through the years. Art's volunteer community sewice has included: nine years on the Flagler Equity Co-op board; twenty-five years in Boy Scouts of America, having been awarded the Silver Beaver in 1955; six years on the Flagler school board during construction of the new school building; two years as 4-H tractor club leader; chairmanship of the fund raising campaign for the Community Medical Center; service on all local boards of the Flagler Congregational Church, and on the board ofthe Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Church of Chrigt. Art was a member of the Community Ambulance service for twelve years afier its formation in 1968. He was assistant director for two years, director for four years and taught CPR and EMT classeg for seven years. Having been appointed to the Flagler Housing Authority in 1976, and elected chairman in 1979, he was deeply involved in the construction of what is now the low-cost housing projects known as "Pioneer Valley". Along with' his volunteer activities, Art continued to carry on an active farming progrrm, including hog and sheep production. After semi-retirement in 1981, Art and Virginia have had time to enjoy being with their children and grandchildren and taking extensive winter trips in their fifth-wheel :,i,it r ?:i; trailer. Theycontinue to live on MainAvenue in Flagler. t ::' !t f,t{.:;;:, r,t::::,, ,t:';titer:: Present fanily members include: BiU, his wife Kay (Oehrli) and son, Gregory in Puyallup, Washington; Terry, his wife Sally (Mock) eons Jay, Andrew and Todd, and daughter Rebecca on the "home falm" northwest of Flagler; Phyllis, her husband Allen Petereon and sone Mark and Steven and daughter Jean Ann on the "Schwyn place" two and a half miles west of Ffuler. by Arthur E. Gaines, Jr. GALES FAMILY The Arthur E. Gaines, Jr. family, November 12, 1961. Seated: Virginia Barr Gaines, Arthur E. Gaines, Jr.; Standing: Phyllis Ann, Terry Jay, William Arthur, 2nd Lt. Navigator in the U.S. Air Force. F2l8 My grandfather James William Gales wag born January 2, Lffi7 in Promise City, Iowa and married Martha Davis there. They moved to the Seibert, Colorado area approximately 1915 looking for land to homestead or buy. They lived in several homes in the Seibert area. They had three daughters before they moved to Seibert; Eva, Pauline and Fern Artie. Grandpa Bill was a very �loving and caring man. Some of my happiest memories are the times I spent with him. He was one of the early members of the R.L.D.S. church and continued faithful until his death in 1961. Grandpa died December 1931 of dropsy. He wae a member of the I.O.O.F. lodge and Community Club. Even after a back injury forced him from the farm, he loved to take ridee in the country to see the crops. Eva never married and continued to live at home. Pauline married Ralph Roberts in Seibert in 1917 while he was working on the railroad. They moved to Kanorado, Kansas and then to Goodland, Kansas where he continued working on the railroad until his death in 1953. They had one daughter Lois, Wayne, and Delbert, who died at birth. Harrison and Augusta farmed and ran cattle like everyone else. They took great pride in their garden and always had their cellar full. Gardening was a family affair. Each spring Harrison would plowthe plotwith horses and float the ground to make it level. Tomato, cabbage, pepper and celery plants were st€fi,ed early in hot beds. The extra plants were eold in Flagler. Each fall about 1000 quarts of food was put up. This consisted of chicken, beef, corn, green beans, tomatoes and fruit. There were some cherry trees on the farm until the hail killed them in 1934. Canning in those days was lots more work than now. Corn was canned in the copper wash boiler and you hauled wood in all day Juaneta who married Ernest Middleton. They had four children and several grandchildren. Pauline wan very active in the R.L.D.S. church playrng the organ and to keep the fire going. Harrison and Augusta's grandchildren even enjoyed grandpa's help in teaching class. She always had a large garden and shared it with family and friends. Fern married Ernie Akers inl924 and they Farming was done with horses, and I don't really remember when we got a tractor. We did get our first modern conveniences in 1940, a gas stove and refrigerator! Like most had five children. After their divorce she traveled to Canada and Alaska, returning to California in 1974 where she died in 1987. by Dorothy (Akers) Noel GANGWISH - RUHTER FAMILY F2l9 l1 .iiir,, ,:. the garden. Grandpa could cut corn faster than anyone! everyone else, we milked cows and sold cren- and eggs. Harrison believed in paying cash. He never owned anyone and always paid cash or they just didn't have it. One day during a dirt storm a baby lpmb wandered into the farm yard. Of course the kids loved it, and they bottle fed the baby for three days before the neighbors could see to come get it. When they took the lnmb home, the ewe wouldn't claim the lnmb, so they gave it back to Geraldine, Lois and Wayne to raise. The lamb was called Tiny and followed them everywhere. Augusta wasn't so proud of that lamb. The girls liked to hold Tiny and he would chew the bias tape ties on their dresses to shreds. Tiny did grow up and it was a sad day when Tiny was sold. Evenings and snowy days were spent Harrigon and Augusta Ganpish on their fiftieth wedding anniversary, January 2, 1962. Harrison Morton Gangwish (born August 14, 1888 in Juniata, Nebraeka) and Augusta Marie Ruhter (born November 3, 1892 in Roseland, Nebraska) were married on January 1, 1912, in Sidney, Nebraska. In the spring of 1918, they bought and paid for 320 acreg of land north and east of Arriba. Colorado. It wasn't until 1923 when they moved to their farm from Juniata, Nebragka. They cnme by car when they moved to their farm from Juniata, Nebragka. They came by car with their baby daughter, Geraldine, and ahipped their belongings on the railroad. Their firet home wae a little house "acrosg the road" from the present farm. They lived here while building the new house during the errmmer of 1923. The fun features of this new house were a big picture window in the living room and an open full basement. The basement was used for roller skating and dances. Neighbore came on Saturday night every couple weeks. The ladies brought sandwiches for supper and everyone pitched in to pay the mwicians for square dancing music. Three children were born in Colorado. playing cards and games. Favorite pastimes were pot luck dinners with the neighbors. Harrison and Augusta loved their children and grandchildren. They always had time to talk and play with their kids. That's one thing their three children and nine grandchildren will always remember - Grandma and Grandpa loved us! The family always enjoyed one another and summer reunions were a big event. We always tried to spend at least a week together every summer fishing and camping. Geraldine, Lois, and Wayne still like to travel together and continue to spend a couple weeks together each year. by Geraldine M. Smith GARNER - HAMPTON FAMILY I.220 Joe W. Garner and Susie S. Hnmpton were married in Gove County, Kansas, on April 2, 1911. Joe had grown up in Phillips and Gove Counties of Kansas. Susie was born and grew to young womanhood in Mason County, Illinois. Her parents the P.C. Hamptons had come wegt as pioneers a few months before her marriage. In October of 1911, Joe and Susie packed their belongings into a covered wagon and with a few head of livestock trailing the wagon they began their adventure to move Joe and Susie Garner. westward to locate and claim a homestead in Colorado. Their goal had been to go into the Flagler or Limon area or beyond. They were marooned in the Bethune area for a few days due to an early fall snow storm. As they approached Stratton they had been told of the beautiful bluestem grass, belly high to a horse, in the sand hills northwest of Stratton. It sounded good, so they moved in that direction and settled 13 miles northwest of Stratton, one mile north of the Republican river. Days were difficult in their new homeland. Joe used his team and equipment to help other neighbors break sod and also did custom work to earn some cash. Susie looked after the home area, milked the cows and herded their livestock. A number of their relatives soon cnme to settle on near by land. George and Agnes Paintin homesteaded just east of Joe and Susie about a half mile. Another sister and her husband, Sam and Alice Travis, settled on a homestead northeast of Garners. Then Susie's parents and brother, P.C. and Maggie Hampton and Johnny crme a few years later and settled on a homestead about one mile north of them. Their first house was a flat roofed "soddy". The house walls were laid up with sod and the roof was constructed of boards covered over with strips ofsod to keep out the weather. It was blown away in a cyclone only a few months after completion. For several months then Joe and Susie lived in their covered wagon parked near George and Agnes Paintin's house. Susie's father was a builder. When they came to homestead, he built the Garner's new home. Using adobe blocks he constructed a very nice six room two story house. It was stuccoed on the outside, plastered on the inside and had wooden shingles on the roof. The house still stands on the Garner Ranch. One of the sorrows that came in their early homestead days was the loss of their first baby girl a few days after birth in 1914. Medical care was very limited for these early homesteaders and the difficult birth resulted in the baby's death, surgery for Susie in �Denver some months later and resulting poor and ranch management during their stay. health for several years. Joe and Susie began attending a Sunday School in the school house at Solid Center about a mile and a quarter from their home. Several relatives shared their home at different periods during their long years of homemaking also. They were well known for their warm Christian hospitality through the good years and the bad. Joe and Susie left a legacy for their children, a strong example of noble, upright, thrifty living, and a spirit of genero- They soon accepted Christ and became active members in the Church of God congregation which developed from that Sunday School and later moved into town beginning the congregation that now worships in Stratton. Joe was a hard worker, a good stockman, and Susie was an excellent manager and sity in giving. by Mabel Scheierman assisted in many ways as they developed their ranch with Aberdeen Angus Registered cattle. They did farming to supply their own food and feed for their livestock. They sometimes raised extra produce which they sold or took to Stratton to trade for needed commodities. One time during World War I days Joe took a wagon load of sweet water- melons to town and traded it for a one GARNER, WILLIAM JENNINGS F22r My father, Thomas A. Garner was born in England in 1854. Along with my Grand- hundred pound sack of sugar. Joe and Susie were finally blessed with parents, Jernes and Sarah Gatner, the family sailed from Manchester, England and embar- three daughters, Mabel Scheierman and Wanda Sweet, who have both spent their lives as active residents of Kit Carson ked at St. Paul, Minnesota. They took a tree claim in Gove County, Kansas and planted lots of Cottonwood trees. On April 24, 1880, my father married Eunice Patience Silvers Grushus. She was the daughter of Edwin and Lucretia Silvers. To this union nine children were born. James was born in 1880, Maude in 1882, and Joe on November 19, 1885, in Phillips County, Kansas. Agnes was born in Gove County, Lpri|22,1890. Alice was born April 10, 1888, Edith on September 5, 1892, and Thomas on September 6, 1894, all in Norton County, Kansas. I was born September 24, 1896. My appearance was made in a dug out four miles south of Morland, in Graha- County, Kansas. Gladys was born September 17, 1898, in Graham County. County. Norma Borden, a minister's wife has apent her life in various states and twelve years in Kenya East Africa as a missionary with her family. They also had three sons, one who died at birth, Robert who was killed in a car train accident in Littleton, Colorado in December of 1949 at the age of 19. Lyle K. who now owned the family ranch and resides in Stratton. Joe and Susie faced many difficulties as they weathered the dust bowl days and the depressions years. Many years they struggled to pay their taxes and the Federal Land Bank loan. During theee years many of their neighbors gave up the struggle and left the farm to move away to find greener pastures or a different livelihood. Joe and Susie pulled together and worked hard, lived frugally and were able to buy several near by farms to add to the acreage of their ranch. One set back came on the heels of the depression when after a summer storm Joe rode out to check his cattle and found 17 head of his heifers, goon to calve, dead along the fence row, the result of the severe lightning storm the night before. To add to the problem they had dropped the insurance they had carried for years on the cattle, in order to cut expenses to make it through those rough years. In 1950, soon after Bob's death they moved into Stratton where they resided for their remaining years. For several years they commuted to oversee the farm work until the falm was turned over to their son, Lyle. In 1952 another storm brought devastation to their home place when a tornado struck the home site, demolishing every building on the original homestead except the adobe house. Even the large barn with high cement walls and a large haymound was completely destroyed by this storm. Through it all they lived by a strong faith in God, which gave them an anchor that held them steady through the storms of life. Susie was one who was often called in by her neighbors to assist in times of illness or death. Joe faces the trails and tcsts with assurance that their God would see them through. Through the years their home was always open to those who might need a meal or a place to stay for awhile. A number of young men made their home with them for various periods of time and received training in farm My father worked in a flour mill in Morland. There were two places to hang the burlap sacks and two sets ofscales. The sacks offlour weighed fifty pounds and were sewed shut. A byproduct of the wheat milling consisted of bran and a coarse meal called shorts. Sacked separately, the bran was used for milk cow feed and the shorts was mixed up into slop to feed the pigs. Flour was $1.00 for forty eight pounds. I wasn't very old at the time but I remember seeing the sacks on the scales. I went to Dalton Valley school. Mable Bentley and Mrs. Bertha Martin were two of my teachers in Gove County. In Graham County I went to the Shiloh School. I only had a few years of schooling. My best subject in gchool was arithmetic. Brother James died in 1909 at the age of 29 years. After his death our family moved down on his homestead located seven miles east of Jerome in Gove County, Kansas. There was a well on his homestead. The well was caged up with four inch boards which soon rotted out. It would only pump about a barrel of water at a time and the water was poor. We finally dug a cistern and hauled water from a spring two miles away for our house use. Henry Nordman owned 280 acres next to ours which we rented. My father eventually purchased this land in 1907 for $10.00 per acre. I helped him pay for it. We milked a few cows and sold cream in Jerome. We farmed only with horses. Our meat consisted of rabbits and a few prairie chickens. In the spring we picked lambsquarters and raised potatoes and we had plenty of beans. In the winter the neighbors helped each other butcher and cure their yearly supply of pork. The fuel supply consisted mostly of cow chips, corn cobs and a little coal. I can remember when I was twelve years old, I was sick with pneumonia. My father had a doctor come out from Wakeeney. He made two trips out, a distance of about forty miles each time. The Doctor told my Dad that he wouldn't bother to make another trip out cause "he was going to die anyway". My sister Agnes was at home and along with a neighbor lady that knew about doctoring put a poultice on my chest. In a month or so I was able to walk the three miles to school with the other kids. My first trip to Colorado was in 1911 by covered wagon along with brother Joe. He married gsa llampton that so-e year and came out to homest€ad twelve miles north- west of Stratton. When I went back to Kansas, I got on the train at Stratton which took me to Grainfield. I rode with a mail carrier to Gove City and caught another ride to Jerome. then I walked seven miles to home. When I was eighteen, I went to Hays, Kansas to take a physical for the draft in World War I. I didn't pass due to not having enough wind in my lungs to expand. Ray Phelps sold me my first car. It was a 1918 Dodge Touring car for $780.00. It had side curtains, two seats and a small running board. We didn't have to take a drivers exemination at that time. The car had a reverse gear and three forward gears, low, intermediate, and high. We sold horses and mules to pay for it. Horses were good property. I traded two mules for a registered Morgan stallion from George Heineman who lived east of Digton in Lane County. I belonged to the American Percheron Society of America in 1922. They were large fast-trotting draft horses. I bought a mare from H.L. Salmon and O.D. Dun, Fowler, Kansas. In 1925 I bought a registered Percheron mare from C.E. Simonsen of Healey, Kansas. In 1939 we had sleeping sickness in our horses and we lost some. Dr. C.A. Gibson came out and vaccinatpd the herd for $15.50. I made wind breaks from soap weeds. Posts were set two feet apart then wire strung across and the space filled in with soap weeds. The cattle wouldn't eat them and they would last as long as the posts did. At one time or the other all of the Munsell boys worked for me, also Delbert and Wally Johnson. My father passed away on October 20, 1925, at the home of my sister Agnes Paintin. He is buried at Shields, Kansas. Agnes married George Paintin at Hill City, Kansas on October 14, 1908. They went to Colorado by covered wagon in 1912. Alice married Sa-uel Ernest Travis at Morland, Kansas on June 7, 1907. Edith maried Potter Gabler. He passed away several months later. She later married John Mclean of Jerome, Kansas. Gladys married Glenn Parks at Morland. They moved to Stratton, Colorado and later to Oregon. Glayds passed away March 7, L975. My mother moved to Kit Carson County, Colorado, to make her home with brother Tom south of Vona, Colorado, in 1935. She passed away on July 31, 1941, at the age of 86. Ed Grushus, our half brother, took sist€r Maude to Utah and on to Union, Oregon to stay with an Aunt and Uncle Tinkam and go �to school. She married Wallace Lisle of Tacoma, Washington. She passed away March 16, 1966. Thomas manied Irene Burton, August 18, 1941. He departed this life August 28, L962. I stayed on the farm in Gove County, GATTSIIALL, FRANK AND MILLIE F222 Kansas until 1939. I had Devin Conaway, Joe and lvan Paintin to help drive my sixty head of horses out to the farm six miles eouth of Vona, Colorado. I survived the dirt storms and depression by raising mules. I had over "In testimony whereof, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America. have caused these letters to be forty head at one time. I started buying the Joe Collins ranch south and east ofStratton, Colorado in 1940. I kept adding to it until now we have four in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and fourteen, and of the indepen- the other half is farm ground. President Wilson, the east half of S ection 2411-45 became the property of Millie Beatrice Hartzler, Beaverton, Colorado. At the soddie on this homestead near Beaverton, Laveta sections. One half of it is in native grass and I married Emily Niles of Stratton at Kinsley, Kansas, May 15, 1940. We lived on the farm for a few years. It was hard to get help during World War II, so I rented the farm out and we took a trip to Tacoma, Washington to see sister Maude that I had only seen twice. She loved that country and said it was "Gode Country". We bought a forty acre chicken farm across the peninsula at Lake Bay, Washington. We soon discov- hereunto affixed. Given under my hand at the city of Washington, the Sixteenth day of May dence of the United States the one hundred and thirty-eighth. The recorded Patent number 406135." With the signature of Thelma Gattshall was born February 24, 1912, and Wallace Frank Gattshall on June 15, 1913 to Millie and Frank Gattshall. In about 1916 Frank and Millie bought a half section of land six miles north of Flagler, Colorado from a brother of Dr. Neff. It was here that Frank and Millie made their best effort. They hand-milked as many as nineteen good Holstein cows. Their dairy barn was the best option for a derelict school house known as the Huntly School. Since its abandonment because of consolidation for the Flagler School, its only other use had been by a large family of skunks under its floors. The skunks were captured by Lee Nussbaum, an old bachelor who lived about seven miles north of Flagler. Frank made a two row sled planter to plant corn in the fresh plowed sod, which was plowed by Bill Stone with his steam engine and a twelve bottom sod plow. Other machin- ery was customized by Ed Malbaff, a blacksmith in Flagler other ensilage, stored in a pit silo. The ensilage cutter was hand fed and powered with a stationary gas engine, hand cranked, and it ran some times, too. The ensilage was elevated from the silo with a derrick, a rope and pulley, powered by a saddle horse. The ered there was more work with seven hundred old hens and twelve milk cows than back home on the farm. We thought it might be God's Country but God didn't say we all had to gtay in the ssme place, so we moved to Stratton, Colorado, In June 1948. Duane Kindred and I worked together for sevent€en years until I retired. We have four children. Verlin has two children and lives south of Bethune, Colorado. Jennifer Singley has two children and lives at Longmont, Colorado. Willetta Dickey has two children. They live in Lakewood, Colorado. Nilee Ray is the father of one daughter. He and his wife are serving in the Armed Forces in Germany. Our church home has been the Church of God in Stratton. We have traveled quite extensively. When the family was home we took many trips across the country and we still travel. We have taken bus tours, had our feet in the watpr ofthe west coast, crossed by boat at Bar Harbor, Maine and into Canada. We have gone by bus to Seattle, by boat to Fairbanks, Alaska then flew to Nome. We flew to Puerto Rico in 1968 for a week. I have traveled by covered wagon, boats and planes. I have eeen the change from cow chips to microwaveg for cooking. Neighbors were friendly and we helped each other. They rejoiced in one's good fortune and lent a hand Last day of school at Fairview; 28 pupils all grades; Milie Gattshall, teacher. in time of trouble. Time has a way of marching on. I have been blessed with a healthy body. Along with the failures, I'm grateful for the opportunity and freedom to carry out my dren-e and goals. Since retiring to our home in Stratton, we've enjoyed the two one-row listers - and a seven foot made into a two-row lister disc extended to ten feet. The corn crop was made into feed, some of it as dry stover and iirri:.,iiil fellowship and activities with the Senior Citizens groups. I will be 90 years old on September 24, L986. by Mrs. Emily Garner Millie Hartzler Gattshall's homestead at Beaverton in September, 1914. �expression now days is "labor intensive." Millie taught school at Fairview, a school on the Thurman road, perhaps ten or eleven He continued to farm and ranch. Elsie was an excellent geamstrese. She loved to cook and hundred dollars per month for the three years she taught there from 1918 to 1920. In 1923 Flagler in 1954. Hillert was baptized at the age of 32 at the First Baptist Church at Gothenburg. He later entertain friends. They did much traveling and went over-seas once. They moved to miles north of Flagler. She was paid one Millie taught at West Fairhaven, northeast transferred to the First Baptist Church at Flagler, where he and Elsie were members at the time of their deaths. Hillert died July 12, 1968 following a heart attack, just three years on that date after his 1951, '52 and ofFlagler and for three years '53 at Sunny Slope northwest- of Flagler. In L924 Wayne Alfred Gattshall was born at home with Dr. Neff in charge. Laveta and Wallace were sequestered at the Ed Leasburg home just south of the Buffalo Creek on Thurman Road. Somewhere in the interim time, Frank helped build the basement to Flagler Baptist Church. Frank and Millie sold the farm on the Buffalo in 1926 and moved to Washington County north of the Shiloh neighborhood. by Wallace Gattshall GEIKEN, HILLERT JAKE F223 Hillert and Else Geiken bv their new home in Flagler, Co. 1954. Hillert Geiken. They ceme to the Gothenburg, vicinity in 1881-82 residing on a farm in the northeast area in Blaine precinct. Other children were Dick, John, Mary, Lilly, and Anna, two dying in infancy. Hillert attended District 87 (Grandview) school. In 1916, he manied Ruth Margaret Viter. She was born Nov. 2, 1900 at Etna, Nebraska. Ruth's father was, Charlie Viter. Charlie's father was Johan Weiter who came to America from Sweden in 1879. His wife Marie csme with him. Their trip across the North Sea went well. The name "Weit€r" was changed later to Viter. They cnme to Gothenburg and bought land for $6 - $10 an acre. Ruth's mother, Anna Olsen, was born Jan. 1, 1868 in Sweden. She came to America in 1887, and married Charlie Viter in 1887. They lived at Tsllin, Custer Co. Nebraska, and eight children were born, four boys and four girls. Charley Viter died in 1902, leaving her with eeven children, the oldest 14 yrs. ofage. In 1904, she manied Charley Nelson, and to them two daughters were born. Their names were Selma and Ellen. They moved to Gothenburg. Anna died August 22, L947 at Carlotta, California, where she resided 3 yrs. Hillert and Ruth resided on the family farm a few years. Two children were born there, Bernice Rhodna, born July 11, 1917, and Stanley Keith, born April 29, 1919. In the 1920's, the family moved to Holly, Colorado to farm. A daughter, Deloris Iola was born October 15, 1923. Due to the drouth years there, they moved back to Gothenburg and Hillert worked on an irrigated farm. Ruth enjoyed crocheting, piecing quilts and caring for the family, until she became ill, and was Hillert J. Geiken and daughter Mrg. Bernice Maloney and Verda Rose Malony, grandaughter. Picture taken 12 milee north of Seibert. on the Geiken farm by their eod house in 1940. Hillert Jake Geiken Jr., son of Hillert Jacob Geiken and Marie Christine Bunger, was born 16 July, 1897 at the farnily farm in the Grandview area northeast ofGothenburg, Nebraska. Hillert Sr. came to Panola. Illinois from Germany in 1868. He was born in Victorbur, Upper Saxony in Germany January 13, 1857. He was the third son of Dirk and Henrietta Antone Brussner Geiken. He came to America, hoping for a better life there. Maria was born Oct. 1, 1862 in Clayton, Illinois and April 13, 18?9 was manied to hoepitalized. Hillert raised the three children, with the help of relatives. he was always very devoted to them. The ages of the children then were eight, six, and two yrs, Deloris being the youngest, stayed some with an aunt and uncle, Olaf and Esther Pearson. Esther sewed clothing for the children. Deloris stayed later with Henry and Agnes Jenkins for some time. Hillert married Elsie (Swanson) (Sheridan) April 30, 1934. They resided several years at Inghnm, Nebraska, and one yr. at Wellfleet, Nebraska. Elsie was born Oct. 12, 1903 at Atlanta, Nebraska. Her parents were Malcolm and Jennie Swanson of Wellfleet, Nebraska. She had one son, Maurice Wake- field Sheridan. Hillert and Elsie moved to Seibert, Colorado in 1940, on a farm north west of Seibert. brother John died. Elsie died April 19, 1975, after a lingering illness and both are buried in the Flagler Cemetery. Ruth Geiken moved to Portland, Oregon, and on March 15, 1945, she manied Phillip L. Norman. They lived together about two yrs. and Phillip died. She moved to Boise, Idaho and lived there 2t years. She did maid work at hotels and motels, until she retired. She came to Colorado in 1968 to be closer to her children. She lived in Pueblo 8 yrs. She was in the nursing home at Burlington a few months, when she died of a heart attack, March 15,1977. She was buried in the Seibert Cemetery. by Mrs. Bernice Maloney GILLETTE, DR. AND MRS. I.224 Mrs. Viola Gillettc is one of our pioneers who can tell many interesting experiences of the early days here. Her father, the late, Robert G. Campbell cnme here in February, 1887 from Illinois. The family cnme out in March of the snme year. The family consieted of Mr. and Mrs. Cnmpbell, Seward, Violaand a foster son, C.F. Moore. Mr. Canpbell homest€aded about two miles this side of Kanarado. The next year Mrs. Gillette took a preemption about 2 L/z milee northeast of where Kanarado now is locatpd. She had a sod house built and taught school there in her home. She had six pupils and their parents paid her. The county seat was then at Kiowa and she had taught six months before the superinten- dent found it out. Later she took the ex"minations and received a Colorado Certificate. She taught one term northeast oftown in Precinct 1. After the railroad was built, she taught two more terms, in Kansas. Mrs. Gillette said that for the first two or three year they were here there were no social affairs but later there were dances and literaries. They at first did their trading at Haigler, Nebr., or Wallace, Kan. Later the small town of Carlyle was etart€d. Mrs. Gillett€'s father was elected County Clerk and the family moved to Burlington in Jan., 1892. She helped him in the office. She was manied in April, 1892, to the late Dr. C.A. Gillette. They led a happy busy and colorful life. Dr. Gillette for quite a while was the only doctor between Goodland and Colorado Springs. Mrs. Gillette accompanied him on many of his trips. They drove a team hitched to a buggy. He used to take a day to go to Cope and a day to return. Many a time they had been caught in a heavy rain toward evening and as darkness came on they would unhitch the tenn and tie them to the buggy �and sit in the buggy until daylight. Even those who were used to traveling the prairies did not try to drive after dark. The vagt sea of open country had no fenceg or landmarks and it was very easy to become lost. In the years that followed, Dr. and myself took part in an active social and business life in our town. We built the building that was occupied by the Shank's Cafe and Peterson's recreation parlor and other buildings. Dr. Gillette retired several vears before his death in 1937 or 1938. by Mrs. Viola Gillette GODSMAN FAMILY F226 Charlotte J. Godsman Charlotte Godsman was born in Madison County, Iowa July 10, 1869. She cn-e to Colorado in 1888 with her pioneer parents, John and Lucinda Rose, and settled near Hoyt, Colo. She began her teaching career in Iowa when she was eighteen years old. Her first teaching position in Colo. was at Hoyt. In 1889, she manied Dr. Paul Godsman who was a physician, attorney at law, legislator, and judge. They had one child, a son, Sidney Paul Godsman. Her Uncle George lived near a little town called Hoyt, which was about fifty miles across country east by a little north of Hugo, Colo. They had taken claims there and seemed to like it very much. Uncle George had wanted us to go there but Father preferred California at the time. Later, Father sent word to Uncle that we were on our way to settle near him. May 6, 1888, we arrived in Hugo, which was a terrible contrast to Pasadena. Uncle met ue with a lumber wagon and a team ofhorses. The next morning he took us over a long houselese road, dry, sandy, monotonous, to his place a half mile west of Hoyt. Mail, groceries, and supplies of all kinds people; they "corralled" cows, sheep, horses, business, friends, and opportunities; a "dra\p" wag used for a valley, etc. The settlers were good whole-souled people, and very kind to us. They were pleased that I was a teacher and gave me the Hoyt school. The men had a "building bee" to plow the sod and lay the walls for a sod school building. They left openings for the window sashes. The roof was made of pine boards covered with sod. When the windows came, they were fow inches too short, but they were made to "do". The unfilled area was at the top of the windows, and furnished ample ventilation. often when the wind blew (and there was plenty of wind) dust would blow in so much that the air would become thick and foggy with dust. Father's claim, a Preemption, lay a mile north and a little west of uncle's place, and adjoining Mr. Brafford's land on the south. The Brafford's oldest girl, Etta, was a year younger than I and becane my friend. To begin my four-month school, I had to have a "Permit" to teach until the next regular Teacher's Examination in August. At that time, I made a grade of 86 7 /L2 percent and was given a Second Grade Certificate, issued by Bernard, C. Killian, Supt. of the Elbert County Schools. It was so far to Kiowa, the county seat that he sent me the questions by mail. I wrote the answers and mailed them back to him. The past two years in Iowa, I had received First Grade Certificates. The Colo. Examinations were harder or were different enough to give this result. It dashed my pride a bit. Mr. and Mrs. Lee Hutchens kept a general merchandise store in Hoyt. They kept the Post Office also. Etta and I would walk down there after school to await the mail with all the other people waiting for the mail. Father would meet us and take us home. James H. Priest, later a son-in-law of uncle George, having maried Edna Rose, filed on a homestead south of Hoyt, April 1887. He says at that time, Dr. Hoyt's little house was the only building. That summer it grew with several stores, a Post Office, tavern, printing office, lumber yard, dance hall, etc. by Della Hendricks were freighted by wagons from Hugo to Hoyt once a week. How we looked forward to the 'mail day'. Uncle George had a very good sod house for the short time they had been there. There were no floors, but the ground was smooth and hard. Father was delighted with everything. It seemed dreadful to mother and I. I felt discouraged. Father was so happy, whistling, as he built our little one-room house, that mother and I tried not to dampen his spirits by fault finding. The sod houses, while not works of art, were very cool and comfortable in the Bummer and warm in the winter. The deep window seats were excellent for house plants. On the other hand, we were stubbing our toes on the cactus at every st€p, driving the sharp thorns through the shoes leather. Also we had to be on the look out for rattle snakes which were very nnmeroug. There were no amusements for the young people except the country dance. I had been taught that it was wrong to dance and I believed it. To me, it appeared that no one in the west cared for correct English. They talked any old way. Such terme were used: "round-up" for any eort of a gathering of GODSMAN FAMILY r.228 Dr. Paul B. Godsman On July 4, 1888, the Fourth of July Celebration was held in the lumber yard at Seibert, where it was possible to obtain enough seats for the crowd. The oration ofthe day was delivered by a young doctor, Paul B. Godsman, who had come out to Colorado for his health. he had had pneumonia three times the preceding winter. Mr. Maddox the R.R. suryeyor, told him of the dry, beneficial climate of Eastern Colorado and urged the doctor to accompany him westward. Seibert was determined to have a big celebration for the 4th. We all gathered at the home of Mrs. Hutchens to practice singing. That was how I got to meet Dr. Godsman. He would take me and bring me home from practice. A Grand Stand was erected between two buildings, facing west. There were the usual gnmes and races for the occasion, but Dr. Godsman was the most interested in the foot races as his partner Mr. Luane was quite a foot racer and won all the races. Afterwards we ate the fine picnic lunch mother had put up for us. Father, my friend Etta, Mr. Luane, Dr. Paul and myself, (Charlotte Rose) even enjoyed iced lemonade. (A neighbor had put up ice the winter before.). On July 14, a most beautiful moonlight night Dr. told me he loved me and wanted to marry me. I was shocked! Some time after we were married, he said to me one day "Do you realize that you never did say that you would marry me!" I told him that I said "Yes" to the preacher in the wedding ceremony, anyway. That fall was the first General Election in the new county of Kit Carson. Dr.. Godsman was asked to "run" for County Judge, on the Republican ticket, a term of three years. He came to tell me and asked if I would marry right away before the gnmpaign sta*ed. I demurred on the grounds oflack of preparation; he said he was quite willing to risk it, well, I consented! Law, as Doctor expressed it, was his "first love", but Dr. Allen, his step-father, encouraged him to take medicine instead by telling Paul that he would help him financially, if he would go to Medical School. Therefore, he went to Medical School at St. Joe, Missouri for one year. Dr. Allen then persuaded Paul to go to a larger city where he could be brought in contact with many different kinds of cases and diseases; accordingly, he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he graduated from the Ohio State Medical College, in the Spring of 1884. He won the Gold Medal of Physiological Prize. I was proud of my husband to be, being a doctor, but if he preferred to be a lawyer, that was his affair, and it was all right with me. We were married Wednesday, September 4, 1889, Rev. H. Meade of the Congregational Church of Seibert, officiating. Some months previous Doctor had taken a "Tree Claim" two and one-ha]f miles west of Seibert. He had had a cozy little sod house erected on it. We lived here a short time but Dr. seeing he would have to be away a lot decided to build a small room onto his office and we moved in there. Well, in the November election, 1889, Burlington won the eounty seat, and Doctor Godsman was elected as the County Judge. We moved to Burlington so that Paul might be closer to his work. (In 1903, the Godsman'g moved to Denver and in 1904 Charlotte began her 35 year teaching career. She retired in 1939. Godsman Elementary School in Denver was named for Charlotte Godsman.) by Charlotte Godsman GOEBEL - CHANDLER FAMILY I.227 My father, Henry E. Goebel, was a well known early day Kit Carson County, Colo. rancher and farmer. He was born January 21, 1874 at Rodinghausen, Westphalia, Germany. He came to the United States with his father, three brothers and two sisters. Their �on a Saturday night in the homes. Dad played the violin, others who played the violin were, Johnny Jacober and Walter Korthas. We children can remember many happy times, when neighbors came in on a Sunday for dinner and visiting, neighbors getting together for Sunday picnics, we would go to the Republican River where there were many large trees and water to go wading. Many family reunions were held. Aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins living in the area Henry Goebel and Mary J. Chandler Goebel wedding picture, May 29, 1901. mother, Carolina Louisa Carlotta Schreve Goebel passed away May 16th, 1885. Later that snme year Grandfather and his five children came to America. They first settled near Claytonia, Nebraska. In 1891 at the age of sixteen he anived in Kit Carson County with his parent's. The parents soon returned to Nebraska. Father had staded to work for a Mr. Ed. McCrillis on the ranch that is now known as the Spring Valley Ranch, so he stayed with the job. The ranch is located along the Landsman Creek. At that time, there were springs and large water holes up and down the valley and natural hay meadows. Father was foreman at the ranch until 1916. He moved his family back to their homestead, located twelve miles north and three west of Burlington along the Landsman Creek. My Mother, Mary Josephine Chandler was born February 23, 1882 at Shelbyville, Illinois, and arrived in Colorado in the spring of 1888 with her parents, three brothers, Frank, made up quite a large group. Mother worked very hard raising her large family, what with no conveniences compared to what we have now. She always raised a big vegetable garden, did a lot of sewing for us girls, a lot of cooking and baking and always got us off to school on time. We, too, can remember some very hard times we endured. Dad worked very hard. After World War No. I, and the depression, cattle prices dropped and Dad was nearly wiped out. But he had faith in the country and did see better times. Mother passed away July 18th, 1941. Father continued to live on the ranch until 1951 when he sold the place and moved into Burlington. He spent the last two years of his life living at Ebenezer home in Brush, Colo. He passed away September 19th, 1955. Both he and mother were of the Lutheran Faith, internment at Fairview Cemetery, Burlington, Colorado. by Ruth Bauder GOODRICH, ROBERT AND ORPIIA four miles west and ten miles north of Burlington. May 29, 1901 my parents were married here in Burlington by Reverend C.L. Yersin, Minister of the Christian Church. The young Goebels proved up on their homestead while he worked for Mr. McCrillis. They later moved to the ranch to be nearer his work as he had been promoted to foreman, a job he held until 1916. He moved his family back to the homestead and started farming and raising cattle. He also bought cattle and hogs for a commission company out of Denver. Thirteen children were born in this family, two died in infancy. Their girls, Mable Alice Rathbun, Mildred Ellen Stump, Ethel Mae Jacober, Ruth Irene Bauder, Helen Marie Martens, Elva Louise Warner, Edith Eliz- abeth Thompson, Frances Henrietta Brenner; the boys, Henry 8., Keith Ernest, and Dale Dwain. Those still living are: Ruth Irene Bauder, Frances Brenner and Keith Ernest. The first school in our area was organized May 16, 1889 and was known as School District No. 3. The first school house was built of sod. The first teacher was Mrs. Helen Slusser. School warrant No. 1 was drawn October l2th, 1889 for $20.00 for the first month teaching. Our parents always took an active part in all school activities, such as school programs, literary progrnms, last day of school picnics. Father was a member of the school board for many years. Square dancing was another activity in the neighborhood. These were held Nears , a position she held for nearly 35 years. We had many good neighbors in our moves. We had Ed Malbaff, Art Schiedeggars, and Harold Means. Later neighbors have been Esther Malbaff, Mildred Funkhouser, Merl Saffers, Ed Conartys, Bennie Hughes, John Herzogs and Kenneth Beattys in Flagler. While living in the country in our early married life, Bob and his father played for country dances, hauling our organ to homes for Bob to accompany his father who played the violin. Bob also played with the Hell Creek baseball team. Our three boys attcnded all 12 years of schooling in Flagler school. Lloyd attended junior college at La Junta. Harold received his masters degree from Adams State College in Alemosa, having attended all his college years there, Our son Gerald served with the Signal Corps in Pusan, Korea, and Lloyd served as an Engineer Supply Specialist in Japan in the Korean War. While living in Flagler we enjoyed the many school activities with our boys. We also enjoyed the 100F and Crystal Rebekah Lodges. Our family were members of the Baptist Church in Flagler and took part in the many activities. My husband, Robert, died in September, 1970, and I still reside in the snme home we made together in 1942. Gerald is presently a printer in Boulder, Colorado. Lloyd is with the Soil Conservation District and works as an Engineer out of Limon. Harold is a teacher in the Middle School at Burlington. F228 Grover and Charles. Her parents were, Hendrick Virgineus Chandler and Elizabeth Ellen Yarnell. Their homestead was located for four years in the country school, helping fill in during the teacher shortage. Then she clerked in some of the Flagler stores. Final$ she went to work part time for the Flagler Robert Goodrich and Orpha Jensen were married in Burlington, Colorado, November L2, L925. Our parents were Enos and Lillie Goodrich and Thomas and Emma Jensen. Our children were Dolores Maxine (deceased), Gerald Dean, Robert Lloyd and Harold We have 5 grandchildren and three great grandsons. Grandchildren are Kevin and Lindon Goodrich, Tami Goodrich Witt, Russell Goodrich and Holly Goodrich of Littleton, Colorado. Great grandchildren are Brian, Christopher and David Witt. by Orpha Goodrich Lee. We had come with our parents from Kansas, Robert from Phillipsburg and Orpha from Kanona around the year of 1910. I attended grade school at Pleasant Valley, District No. 40, and high school at Shiloh and Flagler High School, graduating with the class of 1925. Robert attended a country school one half mile south of their farm. After our marriage we made our home on his father's farm about 14 miles north and 2 east of Seibert. Later we moved to his step mother's farm a few miles from there. Robert farmed several years, but during the dirty "30's" there were no crops or feed raised, so we moved to Bird City, Kansas, where Robert shucked corn and worked in a potato cellar. From there we moved to Strasburg, Colorado, and worked for a farmer and later tried farming again. Our children were all born while we lived in the Strasburg area except Harold who was born in Flagler in 1941 after Pearl Harbor. while in Byers we lost our daughter with dust pneunonia. In 1935 we moved north of Seibert and worked for a rancher, later moving into Flagler where Bob started working for Kit Carson County, retiring in 1965. Then he worked for the town of Flagler taking care of the city park. After returning to Flagler, Orpha taught GORTON - HANEY FAMILY E22S Fosha Sheldon Gorton was born December 2. 1890 to Frank Sheldon Gorton and Frances Adele (Taylor) Gorton at Plattsmouth, Nebraska. Elfie Mae Haney was born October 27, 1893 to Lewis M. Haney and Mary Susannah (Lundy) Haney. Fosha and Elfie were married March 17, 1913 at Dunbar, Nebraska by Rev. E.W. Love. They were blessed with three sons, the oldest died at birth, Fosha Sheldon, Jr., and Ralph Francis. Fosha and Elfie both received their education in Nebraska. After their marriage, Fosha worked for Ed West in a garage as a mechanic in Dunbar. In 1919 they came to Colorado to farm for Ed West, northwest of Vona, using a Rumley tractor. In 1920 they moved north of Seibert, then went back to Nebraska for the winter, coming back to Colo. in March 1921, to northwest of Vona, where he continued working for Ed. Some of the winter months he spent working for Cec Reed in Burlington, and for Pat Chew in Seibert as �Elfie oftcn would tell about loading the boys into the old Model T and heading to Vona for groceries or the basketball ga'nsg. Of cooking and preparing meals for their hired men, and how after moving to Seibert, of the many baeketbail players that spent much time in their home before the gnmss, and of the special food the coach wanted them to have before their games. EUie attended and graduated from Dunbar, Nebraska High School in 1910. She taught school for a while in Nebraska. At the age of 13 she joined the Presbyterian Church in Dunbar; in 1925 she transferred her membership to the Baptist Chuch in Vona and Fosha and Fosha Jr. joined at that time. Mr. and Mrs. Fosha S. Gorton Sr. and their first grandchild, Dee Ann Gorton, May 13, 1945 a mechanic. In 1930 they purchased a hardware business in Seibert, Co. located in the building where the grocery store is now on the east side of the street, later moving across the street in the north side of the Blake Building, and in 1934 they purchased the C.C. Gates Building on the west side of Main Street and Ralph joined in 1926. All transferred their membership to the Evangelical United Brethern Church at Seibert in 1952, and it later became the United Methodist Church when the Methodist and E.U.B. merged. All remained members there until their deaths. Fosha was an avid fisherman and hunter of all game. He spent many elk and deer hunting trips in the mountains with one of the boys or Elfie along. Fosha Jr. worked for Herb Shults and Harley Greenlee who operated the Conoco Service Station on Highway 24 in Seibert, and in 1953 Fosha took over the station on his own and Ralph worked for him. In 1937 when Fosha started carryingmail on the rural routes, Ralph operated the Conoco station for sometime. F osha served in the Air Force during WWII. He married Marjorie May Miller, a teacher at Seibert, on April L2,t94L at Powell, Wyo. Ralph substituted as mail carrier from 1943 to Oct. 1980. He married Twila Murphy December 19, 1943 at the Murphy family home south of Seibert. by Twila Gorton operated the hardware store there until Ralph closed it in 1971. In 1955 Fosha decided to retire and his son Ralph and wife Twila purchased the store, and operated it until its closing in 1971. Gorton Hardware was known as having the largest stock of Intprnational Hawester parts for over a hundred mile area. Fosha Sr. was active in Community activities as was Elfie and the boys. Fosha was a Past Master of Kit Carson Lodge L27 AF&AM, a Past Patron of Flagler Order of Eastern Star #113, a member of Rocky Mountain Consistory #2, El Jebel Shrine, and Independent Order of Odd Fellows, GORTON, RALPH AND TWILA MURPHY F230 Ralph Francis Gorton was born Nov. 5, 1918 to Fosha Sheldon Gorton and Elfie Mae (Haney) Gorton in Dunbar, Nebraska. He was the youngest of three sons, a brother older died at birth, and Fosha Sheldon Jr. being the other. Some of his early years were Seibert Lodge #37. He was also past President and Charter member of the Lions Club spent in Nebraska, Oregon and Colorado. Most of his education was gotten at Vona, Seibert and Barnes Business School in of Seibert, active church member, past school Denver. board membel, town Council member, and Mayor. Elfie was also very active in Eastern Star of Flagler, VFW, Ladies Aux. to post #6492 (John Maurice Wrenn), church Organist and pianist for m€my years until her health failed her. Elfie was also a member of the Lotus Rebecca Lodge #37. Elfie lived alone in the home in Seibert after Fosha's death while on a fishing trip at Perham, Minnesota, in July 1955, that took his life. When Elfie broke her Wrist in 1977, and being in poor health, she sold her home in Seibert and made her home with her son Ralph and wife Twila. In December 1980 she went to Prairie View Nursing home in Limon where she resided until her death on April 24,1985 at the age of 9172 years. December 19, 1943 he married Twila Arleene Murphy, who was born Dec. 28,L923 to Coleman Elmer Murphy and Mattie Bell (Wilmoth) Murphy, on their homestead home south of Seibert. Twila attended all her school years at Rock Cliff and Seibert High School, graduating 1941. Twila had 4 sisters and 5 brothers. Five children were born to this union: Dee Ann, Ralph Francis, Jeanette Kay, Randy Bob and Shari Lynn. The first year of our marriage we operated a grocery store for Ralph's mother, which she later sold to Clint and Hazel Wilhite. Ralph then went to the hardware store to help his father. We both helped there, and in 1955, his father decided to retire and Ralph purchased the business. We operated it until 1971, when Wedding picture of Twila Murphy and Ralph Gorton Sr. on December 19, 1943, at the Coleman Murphy home south of Seibert. we sold much of the stock to other businesses in the area, and closed the doors. The children had helped in the store. Ralph and Twila were both active in church as they and all the children were members in the E.U.B. and later United Methodist Church. Ralph and Twila were also active with the Community Ambulance Service from its origin. Ralph was a charter member of Lions club, Volunteer Fire Dept., Gun Club, Past Master of Kit Carson Lodge 127 F.M.&A.M., Church Choir, very active in all school sports and activities. Ralph had just been honored at the athletic banquet on May 10th, for 39 years faithful never faltering service of all athletic activities, and on May 17, 1983 died of a heart attack, just one week later. Dee Ann married Donald L. Felker and they have two daughters, Lee Ann and Lori Ann. Lee married Kevin Wicks Aug. 17, 1985 and have a boy, Derek Edward, born July 29, 1987. Ralph Francis Jr. married Donna Diane Pizel and have one son, Randy Michael. Jeanette Kay manied Larry Leonard Kemp, and has three children: Yolanda Kay, Shauna Lynn, and Jason Anthony. Randy Bob married Charlene Rose Wigton, they have two sons, Rodney Francis and Bryan Dean. Shari Lynn married Curtis Earl Graham and has two sons: Brad Curtis and Jeffrey Josh. Twila still lives in the family home in Seibert. All our children got their education in the Seibert school, graduating from Seibert High School, the latter two graduating from HighPlains High School, after the consolidation of Vona-Seibert, at Seibert. Dee attended Barnes Business School, later worked at the Credit Bureau in Colorado Springs, and currently for J.C. Penneys. Ralph Jr. graduated from C.S.U., worked for �Cecil Boren on the farm, and Doug Becker on GRAMM - STUTZ the farm, served in the U.S. Army and Vietnam 1969-1971, then worked in construction business until a methane gas explosion in a tunnel in 1977 and was severely burned. He resides in Aurora, Colo. Jeanette helped in the hardware business, worked at Stuckey's at Seibert until her marriage, and is now employed in the Harrison School District in Colorado Springs. Randy Bob got his beginning as a farmer at an early age working for Richard O'Niell, and is now a farmer and dairy operator southwest of Stratton. Shari worked in Colorado Springs for Western Temporary Servicee for a short before returning to Seibert. She then worked for Herman Construction before and after her marriage to Curt on December 9, 1979. They now reside in Stratton, Co. Our home was richly blessed with extra FAMILY I.232 and kept that interest all his life. On November 10, 1916, Gottlieb was united in maniage to Lydia Stutz of Bethune, CO. They lived on Gottliebs homestead on a one room shack for about four months. Later they moved to the John Weiss place where they made their home for over 60 years and raised their family. This is where their son Lawrence now lives. To this union 3 sons and 2 daughters were born: Loyd, Lawrence, Edmund, Elma (Mrs. Ted Schaal) and Esther (Mrs. Mervin Corliss). children through the years our children were Gottlieb and Lydia Gramm, taken 1958 at their weekends and holidays. We loved every minute of it. It was such a pleasure when summer or other vacation time ceme and the Grandchildren could all come to spend the s\rmmers with us. And later can bring their Christ and Christina (Strobel) Gramm, their 3 children, Jake, Gottlieb, and Elizabeth, and other relatives came to America from Russia in 1899. They were on the ship for 21 days. This was quite a trip for the friends with them now. Ralph had spent 10 years on the town smaller children, especially for Gottlieb who was 7 years old at the time. His uncles likes to tease him a lot, so one day Gottlieb got tired of all the teasing and decided to hide. He hid, and got lost, and it was quite some time before they found him sitting on the outside steps of the ship. They settled north of Bethune, CO in the Tuttle community along the Republican River. Christ worked for Harry Cox for many growing, many of them from their school years and college friends who came on council, and was serving a second term as the mayor of Seibert at the time of his death. by Twila Gorton GRAMM - ADOLF FAMILY F231 John Grnmm and Frieda Adolf were married February 2t, L929 at the Hope United Church of Christ north of Bethune. They were one of the first couples to be married there. They both were born and raised in the settlement area where they helped John's parents and brothers farm. They moved to different places where they could find work. John worked for the WPA for several years. In 1943, the house burned down, which was north of Burlington. it was known as the Davis place. After the house burned down, the family lived with different families until they could find a place to live. In 1952, John, Frieda and their three children, Richard, Raymond, and Gladys, moved to Burlington, Colorado where they were both employed. John worked for the Kit Carson County Court House as a janitor for 29 years. He worked there until his death. John passed away on October 12, 1985. He is buried at the Hope United Church of Christ cemetery. Frieda is living in Burlington. by Cheryl Beeson he got out of the loop and had to walk home for many miles. His shirt was all torn to pieces and he lost one boot and had several bumps and bruises. Later he took up a homestead of his own and started his farm and cattle operation. His main occupation was taking care of his cattle home. years. This is where Pauline (Mrs. Emil Schaal), William, and Chris were born. Later the farnily moved to the Settlement Community and took up a homestead and built their own home in 1906. They lived in a one room shack with the older boys sleeping in a grainery while they built their house. All the neighbors helped put up the adobe walls and shingle it. This is when John, the youngest, was born before the house was finished. This is where a grandson, Edmund Gramm and his wife Esther are living today and a greatgrandson, Fred, built a new house on the sa-e place and is living there with his family now. Gottlieb was born on October 5, 1891 in Ungeen, Russia. He and his brother Jake attended the Tuttle School. After several years of school, he started to work on the Cox Ranch at a very young age. Later he worked on the J. Pugh Ranch. The Pugh Ranch is now owned by Tom Price. While he worked on the J. Pugh Ranch, he earned $17.50 a month and later $25.00. He remembered several incidents that happened while he worked there. Once, he and another boy were cleaning out a stall in the barn where the stallion was kept. The stallion grabbed Gottlieb by the arm and threw him in the corner. The other boy took the pitch fork after the stallion saving Gottlieb's life although the horse had bit all the muscles in his arm above the elbow. Another time he was by himself and went into the corral to catch a horse. He got the rope around the horse's neck and the horse took off and went through the gate. While he was trying to stop the horse he stepped into the loop, so the horse drug him around all over the pasture. An this time he was trying to stop the horse or get out of the loop. Finally Lydia was born October 23, 1893 to Fredrich and Maria (Baltzer) Stutz in the Settlement north of Bethune, CO on the Andrew Bauer place. Her sister Minnie (Mrs. Karl Hammelmann), was born here. Her parents came from Blotche, Russia with 3 children, Magdalene (Mrs. John Dobler, Fredrich, and Maria (Mrs. Issaih Stahlecker), and landed in Scotland, South Dakota. This is where daughter Ida (Mrs. Jake Knodel) was born. They and some families co-e by covered wagon to Colorado and settled on the prairies near relatives that had come from Russia earlier. Here they lived in a one room dug out with their children. This is where Emma (Mrs. Jake Gra-m) was born. They had no table or chairs and hardly any dishes. Grandpa Dobler gave them a fork and knife and made a bench for a table. They ate mostly corn bread since they had very little to eat. When it rained the water would run in the dug out. They had to keep the few things they had up high to keep them dry. Fredrich spent most of his time away working to earn money to buy food. They planted a garden to help, but had no fence around it. One good neighbor had given them 2 hens and a rooster which kept getting into the garden to scratch. Maria finally tied up the rooster and the hens stayed out most of the time. They had one milk cow which got bit by a rattlesnake and died so there waa no milk for the ehildren. Maria and the children were alone most of the time. On Monday mornings Fredrich would walk to work and Saturday evenings walk back home. This walk was 10 or 12 miles one way. He was working for the J. Pugh Ranch and got 25 cents a day. This amount was slightly increased over the years. Things went on like this for several years and they could hardly make a living. Maria finally wrote to relatives in Scotland, S.D. for help. They sent $50.00 and told them to leave Colorado and come to Dakotato live and they would help them. In the spring they sold their land and oxen and bought some horses and made a covered wagon. They loaded their belongings and staded on their journey with 8 other families and covered wagons. It took about 3 weeks to get to Scotland. Maria had baked a lot of bread. She toasted it and dried it and put it into flour sacks to keep it from getting moldy. The family hoped to have enough bread to last till they reached their destination. They ran out of bread so they had to stop and build an oven and bake. Other families also had a hard time financially during the dry years in Colorado �and had decided to give up and try their luck in a new location. Lydia was 5 years old at this time. They had lived in Scotland for several years and got a good start there and were doing fine when her father Fredrich got sore eyes. The doctor told him to move back to Colorado or else he L at Burlington, Colorado. From Jan 1, 1917 to Jan 1, 1923 she served as County Superin- tendent of Schools for Kit Carson County. After 44 years of teaching and 6 yrs. as County Superintendent she retired in the spring of 1948 at the age of 70 years. At that time she cared for her ailing husband Joe. She married Joseph Festler Gray of Burlington on Aug. 30, 1917. They met when he was County Commissioner and she wag would go blind. The water there didn't agree with him. They loaded their belongings again and returned to Colorado. Reports from people in Superintendent of Schools. His son Claude Colorado were much better now, so they weren't afraid of coming back. So they and two other familiee startcd their return trip in September, 1898. Lydia's youngest brother, was a young boy when they married. Claude graduated from Burlington High School in L922. Af,ter L922 they moved back to Seibert and she taught there until she received a contract Bill, was only 3 weeks old when they started on the journey. Now there were 7 children in the family. Lydia's oldest brother Fredrich and sister Magdalena had to walk several days and drive cattle. A man wanted her father to take some cattle to Colorado and to teach the 6th grade in the Burlington School District. That first year she finished part of the school year and lived with Jack and Vera Magee. Joe died in 1950 and her brother Frank csme to live with her in 1950. Jessie passed away on April 3, 1960 of heart failure. Nancy Hissem, a niece, and her 2 sons came to Burlington to live and care for Frank. care for them on shares. When they reached the railroad the cattle were loaded and shipped the rest of the way. Magdalena went with the family on the covered wagon but her brother Fredrich had to ride the train to take care and watch the cattle. She taught in the Burlington school system for several years before moving to Castle When they arrived in Colorado, they settled again in the Settlement Community, but they had no place to live. They went to her uncle's place and lived in a one room house till the next spring. Some men dug a well along the Landsman Creek where the families went to get their water. They hauled the water with 2 oxen and a sled with 2 barrels. During this time they built a 2 room sod house on the homestead her father had taken. This was built on the place where the Milbert Berringer family now live. Martha (Mrs. William Schlichenmayer) and Nettie (who died at the age of 17) were born here. Fredrich still worked away from home part time but things came easier for them. Later the parents moved to Bethune where Karl Weisshaar lives. Lydia remembered that when she was 8 years old her parents took her and her sister Emma to town to get some shoes. They found a bargain table and some mismated shoes for 25 cents a pair. The girls each got new shoes. Lydia said she would never forget hers as one had a pointed toe and the other had a rounded toe. All that mattered was that they had shoes they could wear. Gottlieb and Lydia had hard times while they were raising their family. One thing that keptthem going wastheir faith in God to help them in their trials. Their church, The United Church of Christ. north of Bethune meant a lot to them. There they attended worship regularly. They celebrated their 50th and 60th Wedding Anniversaries. Their final resting place is in the church cemetery. by Esther Corliss GRAY, JESSTE C.M. F233 Jessie, daughter of Nancy Mitchell Jacob Magee and Coleman Lauck Magee was born April 23, 1878 in Cherry Hill, West Virginia. She graduated from High School in 1895 at Cleveland, Tennessee and staded her teaching career in Gainesville, Georgia in 1896. She taught in Georgia for two terms. One school was at Graysville as an assistant in a school Jessie Catherine Magee Gray. 6th grade teacher in the Burlington Public School. of 60 pupils in a one room building in 189798. The school year of 1898-99 she taught a rural school near Tunnell Hill, Georgia and received $27.00 per month. Board and room for a month was $9.00, this included washing. The school was located on the top of a ridge in the forest. Water was carried from a near by spring. The boys cut wood to burn and hunted the forest for pine knots for kindling. The desks were home made. The black board was just painted boards behind the teacher's desk which stood on a raised platform. She boarded with a family having six children. "All of us walked a little over a mile to school, always going together. Some of the children had no shoes so they came to school over the frost covered ground in their bare feet. Their meals were very simple. Very little light bread was used. Corn bread and biscuits were used through the week and salt rising bread was a treat on Sundays. A great deal of pork was used. Sorghum took the place of jelly. Sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, and beans were staples. During the summer large gardens were planted so fresh vegetables were used then. These people, though poor, seemed to get a great deal of pleasure out of life." From Georgia, in 1899, Jessie returned to her home in Cleveland, Tennessee and in a few months left for Ida Grove, Iowa where teachers salaries were $40.00 per month. While in Iowa she taught in four different rural schools. They were just two miles apart and the other near the old home in Silver Creek, Iowa. From there she went to Drake Univ. from January to September. Again in September, she took up teaching at Laurens, Iowa. After teaching there one year she was given a contract to one of the grade rooms in Ida Grove, Iowa. She taught there until coming to Colorado where she began her school work in 1911-12 in the town of Seibert. Colorado. The winter of 1911-12 was a stormy one with 16" ofsnow on the level prairie. She taught at Tinsley school that first winter. From then on her teaching in Colorado was confined to Dist.37 and Consolidated District Rock, Colo. Frank died on March 7, 1963. Both Frank and Jessie are buried in Ida Grove, Iowa. by Barbara Butterfield and Marilyn Hasart GRAY, JOSEPH F. F23'4 Joseph Festler Gray was born on October 15, 1863 in Lucas County, Iowa where he grew to manhood. On August 6, 1884 he married Sarah Emma Conrad with whom he moved to Missouri 14 years later, for a brief time, only to return to Iowa in 1899. Three years later, in the summer of 1902, Joe and Sarah came to Colorado with their children, Ora, Harry, May and Fred. Joe homesteaded south east of Seibert. These days of adventure and hard work will always remain in our minds. In 1904 Claude was born. Sarah died on May 7, 1915. An infant son, Jimmie, died while they were in Missouri. Joe Gray was elected County Commissioner in 1908 and served one term ending in 1912. He liked and was active in politics. He met Jessie Catherine Magee while she was serving as County Superintendent of Schools and they were married on August 30, 1917. They lived in Burlington where Joe ran a pool hall. They moved back to Seibert for a few years and he also operated and owned a pool hall in Golden, Colorado from 1929-31. In 1936 Jessie started teaching the 6th grade in Burlington and they moved back to his home there. Joe was a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge. On May 23, 1950 Joe passed away after a long illness. He is buried in Chariton, Iowa. by Marlyn Hasart �e*a& Harry and Marie Greenwood, year 1923. Joe Gray in his pool hall in Golden, Colorado. 1929-31. GREENLEE, H. C. F235 My father, Harley C. Greenlee, came to Kansas from northwest Missouri in a covered wagon in the late 1890's, with his father. His father died when H.C. was twelve years old, so H.C. worked on farms, livery stable, milk routes until he learned to barber. I think before he was nineteen he went back to Missouri, and not too much later married my mother, Leila Shopbell. I had one brother that died when he was five, and at that time I was two. My mother passed away and I lived with my grandparents until I was five, when my father remarried and came for me. We then moved to Denver in 1918. My father came to Seibert in 1920 looking for a location to buy a barber shop. I had gone to five schools in the first grade, so he had been looking. He arrived in Seibert with Rose, my stepmother, and me. He bought the barber shop in Seibert As I wasn't setting the world on fire, I thought I would give it a try. At that time, it was about impossible to sell or rent a farm. He had bought the old Puncheon place (80 acres) to go with his 320 acres. We rented a school section one mile south for 10 cents an acre and added on to the place by buying land from the Federal Land Bank at $1.25 per acre, ending up with 1,920 acres, which wasn't saleable until 1944 when we sold it to Claude Rivers, and I moved north of Seibert. Before the Second World War, the Federal Land Bank was selling land for 91.25 an acre which about set the price, so five percent commission on $1.25 land didn't add up too fast. During and after the war in the 1940's, land worked up to $25.00 per acre, the highest price my dad ever sold land for until he retired. I wish I knew how many thousands ofacres he sold or traded for people; it was a lot; he was quite a salesman and trader. by Harley L. Greenlee which he ran for a while before building a place across the street that at first housed us, the barber shop and the local newspaper, ?he Seibert Settler. in the basement. A few years later, he added a second story and built onto the back. He then had a hotel and restaurant to go with the barber shop. Around 1923, he got into the land business by trading a 1923 Chewolet to Jay Jeffries for 320 acres of land seven miles southeast of Seibert. By 1928, he had been selling insurance along with barbering, so he needed help in the barber shop. He was able to hire different barbers, but after they tired of shooting prairie chickens and jackrabbits, they would quit as they were out of entertainment. At that time, in August of 1928, I was loafing in the shop and my dad asked me how I would like to be a barber. I told him, "No way!" and he told me to get up and shave this man's neck (Roy Ingrem). So that started my barber career after school, Saturdays and summers after I learned the trade. In 1935, when Juanita and I were maried, me how I would like to be a farmer. :r-*a Harry Howard Greenwood was born Aug. GREENWOOD, HARRY FAMILY F236 4, 1899, at Franklin, Nebr., the eldest son of Theodore and Laura Greenwood. The family moved to Smith Center, Kansas, then immi- grated to Stratton, Colo. in March, 1907, where they homesteaded eleven miles south of town. Marie Elizabeth Chandler was born Nov. 11, 1901, near Wagner, South Dakota, the eldest daughter of Charles and Meta Chandler. They lived for a time in Chicago, Ill., then moved to Pleasant Hill, Mo. In March, 1909, they immigrated to Stratton, Colo., settling on a homestead, seven and one-half miles northwest of town. Harry and Marie became acquainted while Marie was teaching the L922-23 term of school at First Central, located on the correction line, southeast of Stratton. Marie boarded with a family by the name of Mel and Gladys Wall, who lived nearby. On Feb. 14, L923, a neighbor family living a mile east, gave a Valentine party, to which we were all invited. Marie walked with Gladys and Mel the mile to the party, while they pushed their baby in the baby buggy ahead of them. Harry was there, coming in his new, shiny, black Model T Roadster. We played games, calds, and had refreshments. When the party was over, Harry very graciously offered to let Marie drive his car to take Gladys and her baby home, while he and Mel walked behind with the empty buggy. A short time later, he loaned the car to his kid brother, Russell, who attended high school at First Central, to take the schoolma'am and two or three of his classmates to a home off south, where the family owned a miraculous new invention, a box, not connec- w 4q *J t The Greenwood children, L, to R. - Allen, Laura and Thelma at home south of Stratton. ted to any telephone or telegraph wires, but equipped to catch sounds over gound waves for long distances. We spent the evening taking turns wearing head-phones, listening to music, stories, and news over that incredible new device, a radio. Harry and Marie were married on May 2, 1923, at the Church of God in Stratton. They lived with Harry's family for almost two years, while they bought a quarter section of land, thirteen miles south and one mile west of Stratton, on which they built a 2-room house, barn, and adobe chicken-house. Marie �taught the Jewell School east of Burlington, and then the Oriska School, four miles southwest of their new home. The furniture in the home was all second-hand and very simple, - bed, dresser, table, chairs, cup- board, creem separator, and a small kitchen stove about thirty inches high, four lids on top, and a tiny oven, that, when heated with a few corn cobs, would bake delicious goldencolored biscuits. About 1928 or 1929, they built an addition to the house, - one large room, porch, and cement walled basement. Harry and Marie reared three children, Laura Ruth, born Nov. 13, 1925; Thelma Grace, born Dec. 25, 1927; and Allen Theodore, born Jan. 5, 1931. They all attended the Smelker School, one mile west. Some of their teachers were Esther Davis Beattie, Stratton; Violet Campbell Ban, Stratton; Rose Henry, Denver; Elsie Huebner, Denver; OraCruikshank, Seibert; and Jennie L. Tressel. Miss Tressel was an early Kit Carson pioneer and was prominent in educational circles. She was County Superintendent of Schools when Marie graduated from the eighth gxade in 1913, and would drive a horse and buggy to visit the many country schools all over the county. She was Principal of several town schools, and was teaching the Smelker School when Thelma graduated from the eighth grade in 1941. One of Harry's hobbies was raising differ- ent kinds of animals and we had a great variety on the farm, - horses, mules, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, including bantams, ducks, geese, turkeys, guineas, rabbits, dogs and cats. The children made pets of many of them, including a baby pig that became a terrible nuisance, as it grew older. There were dogs and cats that they cuddled and taught tricks. Then there was Queenie, the tricky Shetland pony, who had a mind of her own. One evening, when Laura rode her out to the pasture to bring in the cattle, she very docilely rounded up and followed the cattle in, until she got a short distance from the corral, when she suddenly decided that she had done enough. She started bucking and capering, easily dislodging her rider, then galloped around the cattle and took for the barn. Laura's mother went out, brushed her off and soothed a very perturbed little girl. Then there was the riding horse that Thelma used to bring the cattle herd in from the open range. She would ride like a fly and could cut a stray steer out of another herd by "giving the horse the rein". One afternoon, she decided to reward her mount by giving him a drink at a nearby lagoon, but he decided that he not only needed a drink, but also a roll in the cool water. This time, when Thelma got home, her Mother soothed and put dry clothes on a disgusted little girl. Also, there was the old gander with his gaggle of geese, who got his bluff in on the girls by chasing them whenever he could catch them out of the yard. One day, when their Mother asked them to go to the wellhouse to get some butter that we kept cool in the drinking barrel, they were very reluctant until 4 yr.-old Allen, assured them, brave little man that he was, that he would go along and protect them from the gander. Sure enough, the gander spied them, came running, screeching and flapping his big wings. He ignored Allen, knocking him down and tramping over him, as the girls fled to the shelt€r of the well house, Mother went out with a stick, and chased the gander off, who with a triumphal honking, returned to his harem. That time Mother cleaned the dirt off her little boy, who had only his pride hurt. I think their favorite pet was Diamond, the spotted riding pony. Some days, they rode him to school and in the evening, neighbor children, as many as could, would climb on, to catch a ride home, often four or five deep. The more a-straddle, the more carefully Diamsp6 would walk. Then Diamond contracted encephalitis and lay in the barn for several days. The children went out and talked to him while they bathed his feverish head with cold water, but to no avail. For entertainment in the country, we had many neighborhood parties. We attended school programs, Get-Togethers, and Literaries at the school house, Sunday School at Smokey Angle, went to barn dances, or had a Sunday Potluck Dinner, with a baseball game in the afternoon. The school districts were small, with one or two country schools in each district. Every May, we made an occasion ofSchool Election Day, by gathering early and spending the afternoon visiting. Harry served on the school board several years. We lived through the Dust Bowl Days of the early 1930's, when, in spite of all out efforts to make a home tight, the dust would pile up on the windowsills and filter clear across the rooms. In the late 1930's, Harry and a neighbor, a mile north, Lloyd Megal, rigged up a battery-powered, two-party telephone line, running it along the barbed wire fence. Later, the line was expanded to four parties, using short poles and smooth wire. We also made use of the wind by erecting a 32-volt windcharger, using six car batteries. We usually had lights at night and even had enough electricity to operate an electric iron, on a windy day. We elevated a small supply tank at the well and piped water to the house. In the winter, we broke chunks of ice out of the tanks, and stored a quantity in a dugout cellar, packed in straw. With luck, we would have ice for a wooden icebox and for freezing ice cream, until the Fourth of July. On April 15, 1943, Marie received her appointment for the position of Stratton Postmaster. The family had a farm sale and moved to town. Harry worked for Dillon Hardware until they changed hands, then for Snell Grain for many years. The children all graduated from the Stratton High School. Laura and Thelma attended the University of Colorado at Boulder. Laura taught the Pautler School, north of Bethune, one term, then got a position in the Elementary School in town. Thelma was receptionist for Dr. Keen and several other doctors in Stratton and Burlington. from college. They are Janet Thomason Boller, Manlius, N.Y.; Carol Thomas Nordtvedt, Canfield, Ohio; Donald Thomason, Houston, Texas; and Karla Thomason Gunnoe, Hinton, West Va. They also have five grandchildren. On Oct. 24, L948, Thelma married Jim Hutton from Hale, Colo. He is the son of Roscoe Hutton, whose family were early settlers in the Kirk, Colo. community. His Mother is the former Hazel Messenger, daughter of I.D. Messenger, who was a Kit Carson County Commissioner for several years and renowned as one of the commissioners who bought the Carousel for Kit Carson County. Thelma and Jim operate a ranch on the Republican River. They have two children, Jerry and Peggy. Jerry graduated from the School of Mines in Golden, Colo., and is now farming with his Father. He married Linda Wheeler, from Detroit, Mich., on Oct. 11, 1980. They have two children, Kathleen Flora, born Jan. 15, 1984, and Neil James, born April 10, 1986. Peggy graduated from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo., and completed her education as a registered nurse at the University of Colorado Medical Center, Denver, Colo. She and Dean Wheeler. also from Detroit, were married at the Air Force Academy Chapel on Jan. 20, 1978. They live in Elgin, Ill. Allen married Audrey Carter, Burlington, Colo. in 1953. They had two children, Dianna Greenwood Huseman and Robert Green- wood. They also had two grandchildren. Dianna lives in Ventura, Calif., and works as a receptionist. Robert works for a construction company near Portland, Oregon. Allen and Audrey's marriage was dissolved and Allen is now married to the former Rosalie Stoffel. The Stoffel family were early resi- dents of Stratton and Allen and Rosalie were classmates. They live in Stratton. Rosalie has two daughters by a former marriage and four grandsons. After graduation from High School, Allen worked for Snell Grain Co. for many years. After the company sold out, he worked for other grain companies. He also did some farming. Because of ill health, Harry retired from the Snell Grain Co. He spent much time hunting and fishing. Marie retired from the U.S. Postal Service on Nov. 30, 1971. In June 1977, Harry and Marie took a memorable tour of the State of Alaska. Sightseeing there included a chartered fishing trip out of Ketchican. Harry passed away on July 17, 1977. Marie remains in the home in Stratton. by Marie E. Greenwood One Sept. L2, 1945, Laura married a schoolmate, Francis Thomason. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Francis taught school for a few years, then joined the accounting firm of Haskins and Sells. As a partner in the firm, he was assigned to several different districts in the United States. Over the years, Laura, Francis and family lived in Washington State, California, Boulder, Colo., and finally settled in Mclean, Virginia. His final assignment before retiring, was a two and one-half year stint in Saudi Arabia, with a group of other accountants from the firm. This gave them the opportunity to travel extensively. Laura and Francis have four children, all of whom graduated GREENWOOD, THEODORE FAMILY F237 Theodore Greenwood, born Nov. 12, L857, at Belleville, Wisc., and Laura Haskins, born March 8, 1862, at Oregon, Wisc., were married March 19, 1886 at Oregon, Wisc. They soon moved to Franklin, Nebr., near Grand Island, where Theodore worked at one time for "Buffalo Bill" Cody. Later they moved to Smith Center, Kansas. In March, 1908, the Greenwoods came to Stratton, Colo. �.:...,r:f .r!. r:r.1r-i,r:i:.i rll?i Mrs. Theodore Greenwood. on the Rock Island Railroad, and settled on their homestead eleven miles south of Stratfurniton. They moved their belongings - and ture, feed, farm implements, a few cattle in an emigrant car, a service then horses - by the railroad. provided The Greenwoods came with their five children: Maude, Letta, Harry, Laura, and baby Russell. When Maude, the eldest, reached the age of twenty-one years, she homesteaded a quarter section of land ad- joining to the east of the original homestead. She married Peter Burrggraff, another homesteader living nearby. They had eight children: Ellen, Theo, Mar5r, Leo, Helen, and Martha, and Ida. The - Margaret Burrggraffs moved to Stratton in order to send their children to the parochial school. Several years later, they moved to Brighton, Colo., where they operated a truck farm, and twins finally settled in Denver, Colo. Letta married Winifred Hall, who had homesteaded a few miles east. They later moved to Hasty, Colo. and then to Carthage and Springfield, Missouri. They had four children: Faye, Frances, Ray, and Alice Lee. Harry married Marie Chandler, and they continued to live south of Stratton until they moved to town in 1943. They had three children: Laura Ruth. Thelma Grace. and Allen Theodore. Laura married a neighbor boy, Archie Lowe, and they settled on a ranch south of Cheyenne Wells, Colo. They had three children: Marvin, Merrill, and Patricia. Marvin and Merrill live with their families near Cheyenne wells. Patricia (Patty), who married Richard Borders, of Stratton, lives near Genoa, Colo. Russell married his First Central schoolmate, Grace Wellman. They had one child, Wayne, who with wife Vera, operate the original Greenwood farm. Theodore and Laura Greenwood lived in a sodhouse for many years. About 1920, they built a comfortable frame house. Theodore was a carpenter by trade and insisted that only the best material should be used in that house. He was also a lover ofhorsee and bred and raised race horses, Arabians, and Pintos, some of which were spotted. His pride and joy mule colt. was a rarity - a spotted The Greenwoods were active in the community. There was a little creek just below the house and they succeeded in growing a grove of trees on their barren prairie land. Many a community Memorial Day or Fourth of July picnic were celebrated there. They also had a small orchard of apple, peach, cherry, and plum trees near the house. "Grandma" also had some rose bushes and chrysanthemums. "Grandpa Greenwood" helped many an early settler, who found himself in dire straits, during the severe winter months. He would loan them money or feed for their cattle and one time he loaned a fresh cow to a family with a small baby, because all of their cows had gone dry. "Grandma" was a good cook and neighbors or transients who happened to drop in about mealtime were always invited to "draw up a chair." Then, there were birthdays, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas, always occasions for family gatherings. It was the night after preparing for one of these celebrations, Nov. 10, 1934, that "Grandma" passed away quietly in her sleep, of an apparent heart attack. Soon their son, Russell and daughterin-law, Grace, moved to the home place to keep house and care for "Grandpa". He suffered a long illness and died May 11, 1937. All five of the children are now deceased. by Marie E. Greenwood Herb and Gertrude Griffith about 1946. were born: Roy in May, 1911; Quma in July, 1919; Floyd in August, 1921, who passed away at 6 months of age from pneumonia. Ahda passed away in 1927. He came back to Colorado a couple of times and worked in the round house at Limon, shoveling coal and also worked on W.P.A. building bridges south of Stratton. During this time he met Gertrude Bartholomew and they were mauied in February, 1930. To this union three children were born: Bill in May, 1931; Bob in April, 1934; and Pat in August, 1949. In the mid-thirties the family attended Sunday School in schoolhouses as there were no churches in the country. Roy and Quma attended school at Grandview School: Bill and Bob attended at Nuttbrook. and Pat attended at Stratton Public Schools. The older children rode horses to and from school. It was partly open range so they had their short cuts across prairie. The Kit Carson trail ran through Hugh's property and southwest on the Fred Wagoner land was one of the first dug wells in the area. It was used by the trail and stages that passed through. The first home that Herb built was a cement room with a dirt floor. Later on they put in a wood slat floor. The family then built GRIFFITH, HERB F238 Herb Griffith and fanily traveled from Lebanon, Kansas, to Stratton, Colorado, by train in 1914. They later moved their belongings out as they could. Herb went to Hugo, Colorado, to the Land Office and applied for one-half section of land 8 miles south of Stratton under the Homestead Act. He had 4 years to make improvements on this land; he paid $1.25 per acre. Herb's homestead papers were final and signed in 1919. Herb was called to military duty on August 8, 1917; his serial number was 433. He was exempt from the service because of his family having no other means of support other than his farming. Herb was married to Ahda Woodard in March of 1910. To this union three children adobe blocks and added a room on their house. A little later Herb's brother, Glen, moved and he moved his one room wooden house over and attached it to the front, so they then had three rooms. Herb did his farming by tesm and plow. They picked corn by hand and also shocked feed by hand. At threshing time all of the neighbors helped each other. They had milk cows, pigs, and chickens and this all was his way of making a living. Through all the hard times of the depression Herb always had a good sense of humor. We remember the story that he told about he mountain lion that chased him up the windmill. The tale madethe Denuer Post and the Stratton papers. Herb and his family traveled to most of the barn dances in the area. Gertrude played the guitar and Clarence Brennan played the fiddle at most of the dances, �In 1935 Gertrude's two brothers moved in shed that had once been used for chickens. with them. Also at this time they had severe Marvin is fond of saying, "Abe Lincoln was rains and the Launchman Creek cnme within 10 feet of their home. This flood took several lives and people's livestock. In 1951, Bill, their oldest son, went into the born in a log cabin, but I was born in a chicken house (1926)." Married in 1948, we moved to our farm three miles west of Burlington. The old house Army. He was in the Korean War and spent 8 years in the service. In 1952, Bob, his brother, joined the Army and was also in Korea; he spent 4 years in the service. In the spring of 1954, Herb and his family moved into Stratton. Gertrude waited tables for Al and Lil Young. In 1956 they moved behind the Toland Crenrnery and Gertrude worked at the Stratton Cafe for the Franken- there had a lot of room, but wasn't very well every hard windstorm we had, the built felds. In 1957 Gertrude took over the crenmery and ran it until 1967. They bought the Elva Holloway house, and this was their last home. Herb's favorite pastime after moving to town was going fishing with Rob Piper. He also enjoyed his family and loved to have them all together. He also enjoyed having his garden and flowers. Gertrude did a lot of sewing for people in the community. She was also involved in the Senior Citizens group and played the piano and steel guitar with their band and enjoyed it very much. She was also deeply involved in her church, taught Sunday School for many years, and was always there when anyone needed her help. Gertrude died in 1985. by Pat Alderson GRUSING - HUDSON FAMILY F239 - cabinet doors would rub on one kitchen corner or another, depending on the direction of the wind. But the wind wasn't all bad because (like many of our neighbors) we had a windcharger and 32 volt electricity until REA came. When there was a gale blowing, our 16 large glass batteries would charge like crazy and usually I'd be ironing like crazy, because that was the only time the iron really got hot. In addition to our electricity we also had butane (lishts, stove, refrigerator and self-starting furnace) plus a windmill with an elevated water tank that gave us gravity flow to the house. Therefore, we were hardly dependent at all on electricity, which was especially nice during long hard blizzards. However, our first winter on the farm, our water froze up deep underground so that for nine weeks we had to cany watet for euerything, including flushing the toilet. It was then that I would have appreciated an outhouse! Then, when our water uos flowing, visiting city friends didn't know how to conserve it, so we often had to man our old hand-pump to relieve the over full septic tank. Time flies when you're having fun! In the Sifty-Fifties, which were a repeat performance of the Dirty-Thirties, we adopted Gary (1953) and Marvanna (1956) - each an only 10-20 days old. Sometimes after unusually hard windstorm, since Gary was a very sound sleeper, he would leave a white silhouette on his dusty sheets when I'd pick him up from his nap. Marvin and I met in my native Burlington, We weathered the storms, although our married. Buying land at Dighton, they were cash-poor, go for a couple of years lived in a pastures died from sifting dust, some of our cattle died from dust-pneumonia, we raised no crops for three years, and we finally had to sell our cow herd since we couldn't even raise weeds to feed them. It was at this time that I threw up my hands and wanted to quit where he'd moved after serving in the Philippines during WWIL All four of his grandparents had come from Germany, settling in Kansas, where his parents were but Marvin insisted it was not the time to -quit, but to hang in there. Of course he was right, because that's when things began to fall into place for us economically. In 1959 we began commuting to Tucson, AZ, spending the school years there, and the summers on the farm, since Gary had developed sinus problems and couldn't stand the cold Colorado winters. Yet he worked in the dirty fields and grain bins and stayed well, as long as he kept warm. ln 1970, we c'me back to Burlington full time, when Marvanna was in the eighth grade. Following a few years of living in just one place, we began getting restless, so bought a vacation townhouse at Woodland Park, CO. Yet in another ten years, gypsy fever overcame us so we bought a home south of Tucson in 1983 (we now spend the winters there near our travel agent son, Gary). Soon thereafter, Marvin semi-retired, rented out most of his land, but with the help of our daughter Marvanna, he continues to do all his own office work. We have since moved our permanent residence from Burlington to Woodland Park, where we spend the summers in our mountain home near Marvanna, Marvin Grusing family Summer 1987. Marvanna and Gary, Georgeanna and Marvin Hudson. who now lives in the townhouse. In order to conduct business, we come down to Burlington for a night or two; every week or so and stay at a local motel. As neither Marvin nor I are fishermen, hunters or goUers, and since we both like to travel, we find we very much enjoy our g5psy-style of life and plan to continue shuttling back and forth between Arizona and Colorado for as long ar| we c{rn. At present we have a four wheel drive vehicle and have set a goal of traveling every state and county road in Colorado, Arizona, and eventually the neighboring states. Visiting ghost towns, old mines, restored homes, national parks and monuments, we often picnic along the way, marvelling at the unspoiled beauty that still remains in our fantastic land and we feel greatly blessed. - by Georgeanna Hudson Grusing GULLEY, JOHN FAMILY r.240 Amanda Edwards was born in Tennessee in 1870, the oldest living child of 10 girls and one boy. Since Grandfather Edwards was a judge, he was not always home, so most of the farm work fell on the entire fanily. Finally the farm was sold and the family moved to Hutton Valley, Missouri. There Amanda attended a Normal School earning a teaching certificate. John Gulley was born in Hutton Valley in 1872. He was the oldest of six boys and seven girls. One time when Ananda was teaching school, they had a box supper. John was attracted to the black-headed, brown-eyed teacher, winning her away from a competitor. They were married in 1896. The following year a baby boy was born. Grandmother Gulley took care of the baby that year while Amanda was teaching. John helped his father with the farming. When Hayden was quiteyoung they moved to Lawrence, Kansas. They rented a store with an apartment upstairs. While there they were flooded out of their store two times by the Kansas River. John would stand at the window and watch his canned goods float down the river. John borrowed a hundred dollars which helped him get started in the grocery business again. Theodore was born three months later, the second time they were flooded. With two children to raise, John thought he could do better in Colorado. He loaded all their possessions into a freight car and came to Stratton where they lived a short time until they could file on a homestead. They moved 15 miles north and two milee west to their new adobe home. But farming wasn't enough for John, so he started a little store in the front part of the home. Not only that, but they would load his car with groceries and go from farm to farm selling them. The boys attended the Kechter School about two miles away with three cousins who lived close by.By 1911 Edward was born and in 1915 Ruth, the only girl, was born. In the fall the family left Kit Carson County for a while, moving to Kirk in Yuma County where John had built a new building with a store in front and living quarters in the back. In 1932 the family moved east of Stratton. I, Ruth, in my last year of high school, rode �with neighbors the five miles into Stratton where I graduated. During my teaching years my parents moved back into Stratton where they lived for about 19 years. I attended college in Greeley. Then I taught eight years in country schools. I took a year off from teaching to work in the Office of Price Administration in Burlington. I then taught 10 years in Stratton before moving to Brush, Colorado, to finish my teaching career of 42 years. by Ruth Gulley GULLEY, N. O. F24l These homesteads lay one mile apart, running north and south and were located 16 miles north and 4 west of Stratton. Colorado. In July 1909, the houses were ready to move into, except for flooring, and for a few months a dirt floor had to do. The ground was smoothed and leveled and water poured over it. When it was dry it was hard and could be swept with a broom. The men returned to Lawrence and loaded their belongings on the train boxcars and themselves and families in a passenger train and headed west for Stratton. Here they unloaded and piled their furnishings onto lumber wagons which they had left in Stratton. Oscar, driving a buggy, led the procession home. Oscar was a bachelor, but in 1940's. The history of the Gulley family in this country begins with John Gulley Sr. who crme from Wales prior to the Revolutionary War and assisted in American Independence through civil service. He settled in North Carolina and his descendants migrated to Tennessee and eventually to Hutton Valley, Missouri. It was there that Nathan Oliver Gulley, better known a N.O. or Ollie, was born to Hulin and Sarah Gulley in 1877. Also born in Hutton Valley in 1879 was Bertha Ross Paine. She was one of ten children born to Dr. and Mrs. John Paine. Bertha and N.O. were childhood friends and when grown they were married on Feb. 8, 1902 at Lawrence, Kansas. They made their first home there at a farm called 9 Mile where N,O. was employed as overseer. Their first child, Velma, was born here in 1903. When Velma was three days old, there was a flash flood on the Kaw River and the family lost all of their belongings and only one wall of their house remained. N.O. and Bertha returned to Hutton Valley to get a new st€rt and their son, Nolan, was born there in 1904. N.O. and Bertha were finally able to again secure work at 9 Mile and returned to Lawrence where their daughter, Opal, was born in 1908. In 1909, many families began moving to Eastern Colorado where there was still some land open for homesteading. N.O. was anxious to go, but Bertha was not sure it was the thing to do with three small children and little money. After much discussion and with many doubts they decided to go. N.O. went first, accompanied by Bertha's brother, Oscar Paine, and a lifelong friend and neighbor, Bunt Smith. Working together, they made adobe bricks. Aftcr many days of miring dirt and water and pouring the mud into molds to dry, they finally had enough bricks to build three one room houses. One wae built on each of the homest€ads staked out bv the men. F242 I was born in Greenock, Scotland, on May 24th, 1860 and spent my girlhood days with my mother and sister and grandmother in the old family home in which the fifth generation is now living. My father, Robert Morrison was a Civil Engineer, and was sent to Africa to draw plans for an iron pier to be built at Lagas on the west coast of Africa. While there he contracted malaria fever and died and was buried at Lagas. We did not hear of his death until six months later. his mother had lived with him since the death of Dr. Paine in 1900. Now at the age of 63 she had accompanied him to this new land to help build a community. All intended to build a larger frame house the following year but time or money did not permit and the Gulley's one room house was their home for eight years. Bunt was the first to build a new house, as he had built on the I was married to Peter Guthrie of Greenock, on November lst, 1883, and after living In 1910, Carey Post Office was established 16 miles north and TYz east of Vona. Mr. business and pleasure trip, and while there my husband received word from a lawyer in bank of Hell Creek and the first hard rain brought flood waters up to his door. N.O. and Bertha Gulley at their home in Stratton GUTHRIE, CLEMENTINA Carey was the postmaster. N.O. was appointed mail carrier from Carey to Tuttle which was nine miles east of his home. He made the trip three times a week in a buggy pulled by his faithful 1sam, Dolly and Sampson. He carried mail until Carey was discontinued when the Vona mail route was extended to in Greenock, Scotland for three years, we moved to the United States going to live in Philadelphia, where my husband's brother Alexander was then living. We arrived in Philadelphia in April 1886, and the two brothers worked together as contractors and carpenters, building ninety houses and storeg in the two years we lived there. In 1888, I returned to Scotland on a Burlington, Colorado that James Guthrie, who had taken a homestead here in 1887, had been found dead in his claim shack under suspicious circumstances that looked like murder. My husband left at once for Colorado, coming west on the Union Pacific to Hugo, Colorado, then traveling by stage the community in about 1915. coach across the prairies to Burlington. The N.O. and Bertha, after much hard work of making adobe bricks, built a long, low building and divided it into four sections to body had been buried in the corner of the be used as a hen house, horse barn, cow barn, and grain bin. It stood for ten years until a homestead and was exhumed for inspection and my husband was fully convinced that the coroner and Dr. Bishop were right. The man had come to his death by being struck on the twister blew it down while N.O. watched from a window in the house. A frame barn was then built and a hen back of the head with a blunt instrument. Two men were suspected but nothing could house moved in. A frame house had been built a couple ofyears earlier as were a granery and returned to Philadelphia, leaving the affairs in the hands of a lawyer, Mr. S.D. King. James Guthrie was known as a very reserved man, reticent in manner, and with no bad habits, so no reason could be given for the deed except that his homestead was close to the new town and right by the railroad line, and was envied by some who felt the sale of milk house. So now. all the old adobe buildings were gone. The bricks were gathered up and thrown into a low place where they had been made. The rain fell on them and more dirt blew in and soon they had become solid dirt again. That spot always was low and after a rain the lagoon made a wonderful place to play on hot summer days. The Gulleys lived on the homestead from 1909 until 1934. They farmed the land, had milk cows and raised chickens and ducks. Always, there was a big garden and potato patch. In 1934 they moved to Golden where they ran a rooming house. They came back in 1939 and lived near their daughter, Opal Boger, north of Vona. In 1941, they moved to Stratton and lived there for the next nine years. Then they moved to Arvada where N.O. passed away in 1951 and Bertha passed away at Wheatridge in 1971. by Opal Boger be proved at that time, so my husband the land would turn them a pretty penny. This homestead was located on the NE % of Section 31, Township 8, Range 43. After returning to Philadelphia from my trip abroad, I had a very severe sickness and was ordered by the doctor to return to Scotland or farther west. My husband was so thrilled with the new western country that he was eager to return to Colo. We packed our furniture and bedding in a freight car and came to Burlington on the new Rock Island Railroad which had been completed in the fall of 1888. We arrived in Burlington in April 1889, on a cold night and a drizzle was falling. We went to the hotel, which was the only one in town, a two-story box-like structure, and tried to rest, but the very quiet atmosphere rather frightened me. In the morning, I looked out upon the open prairie stretching miles away on one side and a few dingy shacks on the other side of the hotel. I felt rather disconsolate over the prospects of a home in such a dreadfully lonesome place, but decided that we would have to make the best of it. We bought a nice home in town and lived �there for a short time getting acquainted with western ways and the new land. Then my husband took a homestead or rather we bought a relinquishment from an old man named Peter McGinnis, and we, my husband, myself and eight children, moved into a "dugout" to hold our claim until the house could be built. We had no well, so had to haul water from a farm house south of us which my husband owned and on which we had lived a short time. While we were living in this dugout, my husband took ill with pnerrmonia. An anxious time I had, nursing a sick husband and trying to run a farm I knew nothing about. But my husband got well and our new sod house was soon finished and we moved into it and my, how we did expand. I had so much to learn, and had to work so hard, but thank God, I had regained my health and was able to do my work for my family. Then we had a well drilled and got a large water tank, and built barns and sheds and started farm life in earnest. I was very timid at first, but soon got used to the farm animals, and got so I could raise chickens and ducks and make butter as well as an old timer. We had our gains and losses, our many ups and downs, but we never gave up or lost our faith in this country. We always managed to have enough to eat, good plain food that helped to build the sturdy bodies of our twelve boys and girls. I was the mother of the first pair of twins in Kit Carson County (Sara M. and Clyde) and what excitement there was over this event. People came from miles around to see the babies. Three years later, I gave birth to a second pair oftwins (Laura K. and Luben H.). Through care and planning and working over, we managed to clothe our children respectably. They did not need ag much as boys and girls do now. We attended the little M.E. church and Sunday school in Burlington, for our ranch was just 1% miles northeastofBurlington. The wagon and team w{u} our conveyance, wherever we went, and we felt quite rich when we acquired a two wheeled cart, and later a buggy. My children attended the first schoolhouse built in Burlington. The bricks used in this building were made from clay dug at Beaver Creek south of town. I remember when the first large schoolhouse, in fact too large for Burlington, for no one ever thought there would ever be enough children attending school to require four rooms. Just look at your school today and think ofthe students attending. I see our pretty little town today and think of the morning in April 1889, when I looked over such a dismal place, and then said to my husband, "Peter Guthrie, where have you brought me?" He replied "Tuts, woman, this is a fine country," and I said "God help us!" by Clementina Guthrie mother was there on business. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean when only three weeks old. (The history of why they came can be read under his mother's history.) I will start with his coming to Burlington on April, 1889, with his mother, sister Bessie and brothers Peter and Robert on the Rock Island Railroad to join his father. The family's first home was a dugout, then a two-room sod house was built north of Burlington. By 1893 therewere eight children in the family and so John was sent to live with some friends who wanted him. The couple was all right but really worked him and he missed his family. Every year or two a new sister or brother was born. He sometimes would see them at church and the older children at school, but not often. His school attendance was very irregular. First he was kept out for spring work and then for fall work. He used to walk to his parents home, a distance of five miles, just to see the family and would be spanked by his father and sent business for himself. My mother was an excellent manager because we survived the closing ofthe "stock Grower's Bank" failure and during the depression years we never were on welfare. There was no buildinggoing on. People would buy small appliances, like electric irons and promise to pay 25 cents a week, but often failed to come in and my parenls never charged interest. They sent me to college, but children. My father never got over missing his family. This writer is nmazed how he could always be so caring and willing to help his family and other people, when he was almost by his townspeople to serve on the City Council for several terms. He was alwavs willing to do anything that benefited Bur- forgotten as a child and had such a sad childhood. He never talked about this, but I got this information from an aunt and uncle. At the age of twelve, he went to work on the Bar T. Ranch on the Republican River and lived with Gordon Burr, Sr. and family. Here he got to finish the eighth grade at the "Tuttle" School. He saved his wages and bought himself a violin and taught himself to play it. He loved to square dance and even "called" for square dances. (I used to think my parents would rather dance than eat.) When of age my father took a homestead north of Flagler, Co. In the summer of 1913, he went to work in the wheat harvest for John S. Stevens in Colby, Kansas. Mr. Stevens was the Western Kansas Wheat King in those years. John met Mr. Stevens'oldest daughter Hazel Ann, my mother, and they fell in love. This was the first time my father said he found real happiness. Days before their wedding my father had ridden by horseback from Flagler to Bur- lington to get the marriage license. My mother and her parents were now living north of Flagler near Thurman, Co. On the day of the wedding, which was to be at my Grandparents'home, my father could not find the license. He never did find it. He and my mother had to come to Burlington by horse and buggy and get another license. So they just decided to be married in Burlington on January 22, tgL4. My parents lived on the homestead until 1916 and after the death of their first child. worked nights at the A.L. Anderson Buick Garage. In those days people didn't build John Simpson Guthrie was the fourth child of thirteen children (two sets of twins) born to Clementina (Morrison) Guthrie and Peter Guthrie on July 11, 1888 in Pharos County, Antrim, Ireland. My father was born in Ireland because his When Mr. Pierce left Burlington, my father became the electrician for the N.R. Brown Hardware. In 1928 he went into I know they deprived themselves. My mother died of cancer in 1950. months, they moved to Burlington. My father F243 lington, a daughter Marjorie, and a son Wendell John who only lived three years and died during the bad siege of pneumonia which took many lives in Burlington. back. His parents were good neighbors, honest, hardworking and church-going people, but very harsh and strict with their a daughter nemed Vivian who lived only a few GUTHRIE, JOHN SIMPSON known in this Kit Carson Countv and throughout the state. He wired the present County Courthouse, and I state this with pride because my Grandfather Guthrie helped to build the first courthouse in Burlington. Two other children were born in Bur- garages and so the garage was kept open and they would bring their cars in and if it was cold or stormy, then my father would take them home and bring the car back. It was here, he met Mr. Otis Pierce, an electrician in Burlington. He convinced my father to become an electrician. He even paid to send him to Chicago to take an electrical course and learn to read blueprints. He becnme one of the first licensed electricians and was well My father felt honored when he was elected lington. He was a volunteer fireman and Fire Captain many years before they got a pension. I can still see him running to get on the back of the firetruck. He was a Mason and Worshipful Master of the Lodge, a member of the Rotary, and my mother and he were members of the Methodist Church. He decided to sell his business in 1g68 as he was 75 years old and tired of climbing around in attics. His first car was his service truck which was a Model T. Ford. I am so glad he lived to see and enjoy his grandchildren, Melissa Ann his granddaughter and his grandson John, who is named after him. They are the children of Marjorie and the late Chester Robinson. Of all the wonderful memories I have I can remember so clearly them telling me to be truthful, and that honesty is the best policy, don't forget kindness and love. All these made the world go round and without them and God, life is no good. How fortunate I was to be born to Hazel and John Guthrie. Daddv died Dec. 28, L973. by Marjorie (Guthrie) Robinson GUY - JEFFRIES FAMILY F244 Horace Greeley said, "Go west, young man, go west," so in the 1890;s Leroy & AdaJeffries did just that. They moved all the way from western Kansas to the bleak eastern Colorado plains. At about the same time a dashing young man, Harrison Guy, came out of Nebraska and met Leroy and Ada's daughter, Anna. This meeting cuhninated in marriage. Harrison and Anna homesteaded near Seibert and out of this union cn-e five boys and one girl who left a distinctive mark on the small towns of eastern Colorado. Leroy, the first born was an outstanding basketball and track star. Garland (#2) was also a prolific basketball player and an �outstanding softball pitcher and in 1932 led Seibert to the district basketball tournament. Jay (#3) followed in his older brother's footsteps by excelling in everything he undertook. Ventan (#4) died at an early age in the influenza and diphtheria scourge of the early 1920's. Robert (#5) was the youngest of the boys and carried on the Guy tradition in grand style. Then, "Lo & Behold," along came a girl Ada May (#6). She was the baby for many years and Hanison even reserved a seat on the school bus for her. Today in 1986, there are four of the Guy family left. Leroy is retired from thorobred horse training and lives in Phoenix. Garland is retired from Ford Motor Co. after 35 years of service and is really enjoying life by raising, breeding and racing thorobred horees in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Robert lives in Lag Vegas, Nevada, and baby Ada May and her husband, Merle, live in Phoenix where they slso race horses in Arizona & New Mexico. The Guy family has cnrne a long way from Grandpa & Grandma Jeffries and the Hotel and Poolhall in Seibert, Colorado. by Ada May Midgett GUY - WEMMER FAMILY filing the final papers it was discovered they were not yet 2L, the legal age to file a homestead claim, and they had to relinquish these claims. They then helped their father on the ranch until they were 21. At that time Francis turned the ranch over to his sons and moved to Eads, Co. where he opened a general merchandise store which he owned and operated until his retirement, then moving to Canon City, Co. In 1916 Jerry and Mabel (Pugh) were married and they and Jess continued the ranching operation. In the crash of "29" they lost the ranch. At this time Jess moved to Westcliffe, and later to Canon City where he owned and operated a green house. Jerry remained in the area, farming at various locations in the north part of Kit Carson County until in 1938, when he bought the old John Knodel homestead in the Settlement from the Federal Land Bank. In 1948 he retired and sold the farm to his son David, moved to Stratton, where he lived until his death in L977 at the age of 91. Eight children were born into the family. Richard of Bethune Colo., Jane (Bandimere) of Arvada, Colo., David of Stratton, Colo., Leona (Chapman) of Mesa, Arizona, Margaret (Chapman) of Mesa, Arizona, Pauline (Berver) of Silver City New Mexico, Joanne (Wolfl of Monte Vista, Colo., and Roberta (Kindred) of Spokane, Wash. Mabel passed away on April g, 1986 at the F246 age of 92 years and 9 months. by David Guy HALL FAMILY r.247 We, Robert and Maxine Hall, moved from southeastern Kangae in May 1948, to a farm 15 miles east of Fountain, Colo., known as the Hanover District. In Sept. of that year, our son James Michael (Mike) was born. In May of 1950, we moved to Flagler, Co. where farming prospects seemed much better. We beca-e acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. E.F. Wright of Flagler and he rented us some farm ground. We lived on the corner three fourths of a mile northwest of Flagler, where the oil road turns to the north. This house was owned by Guy Spear of Liberal, Kansas. He was the manager of the Baughman Land Company. He rented us more ground to farm. Our daughter, Vicki Sue, was born in March 1955. We bought a lot at the north edge of Flagler, from Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Huntzinger and built a quonset on it. In 1959, Mr. Spear wanted to sell the house and have it moved. We bought it and Hnm61 $1t"* helped us move it over to the lot where the quonset was. We remodeled it and are residing there at this time. Our son Mike, graduated in 1966 as class Valedictorian of the Flagler High School. He went on to the college at Boulder, Colo. and then to Medical School at Denver General in Denver. In June L972, he married Kathy Lorince, daughter of Delin and Tony Lorince of Arriba, Colo. Mike served in the Air Force in Washington, D.C., and their daughter Michelle Delin was born there, in March 1975. About two years latcr Mike was trans- GWYN - FISTIER FAMILY ferred to San Antonio, Texas. Later, he moved to Colorado Springs where they reside In 1906, the J.A. "Gus" Gwlrn family came at this time. Their son, Mathew Lorince, was born in April 1979. Mike is an Anesthesiologist at Penrose Hospital. Our daughter, Vicki, graduated as Saluta- they homesteaded on the SW 1/r -23-8-50. In 1918, they returned to Nebraska. In 1921, the youngest son, James Gwyn, returned to School. She went to college in Greeley, Colo. where she majored in Special Education. After graduating in June of 1977, she married F246 to Flagler from Decatur, Nebraska, where Flagler where he worked for the late C.J. Farr. On October L6, t924, he was married to lda Fisher. They lived on several places along the Republican River. In L942, they returned to their own place which was land Jim had bought from his father early in 1924. Their children were: Albert, born November 7, torian of her 1973 class at Flagler High Robert Sanderson, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Sanderson Sr. of Greeley. She began teaching at Madison Elementary. She got her Masters Degree in 1985 and is still residing and teaching at Madison, in Greeley. by Mrs. Robert llall 1927, and Margie, born September 10, 1929, on the original A.C. Fisher homestead, where their mother was born. Agnes was born Jess and Jerry Guy. No one is sure oftheir age in this photo but a good guess would be 18 months to two years. They were born August 30, 1886. In the late 1800's Francis and Matilda (Wemmer) Guy moved from the Wichita, Kansas area, along with their three children, daughter Myrtle (1884), twin song Jess and Jerry (1886), and their possessions in a covered wagon, possibly the last covered wagon coming to this area. They settled first at Laird, CO. then sometime later moving to a ranch north and east of Kirk, Co. When Jegs and Jerry turned 18, they each filed for a homestead north and west ofJoes, Colorado. After proving up their claim and August 8, 1932, in a eod house on the Wm. Kneis homestead. The family struggled along in the thirties - eating beans, going to town with the team and wagon - selling a few eggs, a dab of home churned butter to buy necessary groceries. Mr. Chas. Blake, the grocer, of Seibert provided a small sack of candy as a treat for the kids. In February of 1957, Jim and Ida traded their ranch for property in town and moved to Flagler. Jim passed away in December, 1959. Ida still lives in Flagler, enjoying her family and busy with her many hobbies. by Ida R. Gwyn HALL. GREENWOOD FAMILY F248 My parents, Winford (Wink) Scott Hall and Julia Boletta (Letta) Greenwood of Stratton, Colorado were married January 10, 1912 in Kit Carson County. They were early settlers of the county having homesteaded land as early as 1906. Winford was born May 31, 1882 in Knox County, Missouri. He was the son of William Graves Hall and Beatrice Maud Scott. His father was from Indiana and mother from Kentucky of Scotch-Irish ancestors. Boletta was born September 8, 1894 in Franklin County, Nebraska. She was the daughter ofTheodore Greenwood and Laura Delilah Haskins. Theodore and Laura were originally from Wisconsin. They moved to � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families of Kit Carson County Description An account of the resource Brief biographies of the founding families of Kit Carson County Colorado. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Book Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families- G Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1988 Description An account of the resource Brief history of the founding families of Kit Carson County whose names begin with "G." As told in the book, History of Kit Carson County. Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Salmons, Janice Hasart, Marlyn Smith, Dorothy Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. History of Kit Carson County Volume 1 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Curtis Media Subject The topic of the resource History Kit Carson County Biography Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/486/Families-I.pdf 9b412aea385e5ea613ab0a5ee19ba7fa PDF Text Text very ill and died on Aug.ust 29, L922. George moved the family out to Stratton in June 1923. They lived 1 mile south of Stratton. At that time their neighbors were John Gerke and Pautler dairy farm. They shipped the furniture and other belongings by train and moved out here in a Model T touring car and Ford truck. Circles painted in colors on telephone posts were the highway signs. Free range was the law and only fields were fenced. There were many acres of grass land and cattle roamed freely. It was not unusual for some farmers to come by looking for their cattle and if it was meal time they were always invited to come in for a meal. Later George moved his family three miles east and one and a half south of Stratton. George's son, George, drove a team of horses and a wagon and took the children to school. Later on they drove a car. Aunt Tres went to high school and Leona, Irene, Mildred, George and Dorothy went to grade school at Stratton's St. Charles Catholic Grade School. In 1926 George became ill and had an operation for cancer in Denver at St. Joseph Hospital, and the day he was to come home, he died from a blood clot. There were 11 children in the family and three are still living. Frank (10-12-1899 to 85-1961) married Catherine Colgan. They had 2 children. One died as an infant. Helen (1901 to 1968) married John Harrison. She taught school in a country school in Stratton. They moved to Missouri. They had 5 children. Mary (8-26-1902 to 6-11-1957) married Joe Kloecker and lived in Denver. They had 5 children. 1 son died. Gertrude (3-27 -L904) married Tony Beller. They had 5 children and still live in Denver. Theresa (8-19-1907) maried Raymond Bush and had 4 children. ISEMAN FAMILY F335 Febr. 1924 brought Ralph and Josie Iseman to Kit Carson County with their children Clarence, Loraine, Agnes and John. Ralph had been out from Burlington, Ks. to look things over earlier. So with the George Bailey and Hill families they loaded their household items on two immigrant cars on the train. They drove out in a Model T car. The windows were ising-glass. The weather was very cold and they kept warm with a heater that had something like charcoal briquettes inside. The trip took five days. They stayed at the Collins Hotel in Stratton until the Austin place was available. Ralph always said that his ancestors were Pennsylvania Dutch. How right he was. In reality Pennsylvania Dutch means German born. The first Iseman of Ralph's family to enter America was Peter and he came from Germany in 1749. Those first Isemans spelled their name many ways: Eyseman, Eisaman, Eiseman, Isaman. Westmoreland Co., Pa. has many of Peter's descendants and most of them spell their names Eiseman. The ones from Freeport, Pa. spell their name Iseman. Ralph's father and mother, John Andrew and Evaline Nancy (Hill) Iseman, were born in Freeport, Pa. One of Ralph's distant cousins lives outside Freeport on Iseman Rd. Ralph was the seventh generation of Isemans in America. John Ralph Iseman was born in Guthrie Co., Iowa in 1890. Ralph married Josie Thene Updegraft 23 Jan. 1912 in Burlington, Ks. Josie was born in Burlington, Ks to Sidney Denton Updegraft and Susan Lane Dawson Loraine, Agnes, and John were born in Burlington, Ks. Wayne and Maxine were lives there. George (10-10-1910 to 7-12-1950) married Tbila Boul and they had 4 boys. Pauline died at the age of 3 from measles and is buried in Blue Hill, Neb. Irene (8-25-1912 to 1976) married Walter Halloway and lived in Denver. They had 5 children and 1 died as an infant. Walter still lives in Denver. Leona L924 to L946. chtenbach. Millicent Luebbers, daughter of Gertrude and Willard, Walter and Wilford Huppert and their mother Twila, sons and wife of George. After the death of their father Uncle Frank and Aunt Tres took care of the younger children until they were able to be on their own. My Aunt Tres had started a business known as the T V Booties after they had moved to Denver awhile. by Betty Jean Brachtenbach lius Wood. Neil died in 1985. Loraine still lives in Burlington. Agnes married Leonard Beeson. They live in Burlington and are still involved in farming and cattle south of Bethune. John married Ellen Bemis, a Kansas gal. They live in Burlington, Ks and farm in the area where Ralph and Josie first lived. Wayne still lives and farms south of Bur- lington. Maxine married Jake Chandler. They are both retired and living in Denver. Josie died 9 Sept. 1974. Ralph died on his 96th birthday 27 Oct.1986. Both were real pioneers. Their friends and family loved and respected them. Ralph spent the last 6 years of his life in the Grace Manor Nursing Home. His determination and out look on life was an inspiration to all. by Lenora Sexson JACKSON, DEWEY AND REVA (BRALY) F336 13 Nov. 1893. Their children Clarence, Two boys died as young men. They lived in Denver and moved to Lag Vegas, Nev. in 1981 where Raymond died in 1985. Theresa still (5-25-LgL4\ married Val Kordes and has 5 children and farmed in Stratton area. Mildred (1916 to 3-19-L924) died of sugar diabetes and is buried in Stratton. Dorothy (12-19-1919 to 5-19-f96f) married Coy Pearson. No children. The family of George and Mollie that still reside in Kit Carson County are their daughter Leona Kordes and her daughters Patsy Eisenbart and Betty Bra- selling cattle and fishing. Ralph and Josie's family was so important to them. Clarence married Allie Jean Beck. He still owns land south of Stratton. Allie Jean and Clarence are retired and live east of Colorado Springs. Loraine married Corne- born south ofStratton. Ralph and Josie lived and farmed on the Austin place, Glaze place, Collins Ranch and the Beveridge Ranch from Memories of the family include the time spent hunting the driest, most productive spot for cow chips, loading the wagon, getting them all home, keeping the pile dry and removing all the ashes that hot fire created. The fun basket dinners after church and Sunday school at First Central included fried chicken, rhubarb pie, lemonade!!! The Ladies Aid and sewing clubs provided needed social contact for the women in the neighborhood. From these activities beautiful quilts were created and close friendships developed. There were the local ballgames on Sunday afternoon for the old and young to enjoy. In the 30's there were very few fences. Most of the cattle ran free and the crops were fenced. The grasshoppers were terrible. The poison was placed around the fences because the grasshoppers even ate the fence posts. You never left leather harnesses out because in a few hours there was nothing left but the metal. You could take a clear drinking glass and coat it with smoke from a kerogene lnmp, to protect your eyes as you looked directly at the sun, and see the grasshoppers flying through the air. In 1946 Ralph and Josie moved to Burlington. Josie babysat with grandkids and Jeanne Zick. Josie loved to sew and make quilts. Many a wedding dress, Raggedy Ann, and quilts are prized possessions of her descendants. Ralph kept busy buying and J. Dewey Jackson's first residence in Kit Carson County in 1925, shown with his 1916 Reo truck, 1925 Fordson tractor and a new Ford car J. Dewey Jackson was born north of Phillipsburg, Kansas in 1898, the 5th of ten children born to William A. Jackson and Betty Mae (Bales) Jackson. He walked to school 2t/z miles. While still at home he took a correspondence course on Basic Electricity out of Chicago, Illinois. He rode a horse to Woodruff, Kansas, 19 miles for 8th grade examinations. To help the family income he did trapping; then skunks were worth $20 a piece. When he started his one year of high school, his mother gave him a gold pocket watch to encourage him not to start smoking. This prized possession was pawned several times thru the years to buy life's necessities. The winter of 1917 he went to Kansas City, Kansas, worked as a street car conductor, and attended Sweeny Automobile School. Summer of 1921 traveled to Canada where he was a jack of all trades: helped paint a church, built a school house, hauled logs, and then summer of 1922 helped build a wooden elevator at Sturgis, Saskatchewan. In 1923 back to Alma, Nebraska to rent a garage for one year. Then in L924he traded all the shop supplies for half of the cost ($10 A.) on his first purchase of land in Colorado. His dad � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families of Kit Carson County Description An account of the resource Brief biographies of the founding families of Kit Carson County Colorado. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Book Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families- I Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1988 Description An account of the resource A brief history of the founding families of Kit Carson County whose names begin with an "I." As told in the book, History of Kit Carson County. Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Salmons, Janice Hasart, Marlyn Smith, Dorothy Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. History of Kit Carson County Volume 1 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Curtis Media Subject The topic of the resource History Kit Carson County Biography Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> https://kccarchives.cvlcollections.org/files/original/17/487/Families-J.pdf 5cb9855edfe322ce49340c2a3f8251d6 PDF Text Text very ill and died on Aug.ust 29, L922. George moved the family out to Stratton in June 1923. They lived 1 mile south of Stratton. At that time their neighbors were John Gerke and Pautler dairy farm. They shipped the furniture and other belongings by train and moved out here in a Model T touring car and Ford truck. Circles painted in colors on telephone posts were the highway signs. Free range was the law and only fields were fenced. There were many acres of grass land and cattle roamed freely. It was not unusual for some farmers to come by looking for their cattle and if it was meal time they were always invited to come in for a meal. Later George moved his family three miles east and one and a half south of Stratton. George's son, George, drove a team of horses and a wagon and took the children to school. Later on they drove a car. Aunt Tres went to high school and Leona, Irene, Mildred, George and Dorothy went to grade school at Stratton's St. Charles Catholic Grade School. In 1926 George became ill and had an operation for cancer in Denver at St. Joseph Hospital, and the day he was to come home, he died from a blood clot. There were 11 children in the family and three are still living. Frank (10-12-1899 to 85-1961) married Catherine Colgan. They had 2 children. One died as an infant. Helen (1901 to 1968) married John Harrison. She taught school in a country school in Stratton. They moved to Missouri. They had 5 children. Mary (8-26-1902 to 6-11-1957) married Joe Kloecker and lived in Denver. They had 5 children. 1 son died. Gertrude (3-27 -L904) married Tony Beller. They had 5 children and still live in Denver. Theresa (8-19-1907) maried Raymond Bush and had 4 children. ISEMAN FAMILY F335 Febr. 1924 brought Ralph and Josie Iseman to Kit Carson County with their children Clarence, Loraine, Agnes and John. Ralph had been out from Burlington, Ks. to look things over earlier. So with the George Bailey and Hill families they loaded their household items on two immigrant cars on the train. They drove out in a Model T car. The windows were ising-glass. The weather was very cold and they kept warm with a heater that had something like charcoal briquettes inside. The trip took five days. They stayed at the Collins Hotel in Stratton until the Austin place was available. Ralph always said that his ancestors were Pennsylvania Dutch. How right he was. In reality Pennsylvania Dutch means German born. The first Iseman of Ralph's family to enter America was Peter and he came from Germany in 1749. Those first Isemans spelled their name many ways: Eyseman, Eisaman, Eiseman, Isaman. Westmoreland Co., Pa. has many of Peter's descendants and most of them spell their names Eiseman. The ones from Freeport, Pa. spell their name Iseman. Ralph's father and mother, John Andrew and Evaline Nancy (Hill) Iseman, were born in Freeport, Pa. One of Ralph's distant cousins lives outside Freeport on Iseman Rd. Ralph was the seventh generation of Isemans in America. John Ralph Iseman was born in Guthrie Co., Iowa in 1890. Ralph married Josie Thene Updegraft 23 Jan. 1912 in Burlington, Ks. Josie was born in Burlington, Ks to Sidney Denton Updegraft and Susan Lane Dawson Loraine, Agnes, and John were born in Burlington, Ks. Wayne and Maxine were lives there. George (10-10-1910 to 7-12-1950) married Tbila Boul and they had 4 boys. Pauline died at the age of 3 from measles and is buried in Blue Hill, Neb. Irene (8-25-1912 to 1976) married Walter Halloway and lived in Denver. They had 5 children and 1 died as an infant. Walter still lives in Denver. Leona L924 to L946. chtenbach. Millicent Luebbers, daughter of Gertrude and Willard, Walter and Wilford Huppert and their mother Twila, sons and wife of George. After the death of their father Uncle Frank and Aunt Tres took care of the younger children until they were able to be on their own. My Aunt Tres had started a business known as the T V Booties after they had moved to Denver awhile. by Betty Jean Brachtenbach lius Wood. Neil died in 1985. Loraine still lives in Burlington. Agnes married Leonard Beeson. They live in Burlington and are still involved in farming and cattle south of Bethune. John married Ellen Bemis, a Kansas gal. They live in Burlington, Ks and farm in the area where Ralph and Josie first lived. Wayne still lives and farms south of Bur- lington. Maxine married Jake Chandler. They are both retired and living in Denver. Josie died 9 Sept. 1974. Ralph died on his 96th birthday 27 Oct.1986. Both were real pioneers. Their friends and family loved and respected them. Ralph spent the last 6 years of his life in the Grace Manor Nursing Home. His determination and out look on life was an inspiration to all. by Lenora Sexson JACKSON, DEWEY AND REVA (BRALY) F336 13 Nov. 1893. Their children Clarence, Two boys died as young men. They lived in Denver and moved to Lag Vegas, Nev. in 1981 where Raymond died in 1985. Theresa still (5-25-LgL4\ married Val Kordes and has 5 children and farmed in Stratton area. Mildred (1916 to 3-19-L924) died of sugar diabetes and is buried in Stratton. Dorothy (12-19-1919 to 5-19-f96f) married Coy Pearson. No children. The family of George and Mollie that still reside in Kit Carson County are their daughter Leona Kordes and her daughters Patsy Eisenbart and Betty Bra- selling cattle and fishing. Ralph and Josie's family was so important to them. Clarence married Allie Jean Beck. He still owns land south of Stratton. Allie Jean and Clarence are retired and live east of Colorado Springs. Loraine married Corne- born south ofStratton. Ralph and Josie lived and farmed on the Austin place, Glaze place, Collins Ranch and the Beveridge Ranch from Memories of the family include the time spent hunting the driest, most productive spot for cow chips, loading the wagon, getting them all home, keeping the pile dry and removing all the ashes that hot fire created. The fun basket dinners after church and Sunday school at First Central included fried chicken, rhubarb pie, lemonade!!! The Ladies Aid and sewing clubs provided needed social contact for the women in the neighborhood. From these activities beautiful quilts were created and close friendships developed. There were the local ballgames on Sunday afternoon for the old and young to enjoy. In the 30's there were very few fences. Most of the cattle ran free and the crops were fenced. The grasshoppers were terrible. The poison was placed around the fences because the grasshoppers even ate the fence posts. You never left leather harnesses out because in a few hours there was nothing left but the metal. You could take a clear drinking glass and coat it with smoke from a kerogene lnmp, to protect your eyes as you looked directly at the sun, and see the grasshoppers flying through the air. In 1946 Ralph and Josie moved to Burlington. Josie babysat with grandkids and Jeanne Zick. Josie loved to sew and make quilts. Many a wedding dress, Raggedy Ann, and quilts are prized possessions of her descendants. Ralph kept busy buying and J. Dewey Jackson's first residence in Kit Carson County in 1925, shown with his 1916 Reo truck, 1925 Fordson tractor and a new Ford car J. Dewey Jackson was born north of Phillipsburg, Kansas in 1898, the 5th of ten children born to William A. Jackson and Betty Mae (Bales) Jackson. He walked to school 2t/z miles. While still at home he took a correspondence course on Basic Electricity out of Chicago, Illinois. He rode a horse to Woodruff, Kansas, 19 miles for 8th grade examinations. To help the family income he did trapping; then skunks were worth $20 a piece. When he started his one year of high school, his mother gave him a gold pocket watch to encourage him not to start smoking. This prized possession was pawned several times thru the years to buy life's necessities. The winter of 1917 he went to Kansas City, Kansas, worked as a street car conductor, and attended Sweeny Automobile School. Summer of 1921 traveled to Canada where he was a jack of all trades: helped paint a church, built a school house, hauled logs, and then summer of 1922 helped build a wooden elevator at Sturgis, Saskatchewan. In 1923 back to Alma, Nebraska to rent a garage for one year. Then in L924he traded all the shop supplies for half of the cost ($10 A.) on his first purchase of land in Colorado. His dad �paid for the other half of WVz30-7-47 inKit Carson County. Dewey came to Colorado to start farming on March 1st 1925. His first home was a hole in the ground with a tent over it. Heat was a brooder stove. One month of this and he built a wooden shack. He broke sod for himself and others with a Fordson tractor; main crop was corn. In 1926 he took C.A. Monroe and older boys to Cheyenne Frontier Days in his Reo 3/ T truck; it would haul 100 bu. On return trip, they drove the Fall River Road; curves were so sharp one had to back up to make the curve. Later he rented a place Vz mile north of S. Fork Republican. He cooked for corn pickers and others when Hank Howell, owner of a corn sheller, was shelling corn. In June 1930, Dewey married Reva Grace Braly. They lived north of the river in a 2 story tar paper house. Here the three oldest children, Virgene, Paul and Betty were born. Here Reva had to kill her first rattle snake. After the flood in May 1935 they moved up on a hill north 1/z mile. Lost in the flood was a hog shed and hogs, cattle, side of cement tank and windmill pushed over some and other damages. The fall of 1935 they moved 2t/z miles west where a third girl Mary was born 1936. In spring of 1937 they moved again on north 3 miles where the two older children started school at Boger School #12. Then in 1939 they had another girl Anna Belle. By now farming was done by horses or an International high wheel row crop tractor with steel wheels. He sold wheat crop, went to Vona Bank for a loan, was turned down, so on to Stratton Bank. Ray Calvealy, banker at Stratton, approved a loan so Dewey has banked there ever since. In 1940 he made dov,rn pa5noent on 5 quarters. Then spring of 1942 they moved to location L4-7-48, From here the kids walked about a mile to attend the (Adobe) Plainview School #64 on 22-7-48. After planting a lot of trees on their building sit€, the home place was nomed Shade Lane. Traded 4large Pigs for a piano so the girls could take lessons from Ruth Vincent and later the Catholic Sisters in Stratton. Basic crops were corn, certified coes, Fremont cane and Wichita wheat. He also raised beef cattle; milked up to 12 cows by hand. In 1956 Dewey won the Skelly Award and Reva was named outstanding home maker of the county. Both were 4-H leaders for 5 years or more. Dewey was very active in Farm Bureau, served on school board, helped organize the new phone system and many other community or county activities. They both enjoyed traveling for a few years after all the kids were out on their own. Then in fall of 1961 after death ofa son's wife, they helped raise three grandchildren for 10 years till their son remarried. They slowly phased out of cattle and, having rented the farm, had their main farm sale in February, 1972. Then in the fall of L977, they moved to a house they purchased in Burlington, Colorado. In October 1978 they had another sale to sell extra items and to clean up the farm. They still enjoy visiting with friends and family, Dewey at the coffee shop with the guys, and Reva busy with her yard work, fancy work, church and club activities. by Mary (Jackson) McCaffrey JACOBER FAMILY F337 John and Marie (Matteis-Matthies) Jacober were part of the Germans who came to this country by way of Russia. John was born March 12, 1866, in Tirraspolftrispol, Russia, and Marie was born Dec. 22, 1868, in Geidetown, Russia. Their obituaries list Glueckstahl, So. Russia as their birthplaces and Tirraspol is listed for both of them on their Petition of Naturalization dated Oct. 30, 1909. When the ancestors of John & Marie went to Russia, Catherine was Empress. She wanted to settle the Ukraine with German farmers so she promised them free farms, less taxes and freedom from military service for 100 years. The land there was somewhat like our Great Plains but had better water, timber and deeper soil. Years went by, Russian Emperors changed, the 100-year military exemption expired and the Russians started calling the young German men into their troops. At that time John was a young farmer with a wife, having married Marie on Nov. 10, 1887, and two small children. He was taken into the military for a year's service and was attached to a cavalry regiment located at Odessa. Since he was handywith blacksmith tools he was made farrier, or horse shoer, for the regiment and several times shod the saddle horse of the Royal Duke. After serving five months, with no bad marks against his record, he was told he would be granted a month's furlough at the end of his 6-month service. Just before his furlough he received a letter from a cousin who had migrated to the United States and was living in the Dakotas. He told John the U.S. had given him 320 acres of land, and that he had raised 2,000 bushels ofwheat that year. John began to visualize himself on a farm in America, sowing the seed by hand from a sack over his shoulder, harrowing it, cutting it with a sickle or cradle, llamping it out with horses on a hard clay bed or pounding it with a flail, and winnowing it by dropping it from an upheld pail. Farming was certainly not an easy task in those days. Finally, unable to get the thought ofa farm in America and 2,fi)0 bushels of wheat out of his mind, he wrote to his wife, Marie, to sell their farm and everything else she could. She followed his instructions, and when he arrived for his furlough all their possessions had been converted into money except for the few bundles of personal belongings they could carry. That night, after farewells to friends and relatives, they took their two small children, Anna, 3 years, and Louise, I year, and left. They traveled only at night for fear of being caught, and after passing through a forest and over a river arrived in Austria. While waiting for a train, an official, sensing that they were running away, arrested John, put him in jail and took half of his money. At the next stop the same thing happened, and Marie, with the two small children, spent the night on a bench outside the jail. The next morning the chief military officer came by, saw her and the children, and sent his orderly to inquire as to what had happened. When he learned the story, the officer made the jailer release John, return all his possessions and money. The orderly was then instructed to accompany John's fanily to the station and see that they got safely on their way. After a long journey they arrived in Hamburg, Germany. They sailed for New York aboard the ship "Warl" on March 24, 1892, and after arriving there April L2,1892, spent three days in a day coach to Burlington. They reached Burlington at 3:00 in the morning of April 15, 1892. Not knowing the English language they were unable to communicate with anyone. About noon that same day, Frank Mann heard of their situation and with T.G. Price, who could speak German, went to the depot and arranged to take them to the Settlement. There they found friends who located work for John and a place for the family to stay. John went to work for the railroad. They built a sod house and plastered it with native lime. Every Saturday Marie would get fresh lime and whitcwash the walls so the house would always look fresh and clean. The floor was plastered with a mixture of clay and straw, which when dry became so hard it could hardly be broken with a hatchet. John moved with his family to Denver in 1895 and worked in the smelter at Globeville until 1898. At that time they moved to Brighton and had a truck garden until 1905 when they moved back to Kit Carson County. They homesteaded 320 acres, which included 240 acres in the N 1/z E r/z SW %, Sec. 27, T. 6, R. 44 and 80 acres in the NE % NW % and NW % Ne % of Sec. 34, T. 6, R. 44, about 17 miles north of Burlington. With the help of neighbors they hauled rocks and soon had a stone house and barn built. John then bought a horse and a set of harness. After he borrowed a rod breaking plow and Henry Goebel loaned him another horse, he was ready to start working his American farm. Though it took several years of hard work, John finally one day saw his dream of 2,000 bushels of wheat come true. In addition to their two daughters who came with them from Russia, Anna, born in Tirraspol, Russia Oct. 11, 1888, and Louise also born in Tirraspol, Aug. 5, 1890, there were three sons born after arriving in the United States. John, Jr. was born Mar. 3, 1893, and Ralph Oct. 24 L894, both in Burlington, and Christian "Chris", born Dec. 15, 1897, in Globeville, Colorado. When World War I started two of their sons, John and Ralph went into the service. John died shortly afterward aboard the USS Pocahontas near Brest, France, Sept. 29, 1918. Ralph was wounded at the Battle of Metz near Paris, France, and received his honorable discharge in Feb. 1919. John had not married before he went to war so Ralph took over his homestead when he returned from service. In L922 Chris started working John & Marie's homestead and they moved into Burlington a short time later. On Oct. 8, 1934, John passed away and Marie followed him on Dec. 15, 1950. Both John and Marie set good slamples to their descendants as good citiz- ens and faithful followers of God. They became official American citizens on June 15, 1910 and were a true credit to their adopted country. In addition to their two sons who served in World War I, they had grandsons serving in World War II, andthe Korean War andgreatgrandsons in Vietnnm. None of John & Marie's children are living. Anna passed away Feb. 7, 1981, Louise March �16, 1918, John, Jr. Sept. 29, 1918, Ralph Oct. 8, 1970, and Chris May 15, 1967. by Alice M. Jacober JACOBER - OUTHET FAMILY F338 Christian "Chris" Jacober, son ofJohn and Marie (Matteis-Matties) Jacober, was born 15 December 1897, in Globeville, CO. and on 14 Septembet 792L, in Burlington, CO. was married to Bessie June Outhet, daughter of John William and Mary Annora "Nora" (Broadsword) Outhet. Bessie was born 18 June 1903 in Y 'ma County, Colorado, near Hale. Inl922 Chris took over the operation of his parent's homestead about 17 miles north of Burlington. He and Bessie continued to farm there until 1951 when they moved into Burlington. While they were on the farm they were blessed with five children: John Chris "Jake" born 10 Sept. 1922; Dortha Viola born 20 May 1925; Edwin Chris born 20 August 1927; Darlene Josephene born 10 Sept. 1929 and Elmer Jnmes born 7 November 1931. The children all attended Columbine School District # 3 about a mile or so southwest of their home. Their lunchboxes were syrup buckets which they also sometimes used for playing kickball on the way home. Lunch might even consist of syrup sandwiches when times were hard. When they were fortunate enough to get a bucket of jelly or jnm with the bright emblem on it, they all wanted that one for their lunchbox. With the depression, the onslaught of the "dirty 30's" and five children to feed, it was hard to keep food on the table; but by working together and working hard, they persevered. There were times the old chickens had hardly enough fat on them to even make soup, but the family stuck together. The boys did some trapping of skunks, muskrats, coyotes and sold their fur. A good skunk or muskrat fur would bring $4.50 to $5.50 and an average skunk about $2 to $2.50, a jackrabbit about 25 cents. John worked at CCC Camp when he was about 16 years old and Ed worked at the farm ofFloyd Jacobsen. When World War II started Chris and Bessie's son John and their son-in-law, Clarence "John" Schlosser, Jr, both served in the Navy. Following in the Navy tradition, their other two sons, Ed and Elmer and another son-in-law, Ben Nix, served in the Navy during the Korean War. Two of their grandsons, Steve and Ed Schlosser, also served in the Navy in the Vietnnm War. In 1951 Chris and Bessie moved into Burlington as all three boys were still in the Navy and the two girls both married and away from home. They bought a small house in the east part of town. Chris worked part time at one of the elevators in town. When Ed and Ebner returned from the Korean War, Blmer married Vivian Sailer and Ed maried Alice Barnhart. Dorothy had married Clarence "John" Schlosser, Jr. and Darlene married Ben Nix of Texas. John, "Jake", spent 20 active years and 10 inactive years in the Navy and during that time he married Patricia Travis of Massachusetts. Chris and Bessie lived in their home in Burlington until November 1959 when they moved to Lakewood, CO. near Ed and Elmer's families. Chris enjoyed woodworking projects and was official "master of the barbecue" at family gatherings. In November 1963 they moved into a small house in Wheat Ridge, CO. and were living there when Chris died very suddenly on May 15, 1967. Since Chris passed away Bessie has lived with her son Ed's family and now resides with He is a Lutheran. Mr. Jacober has proven to be a proficient and resourceful farmer and rancher, and his efforts have been rewarded with a great measure of success. by Janice Salmans JAMES FAMILY them near Westcliffe, CO.; Dortha and "John" also live in Westcliffe; John "Jake" and Pat live in Wheat Ridge, CO.; Darlene F340 and Ben in Edgewater, CO.; and Elmer and Vivian in Lakewood, CO. by Alice M. Jacober JACOBER, RALPH F339 Ralph Jacober is owner and operator of a fine farming and ranching property seventeen miles northwest of Burlington, where he specializes in high grade Shorthorn cattle, with registered bulls and raises feed, corn, sorghums, and wheat. Mr. Jacober's farm is located thirteen miles north and four miles west of Burlington and was homesteaded by his brother, John. Mr. Jacober was reared in ranching and farming. He worked with his Shiloh Baptist Church. Photo taken many years aftcr building was abandoned. father prior to entering World War I. Mr. Jacober served with the 28th Division in France. Following his discharge in May of 1918 he returned to his father's farm and then took over his brother's homestead nearby. His brother was a victim of the flu epidemic of 1918. Here Ralph has lived and reared his family since that time. He has put up all the buildings on the farm and has planted trees and lawn. Ralph was born on October 24, 1894, in Kit Carson County to John and Mary Mathies Jacober, ranchers. His parents were born in Russia, his father in 1864 and his mother in 1868. They were married in Russia in 1887, and ceme to the United States in 1892. In 1894, they took a homestead north of Bur- Summer fun, about 1929. Marie Jones, Virginia James. Helen Jnmes and Reta Jnmes. O.R. and Gertrude James O.R. and (Ollie) James and wife Gertie and Cleo, Lola, Rollo, and Virginia moved from- Washington, Kansas to lington. Ralph Jacober attended public schools in Kit Carson County. Mr. Jacober manied Miss Bthel Goebel, their four children the daughter of Henry and Mary Chandler Rock Island Railroad Goebel, on February LL,L925, in Burlington. Mrs. Jacober's father was born in Germany and came to Wilbur, Nebraska, from there with his parents in 1875. In 1891, his parents - they purchased a farm Vona. Two years later came to Kit Carson County and took a homestead northeast of Burlington. Mr. Goebel went to work at the age of twelve years for Mr. McCurtis, owner of the Spring Valley ranch north of Burlington. In a few years, he beceme foreman. In May of 1901, he married and in 1916, he acquired a ranch of his own. Here he remained until 1951, at which time he sold out. He was well known in his area and engaged in the buying of livestock, traveling widely throughout the state. He passed away in September of 1955. Mr. and Mrs. Jacober are the parents of one daughtcr, Helen Marie, who is married to Dale Young. They are the parents of two children, Bruce, born in 1951, and Gregg, born in 1954. Mr. Jacober is a member of the Farm Bureau, Colorado Wheat Growers Association, and the Burlington American Legion. Kit Carson County via "immigranf,, ss" in the spring of 1917, bringing livestock - horses, cattle, hogs, chickens, as well as- household furnishings, their destination a rented farm north of from Marvin Barnett in the Shiloh community north of Seibert. This area was nickna-ed "Suckers Flat". Why it was called that I never knew because it was and still is a very choice spot with table level land and rich black soil. The newly acquired farm was improved with a good barn and a 2 room "soddie". The fifth child was born in this house which was home to this family of seven for six years. Having been accustomed to better living conditions, the rodents etc. that went along with sod house living were a constant source of frustration for my mother. However, her Irish good humor managed to prevail and to see everyone through happily. Mother and Dad took part in community "Literarieg" in those early years. Neighbors included the Ace Harmons, Quentins, Grover Todds, Alec Todds, Mason Wilsons, Andrew Hermans, �Vic and Marvin Barnett, the Millers (George, Ord, and others) the Houglands, Teeters, Porteniers, Gerings, Jenkins, Loutzenhizers, Nelsons, Probascoes, Backs, Elmer Kings, Denver where Helen died in 1965. Buss died about 15 years later. In 1946 Ollie and Gertie James sold the farm in the Shiloh community to Walter Clinton Jones's. The North Flat School was located a few hundred feet from our house. Water for the school children was carried daily from our well house in the "water bucket", Teachers that I can remember who taught there were Madeline Ott Becker, Della Hendricks -Julia Bancroft Wnmczyk Dugan - Irene Bernice Harmon McBlair. Timm. They moved to Denver and spent the remainder of their days there. Until Ollie's death in 1962 they lived on an acreage in Lakewood. After his death, mother and Virginia moved to north Denver where they lived out their lives. Only survivors of this large family are Lola and Reta. Reta married This farming community enjoyed economic good times during the 20's as did most of the country and many new homes were built. My parents built a new frame house with a finished basement the winter of.'24 and'25. They moved into the new house in April. I was born a couple of weeks later on May 3. The James's were active members of the Shiloh Baptist Church which was located 3 miles to the west of our place. My older brothers, Cleo and Rollo along with my dad helped dig out and construct the new basement under the church. This was about 1928. The digging was done with horses. Dad, (Ollie James) served on the board of directors of the Seibert Equity for many years. He was interested in politics and was reside. Percy Lounge in 1945. They have lived most of the years in Burlington where they still by Rita James Lounge JAMES FAMILY F341 to care for sick animals. He was called out of bed many a night to take care of a neighbor's cow that was bloated or couldn't deliver her calf to pull a horse's tooth or whatever - ordoing people knew who to call. needed In 1928 my -younger brother was born my parents seventh child. He was named He nicknamed Robert and "Buzzy". William Our father at the age of 36 sitting beside the "soddie'with Virginia and Helen. j $: -;; out of that quarter eection of pasture land until it was absolutely clean. He stacked them in a pile the length of the yard but I don't think he ever did get the cows to eat them. At least the pasture was cleaned up anyway never stand sunflowers growing could -on he his land either. In 1934 my brother Rollo married Ruth - daughter ofCharlie Purvis ofCope. Theyspentthe firstyears of their married life locally and then moved to Denver where they have lived since. Rollo died in 1984. Christmas Eve of 1937 my sister Helen Purvis married Buss Reynolds (son of Walter Reyn- olds of Flagler). They were married at our home. They lived all their married life in brick. Even the roof was covered with sod instead of shingles. The roof was re-sodded every year and fresh sod would green up with the grass growing like a lawn. Buffalo grass had strong roots that held the soil firm. One room of the "soddie" was the kitchen, dining room and living room all in one. The other room was the bedroom, draped off to give us four bedrooms. The drapes could be opened for light during the day but drawn at night for privacy. One of the spaces was used most of the time like a closet except when relatives came for a visit. Cots would be placed for them. We also had a "dugout" building near the house. This building was half under and half above ground, the above ground part built of sod. Good windows gave light and this teacher's desk was placed here. The stage also had curtains to draw closed and many plays weakness and have to be helped up. Because overgrown with cactus. Dad was sure he could somehow make cattle feed out of those cactug if he could just figure out a way to get rid of the stickers. He dug by hand all the cactus ginia. We had never seen a "sod house" before but soon learned to enjoy the comfort it gave us. Two large rooms with outer walls made of sod blocks cut from the prairie and laid like quarters for hired help during cattle drives and harvest time. The schoolhouse, also a sod building, had been built on the northeast corner of the farm, not more than a hundred feet from our barn and corral. It was built with a stage a foot higher than the rest of the floor. The contribution to the community was his ability of the drought our pastures had become Our father, Ollie James, moved us to the farm he bought north of Seibert in 1919. A real change for all of us my mother, brother Cleo, myself, brother -Rollo and sister Vir- made a good workshop and also to hang hams and beef from the raftprs in the wintertime. Later the building was used for sleeping a fervent Democrat. Probably his biggest died in 1961. The fall of L929 my oldest sister, Lola went off to college at Fort Collins (Colo. State Agricultural College). She received her teacher's license 2 years later and taught school at Prairie Gem (north of Flagler) and at Progress (north of Seibert). Lola married Loren Portenier. Loren joined the navy shortly after their marriage where he spent an interesting and productive life retiring after 30 years. Loren died in 1983. Lola resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Oldest brother, Cleo died at age 25. He is buried in the Shiloh cemetery. The Depression and the "dust bowl" hit hard. Dad was hard pressed to find feed for his animals. They would get down from O.R. and Gertrude James A gathering of the Shiloh Church ladies and children. and progrsms were performed there by the students especially at Christmas time. The teachers also used this area as their living quarters. Often ate their dinners with us at our home. The schoolhouse wan heated with a regular pot-belly stove that burned corn cobs and coal. The sod school was torn down and a nice fra-e school house built in the same location. The only high school in the area wENr three miles west and half mile south from our house. After graduating 8th grade, I rode horse back to and from Shiloh school for three years then transferred to Flagler �High School for my senior year. I worked for graduated spring of my board and room Virginia and Helen also 1929. Younger sistcrs attended Shiloh High School. Virginia graduated from Flagler High in 1934 and Helen from Seibert High in 1937. Our father was a horse and cattle breeder. He used the free range to run the cattle so the "L-Dismond" brand was selected. Cleo and I spent many days riding the range to keep the cattle from roaming too far away. Our father took out a hundred year leaee on a school section that he fenced in. A deep well with windmill was added to pump water into two large tanks. The cattle would be herded into the corral around the water tanks to be fed extra food when necessary. This corral was also used at branding and dehorning time. Most of the herd were shorthorned some however had to have their horns sawed off. In 1925 our family moved into a newly constructed frame house with a good basement. The "soddie" was torn down. Where the sod house had gtood a grove of trees were planted. To the south of the yard was a large garden space. Dad would plow with a one horse walking plow in the early spring and our mother would take it from there raising all the vegetables (except potatoes) that we would need to last through the year. Potatoes were planted in the fields. Mother always managed to work in some flowers along with the vegetables, usually zinnias and cosmos. She took great pride in her garden and definitely had a greenthumb. Soon after the new house was built we enjoyed the convenience of a telephone. Our ring was "one long and four shorts". Everyone on the party line would be sure to listen in whenever the phone would ring and sometimes several people would be in on the conversation before it was over. by Lola James Portenier JAMES, CHESTER AND WINIFRED F342 Chestcr and Winifred James were married September 22, 1943 on Winifreds 22nd birthday, in Stratton, Colorado. We lived in Kanorado, Kansas until March L7, 1944 - lt was a cold, windy, snowy day when we decided to move 41/z miles North of Peconic. Colorado. We had a 1941 white (Coyote catching) Ford car and we loaded it down We stopped at the post office in Kanorado and picked up 500 baby chickens we had ordered. The baby chickens went in the back seat (along with the lemp and mirror), We had a big old white sow, and she went in the trunk of the car - we had to stop every once in awhile to open the trunk and give her some air - We headed the Ford North of Peconic and to work. - went Lyle Jn-es, Chester's father, having our best int€rest at heart, told us to get some milk cows and milk - but youth being as it is, that was not what we wanted to do - We bought 1100 turkey poults and start€d in the turkey business - we learned a lot - a whole lot, even our neighbors learned a lot. Between disease hail storms and hungry coyotes we did manage to raise a few and sold them in a Back Row: Diane W. James, Carlyle J"-es, Debbie Brown Jnmes, Heather James. Front Row: Chester James, Winifred Jones, and Cody James. Turkey Co-op at the Kit Carson County Fair Grounds. The people of Kit Carson County realized the need of a hospital, people hauled loads of wheat to town to help finance the building of our local hospital. A telephone line was badly needed and the Beaver Valley Telephone Company was formed - 110 miles of line was built - the poles were stock-piled at our place and cross arms assembled. The neighbors worked hard on that line - it was a big help to the community - This line was later sold to Mountain Bell Telephone Co., for 91.00. The oiled road north of Peconic was helped along by the farmers in the community by hauling gravel, the county laid the oil. We were privileged to live in a very industrious community and that holds true today - "The Happy Hour" Home Demonstration Club was started in 1935. Today it is one of the larger clubs in the county and "Community Pride" is one of the main could be. I say we because it takes involvement of the whole family - We feel 4-H to be one of the finest programs for youth there is. I was a 4-H leader for quite a few years. We worked hard, (No more than many other farmers), farmed hard too - hooking 2 John Deere D Tractors together to pull large machinery - We hauled our entire cattle herd to Nebraska for pasture during the drouth in 1955. We were blessed with 2 children our son, Carlyle and daughter Diane. Carlyle and his wife Deborah Brown James have two children, Heather and Codey. They live 6 miles east and 472 miles north of Burlington on the "home place". Diane graduated from Colorado State University in 1986. She majored in Ag-Journalism, and is Associate Editor of the High Plains Journal, Dodge City, Kansas. We moved into Burlington in 1972. Winifred and Chester James projects. We purchased Sheep from the Jolly Ranches at Deertrail and Hugo, Colorado running one band of 1500 one year and 2 bands later on We ran them on wheat pasture from October until March - Sheep were good to us - The old adage being "Sheep make more money accidentally than cows do on purpose". The Sheep bought the Angus Cow Herd. Later on, we crossbred using Limousin Bulls and then Chianina Bulls. This 3 way cross worked well for us, producing a large, black calf. In 1975 under the management and hard work of our son Carlyle and his wife Deborah. We started holding a Club Calf Sale in November. The Sales proved very successful - had buyers coming from many States and quite a few winners on the Big Show Circuit. Our daughter Diane was successful many times in the Show Ring with our calves. We held these Sales until 1985. Our children were enrolled in 4-H about all the years they JAMES, LYLE AND BLANCHE F343 Lyle James was born at Beaver Crossing, Nebraska. His parents were Bert and Emma (Brewer) James. In 1894 Lyle and a sister Bessie along with their parents came by covered wagon to their homestead, the SW L3-6-42 in Grant Township, about 18 milee north of Kanorado, Kansas. Seven more sons were born to this pioneer family: Harold, Jesse, Earl, Howell, Lowell, Delph and Curtis. This made them enough for a baseball team, which they enjoyed playing together. They broke the ground and farmed with horses and mules. Bert Jnrnes was quite a horse lover and trader. The fanily went to a country school known as the Kemp school, or �.' :r' :'1.1' "1]:,:j' ,'.'. 'l:;-,::l1l;,1.:;1;...'.y:,,,, ..;, ra,,, t.a :,:]ll- ., rrll The sod house on the Lyle James homestead was built in 1915. The young man in the picture is Blanche's nephew, Galen Weeden. He spent his summers helping on the farm. Lyle and Blanch Jo-es, their wedding picture taken on Feb. 25. 1914. Pleasent Hill District #49. D.O. Fortmeyer and Harold Kemp were two of Lyle's teachers. Lyle moved to Kit Carson County, Colorado when he was 22 years old and took care of some cattle for W.J. Detwiler. Blanche (Nealley) Jn-es was born in Kit Careon County, on her parents'homestead 18 miles NE of Burlington, Colorado. Her parents, Charles and Lizzie (Paul) Nealley, were married Feb. 1, 1888, at Ceresco, Nebraska. Soon after that they started by emigrant train for Haigler, Nebraska, which at that time was as far west as the railroad co-e. They drove a wagon loaded with their possessions and drawn by a pair of mules across country to their homestead in Kit Carson County, Colorado. Blanche had an older sister Haidee who was born in Nebraska. The Nealleys first home was a frnrne house and they had Jim Knapp dig them a well, which was dug by hand. Their first place was located on NW 26-6-43, and some trees Nealley section, ag at one time four Nealley families owned and lived on 160 acres of it. They all sold to Charles Nealley later on. Haidee and Blanche went to school 1 % miles west of where they lived. It was a sod school house and believed to be in SE 34-6-43. Blanche's first teacher was Eva White. Charles retired from farming and moved his family to Kanorado in 1919. Lyle and Blanche drove their teem and buggy to Burlington on Feb. 25, 1914, and were married at the Court House. At this time Lyle was living on 22-6-43 on the place that Orrin and Cellestia Mesch had formerly lived. Lyle and Blanche continued to live there till the fall of 1916, when they moved to their homestead located on NW L-7-43, where Terry James lives now. They had built a 2-room adobe house, a barn, and had a well and well house to start out with. Later they added one more room on the house. We can still stand there today that they planted. In remember several of the hired men that worked for Lyle. They slept in the bunk 1898, they moved to SE 35-6-43 where Greg Jo-es now lives. This section is known as the house. We also boarded several of the school teacherg in our home. Most of them walked w M ', t\fi, rc ;'.-j-r*. Lyle and Blanch James family taken April 1, 1945 when Marvin was home on furlough. L to R: LiIa, Orma, LyIe, Marvin, Blanch, Elna and Chet. Lyle and Blanch Jsmes, taken in 1962. almost 2 miles across the pasture to ow small one-room school, District #66 known as Tip Top. On one occasion Lyle rode our horse "June" to check the cattle and break the ice in the water tank two miles north. The horse stumbled and fell and Lyle suffered a broken leg. His first thought was that he would freeze to death as there was a deep snow and bitter cold. Finally "June" put her head down and Lyle layed across her neck and was able to get back on good enough to ride home. The Dr. cnme out and set his leg and he spent 6 weeks in bed that winter. Lyle would take the tenm and wagon and go to town for supplies - usually it took 2 days to make the trip. He usually went about once a month. We raised a lot of our own staple foods such as meat, butter, potatoes, eggs, chickens and garden products. He would bring large quantities of flour, apples, oats, �prunes, raisins, baking powder, soda and spices from town. Lyle was partial to Black Angus cattle and kept a good sized herd. He fattened quite a few head most winters. We can remember getting up about 2 AM to start driving those big critters to the stock yards in Kanorado. They were then loaded on freight cals and shipped to market at Kansas City or Omaha. Lyle rode in the caboose to accompany them to market, which I'm sure wasn't very comfortable. Blanche had a pump organ which she chorded on and enjoyed. It had a frame with a mirror in it. One day while we were gone a hired man evidently aimed his gun at himself in the mirror and pulled the trigger, as there was a hole through the mirror when we returned. He never did confess he was guilty though. Our recreation took place mostly in the school houses in the area. They would have school progtams, box and pie suppers, plays, debates, parties and ball games. As a family we always looked forward to going to Sunday School every Sunday. We first went to Happy Hollow school house, then in later years to The Gospel Hall north of Kanorado. Lyle played a lot of checkers with his brothers and neighbors in the winter time. The 4th of July celebrations in Kanorado and fair time in Burlington, were fun times we enjoyed and usually spent all day, getting home late to do our chores, Our folks built a new house on the farm in 1929, and we really appreciated the electric- ity and all the modern conveniences. Then in 1945 they moved to Burlington to take life a little easier. They bought a large home on 10th St., then in 1959 they built a new smaller home on Senter Ave. They traveled quite a lot over the years and spent 13 winters in the Ft. Myers, Florida area. Lyle and Blanche had five children: Orma Turner, Elna Johnson, Lyla Enyart, Chester E. and Marvin W. Marvin passed away May 5, 1980, at Parker, Colorado. Burlington is the home address for the rest of the family. Lyle and Blanche celebrated 50 years of married life on Feb. 25, 1964. Lyle passed away of a heart attack on July 4, L964. been a radio minister, founding the daily Bible Fellowship Hour in Fresno, California previous to their coming to the Smoky Hill Area. Theyhad originally come from Western Coldwater, except for two years of grade Nebraska. While they were in Colorado the Janzen's actively supported several missionary families whom they knew personally. school. which were attended in the New Eden Along with several others, particularly Bernice Eberhart, they helped organize the Smoky Hill Sunday School. Nick and Bobbie enjoyed working with the people of the Smoky Hill area. Later Nick also filled the pulpit occasionally for Dr. Henry Beatty at the Burlington Methodist Church. Nick's severe illness brought the Janzen's three year stay to an abrupt halt. The family moved back to Fresno, Calif, in March of 1950 so Nick could have the medical attention he needed after brain surgery at the Mayo Clinic. Marilyn was the only one of the family who stayed in the area. She became the bride of Russell Scott, a neighbor, in August, 1949. They have three sons, Steve, Doug, and Tim. Steve and Darlene and Tim and Debbie and boys farm around Smoky Hill, and east of Burlington. Doug lives in Houma, Louisianna, with his wife Mary and children. Nick died in Fresno in Oct. 1950. After several years, Bobbie remarried and now lives in Reedley, Calif. Francis and his wife Waneta, Vernon and his wife Shirley live in Fresno and Gracie and John in Clovis, California. Manyhappymemories are enshrined in the lives of the Janzen's family of their stay in the Smoky Hill Area. Bobbie says she misses the wheat fields, and she comes to visit when she can, Vernon comes back every summer to help Russell and Marilyn harvest wheat. by Mrs. Ted Eberhart JARNAGIN - LIPSETT FAMILY F345 Blanche passed away November 30, 1982, of a broken hip and complications. In those times farming was a lot of hard work. They made do with what they had by raising livestock and grain crops. There were many good years along with several lean Colorado. by Elna M. Johnson JANZEN, NICK AND F3,44 Nick and Amanda, better known as "Bobbie" Janzen came to Burlington, Colo. in March, 1946 with their family, Marilyn, Vernon, Francis and Gracie. All of the children except Marilyn, who was attending college in Calif. were enrolled in the Smoky Hill School. Nick was the manager for some of the Albert Kirschmer farms. Nick had school. Jean D. Lipsett was the second of four children born to Sheldon Butler and Hattie Fern Johnston Lipsett in Buffalo, Ok., on Oct. 15, 1926. When she was four years old the family moved to Ashland, Ks., where she attended school. Dean graduated from Coldwater High School in 1941 and ventured to California, where he was employed in an arsenal for two years. He enlisted in the Navy, in May of 1943 and was sent to Farragut, Id. for basic training. Shortly thereafter, he was sent to Port Hueneme, Calif. Dean and Jean met at a barn dance at Protection, Ks. They both continue to enjoy dancing after 43 years of marriage. Dean and Jean were married on Sept. 15, 1943, at a Baptist Church in Ventura, Calif. After two weeks of marriage, Dean was sent overgeas on a 21 month tour of duty to Pearl Harbor and the Gilbert Islands. Jean remained in Calif. for several months, living with her uncle Paul Johnston and family. Much of her stay was spent touring Calif., and Mexico before she returned to Erie, Ks. and her job as a telephone operator. Dean was attached to the 907th U.S. Naval Air Base and shipped out to the atoll of Tarawa. 45 miles from the coast of Calif. His company was shipped on a tanker, that was used for refueling other naval ships. After the takeover of Tarawa, the men explored the atoll, and many of the nearby atolls, which became connected at low tide. The natives found on the atolls were able to speak fluent English and were supplied with cases of food from the U.S. When Dean returned from his overseas assignment in June of 1945, he had a brief furlough in western Ks. He and Jean then made their home in Corpus Christi, Tx., where Dean was assigned to the Naval base as a Storekeeper Disbursement clerk. Jean continued working as a telephone operator. On Feb. 2,L946, Dean was discharged from the Navy and they moved to Coldwater, Ks. In 1947, they moved to Arapahoe, Co., where Dean and his brother, Byron, broke out a quarter section of sod for Simon and Fishman. A family friend, Bill Chance, and his girl friend, M'Lee Isenbart remained in close years. As a pioneer family they saw many changes in their life time and were thankful they could be a part of the history of Eastern AMANDA N. Dean Jarnagin was born to Engiver and Edith Johnston Jarnagin, at Coldwater, Ks. on Sept. 5, 1923, and attended school in Dean and Sheldena Jarnagin Sept. 15, 1943. contact with Dean and Jean. Miss Isenbart's relative, C.L. Hickman, leased land 11 miles south of Seibert, to Dean and Bill. The following year, 1948, Dean and Jean bought their home place 3 miles south and 4 mi. west of Seibert, from Heye Wilkinson, which they still own today. Their first tractor was an F-30 International with an 8 ft. oneway. At that time, they thought they were really getting the farming done in a hurry. Their farming operation eventually became much larger, and they were soon planting and harvesting over 3000 acres of wheat a year. They have two children, a daughter, Sheldeana Marie (1954), and a son, Kevin Jay (1958). Sheldeana lives in the Los Angeles, Ca. area with her two sons, Christopher (1973) and Michael (19?5). She worked in the computer field for an engineering construction firm in Pasadena. Kevin married Shirley Brachtenbach from Stratton, and they have �two sons, David (1978) and Ryan (1981). They are engaged in farming and ranching operations in the Seibert area. In 1958, Dean and Jean purchased a home in Seibert, which had been built by G.W. Klockenteger, the then banker of Seibert. Jean and friends Vivian Hatfield, Lou White and Stan Strode, spent many hours stenming off paper, painting and hauling plaster until the house was remodeled. Dean missed the excitement of the remodeling, as he was the field manager of the Colorado Springs Production Credit Association. Dean was also kept busy driving and delivering LP gas and doing custom farm work for others in the JENKINS, HAROLD AND STELLA F347 In March 1906, Harold Jenkins, a curlyhaired farmer and sometime well driller, married Stella Gardner, a pretty little school teacher. In 1908, a son, Dale, was born. In 1909, the little boy died. In 1910, Harold and Stella sold everything, left families and friends in Nebraska to homestead their half section of land in what was to become Shiloh community, 20 miles Dean was hired by Matt to mix and carry northeast of Flagler in Kit Carson County, Colorado. They built a L2' x 14' frame "shanty." The following year they built a 14' x 16'"soddy" attached to it. wa"s a great asset in helping them get started "shanty" but the "soddy" was really a snug little house with window seats a foot deep, the thickness of the walls. A frame roof was area. They beceme acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. Matt Simonson, who operated a ranch 14 mi. southwest of Seibert. For a short time "mud" for Sig Viken to stucco the old schoolhouse in Flagler, which was being converted into an apartment building. Matt in the cattle business, in 1949. by Sheldena Jarnagin JEFFRIES - GUY FAMILY F346 Horace Greeley said, "Go west, young man, go west," so in the 1890's Leroy and Ada Jeffries did just that. They moved all the way from western Kangas to the bleak eastern Colorado plains. At about the same time a dashing young man, Harrison Guy, came out of Nebraska and met Leroy and Ada's daughtcr, Anna. This meeting culminated in marriage. Harrison and Anna homest€aded near Seibert and out of this union came five boys and one girl who left a distinctive mark on the small towns of eastern Colorado. Leroy, the first born was an outstanding basketball and track star. Garland (#2) was also a prolific basketball player and an outstanding softball pitcher and in 1932 led Seibert to the district basketball tournament. Jay (#3) followed in his older brother's footsteps by excelling in everything he undertook. Ventan (#4) died at an early age in the influenza and diphtheria scourge of the early 1920's. Robert (#5) was the youngest of the boys and carried on the Guy tradition in grand style. Then, "Lo and Behold," along came a girl, Ada May (#6). She was the baby for many years and Harrison even reserved a seat on the school bus for her. Today in 1986 there are four of the Guy family left. Leroy is retired from thorobred horse training and lives in Phoenix. Garland is retired from Ford Motor Co. after 35 years of service and is really enjoying life by raising, breeding and racing thorobred horses in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Robert lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and baby Ada May and her husband, Merle, live in Phoenix where they also race horses in Arizona and NewMexico. The Guyfamilyhas come along wayfrom Grandpa and GrandmaJeffries and the Hotel and Poolhall in Seibert. Colorado. by Ada may Midgett There was nothing wrong with the covered with tar paper and a layer ofsod. The inside was plastered with native magnesium which had an interesting texture and was naturally white and was calcimined as needed to keep it that way. It was lived in until 1924, then used for a wash house and storage. High on the list of priorities in living on a homestead was breaking ground a - with walking plow and the lines from the horses tied over one shoulder and around the waist planting the crops and hurrying to fence -the fields before crops cAme up and the "critters" began visiting. And then the well drilled. Neighbors helped build the windmill to pump the water and dig and cement a cistern for storage. People with no wells of their own would come to get water in barrels and tanks on wagons until they had wells. With a garden and some livestock to care for, Stella usually stayed home alone while Harold made the frequent two-day trip to town alone for supplies like lumber for building; tubing, pipes and rods for the well; posts and wire for fencing. Of these times Stella said, "There is no sound lonelier than a coyote howling on the prairie at night." When Henry's tin lizzie became available a few years later, it was the answer to many pioneers'prayers. However, before that in 1911, Harold and Stella and Stella's parents from Nebraska went by teem and buggy to visit relatives in La Junta, Colorado. While Harold farmed and built barns and shops and graineries and huntedjack rabbits, Stella helped him where she could, raised a garden and taught school in a sod school house four miles away, driving "old gray Pete" morning and evening. The livestock increased. With more ground planted, crops were larger. So life became, if not easier, at least more abundant. Then in 1914, a long wished for baby arrived, a girl named Lila. Somewhere about this time, shortly before or after WW I, Harold and Ed Gering got phones and strung the wire on fence posts. In 1917, Harold and Stella rented their place to Bill Gering and sold out to him and his brother, Ed. Then they moved to Washington state. Harold and his brother, Charlie, had a Maxwell agency in Garfield. A second daughter, Myrle, was born there. The auto business wasn't great, so the brothers sold out and moved to Spokane where Harold and Willard opened the No-Tie Mattress Works. That wasn't great either so the Jenkins family moved back to the homestead. InLg24, a third daughter, Maxine, was born, complet- ing the family. The family weathered grasshoppers, dust storms and depression and Harold set up a 6-volt, wind-powered electric system while the girls went through ten years of schooling at Shiloh. Lila graduated from high school at Seibert and Myrle and Maxine at Flagler. Harold's health had been deteriorating, and by 1942 he couldn't take care of the farm so they moved to a smaller place near Littleton for four years, then to Arlington, California. Harold's health was bett€r in the lower altitude for several years. He and Stella ran a variety store in Cucnmonga from 1948 until 1955, when he becnme so ill they moved to Los Angeles to be closer to Myrle and Maxine and their families. Harold died just a few weeks later months to the day short - four of their fiftieth anniversar5r. Stella was quite ill for a while after Harold's death. When she was better, she went to work as a practical nurse caring for the elderly-ill. She was taking care of a sick "old lady" when she had a stroke in 1963 at age 77. She had a fair recovery but had hardening of the arteries and went down hill pretty fast. She died in 1973, age 86. Lila (Jenkins) Nodacker had 3 children. The youngest died of a brain tumor in 1966, shortly before his tenth birthday. Her remaining son has a son, her daughter has a daughter and a son. Lila died in 1973. Her husband lives in San Diego. Myrle (Jenkins) Kappmeyer had one son. He has two sons and one daughter. Myrle lives in Yucaipa, California with her husband. Maxine (Jenkins) Thompson started working for Western Union in January 1943. She is still working for them and is the only instructor in the Western United Statps. She is a widow and lives in Reno, Nevada. Much of this information was obtained from a personal history written by Stella Jenkins. by Myrle (Jenkins) Kappmeyer JENSEN, THOMAS AND EMMA BAILEY F348 Thomas and Emma Jensen cane to Colorado with their four oldest children, Leslie, Oliver, Goldie and Orpha from Decatur County, KS. Thomas and son Oliver came by covered wagon in the spring of 1910. They plowed some of the land and put in epring crops and made a dug-out for temporar5r living. Mrs. Jensen and the other children came by train. The rest of their belongings and livestock were shipped by train. Mr. Jensen and Oliver met the others at Seibert by wagon. Leslie and Oliver drove the livestock to the homesite on foot. Alma, Leon, Letha, and Marion were born in the years after the move to Colorado. All of us children but Letha and Marion attended the Pleasant Valley adobe school, and the younger children attended the North Flager School, one mile east of our home. My dad purchased one quarter and homesteaded another quarter of land. They lived for a time in the dug-out. Later a close neighbor, the Tandy Todds, moved away and the family lived in their sod hous€ until their �own sd house was completed. This home was located fourteen miles north and four west of Seibert. Later it was gituated in the Pleasant Valley School District No. 40. My father was a cattleman, farmed wheat, barley, and corn and feed crops. The open range joined on the south with many water holes made an ideal place for grazing cattle. They also raised hogs and chickens, sold eggs and cream to help buy groceries and needed items. Dad did some blacksmith work for himself and to help out the neighbors, and that activity made him a little cash too. At harvest time Dad and the older boys operated Alms Jensen Lammey, died in Commerce Tennessee Pass, down the western slope to City, Co, in October, 1983. Sister Goldie is in the Grace Manor Nursing Home in Burlington, CO. The rest of us and our families live in Colorado, except for Leslie's family Glenwood Springs and from there to Grand Junction. members who live in Idaho, Washington, and cattle, fruit orchards, and the majestic moun- California. by Orpha Jensen Goodrich JOIINSON FAMILY F349 a threshing machine and a header crew, exchanging work many times with the neighbors, and doing some custom threshing. Living this far from market was a big chore. They hauled the grain and other products to sell by team and wagon, bringing back groceries and needed itcms. They would leave home early in the morning, returning home late at night. They usually went to Siebert as it was the closest town. The old timers burned cow chips, cobs, wood and some coal, but mostly cow chips. Most used cook stoves which cooked on top, baked, and heated water at the seme time and heated the kitchen. They used small heating stoves in the other rooms. The school was the center of entertainment. Literaries, box and pie socials were held, and also Christmas progrnms with treats for the children. In 1913, the Shiloh Baptist Church was built and was the church center of the community. Later the men organized a baseball tenm, with the men and boys playing ball and the women folk coming for the entertainment. Some private dances were held in the homes. Sleigh rides, taffy pulls, and parties were enjoyed along with visiting in the various homes. The women of the conmunity enjoyed getting together in harvest time to help with the cooking for the men. During the grain cutting time, the men liked to play croquet at the noon hour while the horses rested. In 1918 the influenza hit about every home. Sometimes all in a family would be in bed at the same time. Then the neighbors would help out with the chores. Some lost loved ones, but our fanily was one of the lucky one8. The winters were long and very cold, with blizzards lasting three days, and some times the feed crops becnme very scarce too early in the spring. Later in 1918 until the 1920s were better years. My dad bought both a touring car and truck, which made marketing much easier as well as attending recreational activities. The 1930's brought the dust storms and no crops, the time called the "dirty thirties". Our early neighbors were Ace Hatmons, Mason Wilsons, Jim Millers, Delbert Todds, Burr Borings, Harold Jenkins, Fred Landaus, and later the Gene Teeters and Ord Millers. One very early neighbor \pas Calvin Hembrees who had the first etenm engine plow in the neighborhood. There were not many organizations at this time. Dad belonged to the Seibert and Flagler Equity Coop. Vernie and Marion served in World War II, with Marion serving overseas. Dad died in January, 1930, at the age of 62 years. Mother died in May, 1971, at the age of 92. Leslie, who lived in Idaho, died in 1975; his wife Viola dicd 5 years later. Our sister, All of this country was like heaven to us dryJand farmers all the rushing streams, - lush full flowing rivers, hay meadows, fat Asa and Elberta September, 1965: This story of our "courting" will seem really corny to the youths of today, but keep in mind there was no radio, television, movies, nor even easy transportation to help'us learn the ways of the world. For myself, even books weren't easily available. My formal education consisted of the first three grades, so I would have had a hard time reading, let alone understand anything. So bear with me now as I recall eome of our experiences. September, 1911: I was 22 years of age. My father, Richard Martin Johnson and my oldest sist€r Katie Murray and her husband, Tom, chartered a Rock Island Emigrant boxcar at Goodland Kansas, and in it we put all our belongings and headed off to Hotchkiss, a small town on the western slope of the Colorado Rockies. Another sister, Minnie Foust, husband Joe, and their children Mabel and Tilman lived there as well as some of our Kansas neighbors, who had moved there earlier. In those days an emigrant car was used to haul household goods, livestock and machinery across country. Only the persons needed to care for the livestock were allowed to ride in the emigrant car. Since I would be helping my brother-in-law Tom with his stock, I was permitted to ride in that car. My mother, sister, and the children rode in the passenger car, We were three days and nights on the trip. What interesting sights and spectacular scenery we saw! Being a "high and dry, short grass country boy, my eyes bulged with excitement and wonder. The "emigrantg" who for some reason didn't haul barrels of water in their boxcars had to unload their livestock at every regular water stop. Fortunately, all we had to do was refill our barrels of water at the stops to keep our 6 horses and one cow satisfied. Besides the stock, we had a few chickens, our household possessions, beds, dressers, a tains, it was a feast for the eyes and soul. We finally "landed" at Midway, between Hotchkiss and Paonia. I don't think there is even a post office at Midway an5rmore. Father and Mother moved in with my sister Minnie Faust and her husband, Joe and their two children. Katie and Tom pitched their tent between the homes of the Mclntires and the Potts', and for a couple of months I shared the tent with Katie and Tom. We knew the Mclntire family as they had been our neighbors in Kansas. In fact they were the ones who promoted and encouraged our move. We were not acquainted with the Potts family. The Mclntires had a daughter, Maude, who was 17 or 18 years of age and even though I was still single, I was not interested in courting her as we had practically grown up together and she seemed like a sister to me. The Potts' had a daughter, Elberta. However, from bit^s of conversation with the Mclntires, mostly from Maude, I got the impression Elberta was about 12 years old. Even though she looked too big for a 12 year old, I had seen a few girls who were large for their age, so it didn't even enter my mind that she might be available for courting. Much later it dawned on me that it just might have been Maude was interested in me and didn't want me to know that Elberta was really 16! One day Elberta was visiting at the McIntire home, and when she started home she suddenly remembered she would have to pass by where I lived. She was barefooted, and although in those days girls wore their skirts well below their knees, she wasn't about to take any chances that I should see her bare legs, so she sashayed quite a distance out of her way to avoid me. Somehow, I did manage to visit the Potts' home at intervals. In fact I got pretty well acquainted with Mrs. Potts. It so happened that she acted as midwife for my sister, Katie, when one of her children was born, and came by daily to care for things. I didn't have work at the time so I helped out with the household chores and with the other Murray children. by Opal Joy JOHNSON FAMILY F360 sewing machine and cookingutensils. We also packed in some farm machinery, most of which proved to be of little vdue to us in an irrigated country, such as the Hotchkiss area was. At Pueblo, Colorado we trangferred to the Denver and Rio Grande line which would take us through the mountains via the Royal Gorgeto Salida. Thiswas a steady, slow climb so I got off and walked alongside the train 'till we crme to the Royal Gorge suspension bridge the firet I'd ever seen. The engineer- involved in that project boggled my ing work mind. After leaving the Royal Gorge, we followed the Arkansa! River to Leadville, crossed Aea and Elberta Johnson I soon found out what a wonderful person Mrs. Potts was, and my esteem for her has endured. The winter months crept by, and in March, 1912, my sister, Melinda, accompanied me on a train trip back to Kansas to visit our brother Joe and family who lived in CIay Center. I might add here that I was the 5th child of 15 born to my parents. I had 9 sist€rs and 5 brothers. I needed work and the good man Nels Nelson, with whom I had worked before �traipsing off to Colorado, needed help so I ended up staying in Kansas. Meanwhile, things had not gone well for the Murrays in Colorado. In December, 1911, fire had destroyed their home, then in May, 1912, the Potts' family lost their home and possessions when the North Fork of the Gunnison River flooded. The Murrays deci- ded to return to Kansas and Mr. Potts wanted to locate in the Denver area. The two families rigged up covered wagons and left Midway on the 19th of June, crossed the Continental Divide and arrived in Canon City the Fourth ofJuly. They then separated, the Murrays taking the route to Bird City, Kansas while the Potts family went on to Dodge City Kansas, for a visit with Mrs. Potts'brother, Henry Smith. Aftpr their visit there, they went back to Denver, where Mr. Potts decided he liked the suburb town of Littleton. That's where they made their home. Fall of 1912: Mr. Nelson's harvest was all completed, and no immediate work available, so sister Melinda and I boarded the train again. This time we went to Seibert, Colorado where we visited our sister Pearl Thorson and her husband, Thalmer. With their two children Benny and Marvin, they lived on their homestead 18 yz miles north and 1 % miles east of Seibert. I'd made up my mind that after our visit I wanted to go to the South Park area or to Gunnison to find work and a place to call my home, but Pearl and Thalmer could talk fast€r than I could, and succeeded in talking me into staying there, and filing a homestead claim. Before I could file, though, I had to find a suitable, unclaimed piece of property, which proved to be quite a task, as nearly all homestead land had already been filed on. I think it was about 1909 that Congress passed a bill a single individual could file for a halfsection claim. It was established that a family needed a full section. A section is a piece of property a mile square, 640 acres. Therefore, I, as a single man, could file for 320 acres. 640 acres should support a family, or so Congress members determined. There were scattered pieces of disconnected land we looked at that was still available but I didn't like the inconvenience that would cause in trying to do anything with it, so we kept looking and inquiring around. Finally we found a 7z section 18 miles north of Seibert. The east side of it bordering on what later was named Highway 59 and the north side near the Washington County line. Although this parcel had already been filed for by an Earl Simmons, we found out his claim could be contested since he had not complied with the homestead requirements. However, ws nlse !6alned that contesting was time consuming, anywhere from 90 to 180 days. We learned that if Mr. Simmons would sell his relinquishment, we could then file without a contesting period. Somehow we found out that the person who had a claim on the south side on Simmon's parcel was a relative of Simmons. We contacted him and he, in turn, contacted Earl Simmons who was willing to sell the relinquishment. I don't remember how much I paid. It couldn't have been much, as I didn't have much money. Anyway, I went ahead and filed my claim. I might add here that I later beco-e well acquainted with this relative of Mr. Simmons. His ntme was Keep Lee. He had a twin brother named Quit! Can you believe it! The story they told was the their mother already had several children and when along ce-e these twins she decided they'd "keep" them, but "quit". They proved to be neighborly and were a lot of help to me. Building an adobe shack was the next step after filing, and I located it as near as I could to the center of the half-section so as not to wake up gome morning on someone else'g property. This shack was 14 feet long and 10 feet wide. It had one small window in the south and one in the west. The door was made of floor boards. There weren't enough boards for the floor so it remained dirt. I packed it down good. Then I built a fence to keep out the livestock that ranged freely over the prairie. I'll skip ahead a little now to tell you what happened to my shack. It was Spring, 1915. Mother nature blessed us with a three-inch rain accompanied by a strong north wind. I didn't realize what was happening even though I was confined most of that time inside that shack. Suddenly I heard a loud cracking noise and before I could even think what was happening, the North wall began to buckle. Well, my bed and bedding were against that wall and did I ever fly into gear to get that out of the way and where it would be protected. Nothing else in there could be harmed so I took off, hoofed it a mile north to the Wrape home. by Opal Joy JOHNSON FAMILY F351 Asa Elberta qlohnson I had worked offand on for them and they, John and Belle, were like family to me. To this day I'm grateful for their kind friendship and all the help they gave me. In the few days, the Wrapes gave me a lift into Siebert where I bought lumber and stripping and soon my shack was once again my happy home. Later on you'll read how it cerne in handy for me to be able to say that my home was "part" frnme. Now getting back to Fall of 1912. Even after all of the above expenses, somehow I managed to have a little money left, and with some of it I bought a little 2 lz yeat old pony. She was black with just a sprinklilng of grey, all four feet were white, and she had a "blazed" or white face. She weighed about 650 pounds. I named her Polly and she and my saddle were my treasured companion and possession. I sure was thrilled with them. Before winter set in that Fall of 1912 I rode my pony to Bird City, Ks. where my sister Katie and family lived and I made my home with them, working around the country picking and shucking corn, and any other odd jobs I could get. By spring, 1913, I again had a little "nest egg" so I returned to my homestead. I took over Thalmer Thorson's horses and equip- my home with Katie and Tom. One day during this stay, Katie who had kept up a correspondence with Mrs. Potts since their journey across the mountains said, "Asa, why don't you start writing to Elberta Potts?" "Oh," I said, "I don't care to be writing to or courting a yolrng school girl." "Well, Bertie (as she was being called then) may still be in school," Katie said, "but she's old enough for you to correspond with." Katie didn't give me their addresses and I didn't ask for it and no more was mentioned. But one daywhen the family had all gone to town, I became curious and snooped around a bit 'till I found Potts'address. However I didn't write until Easter, 1914, when I mustered up enough courage to write a note on an East€r card. Months went by and finally I received a note from her on a Christmas card so then we started corresponding regularly. Bertie was studying German in school and in one of her letters she signed off in German. It could have been chinese or Greek as far as I was concerned. . . I didn't know what she meant, so I wrote and asked her what she was trying to tell me. She always read her letters to her parents and after reading this particular one, her father said, "well, if he can't read your writing you just quit writing." Right here I'd like to add that Bertie's handwriting was beautiful. Well. she couldn't think of what she might have written and wanted me to send that letter back so she could straigh- ten it out. She hadn't written anything she was ashamed of she said in her letter. I didn't return the letter. Bertie's two brothers Ezra and Ted could be quite mischievous and hard telling what they might add if they got hold of the letter and cause Bertie trouble so I wrote that if I ever came to Littleton again I'd bring the letter with me. June, 1915, I went Litteton, above letter in my pocket and she explained, "Why that's just my name in German, that's all." So, we all relaxed and had a chuckle. My visit there lasted about a week. Bertie and Ezra showed me places of interest in downtown Denver and a few days after that Bertie and I were permitted to go to Denver by ourselves. This was the first opportunity we'd had to be alone. I was as shy as she wds, but on the one-anda-ha]f mile walk from their home to catch the street car, I ventured to ask her ifl could hold her tender little hand and started to do so. She jerked it away saying, "It's too hot." Gee whiz, I hadn't noticed. I don't think we missed any of the sights. We toured the State Capitol building and the Capitol museum . .a whole bunch of walking. I was feasting my eyes but I was feeling like a feast for my stomach. I asked her if she'd like to stop at a restaurant, but no, no, she wasn't hungry. There was still a lot of walking after that as we went to City Park and all through the museum there. By then I was so hungry I could have eaten the part of a bear that goes up the tree last. Aromas from the eating joints and bakeries we'd pass made my mouth water. Do you think she'd stop to eat. . no. (Later, I found out she'd rather crochet, shop or play cards, then take dryest. The crops were miserably meager. time to eat). Well, when we got back to Littleton her mother had one swell dinner and did I ever relish it. Another day we were allowed to visit headed back to Bird City for the winter. This time with a team and wagon. Again I made Bertie's sister Laura Mumm and family and on the way back by golly I got to hold her hand and at last feel a little of the affection ment and farmed his place and my claim also. That summer had to be the hottest and There was nothing to harvest, so again, I �of my future life companion and helpmate. I didn't waste any more time. I popped the question then and there. She didn't answer. by Opal Joy JOHNSON FAMILY F362 Asa and Elbert Johnson A couple days later I asked her if she had mentioned my proposal. She said, "No." But she did say that if they gave their consent she'd be willing to marry me. I felt it would be easier to approach her mother first. We waited until her father was out in the raspberry patch and with a lump in my throat as big as a goose egg, I asked Mrs. Potts for her coneent. I don't remember exactly what she said, but you girls remember how grandma looked when she was pleased as punch about something, yet didn't want to let on that's the cute look she had all - well, over her face. She did say, "I hate to give Bertie up but she couldn't get a better man." That stat€ment made the goose egg in my throat shrink to the size of a pigeon egg, giving me the courage to head out to Mr. Potts in the raspberry patch. In all my younger years when I had my natural teeth I was always whistling or singing as I worked. Evidently Mr. Potts had heard me many times as we did work with each other when we were all on the western slope. I didn't realize though that thig habit irritated him. As Bertie and I made our way towards him, out of habit I was whistling. I blurted out my question as quickly as possible. He didn't even look at me, but glued his eyes on Bertie and said, rather sarcasti- cally, I thought, "I sure thought we had gotten away from this whistlin' boy!" Hi! voice softened a bit as he said "Well, I suppose you've already talked it over with your mother. Just remember, you're making your bed, so you'll have to lie in it." I took that statement as his consent and we hurried out of the patch. Now that she knew we had their consent, I got-my very first kiss from her. The first thing I did then was to buy an engagement ring. But being such a gteenhorn Kansas Jayhawker, it turned out to be the wedding band. I didn't have ertra money for another ring so it had to be put away for the wedding. That show of ignorance didn't "make points" with her father. Everything was smoothed over but Bertie never did get Littleton for our wedding. The two months went by in a hurry, and I was hoofing the 18 miles to Seibert to catch the train. I didn't town and offered us a lift home in their wagon. Before the festivities were over though, storm clouds rolled in quickly from know of agood place in townto leave myteam the north west. Many people decided not to and wagon so decided to start out walking and by chance maybe someone would come along to give me a lift. There were no travelers that day, so by the time I got to Seibert I was sure looking forward to the long train ride into Denver. I knew Mr. Potts would be meeting me at the depot, however I didn't expect to see him toting a shotgun. I spied him before he saw me so I sashayed around to try to get close enough to tap him on the shoulder or get hold of the gun. His brother-in-law Henry Smith whom I'd not yet met was with him. He had seen me sneaking up on them and since he didn't know me, he wondered if I was some kind of nut trying to rob them or something. Anyway, I finally got Pott's attention and asked him where he thought he was going with that gun! It turned out the gun needed repairs but there hadn't been time to leave it at the gunsmith shop before meeting me. We all had a good laugh and proceeded to the gunsmith's, then on to Littleton. A marriage license had to be purchased at the courthouse in Littleton. I thought Bertie and I could surely go alone to take care of that. Oh, no! Bertie's brothers Ezra and Ted hooked old Netty, an iron grey, flea-bitten mare to the single seated buggy, and Mr. Potts and the boys accompanied me. I guess Potts wanted to be sure everything was done legally and carried out to the point of no return. All arrangements were made including getting the Justice of the Peace lined up to pronounce the wedding vows at the Potts' home at 7:30 pm, Monday September 6th. September 6th. The family shoved Bertie and I out of the house early in the morning for another day of sightseeing with the admonition to get ourselves back in time to get fixed up proper for the 7:30 ceremony. We returned in time and what a transformation awaited us. Everyone in the house had set to decorate the front room just beautifully and a real banquet had been prepared. Everything was simply gorgeous. Begides Bertie's parents and brothers, others who witnessed our ceremony were Bertie's sister Laura Mumm and husband Pete and their children, also Henry and Susan Smith, her Uncle and aunt from Dodge City, Ks. The knot was tied. September 9th. My bride, with her hope chest and clothes and I boarded the train for Seibert. by Opal Joy an engagement ring. She was curious about the kind of house there was on the farm. I gaid real quick to keep from lying that it was part frame and part adobe. Fortunately she didn't ask how large it was or about the floor. Later I realized JOHNSON FAMILY how heart sick and disappointed she was when we entered that 10 ft. x 14 ft. shack with Asa and Elberta a dirt floor. When she said, "I thought you said the house was part frame", I said, "well, it is, there'e frnming around the windowe." At that point I'm sure if she could have gotten back to Seibert to catch the train she'd have gonetopapaandmo-a. . . andlookingback I could not have bln-ed her. After our engagement was settled I went back to the homestead knowing that in a couple of months I'd be going back to attempt the long drive to their homes. Townspeople generously opened their homes. I don't remember where the Wraps stayed but Bertie and I were given a room in the Clay Frankfather home. The rain and hail pounded all night three inches of moisture by morning! That was Bertie's introduction to Seibert. Finally we went to my bachelor hut to set up housekeeping. I didn't realize until much later how crude Bertie must have thought I was to bring her into such a shack. . . but she stayed by my side through thick and thin. . . and regardless of the hardships and heartaches brought on mostly by my thoughtlessness, she seemed to always keep a positive outlook. Prairie life was a terrific adjustment my bride had to make. It didn't dawn on me at the time though. She was quick to make friends. All the neighbors were wonderful. But neighbors were not close enough to visit frequently so there were long, lonely days for her. No phone either, so she couldn't call anyone. One day I hooked up a young team I'd purchased the previous year, old Cap and Midget. I seemed to call the horses old this or that, even though they were young. Anyway we took a ride over our half-section. I guess she thought I owned the whole country as about every quarter mile she'd ask whose property we were on and I'd say "ours". It seemed like endless miles to her not a tree in sight, no hill higher than a prairie dog mound, no house except the Wrap home, and a seemingly never- ending wind blowing across the flat land. I think her desolation and loneliness for the city, the mountains and greenery, and her folks was deeper than I ever dared imagine. I was so accustomed to this prairie life and had high hopes for our future, I couldn't sense any other thing. To make our "home" a little brighter and cleaner I plastered the walls. It made them cleaner but not much more interesting. While I was in Seibert one day Bertie gathered all the Farm Journal papers we hadand pasted the pages on the walls. They made for interesting reading while we ate our meals. Eventually we knew the "news" by heart. To cook on during the hot summer we obtained a perfection oil stove. One day Bertie put some "vittles" on to cook, then joined me on a errand that took us away for about a half hour. Those oil stoves had a way of playing dirty tricks. The flame wouldn't always stay in the position it had been set. It and oily smoke would creep higher. When we F363 got back to the house pages of the Farm Journal hung like black sooty webs from the walls. I think we both had a good cry before tackling the clean up chore. When we arrived in Seibert we found a Seibert Day celebration was in full progress so we took in all activities. It so happened that prizes were being given to the couple married the most years and the most newly married couple. We won a 50 pound bag of flour for the later category. Were we ever thrilled with that. My good neighbors, the Wraps, were in Another mishap occurred that first winter. For some reason our Big Ben alarm clock refused to keep proper time. On a stormy day when little work could be done outside I decided to give old Mr. Ben a good cleaning and oiling. I was ready to take the clock apart when Bertie said, "Oh my, you know what? I just remembered that Papa always boiled the clock in milk to clean it." So that's what we did for 20 minutes. Guess what we had? - clock coated with clabbered milk A no-good and whey. We probably had another good cry �then a good laugh when Bertie remem-bered that it wasn't the clock her father boiled in milk but his meerschaum pipe! Thus began our wedded life. Today is Monday, September 6, exactly 50 years later. I wish her parents could have been here to help celebrate. Her father's bark was worse than his bite. He did have a heart of gold and they both would have been as happy as larks that we'd made it to the 50 mark. We've had our troubles, illnesses, squabbles, sadnesses and financial difficul- ties (the homest€ad was lost during the depression), but the memories of the many happy times we've had and the rich rewarding experiences we have shared with our six daughters, 17 grandchildren and 3 great needed to be done. Roy and Elna were married Sept. 3, 1935 in Burlington at the Christian Church par- times. sonage. The depression was on, but somehow we managed to have groceries and our needs together. by Opal Joy JOIINSON - JAMES FAMILY F354 ltl ri:&:llsr,it9l would pick us up at school in a wagon or sled. After we got to school we walked % mile to get drinking water at Jake and Pauline Schlichenmayers home. We girls, being the oldest, helped our Dad do chores, work in the field, check cattle by horseback or whatever grandchildren far outweigh the difficult This is our Golden Anniversary and we're now looking forward to our truly golden years ,:,lir : r, Elna Mae James was born on her parents homestead NE of Burlington, Colorado. Her parents were Lyle and Blanche (Nealley) Jnmes, and Elna had two sisters, Orma and Lyla and two brothers, Chester and Marvin. The children attended school at Tip Top District #66 which was a country school one and three-fourth miles across the pasture. After doing our chores we walked to school. The weather had to be real bad before they were supplied. We lived in Ft. Collins for 3 months in the fall of 1935 and Roy worked in a dairy. We moved back to the farm north of Ruleton, Kansas where Roy farmed. At first he farmed with horses then bought a tractor in 1938. Our first wheat crop was hailed out. Our daughter, Wanda, was born Elva Asel, and Gustavis "Gus" Lesley Johnson in L924 in Goodland, Kansas in 1938. In January 1939 we moved 18 miles NE of Burlington in the Happy Hollow area. There was still open range NW of our farm for about two years before it was fenced. Over the years we built up the farm buildings and planted several trees. We also remodeled the house ae we could afford to - nothing fancy but at least it was modern. Two sons, Dwaine, and Gary, joined our farnily circle. All three of the children attended grade school at Happy Hollow, then after the country schools consolidat€d with tov,'n they went by bus to school in Burlington and graduated from high school there. Wanda lived in Germany for 3 years after her marriage to Larry Klinger. They also lived in Louieiana after coming back to the states. They have made their home in Broomfield, Colorado for several years, and Wanda workg for AT & T. Dwaine attended college two winters at Emmaus Bible College in Chicago, Ill. He also went three years to Rockmont College in Denver, Colorado, before coming back to Roy and Elna Johnson was taken in August 1985, just before their 50th wedding anniversary. Roy Johnson's patents, Joe and Annie, owned the store and Postoffice at Thurman, Colorado and Rry was born on a farm in that area 10 miles south of Anton, Colorado. Roy Burlington. Gary went to NE Jr. College in Sterling, Colorado one fall, then he went to Vo-Tech School in Goodland the nert winter. Dwaine and Gary both live NE of Burlington now with their families, and farm. We moved to Burlington on May 31, 1971 and enjoy living in this small town of eastern Colorado. We have seen many changes over the years. by Roy Johnson JOHNSTON - WEST had an older brother, Roscoe, and two younger sisters, Mae and Ruth. When Roy was 4 years old his Dad passed away of tuberculosis. Over the next several years Roy lived in Arriba and south of Karval and attended schools in Arriba, Blue Cliff, Karval and Sugar City. In 1932 Roy picked corn north of Goodland, Kansas. In 1933 and 1934 he farmed in the area north of Ruleton, Kansas and lived with his sister Mae and her Some time in the early part of the year 1904, my parents, Charles Edgar and Elva Ansel Johnston, plus my older brother, Gus, who was age three years at the time, loaded their wagon with everything they owned and husband. left Corning, Iowa. They finally stopped in FAMILY Barney lra Johnston, age L2, and his brother, Gustavis "Gus" Lesley Johnston, age 21. Flagler, Colorado, where Dad filed on a homestead, two miles west and four miles north of the water tank at Flagler. Dad built a dugout and this is where they lived the first year. The first thing after that was to dig a well. Mother said he just started digging and kept getting deeper and deeper. Finally at about sixty-five feet there was a big rock which covered the whole bottom of the shaft. In anger and disgust he slammed the digging bar down on the rock and it went right on through. He pulled the bar out and water shot up aboutthree feet. He made a few F355 more jabs and water ran him up out of the well. Water came up to fifteen or twenty feet of the surface and it stayed there. No matter how much was pumped out, the level of water never varied. The next thing of course was to build a house. Dad fashioned a sod cutter so that he could cut the sod in strips, then go along with �a spade, cutting the stips into blocks, twelve inches wide and eighteen inches long and about six inches thick, and there were the walls of our house. For a roof it was one inch by twelve inch planks bent over a ridge pole, forming a round shape. The planks were covered with heavy tar paper with a layer of sod on top ofthat to hold the tar paper down. When it was finished, it was L-shaped; the short length was the kitchen, running east and west. The long length ran north and south. It contained a parlor and three bedrooms. The parlor and bed rooms had a wooden floor, while the kitchen had a cement floor. I don't remember the size of the rooms; they were probably small. But the kitchen nowthiswag a kitchen. This is where we lived. That kitchen was the heart and soul of the Farm. A cool place in the summer and warm place n the winter, and when it rained the roof did not leak. Mother, like all farm wives, had certain days for certain chores. It so happened every Saturday was for doing the baking for the week. This was my day. And so it is even today; the odor of fresh baked bread is the sweetest odor in the world! I was born in that sod house 16 October '07, and lived there the first six or seven years of my life. There was a sister, a year or two before me, born premature, only weighing one pound at birth. She only lived a couple ofweeks. Then there cnrne a younger brother. He lived two years and died with cholera infantrrm. Dad died in 1916. A cancer had developed on his check. Mother said he was just getting on his feet when he got sick. My older brother passed away in 1972 and is buried in National City, Cdifornia; but the rest of the family still has a small piece of Colorado in the Flagler Cemetery. They are all there, lined up nice Mother, Brother, Sister and - Father, Grandma and Grandpa West, Mother's folks. Life was never easy in the "good old days" even in the city. On the farms and homesteads it was even tougher. Think about it: load our worldly goods in a covered wagon, behind a tenm of horses, travel with the sun for several hundred miles. Take a bare piece of land and make it into a home. With only a strong constitution and good teem of horses, and a whole lot of Guts, and with very little of a very important ingredient money! - Our human nature prevails; they had their lighter momentg church socials, box suppers, dances and- all kinds of other things to lighten their life. I know one of my own fondest memorieg is Mother popping a big dishpan full of popcorn. Everyone got a tin pie pan and dug in. Now there is popcorn and there is more popcorn, but there never wa!r, nor will there ever be popcorn like that . . . make up a big lunch for us. Dad would put hay and grain in the wagon, and off we would go. This was a three day trip: one day going, one day visiting, and one day going home. The older folks would have a great time bringing everybody up to date, and we kids, and believe me there was plenty of kids to go around, would have our own good times. The whole family looked forward to this trip in the fall. There was a neighbor just south of us on the west side of the road. He was of Dutch extraction and a widower. Dad and Mom were going to town in the buggy. The old Dutchman stopped them and asked my dad to find out how much the implement company wanted for a corn lister they had. So Dad said he would find out and he did. It was listed at $40. It seems that the Dutchman and Dad were going to go pratners on the planter if it didn't cost too much. On the way home the old man was waiting for them at his gate. He asked how much and Diirl told him they wanted $40. Dad got all excited and forgot Mom was right there. He pounded on the buggy wheel and said, "They can just kiss 40 times our. . " When Mom would tell about it in later years, she would say that after that the old Dutchman would hide from them. For a few years the elevator operator in Flagler had things pretty much his own way. No one had any way of holding their grain at harvest time. So when they would harvest, they had to take their grain to the elevator right away and take whatever he offered. Well, Dad didn't think this was such a good idea. So he built a barn, a nice big double wing barn. On the south end he had horses on one side and cows on the other with a hay loft. But on the north end it was a solid grainery where he could store his whole crop even if it was a bumper. He had big doors on both sides where he could drive a team of horses and a wagon right into the barn. Then he could shovel the wheat right into the bins. At this period in time we were still living in the sod house. Mother couldn't quite understand the advantage of storing the wheat until later when the price came up. Dad's life was pretty miserable for awhile. Mom felt she should have had a new house rather than a pretty new barn. Things remained about the same until the harvest that fall. Then Dad was able to show her the advantage of holding their wheat. Well, through all the trials and tribulations, the good times and the bad, I have often wondered how it would have been if Dad would have lived his normal life span. My brother would have gone his own way. I would have stayed and helped Dad and today I I. He told me one time about the time Dad proved up on the place. It seems he had to go over to Hugo to do it. He did it, and then he would have been retired into town, a farmer like my Dad. So instead, Mom had to sell the place and we moved into Denver. I started my schooling. In June, L925, I graduated from West Denver High School. Then Mother died in July, 1925. My aunt from Omaha came out and made all the arrangements for the funeral. Mother is buried next to mv dad in got drunk, Gus said. He finally got home and Flagler Cemetery. on a cold winter night with lots of good country butter. My older brother was nine years older than the next day he had the world's worst hangover. When I look back at it now, I think he had every right to celebrate. Mom ehouldn't have gotten so mad at him. There were two Thompson families living about 20 miles north of us. They were fairly close relatives on Mother's side of the family. After the hawest and while the weather was still good, we would go visiting. Mom would by B.I. Johnston JONES - HEISZ FAMILY F366 My father, Roy Eugene Jones, was born to John Lewis and Electa (Brown) Jones 28 August L872 in Richland Center, Richland Co., Wisconsin. My mother, Matilda Heisz, was born to Adam and Augusta (Naylor) Heisz 20 February 1875 in Old Omio, Jewell Co., Kansas. Roy and Matilda were manied 20 February 1895 in Belleville, Republic Co., Kansas. While residing in this area, Father worked with a threshing machine crew oqAed by his uncles, John and George Heisz. My brother, Harry Lee, was born 22 December 1895 and died 19 April 1896 at Grandma Heisz's near Courtland, Republic Co., Kansas. After his death, they moved to Arkansas in a covered wagon. They lived on top of Boston Moutain in a one room log cabin with a dirt floor. Although it was very damp and moss grew everywhere, it was so rocky not much else would grow. It was a difficult life and many meals consisted of cornbread made without salt and wild hog meat; peaches were eaten while in season. Moonshine country harbored unfriendly neighbors. I was born 30 March 1897 and weighed five pounds. Father left for Kansas the next August and Mother stayed until January. She said it wan a very hard trip, walking several days to get to the railroad at Little Rock and then the cold train ride to Kansas. We stayed with Grandma Heisz in Courtland, Kansas till James Alfred was born 2l January 1899. By November, 1900, we had treked on toSelden, Sheridan Co., Kansas, where geveral other family members had already settled. Our house was a one room dugout built into the hillside. Minnie Adella was born here 9 November 1900. Uncle BertJones moved to Canada in August, 1902 so we moved onto his place. That fall I attended Enterprise School which was one mile north of our home. Elmer Fred was born here 20 December 1903. Father and a neighbor, George Osborne, drove a tean hitched to a buggy to Colorado looking for a homestead in January, 1906. Father returned to prepare all of us for the move onto 160 acres nine miles north and four miles east of Claremont, Kit Carson Co., Colorado in October 1906. With proceeds from the farm sale he bought us a beautiful little bay pony so that Alfred and I could herd our cattle. He also bought Mother a new "Home Comfort" range. Mother drove the covered wagon and Father the header box. Mr. Osborne and his three boys had their wagon also. Father chartered a railroad car from Goodland, Kansas to Burlington loading it with the cattle, one favorite horse, machinery, and furniture. It took us three days by wagon. On the fourth day we started out to Osborne's homestead leaving two of our horses in the livery stable and returned the next day to find the stable burned to the ground taking both of them. When we arrived in Colorado, Claremont had been changed to Stratton. The land was barren with no treeg or roads. Wherever the settlers wished to go they started across the prairie. Soon trails were formed crossing the country later known as cattle trails or ruts. We camped on the north side of the draw, known as "Lost Man's Creek" in a tent while a shack was built for George Osborne, a two �Pop was away at work so Mrs. Williams cnme ::*;a to be with Mother. The mail route was sublet to Pop for 6 months. Pop built a 10 x 12 foot shack in Stratton and stayed there thru the week coming home on Saturday night. He carried the mail from Stratton to the old Tuttle Post Office, a distance of 24 miles. He made the trip both ways six days a week, never missing a trip. When Pop's term for carrying the mail was up, he brought his shack out, putting it near the kitchen door and it was used as an extra bedroom. Since Mother's health was poor she requested to return to Republic Co., Kansas to stay with her brother (Simeon) till the birth of Elizabeth Lenora, who was born 4 November 1912. Minnie and I traveled with Mother by train. She never regained consciousness from the birth and passed away 5 November 1912. Father and the boys were sent for and her funeral was held at John Brown school. She was laid to rest in McDonald's Cemetery at Courtland, Republic Co., Kansas. Father left Stratton Day 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller and the Borders children with Roy Jones driving his tenm of horses. James Alfred, Elmer Fred, Roy Eugene (father), Leona Pearl, Minnie Adella, and Mettie Love Jones. Year about 1912. room house for Fred Osborne. and a 12 x 16 foot shack on Pop's homestead with lumber bought in Burlington. We were settled by Christmas day. Pop sold our pigs to Mr. J.P. Evans (our nearest neighbor) on Christmas day since we had no feed or money. The folks let us kids ride home with Mr. Evans and spend the afternoon. He gave us each a big red apple which was quite a treat. Alta Mae was born 22 February 1907 and passed avtay 27 July 1907 while Pop and AUred were in Kansas for the harvest. From Mom'g letter to him earlier, he knew she was ill and had already started home. There was no place to buy a casket so the neighbors made one. With no minister or church available Mr. Evans gave a short service and prayer in our home. The school house was in the process of being built when we arrived in Colorado so we were able to attend school the next fall. The school term was only six months. The first year here Alfred and I herded the cattle thru the cold winter until finally they got use to the range and would return on their own. Each year a little more sod was broken with a walking plow. The new sod was sown to corn by Alfred following behind the plow. For fifty cents/acre Pop broke land for the neighbors also. In the Spring of 1908 the government shipped in wheat seed. Pop got enough to plant 18 acres and our first crop made 18 bushels/acre. Pop broke sod near St. Francis, Kansas in 1909 and returned in the fall. The kids thought it would be fun to sleep with Mom and Pop in the covered wagon the night he returned only to discover our house in flemes during the night. The neighbors helped Pop build an adobe room (14 x 20) for it us. When it rained, the roof didn't leak poured. - In 1908, the government passed an ordinance giving a homesteader the right to another 160 acres. Pop homesteaded the north quarter. The only crops planted up to this time were corn and wheat. Mother planted a garden every year but with no water Back row: Minnie Adella, Mettie Love, James Alfred, Elmer Fred. Front row: Leona Pearl standing beside father Roy Eugene Jones. it didn't amount to much. However, we seemed to always have more than we could use. Leona Pearl was born 8 October 1909 while Elizabeth to be raised by Uncle Simeon's family. Alfred married Louise Klotzbach 30 September 1919 and to this union six children were born: Eva Matilda, Lily Mae, Lila Fern, Kenneth Verne, Ronald Keith and Verla Rae. I got married 16 June 1920 to Eugene Lee Sisson and to this union one child was born: Ernest Leroy. Minnie Adella never married and was nearly blind in her latter years. She died 9 September 1951. Elmer Fred has never married and resides with me (Mettie) on the homestead place. Leona Pearl married Clarence Everett Churches 28 August 1933 and to this union three children were born: Eugene Clarence, Harold Wayne, and Donald Dee. Elizabeth Lenora married (lst) Lavern Libhart 10 December 1930 and to this union two children were born: Janet R. and Robert S.; (2nd) Mark N. Goddicksen. Father (Roy Eugene) passed away 3 October 1947 and is buried at the Claremont Cemetery, Stratton, Kit Carson Co., Colorado. by Mettie Sisson JONES, DANIEL II. F357 One by one the pioneers of Kit Carson county are passing away. One of the last to pay the debt of nature was Daniel H. Jones. He had been a resident of our county about 30 years. I have known him 25 years as well as I remember. When you first felt the grip of his hand and saw his face you were impressed with the thought that his friendship was worth having. And after that all that you would see and know of them would confirm that first impression. He was a plain, blunt man freely outspoken. I think there was as little hypocrisy about him as any man I ever knew. He was the same Dan Jones to everyone he met, no matter whether it was a beggar, or a tremp, or president, or king. He was one of the kind of men whose acquaintance wore well, The more you saw of him, the better you liked him. I worked with him when he was on the board �of county commissioners (elected in 1891) and learned to admire him for his earnestness, honesty, and unflinching adherence to right and duty. He had a tact for getting over difficult places and carrying his point, that was simply irresistable. As an instance, one of the commissioners advocated strict parlimentary usage in the board, each member should arise to speak, address the chair, and if recognized should refer to the member of the board, as the honorable commissioner from district etc. Uncle Dan sat and listened without a word and when asked what he thought about it replied about like this, "Boys, parlimentary usage is all right, but it is hard to learn old dogs new tricks, I guess we have killed enough time, lets go to work, Mr. Clerk, what is the first thing on the program this morning?" And the work commenced. He despised fraud and graft of every kind. He was optomistic and charitable. Not only did he nurture faith in God and Christ but he had confidence in mankind. He was a great believer in Eastern Colorado. I do not believe that he ever for a moment thought these plains would finally come to the front as agricultural county. He loved to live here better than any other place. During his last illness when told by his physician that he could not cure him, he quietly and deliberately got his house in order for the change he knew was near. He spoke to me about it, just as he would have a trip to Missouri, or any other place. Speaking about his suffering he said, "I suffer, of course, but there is no kick coming from me, God has been very good to me, better a great deal than I have been to him." Lately, we had a many heart to heart talks together. Good bye, neighbor, friend, comrade, brother, while I live, your memory will be dear to me. When my task on earth is done I confidently hope to have more of your companionship in the world beyond. by C.A. Yersin - lgl4 JONES, FLORY AND PERNA F358 Flory Bruce Jones came to Seibert, Kit Carson County, in 1912 from Goodland, Kansas. He left his wife, Perna and son, Bruce with her parents Cad Wallander Jones (no relative) until she had her second child. He homest€aded some land about 7 miles northeast of Seibert arriving in the spring of 1913 with their eons Bruce and Wayne, in a spring wagon. They told us in order to keep the baby warm they put a kerosene lantern under the blanket and when they got to Seibert he was quite smokey and dark. Often wonder how they lived in those days. Flory started farming and buying cows. We don't knowwhat they lived in, but Wayne can remember when they built a sod house, when he was about 6, cutting the sod from the banks of the Republican River. Bruce and Wayne went to a small country school about 172 miles N.E. from home riding a horse to school. There was a small shed they kept the horse in while in school. They added 5 more children to their family; Emily Jane born Oct. 12, 1914; Clyde Clark born July 28, 1916; James Levi born The Flory Jones family taken 1924. Back row: Emily, Wayne, Bruce, FIory holding Irma, Mother Perna, Front row: Delbert, James o16 gttd.. Dec 17, 1917; Delbert Ray born April 27, 1920; and lrma Mae born Aug l, 1922.They all went to school in Seibert and Bruce graduating in 1929; Wayne 1931; Emily 1932; and Clyde 1934. About 1920 Flory bought a 360 acre farm on Cope highway about 4 miles north from Seibert. There was a large 3 bedroom house. They built a large barn. He also rented, leased or bought more land. They farmed up to 2,000 acres and all with horses; raising mainly wheat, corn, cane, and broomcorn. One time he bought some Jennys, but they disappeared during a storm in the winter. In the spring they appeared under a bluffunder snow drift; they froze to death. They also had cows. They milked up to 20. When the children got old enough, which was about 9 or 10, each one grabbed a pail and headed to the barn to milk cows morning and night (there were no milking machines). At one time they had a dairy and delivered milk in Seibert. Mother Jones always said it was the milk cows that carried them through some of the hard times. Flory tried about everything on the farm. One time in about 1934 he bought a band of sheep. Wayne had to herd them. They only had them about a year. Flory learned to take care of his animals because there was no veterinarian around so it got so the other farmers called on him a lot to look at theirs and he had to pull many calves when the cow couldn't have them. They also had good times, too. In that big barn they had barn dances up in the hay loft. Flory liked to dance and wanted the children to dance, too. Mother Jones would make cake and pies and sell them. Everyone around would come. That big barn was also used for boxing. A mat was put in and they practiced with Flory teaching them. Flory loved to box and some times wrestle. He did most of his training by running about 4 or 5 miles every morning up and down hills. When a carnival came to town, he would either box or wrestle, which ever they wanted. He also was the main feature on some of the American Legion and other cards. One of his last fights was with Pat Andrews of Burlington, Co. about 1931 or 1932. He also taught some of the boys. Wayne was on some of the boxing cards. Beginning of the 30's, times were starting to get hard; one thing on account of the depression and so many of the banks were closing. Flory had lost some money in the bank, too. Also the crops weren't too good because of the dry weather and no rain and what was good, the grasshoppers started eating everything in sight. They would clean out a field in a day. They would have to put a pitchfork handle in the hay stack or they would eat it, too. It kept getting dryer and the dust started to blow; it got so dusty that it would turn dark in midday. When Perna set the table she would set the plates upside down and you still ate dirt. They still tried to farm but it didn't do very good. Weeds would sprout on the hollow of the cows back. The cows were dying, too. The government stepped in and bought them paying from 98 to 916 a head; if they were real bad they shot them and the best ones were shipped away. In 1932 Bruce went to Kansas City to work, Emily wentto Wichita to school, Wayne went to the fruit harvest, picking peaches and apples in western Colorado and shucked corn in Kan. In 1936 Flory decided to go to LaGrande, Oregon to a cousin, see if he could find work. He, Wayne and Jim drove a 1928 Chevy, leaving Clyde in charge of farm and family. They got a job working in a sawmill. Clyde put in some corn and when he went to cultivate it, the grasshoppers ate it to stubs. The rest of the family, Mother, Clyde, Delbert and Irma loaded a L929 Chevy and headed to Oregon, too. Their white collie dog started following so they put him on top and he came to Oregon, too. Flory died in 1950; Bruce in 1951; Perna in 1969; Delbert in 1983 and Emily in 1985. by Wayne C. Jones KAISER, BRUNO F. F359 Bruno F. Kaiser was born at Olean, Indiana, Nov. 13, 1858. He left home at the age of. 22 in the spring of the year 1884, went to Wymore, Nebr., then to Gibben, Nebr., then to Holdrege, Nebr., remaining there for � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families of Kit Carson County Description An account of the resource Brief biographies of the founding families of Kit Carson County Colorado. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Book Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Families- J Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1988 Description An account of the resource Brief history of the founding families of Kit Carson county with names starting with "J." As told in the book, History of Kit Carson County Type The nature or genre of the resource text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Salmons, Janice Hasart, Marlyn Smith, Dorothy Language A language of the resource English Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. History of Kit Carson County Volume 1 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Curtis Media Subject The topic of the resource History Kit Carson County Biography Genealogy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a>